Seconds can make a difference... #JustDrive

In 2016, distracted driving claimed 3,450 lives -- an 8% increase from 2014. Tragically, texting while driving has become especially problematic among millennials, particularly female drivers who have been more likely to be involved in a fatal crash every year since 2012.   Whether you are on the phone, texting, checking your hair, or reaching down for a burger and fries, you are robbing yourself of seconds that can be the difference between a close call and a deadly crash.  Regardless of the law in your state, you should be asking yourself, "What can I do? And how do I keep my family safe?" Distracted Driving Awareness Month is a great time to reflect on the choices that you make while behind the wheel and to take action in your community to help stop distracted driving. Join us on April 30 from 7 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. as we tweet every 30 minutes about the dangers of distracted driving. One conversation, one share, or one retweet could save the life of a loved one. Take the pledge to drive safely and talk to your friends and family about doing the same. Join us in our fight for safer roads.  Who: NHTSA and You! What: #JustDrive Tweet Up When: Monday, April 30, 7 a.m. - 11:59 p.m. ET   Where: www.twitter.com/NHTSAgov  How: Follow the conversation using #JustDrive. Feel free to mention @NHTSAgov in any of your tweets and we will return as many questions and comments as we can!  Follow NHTSA on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with the latest recalls and safety campaigns. Visit us at NHTSA.gov for more information on distracted driving prevention. Additional Resources >> NHTSA.gov >> More about Distracted Driving from NHTSA.gov >> U Drive. U Text. U Pay Campaign Information  >> Resources for Distracted Driving Campaigns You are subscribed to receive traffic safety news and information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Update your subscriptions, modify your password or e-mail address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your e-mail address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please contact subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com. This service is provided to you at no charge by NHTSA. This service is provided to you sajanram.shrestha@blogger.com at no charge by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) · 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE · Washington, DC 20590 · 888-327-4236

Land arrivals to Greece now outpacing sea arrivals

The Refugee Brief, 27 April

By Kristy Siegfried @klsiegfried   |  27 April, 2018 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Land arrivals to Greece now outpacing sea arrivals. Some 2,900 people have crossed Greece’s northern land border with Turkey so far this month, according to UNHCR, which noted that land arrivals have outpaced sea arrivals in April. The UN’s refugee agency raised concerns today about conditions at over-stretched reception centres and police detention facilities in the Evros region and urged Greek authorities to identify open transit sites where new arrivals, many of them Syrian and Iraqi families, can be directed to for registration. UNHCR noted that some families with children were being held in police detention in dismal conditions. Since the start of the year, at least eight people have died trying to cross the Evros river, which forms a natural border between Greece and Turkey. Last week, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies warned that the sharp rise in land arrivals could signal the start of a summer emergency. Bombardment of Yarmouk intensifies. In a statement on Thursday, UNRWA warned of the “catastrophic consequences ” of the escalation in fighting in and around Yarmouk, a camp for Palestinian refugees south of Damascus. Over a week of intense bombing and shelling, at least 19 civilians have been killed and 150 injured, mostly women and the elderly, according to a former camp resident still in touch with some of the estimated 1,500 families who remain there. Reuters spoke over the phone to some of those among an estimated 5,000 who have fled Yarmouk in the last week to the neighbouring town of Yalda, where the sounds of war are still close enough to terrify their children. WHAT’S ON OUR RADAR Venezuelans arriving in Colombia to receive food vouchers. Starting on Monday, the World Food Programme will begin distributing monthly US$35 vouchers to thousands of hungry Venezuelans arriving in neighbouring Colombia. The vouchers, which will be redeemable at local shops, are to target the most vulnerable, such as malnourished children and pregnant mothers. The programme aims to reach 350,000 Venezuelans over the next eight months but will depend on the international community contributing US$46 million to cover the costs.  Israel’s only mental health clinic for refugees faces closure. The Gesher Clinic has treated 800 asylum-seekers, including torture and human-trafficking survivors, since it opened in early 2014. Currently it has nearly 300 patients and another 200 on a waiting list, but Haaretz reports that its operating budget will run out in two months and there are no plans to renew it. Most of the clinic’s patients are young men, mainly from Eritrea, with post-traumatic stress stemming from experiences in their home countries and during their journeys to Israel. Toronto asks for help to manage homeless asylum-seekers. Toronto Mayor John Tory says his city needs help from the federal and provincial governments to accommodate asylum-seekers, who now occupy 40 per cent of beds in the city’s shelters for the homeless. Tory said Toronto and other Canadian cities needed “significant additional resources ” to pay for housing and other services for refugees and asylum-seekers, whose numbers have increased in the past year. Last week, Quebec’s immigration minister asked the federal government for additional funding to prepare for an expected increase in asylum-seekers crossing the border with the United States over the summer. GET INSPIRED Deaf asylum-seekers and refugees in Vienna are learning sign language and written German through courses offered by an Austrian organization, Equalizent. In this short BBC film, Ghaith from Iraq uses sign language to explain his hopes for the future: “I want a job, a wife and to get married. I love kids, but I was always alone. I want to give my children a positive feeling for life and not the negative things I experienced.” DID YOU KNOW? The number of refugees and migrants who have arrived to Evros so far this month is equivalent to half of all recorded arrivals via the Greece-Turkey land border in 2017.

