WHO approves emergency use of first mpox test


Oct. 4, 2024 / UPI

The World Health Organization said Thursday it approved the first mpox invitro diagnostic test for emergency use. The Affinity m MPXV assay, made by Abbott Molecular, will expand global diagnostic capacity.

 FIle Photo by Chris Milosi/EPA-EFE

Oct. 4 (UPI) -- The World Health Organization said Thursday it approved the first mpox invitro diagnostic test for emergency use.

The Alinity m MPXV assay, made by Abbott Molecular, will expand diagnostic capacity for nations dealing with mpox outbreaks, the WHO said.

In Africa, WHO said, limited testing capacity and delays in confirming cases contribute to the continuing mpox spread. Approval of this test is an important step in expanding global access to mpox testing.

"This first mpox diagnostic test listed under the Emergency Use Listing procedure represents a significant milestone in expanding testing availability in affected countries," said the WHO's Dr. Yukiko Nakatani in a statement. "Increasing access to quality-assured medical products is central to our efforts in assisting countries to contain the spread of the virus and protect their people, especially in underserved regions."

According to WHO, in 2024 more than 30,000 suspected mpox cases have been reported across Africa. The highest numbers were in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, and Nigeria.

The Alinity m MPXV assay is a real-time PCR test using swabs of skin lesions. It is approved under WHO's Emergency Use Listing procedure.
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EUL is used for vaccines, tests, and medical treatments.

"The EUL process assesses the quality, safety, and performance of essential health products, such as diagnostic tests, to guide procurement agencies and WHO Member States in making informed decisions for time-limited emergency procurement," the WHO said in a statement.

Supreme Court won't issue stay against Biden administration's methane rule

FINALLY DID  THE RIGHT THING


Methane emissions generated by the oil and gas industry are targeted by a new Biden administration regulation that is under legal challenge. The Supreme Court on Friday declined to issue a stay against its implementation.

 Photo by Guy WF Loftus/Wikimedia Commons

Oct. 4 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court on Friday refused to issue a temporary halt to the implementation of new Biden administration rules limiting the release of methane from oil and gas production sites.

In an unsigned order and without further comment, the high court turned down a request from a coalition of Republican-led states and fossil fuel companies seeking a temporary stay to block the Environmental Protection Agency from rolling out the methane rule, as well as another new rule requiring fossil fuel-fired power plants to reduce their emissions of metallic toxins such as mercury.

The matter now goes back to lower courts, where the rules' legality will be the subject of further arguments.

The proposed methane rule was announced by the Biden administration in January. The EPA describes methane as a "super pollutant" more potent than carbon dioxide and responsible for approximately one-third of the climate warming from greenhouse gases occurring today and identifies the oil and natural gas sector as the largest industrial source of methane emissions in the United States.

The rule sets out how companies would be charged for emissions above the levels set by Congress in the Inflation Reduction Act. That law calls for fines, or "waste emissions charges," of $900 per metric ton in 2024, increasing to $1,200 for 2025, and $1,500 for 2026 and beyond.


Meanwhile, the EPA's suite of new coal-fired power plant rules was finalized in April. Among its provisions are a requirement for existing coal-fired and new natural gas-fired power plants to control 90% of their carbon pollution and a 70% reduction in the existing emissions standards for mercury from existing lignite-fired sources.

The methane rule, however, was quickly opposed by the American Petroleum Institute, which called on Congress to repeal it as an "incoherent, confusing regulatory regime that will only stifle innovation and undermine our ability to meet rising energy demand."

Also joining in opposition was a group of 24 Republican state attorneys general, who filed suit in March.

Led by Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, they called the proposed EPA rule a "blatant attack on America's oil and gas industry, adding that if the regulation went into effect, it would "cost Oklahoma countless jobs, devastate the oil and gas industry, and force us to pay significantly higher energy prices."

They argued the Clean Air Act never was meant to favor one type of energy over another, in this case, promoting clean energy sources over fossil fuels.

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, however, dismissed that interpretation in court filings, maintaining that states' rights were not being overridden by the EPA rules.

Watchdog says Trump-appointed DHS inspector general abused power

Oct. 4 (UPI) -- The White House has received a confidential watchdog report alleging that Trump-appointed Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari abused his authority and committed substantial misconduct. It recommended punishment up to and including firing him.

The report recommended "appropriate action, up to and including dismissal."

The Council of the Inspectors General On Integrity and Efficiency, known as the Integrity Committee, wrote the report

A redacted version was released by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.

The report stated, "After thoroughly reviewing the evidence and carefully considering the subject responses, the IC finds by a preponderance of the evidence that IG Cuffari engaged in conduct undermining the independence or integrity reasonably expected of his position."

The IC report alleges that Cuffari abused his authority and "engaged in substantial misconduct in the form of a gross waste of funds" when he spent $$1.393 million of taxpayer funds to hire a private law firm to investigate three former senior members of his staff.

The IC found that was most likely done for his "personal" interest and to retaliate against them. One of the staffers got a $1.17 million settlement paid with additional taxpayer funds, according to the IC report.

The IC alleges that Cuffari provided inaccurate and misleading answers to questions regarding possible misconduct in his federal employment history as a sworn law enforcement officer, and as an IG, misrepresented his reasons for hiring a private law firm to investigate three former DHS OIG senior executives and his influence over that investigation.

In a partially redacted paragraph, the IC report said Cuffari personally attempted to influence that independent investigation.

The IC report also found that former Chief Operating Officer/Acting Inspector General Jennifer Costello "abused her authority in the exercise of her official duties when she wrongfully resisted newly confirmed IG Cuffari's leadership through a series of divisive words and actions."

Related

Democratic lawmakers call for DHS inspector general to resign after he deletes texts
House Reps accuse Homeland Security chief of obstruction
DHS inspector general nixed warning of deleted Jan. 6 Secret Service texts

| Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari (speaking at a House Oversight and Accountability Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C., in 2023) is accused of misconduct. The White House has received a confidential watchdog report alleging that the Trump-appointed official has abused his authority, as well. File Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE

Republicans on Capitol Hill have praised Cuffari over the years for being highly critical of the Biden administration and are likely to oppose Cuffari's removal.

