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Western Nations Tackle Migrant Issue

U.S. officials and representatives of more than a dozen countries in the Western Hemisphere gathered at the White House this week amid concerns over mass migration in the region.

Monday’s meeting was a follow up to the Summit of the Americas in June when 21 Western Hemisphere nations signed onto an agreement, dubbed the Los Angeles Declaration.

Under the declaration, governments are expected to commit to expanding temporary worker programs, bolstering legal pathways like refugee resettlement and family reunification, providing support to countries hosting large migrant populations, and cracking down on human smuggling networks.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan and homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall, among other White House officials, met with the representatives of 19 countries at the White House to iron out the implementation of that declaration and appoint a special coordinator for each country, according to the senior administration official.

“This was another building block,” the senior administration official said. “We agreed collectively on a set of what we’re calling action packages, or plans of action, that focus on specific priorities such as labor mobility, refugee resettlement, return and reintegration, working with financial institutions on stabilization, temporary protected status and regularization.”

Ecuador is one country that has seemed to follow through with its commitments, setting up a process for Venezuelans who have moved to the country.

Canada also has followed through, announcing efforts to support displaced people and their host countries, along with Guatemala, which dismantled a transnational human smuggling organization.

There is a definite need for Western Hemisphere nations to work together to stem the overwhelming flow of migrants in the hemisphere. The U.S.-Mexico border has seen a sharp rise in migrants coming from Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba, marking a shift from previous years where officials mostly encountered migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador.

Officials on Monday spoke about the move of Venezuelans within the hemisphere.

Shinzo Abe State Funeral

In July, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan was assassinated during a campaign speech. This week, the country bid farewell to their leader in an elaborate state funeral.

More than 4,300 guests attended the service at the Nippon Budokan Arena in Tokyo, including foreign dignitaries such as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Abe’s ashes were carried into the venue, where the government played a video tribute honoring his life and career. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida then delivered a memorial address, praising Abe’s “courage” and dedication.

Other ceremonial rites on the program include an honor guard, gun salute, and musical performances, before a government reception for visiting foreign dignitaries.

Thousands lined the streets to pay respects to Abe. Still, many others protested in the streets throughout Tokyo. The protests grew tense at times, with several loud confrontations and scuffles between demonstrators and police.

14 Abe’s state funeral comes as the country grapples with rising inflation and anger stemming from revelations that half The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 of Japan’s ruling party members had ties with the controversial Unification Church, which has faced backlash over fundraising practices. Some critics have also pointed to Abe’s more unpopular policies while in office as a reason for the shift in mood and questioned why so much taxpayer money is going to the state funeral – which will cost some $12 million (1.66 billion yen) – at a time of acute economic strain.

Abe held office for two separate terms, during which he transformed Japan’s security posture, raising questions over the country’s status as a pacifist nation, and passed a major security legislation in 2015 that expanded what Japan could do militarily to support the U.S.

He also was a prominent figure on the world stage.

Abe’s suspected killer, Tetsuya Yamagami, had targeted the former prime minister because he believed Abe’s grandfather – another former Japanese leader – had helped the expansion of a religious group he held a grudge against. Since then, discontent has grown against the Unification Church.

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More Catholics Than Protestants in N. Ireland

For the first time, Catholics outnumber Protestants in Northern Ireland, census figures released on Thursday show — confirmation of a long-anticipated but still striking shift with implications for the region’s future.

The result could intensify debate, at an already politically fraught moment, about the region seceding from the United Kingdom and reunifying Ireland, but experts have also cautioned against equating religion with political affiliation.

“With Catholics coming out now in the plurality, that really is quite significant because of the grounds on which Northern Ireland was created to begin with,” said Katy Hayward, a professor of politics at Queen’s University, Belfast. “But I would immediately point to the dangers of reading political opinions on top of that.”

According to the census numbers, some 45.7% of Northern Ireland’s population is or was raised Catholic, while 43.5% are Protestant or raised in another Christian religion. Since the formation of Northern Ireland — which remained part of the United Kingdom when the island was partitioned in 1921, while the larger part of the island became an independent Irish state — Protestants have outnumbered Catholics.

