North Korean hackers ramp up bank heists, 

says US government cyber alert

South Koreans watch a TV broadcasting a news report on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Seoul.PHOTO: REUTERS

PUBLISHED

AUG 27, 2020, 3:31 AM SG

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - North Korean hackers are tapping into banks around the globe to make fraudulent money transfers and cause ATMs to spit out cash, the US government warned on Wednesday (Aug 26).

A technical cybersecurity alert jointly written by four different federal agencies, including the Treasury Department and FBI, said there had been a resurgence in financially motivated hacking efforts by the North Korean regime this year after a lull in activity.

"Since February 2020, North Korea has resumed targeting banks in multiple countries to initiate fraudulent international money transfers and ATM cash outs," the warning reads.

US law enforcement titled the hacking campaign "Fast Cash" and blamed North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau, a spy agency, for it.

They described the operation as going on since at least 2016 but ramping up in sophistication and volume recently.

Over the last several years, North Korea has been blamed by US authorities and private sector cybersecurity companies for hacking numerous banks in Asia, South America and Africa.

"North Korean cyber actors have demonstrated an imaginative knack for adjusting their tactics to exploit the financial sector as well as any other sector through illicit cyber operations," Bryan Ware, a senior cybersecurity official at the US Homeland Security Department, said in a prepared statement.

Cybersecurity experts and foreign policy analysts have said these types of hacking operations are conducted to help fund the North Korean government, which is cash-strapped due to expansive sanctions continuously placed on it by the US and other western countries.

"The continued attacks are proof of the reliance the regime has on these funds, along with being a testament to their technical ability and determination," said Vikram Thakur, a technical director for US cybersecurity firm Symantec.

US fired missiles in 2017 to show it could target North Korea's Kim Jong Un, says Woodward's new book Rage

Bob Woodward had conducted 18 interviews with President Donald Trump between December 2019 and July 2020.PHOTO: EPA-EFE

SEOUL (THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The United States came close to nuclear war with North Korea in 2017, launching a precision missile to demonstrate to Pyongyang that it could strike any target, including North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to a new book by Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward.

In response to Pyongyang test-firing its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of reaching the US on July 4, 2017, retired general Vincent Brooks, who headed US Forces Korea from 2016 to 2018, ordered troops to fire a tactical missile that travelled 300km before dropping into the East Sea, also known as Sea of Japan, according to Mr Woodward's Rage, a revelatory book about the presidency of Mr Donald Trump set for release on Tuesday (Sept 15).

"That was the exact distance between the launching point of the US missile and the North Korean missile test site, as well as a tent where satellite photos showed Kim Jong Un was watching the missile launch," Mr Woodward wrote, according to excerpts obtained by Yonhap News Agency.


"The meaning was meant to be clear: Kim Jong Un needed to worry about his personal safety," Mr Woodward said, adding that it was never confirmed whether the North had got the message.

Following its ICBM test, the North upped provocations, launching a more powerful ICBM on July 28 and another ballistic missile over Japan on Aug 29, which Mr Woodward described as a "clear escalation" that "changed the character of the threat".

Then defence secretary James Mattis mulled over whether the US should carry out a military attack in response, but reconsidered due to the consequences that would likely entail.



"(Mattis) began looking for more aggressive response options and wondered if they should take some actual bombing action in a North Korean port to send the message," Mr Woodward said. "(Mattis) did not think that President Trump would launch a pre-emptive strike on North Korea, although plans for such a war were on the shelf."

With the escalation of provocations in 2017, Mr Trump's national security team also believed the potential for nuclear war with the North was there.

"We never knew whether it was real or whether it was a bluff," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was quoted as saying in the book.

Mr Mattis even slept in his clothes so he would be ready in case of a provocation by the North and went to the nearby Washington National Cathedral to pray, Mr Woodward reported.

Mr Woodward said the US Strategic Command in Omaha, Nebraska, had carefully reviewed Operation Plan 5027 - the war plans in case of a North Korean invasion - which included "the use of 80 nuclear weapons".

"This weighed heavily on me every day. I had to consider every day this could happen. This was not a theoretical concern," Mr Mattis was quoted as saying, raising concern that "the worst possible situation might dictate the use of nuclear weapons".

For the book, Mr Woodward - a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who is best known for uncovering the Watergate scandal - conducted 18 interviews with Mr Trump between December and July.

During one of the interviews, Mr Trump told Mr Woodward that Washington came closer to war with Pyongyang than anyone can imagine in 2017.

"Much closer than anyone would know. Much closer," Mr Trump said, insisting that Mr Kim, too, must have known.

"But he knows. I have a great relationship, let me just put it that way," Mr Trump said.

US fired missile into East Sea right after N. Korea’s ICBM launch in 2017, says renowned US journalist

Posted on : Sep.15,2020 17:57 KST Modified on : Sep.15,2020 17:57 KST

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Bob Woodward’s new book “Rage” delves into the details of US-N. Korea escalations in 2017

US President Donald Trump speaks during a Latinos for Trump roundtable event in Las Vegas on Sept. 13. (Yonhap News)

After North Korea’s first test launch of its Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in 2017, the US fired a missile into the East Sea that traveled the exact distance between the launch site and the location of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to journalist Bob Woodward.

The claim appears in Chapter 11 of Woodward’s new book “Rage,” which was made available to reporters on Sept. 13, prior to its official release on Sept. 15. Woodward was one of the reporters who broke the Watergate scandal, leading to the resignation of US President Richard Nixon.

Woodward wrote that after North Korea launched the Hwasong-14, a missile capable of striking the West Coast of the US, on July 3, 2017, Vincent Brooks, then commander of US Forces Korea (USFK) and South Korea-US Combined Forces Command, ordered the launch of a tactical missile both as a warning and as a show of force. Brooks’ order was reportedly approved by then US Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

US calculated exact distance to Kim Jong-un to send a clear message about his personal safety

Launched from the eastern shore of the Korean Peninsula, the missile traveled for 186 miles (about 299 kilometers) parallel with the armistice line into the East Sea. That was the distance between the launchpad and North Korea’s Hwasong-14 testing site. More specifically, it was calculated to be the precise distance to the tent where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had observed the ICBM launch, according to satellite imagery, Woodward wrote.

“The meaning was meant to be clear: Kim Jong-un needed to worry about his personal safety," Woodward said in his book. At the time, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff had announced that South Korean and US missile units had conducted a joint ballistic missile launch on the East Sea coast in response to North Korea’s missile launch. USFK’s tactical surface-to-surface missile system ATACMS was used at the time. A single ATACMS missile carries 300 or so submunitions and is capable of leveling an area equivalent to four soccer fields.

