Aleppo Ceasefire?, Bangkok Blast, Blackface In Italy

An injured man is evacuated in Bangkok, one of 28 anti-government protesters reported injured in a bomb explosion in Bangkok on Friday.

Rachen Sageamsak, Xinhua/ZUMA

PLANS FOR CEASEFIRE IN ALEPPO
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem announced at joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that Syria had given Russia plans for a ceasefire in the northern city of Aleppo, RT reports. He also said that, if successful, the plan could be implemented in other cities and that the government was ready to exchange prisoners with the opposition. This comes just five days ahead of the planned Geneva 2 peace conference. It is still unclear whether representatives of the opposition will attend.

LEBANON TOWN HIT BY ROCKET FROM SYRIA
At least seven people died in Eastern Lebanon after a rocket apparently fired from the Syrian side of the border hit the town of Arsal, The Daily Star reports.

BLAST IN BANGKOK AS PROTESTS CONTINUE
Twenty-eight anti-government protesters were injured in Bangkok after a small explosive device went off where demonstrators were marching, The Bangkok Post reports. Protesters have been targeted a number of times over the past few days, leading an army chief to express concern that an armed group might be behind these attacks.

ISRAEL CHARGES “PRO-PALESTINIAN BIAS”
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman summoned the ambassadors of Britain, France, Italy and Spain this morning, accusing them of “pro-Palestinian bias” after they criticized the recent announcements of new settlements to be constructed in territories illegally occupied by Israel, AFP reports.

CIGARETTES DEADLIER THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT
A new scientific study shows that cigarettes can cause a lot more diseases than previously thought, including diabetes, colorectal and liver cancers, erectile dysfunction and ectopic pregnancy, The New York Timesreports.

FAREWELL
Hiroo Onoda, the Japanese soldier who didn’t emerge from hiding and surrender until 30 years after the end of World War II, has died in Tokyo at age 91.

VERBATIM
A member of the Italian Parliament went on an anti-immigrant rant in blackface. Read here what he had to say.

CRIME INT’L
A team of journalists has identified France’s most famous singer, Johnny Hallyday, as a possible tax evader after studying geolocated photos on his Instagram account. His reply? “They’re morons”...

BY THE NUMBERS
The NSA collects almost 200 million texts every day from around the world.

BOARD GAME COLLECTOR
Remember Jumanji? The original game is on sale on eBay. Good luck to potential bidders!

WHILE YOU SLEPT

While You Slept is Worldcrunch's daily morning mix of our best stories and breaking news. SUBSCRIBE TO WHILE YOU SLEPT NOW <a href="http://www.worldcrunch.com/newsletter">[SIGN ME UP]</a>

WHILE YOU SLEPT

Lebanon

Aleppo Ceasefire?, Bangkok Blast, Blackface In Italy

An injured man is evacuated in Bangkok, one of 28 anti-government protesters reported injured in a bomb explosion in Bangkok on Friday.

Rachen Sageamsak, Xinhua/ZUMA

FAREWELL
Hiroo Onoda, the Japanese soldier who didn’t emerge from hiding and surrender until 30 years after the end of World War II, has died in Tokyo at age 91.

VERBATIM
A member of the Italian Parliament went on an anti-immigrant rant in blackface. Read here what he had to say.

BY THE NUMBERS
The NSA collects almost 200 million texts every day from around the world.

BOARD GAME COLLECTOR
Remember Jumanji? The original game is on sale on eBay. Good luck to potential bidders!

WHILE YOU SLEPT

While You Slept is Worldcrunch's daily morning mix of our best stories and breaking news. SUBSCRIBE TO WHILE YOU SLEPT NOW <a href="http://www.worldcrunch.com/newsletter">[SIGN ME UP]</a>

WHILE YOU SLEPT

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Migrant Lives

Migration

What's Driving More Venezuelans To Migrate To The U.S.

With dimmed hopes of a transition from the economic crisis and repressive regime of Nicolas Maduro, many Venezuelans increasingly see the United States, rather than Latin America, as the place to rebuild a life..

Photo of a family of Migrants from Venezuela crossing the Rio Grande between Mexico and the U.S. to surrender to the border patrol with the intention of requesting humanitarian asylum

Migrants from Venezuela crossed the Rio Grande between Mexico and the U.S. to surrender to the border patrol with the intention of requesting humanitarian asylum.

David Peinado via Zuma Press

Julio Borges

-Analysis-

Migration has too many elements to count. Beyond the matter of leaving your homeland, the process creates a gaping emptiness inside the migrant — and outside, in their lives. If forced upon someone, it can cause psychological and anthropological harm, as it involves the destruction of roots. That's in fact the case of millions of Venezuelans who have left their country without plans for the future or pleasurable intentions.

Their experience is comparable to paddling desperately in shark-infested waters. As many Mexicans will concur, it is one thing to take a plane, and another to pay a coyote to smuggle you to some place 'safe.'

Venezuela's mass emigration of recent years has evolved in time. Initially, it was the middle and upper classes and especially their youth, migrating to escape the socialist regime's socio-political and economic policies. Evidently, they sought countries with better work, study and business opportunities like the United States, Panama or Spain. The process intensified after 2017 when the regime's erosion of democratic structures and unrelenting economic vandalism were harming all Venezuelans.