Those who identified as currently religious were lower, with Catholics making up 42.3% of the population, Protestants making up 37.3%, other religions 1.3%, and 17.4% indicating “no religion,” pointing to an increasingly secular population.

“It changes the balance, more than a hundred years after Northern Ireland was engineered deliberately to have a Protestant majority,” said Theresa Reidy, a professor of political scientist at University College Cork. “It probably moves the conversation on Irish unity a little bit closer, but there is still a good deal that would need to change.”

The Good Friday Agreement, a key

16 1998 peace accord between the British and Irish governments and political parties in Northern Ireland, does have The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 provisions for a referendum to potentially reunify the island, though it does not detail how that would work. But the shifting demographics do existentially undermine the rationale behind Northern Ireland’s creation a century ago, when religion was considered a reliable indicator of support for either continued British rule or for a united, independent Ireland. (© The New York Times Company)

Italy’s Far-Right Leader

Giorgia Meloni is now Italy’s first female prime minister. But that’s not her only distinction. The Brothers of Italy leader will be leading the most far-right government since the fascist era of Benito Mussolini.

Addressing the media and supporters in the early hours of Monday morning, Meloni said it was “a night of pride for many and a night of redemption.”

“It’s a victory I want to dedicate to everyone who is no longer with us and wanted this night,” she said. “Starting tomorrow we have to show our value … Italians chose us, and we will not betray it, as we never have,” she said.

Preliminary results put an alliance of far-right parties, led by Meloni’s ultraconservative Brothers of Italy party, on track to win at least 44% of the vote, according to the Italian Interior Ministry.

Meloni entered Italy’s crowded political scene in 2006 and co-founded the Brothers of Italy in 2012, a party whose agenda is rooted in Euroskepticism and anti-immigration policies.

In the last election in 2018, the party won just 4.5% of the vote, but its popularity has soared in recent years.

Meloni differs from her coalition partner leaders on the issue of Ukraine. Whereas her two other partners have both said they would like to review sanctions against Russia because of their impact on the Italian economy, Meloni has been steadfast in her support for defending Ukraine.

Sunday’s snap national election was triggered by party infighting that saw the collapse of Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s government in July.

School Shooting in Russia

On Monday, a gunman opened fire in a school in central Russia, killing 17 people and wounding 24 others before killing himself.

The shooting took place in School No. 88 in Izhevsk, a city 960 kilometers (600 miles) east of Moscow in the Udmurtia region.

The gunman was identified as 34-year-old Artyom Kazantsev, a graduate of the school. Authorities say he was wearing a black t-shirt bearing “Nazi symbols.” He had been a patient at a psychiatric facility.

Of those killed in the attack eleven were children. Twenty-two other children were wounded.

Russia’s National Guard said Kazantsev used two non-lethal handguns adapted to fire real bullets. The guns were not registered with the authorities.

A criminal probe into the incident has been launched on charges of multiple murder and illegal possession of firearms.

Izhevsk, a city of 640,000, is located west of the Ural mountains in central Russia.

Canada Easing Covid Restrictions

As of October 1, Canada will be easing certain Covid restrictions. As of Saturday, it will no longer be required by the Canadian government to wear masks on planes.

The nation is also dropping the vaccine requirement for people entering the country at the end of the month.

Fully vaccinated international trav-

18 elers had been allowed to enter Canada since September 7, 2021. Unvaccinated citizens and permanent residents were The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 permitted to enter the country but had to self-quarantine for 14 days. The news comes at a time when many other places, including Japan and Hong Kong, are lifting travel restrictions. The United Arab Emirates is dropping mask requirements in public places, with the exception of medical facilities, mosques and public transportation, according to a Monday report from the official Emirates News Agency. Dubai’s airport, the world’s busiest for international travel, was forced to ground all passenger flights when it, along with other U.A.E. airports, closed for eight weeks at the start of the pandemic in 2020. Unlike the capital city of Abu Dhabi, however, Dubai reopened to travelers soon after and did not require proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter most places, which landed it on the “do not travel” lists of the U.K., U.S., and many other countries for much of last year. The global tally of confirmed cases of Covid-19 topped 615.6 million on Monday, while the death toll rose above 6.53 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

The U.S. leads the world with 96.1 million cases and 1,056,862 fatalities.

