UK

Ministers map out Liberty rescue plan: Emergency move to save 5,000 jobs after steel giant calls for £170m taxpayer bailout

Sanjeev Gupta wrote to Government officials in a desperate bid to secure a £170million bailout from taxpayers

Troubles at the UK's third largest steel producer follow the collapse of its main financier Greensill Capital

Concerns are now rising that Gupta's British operations could slide into administration unless new financing can be arranged

By EMMA DUNKLEY, FINANCIAL MAIL ON SUNDAY
PUBLISHED: 28 March 2021


The Government is preparing to trigger an emergency plan to save 5,000 British jobs in the event of a collapse of Sanjeev Gupta's steel business.

Gupta, founder of Liberty Steel and its vast parent company GFG Alliance, wrote to Government officials on Thursday in a desperate bid to secure a £170million bailout from taxpayers.

Troubles at the UK's third largest steel producer follow the collapse of its main financier Greensill Capital, which counted former Prime Minister David Cameron as a paid adviser.

Plea: Sanjeev Gupta wrote to Government officials in a desperate bid to secure a £170million bailout from taxpayers

Concerns are now rising that Gupta's British operations could slide into administration unless new financing can be arranged.

Gupta's call to Ministers for help comes just months after he forked out £42million – nearly a third of the bailout request – on a house in Belgravia.

Liberty owns a dozen steel plants in Britain, including sites at Newport and Rotherham. Private equity firms are understood to be assessing parts of GFG's global empire.

In its letter to the Department for Business GFG asked for the money to cover working capital and operating losses.

But Whitehall is thought to be concerned that bailout money might be used in other parts of Gupta's global empire instead of supporting UK jobs. There are also fears the firm could then require further financial support.

Boris Johnson has taken a personal interest in the situation, industry sources said. The Government is already thrashing out emergency plans in case the situation rapidly worsens, The Mail on Sunday understands.

It is thought the preferred route would be to wait for Liberty Steel to enter compulsory liquidation, at which point the Government would step in and keep the company running until a new buyer could be found.

This would be similar to the rescue of British Steel which collapsed in May 2019. Around 3,000 jobs were saved by an intervention which cost taxpayers nearly £600 million. The Official Receiver, a state agency, took control of the firm with the backing of the Government until it was sold to Chinese metals company Jingye last March.

Another option could see the Government support administrators to find a new buyer if Liberty Steel, which is thought to comprise seven different companies, collapses.

Dame Margaret Hodge, former chairwoman of the Public Accounts Committee, said: 'You need to save the jobs, not the man.'

She said there was a lack of transparency over 'where his money has come from, where it goes', adding: 'But what you don't want to do is sacrifice the jobs.'

The union Unite said it 'is urging the Government to do everything necessary' to save Liberty, adding: 'The loss of Liberty Steel and the specialist products it manufactures for the aerospace, automotive and oil and gas sectors would have damaging consequences beyond the steel sector.'

One industry source said it would be difficult for the Government to step in without GFG Alliance first becoming insolvent, because the company is 'a sprawling beast' with huge debts. Another source said: 'It's messy, it's very, very messy.'

And with private equity firms understood to be eyeing parts of GFG, one source in the sector said: 'It's an asset-backed bet, potentially Lone Star and Cerberus [are interested].'

Cerberus declined to comment. Lone Star did not respond.

Advisers to GFG Alliance are working on a private restructuring plan called 'Project Battery'.

Liberty Steel employs 3,000 people in Britain. Another 2,000 UK jobs span other divisions of GFG Alliance including aluminium firm Alvance and renewable energy business Simec.

Liberty Steel was forced to halt production at some sites earlier this month to preserve cash. It owes Greensill an estimated £3.6 billion, according to the Financial Times.

A GFG Alliance spokesman declined to comment on the letter, but said: 'GFG Alliance as a whole is operationally strong and benefiting from strong markets in steel, aluminium and iron ore.

