A picture was posted today on the page "Podgoricki vremeplov" on Facebook of a dog that was tied with a rope around his neck, a stone on the other end and thrown in the sea. The Government of Tivat has yet to react on this matter and the person that did it is still unknown.

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar, also known as Myanmar or Burma is a sovereign state in the region of Southeast Asia. It was considered a pariah state, while it was under the rule of a military junta from 1962 to 2011. The generals who ran the country suppressed almost all dissent. They had the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for decades. Then a liberation process started in 2010. On 8 November 2015 the first open general elections since 1990 were held. The results gave the National League for Democracy an absolute majority of seats and its candidate became president. The new parliament convened on 1 February 2016 and on 15 March 2016, Htin Kyaw was elected as the first non-military president since the military coup of 1962. On 6 April 2016, Aung San Suu Kyi assumed the newly created role of State Counselor, a role akin to a Prime Minister. Aung San Suu Kyi is the de facto leader of Myanmar.

In Burma there is a dominance of the largest ethnic group, the Burman or Bamar people over the country's minorities. This was the cause of many conflicts over the years. The UN recognizes the Rohingya Muslim minority as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. They are denied citizenship despite tracing their roots to Myanmar for generations. Government policies target Rohingya on the basis of their ethnicity and religion. These people are subject to policies of oppression which are applied almost exclusively to them.


John McKissick of the UN refugee agency has stated that Myanmar is seeking the ethnic cleansing of the Muslim Rohingya minority from its territory. He said the Myanmar military and Border Guard Police had engaged in collective punishment of the Rohingya minority after the murders of nine border guards on 9 October last year which some politicians blamed on a Rohingya militant group. He said that Security forces have been killing men, shooting them, slaughtering children, raping women, burning and looting houses, forcing these people to cross the river. (Myanmar wants ethnic cleansing of Rohingya - UN official)

The latest conflict started on 25 August when Rohingya militants attacked police posts. The government said it launched “clearance operations” which initially killed 77 Rohingya people.

After that, villages were burned down, which according to the Burmese government was done by The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) militants and Rohingya villagers themselves. They haven't provided any evidence to support those claims. Similar allegations were made during the burning of Rohingya areas between October 2016 and December 2016. Human Rights Watch has determined that Burmese security forces deliberately set those fires. There is new satellite data that shows widespread burnings in northern parts of Burma’s Rakhine state.


"The fear was palpable among those I met who have recently escaped into Bangladesh. In fact, hundreds upon hundreds have been pouring across every border crossing. In the 20 minutes I was at just one of the many Naf crossings, I counted several hundred people enter Bangladesh – from mothers with babies to the elderly and infirm. One young man said that he feared a further violent crackdown: “Now all we have are empty villages without even the men. We sent our women and children out, but now we had to leave as well.”" (Watching Burma in Flames from Bangladesh)

Aung San Suu Kyi was criticized for days, for staying silent during this time. In a phone call with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, she said that her government is protecting everyone in Rakhine state and that there is a "huge iceberg of misinformation" about the conflict promoting the interests of terrorists.

The latest estimate from UN agencies is that more than a quarter-million refugees have arrived on the border of Bangladesh in the last two weeks. Prior to this, Bangladesh was already hosting nearly 34,000 registered Rohingya refugees in Kutupalong and Nayapara camps, as well as several hundred thousand undocumented Rohingya living in makeshift sites and local villages.

"Those who have made it to Bangladesh are in poor condition. Most have walked for days from their villages – hiding in jungles, crossing mountains and rivers with what they could salvage from their homes. They are hungry, weak and sick." (Bangladesh: Life-saving assistance needed as Rohingya influx surges)


UNHCR, with their partners, are working with the local authorities to deliver relief supplies: Clothes, plastic sheets for shelter and sleeping mats. NGO partners and refugee volunteers are strengthening referral systems so that the new arrivals know where they can get critical services and aid. They are also identifying vulnerable arrivals, like unaccompanied children, who need additional care and protection.