At the same time, Woodward noted that no intelligence had been gathered to indicate that North Koreans were aware that US missiles could easily target North Korea’s missile test sites or Kim Jong-un. Western news reports on the show of military force by South Korea and the US were also few and far between, he observed.

The book additionally mentions the escalating threat of war between North Korea and the US after North Korea continued test-launching its Hwasong-14 even after July 28. According to Woodward, the Strategic Air Command near Omaha, Nebraska, closely scrutinized and studied OPLAN 5027, an operational plan to prepare for a North Korean regime change. Woodward described the plan as “the US response to an attack that could include the use of 80 nuclear weapons.” Indeed, experts have speculated that North Korea may possess as many as 80 nuclear weapons. In his book’s reference to OPLAN 5027, Woodward appears to have applied speculation from some quarters about North Korea possessing up to 80 nuclear weapons to its characterization of North Korea’s strike capabilities. He also writes that a “plan for a leadership strike, OPLAN 5015, had also been updated.” OPLAN 5015 was a revised follow-up plan to OPLAN 5027, which focuses on a full-scale war with North Korea.

Woodward further writes that during the second half of 2017, Defense Secretary James Mattis slept in workout clothes so that he would be able to attend an emergency meeting at any time and went secretly to visit Washington National Cathedral and pray that a nuclear war between North Korea and the US would not come to pass.

By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent

WW3.0

South Korea says no use of nuclear weapons in joint operational plans with US
\

A presidential official has said any use of force cannot be implemented without South Korea's consent.PHOTO: AFP

SEOUL (REUTERS) - South Korea said on Tuesday (Sept 15) that none of its joint military action plans with the United States includes any use of nuclear weapons, after a book by a US journalist sparked debate over whether scenarios of a full-blown war with North Korea would entail a nuclear attack from either side.

In his new book, titled Rage, Washington Post associate editor Bob Woodward wrote that the US had devised plans for a possible armed clash with North Korea, such as "the US response to an attack that could include the use of 80 nuclear weapons".

The book was based on multiple interviews with US President Donald Trump.


The passage fuelled debate in South Korea over whether it meant Washington or Pyongyang would detonate 80 bombs against each other.

Seoul's defence ministry said on Tuesday its joint operational plans (OPLAN) with the US did not include any use of nuclear weapons, reiterating the view of the presidential office.

A presidential official said on Monday that there must not be another war on the peninsula and any use of force cannot be implemented without South Korea's consent.

"I can say clearly that the use of a nuclear weapon does not exist in our OPLANs, and it is impossible to use military force without our agreement," the official told reporters.

Seoul officials say there appears to be confusion in the book because the OPLAN 5027 it referred to was not designed for nuclear war but to map out troop deployment plans and key targets.

"It might indicate the maximum levels of the bombs the North could resort to in an all-out war, but the number itself is too high and hardly comprehensible in any case without clear contexts," said Mr Kim Hong-kyun, a former South Korea nuclear envoy.

After trading insults and nuclear threats that had pushed their countries to the brink of war, US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held an unprecedented summit in Singapore in 2018.

But negotiations aimed at ending Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes have stalled since their second summit early last year.

The two leaders continued to exchange letters, however, often expressing thanks for their previous meetings and at times calling for concessions, the book said.

In an August 2019 letter, Mr Kim urged that South Korea-US military exercises be cancelled or postponed before working-level negotiation. Planned drills, which Pyongyang has called a rehearsal for war, were scaled back later on, and both sides described it as a move to expedite the talks.

"I am clearly offended and I do not want to hide this feeling from you. I am really, very offended," Mr Kim wrote, referring to the exercises.

Mr Trump also said during their first summit that he did not want to "remove" Mr Kim, and that North Korea could become "one of the great economic powers" if it abandons weapons programmes, the book said.

US wildfires: Donald Trump dismisses science and predicts cooler temperatures 

By Associated Press • last updated: 15/09/2020 - 10:51

President Donald Trump listens as California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a briefing at Sacramento McClellan Airport, California, Sept. 14, 2020, on western wildfires. - Copyright AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

With the smell of California wildfires in the air, President Donald Trump on Monday ignored the scientific consensus that climate change is playing a central role in historic West Coast infernos and renewed his unfounded claim that failure to rake forest floors and clear dead timber is mostly to blame.

The fires are threatening to become another front in Trump’s reelection bid, which is already facing hurdles because of the coronavirus pandemic, joblessness and social unrest. His Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, in his own speech Monday said the destruction and mounting death toll across California, Oregon and Washington require stronger presidential leadership and labeled Trump a “climate arsonist.”

Trump traveled to Northern California to be briefed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state and federal officials. At one point, state Natural Resources Agency Secretary Wade Crowfoot urged the president to “recognize the changing climate and what it means to our forests.”

“If we ignore that science and sort of put our head in the sand and think it’s all about vegetation management, we’re not going to succeed together protecting Californians,” Crowfoot added.

Trump responded, “It will start getting cooler, just you watch.”

Crowfoot politely pushed back that he wished the science agreed with the president. Trump countered, “I don’t think science knows, actually.

Biden: US needs 'leadership not scapegoating'

That striking moment came on a day of dueling campaign events, with Trump and Biden dramatically contrasting their outlooks on climate change — and the impact it has had on the record-setting fires ravaging the West Coast.

Trump’s suggestion that the planet is going to start to unexpectedly cool is at odds with reality, experts say.

“Maybe there is a parallel universe where a pot on the stove with the burner turned to high ‘starts getting cooler.’ But that is not our universe,” said Stanford University climate scientist Chris Field.

Biden lashed at Trump, saying the moment requires “leadership, not scapegoating” and that “it’s clear we are not safe in Donald Trump’s America.”

“This is another crisis, another crisis he won’t take responsibility for,” Biden said. He said that if voters give “a climate denier” another four years in the White House, “why would we be surprised that we have more of America ablaze?”

Trump, who was briefed during a stop near Sacramento before a campaign visit to Phoenix, had been mostly quiet as the catastrophe on the West Coast has unfolded over the past few weeks. He tweeted appreciation of firefighters and emergency responders on Friday, the first public comments he had made in weeks about the fires that have killed dozens, burned millions of acres and forced thousands from their homes.

