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The Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Cobre, high on a hill 20km northwest of Santiago de Cuba on the old road to Bayamo, is Cuba's most sacred pilgrimage site and shrine of the nation's patron saint: La Virgen de la Caridad (Our Lady of Charity), or Cachita, as she is also known.
Many have offered gifts and keepsakes to the Virgin of El Cobre - some of them famous. The most celebrated donor was Ernest Hemingway, who elected to leave the 23-karat gold medal he won for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954 to the 'Cuban people'.
Rather than hand it over to the Batista regime, Hemingway donated the medal to the Catholic Church, who subsequently placed it in sanctuario. The medal was stolen temporarily in the 1980s but, despite being retrieved a few days later, it has since been kept locked away from public view .
In 1957 Lina Ruz left a small guerilla figurine at the feet of the Virgin to pray for the safety of her two sons, Fidel and Raul Castro, who were then fighting in the Sierra Maestra. Fate - or was it the spirit of El Cobre? - shone brightly. Both sons are now into their 80s and still going!
More recently, dissident Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez visited the Virgin and left her Ortega and Gasset journalistic award in the sanctuary where, in her own words, 'the long arm of censor does not enter.'
Lonely Planet
I have no idea what the gang sign means, but the yellow nebbish brought a smile to my face. Perhaps it is suppose to express fear instead of laughter or a smile.
It was ground level on the side of a grain silo. No other graffiti was around it or on any other of the grain silos that line Hiawatha Avenue.
For the past three days, the processional carrying the ashes of Fidel Castro has traversed Cuba along a route that has taken it past sugarcane fields, towering stands of palm trees, oxen working the red earth, colonial cities, and places of historic significance.
All along the way, Cubans have gathered on the sides of rural roads, on overpasses and lined urban streets to say their last good-byes to Castro, who has dominated life on this island for more than a half century and by extension life in exile.
-Miami Herald News
Ladli — which in Indian languages (Hindi and Urdu) means ‘beloved daughter.’
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LADLI - The loved one! campaign by SOCIAL GEOGRAPHIC
Photo: Firoz Ahmad Firoz
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"Worst of all, violence against women and girls continues unabated in every continent, country and culture. It takes a devastating toll on women’s lives, on their families and on society as a whole. Most societies prohibit such violence -- yet the reality is that, too often, it is covered up or tacitly condoned." (UN SECRETARY-GENERAL in International Women’s Day 2007 Message.)
“Almost every country in the world still has laws that discriminate against women, and promises to remedy this have not been kept.” (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the eve of International Women's Day 2008)
According to one United Nations estimate, 113 to 200 million women are “demographically missing” from the world today. That is to say, there should be 113 to 200 million more women walking the earth, who aren’t. By that same estimate, 1.5 to 3 million women and girls lose their lives every year because of gender-based neglect or gender-based violence and Sexual Violence in Conflict.
In addition to torture, sexual violence and rape by occupation forces, a great number of women and girls are kept locked up in their homes by a very real fear of abduction and criminal abuse. In war and conflicts, girls and women have been denied their human right, including the right to health, education and employment. “Sexual violence in conflict zones is indeed a security concern. We affirm that sexual violence profoundly affects not only the health and safety of women, but the economic and social stability of their nations” –US Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, 19 June 2008 (Read more about UN Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict www.stoprapenow.org/ ).
Millions of young women disappear in their native land every year. Many of them are found later being held against their will in other places and forced into prostitution. According to the UNICEF ( www.unicef.org/gender/index_factsandfigures.html ),Girls between 13 and 18 years of age constitute the largest group in the sex industry. It is estimated that around 500,000 girls below 18 are victims of trafficking each year. The victims of trafficking and female migrants are sometimes unfairly blamed for spreading HIV when the reality is that they are often the victims.
According to the UNAIDS around 17.3 million, women (almost half of the total number of HIV-positive) living with HIV ( www.unaids.org ). While HIV is often driven by poverty, it is also associated with inequality, gender-based abuses and economic transition. The relationship between abuses of women's rights and their vulnerability to AIDS is alarming. Violence and discrimination prevents women from freely accessing HIV/AIDS information, from negotiating condom use, and from resisting unprotected sex with an HIV-positive partner, yet most of the governments have failed to take any meaningful steps to prevent and punish such abuse.
United Nations agencies estimated that every year 3 million girls are at risk of undergoing the procedure – which involves the partial or total removal of external female genital organs – that some 140 million women, mostly in Asia, the Middle East and in Africa, have already endured.
We can point a finger at poverty. But poverty alone does not result in these girls and women’s deaths and suffering; the blame also falls on the social system and attitudes of the societies.
India alone accounts for more than 50 million of the women who are “missing” due to female foeticide - the sex-selective abortion of girls, dowry death, gender-based neglect and all forms of violence against women.
Since the late 1970s when the technology for sex determination first came into being, sex selective abortion has unleashed a saga of horror in India. Experts are calling it "sanitized barbarism”. The 2001 Census conducted by Government of India, showed a sharp decline in the child sex ratio in 80% districts of India. In some parts of the country, the sex ratio of girls to boys has dropped to less than 800:1,000.
