Kinshasa, Jan 19 (Prensa Latina) Nearly two million people have been affected by the worst floods in 60 years in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

OCHA, as the agency is known, said that 1.8 million people have been affected by the rising waters that began in October last year and reached most of the country, with nine of its 12 departments flooded.

The government declared a state of emergency on December 29 and announced that more than 350,000 persons are in need of urgent life-saving assistance, as well as warning of epidemiological risks.

Although the water level began to drop in the north, access remains difficult, the agency said, adding that many villages can only be reached by canoe or boat.

Further damage is reported in the health sector, with nearly 250,000 people unable to access primary health care, while some 27,000 children are unable to attend school.

“Our humanitarian colleagues also warn that the floods could have medium and long-term consequences, due to the impact on livelihoods,” the OCHA report said.

The initial assessments estimate that some 2,300 hectares of cultivated land have been flooded, in addition to the destruction of fishing gear, the loss of small livestock and other means of food production.

The DRC government, with the support of UN agencies, is deploying a humanitarian response that urgently needs financial assistance.

LUSAKA, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- Zambia on Friday launched the country's first-ever national refugee policy, aiming to enhance the management of refugees in the country.

Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security Jack Mwiimbu said that the policy has been formulated to alleviate challenges and improve the management of refugees.

"Government embarked on the process of developing a national refugee policy by adopting extensive countrywide consultations to create a policy that will adequately and accurately provide much-needed guidance and clarity on the management of refugees," he said.

He expressed optimism that many challenges faced by refugees in the country will be resolved following the launch of the policy, saying he expects the policy to have a positive impact on integrating refugees into society and their contribution to the economy.

The policy, he added, comes with solutions to the many problems refugees, asylum seekers and persons of concern face in the country.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Representative in Zambia Preeta Law commended the government for coming up with the policy, saying that it reflects the country's commitment to allowing refugees to integrate and contribute to society's development.

She said the UNHCR will support the government using its global expertise to replicate best practices in the management of refugees.

CARACAS, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's government is striving to raise workers' earnings despite the economic stranglehold of U.S. sanctions, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said Tuesday.

One of the most important announcements President Nicolas Maduro made at the National Assembly (Parliament) on Monday was an increase in earnings, Rodriguez told local media.

Maduro announced a hike in bonuses paid to Venezuelan public workers, raising their minimum comprehensive indexed income from 70 U.S. dollars to 100 dollars per month as of February 1, saying it would be adjusted in case of a devaluation.

The main victims of Washington's "criminal blockade" against Venezuela have been blue-collar workers, Rodriguez said.

The ongoing sanctions and financial embargoes undermine the South American country's welfare system, as well as its vital infrastructure and public services, she said.

In addition to the bonus increase, Venezuela's government has made progress in controlling inflation and stabilizing the currency exchange rate, thus facilitating the economic growth of the South American country, said the vice president.

Lemmygrad and ProleWiki are the only communities I've found where I feel safe to be myself and more importantly, safe to learn. I always ask questions and want to learn so much. When I am here, those questions are not found by others as annoying or bothersome or suspicious, but rather as genuine questions from someone trying to learn.

Over the first four days of Isn'treal-Hamas prisoner exchange, Isn'treal arrests 133 Palestinians while releasing 150.

Ramallah, occupied West Bank – Isn'treal has persisted with arresting dozens of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem as it conducts a prisoner release with Hamas, the Gaza-based armed group.

In the first four days of the ongoing truce between Isn'treal and Hamas, which began on Friday, Isn'treal released 150 Palestinian prisoners – 117 children and 33 women.

Hamas released 69 captives – 51 Isn'trealis and 18 people from other nations.

Over the same four days, Isn'treal arrested at least 133 Palestinians from East Jerusalem and the West Bank, according to Palestinian prisoner associations.

“As long as there is occupation, the arrests will not stop. People must understand this because this is a central policy of occupation against Palestinians and to restrict any kind of resistance,” Amany Sarahneh, spokesperson for the Palestinian Prisoners Society, told Al Jazeera.

“This is a daily practice – its not just after October 7,” she added. “We actually expected more people to be arrested during these four days.”

The Qatar-mediated truce came after 51 days of relentless Isn'treali bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, the day Hamas launched a surprise attack on Isn'treali territory, killing about 1,200 people.

Isn'treal has killed more than 15,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since then, the majority of them women and children.

On Monday, the original four-day truce was extended for another two days, during which an additional 60 Palestinians and 20 captives are expected to be released.

Under Isn'treal’s 56-year military occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Isn'treali forces carry out nightly raids into Palestinian homes, arresting 15 to 20 people on “calm” days.

In the first two weeks after October 7, Isn'treal doubled the number of Palestinians in its custody from 5,200 people to more than 10,000. That number included 4,000 labourers from Gaza who worked in Isn'treal and were detained before later being released back into Gaza.

Palestinian prisoner lawyers and monitoring groups have recorded 3,290 arrests in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 7. In mid-November, 35-year-old Eyad Banat was arrested while he was streaming live on TikTok. He was subsequently released.