Trump offers no evidence for wild claims

The president arrived at at Sacramento McClellan Airport to the powerful scent of smoke from the fires burning some 90 miles away.

He contended anew that Democratic state leaders are to blame for failing to rake leaves and clear dead timber from forest floors. Trump offered no evidence to support his claim, and wildfire experts and forest managers say raking leaves makes no sense for vast U.S. wilderness and forests. And many of the blazes have roared through coastal chaparral and grasslands, not forest.

“When you have years of leaves, dried leaves on the ground, it just sets it up,” Trump said. “It’s really a fuel for a fire. So they have to do something about it.”

University of Colorado fire scientist Jennifer Balch called Trump’s deflecting blame on forest managers “infuriating.”

“It’s often hard to know what Trump means,” Balch added. “If by forest management he means clear-cutting, that’s absolutely the wrong solution to this problem. ... There’s no way we’re going to log our way out of this fire problem.”

Biden, who gave his climate speech in Delaware on Monday, released a $2 trillion plan in July to boost investment in clean energy and stop all climate-damaging emissions from U.S. power plants by 2035.

Soviet WWII propaganda revised to hail detained Belarus opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova
By Seana Davis & Naira Davlashyan • last updated: 10/09/2020

The artist tells Euronews that her work "has to help and support people" through protests in Belarus. - Copyright INSTAGRAM @ania_redko_


One month on from Belarus' disputed election result, the opposition movement remains active on the streets and online.

Despite a series of internet outages, citizens have grown accustomed to using social media, such as the popular app Telegram, to communicate and source information.


And through these channels, a number of photos and graphics have been widely shared, becoming symbols of the protests movement.

One digital illustration on Instagram by artist Anna Redko has received nearly 10,000 likes since it was uploaded on Tuesday.

The artwork shows Maria Kolesnikova - a leading figure of the Belarusian opposition movement - in the design of a famous Soviet WWII poster.

In 1941, artist Irakli Toidze designed a poster entitled "Motherland Is Calling!" as wartime propaganda to encourage conscription.

It showed a woman dressed in red, flanked by the rifles, and holding a letter of conscription, which encouraged citizens to sign up for the war effort.

  

Irakli Toidze's "Motherland Is Calling!" posterCleared

Anna Redko's design shows Kolesnikova, similarly dressed in red, surrounded by white flowers, which have been used by women in Belarus as a symbol of solidarity during demonstrations.

Kolesnikova is also pictured holding a ripped passport in her right hand, in a piece entitled "The Motherland is calling you, Maria".

https://www.instagram.com/p/CE4MKVCJiPT/?utm_source=ig_embed

ania_redko_

"The Motherland Calls"

# Belarus2020

digital illustration

Anna Redko

————————-

# zhyvebelarus @kalesnikava #art #digitalillustration #mywork

“Kolesnikova tore her passport so that she was not allowed to enter the territory of Ukraine, a source told Interfax-Ukraine.

“It was a forcible removal from her native country. Maria Kolesnikova could not be taken out of Belarus, because this brave woman took measures to prevent her movement across the border,” said Gerashchenko, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.

6d

On Monday, her opposition colleagues claimed that Kolesnikova had torn her passport at the border with Ukraine to avoid being pushed out of Belarus.

They described her as a "hero" and the Deputy Interior Minister of Ukraine has also labelled Kolesnikova as a "brave woman".

Online users have noted the move of ripping up her passport as ironically become a symbol of patriotism, and has thrust Kolesnikova to the forefront of opposition feeling in Belarus.

A large projection of Anna Redko's artwork has also appeared on the wall of a high-rise residential building in Belarus' capital, Minsk.

Speaking to Euronews, Redko said her work had become a symbol of support for citizens.

"Now in Belarus, a lot of very important events are happening... everybody who is worried about what's going on, they want to support the people of Belarus, support people, and support justice.

"I'm painting especially to be with people and to show the situation from a different angle - the artist's angle."

"I do believe that art has to help and support people."

Click on the player above to watch Seana Davis' report.

BELARUS UPDATES
Any Putin intervention in Belarus will meet 'huge pushback', says analyst 

By Euronews • last updated: 14/09/2020 - 

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at public ceremony, in the village of Khoroshevo, Russia, 30, 2020 - Copyright Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko is flying to Sochi on Monday for a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

It comes after the sixth consecutive weekend of unrest in Belarus - with thousands of protesters demanding Lukashenko's resignation in Minsk, amid vote fraud allegations and hundreds of detentions.

The Belarusian leader hinted in an interview last week that should current protests in Belarus "succeed" in destabilising the political power, Russia would "come next", while Putin himself previously asserted he would be ready to deploy forces to Belarus to prevent the situation from spinning "out control".

According to Katsiaryna Shmatsina, a political Analyst at Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies, Putin is aware that the current unrest in Belarus could have a domino effect on Russia.

Lukashenko goes to Russia: What the meeting of 'brothers' could mean for Belarus' future

"Putin himself understands that [... ] Belarus might set an example of a success story against authoritarian leadership", Shmatsina to Euronews' Good Morning Europe.

That however would not be enough to guarantee the efficacy of a Russian intervention, she explained.


"Russia has not so much support inside the Belarusian society, in terms of integration or some kind of annexation, or joining Russia."

"In this time when the Belarusian society is having this high momentum of protest potential, should Putin interfere in a sort of aggressive way, he would meet a huge pushback".
Nevertheless, Putin is prepared, according to Shmatsina, to seize the opportunity of this meeting to capitalize on Belarus' political unrest and keep Belarus "in its orbit for geopolitical interest".

Lukashenko goes to Russia: What the meeting of 'brothers' could mean for Belarus' future

David Walsh • last updated: 14/09/2020 - 
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, left, greets Russian President Vladimir Putin - Copyright Tatyana Zenkovich/Associated PressThe writing may be on the wall for Belarusian opposition activists when the country's embattled president Alexander Lukashenko meets with Vladimir Putin, his Russian counterpart who he recently referred to as his "elder brother", in Sochi on Monday.

Riven by protests since the contentious presidential election on August 9, in which Lukashenko claimed a dubious landslide victory after nearly 30 years in power, the Eastern European country is facing an uncertain future.

Lukashenko's attempts to suppress protests and strikes in the wake of the election have so far only served to bolster opposition to his regime, forcing his hand to look to the Kremlin for support.

Could the meeting between these cautious allies help cement his grip on power in Belarus and finally take the wind out of the sails of those pushing for what opposition figurehead Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has called a "democratic revolution"?


