Author: News Polite

What to Know About Flight Delays and Cancellations This Summer

More people flew out of airports in the United States on Sunday — 2.46 million according to the Transportation Security Administration — than on any other day so far this year. Thursday and Friday going into this Fourth of July holiday are expected to be even busier, with Hopper, a travel booking app, predicting that nearly 13 million passengers will fly to, from and within the United States this weekend.

The question for many travelers is whether they can trust airlines to get them where they want to go on time.

You could not blame them for assuming the answer is no. On June 17, the Friday before the Monday Juneteenth holiday, nearly a third of flights arrived late, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking company. Between last Saturday and Monday ahead of the Fourth of July weekend, U.S. carriers already canceled nearly 2,500 flights. In a June 16 meeting, Pete Buttigieg, the transportation secretary, told airlines that he’d be closely monitoring their performance. The very next day, his own flight from Washington to New York was canceled.

In a letter on Tuesday, Senator Bernie Sanders urged Mr. Buttigieg to begin fining airlines for particularly egregious cancellations and delays. Among other proposals, he suggested that airlines should pay $55,000 per passenger for any canceled flight that it was clear in advance they could not staff.

Before postponing any upcoming trip, though, it’s worth taking a close look at cancellation and delay data for insights into how travel has, and has not, changed this year.

Social media is filled with declarations that air travel is the worst it’s ever been. Indeed on some holiday weekends and stormy weeks it’s been astoundingly bad. As Mr. Sanders noted in his letter, airlines have canceled flights four times as often on high-travel weekends as they did in 2019. But the reality is that airline reliability was pretty terrible even before the pandemic.

U.S. airlines have been operating somewhere between 21,000 and 25,000 flights a day in recent months. So far in 2022, an average of one of out five flights a day arrived behind schedule — a total of more than 820,000 delayed flights according to FlightAware. More than 116,000 flights have been canceled. All of this adds up to tens of thousands of people missing weddings, funerals and work events and grappling with how to salvage vacations. But in 2019 during a comparable period, it was not that much better. Back then, 17 percent — instead of 20 percent — also arrived late and the average delay time was 48 minutes instead of 49 minutes.

“I think the reason people are noticing it so much more is because it’s clustered on these holiday periods,” said Kathleen Bangs, a former commercial pilot who is now a spokeswoman for FlightAware.

Though holiday weekends have always been a bit of a gamble, crew staffing issues magnified by overambitious schedules means there’s now less slack in the system, Bob Mann, a longtime airline executive who now runs R.W. Mann & Company, an airline consulting company, said. Weather that might have canceled a dozen flights in a few airports is now more likely to have a far more dramatic ripple effect, canceling thousands of flights in dozens of airports. This has been particularly true for low-cost carriers like JetBlue and Spirit airlines, which canceled a whopping 10.3 percent and 9 percent of flights in April, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

“A number like 10 percent I’ve never seen before,” said Mr. Mann.

If you want to build in protection in case your flight is canceled, never book the last flight of the day, advised Shawn Pruchnicki, a former airline pilot and professor of aviation safety at the Ohio State University.

So far this year, two New York area airports, Newark Liberty International and LaGuardia, have had the most cancellations in the United States — around 6 percent of total flights — according to FlightAware data. In terms of delays, Newark was also one of the top two most aggravating airports to fly out of, delivering people to their destination late nearly 30 percent of the time. Only Orlando International had a comparable percentage of delayed flights.

In general, flying out of Florida has been rough. More than one out of four flights at airports in Fort Myers, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa have been delayed so far this year. Only flights from Dallas Love Field and Chicago Midway airports arrived late at comparably poor rates, according to FlightAware data.

Neither region can blame its lack of reliability entirely on coronavirus-related issues. But each has gotten worse for reasons connected to the pandemic, aviation experts say.

Airports in travel hubs such as New York City have long had more cancellations and delays than other airports, said Dr. Pruchnicki. That’s partly by design. If airlines need to cut flights, they’ll use one from New York as a sacrificial lamb “because it gives them more options for rerouting passengers,” he said.

New York City has also long been vulnerable to delays because air traffic controllers have to choreograph activity for numerous airports within 50 miles of one another. “It’s a spaghetti ball of flying,” said Mr. Mann, the former airline executive.

Lately, at least according to Scott Kirby, United Airlines’ chief executive, there haven’t been enough air traffic controllers to manage the spaghetti.

“They are doing everything they can but, like many in the economy, they’re understaffed,” Mr. Kirby told Bloomberg last week. In an internal memo, United outlined plans to temporarily slash 50 flights from Newark on July 1 to “keep flights moving on-time.”

In Florida, the heart of the issue, several analysts said, is the state’s supersized popularity as a vacation and relocation destination. Airlines have responded by increasing flights. But then when thunderstorms strike — as they frequently do in Florida — because air traffic control in the area is already pushed to the limit, it’s harder for the airlines to get back on track than before, said Kenneth Byrnes, the flight department chair at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla.

That said, avoiding hubs may not be the way to go, some analysts said, because if your flight is canceled, hubs offer more options for rebooking.