Top Democrats including House Homeland Security Committee ranking member Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Oversight Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., issued a joint statement calling for Biden to remove Cuffari.

"In the wake of the independent and nonpartisan CIGIE Integrity Committee's report documenting IG Cuffari's misconduct, we call on President Biden to remove him as inspector general of DHS," they wrote.


They added, "General Cuffari's extensive and shocking record of misconduct and obstruction is evidence that he has seriously compromised the public's trust and is plainly not fit to serve in a position that requires him to guard the public interest and act beyond reproach."

Zuckerberg passes Bezos to become world's second-richest billionaire


CEO of Meta Mark Zuckerberg participates in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on "Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis" at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 31 and recently became the world's second-richest individual. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Meta founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg bypassed Amazon's Jeff Bezos to become the world's second-richest billionaire with a fortune of about $211 billion.

Zuckerberg's fortune grew by $78.1 billion in 2024, which enabled him to pass Bezos and Bernard Arnault, who have fortunes valued at $209 billion and $193 billion, respectively, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The growth in value of Meta shares, which increased in value by 72% this year and closed at an all-time high of $595.94 on Friday, grew Zuckerberg's fortune.

Meta owns and operates the Facebook, Instagram and Threads social media platforms and the mobile messaging app WhatsApp.

Zuckerberg on Sept. 25 said a more recent Meta AI venture likely will become the world's most-used artificial intelligence platform and currently has about 500 million monthly users.

He said an anticipated launch in the European Union should make it the world's most used AI platform.

Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk remains the world's wealthiest individual with a fortune valued at $263 billion, which is up some$33.8 billion from a year ago.




Musk, Zuckerberg and Bezos are the only individuals with fortunes exceeding $200 billion.

Oracle founder Larry Ellison rounds out the top-five wealthiest individuals with a fortune totaling $183 billion, which is up $59.6 billion from a year ago.

 

SPACE/COSMOS

Sky watchers expecting weekend aurora borealis show following huge solar flares



 NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a massive X9.0 solar flare, as seen in the bright flash in the center, on Thursday. Sky watchers were anticipating an intense aurora borealis display over the weekend as a result of the eruption. Photo by NASA/SDO

Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Sky watchers across North America are anxiously anticipating what could be the most intense display of aurora borealis in decades this weekend in the wake of two major solar flares.

The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, "may put on an exceptional display both Friday and Saturday nights, which could be visible across all of Canada and the northern United States," predicted The Weather Network, adding the weekend's display "could rival the best shows the northern lights have put on in decades."

That enthusiasm is based on a forecast issued Friday by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center calling for strong geomagnetic activity levels beginning early Friday evening and lasting until shortly before 12 a.m. EDT Saturday.

Then, following a brief lull, moderate geomagnetic activity levels will kick in throughout much of Saturday, during which auroras likely will be visible across Canada and as far south as Oregon, Nebraska, Illinois and Pennsylvania in the United States

"G1-G3 (Minor-Strong) geomagnetic storms likely over the next three days due to influences from the halo CMEs (coronal mass ejections) that left the Sun late on 01 Oct and midday on 03 Oct," space forecasters wrote, referring to a massive X9.0-class solar flare that erupted from the sun's surface on Thursday.

That colossal flare, which peaked at 8:18 a.m. EDT, was the biggest seen in seven years and the most powerful CME in the current 11-year sunspot cycle. It came from the same sunspot group as a smaller but still powerful flare on Tuesday, which measured X7.1.

Solar flares are powerful bursts of energy which can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.

The charged ions they emit also are responsible for creating the aurora borealis when they interact with gases upon reaching Earth's magnetosphere, releasing energy in the form of light.

Artemis Student Challenges: NASA selects teams for launch, payload competitions

Oct. 4 (UPI) -- NASA announced the selection of 71 student teams that will build and launch amateur rockets and scientific payloads in a competition they hope will inspire the next generation of space explorers.

The 71 teams are divided into a college division and high-school/middle-school division.
The final on-site events will start April 30 with the final launches on May 3 at Bragg Farms in Toney, Ala., just north of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

The 25th annual Student Launch Challenge is one of NASA's Artemis Student Challenges, meant to encourage students in the science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, fields.

"Each year, NASA updates the university payload challenge to reflect current scientific and exploration missions," NASA said in a statement. "For the 2025 season, the payload challenge will again take inspiration from the Artemis missions, which seeks to land the first woman and person of color on the Moon and pave the way for future human exploration of Mars."

NASA also selected 75 student teams to start an engineering design challenge to build rovers that will compete next spring in the U.S. Space and Rocket Center near the Marshall Space Flight Center. It is also part of the Artemis Student Challenges.

Students from the 75 teams will present their engineering designs next year for piloting an astronaut-driven vehicle on the lunar surface while overcoming various obstacles.

Biden presses Congress for hurricane aid as Helene death toll rises

UPI

OCT.5, 2024

Hurricane Helene caused extensive damage in Asheville, North Carolina. 

Photo by Madeleine Cook/FEMA/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 5 (UPI) -- The death toll from Hurricane Helene has topped 220 with hundreds still missing and about a million without power, prompting President Joe Biden to urge Congress to approve emergency funding.

The death toll is expected to rise as local communities continue recovery efforts, including locating missing persons, obtaining supplies and restoring power to the about 1 million who lack it.

Hurricane Helene disaster relief can't wait until the nation's lawmakers get back to work in November, Biden said in a letter to congressional leaders Friday.

Biden addressed the letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Friday.

Related

Tropical depression forms in Gulf; Florida threatened
Dolly Parton, Morgan Wallen step up for Hurricane Helene victims
New Jersey search and rescue joins in Helene search; death toll reaches 215

The House and Senate are recessed through the Nov. 5 election and aren't scheduled to reconvene until Nov. 12.

"As communities across the Southeast devastated by Hurricane Helene assess the extent of the damage, they are expecting their federal government to stand behind them in their most urgent time of need," Biden said.