‘No guarantees with the occupation’ Since the truce began, the streets of Ramallah have been flooded with people welcoming the freed prisoners.

But the worry for Palestinian prisoners does not end after their release. The majority of those freed are usually rearrested by Isn'treali forces in the days, weeks, months and years after their release.

Dozens of those who were arrested in a 2011 Isn'treal-Hamas prisoner exchange were rearrested and had their sentences reinstated.

Sarahneh said it is not yet clear whether Isn'treal has provided any guarantees that it will not rearrest those who have been released.

“There are no guarantees with the occupation. These people are liable to be rearrested at any point. The occupation always rearrests people who have been released,” she said.

“The biggest evidence that these people may be rearrested is that the majority of people being detained now are freed prisoners,” she added.

Since October 7, the conditions of Palestinians under arrest or in detention have severely declined. Many have complained of severe beatings while six Palestinian prisoners have died in Isn'treali custody.

Many of the women and children released during the truce have testified to the abuse they experienced in Isn'treali prisons.

Several videos have also emerged in recent weeks of Isn'treali soldiers beating, stepping on, abusing and humiliating detained Palestinians who have been blindfolded, cuffed and stripped either partially or entirely. Many social media users said the scenes brought back memories of the torture tactics used by United States forces in Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison in 2003.

In addition to severe beatings, Isn'treali prison authorities halted medical attention for Palestinian prisoners for at least the first week after October 7, including for those who had been beaten, according to rights groups. Family visits as well as routine lawyer visits were stopped, the groups said.

Prisoners were previously entitled to three to four hours outside their cells in the yard, but that has now been cut to less than an hour, according to rights groups.

Overcrowded cells now often house double the number of detainees they were built for with many sleeping on the floor without mattresses, they said.

Isn'treali prison authorities have also cut electricity and hot water, conducted cell searches, removed all electrical devices including TVs, radios, cooking slabs and kettles, and shut down the canteen, which prisoners use to buy food and basic supplies such as toothpaste.

Beijing, Apr 14 (Prensa Latina) Chinese President Xi Jinping received here today his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and formally welcomed him on his state visit to China.

Xi received the South American leader at the Great People’s Palace with the honors corresponding to his high investiture, before proceeding to the official talks.

The first moment of the meeting was open to the press and was followed by another segment, but behind closed doors.

During the presidential meeting, the two leaders are expected to review the bilateral agenda and analyze a proposal by Lula to form a club of mediators in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

At the end of their talks, both will witness the signing of some twenty agreements between their countries covering multiple sectors.

Before meeting with Xi, Lula spoke with Premier Li Qiang, the parliamentary leader, Zhao Leji, and the president of the state electricity corporation, Zhang Zhigang.

To all three he expressed Brazil’s willingness to strengthen the strategic partnership, expand trade and investment flows, as well as join forces with China to promote a balance in world geopolitics.

He also had a contact with representatives of the All China Federation of Trade Unions and paid tribute to the martyrs of this country with the placement of a wreath in front of the Heroes Monument, located in the central Tiananmen Square.

The Brazilian dignitary arrived last night in Beijing from the municipality of Shanghai (east), where he had a marathon day of meetings and tours of centers of economic interest yesterday. His visit will conclude tomorrow.

Chae Hui Chol has been approved as ambassador to West African country

Burkina Faso plans to resume diplomatic relations with North Korea, the country’s Foreign Ministry announced Wednesday.

The decision will allow the two countries "to maintain exemplary bilateral cooperation in several areas," Foreign Affairs Minister Olivia Rouamba said at the end of a Council of Ministers meeting.

The West African nation suspended relations with North Korea in 2017 to conform to UN Security Council sanctions over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program.

Rouamba said the governments of Burkina Faso and North Korea will reportedly be focusing on military equipment, mining, healthcare, agriculture and research

The Burkinabe government has also approved the appointment of a North Korean ambassador to Burkina Faso.

Chae Hui Chol, has been approved as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to Burkina Faso, with residence in Dakar, Senegal, according to a statement from the Ministerial Council.

In the past, Burkina Faso has maintained "very good relations with this country, which was a privileged partner during the period of the August 1983 Revolution," said Rouamba.

The government officially cut off relations in 2017 using a provision recommended by the United Nations to all its member states in its sanctions resolution against Pyongyang.

Faced with a security crisis fueled since 2015 by terrorist attacks, Burkina Faso, under the leadership of Capt. Ibrahim Traore, the leader of the ruling junta, decided to diversify its partnerships to strengthen the fight against terrorism. In January, the transitional authorities broke a military agreement with France, its former colonist.

This is "a way of asserting its authority by contracting diplomatic relations with countries unconsidered by France," Regis Hounkpe, a pan-African expert in geostrategy, told Anadolu.​​​​​​​

The fight against terrorism and the need to face it by its own means or military cooperation is only an additional element of the distancing from France, he said.

It is very concerning and frightening the extent to which people will go to when it comes to fighting against trans rights, whether that be verbally or physically. The importance of supporting trans rights is as important as anything, especially with the way things currently are. How can we best help and support the rights, safety, and well-being of trans people?