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Air Travel Consumer Report: February 2018 Numbers

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DOT 33-18 Thursday, April 26, 2018 Contact: pressoffice@dot.gov   Air Travel Consumer Report: February 2018 Numbers   WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today released its April 2018 Air Travel Consumer Report (ATCR) on air carrier data compiled for the month of February 2018.  The full consumer report and other aviation consumer matters of interest to the public can be found at http://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer.   On-Time Performance   In February 2018, the reporting carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 79.3 percent, down from both the 82.6 percent on-time rate in February 2017 and the 79.6 percent mark in January 2018.   Highest On-Time Arrival Rates   Delta Air Lines – 87.9 percent Alaska Airlines – 85.3 percent United Airlines – 84.7 percent   Lowest On-Time Arrival Rates    Envoy Air – 70.6 percent PSA Airlines – 72.1 percent Frontier Airlines – 73.8 percent   Cancellations   In February 2018, the reporting carriers canceled 1.7 percent of their scheduled domestic flights, slightly up from the 1.5 percent cancellation rate posted in February 2017, but an improvement over the 3.0 percent rate in January 2018.   Highest Rates of Canceled Flights   Envoy Air – 6.1 percent Mesa Airlines – 3.0 percent SkyWest Airlines – 2.8 percent   Lowest Rates of Canceled Flights   Delta Air Lines – 0.1 percent Hawaiian Airlines – 0.3 percent United Airlines – 0.4 percent   Tarmac Delays   In February 2018, airlines reported 27 tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights, compared to 12 such tarmac delays reported in January 2018. In February 2018, airlines also reported four tarmac delays of more than four hours on international flights, compared to 32 such tarmac delays reported in January 2018.  Extended tarmac delays are investigated by the Department.   Domestic Flights with Longest Tarmac Delays Exceeding Three Hours   Republic Airline flight 3491 from Newark, N.J. to Kansas City, Mo., 2/17/18 – delayed 250 minutes on the tarmac in Newark United Airlines flight 1611 from Newark, N.J. to Phoenix, 2/17/18 – delayed 249 minutes on the tarmac in Newark Endeavor Air flight 3370 from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Kansas City, Mo., 2/20/18 – delayed 242 minutes on the tarmac in Kansas City   International Flights with Longest Tarmac Delays Exceeding Four Hours   United Airlines flight 81 from Newark, N.J. to Manchester, United Kingdom, 2/17/18 – delayed 271 minutes on the tarmac in Newark United Airlines flight 41 from Rome, Italy to Newark, N.J., 2/11/18 – delayed 251 minutes on the tarmac in Philadelphia after being diverted United Airlines flight 14 from Newark, N.J. to London Heathrow, 2/17/18 – delayed 247 minutes on the tarmac in Newark   Detailed information on airline on-time performance, cancellations, and tarmac delays is available from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.   Mishandled Baggage   In February 2018, the carriers posted a mishandled baggage rate of 2.72 reports per 1,000 passengers, an increase over February 2017's rate of 2.16, but an improvement over January 2018's rate of 3.50.   Bumping/Oversales   Bumping/oversales data, unlike other air carrier data, are reported quarterly rather than monthly.  Fourth quarter 2017 bumping/oversales data were released in the February 2018 Air Travel Consumer Report. First quarter 2018 bumping/oversales data will be available in the May 2018 Air Travel Consumer Report.   Incidents Involving Animals   In February 2018, U.S. airlines reported one incident involving the death, injury, or loss of an animal while traveling by air, down from the two reports filed in February 2017, but up from the zero reports filed in January 2018. February's incident involved the death of one animal.   Complaints About Airline Service   In February 2018, DOT received 1,046 complaints about airline service from consumers, up 10.5 percent from the total of 947 filed in February 2017, but down 27.9 percent from the 1,451 received in January 2018.   Complaints About Treatment of Disabled Passengers   In February 2018, the Department received a total of 53 disability-related complaints, down from both the 55 complaints received in February 2017 and the 66 complaints received in January 2018.  All complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of disability are investigated.   Complaints About Discrimination   In February 2018, the Department received four complaints alleging discrimination – one complaint regarding ancestry/ethnicity, one complaint regarding national origin, one complaint regarding religion, and one complaint regarding sex.  This is equal to the total of four recorded in February 2017 and down from the seven recorded in January 2018. All complaints alleging discrimination are investigated to determine if there has been a violation(s) of the passenger's civil rights.   Consumers may file air travel consumer or civil rights complaints on the web at http://airconsumer.dot.gov/escomplaint/ConsumerForm.cfm or by voice mail at (202) 366-2220 or by TTY at (202) 366-0511.  They may also mail a complaint to the Aviation Consumer Protection Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, C-75, W96-432, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590.   Consumers who want on-time performance data for specific flights should call their airline's reservation number or their travel agent. This information is available on the computerized reservation systems used by these agents.  The information is also available on the appropriate carrier's website.     ### You are subscribed to DOT email updates. Subscriber Services: Manage Preferences Questions for BTS? Contact BTS  STAY CONNECTED             U.S. Department of Transportation | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington DC 20590 | 202-385-HELP (4357)