"We have a responsibility to ensure that everyone in communities ravaged by natural disasters will have the federal resources they need and deserve to respond to and recover from deadly storms and other natural disasters," he added.

Biden said the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Defense and other federal agencies "have quickly mobilized to support impacted citizens and communities in the six states where major disasters have been declared."

Those six states are Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

"They are performing critical life-saving and life-sustaining missions and will continue to do so withing present funding levels," Biden said.

Biden said FEMA has the necessary resources for implementing its emergency response, but other agencies do not.

He said the Small Business Administration's disaster loan program will run out of money in a "matter of weeks" and before Congress is scheduled to reconvene in November.

"I warned the Congress of this potential shortfall even before Hurricane Helene landed on America's shores," Biden said.




Biden said he asked Congress to allocate more funding for the SBA several times in recent months, including as part of the recent resolution to fund the federal government and prevent a shutdown.

"Now the need is even more urgent," Biden said. "Small businesses and individuals in affected areas depend on disaster loans as a critical lifeline during difficult times."

Biden also said the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund faces a possible shortfall by the end of the year and would have to forgo long-term recovery activities without additional funding resources.

"Congress should provide FEMA additional resources to avoid forcing that kind of unnecessary trade-off," Biden said.

Biden's call for more FEMA funding comes amid criticism that Congress this year allocated $650 million for the federal Shelter and Services Program to help migrant support groups, communities, non-profits and state and local governments provide shelter, food and medical care for migrants.

Those funds don't come from FEMA's budget, but the agency distributes them.

Moody's Analytics estimates insurers and Congress will have to cover $34 billion in damages from the storm.

Thailand hands out money in 'digital wallet' stimulus plan

Tommy Walker in Bangkok

DW

A plan to bolster economic growth by stimulating domestic consumer spending is set to cost the government billions, and there is no guarantee it will pay off.

The Thai government is sending 10,000 Baht to 45 million people in order to stimulate spending

Image: Tommy Walker/DW

The first phase of Thailand's "digital wallet" stimulus scheme got underway last week, following up on a major campaign promise from the Pheu Thai party ahead of Thailand's general elections in 2023.

Former Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin heavily pushed the scheme during his 11-months in office, maintaining that providing consumers with money would help grow Thailand's GDP.

The overall scheme calls for payments of 10,000 baht ($280) to 45 million citizens who will spend locally in efforts to boost Thailand's economy.

Despite delays to launch the scheme, and initial errors with the application system for the handout, millions have registered.

On September 25, the government launched the first stage of the program, with 10,000 baht being distributed in cash to the bank accounts of Thai welfare cardholders and disabled citizens.

The scheme is estimated to cost the Thai government $14 billion dollars. There is discussion among economists whether it will be effective in bolstering consumer spending, or if it is merely a populist policy
A political ploy or sound economic policy?

Ilada Pitsuwan, an economic journalist from Thailand, said there are pros and cons with the handout.

"For political agendas, it is quite clear that after the introduction of the 10,000-baht cash handouts, the popularity of PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra, rose to the top, according to a NIDA poll," she told DW.

At an event launching the program, Paetongtarn said "cash will be put into the hands of Thais and create a tornado of spending."

The government hopes the cash will be spent locally to benefit merchants and manufacturing

Image: Makoto Honda/picture-alliance/Zoonar

However, the latest survey shows that the People's Party, a regrouping of the dissolved Move Forward Party, remains Thailand's most popular political party in the latest survey.

Ilada said this reflects that the economic boost can help the Pheu Thai Party's popularity in the short term, but long-term, the Thai people need structural changes for the country.

She added there are concerns the scheme may not have the promised economic benefit to domestic production.

"The current challenge of the Thai economy is the influx of cheap Chinese goods that could threaten Thai manufacturing in the long term," she said.

"It would be beneficial if this policy continues to drive Thailand's economic growth, but if not, the results of this huge consumption may not benefit Thai manufacturers and may instead spread outside the country as well," Ilada added.

Criticism from the opposition

Sirikanya Tansakun, a senior member of Thailand's People Party, claimed the digital wallet plan isn't the same as what was originally pledged by Pheu Thai because cash is being distributed.

"They just launched the new campaign about giving cash handout for 10,000 each for those vulnerable groups. That's not the digital wallet that was pledged during the election campaign," she told an event at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand on Thursday.

"If this is the stimulus package, I don't think it's effective," Sirikanya told the event, adding that the projected stimulus will only add up to a 0.35% boost of GDP.

"It's not quite a very effective way to stimulate the economy in the first place. The government has run out of the options for the people," Sirikanya said.

Sirikanya says the scheme could become a budgetary burden over the next two cycles, and that $14 billion total cost is "too much" for a cost of living alleviation plan.

"If we continue to do this, it will put a fiscal burden on country and the economy,” she added.

The People's Party hope to form the government if they win Thailand's next elections in 2027.

The party's previous iteration, the Move Forward Party, won the popular vote in 2023 but was unable to form a government, and was eventually dissolvedby a court order in August 2024.

Thailand seeks more growth

Thailand's economy isn't growing as fast as government officials had hoped, and that's why lawmakers are focusing on improving the kingdom's economic outlook.

The World Bank's Thailand Economic Monitor recently projected GDP growth of 2.4% for 2024, slower than Thailand's regional peers.

It's of the reasons Thailand has also focused on boosting international tourism.

Chinese tourists greeted by ex-Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin after arrival in Bangkok on a visa free entryImage: Sakchai Lalit/AP/picture alliance

The government recently relaxed visa requirements for visitors from 93 countries to enter the country for 60 days. It also launched the "Destination Thailand Visa," which allows digital nomads, freelancers and remote workers to live, work and travel in the country for five years.

Thailand is also hoping it can prosper from the economic benefits tourism accounted for in 2019, the peak of the country's tourism. Tourism accounted for 11.5% of the country's overall GDP that year, that saw a record year of 39 million visitors. The kingdom predicts 36 million visitors by the end of 2024 and for 2025, a record-breaking 41 million visitors.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist, says Thailand has to be looking towards digitalization.