Humanitarian supplies are scarce. Aid workers say the available high-energy biscuits won’t cover the new arrivals. Here are some details gathered from United Nations’ sources working in the Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh:

- Aid workers operating in the area say resources including materials for emergency shelters, safe water and food are urgently needed and extreme overcrowding in the existing makeshift settlements remains a major problem. The fluid movement of refugees also makes it difficult to identify new arrivals. 
- With another 10,000 people currently trapped in no-man’s land between the two countries, they expect more people to cross the border than during the crisis in the fall of last year, when more than 70,000 people made the journey. 
- The stock of high-energy biscuits is not sufficient to feed all the new arrivals, and funding for rice to cover people who have crossed since October “may be problematic”. 
- Among new arrivals, about 16,000 are school-age children and more than 5,000 are under the age of five who need vaccine coverage. The number of unaccompanied and separated children is high and many are found “traumatized and hungry” and in need of immediate dry food and psycho-social support. 
- Current capacity of emergency education facilities is only enough to cover 5,000 children and an additional 500 schools or learning centres are needed. 
- To prevent abuses, they say awareness on subjects including child labour, sexual and gender-based violence and human trafficking is needed among the communities. 
- Worsened hygiene due to mass influx increases the risk of outbreak of diseases, with pregnant women, young children or the elderly being most vulnerable. 
- Sanitation and access to safe water is a concern especially at the no man’s land with no facilities.

Source: Factbox: Humanitarian crisis hits Bangladesh as nearly 60,000 Rohingya flee Myanmar

1. You can donate to UNHCR on their donation page: Shelter urgently needed for Rohingya fleeing violence

2. You can donate to Action Against Hunger: HELP US SAVE LIVES IN MYANMAR AND AROUND THE WORLD

3. One Nation has been working on the borders of Bangladesh and Burma since December last year, and they have launched a renewed appeal for donations: EMERGENCY ROHINGYA APPEAL 2017

4. Human Appeal is also working on the ground. Their donation page: Myanmar Emergency Appeal

5. Muslim Aid is another organization on the ground. You can donate here: DONATE TO MUSLIM AID

6. Partners Relief And Development works in communities touched by war to help the children affected. They also have a donation page and will match the amount donated: #SaveTheRohingya

7. Write to your MP and ask them to raise the issue in Parliament, and urge them to commit funding to the relief effort.

8. Sign the petition: Urge the UN & Muslim World to protect Rohingya Muslims in Burma
9. If you want to be more directly involved, you can become a volunteer with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies: Become a volunteer


"The tragedy facing the Rohingya is multifaceted, and will require tremendous resolve to remedy. It demands the world’s attention, and fast."

The home of the Hooded Grebes, the remote lakes of the Patagonian wilderness, adjacent to the Santa Cruz River in Argentina, is now in danger because the government wants to build dams, a deal that was made between China and Argentina. The Nestor Kirchner-Jorge Cepernic dams represent 1,310 megawatts of hydroelectric capacity and produce an average of 5,171 gigawatt hours of energy, around 5 percent of the country’s total electricity demand. This project was suspended by the Supreme Court of Justice, back in 2015, for not complying with obligations under the Law of Environmental Impact of Hydraulic Works.

"The state created a few years ago a National Park to save the Hooded Grebe from extinction. Today that same state can sign the death certificate of the species." - Hernán Casañas, CEO of Aves Argentinas (BirdLife Partner).

These birds were listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2012.

"Fertile sediment, carried downstream from the river to the estuary, ensures food availability not only for this iconic species but also for other charismatic birds such as the Magellanic Penguin Spheniscus magellanicus, Chilean Flamingo Phoenicopterus chilensis, and Magellanic Plover Pluvianellus socialis; as well as many others like the endangered subspecies of Red Knot Calidris canutus rufa."

Source: Stop killing the river: New documentary on the plight of the Hooded Grebe

There is a documentary "Killing the River" to show the plight of the Hooded Grebes. You can view the trailer below:

The latest news is that the dams were approved for construction on Monday by Ministries of Environment and Sustainable Development and of Energy.

"What the government did is an administrative procedure with the objective of completing a legal requirement, but in no way implies direct authorization to continue the work. Justice will have to decide if it considers that there are enough elements to lift the precautionary measure issued by the Supreme Court." - Andrés Nápoli, Executive Director of the Foundation for Environment and Natural Resources (FARN).

"It should be recalled that after the publication of the Environmental Impact Study (EIA) and the public hearing held at the National Congress, deputies and senators presented their reports. Although the reports of the Energy and Environmental Commissions of both Houses gave a favorable opinion, there were numerous critical individual reports that highlighted the collective damages, the paradoxes and shortcomings of the official discourse, and the vices and nullities of the study of environmental impact. Among them are the hard reports of Juan Carlos "Cali" Villalonga (environmental deputy from Cambiemos), Graciela Camaño (Frente Renovador), Fernando "Pino" Solanas (Southern Project) and Graciela Cousinet (Free South). These reports echoed the criticisms voiced by NGOs and citizens during the public hearing. They were not taken into account by Ministers Aranguren and Bergman."