Canadian officials gave Canada’s high vaccination rate as the reason the Covid restrictions are being eased. More than 85% of Canadians have received two vaccine doses.

Putin’s Draft Order

President Vladimir Putin’s draft order last week has led to at least 200,000 Russians fleeing the country to evade mobilization in the army.

While Russia hasn’t released official data, statistics from Georgia, Kazakhstan and the European Union showed the scale of the departures. The total is likely an underestimate as other nearby countries popular with Russians including Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey haven’t disclosed arrival figures.

Lines by the border are hundreds of cars long. Thousands of vehicles slowly edge towards the exit, with able-bodied men hoping to leave the country with their lives.

Putin’s mobilization order last week shocked millions of Russians who’d previously been largely shielded from the realities of the Kremlin’s seven-monthlong war in Ukraine. While Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said it would affect only 300,000 out of 25 million reservists, the call-up sparked a rush to leave the country as reports piled up of men being drafted who were officially exempt.

Data from police and border officials showed 98,000 Russians entered Kazakhstan and 53,000 crossed into Georgia since September 21, when Putin announced the call-up, while about 100,000 left the two countries for other destinations. The European Union reported last Tuesday that 66,000 Russians entered the bloc in the past week, up 30% on a week earlier, with most crossing the land borders into Finland and Estonia. About 41,000 Russian nationals left the EU for Russia in the same period.

For those who want to fly out of Russia, it’s costly. Travel websites were offering economy tickets for about $3,000 for flights Thursday from Moscow to Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, and Georgia’s Tbilisi. Tickets to Moscow from Yerevan were going for about $240.

The panic intensified as rumors swirled that the Kremlin may close the borders for conscription-age men after annexing four occupied regions of Ukraine following staged referendums that ended Tuesday. Authorities in Moscow won’t issue passports to men who’ve received call-up papers, a government information portal reported on Wednesday.

Countries bearing the brunt of the refugees are feeling overwhelmed. Opposition groups in Kazakhstan and Georgia railed against the influx of people fleeing Russia, denouncing Russians as former colonizers who represented a potential security risk. In Georgia, many drew comparisons on social media between columns of Russian tanks that crossed the border in the 2008 war, which resulted in Moscow’s troops remaining in two breakaway territories, and the current rush of men seeking to avoid conscription into that army. Georgia, like Ukraine, aspires to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a move Russia opposes.

According to Ukraine, more than 57,000 Russians have been killed in the

The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 Deadly Cholera Outbreak in Syria

A deadly cholera outbreak has been spreading in northern Syria over the past two weeks in areas where millions of people displaced by the country’s long civil war are suffering from a lack of clean water and health care, according to aid organizations that have warned of another potential humanitarian crisis.

Save the Children said data provided by the Syrian government indicated there had been 23 cholera-related deaths this week. Health authorities in the autonomous region of northeast Syria, which broke away from Syrian government control in 2013, reported 16 additional deaths. Aid officials said thousands of others are believed to have contracted cholera in the country’s first major outbreak in years.

“The outbreak of cholera threatens more misery for hundreds of thousands of Syrians already at risk from hunger, conflict and the coming winter,” said Tanya Evans, Syria director for the International Rescue Committee. “A decade of conflict has left the health care system in Syria extremely fragile and severely under-resourced, making it much harder to mobilize a response to any potential epidemics.”

After 11 years of war, roughly 7 million Syrians are internally displaced and dependent on humanitarian aid. The United Nations has said it expects almost two-thirds of the Syrian population to face food shortages this year, partly because of increased prices linked to the war in Ukraine and a drop in funding for Syrian aid operations.