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP)—It was pharmacist Gwendolyn Herzig’s first time testifying before a legislative committee when she spoke to several Arkansas lawmakers in a packed hearing room this month about a bill restricting gender-affirming care for minors.

Herzig, who is transgender, spoke out against the legislation and told the panel that one of the biggest obstacles trans people face is a lack of empathy. Only a few minutes later, a Republican lawmaker asked her an inappropriate question about her genitalia.

“It was horrifying,” she said.

The exchange, which was livestreamed on the Legislature’s website and has since been widely shared on social media, is an example of the type of demeaning questions and rhetoric that transgender people meet when they show up to statehouses to testify against new bills targeting their rights.

In South Dakota, a lawmaker invoked “furries”—people who dress up as animals—when talking about gender-affirming care. In Montana, a legislator compared parents supporting their children in finding treatment to asking doctors to carry out medically assisted suicide.

Advocates worry that increasingly hostile rhetoric about transgender people could have a chilling effect on those who want to speak out against new restrictions and could do lasting damage to a community of trans youth that is already marginalized.

“I feel like that’s what they’re trying to do, to keep us from coming and exercising this right that we have,” said Rumba Yambu, executive director of Intransitive, an advocacy and support group for transgender people in Arkansas. “Because who wants to go and be asked about their genitalia in front of a bunch of strangers? Especially strangers in power.”

So far this year, at least 150 bills targeting transgender people have been introduced, which is the highest in a single year, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

Bans on gender-affirming care for minors have already been enacted this year in South Dakota and Utah, and Republican governors in Tennessee and Mississippi are expected to sign similar bans into law. Arkansas and Alabama have bans that were temporarily blocked by federal judges.

The push has included efforts in some states to restrict gender-affirming care for adults and proposed bans on drag shows that opponents have warned would also discriminate against transgender people.

Herzig came to the state Capitol to testify against a bill attempting to reinstate Arkansas’ ban on gender-affirming care for minors by making it easier to file malpractice lawsuits against providers. In her testimony, Herzig talked about working with transgender patients who are on hormone replacement therapy.

“Bills like SB199 are designed to hinder, not help, Arkansans by creating barriers to evidence-driven health care they deserve under the guise of helping the young and innocent,” she said, later saying a vote for the bill was “unpatriotic, and casts doubts on our own health and research institutions who have worked through health care fields to improve the lives of Americans.”

During follow-up questions, Republican Sen. Matt McKee asked Herzig if she is transgender.

When she said yes, he asked: “Do you have a penis?”

The question was met with jeers and audible gasps in the packed committee room.

“That’s horrible,” Herzig responded, telling McKee that asking her such a question was inappropriate and noting she was testifying as a health care professional.

“I had never been so publicly humiliated in my life,” Herzig told The Associated Press in an interview days later.

McKee did not respond to an email or phone call, but defended his question in a written statement.

“As a father of four daughters, I will do everything in my power to protect my children and the children of Arkansas, especially from the woke mob who intend to push their agenda and beliefs down our throats and destroy our families,” McKee’s statement said.

The idea of protecting children by withholding medical care is undermined by health experts, who have said minors with gender dysphoria who do not receive appropriate care face dramatically increased risk of suicide and serious depression.

McKee’s questions were similar in tone to those posed to Debi Jackson’s teen Avery, who is transgender and nonbinary, when they testified before Missouri legislators last year about a proposal to ban trans girls and women from participating on sports teams matching their gender identity.

During the hearing, a lawmaker asked Avery if they were “gonna go through the procedure.” Since that exchange, Jackson said Avery hasn’t wanted to testify again before the Legislature.

“It’s this same idea that in any of these discussions about trans people just being treated with basic dignity and respect, legislators want to reduce them to one body part,” Jackson said. “They miss the entirety of the human being sitting in front of them having a conversation.”

Advocates say the rhetoric surrounding these proposed bans further exacerbates an already treacherous environment for transgender people, their families, and medical providers. Children’s hospitals around the country have faced an uptick of harassment and threats of violence for providing gender-confirming care.

Though she said she’s received an outcry of support since her testimony, Herzig said she and the pharmacy she owns have also gotten hateful emails and calls.

People opposed to gender-affirming care for minors argue that children are too young to make decisions about their futures, sometimes comparing such treatments to child abuse. That’s despite medical experts saying the care is safe when administered properly.

Nearly every major medical group, including the American Medical Association, has opposed the bans on such care for minors.

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last year ordered the state’s child welfare agency to investigate reports of gender-affirming care for kids as abuse, but a judge has since blocked those investigations.

Amber Briggle, the mother of a transgender teenager in Texas whose family was investigated after Abbott’s order, said she gets frustrated when speaking before lawmakers in her state who she thinks already have made up their minds on the issue. But Briggle said she plans on returning to Texas’ Capitol this year and that Herzig’s encounter motivates her even more to show up and speak out.

“They should not have to fight this alone,” Briggle said of transgender people testifying in statehouses. “They should know they have loving, supporting allies in their corner.”

Herzig said she probably would not have testified had she known she was going to be asked about her genitalia. “I felt like I was pretty much prepared for any combative question,” she said. “Except that.”