"Now I think the dial has moved on, they have to be talking about much more digitalization, digital economy, AI, machine learning, education reform," he told the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand in August.

"Thailand has missed the semiconductor innovation, the tech boom and now it is missing the AI burst, and the reason is because of the domestic political situation. I think Thailand has been held back," he added.

Le Pen trial shines light on ‘black box' of MEP expenditure

Rosie Birchard | Ella Joyner both in Brussels

DW

Marine Le Pen and her far-right National Rally party are accused of misusing EU funds, but it's not an isolated incident. Transparency campaigners say the European Parliament rules aren't tight enough.

The grande dame of the French far right appeared in court in Paris earlier this week

Marine Le Pen is best known as the face of the French far right and a three-time presidential hopeful with her sights still squarely set on a shot at France's top job. But it was her work as a member of the European Parliament from 2004 to 2017 which was in the spotlight this week at the opening of a landmark trial in Paris.

French prosecutors have accused Le Pen of presiding over an unlawful "system" under which public money destined for EU parliamentary work was diverted to pay staffers focused on national party business. In total, more than 20 people linked to the staunchly anti-immigration, euroskeptic National Rally party are standing trial.

If found guilty, Le Pen could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and fined up to €1 million ($1.1 million). She could also face a yearslong order of ineligibility barring her from public office, which could block her planned path to the Elysee presidential palace in 2027.

Yet the 56-year-old appeared unfazed on her way into court on Monday. "I'm here to lay out our arguments. I'm very serene," she told reporters. "Parliamentary freedom is at stake here. We broke no rules," she added.
Misuse of EU funds 'not a unique case'

The Paris Prosecutor's Office has alleged that Le Pen was one of a number of members of the National Rally, formerly known as the National Front, who participated in a fake jobs scheme from 2004 to 2016. Her father, National Front founding member Jean-Marie Le Pen, is another of the accused.

Investigators concluded that lower-level party employees, such as bodyguards, were given higher-tier titles, like EU parliamentary assistant, so that they could be paid with European money and not from the party's bank account.

The European Parliament has said it has strict rules about members' expenses, but campaigners see gaps

Image: Johannes Simon/Getty Images

While Le Pen's case is generating headlines, it's not the only instance of alleged misuse of public funds in the European Parliament.

Before the United Kingdom left the EU in 2020, several parliamentarians from the euroskeptic UKIP party — once under the leadership of Nigel Farage — faced similar accusations and were forced to pay back hundreds of thousands of euros.

In 2023, Dutch investigative outlet Follow the Money and German newspaper Die Welt reported that 108 members of the European Parliament, or MEPs, had been forced to pay back €2 million in allegedly misused funds from 2019-2022.

MEP expenditures are a 'black box,' campaigner charges

Those cases, according to Nick Aiossa from the EU branch of advocacy group Transparency International, could involve anything from "sloppy accounting" to "intentional fraud."

The issue is that getting EU parliamentary assistants to help with a lawmaker's national political work is not the only way to embezzle funds for the benefit of an individual MEP or their party. "This isn't a unique problem," he said.

"Le Pen is accused of misusing a particular allowance, but there's other allowances that are a complete black box of financial management," Aiossa stressed. "For the general expenditure allowance, which cumulatively across all 705 MEPs amounts to about €40 million of taxpayers' money, there's not one single receipt required."

The monthly payment of close to €5,000 is granted to cover expenses in one's home constituency directly linked to an MEP's activities, such as renting and maintaining an office in the member state where they were elected. There are rules on how this money should be spent, but receipts for expenses are not required.

EU Parliament says transparency is a top priority

Across the board, there are a number of rules and measures that MEPs and their staff must follow designed to prevent embezzlement or misuse of funds, the European Parliament press service stressed to DW when asked about the current allegations against National Rally.

Allegations of corruption engulfed the EU's legislature last mandateImage: AFP

"The European Parliament sets great store on the integrity, transparency and accountability of the political activities of its members," a spokesperson said, also pointing to a further tightening of rules last year in the wake of Qatargate.

That scandal, in which prominent members of the legislature were accused of taking money, sometimes handed over as cash in suitcases, from several non-EU states to wield influence in their favor, caused major reputational damage to the institution.
What's at stake for Le Pen?

The trial of Le Pen and other figures linked to her party show that potential rule breakers can be flagged. If found guilty, she and her co-defendants could face fines, jail time or bans on running for office.

Marta Lorimer, a researcher who tracks French far-right politics from the London School of Economics, said any declaration of ineligibility for political office would likely result in major protests from National Rally supporters.

But the outcome remains entirely unclear, with the trial set to last some two months. Before then, Lorimer thinks it's unlikely to deal Le Pen a major blow.

"Her core electorate probably doesn't really care," Lorimer told DW. Given the National Rally's euroskeptic and nationalist credentials, she said party backers are unlikely to be outraged by the alleged use of European funds to further its "national cause."

"There's a way that Le Pen can spin this in her favor: By suggesting that this is a political trial," Lorimer explained. "That seems to be the line of defense she's going for and it seems to be a fairly intelligent one."

Edited by: Andreas Illmer

How to protect the Amazon and who should pay

Holly Young

DW

October 4, 2024

The world’s largest rainforest is battling deforestation, drought and record wildfires. Where is the money to save it coming from

Funds are needed to tackle Amazon destruction, including the burning that is deforesting vast areasI

mage: Bruno Kelly/Amazônia Real


While deforestation rates fell by nearly 50% in 2023, the Amazon continues to battle critical threats.

In recent months, it has suffered a devastating drought and record wildfires, which release large amounts of planet-heating greenhouse gases. Fire alerts are 79% higher than average for this time of year.

The Amazon has shrunk by the size of France and Germany in the last four decades, according to a report last month, with researchers noting an "alarming increase" in forest land cleared for mining, agriculture or livestock farming.