The humanitarian aid department of the European Commission warned this week of a high risk that the disease could spread further through displaced persons camps in northern Syria.

Cholera is highly contagious and caused by drinking water contaminated by feces or by eating food grown or prepared with contaminated water. It causes severe diarrhea and vomiting, which, if left untreated, can result in fatal dehydration.

Years of drought in Syria coupled with extensive damage to the country’s infrastructure have left millions of Syrians short of clean water and lacking access to basic health care.

The Syrian Health Ministry two weeks ago declared a cholera outbreak in the northern province of Aleppo after reporting nine deaths throughout the country, most of them in the northern provinces of Aleppo and Deir el-Zour. It said more than 900 cases of severe acute diarrhea had been reported. (© The New York Times Company)

Qatar Airways is King

Want to know which airline rules the skies?

Qatar Airways once again takes the cake as the top airline in the world.

On Friday, industry leaders gathered in London for the Skytrax World Airline Awards 2022.

Skytrax, a UK-based airline and airport review and ranking site, conducted more than 14 million customer surveys in more than 100 countries between September 2021 to August 2022 to find out the world’s current favorite airline.

This year’s winner was no stranger to the podium. The newly crowned Qatar Airways has won the top prize a total of seven times since the awards were introduced in 1999. The Qatari flag-carrier also scooped up eight more gongs on Friday, including Best Business Class, Best Business Class Seat, and Best Business Class Lounge Dining. That’s going to be a lot to bring back through hand luggage.

Just two months ago, the carrier took the No.1 slot in AirlineRatings.com’s ranking of the world’s best airlines.

Qatar Airways group chief executive, Akbar Al Baker, thanked his “incredible employees” for “their continued dedication and drive” and said that “to win

these awards in the same year that we celebrate our 25th anniversary is even more rewarding.”

What’s the service to Qatar’s never-ending winning streak? According to Al Baker, “Consistent service, consistent product, consistent attention to passengers, and absolute dedication from everyone that works in the airline.”

Singapore Airlines, the world’s new No. 2 carrier according to Skytrax’s survey, also won nine awards, including Best Cabin Staff, Best First Class, Best First Class Seat, and Best First Class Catering.

UAE flag-carrier Emirates nabbed third place and was also awarded for Best Inflight Entertainment, Best Economy Class, Best Economy Class Catering, and Best Premium Economy Class Seat.

Japan’s ANA (All Nippon Airways) came in at No. 4 and was also named World’s Cleanest Airline in addition to four other awards.

Australian airline Qantas came in fifth in the survey of more than 350 airlines, conducted in English, French, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese languages.

Delta Air Lines was the top U.S. airline, while Turkish Airlines was the top carrier in Europe, taking home four awards including the highly competitive Best Airline in Europe title.

Ryanair surprised most people by triumphing for the first time this year; the Irish airline claimed the crown for the Best Low-Cost Airline in Europe.

Russia to Supply Food to Taliban

Russia will now be supplying the Taliban with gas, diesel, and wheat, selling the products to the leaders of Afghanistan at a discounted rate.

“The deal will provide Russia with additional export earnings, undermining Washington’s efforts to weaken Russian economy, in false hopes to compel Putin to stop his war on Ukraine,” Rebekah Koffler, a former DIA intelligence officer and the author of “Putin’s Playbook: Russia’s Secret Plan to Defeat America,” told Fox News Digital.

She added, “This is another example of the failed sanctions policy pursued by the Biden Administration. The sanctions have not changed Putin’s behavior in nine years; they never will.”

Russia will send Afghanistan two million tons of wheat, a million tons of gasoline and diesel, and 500,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas annually at a discount compared to global commodity prices, according to a Reuters report this week.

The deal represents the first major international agreement the Taliban has struck since regaining power in Afghanistan last year, with most governments around the world refusing to offer the group official recognition until the country improves its record on human rights.

Russia does not officially recognize the Taliban government but is one of the few countries that kept its embassy in Kabul open after U.S. forces left and Taliban forces swept across the country and retook its capital.