'While Greensill's difficulties have created a challenging situation, we have adequate funding for our current needs. Discussions to secure alternative longterm funding continue to make good progress.

'In the UK speciality steel business, where weakness in the aerospace market has cut demand for some products by 60 per cent, we have been taking specific actions to stabilise the business and improve cash flow.'

These include 'reducing steel stocks ... and working with customers to achieve terms that will bring in cash as early as possible'.

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ISIS IS NO MORE D.J.TRUMP POTUS

Islamic State group claims control of northern Mozambique town of Palma

OIL GAS REFINERY

Issued on: 29/03/2021 - 

A woman, called Elsa by UK-based aid group Save the Children, walks with a child in a displacement camp in the northern Mozambique province of Cabo Delgado on January 26, 2021. © Rui Mutemba/Save the Children/REUTERS

Text by:FRANCE 24

The Islamic State group said Monday it had seized the coastal town of Palma in northern Mozambique, after days of fighting.

“The caliphate’s soldiers seize the strategic town of Palma” following a three-day attack against military and government targets that killed dozens, the group said in a statement on its Telegram channels.

The jihadist group’s claim came after thousands of survivors of coordinated jihadist attacks in the town fled on boats to the provincial capital, Pemba, according to sources in the city.

International aid agency sources said between 6,000 and 10,000 people are waiting to be evacuated to safety following the raid on Palma that began last Wednesday.

Extremist militants raided Palma, a town of around 75,000 people in the province of Cabo Delgado that is home to a multi-billion-dollar gas project being built by France’s Total and other energy companies.

The government said dozens were killed in the attack, including seven people caught in an ambush during an operation to evacuate them from a hotel where they had sought refuge.

A South African is among those killed, his family said.

The attack is the closest yet to the major gas project since an Islamist insurgency broke out across Mozambique’s north in October 2017.

The attack forced expatriate workers and locals to seek refuge temporarily at a heavily guarded gas plant located on the Afungi peninsula – 10km (six miles) from Palma, on the Indian Ocean coast south of the Tanzanian border.

Operations are under way to move them to Pemba, around 250 kilometres south of Palma.

Sea Star, a large passenger vessel, arrived in Pemba on Sunday with around 1,400 people, mostly workers including Total employees.

Another ship arrived in Pemba on Sunday afternoon and was released on Monday morning, according to an official from an international aid agency operating in the city.

“Authorities indicate that there will be a boat that will arrive during the day,” the source told AFP.

Thousands of other people were still stuck at Afungi, with some expected to have arrived in smaller boats overnight Sunday and early Monday.

Police and military have cordoned off the zone, hampering access to the area where the boats were landing.

UN agencies were due to hold emergency talks in Pemba to coordinate the evacuation and humanitarian aid for the new arrivals.

The defence ministry said late Sunday that the security forces have “reinforced their operational strategy to contain the criminal attacks of terrorists and restore normality in Palma, having carried out operational actions focused primarily on the rescue of hundreds of citizens in the last three days”.

Pemba is already packed with hundreds of thousands of other people displaced by the Islamist insurgency, which has uprooted nearly 700,000 from their homes across the vast province.

‘Shot while fleeing’

The armed attackers fired on civilians in their homes and on the streets “as they tried to flee for their lives”, according to Human Rights Watch.


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The violent, calculated raid broke a three-month hiatus in Islamist attacks widely attributed to counter-insurgency tactics and the rainy season from January through March.

Although the extremist fighters launched their campaign in 2017, experts say they had begun mobilising a decade earlier as disgruntled youths started to practise a different type of Islam, drinking alcohol and entering mosques dressed in shorts and shoes.

The violence has now taken root and claimed at least 2,600 lives, half of them civilians, according to the US-based data-collecting agency Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED).

“We are extremely concerned about the impact that this new outbreak of violence is having on already very vulnerable people who have been affected by years of conflict,” said medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders).