Pivot to the East

Traditionally, Lukashenko has navigated a tight course between the East and West, adjusting his heading tactically to sail closer to one or the other in order to leverage their support for his own benefit.

In the 23 years since he signed an agreement with Russia to integrate Belarus into a fiscal, political and economic union with its larger neighbour, Lukashenko has resisted attempts to fully acquiesce to Russian influence.


With instability rocking the current Belarusian regime to its foundations, Putin could finally have his chance to force Lukashenko to commit to the terms of the 1997 agreement and bring the country fully into Russia's orbit.

"This does present Putin with his best opportunity to pressure Lukashenko, as the latter is weak domestically and has also lost support from the West, so he cannot manoeuvre as he used to," Katia Glod, a Belarusian analyst and non-resident fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), told Euronews.
A man waves a Russian national flag as supporters of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko rally in a square in Minsk, Belarus.Sergei Grits/Associated Press

"At the same time, I don't think that he (Lukashenko would be pushed into signing any significant treaties at this moment.

"The pressure from the Kremlin would be too obvious, whilst the Kremlin would like to play its cards quietly.

"This would trigger bigger protests in Belarus as the Kremlin's goal is to suppress them, and as Lukashenko is viewed as illegitimate domestically and in the West, his signature on any agreement would be questionable."

Putin, buoyed by a muted international response to Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, has become more confident in his foreign policy endeavours, including supporting pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine's Donbas region and intervening in the Syrian war.

"I don't think that the Kremlin will make a direct intervention, akin to the one in Crimea," says Glod. "It looks like a soft, creeping intervention that is already taking place, with the aim fo eventually controlling Lukashenka and the Belarusian government politically and economically but leaving the borders officially intact."

Belarus as a satellite state

If Lukashenko secures assurances from Putin and Russian support to quash opposition to his rule, it would be significant in shaping Belarus' future, not least by keeping him in power for the foreseeable future.

"If Lukashenko stays in power, the country may become, in the longer term, similar to Transnistria or Abkhazia - fully dependent economically or politically on Russia," says Glod. "The people of Belarus would not like this of course, and would be protesting, but here we are in unchartered territory."

Having broken away from Moldova and Georgia respectively, the two former Soviet entities Glod mentioned are nominally independent (albeit not recognised by the international community) but operate in Russia's military, political and economic spheres as de facto satellite states.

Even amongst Lukashenko's supporters, surrendering Belarus' independence in this way would be an unpalatable development. As Glod contends, there may still be a way forward that recognises Belarus' links to both East and West, so long as the opposition is successful in ousting Lukashenko's regime and avoiding a Russian puppet government.

"If the new government was chosen by the people of Belarus — in contrast to the Kremlin's engineered transition, whereby it will likely put someone very controllable by and amenable to Russia — it would keep the economic ties with Russia (40 per cent of Belarusian exports go to Russia), but would also try to expand the economic and political cooperation with the West," Glod says
Economic bonds hard to break

"If the new government were democratic, the relations with the West would improve tremendously, with the loans and investment flowing in too. The new government would likely try to strike a balance between the two powers, but, compared with the current very low base of cooperation with the West, it would be a very tangible improvement of ties."

Given its shared history as a Soviet republic and continuing reliance on Russia economically as the largest market for its export goods, any future government will need to follow Lukashenko's lead and strike a balance between East and West for the country to prosper. In effect, Russian influence is unlikely to fade in the near future if the spectre of Lukashenko's rule is finally exercised.

"The new government would, however, be very cautious about joining NATO not to upset Russia — so militarily Belarus would probably still keep its ties with Russia," says Glod.

"Economically, as Belarus is part of Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, it would not be able to have a DFTA (free trade agreement) with the EU now or in the near future, but that should not be ruled out in a more distant future."

_CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this story we wrote that the meeting will take place in Moscow, which was incorrect, it is in fact taking place at the Black Sea resort of Sochi. We apologise for our error. _
Who is Nina Baginskaya, the 73-year-old Belarusian protester that takes on riot police? 

By Emma Beswick • last updated: 13/09/2020 - 20:03

Opposition activist Nina Baginskaya, 73, struggles with police during a Belarusian opposition supporters' rally at Independence Square in Minsk, Belarus, Aug. 26, 2020. - Copyright Dmitri Lovetsky/Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

As the women of Belarus' opposition take to the streets every Saturday in the wake of President Lukashenko's disputed election victory, one protester has become a key figure within the movement.

Nina Bahinskaya, 73, has been pictured at anti-government rallies since they kicked off, telling off police and at one point blocking one of the authorities' armoured vehicles by standing in front of it.

Video published on Nexta's Telegram channel showed the septuagenarian resisting arrest by police at the protest on September 12 and trying to remove one officer's balaclava.

The confrontation served to further raise her already-elevated profile and crowds could be heard chanting "Nina" as the event unfolded.

But this is nothing new for Bahinskaya — armed with the country's former red-and-white flag on a long pole, she has been demonstrating since long before Belarus' recent election.

The great-grandmother has appeared at demonstrations in the country since 1988, from demanding the arrest of political prisoners to protesting the demolition of a memorial site for the victims of Soviet-era mass executions.

Police take Baginskaya away prior to a demonstration against the detention of four people for their attempt to protest political repression. Minsk, Belarus. March 31, 2017.Sergei Grits/AP

Baginskaya blocks a drill at the Kuropaty mass grave site of Soviet-era mass executions in the Belarus capital Minsk. April 5, 2019.Sergei Grits/AP

Police officers detain opposition activist Nina Baginskaya at the Kuropaty mass grave site of Soviet-era mass executions in the Belarus capital Minsk, Friday, April 5, 2019.Sergei Grits/AP

The flag, now banned in Belarus, has become popular among opposition protesters as an anti-Lukashenko symbol.

When riot police took Bahinskaya's flag after a march at the end of August, video captured her confronting the officer.

Braginskaya holds a former Belarus flag during a protest in Minsk, Belarus, Aug. 22, 2020.Evgeniy Maloletka/AP

Franak Viačorka, a journalist and analyst based in Minsk, Belarus, said on Twitter that protesters on September 13 informally named a square after Bahinskaya as part of an initiative which saw the opposition demonstrators assign names linked to the movement to squares and streets in the capital.

But not everyone is a fan of the 73-year-old and her tactics — in a recent report on her, the BBC pictured one woman on the sidelines of a protest shouting: "You found some half-mad babushka and you're following her."