Over the past three months, JetBlue, Allegiant Air and Frontier arrived late an abysmal one third of the time, with average delays of nearly an hour, according to FlightAware data. The three low cost carriers were also the most-delayed in 2021, according to the annual Airline Quality Rating Report, an analysis of Department of Transportation data published by Wichita State University in Wichita, Kan.

Throughout the pandemic JetBlue has often blamed staffing for delays and cancellations. In a statement on Thursday, an airline spokeswoman said that the airline had made the necessary schedule cuts and now has enough pilots and other crew to keep flights running when they are supposed to. The airline blamed the bulk of recent delays on air traffic control issues in “the congested weather-prone Northeast corridor.”

“We made the decision in April to reduce flying by more than 10 percent this summer so that we can more reliably operate our schedule with our current staffing and other constraints on the national aviation system,” the spokeswoman said in the statement. “With our reduced capacity, JetBlue had a sufficient number of pilot and inflight crews to operate our schedule in June,” she added.

The Transport Workers Union, which represents JetBlue flight attendants, has often butted heads with the company on delays and cancellations. On Thursday, Gary Peterson, the international vice president of the union, said he thought that explaining away poor flight performance as primarily a weather and air traffic control issue was bogus. “In typical fashion JetBlue is looking to blame everyone but their own leadership team for the airline’s failings for not only passengers but also flight crew,” he said.

The lesson for the average traveler may be to pay close attention to which airline is selling that ticket before clicking buy. Particularly on short weekend trips, losing even an hour may not be worth saving $100. In recent months, no major carrier could be relied on to arrive on time more than 90 percent of the time — something that was rare even before the pandemic — but Delta, Hawaiian, Alaska and United came the closest with more than 80 percent of flights arriving on time, according to FlightAware and Bureau of Transportation data.

Ultimately for those who want to be certain that their flight is not canceled or delayed, the best bet seems to be skip air travel during busy weekends.

Delta seemed to be offering that advice when, on Thursday, it said it would waive change fees and ticket-price differentials for anyone who was booked to fly between July 1 and July 4 and wanted to switch to another date on or before July 8.

As for this Fourth of July weekend, “My advice is go buy hot dogs and stay home,” said Dean Headley, the co-author of the Wichita State University airline rankings.

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New Arsenal signing Fabio Vieira spotted in a protective boot in London

Why new Arsenal signing Fabio Vieira was spotted in a protective boot in London

An explanation for Arsenal star Fabio Vieira being forced to don a protective boot at the club’s training ground has been provided on Friday evening.

Portuguese youth international Vieira, of course, opted to take his talents to the red half of north London earlier this month.

In something of a bolt from the blue, the powers that be at Arsenal swooped to tie up a deal for the now-former Porto standout, who is expected to play a key role in Mikel Arteta’s squad from next season on.

In turn, upon word coming to the fore on Friday that Vieira – who is yet to even take part in his first training session with his new club – had been spotted wearing protective footwear, concern inevitably began to spread across Arsenal’s fanbase.

If the latest word stemming from the media is anything to go by, though, then those of a Gunners persuasion need not fret.

As per the reliable James Benge of CBS Sports, Vieira is carrying little more than a ‘minor foot issue’, which is not expected to keep him out of action for any sort of extended period.

The 22-year-old’s problem, in fact, is understood to have been present before his move to England was announced, with Vieira’s medical, evidently, having not given rise to further concern.

It remains to be seen, though, whether his introduction to Arsenal’s ranks for pre-season training this month is delayed.

Fee confirmed as Arsenal send farewell message to Matteo Guendouzi

Man United ready to swoop for 2nd Arsenal summer target

 

Arsenal betting odds, next game:

Crystal Palace vs Arsenal odds: result, both teams to score, correct score & goalscorers

Crystal Palace vs Arsenal Result/Both teams score Yes No
Crystal Palace 9/2 5/1
Arsenal 10/3
Draw 10/3 11/1



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More Weapons than Ever. And a Hunger Crisis Like No Other — Global Issues

Conflict is still the biggest driver of hunger, with 60 percent of the world’s hungry living in areas affected by war and violence. Credit: Isaiah Esipisu/IPS
  • by Baher Kamal (madrid)
  • Inter Press Service

MADRID, Jul 01 (IPS) – While the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Summit ended in Madrid on 30 June with net commitments to double spending on weapons and to increase by eight-fold the number of troops in Europe, the total of hungry people worldwide now marks an unprecedented record.

As advanced by IPS in its: NATO Summit Set to Further Militarise Europe, Expand in Africa? The Western military Alliance Declaration states that its member countries continue to face distinct threats from “all strategic directions.”

“The Russian Federation is the most significant and direct threat to Allies’ security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area.”

Militarising migration policies?

Furthermore, the NATO Summit Declaration emphasises that terrorism, “in all its forms and manifestations, continues to pose a direct threat to the security of our populations, and to international stability and prosperity.”

The Summit, therefore, decided to increase its military deployment in Southern Europe, in particular in Spain and upon its request, as a way to prevent and combat terrorism.