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Catholics call for Sri Lanka ex-leader to face prosecution over Easter bombings

Issued on: 29/03/2021

Sri Lanka's Catholic church called for the former president Maithripala Sirisena to be prosecuted for failing to prevent the suicide bombings two years ago 

LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI AFP

Colombo (AFP)

Sri Lanka's Catholic church called Monday for the former president and his officials to be prosecuted for failing to prevent the suicide bombings two years ago that killed 279 people.

An investigation ordered by ex-leader Maithripala Sirisena soon after the April 21 bombings found that he and his intelligence officials had precise information from India about the impending attack 17 days earlier, but failed to prevent it.

The report, parts of which were released last month, held Sirisena -- now a member of successor Gotabaya Rajapaksa's party -- criminally liable.

"It is absolutely necessary to prosecute without any hesitation and further delays all those political leaders and officials... seconded for prosecution in the report," Archbishop Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith said in a statement, without directly naming Sirisena.

He said such individuals must be held accountable "for shirking their duty so callously and doing absolutely nothing to prevent the massacre".

The statement -- signed by 12 other Sri Lankan church leaders -- warned they would organise a national demonstration next month if those named in the report were not prosecuted.

In March, the church had asked the faithful to wear black and attend Sunday Mass as a sign of protest against the delay in ensuring justice for the victims.

The church also called for an ongoing investigation to cover military and intelligence officers said to have had contacts with the local jihadist who led the coordinated suicide bombings.

The inquiry heard testimony from officials who claimed that jihadist Zahran Hashim had dealings with security forces during the country's Tamil separatist war that ended in May 2009.

Church leaders urged a further investigation.

Sri Lanka has arrested over 200 people in connection with the attacks, but is yet to prosecute a single individual.

However, the US Justice Department in January charged three Sri Lankans with supporting terrorism for their alleged participation in the attacks, which were claimed by the Islamic State group.

All three are in custody in Sri Lanka but have not been charged locally. The Justice Department said it would support their prosecution in the country.

At least 45 foreigners, including five Americans, were among those killed.

© 2

 The Ever Given was refloated Monday and the Suez Canal reopened to traffic, almost a week after the megaship got stuck, the Suez Canal Authority said as local TV images showed it moving slowly up the canal. FRANCE 24's Eduard Cousin tells us 

What is a ferret badger?

Issued on: 29/03/2021 - 

Ferret badgers are a member of the mustelidae, the family of mammals that includes weasels, badgers, ferrets, otters, and wolverines Sam Yeh AFP

Hong Kong (AFP)

A number of animals have been suggested as the intermediary carrier of the coronavirus that has wracked the world for more than a year; most of them are familiar, but you might not have heard of the ferret badger. Here are some facts about this lesser-known creature.

- What's in a name? -

The ferret badger's name is actually fairly self-explanatory.

It's a member of the mustelidae, the family of mammals that includes weasels, badgers, ferrets, otters, martens, minks and wolverines.

Visually it looks very much like a cross between a ferret and a badger.

With an average length of 33 to 43 centimetres, its small size and thin shape is reminiscent of a ferret.

But they also have white facial markings and a stripe down their back, traits seen in many badger species.

The ferret badger looks quite similar to the palm civet cat which -- while not a mustelidae -- was identified as the intermediate host between bats and humans for the 2003 SARS outbreak.

- Where would you find it? -

The ferret badger has five identified sub-species, the Bornean, the Chinese, the Javan, the Burmese and the recently classified Vietnamese.

Chinese ferret badgers -- melogale moschata -- are the most widespread and can be found as far west as Assam in India, throughout southern China and as far east as Taiwan.

It has a diverse stomping ground and is found in tropical and subtropical forests as well as grasslands.

- What's it like? -

It is most active at dusk and during the night, eating an omnivorous diet of seeds, fruits and nuts as well as insects, earthworms and small amphibians.

It has sharp claws allowing it to climb -- and sleep -- in trees.

It also fiercely defends itself from threats, emitting a powerful smelling secretion from its anal glands when alarmed.

- Is it endangered? -

No, it is currently listed in the "least concern" category on the UN's Red List.