It's alarming that even liberal states like those in the northeast have taken to disposing of girls. Worryingly, the trend is far stronger in urban rather than rural areas, and among literate rather than illiterate women, exploding the myth that growing affluence and spread of basic education alone will result in the erosion of gender bias. The United Nations has expressed serious concern about the situation.
Over the years, laws have been made stricter and the punishment too is more stringent now. But since many people manage to evade punishment, others too feel inclined to take the risk. Just look at the way sex-determination tests go on despite a stiff ban on them. Only if the message goes out loud and clear that nobody who dares to snuff out the life of a female foetus would escape effective legal system would the practice end. It is only by a combination of monitoring, education, socio-cultural campaigns, and effective legal implementation that the deep-seated attitudes and practices against women and girls can be eroded.
The decline in the sex ratio and the millions of Missing Women are indicators of the feudal patriarchal resurgence. Violence against women has gone public – whether it is dowry murders, the practice of female genital mutilation, honour killings, sex selective abortions or death sentences awarded to young lovers from different communities by caste councils, rapes and killings in communal and caste violence, it is only women’s and human rights groups who are protesting – the public and institutional response to these trends is very minimal.
Millions of women suffer from discrimination in the world of work. This not only violates a most basic human right, but has wider social and economic consequences. Most of the governments turn a blind eye to illegal practices and enact and enforce discriminatory laws. Corporations and private individuals engage in abusive and sexist practices without fear of legal system.
More women are working now than ever before, but they are also more likely than men to get low-productivity, low-paid and vulnerable jobs, with no social protection, basic rights nor voice at work according to a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) issued for International Women’s Day 2008. Are we even half way to meeting the eight Millennium Development Goals?
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Unite To End Violence Against Women!
Say No To Sex Selection and Female Foeticide!!
Say No To Female Genital Mutilation!!!
Say No To Dowry and Discrimination Against Women!!!!
Say Yes To Women’s Resistance !!!!!
Educate & Empowered Women for a Happy Future !!!!!!
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Children as young as 12 years old were getting their first shots of the BioNTech vaccine on Monday – with some of those at vaccination centres speaking about how they wanted to do their part to help things return to normal.⠀
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Monday was the first day that children aged 12 to 15 were able to get the jabs, after appointments for the age group opened last Friday.⠀
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Authorities had announced the extension of the inoculation programme last week, but only the German-made BioNTech vaccine is available for the younger age group. The mainland-developed Sinovac vaccine is only available to those aged 18 and up.⠀
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One 15-year-old who had his vaccination at the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Sports Centre told RTHK getting the jab was very quick and staff there had been helpful.⠀
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He said he wanted to get the vaccination because he plans to return to Europe over the summer, and hopes to return without needing to undergo quarantine.⠀
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“It’s a very small percentage of people who have very severe side effects, so I’m confident,” he said. “It’s also to just do my part to vaccinate, and hope that I don’t infect other people and they don’t infect me – that way we can all go back to normal soon.”⠀
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“I think we need to do our part for this, we all need to get vaccinated if we can, and I think Hong Kong is giving a big opportunity to everyone,” the boy’s mother said.⠀
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“In Europe, people are dying… they really want a vaccine. India is also very bad. We are glad to be here, and we are glad that the government is providing all this for everyone,” she added.⠀
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(20210614 RTHK News)
A residential building at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak was put on lockdown on Thursday evening, the second such "ambush-style" operation by the government this week.
Tung Fat Building on Kam Ping Street features four housing blocks, and the government announced that all residents will have to be tested and stay put.
The lockdown order took effect at 7pm, and authorities hope the operation will end by 7am on Friday.
After inspecting the 56-year-old building on Wednesday, University of Hong Kong microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung said while the pipes are in good condition, the building's design in terms of ventilation is not ideal, as it was built a long time ago.
"If the residents don't open their windows while their exhaust fans are on, the heat wave will easily go up [the light well] and create vertical transmission," Yuen told reporters.
"Some residents also told us there was odd smell in their toilets from time to time. They believe it too come from the the light well. So we have reason to believe there is a danger to residents of C-6 and C-7 if they continue to stay there."
Yuen urged authorities to do another round of tests for all other residents in the block, noting only around half of the 400 residents had complied with a compulsory testing order.
Yuen also warned virus could spread quickly in old buildings, noting North Point is an old district like Yau Ma Tei.
(20210128 RTHK News)
Dhaka is one of the most populous cities in Bangladesh. I took pictures at a railway station in this city for about 5 years. My main subject is the people roaming in the railway station. I have presented some Color pictures from those pictures here.
Tsang Tsou Choi (Chinese: 曾灶財), or the "King of Kowloon" (九龍皇帝) (12 November 1921 – 15 July 2007) was a Hong Kong citizen known for his calligraphy graffiti.
He was arrested for his graffiti several times, but the police usually just gave him a warning or a small fine. His family disowned him, saying he was mentally unbalanced and a public nuisance and his wife had grown tired of his obsession and left him.