Scientists fear up to half the rainforest could hit a "tipping point" by 2050 due to unprecedented stress from warming temperatures, extreme drought, deforestation and wildfires. They warn crossing this threshold could intensify regional climate change and risk the Amazon becoming permanently degraded or turning into savanna.
Who should pay for the Amazon's protection?

The vast rainforest is not only a source of immense biodiversity, its trees and soil store the equivalent of 15-20 years of CO2 emissions and help stabilize the Earth's temperatures.

The Brazilian Amazon alone generates an annual value of $317 billion (€284 billion), based largely on the value it holds to the world as a carbon store, according to data from the World Bank. This far surpasses the $43 billion-$98 billion (€38.6 billion-€88 billion) estimated value of clearing the rainforest for timber, farming or mining.

Jack Hurd, executive director of the Tropical Forest Alliance, which supports companies in removing deforestation from their supply chains, sees a global responsibility to preserve the Amazon so it can continue to provide "goods and services for now and into the future."

Often referred to as the 'lungs of the Earth,' the Amazon rainforest spans more than six million square kilometers across eight countriesImage: AP

Although nearly two-thirds of the Amazon lies in Brazil, the vast rainforest spans eight countries, including Colombia, Peru and Bolivia.

Jessica Villanueva, senior manager in sustainable finance Americas at WWF, emphasized the need for multiple actors in funding protection, "Efforts must unite all eight Amazon countries, including governments, companies, and financial institutions," she said.
G20 promises landmark funding for 'ecosystem services'

After Brazil proposed establishing a global trust fund for forest conservation, environment ministers of the Group of 20 nations agreed this month to create financial sources for so-called ecosystem services.

Put forward by the Brazilian government at COP28, the initiative, known as the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), creates a global fund to pay for the maintenance and restoration of tropical forests in over 60 countries.

In contrast to the Amazon Fund that rewards Brazil when it reduces deforestation, the TFFF aims to benefit all tropical forest nations through an annual fixed payment for each hectare of standing forest. By contrast, deforested or degraded land will result in a reduction of the amount received.

Local and Indigenous communities are to be paid for maintaining ecosystems that "benefit everyone," João Paulo Capobianco, executive secretary of Brazil's environment minister, told journalists following the meeting of ministers in Rio de Janeiro.

Other global funds helping the Amazon?

The largest global fund is the Amazon Fund, set up by the Brazilian government in 2008 to raise international donations for the reduction of deforestation and forest degradation.

To date, it has received over $1.4 billion, with Norway and Germany the largest donors. Switzerland, the US, the UK, Japan and the Brazilian-owned oil and gas company Petrobras have also contributed.Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva revived the fund when he took office in 2023 after Western donors paused contributions during the term of previous leader Jair Bolsonaro, who oversaw a sharp rise in deforestation rates.

The fund, which is managed by the Brazilian Development Bank, finances a range of projects including those related to wildfire prevention, support for Indigenous lands and conservation areas, as well as sustainable development and monitoring environmental crime. It claims it has extended protected areas of the forest with strengthened environmental management by 74 million hectares.

With more than 35,000 fires recorded in the Brazilian Amazon in the first eight months of this year, smoke has drifted to cities as well

 Suamy Beydoun/AFP/Getty Images

However, while the Amazon Fund is important, it does not provide the level of financing needed to fully protect the region, said Cristiane Fontes, executive director of global research nonprofit World Resources Institute Brazil.
Where else is money coming from?

In addition to the Amazon Fund there are also tens of millions of dollars going into the region largely from foundations and bilateral agencies, said Hurd, who is also a member of the World Economic Forum executive committee.

An estimated nearly $5.81 billion has been allocated to protection and sustainable management by international donors since 2013, according to a recent study. Funders include bilateral and multilateral agencies, private foundations, NGOs and companies.

Germany, Norway and the United States made up almost half of donations between 2020-2022 and private foundations, such as the Bezos Earth Fund, accounted for a quarter. National governments in the Amazon region received 30% of these funds, followed by NGOs.

While there is no readily available information on public funding figures, protection is mostly financed by public money and multilateral donors, said Andrea Carneiro, conservation strategist from the US-based environmental organization Rainforest Trust. She added there are various financing gaps, including for protection in Bolivia and Peru, as well as management funds for Indigenous territories.

Indigenous women fighting fires in the Amazon  05:20

However, gaining an accurate overview of how much money is flowing into protection is difficult, Hurd said. "You're going to see a range of estimates as to what's actually going into this, because people are counting things in different ways."

Notions of protection differ depending on whether they are dealing with Amazon land that is intact, degraded or cleared for activities like mining or agriculture, he continued. "This is not just about 'here's a protected forest that we need to cordon off and figure out how to manage,' like a national park might be in Europe or North America."
What more needs to be done?

To prevent the Amazon from reaching a tipping point, the global donor community, public budgets and the private sector need to urgently increase their commitments, said Villanueva at WWF.

Maintaining 80% of the region within conservation areas — which would include Indigenous lands — would require between $1.7 billion-$2.8 billion annually as well as $1-1.6 billion in establishment costs, according to one recent estimate.

As public financing alone will not be enough to close the funding gap, governments need to implement financial regulations and incentives to encourage companies to move toward an economy with zero deforestation, Villanueva said. "It is imperative to attract private investors and build the capacity of nature-based solution projects to leverage private capital."

What's needed is to find ways to honor the value of standing forests and transition to a more sustainable economic model in the region, said Fontes at the World Resources Institute Brazil. A recent report from the WRI highlighted that transitioning to a deforestation-free economy which includes low-emissions agriculture and forest restoration would require around 1% of Brazil's GDP per year, amounting to around US $533 billion by 2050.

Deforestation, whether legal or illegal, contributes to the land drying out and creating ideal conditions for forest fires to spread

Image: Andre Penner/AP/picture alliance

Alongside the Tropical Forests Forever Facility that now has the support of the G20, another long-term solution for Amazon protection can be found in the urisdictional REDD+ (JREDD) funding mechanism, said José Otavio Passos, Amazon director at US-based environmental organization The Nature Conservancy . Through JREDD, companies or governments provide payments to states or nations for deforestation reductions across large areas in return for verified carbon credits.