While it is sometimes hunted for its pelt, the ferret badger does not appear to be under any major population pressure.

Unlike many species, it may cope quite well with human encroachment onto its habitat.

A study of ferret badgers in the mid-1990s near a village in southeastern China found the animals often made use of firewood stacks and rock piles to rest and hunted for food in rice paddies, soybean, cotton, or grass fields.

Farmers usually liked the animals as they got rid of pests and did not tend to attack chickens or livestock.

© 2021 AFP

Pollution forces Nepal schools to close for the first time

Issued on: 29/03/2021 -

Kathmandu is currently ranked among the most polluted cities in the world

 Prakash MATHEMA AFP

Kathmandu (AFP)

Nepal on Monday ordered schools to close as choking smog enveloped the capital Kathmandu, in the first-ever shutdown of the country's education sector because of pollution.

Kathmandu is currently ranked among the most polluted cities in the world, with the air quality index (AQI) readings well above 300, the highest level of concern, during the weekend.

"It has been decided that educational institutions will be closed until Friday. As far as we are aware, this is the first time schools have been closed because of pollution," Deepak Sharma, the Ministry of Education spokesman, told AFP.

The government has also urged people to stay indoors and to avoid construction and burning trash.

Experts say that raging wildfires in several parts of the country combined with stagnant atmospheric conditions have caused the thick smog to cover many districts.

"There is not enough movement in the atmosphere right now so pollutants, contributed also by the wildfires, have been trapped to cause the air quality to deteriorate," said Min Kumar Aryal, a meteorologist at Nepal's Meteorological Forecasting Division.

On Twitter, Kathmandu residents complained of "stinging eyes" and "itchiness" because of the pollution.

Low visibility caused by the smog has disrupted flights at Kathmandu airport, leaving passengers facing hours-long delays.

The country's only international airport was temporarily closed on Friday as visibility dropped to 1,000 metres, according to an airport official, before reopening on the same day.

© 2021 AFP

Heard NFTs are bad for the environment? Here's what that means

Related to the cryptocurrency craze, NFT stands for nonfungible token.

By Austa Somvichian-Clausen | March 24, 2021

Story at a glance

The world of blockchain is currently abuzz with the introduction of NFTs, or nonfungible tokens.

Like the signature on an original painting, owning an NFT ensures the new owner exclusive rights to a piece of digital property.

Most NFTs utilize the blockchain Ethereum, whose energy consumption has come under scrutiny as of late.

According to estimates, the annual energy usage of Ethereum is enough to rival that of small countries like Bahrain.

This Monday, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey combined past and future when he sold his first-ever tweet as an NFT, or nonfungible token, for $2.9 million. A simple introduction to what grew to be one of the largest social media platforms in the world, the tweet read: “just setting up my twttr.

That small piece of social media history is now owned by Sina Estavi, the chief executive officer of Malaysian blockchain service Bridge Oracle. Estavi, who likened his new internet real estate to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, is just one of the growing number of savvy investors getting involved in the confusing world of NFTs. In fact, the market for NFTs is already being valued at $1 billion.

NFTs draw upon the same blockchain technology that digital currencies rely upon, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, to both ascribe ownership to the digital works and authenticate purchases. So, while we can all still see, read, embed and screenshot Dorsey’s tweet, Estavi has digital proof of ownership over it.

For digital artists, the newly emerging world of NFTs is a fever dream — a new, highly lucrative way for them to monetize their works. Even lesser known digital artists have been cashing in on thousands of dollars thanks to the quick-paced sales and current high demand for NFTs, and a bonus of the model allows ownership to be extended to resales of that token. That means artists continue making money, even as the NFT is resold multiple times.

Sound too good to be true? That’s yet to be seen, and many financial advisors are cautioning their clients against hitting the gas on NFTs just yet. Besides the mystique of the NFT market, rumors have also been swirling about their environmental impact, throwing even more confusion into the mix.