The decision was adopted by NATO leaders just four days after the massive entry of migrants to the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla, both located in the North of Morocco, which was brutally stopped, killing around thirty migrants.

“Instability beyond our borders is also contributing to irregular migration and human trafficking,” says the Declaration.

In short, NATO has opted for further militarising its US, Canada and European countries’ migration policies, which they continue to claim that are based on international laws and human rights, etcetera.

Cyber, space threats?

The Madrid Declaration also says that NATO members “are confronted by cyber, space, and hybrid and other asymmetric threats, and by the malicious use of emerging and disruptive technologies.”

As expected, the NATO Declaration emphasises that the Russian Federation “is the most significant and direct threat to Allies’ security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area.”

At the same time, NATO leaders have made a clear reference to China.

“We face systemic competition from those, including the People’s Republic of China, who challenge our interests, security, and values and seek to undermine the rules-based international order.”

Any mention of hunger?

Unless hunger has been dealt with by the Western military Alliance as a “top secret, confidential” topic, the NATO Declaration makes no clear mention of the current unprecedented hunger crisis. Perhaps NATO includes the deadly hunger as part of its package of “threats” to their safety and security?

The fact is that right now 811 million people go to bed hungry every night, the Peace Nobel Laureate World Food Programme (WFP) warns.

The number of those facing acute food insecurity has soared – from 135 million to 345 million – since 2019. A total of 50 million people in 45 countries are teetering on the edge of famine.

Money for weapons, not for saving lives

While needs are sky-high, resources have hit rock bottom, warns WFP, while emphasising that it requires 22.2 billion US dollars to immediately reach 137 million people in 2022.

“However, with the global economy reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, the gap between needs and funding is bigger than ever before.”

The urgently needed funding to face the pressing need to save lives is hard to be met. In its Nuclear-Armed Powers Squander $156.000 Per Minute on Their ‘MAD’ Policy, IPS reported on how nine nuclear-armed states spent 82.4 billion US dollars in just one year, prior to the unfolding war in Europe, on these weapons of mass destruction.

Now in view of the NATO Summit decision to further increase military spending to face not only Russia but also to more heavily spending on deadly arms to challenge what they now consider as the Chinese threat, there will be little chance to address the devastating hunger.

Why is the world hungrier than ever?

WPF mentions four causes of hunger and famine. This seismic hunger crisis, it explains, has been caused by a deadly combination of four factors:

  • Conflict is still the biggest driver of hunger, with 60 percent of the world’s hungry living in areas affected by war and violence. Events unfolding in Ukraine are further proof of how conflict feeds hunger, forcing people out of their homes and wiping out their sources of income.
  • Climate shocks destroy lives, crops and livelihoods, and undermine people’s ability to feed themselves.
  • The economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are driving hunger to unprecedented levels.
  • And, last but not least, the cost of reaching people in need is rising: the price WFP is paying for food is up 30 percent compared to 2019, an additional US$42 million a month.

 

Hunger hotspots: a ring of fire

By the way, none of these factors has been caused by any of these millions of hungry humans.

According to the Rome-based WFP, from the Central American Dry Corridor and Haiti, through the Sahel, Central African Republic, South Sudan and then eastwards to the Horn of Africa, Syria, Yemen and all the way to Afghanistan, there is a ring of fire stretching around the world where conflict and climate shocks are driving millions of people to the brink of starvation.

In countries like Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen, WFP is already faced with hard decisions, including cutting rations to be able to reach more people. This is tantamount to taking from the hungry to feed the starving.

“The consequences of not investing in resilience activities will reverberate across borders. If communities are not empowered to withstand the shocks and stresses they are exposed to, this could result in increased migration and possible destabilisation and conflict.”

Is this why NATO leaders talk about pouring more billions and even trillions into their fight against “destabilisation and terrorism”?

© Inter Press Service (2022) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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Get $245 Worth of Anti-Aging Skincare for $50: SkinMedica and More

If you need additional insights before shopping, check out these rave reviews from Dermstore shoppers.

Best of Dermstore Problem Solution: Anti-Aging Regimen Reviews

A shopper admitted, “I would have never bought the individual products because of the expense, so being able to try them in a kit made me a believer in a few of the products. The Dr. Dennis Gross pads are the best!”

Another explained, “I’m always nervous to try new products since I have sensitive, acne-prone skin, but am so glad I decided to go for it with this kit. I’m loving all the products, especially the face wash and Vital C mask, and  am seeing definite improvements in my skin. Highly recommend!”

Someone else shared, “I found so many  products  in here that worked wonderful that I never knew existed. Dr. Dennis peel wipes are INCREDIBLE, Revision facial cleanser is a definite game changer in the way my skin has changed as far as dryness, texture and radiance.  Image hydrate mask is so good and really does work.. I use twice a week. PCA  little rebalance moisturizer in the white and black little containers is a miracle worker for dry skin!  Give this a try and you will be adding some awesome products to your skin regimen.”