Last month, the World Bank also announced a $225 million Amazon reforestation bond that links financial returns for investors to carbon removal from the atmosphere.

"There is a lot that the rich countries can do. There is a lot that the Brazilian government can do. There's a lot that the private sector can do, and we need to do it faster. Every one of us," said Passos.

Edited by: Tamsin Walker

This article was updated following the agreement of G20 environment ministers.


Forest fires rage in Brazil

Wildfires from the Amazon to Sao Paulo: While the worst forest fires in the south of the country are now under control, flames continue to rage in the north.

Image: JOEL SILVA/REUTERS

Millions breathing black smoke

Last Friday alone, Brazil's state climate institute INPE registered almost 5,000 fires throughout the country. Several cities with millions of inhabitants are shrouded in thick clouds of smoke, including Manaus on the Rio Negro. In the Amazon region, 1,700 fires were counted. Many communities in Brazil have declared a state of emergency.

Image: Bruno Kelly/REUTERS

Fires countrywide

Hardly any place in Brazil has been spared. Smoke stretches over 4,000 kilometers from the Amazon in the north through the Pantanal wetlands in western Brazil to the south-eastern state of Sao Paulo, one of the country's most important agricultural areas.Image: CARLOS FABAL/AFP/Getty Images


Close call

Shortly before flames reached a luxury residential complex in São Paulo, the fire on a neighboring plantation was stopped. According to authorities, fires have killed at least two people in the state, and destroyed more than 20,000 hectares of land since last Thursday. The local government is talking about damage amounting to €150 million ($167 million).

Image: Joel Silva/REUTERS

Arson to blame



In the vast majority of cases, arson is thought to be the cause of the fires. Illegal slash-and-burn practices are used to create pastures for livestock and agriculture. The federal police and environmental authorities are investigating dozens of cases. Three people were arrested for arson over the weekend.

Image: JOEL SILVA/REUTERS


Worst fires in 17 years

Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas, was shrouded in smoke on Tuesday. The fiercest fires in 17 years are raging in the Amazon, with 60,000 counted since the beginning of the year. The entire rainforest region in South America is affected by a severe drought, which experts believe is linked to the El Nino weather pattern and climate change.

Image: Edmar Barros/AP Photo/picture alliance


Record droughts



The fires are compounded by drought. Sandbanks are rising out of the Rio Madeira, a tributary of the Amazon. The river levels have been falling since the beginning of June, a month earlier than usual. Low water levels mean that villages and towns in the region are cut off from supplies and authorities fear that the current drought could even exceed last year's record-breaking drought.Image: EVARISTO SA/AFP/Getty Images


International cooperation


Brazil is not the only country affected by the fires. According to the authorities, there are currently around 22,000 active fires in neighboring Bolivia too, which have burned around 2 million hectares of land so far. On Tuesday, Brazil and Bolivia announced their intention to fight the fires in the border region together.

Image: Marcelo Camargo/dpa/Agencia Brazil/picture alliance


Political setback



The fires are a serious political setback for Brazil's left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He had promised to protect the rainforest and stop illegal deforestation by 2030. Under his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, the destruction of the rainforest reached new highs.

Image: LOURIVAL IZAQUE/AFP/Getty Images


Holly Young Holly Young is a climate reporter on DW’s Environment desk based in Berlin, Germany.@holly_young88

CLIMATE CRISIS; 1 NIGHT'S RAINFALL

Bosnia: Death toll mounts after flooding and landslides

October 4, 2024

Heavy rain in Bosnia-Herzegovina has caused deadly floods and landslides, with more downpours expected over the weekend. Most of the deaths happened in the town of Jablanica, which is "completely cut off," officials say.

Some officials described the situation as 'terrifying'

Image: Armin Durgut//Pixsell/IMAGO

At least 16 people have died in severe flooding and landslides in Bosnia-Herzegovina, a regional government said on Friday.

Civil defense officials have said the death toll from the floods is likely to rise.

The southeastern European country has faced unusually heavy rainfall over the past 24 hours. The deadly floods come just weeks after heavy rains prompted flooding in Central Europe.

What we know about the floods

The bodies were found in the mountainous Jablanica region, about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) north of the city of Mostar and 70 kilometers southwest of the capital, Sarajevo.

Photos in local media showed landslides that buried houses up to the roof. Only the minaret of a mosque was visible.

"The situation is very serious, many people cannot leave their homes," wrote Nermin Niksic, prime minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the online service X.

The inter-ethnic presidency that governs Bosnia — a Bosniak, Serb, and Croat tripartite — said it had called for military help for Jablanica and the surrounding area, in Herzegovina-Neretva canton.

"Engineering and rescue units and a helicopter ... were urgently engaged to provide urgent assistance to civil authorities," it said in a statement.

Many roads were left impassable due to landslides and flooding

Image: Denis Kapetanovic/PIXSELL/IMAGO

Canton government spokesman Darko Jukan described the town of Jablanica, which has a population of 4,000, as "completely cut off from the world."
Further rain could hamper rescue efforts

Jukan warned that bad weather was forecast for the weekend as well.

"We don't know the exact number [of casualties] yet. I don't remember a crisis like this since the war, the scale of this chaotic situation is terrifying," said Juka.

Aldin Brasnjic, the head of the civil defense administration for the Bosniak-Croat federation, said rescuers still could not reach some villages because of blocked roads. He said upcoming rains would make their efforts more difficult.

"The search for the missing is priority at the moment. We think we will be able to complete this today and tomorrow," he said.

Several towns in central Bosnia, such as Kiseljak, were also flooded

Image: RUSMIR SMAJILHODZIC/AFP

In the town of Kiseljak, around 20 kilometers from Sarajevo, numerous houses, gardens and cars were underwater on Friday, the AFP news agency reported.

Meanwhile, neighboring Croatia issued a flood warning for the coastal city of Rijeka and the country's interior.