As the unrest rages on in Belarus, the opposition's silver-haired celebrity has shown no sign of taking a step back from being at the centre of the movement.

'Tricks, truants and transsexuals': Lukashenko loyalists hit out over Belarus protests 

By Linas Jegelevicius • last updated: 11/09/2020

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko smiles after voting at a polling station during parliamentary elections, in Minsk, Belarus - Copyright Sergei Grits/Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved


The views of Belarus' opposition movement are well known: last month's presidential poll was rigged in Alexander Lukashenko's favour, he must step aside and free and fair elections should be held within six months.

But what about supporters of Lukashenko? Why are they backing him and what do they think about the demonstrations?


'Lukashenko cares about Belarusians'

For octogenarian Marina Anatoljevna Demjanina, from Grodno near the Polish border, Lukashenko is a pillar of Belarusian stability.

“Once it is broken, the rest tumbles down disastrously," she told Euronews. "When this happened in Ukraine, a war broke out there and the blood is being shed even now. Is that what our opposition people want?


“We all lived in fear under Stalin, but there was impeccable order and respect for order. Democracies are twisted and doomed. The people are much worse and much more selfish nowadays. Lukashenko does care about the Belarusians.

“It is far from the truth that only the elderly support Lukashenko. My grandsons, both in their twenties, also favour him, so far."


Lukashenko, 66, is the only president Belarus has ever known. Dubbed Europe's last dictator by his critics, he first came to power in 1994, three years after the former Soviet country declared independence.

But his grip on power has been shaken in recent weeks by a burgeoning opposition movement that has orchestrated regular anti-Lukashenko marches.

“Many people who support Lukashenko are frightened to speak out now and some are even fearful for their lives,” Demjanina claimed.

Viktor Mikhailovic Sevokhin, a veteran of the Afghanistan war, is not one of them.

“I am not afraid to admit that I am supporting our president (Lukashenko), despite the fact that he has shown some disrespect to veterans of the Afghanistan war," he said.

"A revolution – and this one ongoing these months in Belarus is no exception – is destructive.

"We may see the calmness and the relative wellbeing we’ve created under Lukashenko in tatters soon."
'Malicious truants'

Protests erupted after the August 9 poll, prompting a violent crackdown. In recent days key members of Belarus' opposition movement have been arrested or forced out of the country.

But Sevokhin has turned the finger of blame towards Lukashenko's critics, claiming they used "dirty tricks" to lure young people to protest.

"They massively, indiscriminately lured them and are still luring them to participate in the opposition rallies," said Sevokhin, who is based in the capital Minsk.

"The political wannabes netted them on social media, where the youth spends hours these days.

"Many of the children have never worked and many of them are malicious truants at their schools. But now they feel very important at the opposition-held rallies."

Nevertheless, Sevokhin admits he questions claims Lukashenko won 80% of the vote in the election and why the police were seemingly violent with the protesters.

But neither seem to affect his unswerving loyalty.

“Western values are already crippling societies," he continued. "And Lukashenko is the guarantor of our own Belarusian and Christian values.

"With Belarus being in the West, we will soon see transsexuals marching with their hands clasped in central Minsk.

“The syloviki (law enforcement) and veterans will stand behind “batjka” (Lukashenko's nickname, meaning “dad” diminutively) until our last gasp.”

Nikolaj Logvin, exiled in the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda but who goes back to Belarus regularly, has a more balanced view.

“The youth is for change, the elderly for Lukashenko, with some exceptions on both sides,” he said. “Most of them are wary of what happened in Ukraine, which still has not found peace within itself.

"It sad to see so much enmity and hostility across the ranks of a community, a workplace,” he added.

Logvin said his numerous relatives back home couldn’t have any complaints about their lives in Belarus.

“We all have problems. But my relatives had been leading quite a comfortable life until the recent political shake-up. I mean they had jobs, state-paid allowances, stipends, which were rising. Most importantly, we had stability.

“The opposition and the youth have only one goal – to depose the president (Lukashenko). But unfortunately, they haven’t laid out their vision, an economic plan how to move Belarus forward with Lukashenko out."
'Lukashenko's days are numbered'

So how much support does Lukashenko have in the country?

Belarusian political analyst Alyaksandr Klaskouski told Euronews that officials in the huge state apparatus, as well as the siloviki and their families, support him.

“Also the grandmas who spend their entire evenings watching state TV news," he added. "All in all, Lukashenko supporters must comprise 20-30 per cent, no more.

“So far, the siloviki are behind him, but erosion, however, has begun with some officials quitting their jobs in protest of the clamping down or siding with the opposition.

“I predict his chances of being in power at the new year as 50-50. But no one doubts, and perhaps he himself as well, that his days are numbered. It is just a matter of time until the regime collapses.”

Stun grenades, rubber bullets and secret service raids: What it's like reporting from Belarus 

By Emil Filtenborg • last updated: 09/09/2020

In this Aug. 10, 2020, file photo, protesters carry a wounded man during clashes with police after the presidential election in Minsk, Belarus. - Copyright AP Photo

One month on from the, now historic, disputed election of August 9 2020, Euronews asks Journalist Emil Filtenborg to tell the story of his and his colleague Stefan Weichert's reporting of what is now something the whole world is watching.

On the evening of August 9, I was running from riot police.

My colleague Stefan and me were in Belarus to cover the presidential elections for Euronews. Exit polls predicting a landslide victory for incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko had just been released prompting thousands to pour into the streets of capital Minsk in protest.

The authorities responded with a crackdown of unprecedented force.
August 9

That night, after dodging riot police for 20 minutes, we were pushed into a staircase leading to a backstreet. That is when we heard the first three stun grenades that kickstarted four days of violent crackdowns on peaceful protesters.

The grenades went off at the bottom of the staircase with a thundering crack that made our ears ring for minutes and impaired Stefan's vision for some time.


As the sound of police truncheons hammering down on protesters down on the main street reached us, we fled into a parallel street, following a group of panic eyed and disoriented protesters. Our priority was making it back to the demonstration so we could start interviewing people and get an overview of the events.

In pictures: The most striking images from Belarus protest
'Scores' detained as students in Belarus protest against President Lukashenko | #TheCube

We had people in place doing welfare checks, we did a risk assessment, and we had planned as best we could to find exit routes out of the protest. We had also prepared for violence from the authorities but we never expected it to be this brutal, this early.

Our plans of getting into the demonstration to secure information and interviews were thrown out the window after the flashbangs rang out. It was our second plan to be quickly derailed as we had initially hoped to follow a protester but we were barred from reaching his place by police.