A Dermstore customer reviewed, “This amazing bundle allowed me to try some great products without having to commit to a sometimes pricy full size quantity.  I found a new favorite sunscreen, did the Dr Gross peels (easy and effective) and love the travel friendly packages of Skinmedica and Skinceuticals favourites.  Well worth the price (and my husband adopted the clear carry case!).”

Another stated, “Great kit! Good value! High quality products!”

A fan of the set wrote, “I initially bought this set as I needed microneedle roller but due to price of this set comparing to roller itself I decided to give it a try. This was such a great purchase – I loved every each of the products included and already noted the difference after two days. This is amazing way to try new products before committing to full size/price of them. Already recommended this set to few of my friends!”

“Such an amazing price for a well thought out kit. I found myself in a skincare rut, aimlessly trying to figure out I needed to do to see more changes. This was kit is perfect for what I needed, and I love discovering new products without the hefty price tag or commitment,” a Dermstore shopper said.

Another explained, “I purchased this gift box because of the microneedling roller and Skinceutical samples. I was planning to give the Alpha-Beta Extra Strength Daily Peels to my sister, who has much less reactive skin than I do. I read reviews on many different websites and decided to give them a try on a night I was not using tretinoin… My skin reacts (turns red with irritation) to various things such as wearing mask on a plane (skin dries out and gets red), windburn and of course, some masks/treatments, I was very worried about the peel being too strong for my skin and causing irritation/dryness. I followed the instructions to the T and had zero discomfort.”

A shopper said, “I bought this pack for the Revision Brightening Face Wash and was pleasantly surprised by how much I loved all of the goodies. I am a long-time fan of Elta, SkinMedica and Skin Ceuticals and certainly wasn’t disappointed with these options. The real bonus was the face wash – love – and will buy separately. I am also kind of obsessed with the Dr. Dennis Gross peels. You’ll definitely want to check them out!”

If you’re looking for more great products and you’re concerned about dark spots, hyperpigmentation, and dull skin, get $200 worth of brightening skin products for just $47.

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Migrant deaths in Libyan desert ‘wake-up call’ for stronger protections — Global Issues

“The death of twenty people in the Libyan desert yesterday is yet another wake-up call for the whole international community and a reminder that we are very far from achieving the goal of ‘leaving no one behind’, the mantra of the 2030 Agenda,” said Federico Soda, Chief of the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Mission in Libya. 

‘Unacceptable and avoidable’ 

On 28 June, the bodies of 18 people believed to be Chadian, and two Libyans, were reportedly recovered near the border area between the two countries.  

According to the Libyan Ambulance and Emergency Services, it’s believed they all died of dehydration.  

“The loss of lives we are witnessing both in the Mediterranean Sea and in the deserts of southern Libya are both unacceptable and avoidable,” said Mr. Soda. 

Lethal travel 

The Sahara Desert is among the world’s most perilous and deadliest migration routes.  

According to IOM’s Missing Migrants Project, more than 2,000 migrant deaths have been documented since 2014 in the Sahara Desert alone, but experts believe the numbers are higher. 

“These tragedies must be a call to action to provide minimal standards of protection to migrants, enable search and rescue operations, reinforce humanitarian border management, and provide urgently required assistance in this extremely remote area,” said Anne Kathrin Schaefer, IOM Chad Chief of Mission 

Gold mining-related fatalities 

Since the intensification of gold mining in northern Chad in 2012, the Chad-Libya border area has seen an increase of incidents related to migrants being abandoned by traffickers and smugglers, or transporters getting lost. 

And last month, clashes between gold miners in the town of Kouri Bougoudi, close to the border with Libya, left hundreds dead and displaced an estimated 10,000 mine workers in northern Chad.  

“In the absence of safe migration pathways, migrants take risky roads, fall into the hands of traffickers, or get lost in the desert – with often devastating consequences,” Ms. Schaefer said.  

Call for protection 

Between January and March, more than 45,000 migrants were recorded at the Faya, Zouarké and Ounianga Kébir “Flow Monitoring Points” in Northern Chad.  

Among the migrants surveyed by IOM during that period, 32 per cent were headed towards Libya – despite the lack of basic preconditions to ensure their safety and protection. 

IOM reiterated its call to protect migrants and their rights through dedicated search and rescue efforts, and the investigation and prosecution of smugglers and traffickers who take advantage of people’s despair and vulnerability. 



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Vikings’ Kirk Cousins replacement already in Minnesota

Anthony Edwards could steal Kirk Cousins’ job as the Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback.

Omar coming. Nah. Tuck coming. Nah. Ant-Man coming!

While Mel Tucker does amazing things at Kirk Cousins’ alma mater, the Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback better be worried about Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards becoming a two-sport athlete. Overcast days may have never turned Prince on, but look at Edwards signing the pill like a Raspberry Beret, the kind you’d find at a second-hand ACC school.

The Atlanta native threw the best pass down on The Flats since Reggie Ball threw it out of bounds.

Anthony Edwards needs to be a two-sport star in Minnesota to win chips, Dawg!

Look. It does not really matter if Cousins likes this or not. What does is Edwards had the supreme confidence to go into hostile territory and dominate on the practice field of another sport. He is an absolute … DAWG! Why would we be shocked he named his pup after himself? This is the man who will bring Minnesota its first men’s professional championship since Kirby Puckett won No. 2.