Scientists have long warned that human-caused climate change is increasing the likelihood, intensity and length of extreme weather events such as torrential rains.

rc/dj (AFP, AP, Beta, dpa, Reuters)

Tunisia votes in presidential election against a backdrop of repression

Incumbent Kais Saied looks set to win another term in office in Sunday’s presidential election featuring just two opposition candidates: a former lawmaker who supported Saied’s 2021 power grab and a businessman who was recently jailed. Tunisia’s election commission barred 14 hopefuls from running during a campaign season marred by a crackdown on dissent.


Issued on: 06/10/2024 - 

Tunisian soldiers deliver ballot boxes to a polling station in Ariana near Tunis a day before the October 6, 2024 vote. © Fethi Belaid, AFP

Tunisia holds a presidential election Sunday with no real opposition to incumbent Kais Saied, widely tipped to win as his most prominent critics, including a key contender, are behind bars.

Three years after a sweeping power grab by Saied, the election is seen as a closing chapter in Tunisia's experiment with democracy.

The North African country had prided itself for more than a decade for being the birthplace of the Arab Spring uprisings against dictatorship.

Polling stations open at 8:00 am (0700 GMT) and close at 6:00 pm (1700 GMT). Preliminary results should come no later than Wednesday but may be known earlier, according to ISIE, the electoral board.

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In the lead-up to polling day, there have been no campaign rallies or public debates -- and nearly all of the campaign posters in city streets have been of Saied.

With little hope for change in a country mired in economic crisis, the mood among much of the electorate has been one of resignation.

"We have nothing to do with politics," Mohamed, a 22-year-old who gave only his first name for fear of retribution, told AFP in Tunis.

Anti-Saied demonstrators scuffle with security forces during a protest in Tunis on October 4 © Fethi Belaid, AFP

Neither he nor his friends planned to vote, he said, because they believed it was "useless".

After rising to power in a landslide in 2019, Saied, now 66, led a sweeping power grab that saw him rewrite the constitution.

A burgeoning crackdown on dissent ensued, and a number of Saied's critics across the political spectrum were jailed, sparking criticism both at home and abroad.

New York-based Human Rights Watch has said that more than "170 people are detained in Tunisia on political grounds or for exercising their fundamental rights".

Jailed opposition figures include Rached Ghannouchi, head of the Islamist-inspired opposition party Ennahdha, which dominated political life after the revolution.

Also detained is Abir Moussi, head of the Free Destourian Party, which critics accuse of wanting to bring back the regime that was ousted in 2011.
Little enthusiasm

ISIE said about 9.7 million people are expected to turn out, but the near certainty of a Saied win and the country's mounting hardships have inspired little to no eagerness to vote.

President Kais Saied pictured on December 24, 2023. © Fethi Belaid, AFP

The International Crisis Group think tank said on Friday that "the president's nationalist discourse and economic hardship" have "corroded any enthusiasm ordinary citizens might have felt about the election".

"Many fear that a new mandate for Saied will only deepen the country's socio-economic woes, as well as hasten the regime's authoritarian drift," it said.

Voters are being presented with almost no alternative after ISIE barred 14 hopefuls from standing in the race, citing insufficient endorsements among other technicalities.

Hundreds of people protested in the capital on Friday, marching along a heavily policed Habib Bourguiba Avenue as some demonstrators bore signs denouncing Saied as a "Pharaoh manipulating the law".

Standing against him Sunday are former lawmaker Zouhair Maghzaoui, a supporter of the power grab Saied staged in 2021, and Ayachi Zammel, a little-known businessman who has been in jail since his bid was approved by ISIE last month.

Zammel currently faces more than 14 years in prison on accusations of having forged endorsement signatures to enable him to stand in the election.

In a speech on Thursday, Saied called for a "massive turnout to vote" and usher in what he called an era of "reconstruction".

He cited "a long war against conspiratorial forces linked to foreign circles", accusing them of "infiltrating many public services and disrupting hundreds of projects" under his tenure.

The International Crisis Group said that while Saied "enjoys significant support among the working classes, he has been criticised for failing to resolve the country's deep economic crisis".

(AFP)

Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution

Hanoi (AFP) – Ditching a lucrative career in finance, Vu Dinh Tu opened a coffee shop without telling his parents and joined a wave of young Vietnamese entrepreneurs using espressos to challenge family expectations around work.

Issued on: 06/10/2024 -

Vu Dinh Tu opened a coffee shop in Hanoi without telling his parents

 © Nhac NGUYEN / AFP

Traditionally taken black, sometimes with condensed milk, or even egg, coffee has long been an integral part of Vietnamese culture.

But starting a cafe is not a career that many of Vietnam's growing group of ambitious middle-class parents would choose for their children.

"At first my family didn't know much about it," 32-year-old Tu told AFP.

"Gradually they found out -- and they weren't very supportive."

Tu's parents repeatedly tried to convince him to stay in his well-paid investment banking job.

But he persevered and opened four branches of Refined over four years in Hanoi.

Each is packed from morning till night with coffee lovers enjoying Vietnamese robusta beans -- in surroundings more like a cocktail bar than a cafe.

His parents "saw the hard work involved in running a business -- handling everything from finances to staffing, and they didn't want me to struggle", explained Tu.
Coffee has become a byword in Vietnam for creativity and self-expression © Nhac NGUYEN / AFP

Vietnam was desperately poor until the early 2000s, pulling itself up with a boom in manufacturing, but many parents want to see their children climb the social ladder by moving into steady, lucrative professions such as medicine and law.

Coffee, on the other hand, has become a byword for creativity and self-expression.

Like an 'artist'

In Vietnam, "cafes have become a way to break norms around family pressure to do well in school, go to college, get a degree... work in something that is familiar and financially stable", according to Sarah Grant, an associate professor at California State University.

"They have also become spaces of possibility where you can bring together creative people in a community, whether that's graphic designers... musicians, other kinds of do-it-yourself type people," said Grant, an anthropologist specialising in Vietnam.

A former journalist, Nguyen Thi Hue now thrives in Hanoi's dynamic coffee industry 

© Nhac NGUYEN / AFP

Coffee first arrived in Vietnam in the 1850s during French colonial rule, but a shift in the 1990s and early 2000s to large-scale production of robusta -- usually found in instant brews -- made the country a coffee production powerhouse and the world's second largest exporter.