Instead, we circled around for a while but eventually made it back to the protest by carefully avoiding empty main streets and areas with only one or two exit points.

Usually, we would have checked for information on Twitter, but the internet was down and so we were walking, virtually, blind.

When we finally made it back to where the main demonstration was taking place, a young woman — I doubt she was even 18 yet — tried to hug me when I introduced myself as a Danish journalist.

"Thank you for coming," she said with tears in her eyes. The gesture was interrupted, as people started running from a new push from the riot police.

We followed the protest for a couple of kilometres until a line of busses full of riot police separated us from the protestors. We decided to call it a night.

We sneaked back to the hotel, inconveniently located right where the protests started. We crossed the road, carefully avoiding a pool of blood on the pavement, and walked past two police officers assessing damage to the road. If they had asked for ID, we would most likely have been deported that night.

We slept for two hours and got up early to find a place with Wi-Fi to send our report.
Violence continues

The following two days, we didn’t go to the protests.

Every afternoon OMON (a Special Police Unit) would set up right outside the hotel, and walking out with a camera and two Danish passports would only have scored us a ride on the dreaded riot police busses.

We monitored the street from our hotel windows and we could see that although people could usually walk unhindered during the day, as the hours passed, OMON would start arresting people.

By then, protesters arrested that first night were starting to be released from detention centres and so we switched our focus to the victims of police violence.

Our first interview was a teenager who, upon being released from detention, find out that his parents had also been arrested as they were looking for him. We talked to the entire family when they were reunited. They were perfectly ordinary people who showed a touching degree of fortitude.

In Belarus, a family detained, separated and beaten by police is re-united

Stefan also visited a longtime activist, who had made it out of jail. She had just spent 30 days in solitary confinement under appalling conditions.

On the run: Activist recounts her experience of solitary confinement in Belarus
Beers, sandwiches and dirty underwear

Initially, the staff at our hotel were very forthcoming. Some even expressed gratitude because we were there to report on the events unfolding. However, three days after the election, the mood started to change.

Stefan received a call from reception, asking us to come down to settle the bill even though we were booked for three more nights. When we got down, the staff avoided eye contact.

When Stefan later went out to pick up dinner, he noticed a man with sunglasses talking to the hotel's two security guards. He immediately left out the front door when he saw my colleague, while the receptionist looked down at the desk.

Stefan had to go in the same direction as the unidentified man, who, upon passing a nearby café, nodded to another man sitting alone on the terrace prompting him to zero-in on Stefan.

EU announces sanctions against Belarus over 'violence' on protesters and electoral 'falsification'
Belarus deports several foreign journalists covering protests

Soon after, Stefan called me to warn me that something was wrong. I didn’t fully understand why he was so sure, but I know my colleague well enough to trust him in these situations.

Stefan proceeded as if nothing was the matter while I started packing. On his return trip, the man at the café immediately placed a call upon seeing him, and so minutes after Stefan had reached the hotel, we left out of the back entrance.

The next day, the Belarus secret service started raiding hotels downtown and even arresting some journalists. If they had raided our hotel, all they would have found were beer cans, uneaten sandwiches and dirty underwear.
Goodbye, Minsk

With our editor, we decided that it was time for us to leave. We went to the airport on Thursday night, five days after the election. Stefan kept saying it was a mistake, and I kept asking him to shut up because I knew he was right. At the time, it looked like Lukashenko might fall at any minute.

As I was following the news on Twitter and Telegram, I kept thinking of the young girl thanking me for being there.

I called Stefan and asked if he had any plans the following day. He said no. I asked if he wanted to take a short trip to Belarus. He said yes. We booked a flight for Minsk and landed in the morning after 36 hours or so back home.

This time we moved to an apartment instead of a hotel. We continued working with a mix of reports from the protests that had now turned less violent and interviews with people ranging from volunteers teaching protesters first aid to state-employed journalists leaving their jobs.

'They were beating people severely': Teenager relives detention in Belarus
On the run: Activist recounts her experience of solitary confinement in Belarus

On Sunday, the day after we entered the country a second time, we went to a protest at the location where it all began. Around 200,000 people showed up in the most massive demonstration the country had ever seen.

Though still fearful, the mood was hopeful, almost festive. It was surreal to think that this happened only a week after the election day protests. Nothing and everything had simultaneously changed.
On edge

We were already on edge after what we figured to be a close call in the hotel. When we saw someone running for the bus or heard a balloon pop, our first instinct was to flee. The stun grenades and the rubber bullets, for me at least, are not the worst part — it is the constant being on guard that drains you.

We were not the only ones being a bit jumpy. A lot of the sources we spoke to wanted anonymity, which we often agreed on. We were writing all our articles without putting our names on them because we did not want the attention.

The Belarusians we spoke to risked detention and the beatings that often came with it. In extreme cases, they took serious risks by speaking with us.

Being a journalist Belarus is not safe, but it is undeniably a lot safer than being an ordinary citizen.

While I appreciate the opportunity to provide an account of what working in situations like this is like, I find it necessary to stress that journalists can go home and regroup when we lose sight of things. The Belarusians can’t.
Belarus: Unfinished Revolution 

By Anelise Borges • last updated: 10/09/2020

euronews - Copyright 

On August 9th, Belarus held presidential elections that were set to change the course of politics in the country.

An unprecedented opposition movement had been gaining support and gathering tens of thousands of people in weekly rallies called by candidate Sviatlana Tikhanouskaya.

A trained translator turned presidential hopeful, Tikhanouskaya used to say, if elected, she would not stay at the job too long - her project was to free political prisoners (her husband included) and put in place conditions for free and fair elections to be held.

But her project has yet to see the light of day. Belarus’ election commission say Tikhanouskaya won a mere 10.12% of the vote, something her teams (and a large number of voters in the country) dispute.

“Belarus: Unfinished Revolution” tells the story of a grassroots political movement that represents the biggest challenge faced by the regime of President Alexander Lukashenko in the nearly 30 years he’s been in power.

This short piece is a collection of individual stories - a look at what brought people to the streets and drives them to continue protesting one month on despite the crackdown and the intimidation.


It’s about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. 

 UK

“Stand by working families – don’t walk away,” TUC’s O’Grady tells Rishi Sunak

Sienna Rodgers is editor of LabourList.