He may play in the Twin Cities now, but Edwards will always have that Dawg inside of him. Having a little bit of that Atlanta swag will go a long way towards the Timberwolves getting back to and hopefully eclipsing the peak Kevin Garnett years. Heck, he might get his number retired before K.G. does. Regardless, Cousins will not be sleeping tonight, as Ant-Man coming. He has his job to take.

Not only can Edwards throw for more yards on a single play than the Yellow Jackets would muster in a game under Paul Johnson, but you can absolutely flex the Timberwolves star out wide and call four verts, bruh! If Justin Jefferson leaves like Stefon Diggs, Percy Harvin and Randy Moss did before him, Edwards clearly has the talent to lead the Vikings in both receiving and passing yards.

If Joe Mauer played basketball instead of baseball, this is exactly what you would have in Edwards.

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The Digital Divide, a Pending Issue in Chile’s Educational System — Global Issues

Children at the San José Obrero School use the primary school’s computer lab. At their homes in the municipality of Peñalolén, to the east of Santiago de Chile, many do not have computers because 90 percent of them come from poor families. CREDIT: Courtesy of San José Obrero
  • by Orlando Milesi (santiago)
  • Inter Press Service

SANTIAGO, Jul 01 (IPS) – A Chilean government plan seeks to ensure connectivity in remote areas, in a first step to address a deep digital divide among the country’s inhabitants that includes a lack of access to technology and digital education deficits, exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, during the social isolation at the height of the pandemic, 76 percent of children in higher income segments had their own computer, laptop or tablet and 23 percent had access to a shared one.

But in the lowest income segments, only 45 percent of children had their own computer or laptop, while 16 percent had none. The rest managed to get access to a shared computer or tablet.

There are also notable differences according to the type and location of schools.

One school that illustrates the gap

“People here don’t have computers, although it may seem strange,” said Cecilia Pérez, principal of the San José Obrero School in Peñalolén. “Computers are just a dream for many. Nor do they have their own connection, or wi-fi. They have cell phones with prepaid minutes or very cheap plans that do not give them a good enough connection to support a lesson.”

In a conversation with IPS at the school, she said “this is a disadvantage that has nothing to do with the children’s desire to study, their intelligence, or their worried families. It is something external that is difficult to solve.”

To illustrate, Pérez said that “if homework is posted on the platform, it is very hard for children to read it and do it from their cell phones.”

Her school is in a poor neighborhood located at the end of Las Parcelas Avenue, in the Andes foothills of Santiago, the capital. Most of the first to eighth grade students come to school on foot.

At the San José Obrero School in the municipality of Peñalolén, in the foothills surrounding the Chilean capital, 90 percent of the students come from poor families, with parents who work as street vendors, cleaners or similar trades. Parental support for homework is almost non-existent, says the principal of the primary school, Cecilia Pérez. CREDIT: Orlando Milesi/IPS

This public primary school in the municipality of Peñalolén, which serves 427 students, is an example of the connectivity problems faced by students in the most deprived urban and rural areas.

In this South American country of 19 million people, there are 3.6 million primary and secondary students. Two million students are enrolled in the first to eighth grades (six to 13 years of age) and the rest are in secondary school (13 to 17 years of age).

Of the total number of students, 53 percent study in state-subsidized private schools, 40 percent in municipal schools and seven percent in private schools.

“We have third grade students today who started first grade in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, when they had to learn to read and write. These children had only gone to kindergarten and are now coming to class in the third grade with a very significant delay,” she said, referring to the effects of distance learning during the pandemic.

Because of this, Pérez said, “we had to set priorities in the curriculum and reinforce language and math which are super important to continue learning.”

She added that another serious problem is that many of their students experience situations of domestic violence. “Their emotional and social support is the school, and when they couldn’t be with their classmates, they lost two years of socializing,” she said.

“We have children between the fifth and eighth grades who have experienced a lot of violence, a lot of individualism, a lot of sexualization that never happened before. Partly because there is no parental control over cell phones at home,” she said.

An additional problem is connectivity because in Peñalolén “there are many hills and in some parts the internet does not work. There are families who returned the ‘router’ (a device that receives and sends data on computer networks) that we lent them because the signal does not reach their homes.”

Older children at the San José Obrero School in the municipality of Peñalolén, near Santiago de Chile, stay two hours longer at the school, doing sports and other activities as part of their education. In this way they avoid excessive leisure time and a lack of supervision at home, which can be dangerous for them. CREDIT: Orlando Milesi/IPS

Tackling inequality

The deep digital divide among Chileans is aggravated by the difficulties in accessing the internet in isolated villages, rural localities and also in poor urban neighborhoods where telecommunication companies do not provide service or where criminals steal the cables.

“Inequality in our country is also manifested in internet access,” said leftist President Gabriel Boric, in office since March. “Thousands of students were unable to exercise their right to education during the pandemic due to a lack of connectivity.”