Although his graffiti was repeatedly painted over, he often returned to re-apply his messages as soon as the paint dried. At the height of his graffiti career, his obsessive marking of territory made his graffiti an ever-present aspect of the streets of Hong Kong. The graffiti has been spotted at many places on the streets of Hong Kong, ranging from lampposts, utility boxes, pillars, pavements, street furniture, and building walls, to an occasional car. The contents of his calligraphic graffiti usually include his name, his title (Emperor or King of Kowloon, Hong Kong, or China), his family tree (a variable list of about 20 individuals), the names of illustrious emperors, and the exclamation, "Down with the Queen of England!" His complaints about the supposed misappropriation of his land were not always so formulaic, however. He occasionally demanded that the government pay him land taxes. (Wikipedia)
More photos about Kwun Tong :
Hong Kong’s bars crawled to life on Thursday night in a muted comeback after a five-month closure, with many operators struggling to cope with what they said was hastily distributed information from the authorities and a rushed Covid-19 vaccination app.
As a so-called vaccine bubble kicked in, with conditions for businesses tied to inoculation statuses of patrons and staff, bars without restaurant licences were finally allowed to welcome guests again. The terms included requirements for staff and customers to have had at least one vaccine jab, and guests to use the government’s “Leave Home Safe” risk-exposure app.
At nightlife district Lan Kwai Fong in Central, the scene was still far quieter than usual. At around 7pm, bar workers tried to lure passers-by with shouts of “happy hour” promotions. Some pubs had more than a dozen guests, but most were only entertaining fewer than 10 customers.
(20210430 SCMP)
Tens of thousands of people gather in Revolution Plaza for a memorial event for former Cuban President Fidel Castro on 3 December 2016.
The Days We Wear Masks 20210207
Hong Kong’s traditional Lunar New Year flower markets opened on Saturday for the festive period amid stringent coronavirus crowd-control measures.
Authorities have installed infrared sensors at the entrances and exits of each area to keep track of the number of people inside, to guard against Covid-19 infection risks at the city’s 15 major flower markets.
The measures are in line with the administration’s latest target to reduce daily coronavirus cases to fewer than a dozen by Lunar New Year towards the end of next week, in a bid for an economic revival.
An alert system on television, radio and the internet based on traffic light signals is being used to indicate crowd capacities at the flower markets. A red alert will be issued when capacity has been exceeded.
(20210206 SCMP)
Windows and doors of buildings have been taped ahead of Super Typhoon Mangkhut arrival in Hong Kong.
Internet in Cuba (3)
With the new hot spots, Cuba now has 43 pay-for wireless zones throughout the country, several of them in Havana. Likewise the areas surrounding hotels that offer their customers wireless Internet access are also used by Cubans, especially in the capital.
The Days We Wear Masks 20210203
The government on Sunday ordered people who had spent time in 64 buildings to undergo Covid-19 testing, as it attempted to prevent a fifth wave breaking out in the SAR.
Thirteen buildings, all of them Sai Ying Pun, were listed because sewage samples had tested positive for the coronavirus. Sai Ying Pun is location of the Ursus gym, the centre of a cluster of 99 cases.
The gym was frequented by many people who work in Central. Major banks and a law firm feature on the list.
All but eight of the buildings on the list were on Hong Kong Island, most were in Central and Western district.
(20210314 RTHK News)
INDIA RAJASTHAN VIAGGIO FOTOGRAFICO 1/11 MARZO 2020
www.robertofarinafotografo.it/focus-rajasthan-e-holi-fest...
Evening ceremony of the Aarti in Varanasi at Dashashwamedh Ghat
Latest genetic analysis showed on Saturday that a secondary school girl who tested preliminary positive for the coronavirus has contracted a variant of Covid-19 that was first detected in the UK.
It is the first time the UK variant, with a scientific name of B.1.1.7 and labelled by the World Health Organisation as Alpha, has been detected in Hong Kong.
The source of the girl’s infection remains unknown.
Dr Gilman Siu from the Polytechnic University’s Department of Health Technology and Informatics carried out the genome sequencing of the virus.
He said the case could be highly infectious.
“The variant with this mutation has been reported to be more transmissible. The patient is harbouring a very high viral load. That means it’s even more transmissible and very infectious,” he said.
It is the first untraceable coronavirus infection reported in Hong Kong after 42 days of zero cases.
Meanwhile, the government said no coronavirus cases were found at a Tin Shui Wai housing block where the girl lives.
The block, Shing Yu House at Tin Shing Court, was locked down on Friday night, during which 850 residents were tested.
Residents at the building will be tested again four more times in the next two weeks as a precaution.
(20210605 RTHK News)
The Days We Wear Masks 20210309
Local temples to Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, have extended their hours so worshippers can borrow from her.
Tradition is that Guanyin once a year provides the means to become wealthy.
But these are loans, and borrowers must clear the debt by the end of the lunar year by burning a red packet at the temple where a deal is made. Offerings, meanwhile, are welcome.