Egypt's first female ship captain fears for her career after she was blamed falsely for the Suez Canal blockage when she was aboard a vessel 200 miles away

Egypt's first female ship's captain was blamed for the Suez Canal blockage despite having been hundreds of miles away from the incident, she told BBC News.

Marwa Elselehdar said that she saw online rumors accusing her of being responsible for the Ever Given container ship becoming beached, the media outlet reported.

At the time of the jam, Elselehdar was working as a first mate on the Aida IV. This vessel was in Alexandria - more than 200 miles away from the site of the collision.

An investigation is underway to explain the Ever Given's grounding, but it is clear that the 29-year-old was not to blame.

Rumors circulating online about Elselehdar's supposed culpability were made worse by the sharing of screenshots of fake news headlines, BBC News reported.

Several social media accounts also impersonated her and spread false claims putting the blame on her, the media outlet said.

"I felt that I might be targeted maybe because I'm a successful female in this field or because I'm Egyptian, but I'm not sure," Elselehdar told the BBC.

The young woman described how she was "shocked" when she first saw the baseless accusations on her phone.

The rumors concerned her. "I tried so hard to negate what was in the article because it was affecting my reputation and all the efforts I exerted to be where I am now," she said in the BBC interview.

Elselehdar is one of the few women in the heavily male-dominated shipping industry.

In 2016, she became the youngest and first female Egyptian captain to cross the Suez Canal. A year later, she was honored by Egypt's president during Egypt's Women's Day celebrations, the BBC said.

She hopes that her career, despite this unfortunate setback, inspires other women to break into the industry.

"My message to females who want to be in the maritime field is fight for what you love and not let any negativity affect you," she told the BBC.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/egypts-first-female-ship-captain-112905034.html

Connected?

Mayor R. Rex Parris delights in rattling cages, putting Lancaster, California, on the map in China and beyond

The outspoken mayor brought a Chinese-owned BYD electric vehicle plant to his struggling city – and says he envies the power wielded by officials in China

Parris once proposed a ‘birth tourism’ concept so Chinese could give birth at Lancaster’s hospital to give their babies US citizenship

He lured a multibillion-dollar Chinese company to the California desert, encouraged Chinese “birth tourists” to have babies with US citizenship and envies Chinese officials who have real clout

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3125563/mayor-r-rex-parris-delights-rattling-cages-putting-lancaster-california

Newsom asked for a fracking ban. He may get more than he bargained for with ambitious plan

When Gov. Gavin Newsom voiced his support last year for a ban on hydraulic fracturing by oil and gas companies, an effort long fought by the industry and trade unions alike, he gave Democrats a green light to send him legislation to achieve that goal as they saw fit.

But the crackdown on oil and gas production under consideration by the California Legislature is much wider in scope than the plan requested by the governor, who may get more than he bargained for as he shoulders the pressures of carrying out the state's COVID-19 pandemic response while battling a looming recall election.

The ambitious proposal would outlaw hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and a series of other oil extraction methods reviled by environmental activists. It would also prohibit wells from operating within 2,500 feet of homes, schools, healthcare facilities and other populated areas. Newsom's proposal was limited to a ban only on fracking and the consideration of a buffer zone.

Proponents of the bill have said from the outset that Newsom must take an active role in pushing the legislation through and have expressed concern that the governor's attention will be focused on his own political survival with a recall election in the fall all but certain.

With his future on the line, Newsom might be reluctant to cross California's trade unions, an influential force in Democratic politics, and voters in the oil-rich San Joaquin Valley.

"The problem with the recall is that it becomes quite distracting," said Kathryn Phillips, director of Sierra Club California, who supports the legislation. "It's one way of essentially shutting down activity and so I worry that, not just for the fracking bill, but that everything is going to be hard to get done this year."

Even though they are at odds over oil drilling in California, environmental activists and a number of trade unions have come out against the recall campaign, a further indication that labor remains a firm political ally of the Democratic governor.

Lobbyist Scott Wetch said that two organizations he represents, the State Assn. of Electrical Workers and the California State Pipe Trades Council, "absolutely support" Newsom despite objecting to his call to ban fracking.