To address this situation, he said in a recent communiqué, “our Zero Digital Divide Plan will ensure, by 2025, that all the country’s inhabitants have access to connectivity.”

“This requires a sustained effort to continue with current initiatives such as the Internet as a Basic Service Bill and the generation of new projects that will allow us to reach isolated and rural areas,” he said.

As an example, Boric mentioned the town of Porvenir, which a month ago became the southernmost part of this long narrow South American country with access to the 5G network.

The 36-year-old president won the elections in the wake of the huge 2019 protests, in which one of the demands was to end the social inequality gap, one of the largest in the world according to international organizations, and where more equitable access to education was one of the main points.

Paulina Romero, a first-year chemistry and pharmacy university student, became a symbol of the digital divide that Boric seeks to eliminate, when two years ago images of her climbing onto the roof of her house in the small community of San Ramón, in the southern region of La Araucanía, in a dangerous attempt to find a signal to be able to do her assigned homework, went viral.

A colorful mural decorates the staircase leading to the second story of classrooms at the primary school in Peñalolén, located in the snowy Andes foothills seen here in the background in the middle of Chile’s southern hemisphere winter. CREDIT: Orlando Milesi/IPS

Plans to close the gap

Claudio Araya, undersecretary of telecommunications, told IPS that all efforts are focused on improving connectivity.

“A bill was approved in Congress a month ago that guarantees internet access for students,” he said. He pointed out that in part this access already exists but it is not operational for schoolchildren, because “many students in areas with coverage had problems with distance learning because their families could not afford cell phone plans.”

Araya added that a project is being implemented to ensure that all public schools, whether run by municipalities or the State, as well as subsidized private schools, have coverage for remote areas and connection speed.

“One part of the project is being completed now, by August, for 8,300 schools, a second part with 500 more by March 2023, and a third with a call for bids before 2023, which will cover just over a thousand schools,” he explained.

His office has also allocated resources for a new project, called “last mile”, which seeks to bring connectivity to isolated or rural areas. “We have already invested some 200 million dollars and we are contemplating an additional 150 million dollars to provide service coverage to the communities,” he said.

There are 40 computers available at the San José Obrero School for the children to search for information and complete their learning in various subjects under the supervision of the teacher in charge. But there is no possibility of laptops that they can take to their homes, where most of them have no computers. CREDIT: Courtesy of the San José Obrero School

Another school stumbling over connectivity issues

Connectivity is the main problem for the 73 students at the school in the small town of Samo Alto, in the Andes foothills area of the municipality of Rio Hurtado, 440 kilometers north of Santiago.

“We are educating 21st century children with 20th century resources and technology,” Omar Santander, principal of the primary school, told IPS by telephone.

“The connection to the global world does not exist. You turn on a computer, log on to the network and all the other computers disconnect. It is impossible to work online. We have computers and tablets, but there they are, and they can only be used with resources and programs downloaded ad hoc,” he said.

The students cannot communicate and “these are gaps that keep us from providing greater opportunities,” he said.

“The lack of computers is the smaller problem. We have achieved internet efficiency and we have the equipment. The big problem is connectivity,” Santander stressed, adding that an antenna they made to capture the signal was not enough.

He said that “last year when we held hybrid classes, half at home and half at school, one day we tried to connect and it was a terrible disappointment.

“There is a wealth of information, of pedagogical resources available to students that unfortunately we don’t have access to,” Santander complained.

The principal explained that “everything that has to do with access to resources that enrich reading, writing, calculus and mathematics is there and we cannot make use of it.”

From the San José Obrero School, Santiago de Chile can be seen in the background, under a cloudy sunset after a recent rain on the first day of the southern hemisphere winter in Chile. CREDIT: Orlando Milesi/IPS

More than internet access

Luciano Ahumada, head of the School of Informatics and Telecommunications at the Diego Portales University, said that “reducing the digital divide goes far beyond having an internet plan.”

“It also involves promoting the use and daily impact of information and communications technologies (ICTs) to maximize people’s well-being. It is a much more complex and time-consuming challenge than access,” he told IPS.

In his view, “we must work on access, but also on economic, ethnic and gender barriers and establish a framework concept of cybersecurity or basic concepts in the population to live in a healthy way in this new world.

“There is an economic gap, an age gap, an ethnic gap, which in different countries has become very evident,” he said.

Ahumada said that “access is just the starting-point. It is a good initiative, necessary to massify internet access, but we must think about massification of high-speed connections because with networks of the past we cannot carry out actions of the future and establish the basis for an information society.”

© Inter Press Service (2022) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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Nintendo Says It’s ‘Difficult’ to Make All the Sequels Fans Ask For

Nintendo appreciates its passionate and patient fan base, but says it’s difficult to make (and remake) all the games it’s asked for.

At the company’s annual general meeting (independently translated by IGN), Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa was asked if there were any plans to release remakes or new entries in long-dormant franchises such as F-Zero.

“In truth, it is difficult to fulfil all the requests we receive for new titles, remakes, or sequels in Nintendo series,” he said. “That said, we are grateful to our fans and their patience in these matters.”