Earth pays a hefty price for the art

While NFTs hold promise for artists and investors alike, its critics say that the blockchain mining that makes them possible is perhaps one of the most direct examples of cashing in on the pollution of this planet.

The problem is that many creators, especially those who jumped on the NFT bandwagon in its earliest stages, are separated from that energy-consumption process. Many do not realize that creating the NFTs they are now profiting from required an enormous amount of raw computing power. Ethereum mining consumes about 26.5 terawatt-hours of electricity a year. To put that into perspective — that is nearly as much energy used annually by the entire country of Ireland.

Theoretically, mining energy could come from renewable sources in the future. For now, though, the major marketplaces for NFT art such as MakersPlace, Nifty Gateway and SuperRare conduct their sales through Ethereum. Ethereum’s developers have planned a shift to a less carbon-intensive form of security, called proof-of-stake, via a blueprint called Ethereum 2.0. But this has been in the works for years, and while they have promised a launch of the new system in 2022, nothing is certain.

“That would essentially mean that Ethereum’s electricity consumption will literally over a day or overnight drop to almost zero,” Michel Rauchs, a research affiliate at the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, told The Verge.

When picturing how the world of blockchain works, many overlook the physical, real world aspects of the practice of “mining.” Since crypto first began to boom, miners have taken over basements and warehouses, filling these vast spaces with air conditioning and endless rows of high powered computers running software.

These cryptocurrency operations have sprung up anywhere from Texas to Iraq to Inner Mongolia, and even smaller mining operations can overload local grids. Some mining hotspots that have gained popularity for cheap hydropower have even had to ban new operations over concern that the intense energy usage needed for mining would push neighboring energy users to dirtier energy sources.

Fortunately, those concerned about the environmental impact of NFTs are already working on a number of solutions to the issue. While there are some buyers against the idea of purchasing works not backed by Ethereum, others are looking into the possibilities associated with private blockchains, which allow them to sidestep some of the issues with cryptocurrencies. For environmentally conscious digital creators, users on platforms like Github have already begun creating guides on creating more eco-friendly NFTs.

“I realized that the issue of sustainable platforms not only needs to be part of the crypto conversation, it is the conversation — into which systems, functional applications, and power structures are all enmeshed,” said artist Memo Akten in a recent interview with Flash. A digital creator himself, Akten revealed through his own research that the carbon footprint of an average single-edition NFT is equivalent to driving a car for 1,000 kilometers, and for higher editions, the figures are equivalent to dozens of transatlantic flights.

“Digital artists absolutely should be able to earn a living making the work they love. But this should not involve the immense footprint it does presently nor the current lack of transparency. New businesses and platforms must align with the values we are hoping to carry into the future.”

The controversy over wildlife killing contests

A graphic documentary opens eyes about the  bloody sport. GENOCIDE

By Austa Somvichian-Clausen | March 23, 2021

Story at a glance

Wildlife killing contests are currently legal in more than 40 U.S. states on both public and private lands.

These contests specifically target predator species, with coyotes being the most targeted.

Wildlife management experts and scientists say that these contests are an inhumane and inefficient way to control predator populations.

“Do you think you have what it takes to win the highest paying hunting contest in the country? Then put your money where your mouth is, and enter the West Texas Big Bobcat Contest.”

The tagline of the West Texas Big Bobcat Contest, this call to action refers to only one of more than 600 wildlife killing contests in the state of Texas.

These privately organized events involve a growing number of participants competing for prizes, whether in the form of cash or hunting equipment, by either killing the most animals or the largest ones within a specified time period. Depending on the rules of the contest, competitors target predator species, such as bobcats, coyotes, pumas and foxes.

“The whole approach to hunting is not valued in these contests,” said Stephanie Garcia Richard, the Commissioner of Public Lands in New Mexico. “What’s valued in these contests is to win.”

Richard contributes her thoughts on the contests to a newly launched documentary by National Geographic wildlife videographer Filipe DeAndrade and his production company, Comfort Theory. DeAndrade’s film, simply titled “Wildlife Killing Contests,” attempts to shed light on what many experts consider to be an unjust practice. Viewers are brought into the makeshift natural arenas that represent the boundaries of these contests, as participants attempt to rack up as many kills as possible. DeAndrade tells us that he visited many of these contests himself for a first hand look.