General secretary Frances O’Grady has issued a personal challenge to Rishi Sunak at the opening of the TUC Congress 2020 this morning by telling the Conservative Chancellor to “stand by working families – don’t walk away”.

Addressing the trade union federation’s 152nd Congress in London, O’Grady warned ministers of mass unemployment amid the coronavirus pandemic and said the UK faces a “tsunami of job losses” as the furlough scheme ends.

She said: “Unions pushed for the jobs retention scheme. Millions of livelihoods were saved – both employees and the self-employed. From this Thursday, it will be just 45 days before the JRS ends.

“That’s the notice period that companies have to give if they intend to make mass redundancies. If the government doesn’t act, we face a tsunami of job losses. So my message to the Chancellor is this:

“We worked together once before. We are ready to work with you again – if you are serious about stopping the catastrophe of mass unemployment. Rishi Sunak: stand by working families – don’t walk away.”

The coronavirus job retention scheme is set to end next month, despite the Tory-dominated Treasury select committee, think tanks, opposition parties and industry leaders warning that many businesses will still be struggling.

The TUC has revealed its own blueprint for saving jobs and retraining workers affected by coronavirus, whereby the government would offer subsidies of up to 70% to participating companies’ pay and overhead costs.

Under the plan, if employees were brought back from furlough for less than 50% of their normal hours, the government would fund retraining so that workers could transition into industries less affected by the pandemic.

The ‘job protection and upskilling deal’ put forward by the trade union body would provide more “targeted” support than the furlough scheme by adding conditions to the financial assistance offered by the government.

O’Grady told TUC Congress today: “When the crisis began, the Chancellor said he would do ‘whatever it takes’. He must keep that promise. Some will ask can the country afford to do it? The answer is – we can’t afford not to.”

Amid fears that the national minimum wage will not be increased next year due to the damage done by coronavirus, the general secretary stressed the importance of this rise taking place, telling ministers: “don’t punch down”.

10 Downing Street last week said the government still intended to introduce the wage boost, but added that it had been originally planned “provided that economic conditions allow” – and the UK’s economy is being hard-hit by Covid-19.

O’Grady also touched on the Black Lives Matter movement in her speech, saying: “When Black workers rise, we all rise. We don’t need another review to know what needs to change. The government needs to act now.”

The union leader advised the Tory government to introduce mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting, address any pay gaps revealed and ban zero-hour contracts, which disproportionately affect Black workers in the UK.

She concluded: “To all key workers: thank you for your sacrifice and for your service. This country must make a promise to you and to all working people: there must be no return to business as usual.”

The TUC is today launching its campaign for key workers to receive decent pay, as well as fair terms and conditions in their contracts, to give “dignity at work” to those who risked their lives during the coronavirus crisis.

"Telling the truth never causes panic"

Axios




Michael Osterholm, a renowned infectious-disease expert and the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that leaders must tell the truth when it comes to public health and that "telling the truth never causes panic."

Why it matters: Host Chuck Todd asked Osterholm if President Trump had made a mistake by not being upfront with the American people about the dangers of COVID-19 and the threat of a pandemic. In an interview for Bob Woodward's new book "Rage," Trump said that he was purposefully "playing it down" so as not to create a "panic."

What he's saying: "If you just tell people the truth, they will respond and they will trust you to continue to tell them the truth. The great leaders of the world have done that," Osterholm said.

The big picture: Osterholm conceded that the early days of coronavirus spread were confusing to a lot of people, but that by March — when Trump sat for one of his 18 interviews with Woodward — it was clear that the pandemic threat was real.
"I hope that we stick with the science and not with all this rhetoric that we're hearing right now," Osterholm said.
Trump has continued to say that the country is "rounding the turn" on the coronavirus, while Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has said life may not return to normal until the end of 2021.

The other side: Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel defended Trump earlier on the program, saying that he had acted decisively by banning travel from China in January.
"Think about what would have happened if he'd gone out and said, 'This is awful, we should all be afraid, we don't have a plan.' It would have been a run on the banks, it would have been a run on the hospitals, and the grocery stores," McDaniel insisted.
"The president was calm and steady at a time of unrest and uncertainty, and I think history will look back on him well as to how he handled this pandemic."

What's next: "We really have another 12–14 months of a really hard road ahead of us," Osterholm said, backing Fauci's assessment about how long the coronavirus will remain a threat.
"With the colleges and universities opening, with the spillover that's occurring, with people experiencing even more pandemic fatigue, wanting to be in indoor airspaces with other people as we get into the fall, we're going to see these numbers grow substantially," he predicted.
"If the vaccine does become available, it won't be in any meaningful way until the beginning of next year. And then it's still going to take us months to vaccinate the population of just this country."

UK SCIENTISTS COLLABORATE WITH SYRIAN REFUGEES TO PRODUCE REUSABLE PPE



The UK government has sent more than £760,000 in funding to support The People’s PPE project

Sabrina Barr@fabsab5
Saturday 05 September 2020 14:27


A team of UK scientists and artists have collaborated with Syrian refugees to produce reusable personal protective equipment (PPE), which is to be distributed in Jordan.


The initiative, titled “People’s PPE”, has been organised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

It involves academics from the University of Sheffield, the London College of Fashion, the University of the Arts London (UAL), and researchers from two universities in Jordan – Al Albayt University and the University of Petra.

The project, which has received £766,675 in funding from the UK government, is offering refugees in the Zaatari camp in Jordan the opportunity to take on small-scale manufacturing jobs by producing reusable masks, shields and gowns amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The PPE is being made using materials that are low-cost, locally sourced and recyclable.

Moh’d Al Taher, associate external relations officer at UNHCR, explained that the project is helping to support the Syrian refugees in the camp by creating “livelihood opportunities”.

“The cooperation with the University of Sheffield and London College of Fashion, UAL, has resulted in training many Syrian refugee women in the Zaatari camp with skills in developing PPE,” he said.


“These skills created livelihood opportunities for refugees and supported the refugee community.”


Al Taher added that the UNHCR “plans to cover the needs of the camp community with PPE by using high-quality and low-cost materials”, using “innovative solutions” in doing so.

(Aya Musmar/Petra University/PA)

The 3D-printed face shields being as part of The People’s PPE were designed and produced using iForge, a collaborative workspace at the University of Sheffield run by engineering students.

Professor Tony Ryan, director of the Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures at the university and principle investigator for The People’s PPE, stated that the initiative is “about empowering refugees in a moment of health crisis”.


“I’ve spent years working with the people of Zaatari and learning from their incredible resourcefulness and creativity,” the professor said.