Every Nintendo Game in Development

Another Nintendo executive, Shinya Takahashi, also weighed in, saying that making fun games was always the priority, whether that comes through a remake, sequel, fresh franchise, or whatever else.

“We always take a broad perspective, looking at ways to make new and remake titles enjoyable for as many people as possible,” he said. “Previously, at the 79th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (held in 2019), we were asked if we had any plans to remake the “NES Detective Club” series, and it so happened that we were planning a remake in that series.

“We cannot comment on plans regarding remakes of specific titles, but we are always considering various possibilities in our development efforts so that our customers can enjoy our games.”

Remakes of Nintendo games aren’t uncommon, of course, with Pokémon perhaps headlining its efforts in that department – most recently with Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. As it stands, however, a bundle of the first two Advance Wars games is the only remake in development that we know of.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

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Ashanti aims to bring women to Web3, says “owning is important” at NFT music meetup

The billion-dollar music industry is undergoing a major transition as artists begin to understand the potential of owning their work through nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Ashanti, the multi-platinum-selling singer, actress and co-founder of EQ Exchange — a women-led Web3 platform — recently shed light on this during a Cotton Candy Records meetup that took place on June 20 in New York. 

Speaking on a panel alongside Janice Taylor, founder and CEO of EQ Exchange, Ashanti went into detail about how important ownership is for creators today. Drawing from personal experience, Ashanti said:

“It is incredibly important to continue the narrative that owning is the way to go. Who wants to wake up and pour their heart, blood, sweat and tears into a project and have someone else next to you reap all the benefits while you do all the work? That was the way my contract was set up years ago, but now I have the right 20 years later to go in and re-record and own new masters of my first album.”

Kayley Hamilton moderated a panel with Ashanti and CEO of EQ Exchange, Janice Taylor, at a music NFT meetup presented by Cotton Candy Records.  Photo Credit: @darnopolis

Why owning is important for creators

Ashanti told Cointelegraph that the process of creating an album prior to Web3 and the launch of music NFTs was very “disheartening,” noting that an artist would sign a record deal and create an album that would then sell for about $15. “Out of that amount, an artist would only receive about $0.38, which was on the high-end,” the R&B legend said. Once Ashanti began to realize that this was a common process, she started looking into alternative ways to own her intellectual property. 

On March 25, 2022, almost 20 years after her debut album was released, Ashanti formed a partnership with EQ Exchange, making her the first Black female artist to co-found a Web3 company. Following this, Ashanti released an NFT collection with EQ Exchange on April 6, 2022, which launched on the artist’s 20-year anniversary of her first album titled Ashanti. According to Taylor, Ashanti sold her first five NFTs in minutes. While impressive, Ashanti noted that the underlying message behind music NFTs is “that owning your work is so important.”

In addition to ownership, Ashanti explained that her NFT collection is meant to benefit her fans in a number of ways. “Fans will receive exclusive rights to hear my music first, meaning they get to own the music as well. They will also receive percentages of royalties for new records, along with tickets to shows, vacations and access to limited merchandise drops,” she said.

Women in Web3 aim to inspire

Ashanti further remarked that she aims for her NFT collection and role in the Web3 space to inspire greater female involvement. This is incredibly important, as the media company EWG Unlimited and The Female Quotient recently found that men continue to dominate Web3. According to the report, only 16% of creators in Web3 identify as women, which has led to inherent male bias. This in mind, Ashanti said:

“I never thought in a million years I’d be in the Web3 space. But, diving into this sector as an independent artist was necessary. The Cotton Candy Records meetup is the first crypto-focused event I’ve spoken at, and I hope to do more of these to continue to inspire other female creators and women of color to become involved.”

Ashanti with CEO of EQ Exchange, Janice Taylor, at a music NFT meetup presented by Cotton Candy Records. Photo Credit: @darnopolis

Taylor added that education and events are critical for bringing more women into the Web3 space, noting that she was initially told to hire a crypto-native male co-founder for EQ Exchange in order to appear “legitimate.” “Some of my first investors told me this because they thought it would help me appear as if I understood the crypto industry better, even though I am a three-time tech founder.” 

Fortunately, Taylor ignored this comment and brought Ashanti on as EQ Exchnage’s co-founder. “I specifically wanted a woman and a woman of color to be my partner because that’s the message that needs to be heard here,” she said.

Recent: Integrating blockchain-based digital IDs into daily life

Echoing Taylor, Sarah Omolewu, founder of Access Abu Dhabi — a program designed to encourage women and minorities to enter UAE’s business ecosystem — told Cointelegraph that joining the crypto community offers an opportunity for women to build new career paths regardless of their age or financial status. She said:

“Women in America weren’t able to receive credit from a bank until 1974 when the Equal Credit Act was passed. Fast forward to 2022 and less than 2% of venture funding goes to women-led businesses. Web3 could become the equalizer that changes this narrative by getting women involved at the very beginning of blockchain technology, a space where currently 93–95% of all cryptocurrency users are male.”