“In the U.S., they’ve been happening for, that we know of, at least between 20 and 30 years. At first it was mostly happening in western states, where livestock was more prevalent in agriculture, but it's really picked up as of the last five or 10 years,” said DeAndrade.

“We followed a hunter around, with his permission, on one of these 24-hour hunts, and he told us, because of the prizes, because of the technology, because of the money that's now involved — it's becoming a sport.”

The roots of hunting competitions

Many of the hunting competition participants, including those interviewed in DeAndrade’s short film, claim that the culling of predators helps with wildlife management and protects livestock on nearby farms and ranches.

“For me it’s hard to explain to somebody who absolutely hates it, but like I know that in my heart what I’m doing is for a good cause,” said a regular contest participant featured in the film who chooses to remain unnamed.

Scientific evidence has yet to be presented in favor of these claims, and studies cited by Texas Parks & Wildlife (TPWD) show that general predator removal applied randomly with no specific management objective is not actually an effective way to control predators or reduce livestock predation.

“Such haphazard removal of individuals can have unintended consequences such as disrupting population age and social structure, as well as increasing litter sizes of certain targeted predators,” according to the TPWD statement.

A single contest can result in more than 1,000 animal deaths within the span of a single night, and a lack of fair chase principles mean that the predators being stalked for slaughter can be lured by distress calls and the promise of food. It is estimated that in the U.S. alone, more than half a million coyotes are killed by humans each year — about one per minute.

“It’s so much easier to kill predators than it is to kill anything else,” said DeAndrade, “because all they do is just call them in. They use the techniques, like playing the sound of another dying animal, which obviously triggers a predatory response. It means that they’re not even ‘hunting’, they're just calling these animals in and shooting them. So, it's a lot easier to kill something that way than it is to do a proper tracking and hunt. Then, by targeting public lands where animals have or should have protection, you're obviously going to have more predators to do that with.”

Perhaps a better case is made for contests with a concentration on nonfurred invasive species, such as a recent killing contest in eastern Texas that eliminated 350 feral hogs from the area. There are more than 3 million feral hogs in the state, and the invasive species is responsible for more than $90 million in crop damage as well as $25 million in predation and disease issues associated with livestock. It has been estimated that just one wild pig can significantly disturb about 6.5 square feet of soil in just one minute, which can increase soil erosion rates and have detrimental effects to sensitive ecological areas and critical habitats for species of concern.

In the case of endemic species predator hunting, both wildlife biologists and scientific studies agree that that isn't an effective way to control predators.

“Coyote killing contests as a measure of predator control actually does not work,” said Richard. “Especially, in particular, for this species, wiping them out actually has the opposite effect, and we will experience an overrun of the population. That will have devastating consequences.”

Damaging to the reputation of ethical hunters?

Lately, an increasing number of state wildlife management agencies and commissions are beginning to acknowledge that killing contests have the potential to cast a large shadow on the reputation of ethical hunters.

“Coyote hunting contests are not only ineffective at controlling coyote populations, but these kinds of competitive coyote hunts are raising concerns on the part of the public and could possibly jeopardize the future of hunting and affect access to private lands for all hunters,” The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department said in a statement.

In “Wildlife Killing Contests,” David K. Langford, the former executive director of the Texas Wildlife Association, said he can’t imagine a worse public perception of hunting than predator killing contests with cash prizes.



“It jeopardizes hunting, the hunting industry, and all wildlife-related issues,” Langford said.

Multiple authorities within state Game and Fish commissions have come out to denounce the practice, pointing out that that these contests, which rarely bring in new hunters and are practiced by a small subset of the hunting community, reflect on the overall community and have the potential to threaten hunting as a legitimate wildlife management function.