He wanted affection—he was tormented instead

Gandalf's hand was bitten down to the tendons. This laboratory's response was completely inadequate.

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	Gandalf lived, suffered, and was killed in a laboratory—we must spare other monkeys a similar fate. We need 1,000 donors by April 30 to help stop animal testing—will you be the next one?   Dear Aaaaaaa, Gandalf—a monkey confined to a laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt)—was so desperate for affection that he presented his back to passersby and gestured desperately to try to get them to groom it. But he received no affection or warmth—only torment. After a severely stressed monkey caged nearby bit Gandalf's hand down to the tendons, the veterinarian on call refused to examine his injury. Instead, she just prescribed ibuprofen—a woefully inadequate treatment for such a serious wound. He was then forced to undergo an experimental surgery. Three weeks later, he was euthanized and sealed in a biohazard bag after experimenters took tissue samples from his corpse. Today, there are hundreds more monkeys trapped in cages at Pitt, while tens of thousands more languish in other laboratories, experiencing pain and fear as Gandalf did. If you and I don't help them, who will? Please, be one of the 1,000 donors we need to pitch in just $5 or more by April 30 to help support PETA's vital work to end cruel, deadly experiments on animals. PETA's eyewitness observed other monkeys in the laboratory slowly losing their minds: pacing, rocking, and displaying other repetitive behavior often seen in stressed animals held in captivity. Since our investigation, news reports broke that a monkey who may have been infected with a dangerous pathogen escaped from a cage at the same university and that staff allegedly attempted to cover it up—potentially putting animals and humans alike at risk. Powered by committed PETA supporters like you, our work to end experimentation on animals has helped reduce the number of monkeys, rabbits, and other animals suffering each year: We recently persuaded food giant General Mills to ban experiments on animals for the purpose of making health claims about its products. It now joins Coca-Cola, Lipton, and many of the world's largest food companies that have stopped cruel tests after hearing from PETA. Not long afterward, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that it had ended the use of animals in cruel trauma training drills. It took years of aggressive campaigning by PETA to stop the service branch from shooting, stabbing, and dismembering goats, pigs, and other animals. But as long as even a single animal is suffering in a laboratory, we must push forward to end the neglect and abuse—and we can't do it without your support. Our goal is for 1,000 generous supporters to make a donation by midnight on April 30. We're making good progress, but we need you with us, too. Give your gift of $5 or more now and help prevent more animals from suffering in laboratories and cruel experiments! As always, thank you so much for all that you do for animals—every step we take toward a kinder world is only possible with your dedication and compassion. Kind regards, Ingrid E. Newkirk President
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US investigates alleged atrocities against Rohingya