You can read the article here: THE GOVERNMENT APPROVED THE DAMS BUT THE SUPREME COURT HAS NOT YET BEEN ISSUED

If the dams do get built, that will result in blocked natural processes, which would have an impact on river flow and aquatic ecosystems in the area. Food availability downstream would be affected as well, resulting in the loss of wintering habitats for the animals. Especially worrying situation for the Hooded Grebe, whose numbers are around 500 breeding pairs and already under pressure from the spread of invasive species.


Beside the danger it poses to the environment, the river, wildlife, the glaciers, it is said that this construction would destroy numerous archaeological sites too: Five environmental criticisms of the Santa Cruz dams

"The Kirchner-Cepernic Complex will alter the course of the Santa Cruz River and turn over 50% of it into stagnant reservoirs. This will clearly affect the river’s volume while leaving 47,000 hectares of our Patagonia under the water. This project may generate irreversible loss of and severe damage to the rich biodiversity, flora and limnological communities, as well as cultural values. In particular, the Perito Moreno Glacier may be affected by the fact that the height of the Argentino Lake will no longer depend on natural level changes but on the country’s power demand." (New Hope for Patagonian River: Dams in Argentina Suspended)

As you can see, the Hooded Grebes are not the only ones in danger of these dams. Though, their situation is the most critical. Voice your opinion to President Mauricio Macri and urge him to rethink and stop the construction of the dams. There is still time left to save this beautiful river, the environment and the animals there. Use the hashtag #RioSantaCruzSinRepresas.
You can tweet to him the following message:

“President @mauriciomacri please stop the destruction of Santa Cruz River https://youtu.be/m-s9BUUYgFw #RioSantaCruzSinRepresas”

also in Spanish:

"Le pido a @mauriciomacri que NO destruya el Río Santa Cruz, #RioSantaCruzSinRepresas, https://youtu.be/m-s9BUUYgFw , http://www.riosantacruzlibre.org"

Of course, feel free to write your own original message.

You can send an email to: mauriciomacri@argentina.gob.ar. And leave a message on his official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/mauriciomacri/

There is a petition on Care2: Save the Last Remaining Hooded Grebes. Please sign and share.

There is another petition and also an option to donate to BirdLife International, an organization whose mission is to protect birds and their habitat: A Quest for Safer Nests

For more information, updates and potential new actions, you can follow these organizations:

The Mexican Gray Wolf (Also called Lobo) is one of the most endangered mammals in North America. But, there is still a chance to help these animals and save them from extinction. All of the living Mexican gray wolves are descendants of the last breeding survivors of the government’s lethal program, just seven wolves. On the last count, there were 113 wolves in the wild and 249 in captivity. Because the wild population has stagnated over the past several years, the ones born in captivity are considered critical to the survival of the species.

"In the first half of the 20th century, the federal government exterminated virtually all Mexican gray wolves in the United States. This unique line of wolves—which scientists believe was likely the first gray wolf subspecies to cross the Bering Strait into North America many thousands of years ago—was thinned down to fewer than a dozen individuals within just a few decades by the government-sponsored killing."

A Senate bill, S.1514, called “War on Wolves” Rider, was introduced June 29 and it includes a damaging anti-wolf amendment. The legislation proposes to permanently remove federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for gray wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Wyoming and to allow trophy hunting of wolves to immediately resume within these states. The bill prohibits its judicial review which means that a legal challenge in the future would be prevented. If the War on Wolves legislation is passed into law, wolves will die at the hands of trophy hunters.

The bill is co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of senators: Senators Barrasso (R-WY), Boozman (R-AR), Capito (R-WV), Cardin (D-MD), Baldwin (D-WI), and Klobuchar (D-MN) have signed onto this legislation that would put these wolves in the crosshairs of hunters and weaken the ESA.