"They think that he's done a very courageous job through this entire pandemic, and there's no singular policy decision out there that would change their opinion," Wetch said. "This is a Republican attempt to win an office that they couldn't win otherwise, and our organizations fundamentally oppose that."

California's billion-dollar oil industry has so far largely remained on the sidelines during the recall campaign, though Modesto-based fuel supplier Boyett Petroleum contributed $49,000 to one of the organizations trying to oust Newsom.

The recall aside, supporters of a fracking ban and mandatory buffer zones face a tough challenge given the ideological divide within the Legislature's Democratic majority. Liberal legislators from coastal areas and major cities see the restrictions as essential in combating climate change and protecting Black and Latino families living near oil fields. Business-friendly lawmakers and those from inland areas have expressed concern about the potential loss of tens of thousands of jobs and the resulting impact on the economy.

A proposed fracking moratorium stalled in the Legislature in 2014, and just last year a bill calling for less stringent buffer zone requirements around oil and gas wells failed in the state Senate after passing in the Assembly. Given those outcomes, the possibility of this year's legislation surviving intact appears remote.

This year's legislation introduced by Democratic state Sens. Scott Wiener of San Francisco and Monique Limón of Santa Barbara would prohibit California officials from issuing or renewing permits for hydraulic fracturing, acid well stimulation treatments, cyclic steaming, and water and steam flooding starting Jan. 1, 2022, and would ban the extraction methods entirely by 2027.

more

https://www.yahoo.com/news/newsom-asked-fracking-ban-may-120057474.html

Scandalous…

SOON

Pope, in Easter message, slams weapons spending in time of pandemic

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis urged countries in his Easter message on Sunday to quicken distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, particularly to the world's poor, and called armed conflict and military spending during a pandemic "scandalous".

Coronavirus has meant this has been the second year in a row that Easter papal services have been attended by small gatherings at a secondary altar of St. Peter's Basilica, instead of by crowds in the church or in the square outside.

After saying Mass, Francis read his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) message, in which he traditionally reviews world problems and appeals for peace.

"The pandemic is still spreading, while the social and economic crisis remains severe, especially for the poor. Nonetheless – and this is scandalous – armed conflicts have not ended and military arsenals are being strengthened," he said.

Francis, who would normally have given the address to up to 100,000 people in St. Peter's Square, spoke to fewer than 200 in the church while the message was broadcast to tens of millions around the world.

The square was empty except for a few police officers enforcing a strict three-day national lockdown.

The pope asked God to comfort the sick, those who have lost a loved one, and the unemployed, urging authorities to give families in greatest need a "decent sustenance".

He praised medical workers, sympathised with young people unable to attend school, and said everyone was called to combat the pandemic.

"I urge the entire international community, in a spirit of global responsibility, to commit to overcoming delays in the distribution of vaccines and to facilitate their distribution, especially in the poorest countries," he said.

Francis, who has often called for disarmament and a total ban on the possession of nuclear weapons, said: "There are still too many wars and too much violence in the world! May the Lord, who is our peace, help us to overcome the mindset of war."

'INSTRUMENTS OF DEATH'

Noting that it was International Awareness Day against anti-personnel landmines, he called such weapons "insidious and horrible devices … how much better our world would be without these instruments of death!"

In mentioning conflict areas, he singled out for praise "the young people of Myanmar committed to supporting democracy and making their voices heard peacefully". More than 550 protesters have been killed since a Feb. 1 military coup in Myanmar, which the pope visited in 2017.

Francis called for peace in several conflict areas in Africa, including the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia and the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique. He said the crisis in Yemen has been "met with a deafening and scandalous silence".

He appealed to Israelis and Palestinians to "rediscover the power of dialogue" to reach a two-state solution where both can live side by side in peace and prosperity.

Francis said he realised many Christians were still persecuted and called for all restrictions on freedom of worship and religion worldwide to be lifted.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pope-easter-message-slams-weapons-103911550.html

>>13358529

[E] = MC2

Wasn't there a Q drop talking about the movie matrix, and about how they use 'sheep' for Energy?

>>13358589

Ty