The Refugee Brief, 26 April

By Annie Hylton @hyltonanne   |  26 April, 2018 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW US investigates alleged atrocities against Rohingya. The US State Department has been leading an investigation into alleged atrocities against Rohingya Muslims. US officials told Reuters that a team of 20 investigators had carried out interviews with more than 1,000 Rohingya refugees in settlements in Bangladesh and that findings from the interviews could be used to prosecute Myanmar's military for crimes against humanity. A UN Security Council delegation plans to visit Rakhine State next week, in what would be the highest-profile UN visit since the crackdown on the Rohingya began last August. AFP reports that a previous request by the Security Council to visit Rakhine in February was turned down by Myanmar's government, but notes that this visit has been approved. Donors pledge US$4.4 billion for Syria. Delegates to a donor conference in Brussels pledged US$4.4 billion in aid for Syrians displaced by the war and their host countries in the region on Wednesday. A further $3.4 billion was pledged for 2019 and 2020. The amount for 2018 fell short of the $7 to $8 billion the UN had said was needed to assist 5.6 million Syrian refugees and 13 million people in need inside Syria. Thirty-six donors at the conference made pledges, including Britain, Germany and France. The United States had not yet submitted a pledge, noted UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock at a press conference. “In an ideal world, we would have liked to raise even more money and we do expect to receive additional funding this year,” he said. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi also invited countries present at the conference to expand resettlement programmes for Syrian refugees. “We need to stay the course and show continued support and solidarity with the Syrian people but also the host communities,” he said. WHAT’S ON OUR RADAR Human rights groups critical of Greek government’s move to overturn court ruling. Twenty-one human rights and humanitarian organizations yesterday said the government's actions to overturn a 17 April court ruling – a ruling that would have made it easier for asylum-seekers arriving on the Greek islands to move to the mainland – raised "rule of law concerns”. An administrative order reinstated the ban on movement on 20 April, and lawmakers are now discussing legislation that would turn the policy into law. Floods displace Kenyans and refugees. Flooding that has displaced more than 200,000 people across Kenya and killed 72 people has also affected hundreds of refugees at Dadaab camp. According to UNHCR, residents have been forced to take shelter in schools, and pit latrines are overflowing, raising concerns about outbreaks of waterborne diseases. The heavy rains have also destroyed hundreds of shelters, leaving many refugees homeless. German court to rule on medical age tests for refugee minors. Germany’s Federal Administrative Court will decide today if a medical exam can be used routinely to help determine the age of an unaccompanied minor. Currently, such tests are only used when there is considerable doubt about a refugee’s age following an interview with a youth welfare officer. Deutsche Welle reports that the tests, which include x-rays and physical exams, have a considerable margin of error and raise ethical and legal concerns. Webby Awards recognize refugee activism and photography. This year’s Webby Award for activism went to Refugees Welcome, a project designed to bring refugees and non-refugees around a table “to break bread and break barriers”. Searching for Syria, UNHCR’s collaboration with Google and R/GA, won the award for best use of photography. GET INSPIRED Yara, a Syrian refugee who lives in Belgium, built up her catering business by approaching other Syrian women she found on the street, in trams or in supermarkets and asking them to work with her. Now the business, called ‘From Syria With Love’, feeds up to 800 people at a time from its permanent site in Antwerp. UNHCR and the OECD, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, this week launched an action plan to expand employment opportunities for refugees. DID YOU KNOW? 13.1 million people in Syria are in need of humanitarian assistance, and up to 80 percent of Syrian refugees live below the poverty line in some countries.

Follow UNHCR DONATE Produced by the Communications and Public Information Service Managing Editors: Melissa Fleming and Christopher Reardon Contributing Editor: Kate Bond Subscribe to The Refugee Brief or view recent issues HQP100 P.O. Box 2500 CH-1211 Geneva 2 Tel +41 22 739 85 02   |   Fax: +41 22 739 73 14 Unsubscribe   |   Update Profile   |   Privacy Policy   |   View this email in your browser