A passion for the coffee business is often linked to that history, Grant told AFP.

Coffee entrepreneurs are "really proud that Vietnam is this coffee-producing country and has a lot of power in the global market", she added.

Down a tiny alley in the heart of the capital, 29-year-old Nguyen Thi Hue is mixing a lychee matcha cold brew in her new glass-fronted shop -- a one-woman "Slow Bar" coffee business.

"When making coffee, it's almost like being an artist," said Hue, who had her first cup as a young child thanks to a neighbour who roasted his own.

But coffee is also hugely trendy, and there is money to be made if a cafe appeals to selfie-loving Generation Z.

"No-one dresses poorly to go to a cafe," notes Hue, herself decked out in stylish bright-blue-rimmed glasses and matching neck-tie.
Coffee 'a serious career'

Relaxing at a rival shop nearby, Dang Le Nhu Quynh, a 21-year-old university student, is typical of the new generation of customer -- she says the cafe's style is what counts for her more than the brews.

"I don't like coffee that much," she admits.

Vietnam's coffee shop industry is worth $400 million and is growing up to eight percent a year, according to branding consultancy Mibrand.

There are also thousands of shops not officially registered with authorities, says Vu Thi Kim Oanh, a lecturer at Vietnam's RMIT university.

"If we have problems with a job at the office, then we quit and we think: let's get some money together... choose one place, rent a house and then open a coffee shop," she said.

Global coffee brands have struggled to gain a foothold in Vietnam 

© Nhac NGUYEN / AFP

"If it goes well, then you continue. If it doesn't, you change."

Global brands have struggled to gain a foothold and Starbucks accounted for just two percent of the market in 2022, according to Euromonitor International.

Earlier this year it announced it would shut down its only store in Ho Chi Minh City selling speciality brews.

Unlike most local ventures, the coffee giant uses exclusively "high-quality" arabica beans, which have a distinctly different flavour from Vietnamese robusta.

For Tu, his parents eventually came around -- and he plans further shops, wanting to create a workforce that loves coffee as much as he does.

"I want to build the mindset that this is a serious career," he said.

© 2024 AFP

Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs

Vienna (AFP) – Alone in front of her laptop, Gilda-Nancy Horvath composed and recorded her first angry rap, "Trushula" -- the anthem of an artist railing against the racism suffered by her Roma people in her native Austria and beyond.


Issued on: 06/10/2024 -

Austrian Roma rapper Gilda-Nancy Horvath, known as Nancy Black, wants to 'denounce the lies of the far right' © Joe Klamar / AFP

Eight years later, her quest has gained fresh relevance with the resurgence of the European far-right -- several of whose figureheads she assails in that early track, pounding out her rhyming verses to the rhythm of keyboards and drums.

With the Nazi-rooted Freedom Party (FPOe) topping the polls for the first time in Austria's national elections last weekend, the activist told AFP she is set on "denouncing the lies of the far right".

Besides wanting to "settle scores" with racists targeting her community, Horvath raps in Romani -- under her stage name Nancy Black -- to keep the language alive and to "stop the suffering".

Across Europe, Roma -- estimated to number 14 million -- face poverty and discrimination at school and work, according to the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA).

Horvath is descended from the Lovara, a group of Roma who worked as horse-dealers under the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In Austria, Roma officially account for 30,000 of the country's nine million people, but this is thought to be an underestimate since many do not declare themselves for fear of discrimination.

"The Nancy Black project gives them the courage not to hide," she said.
Netflix Roma hip-hop drama

Wearing round glasses and dressed all in black, Horvath chooses to sing in Romani, an endangered language which is orally transmitted. She has also released Romani lullabies.

"With the death of this language we are also forgetting a large part of our history," she said.

When she raps in Romani, she said, it "touches young people".

Last year, Netflix launched a series about a 17-year-old Roma girl torn between her family's strict rules and her dream of making a name for herself in hip-hop.

Horvath also fights for Roma artists to appear on Spotify and iTunes to be able to "penetrate and find their place in mainstream culture".

Roma singers are starting to break into pop culture, according to Anna Piotrowska, a musicologist at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.

Horvath chooses to sing in Romani, an endangered language which is orally transmitted © Joe Klamar / AFP

She cites the example of Polish artist Viki Gabor, who won the Junior Eurovision in 2019.

"Roma have always assimilated (Western) fashions and reworked them in an innovative way", Piotrowska told AFP. And "protest rap is very popular" among young people.

Women in particular are breaking down barriers, Piotrowska added.

Previously, Roma music was "a man's job", she added, with men accounting for 99 percent of those playing the cymbal -- a popular Roma instrument.
Roma Holocaust memory

But discrimination and inequality endure, Horvath said, even in Austria where the constitution protects Roma as a minority present since the 15th century.

It gives Roma the right to their own broadcasts and bilingual establishments, and a fund to finance associations.

Horvath herself worked for years as a journalist for the Romani programmes of the public television channel ORF.

Horvath seeks to make her audience understand stigmatisation © Joe Klamar / AFP

At one of her recent stage shows, she used satire to make her audience understand the stigmatisation Roma people suffer.

In front of an audience of about a hundred, almost entirely non-Roma -- or "gadje" in Romani -- she read between songs a text that turned a vicious sterotype on its head, making the "gadje" a "discriminated minority".

"I use the same pseudo-scientific language" as that used in public discourse to make people believe that because the Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich exists, and rapes are committed there every year, Germans are all alcoholics and violent, she said.

"That is not representative of German society, and yet it is how the Roma are spoken about in the media," she said.

She also writes poems about the killing of at least 500,000 Roma by the Nazis -- an atrocity also referred to in her early song "Trushula".

Roma call it the "Porajmos", which literally means "devouring".

"Our ancestors were murdered. That is a reality," said Horvath, who has visited Auschwitz several times to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust.

"But in my family's daily life, as in most families, there was silence."

© 2024 AFP