“Awarding prizes for wildlife killing contests is both unethical and inconsistent with our current understanding of natural systems,” said Michael Sutton, former president of the California Fish and Game Commission — a body that promulgates hunting regulations. “Such contests are an anachronism and have no place in modern wildlife management.”

As pointed out in a piece by the Yale School of Environment, it is rare to see agreement between the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the Boone and Crockett Club, which advocates for “the ethical, sportsmanlike, and lawful pursuit” of big game. Despite this, Mark Streissguth of Boone and Crockett replied, “They got at least this part right,” to HSUS’s identification of wildlife killing contests as “grisly spectacles that are about as far as one can get from ethical, fair-chase hunting.”

States taking action

In 2014, California became the first state to institute a ban on killing contests. Since then, Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Vermont have all joined in outlawing killing contests for coyotes, foxes, bobcats and other species, and several other states are now considering similar action.

Washington became the seventh state to ban the contests as of last September. The ban, put forth by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, prohibits wildlife killing contests involving any species that could be killed in unlimited numbers, or without a “bag limit,” including coyotes.

“The decision to ban these cruel killing sprees is a vital step in promoting scientific management of the state’s native wildlife and aligning our laws with the values of the majority of the people of Washington,” said Sophia Ressler, Washington wildlife advocate and staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity.

In Nevada, opposers of such contests have remained in a yearslong battle to have them banned, starting in 2015 when the state wildlife commission considered a public petition to ban the contests, but ultimately dismissed the petition as incomplete. Now, at the end of a recent two-day hearing, the state Wildlife Commission voted five-to-four to take up a proposal to ban wildlife killing contests at a later date — most likely this summer.

Farmworkers say they are essential workers without essential protections

March 25-31 is officially designated as National Farmworker Awareness Week.

By Austa Somvichian-Clausen | March 28, 2021
HECTOR MATA/AFP via Getty Images

Story at a glance

Though farmworkers were deemed essential and have started to finally receive vaccines, many of them, especially those who are undocumented, face multiple barriers that keep them isolated and vulnerable.

Farmworkers suffer from a lack of protections and benefits that keep them living a hand-to-mouth existence.

Organizations such as Justice for Migrant Women and Farmworker Justice are working to push forward policies that better protect farmworkers.

When Norma Flores López was growing up, her least favorite crop to pick was the onion.

“For any 12-year-old coming back from spring break, the last thing they want us to smell like was onions, and let me tell you: once you have that smell on your hands, you cannot wash it off,” says López.

“That made me very not popular at school [she laughs], so those were actually sort of my first moments of realizing, oh man, I'm not like some of these other kids. These kids were coming back from spring break with a suntan from the beach, and I was coming back very tan because I was out in the field helping my parents.”

Now the Chief Programs Officer for Justice for Migrant Women, López comes from generations of agricultural and farm workers. Despite being a natural-born U.S. citizens, both of her parents dropped out of school by the end of the sixth grade — heading to the fields to help their parents out.

“It didn’t matter that they were U.S. born, and I point that out because I think that people tend to think like this is an issue of people who are undocumented,” she says. “Pointing out the desperate poverty that my U.S. born [parents] grew up in is important. They ended up not being able to get an education, but instead were dedicated to a life of working in the field, and that's what we ended up being raised as well.”

López’ parents are two of the nation’s 2.5 million farmworkers, an estimated 32 percent of which are female, including thousands of teens and girls as young as 12. While the exact number is unknown, at least 300,000 farmworkers are under the age of 18.

As she got older, López began to work with programs meant to aid families of farmers and migrant children. It is through sharing her firsthand experiences that made her realize the power of storytelling to create a lasting change and impact.

Now, she works alongside other inspiring women such as Mónica Ramírez, a lawyer and activist who founded the organization Justice for Migrant Women. Ramírez also came from a family of farmworkers and has devoted her life to serving this key group of essential workers that are often forgotten, most recently raising more than $4 million in aid for farmworkers affected by the pandemic.