Although women still make up the minority of Web3 users, Omolewu explained that Access Abu Dhabi recently partnered with Unstoppable Domains — a platform that grants ownership of NFT domains — to provide all nationalities of women living in Abu Dhabi free blockchain domains. “Partnering with Unstoppable Domains to provide for the first time ever a gifting of free blockchain domains to all women in the country is the first step in our longer-term goal of disrupting this space for women in the region,” she remarked.

Access Abu Dhabi founder Sarah Omolewu moderates a panel session with supermodel turned businesswoman Tyra Banks and Abdulla Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, Acting Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office. Source: Sarah Omolewu

Adding context to this, Sandy Carter, senior vice president of Unstoppable Domains, told Cointelegraph that Unstoppable Domains represents a user’s digital identity, making it easy for non-crypto natives to enter Web3. “For example, users don’t have to enter a complicated wallet address to send and receive crypto transactions, as they can just use their NFT domain.” 

According to the Unstoppable Domains website, Coinbase Wallet, ShapeShift and other crypto wallets are supported applications. “We have over 300 partnerships. In fact, Paris Hilton recently changed her Twitter handle to ParisHilton.NFT,” Carter added.

Paris Hilton’s twitter handle. Source: Twitter

Now is the time for women to enter Web3

Even with the benefits of music NFTs and encouragement from influencers, women may still find it challenging, or intimidating, to enter the Web3 sector. However, Carter advised that women should get started sooner rather than later, pointing out that the space is still very early. “I like to say that we are in a dial-up phase of Web3 — we are recrafting what the internet is and we need diverse voices now.” 

Recent: How to start a career in crypto? A beginner’s guide for 2022

In terms of financial inclusion, Taylor added that EQ Exchange is helping provide a sustainable financial system that allows artists — particularly women — to thrive. Although the platform was established in March of this year, Taylor shared that other women creators are already planning to launch NFT collections. For example, Monifah, the recording artist, actress and producer, told Cointelegraph that she will be launching an NFT collection with EQ Exchange in July 2023, to mark the 25-year anniversary of her single Touch It.

Monifah also mentioned that she believes music NFTs are the future of the industry, noting that artists should do their own research and get involved now.

“I think it would be crazy if I did something in a traditional way at this point. I would tell artists to really focus more on Web3 and figuring out how to command this space,” she said. Yet Monifah also shared that she still finds Web3 to be challenging. “I am still navigating the Web3 space, but it’s exciting. I want to help introduce the younger generation to Web3.”

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As global food and fuel crisis deepens, Lebanon’s crisis is affecting ‘everyone, everywhere’ — Global Issues

Since last year, the number of people in urgent need of support has risen by 46 per cent, said the UN Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon and UN Resid

ent Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, speaking in Geneva.

2.2 million vulnerable – and counting

“Lebanon’s crisis is affecting everyone, everywhere across the country, with women bearing the brunt of the profound impact of this multi-layered crisis…2.2 million vulnerable Lebanese, 86,000 migrants and 200,000 Palestine refugees in Lebanon currently require emergency aid; in addition to 1.5 million Syrian refugees that are unable to afford or even access health, food, electricity, water, education and waste-water management, not to mention lifesaving protection services.”

Since 2019, Lebanon has endured a complex economic and financial crisis – deepened by political deadlock – which has offset development gains and increased humanitarian needs for the most vulnerable populations in severely deprived areas.

This already difficult situation has been made worse by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Beirut Port explosions in August 2020 and now the global food and fuel crisis.

According to World Bank estimates, the country’s economy is projected to contract by more than six per cent per cent this year, after declining 10.5 per cent and 21.4 per cent in 2021 and 2020 respectively.

Ukraine war impact

Asked specifically about the fallout on global food and fuel insecurity in already struggling Lebanon from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ms. Rochdi told journalists that the country was “no exception”, after suffering a spike in fuel prices, greater food insecurity and difficulties importing food.

Even hospitals had been affected, faced with an “acute shortage in medical supplies and power shortages, at a time when over 40 per cent of Lebanon’s doctors and 30 per cent of nurses have left country, since the beginning of the economic meltdown”, she added.

Youth hopes dashed

Unemployment – and in particular growing youth unemployment (at 47.8 per cent among 15 to 24-year-olds) – has forced many of the country’s youngest and brightest jobseekers to leave Lebanon, she noted, with almost one-third of the population out of work now, compared with 11.4 per cent before COVID-19.

For those in work, their minimum monthly wage is less than $25, Ms. Rochdi continued.

Women are also facing an alarming rise in sexual exploitation, in inverse proportion to the country’s “economic meltdown”, the UN official said, pointing to widespread reports of women and children “feeling unsafe in public spaces, such as streets, markets or when using public transport”. 

To help meet these and many other challenges, Ms. Rochdi issued a revised humanitarian appeal for $546 million for more than one million Lebanese, refugees and migrants.

Positive action

Highlighting how the UN and its partners have taken action to help, she noted that emergency fuel supplies had been distributed to more than 600 health facilities and water pumping stations “to ensure the provision of lifesaving services to the most vulnerable populations affected by this ongoing energy crisis and maintain the provision of basic services across Lebanon”.

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