The agreement comes at a time of economic crisis for both countries, with Russia facing a limited market of buyers for its energy exports amid American and Western sanctions in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Afghanistan’s economy has deteriorated significantly since the Taliban takeover, with most of the country’s population living below the poverty line while the Taliban government struggles with sanctions and the lack of development aid the country enjoyed under its Western-supported government.

“Afghans are in great need,” acting Afghan Commerce and Industry Minister Haji Nooruddin Azizi told Reuters. “Whatever we do, we do it based on national interest and the people’s benefit.”

The Soviet-Afghan War, which took place from 1979 until 1989, resulted in the victory of the Mujahideen against the military occupation of the Soviet Union. The United States had supported the Mujahideen against the Soviets in a byproduct of the Cold War. In the aftermath, a civil war in Afghanistan eventually resulted in the Taliban’s first takeover of the country in 1996.

Iranian Drone Hits Kurds in Iraq

At least nine people were killed and 32 others were wounded when an Iranian drone bombing campaign targeted the bases of an Iranian-Kurdish opposition group in northern Iraq on Wednesday.

22 The strikes took place as demonstrations continued to engulf the Islamic Republic after the death of Mahsa Amini, a The Jewish Home | SEPTEMBER 30, 2022 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who was detained by the Iranian morality police. She died in police custody. Protests have been taking place accross 46 cities in Iran. At least 41 protesters have been killed by police so far. Iran’s attacks targeted Koya, some 65 kilometers (35 miles) east of Irbil, said Soran Nuri, a member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan. The group, known by the acronym KDPI, is a leftist armed opposition force banned in Iran. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency and broadcaster said the country’s Revolutionary Guard targeted bases of a separatist group in the north of Iraq with “precision missiles” and “suicide drones.” Gen. Hasan Hasanzadeh of the Revolutionary Guard said 185 Basijis, a volunteer force, were injured by “machete and knife” in the unrest. Hasanzadeh also said rioters broke the skull of one of the Basij members. He added that five Basijis are hospitalized in intensive care.

In Baghdad, three Katyusha rockets landed in the capital’s heavily fortified Green Zone on Wednesday as legislators gathered in parliament, the Iraqi military said in a statement.

Earlier, legislators voted to renew their confidence in Parliament Speaker Mohammed Halbousi, rejecting his resignation request. Halbousi was originally elected a candidate by parliamentarians backed by populist Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Al-Sadr’s 73 lawmakers resigned last June to protest a political deadlock.

It was the first time lawmakers met after al-Sadr’s followers stormed the parliament building in July, effectively delaying the government formation process.

The zone, also home to the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, is a frequent target of rocket and drone attacks that the United States blames on Iran-backed Iraqi militia groups.

The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq said in a tweet that the country cannot be treated as “the region’s “backyard” where neighbors rou-

Nord Stream Pipeline Breaks Look Deliberate

Explosions under the Baltic Sea and the rupture of major natural gas pipelines from Russia to Germany appeared to be a deliberate attack, officials across Europe said Tuesday, deepening uncertainty about European energy security amid soaring prices and fears of running short of fuel over the winter.

Three separate leaks erupted from the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which were already caught up in the conflict over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, sending swirling streams of methane to the surface of waters off Denmark and Sweden. Top Polish and Ukrainian leaders blamed Moscow, while Russian state media suggested U.S. or Ukrainian involvement.

“It’s hard to imagine that it’s accidental,” Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, told reporters while on a trip to Poland to open a new undersea pipeline that will carry Norwegian gas – a judgment echoed by officials in several countries.

On Tuesday evening, Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, called the incident “apparent sabotage” in a tweet, only hours after the White House press secretary had declined to say whether the United States thought the pressure loss was deliberate or accidental.

Sullivan wrote that he spoke to his “counterpart Jean-Charles Ellermann-Kingombe of Denmark about the apparent sabotage of Nord Stream pipelines.”

“The U.S. is supporting efforts to investigate, and we will continue our work to safeguard Europe’s energy security,” he wrote.