“Faced with a global pandemic, we are working together to design and produce the protective equipment the refugees and their host community need to stay safe, while reducing plastic waste, creating jobs and building resilience within the camp community.”

Inside the courtroom battle against the deadly rhino horn trade


We are working with conservation charity Space for Giants to protect wildlife at risk from poachers due to the conservation funding crisis caused by Covid-19. Help is desperately needed to support wildlife rangers, local communities and law enforcement personnel to prevent wildlife crime

Emma Ledger
4 days ago

A poached rhino can be seen in Africa(SaveTheRhinoInternational)


Poachers used a silenced hunting rifle to kill this black rhino for its horn while it drank at a water hole in South Africa.


Around the world, one rhino is killed every 10 hours. To stop this slaughter, either consumer demand for their horn must be eradicated, or poachers must be stopped from killing them. Those are the intractable options.


Charity Save the Rhino is committed to changing how rhino horn is perceived in South East Asia - where most trafficked horn ends up, and where it is prized as a symbol of power and wealth.



However, enacting a cultural change could take decades. That’s too long for some species of rhinoceros, such the Javan and Sumatran, who are on the path to extinction.


With consumer demand unlikely to disappear any time soon, and a black market continuing regardless, the survival of rhinos hinges on innovative strategies to prevent poaching.

more

Why we need to win the war against rhino poachers


One of the most important is what happens inside the courtrooms that trial rhino horn hunters and traffickers.


Shamini Jayanathan is a criminal barrister working in illegal wildlife trafficking in Africa, with a focus on prosecutions. She tells The Independent: “The only way to tackle and deter the killing of rhinos is through the courts. Arrests and seizures of horn represent only a disruption to criminal operations, not an end.”


Ms Jayanathan explains that because the rhino is such a highly protected animal, many African countries rightly have high minimum prison terms for related cases. But as a result, every defendant pleads not guilty, meaning there is no incentive to cooperation. Trials can last years, with hearings delayed or endlessly postponed, running up costs and zapping time and momentum.The Covid-19 conservation crisis has shown the urgency of The Independent’s Stop the Illegal Wildlife Trade campaign, which seeks an international effort to clamp down on illegal trade of wild animals(ESI)


“The biggest enemy to rhino horn cases is delay,” says Ms Jayanathan. “And as the legal maxim attests, justice delayed is justice denied. There is ongoing, vital work in the courts to speed up criminal trial process, to ensure the prosecution case is strong at the start of the case, and that the sentence at the end is proportionate to the crime.

The Independent’s Stop the Illegal Wildlife Trade campaign, which was launched earlier this year, seeks an international effort to clamp down on poaching and the illegal trade of wild animals.

South Africa is home to nearly 80 per cent of the world's remaining rhinos. It has been hit hard by wildlife crime, with more than 1,000 rhinos killed there each year between 2013 and 2017.

In March 2017 the South African government created Skukuza Regional Court close to the edge of one of its most famous nature conservancy, Kruger National Park.
Read more

Stop the Illegal Wildlife Trade: How pangolins became the ultimate luxury good


Hailed as a hugely positive step for the effective and swift handling of trials for rhino poachers and traffickers, Skukuza’s two senior prosecutors had backgrounds in organised crime cases and extensive knowledge of wildlife crime-related law.


During its first year, the ‘rhino court’ - as it became known - brought more than 90 poachers to justice, with a 100 percent conviction rate. Prison sentences ranged from 12 to 40 years. Elsewhere in South Africa, fewer than 25 per cent of similar convictions resulted in sentences longer than 10 years, according to Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries.

Rhino poaching also declined. Last year in South Africa there was a reported 594 rhinos killed for their horn, down from 769 in 2018. And the data detailing where rhinos were killed suggests that poachers had begun to avoid Kruger to hunt in other provinces - likely deterred by the ‘rhino court’.


However, Skukuza Regional Court has been closed since August last year, amid unexpected plans to move it almost 100km away from Kruger.

Save the Rhino’s Emma Pereira says that moving the court could have dire consequences for rhinos. “Skukuza’s proximity to Kruger is really helpful in terms of rangers being able to quickly get there to give evidence that can help secure convictions. Moving it might mean it would take much longer for a ranger to travel there and back, something many just won’t be able to do."

Activists created a petition to fight the plan, and the Department of Justice and Correctional Services has halted the decision for now, as stakeholders question how the upheaval would benefit rhinos.

Read more

Leading US investigator into illegal ivory and rhino horn trade stabbed to death in his Kenyan home


Crispin Phiri, spokesperson for the department, says “the court plays an important role in conserving our environment in so far as rhino poaching is concerned”, and confirmed “a moratorium to get a proper briefing on what the understanding is and the motivation for moving the court”.


Most working in wildlife crime agree that Skukuza is a model that works, and one that needs replicating in countries that have a population of rhino, or act as trafficking transit corridors.


To protect rhinos and other wildlife at risk from poachers, The Independent is working with Space for Giants, a conservation charity that has extensive expertise in strengthening the judicial and conservation authorities in six African countries.


Between 2016 and 2020 Ms Jayanathan led Space for Giants' team of legal professionals training prosecutors, investigators and magistrates so trials run smoother and legal processes are more effective. She says: “In Kenya - where we collaborated with prosecution services and the judiciary, Kenya Wildlife Service and other partners - we have seen a steady rate of convictions of wildlife criminals, including rhino horn traffickers.


“Rhino cases are inevitably hard fought because the penalties are so high. But progress is being made. In Kenya, in the courts we have worked in, we have reduced the average time for criminal procedures from 32 months to 11 months, and we have also seen a reduction in rhino horn crime.”
Read more

Shame on those who rejoiced at the death of a rhino poacher, who was just a poor and desperate pawn of the mega-rich


Pereira agrees that strengthening the judicial process is a vital part of the fight to save rhinos, to act as both punishment and deterrent.


“Save the Rhino is working with partners to develop learning among the legal system, such as how evidence is collected, and making it standard across the board,” she says. “Often, when it comes to rhino horn cases, evidence is not as well understood by judiciary, or courts are not able to trace people to give evidence.


“The picture is slowly getting better; there have been some large fines for people who have done the damage to rhinos - but we are seeing a lot of corruption too.


“It takes a mental toll on those dedicated to protecting rhinos - especially on rangers who are having to work overtime as a result of Covid. The fight to save rhinos a long, hard slog.”


Donate to help Stop the Illegal Wildlife Trade HERE