"The Endangered Species Act (ESA) was passed in 1973 because Americans believed that protecting our wildlife was an obligation to future generations, our nation’s environmental health, our fellow creatures, and the heart of the American way of life. It included wildlife ranges and habitats irrespective of political boundaries because these habitats, which are vital to species survival, cross arbitrary lines. Today, many politicians have forgotten the values Congress embraced four decades ago as they now attempt to undermine one of most successful bipartisan pieces of legislation our country has ever adopted. The ESA requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to follow the best available science, not politics, in recovery planning and implementation for an endangered species. The War on Wolves Rider blatantly ignores this federal mandate, and thus undermines the integrity of our nation’s most significant environmental law." (Source: SENATE COMMITTEE ADVANCES BILL S. 1514 – GROWS THREATS TO WOLVES AND ESA)

You can read the bill here: S.1514 - HELP for Wildlife Act


Please urge your representatives to ensure that any anti-wolf riders, which undermine the Endangered Species Act and its scientific process, are NOT included in the Senate Sportsmen’s bill, S. 1514: OPPOSE the War on Wolves Rider

John Vucetich, Michigan Tech professor in the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science was in Washington, DC, where he testified before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works at the July 19 Legislative Hearing on S. 1514, the Hunting Heritage and Environmental Legacy Preservation (HELP) for Wildlife Act. In his well documented written statement to the committee, Vucetich has satted that wolf conservation in the United States is vital and not only for the health of ecosystems but also for what they represent.

"It includes some positive provisions, but its most important effect would be to undermine the Endangered Species Act and subvert the conservation of wolves. Wolves are valuable to ecosystems and most people recognize that wildlife -- including wolves -- possess value in their own right. Public support for wolves and wolf conservation, in particular, is very high. Public support for the Endangered Species Act is also high -- among both liberal and conservative constituents."
In a July 26 press release the Center for Biological Diversity also stated reasons for opposing Senate Bill S. 1514.

"The bill weakens the Endangered Species Act by blocking any further judicial review of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2011 decision to end federal protections for wolves. Since they were driven to near-extinction by hunters and trappers in the early 20th century, gray wolves still occupy only 15 percent of their historical range in the contiguous United States. And between 2011, when their protection was removed, and 2014, when a federal court restored that protection, more than 1,500 animals were killed."

You can read the full article here: Wolf scientist testifies against Senate Bill 1514

You can read Vuchetich's full testimony here: https://www.epw.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/f/b/fba506f0-cc6a-4bf7-8c76-ba532169c0f3/2BAAC8A1DE0502E60EAC7EC146B9CD49.vucetich-testimony-07.19.2017.pdf



There are also a few petitions on Change.org you can sign:

To eradicate the "War On Wolves" and continue the protection of endangered gray wolves

Save Wolves in Wisconsin

Stop Congress from Sentencing Wolves to Death

SAVE THE WOLVES!!!

STOP HR 424-It will remove federal protection for gray wolves in MN, WI, MI and WY!

Protect the Endangered Species Act

Tell policy makers to SAVE THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

In the last few years the demand for donkey skin has increased exponentially.  China is the biggest importer and now Australia is in the talks to make a deal with China to put donkeys on the live export list and ship them for slaughter. Donkey skin is dried and ground up to make a gelatine-based substance called ‘ejiao’. Ejiaoa is a traditional Chinese medicine made from a combination of herbs and gelatin from donkey skin. It is used by people who believe it is good for their appearance and vitality. China is the main consumer of ejiao, but markets in other countries are emerging also. It is estimated that 2 million donkey skins are traded a year, and that the actual demand is double the number. The deal with Australia won't only affect donkeys though, but ponies and horses. Donkey, pony and horses are killed for meat too.


"Thousands of villagers in Africa who rely upon their donkeys to cart water and other goods now face severe hardship due to donkey theft. In response, several countries have taken action to stop the trade with bans in place in Niger, Burkina Faso and Senegar, and recently Ethiopia closed its only operational slaughterhouse. And in 2015, Pakistan became the first Asian country to ban the export of donkey hides."
The officials of the federal Department of Agriculture confirmed that a number of enquiries had been made about exporting horses and donkeys “in large numbers for slaughter”. The RSPCA is therefore calling for a permanent prohibition on the export of ponies, donkeys and horses for slaughter.

The Australian Live Exporters’ Council has made a statement saying that they are ‘neither seeking nor supportive of any such trade commencing’.

An official Senate petition has been launched, which you can sign here: Ponies, Horses and Donkeys next on the Live Export Hit List. Please sign and share.

There is also a petition on Care2, addressing the Australian agriculture minister, Barnaby Joyce and PM Malcolm Turnbull and urging them to not put donkeys on the live export list. Here is the link: Don't Send Donkeys to their Doom

The original article can be found here: RSPCA fears for Australian ponies, horses and donkeys facing live export for slaughter
Why would this trade be inhumane? Because of the high demand of donkey skin, feral donkeys in Australia are being considered as a potential source of skins. Mustering, transporting, slaughtering or live export of feral donkeys pose a significant animal welfare risk. Donkeys require special handling and can be extremely resistant to being moved or loaded. Donkeys also require a higher standard of care compared to routinely farmed species such as sheep or cattle, including the need for regular dental, coat and hoof care. There are also concerns that as the required product is extracted from the skin, donkeys will not be provided with the same level of care and nutrition required for meat-producing animals.
You can read the full article here: What is the donkey skin trade and why is it inhumane?