“I think what's important to notice is that farmworkers have been historically left out of a lot of protections that I think many people take for granted,” says López. “They don't have the right to organize, don’t have guaranteed overtime pay, the benefit of retirement, and those that are undocumented are particularly vulnerable. They're doing everything to be able to help this country, but in the end they will not have any sort of benefits, or any retirement plan.”

Also considered by experts to be highly vulnerable are the many women and girls working in agriculture, whose jobs are low-paid, dangerous and isolated, putting them at risk of sexual abuse, including sexual harassment and exploitation, by bosses, crew leaders and co-workers. López tells us this is an issue that has only been exacerbated by the pandemic, as female farmworkers and migrants have been stuck at home in small communities and often subject to domestic abuse.

For many farmworkers working in rural areas, it has also been a challenge to book appointments to receive a coronavirus vaccination. For those who are able to prove residency, challenges such as access to broadband, language assistance, transportation and proximity all pose barriers to these essential workers, who aren’t able to access essential services.

“These are the kinds of issues that we try to flag for many top political leaders—you know, as they’re putting policies together, asking them to recognize that there are people that are being left out and those that are being left out are particularly vulnerable,” says López.

For many undocumented workers, their top priority remains establishing a direct pathway to citizenship. A vision for that pathway seems to be getting increasingly clear. Just a few days ago, the House passed the Farm Workforce Modernization Act with bipartisan support, providing seasonal workers with a program to earn legal status if they are continually employed in the agriculture sector.

“We’re behind the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, behind the American Dream and Promise Act, and we know that our larger undocumented community needs that pathway to citizenship,” says López.

 New study suggests bacon and processed meats may increase chances of dementia

Health experts unaffiliated with the research, however, warned against reading too much into the results.

By Joseph Guzman | March 23, 2021 THE HILL

Story at a glance

• The study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that consuming a 25-gram serving of processed meat per day is associated with a 44 percent increased risk of developing dementia.
• In contrast, researchers found eating some unprocessed red meat, such as beef, pork or veal, could actually help protect against dementia.
• The research led by Leeds University analyzed the possible link between meat and dementia by using data from nearly 500,000 people in the U.K.

A new study suggests consuming processed meats such as bacon  everyday could increase a person’s risk of developing dementia. 

The cohort study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that consuming a 25-gram serving of processed meat a day is associated with a 44 percent increased risk of developing dementia. 

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In contrast, researchers in the same study found eating some unprocessed red meat, such as beef, pork or veal, could actually help protect against dementia. The study said consuming 50 grams of unprocessed red meat daily was associated with a 19 percent reduction in risk. 

The research led by Leeds University analyzed the possible link between meat and dementia using data from the UK Biobank database, which contains genetic and health information from nearly half a million people aged 40-69 collected between 2006 and 2010. The data included the frequency at which people consumed different types of meat. 

Researchers found 2,896 cases of dementia emerged among participants over eight years of follow up. These people were generally male, older, more economically deprived, less educated, more likely to smoke, less physically active and more likely to have stroke history and family dementia history. While those with a genetic risk for dementia were three to six times more likely to develop the illness, researchers said the risk tied to eating processed meat stayed the same whether or not a person was genetically predisposed to dementia. 

“Worldwide, the prevalence of dementia is increasing and diet as a modifiable factor could play a role. Our research adds to the growing body of evidence linking processed meat consumption, to increased risk of a range of non-transmissible diseases,” Huifeng Zhang, a PhD student from the University of Leeds’ School of Food Science and Nutrition and lead researcher, said. 

Health experts unaffiliated with the research, however, warned against reading too much into the results, saying the findings do not establish anything for certain. 

“Although this study will be important when we are in a position to combine the results from multiple studies, as the study is small for this type of work, we should definitely not over-interpret the results,” Clive Ballard, professor and pro-vice chancellor at the University of Exeter said, according to Science Media Centre. 

“We should not assume from this research that one rasher of bacon a day increases your risk of dementia by 44% - it is simply impossible to demonstrate that in a study like that,” Ballard said.