The Donkey Sanctuary, an organization from UK has published a review of this trade which described the donkey skin trade as a human and animal welfare crisis. You can read the full report as a PDF here: Under the skin - full report. It is available in 9 languages: English, French, Chinese, Swahili, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Russian and Portuguese.


RSPCA has made a statement explaining why the export should be prohibited. They stated that any live animal export has serious welfare problems, be it transport conditions that result in stress, disease, injury and death or the lack of control over what happens to animals in importing countries.

"General stressors associated with transport include: unfamiliar surroundings and animals handling by different people with various skills and competency, confinement with limited space to move freely, disruption of social groups, limited access to food and water, and transition to a different type of feed , exposure to noise, pollution, vibration, motion and different light intensities. Horses and donkeys are highly sensitive animals and thus very susceptible to the multitude of cumulative stressors inherent with live export. Studies have shown that even trucking previously handled horses or donkeys for as little as four hours results in both species showing a stress response, with donkeys showing higher levels of stress hormones, including cortisol, than horses. In addition to this, conditions of transport, handling, and slaughter in importing countries cannot be effectively monitored or controlled by Australian authorities. The Australian Government has no legal means of ensuring horses and donkeys exported overseas will be treated humanely or in accordance with Australian animal welfare standards. Extensive evidence gathered from countries importing Australian livestock has shown inhumane slaughter and handling practices that would be contrary to Australian laws and standards."

You can read the full article here: Why should live export of horses and donkeys from Australia for slaughter be prohibited?

West Papua is a province of Indonesia. It was once a Dutch colony, but it was invaded in 1963 by Indonesia. Indonesia craved access to West Papua’s vast natural resources including Grasberg, a mountain which has since become the world’s largest goldmine. For over 50 years the people of West Papua have been suffering under the occupation of the Indonesian government. It is estimated that over 500,000 people have been killed. There are not much media reports because foreign journalists have been banned from freely reporting about this. In 1969, the United Nations promised the people of West Papua a free and fair referendum on independence to be held “in accordance with international practice”. The reaction of the Indonesia government was to handpick 1,026 people and force them at gunpoint to vote for Indonesian rule.

"In 1969, the Indonesian military marched 1026 West Papuans (0.2 of the population) at gunpoint to the voting station, and told to raise their hand at the right moment, or be shot. Many of their families were being held by the military. They all voted in favour of Indonesia. The West Papuan people have been fighting for their right for a fair & free referendum for 55 years."

After that day, the people of West Papua have campaigned for their fundamental right to self-determination. The UN has promised them an independence referendum and they want that to happen. The United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) is leading the call to #LetWestPapuaVote and has organized a national and international petition to get the support from the world and to send the message that the people of West Papua demand to be free. The Global petition for West Papua officially has been launched in January this year. There is also an online petition on Avaaz. Here is the link: Help to end the genocide in West Papua. Please sign and share.

"It only took a week for Indonesia’s Orwellian ‘Minister of Communications’ backed by the military to ban the petition and in fact the entire petition hosting website of Avaaz throughout the whole of Indonesia."

Last year a  group of young swimmers decided to raise awareness for the people of West Papua through swimming. They agreed that this month they would swim the petition 69 kilometers across Lake Geneva and into the hands of the United Nations.



People from West Papua also began to sign the petition manually, at great personal risk. Saverius Mokai Gebse and Reimundus Ndiken were arrested by the Indonesian police for signing the petition in their own village. That was back in May, and there is still no information what happened to them. The Indonesian military and police said that anyone who participates in the signing of the petition for West Papua “will be arrested”.

"West Papua is a country where just displaying your national flag can get you 15 years in jail; for signing this petition, can get you 15 years in prison."
You can read the full article here: Swim for West Papua. Here’s why your name matters to the people of West Papua.


These people need help from the whole world. Please sign and share the petition. Spread the word. You can use the hashtags #BackTheSwim and #LetWestPapuaVote.

For more information about the swim and the team, visit: https://www.swimforwestpapua.com/

Here is the official website of The United Liberation Movement for West Papua: https://www.ulmwp.org/