EU accuses Russia, China of COVID vaccine disinformation

THE NEW RED SCARE IS THE NEW COLD WAR 2.0

A new EU report found that Beijing and Moscow are seeking to undermine trust in Western coronavirus vaccines — and intensely promoting their own.



The EU says Russia and China are using the bloc's rising cases to cast doubt on democratic institutions

China and Russia are engaging in campaigns to erode trust in the European Union's coronavirus strategy as well as gin up skepticism of Western-developed coronavirus vaccines, the EU's foreign service said in a report published Wednesday.

The report also raised concerns that the countries are using these efforts to particularly exert influence on the Western Balkans.
What did the EU say?

The findings stem from a report published by the EU External Action Service (EEAS) on disinformation concerning the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the report, "state-sponsored disinformation" efforts have intensified since the beginning of 2021, as vaccine rollouts have started to pick up pace around the world.



Watch video 04:32 China vaccine diplomacy sparks concern

While China and Russia have increased efforts to promote their own state-produced vaccines, they've been using the promotions to "undermine trust" in Western vaccines and EU institutions.

To do this, both countries "are using state-controlled media, networks of proxy media outlets and social media, including official diplomatic social media accounts, to achieve these goals," the report said.

In Russia, state media outlets have been trying to "cast doubt" on the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and accusing the body of delaying the approval of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.


China, meanwhile, has been propagating "misleading narratives" about the origins of the coronavirus as well as the safety of certain Western vaccines.

A Russian sovereign wealth fund responsible for marketing Sputnik V said the disinformation campaign is actually against Russia and its vaccine.

"We will continue to fight disinformation campaign against Sputnik V in the interests of protecting lives around the world and avoiding vaccine monopoly that some vaccine producers may strive for," it said on Twitter.
Sowing discontent

According to the report, Beijing and Moscow's "vaccine diplomacy" strategies have been particularly targeting the Western Balkans in an effort to exert influence.

The report voiced concerns that the rise in coronavirus cases in the bloc and sluggish vaccine rollouts are being spun by Russia and China as examples of a failure of democracy and open societies.

Although the EU has been criticized over its slower-than-expected vaccine rollout, the bloc says that a boost in deliveries means it's on track to vaccinate 70% of adults this summer.

Still, Hungary broke with the rest of the EU and has been administering vaccines from both Russia and China.

In March, the EMA launched a rolling review of Sputnik V. If given the green light, it would be the first non-Western produced coronavirus vaccine to be approved for use in the bloc.

rs/sms (AFP, dpa)

Legal Blow For Merkel's Climate Plan As German Greens Surge
By Kit HOLDEN on April 29 2021 7:47 PM

Germany's highest court ruled Thursday that the government's flagship climate protection plan was "insufficient", a major setback for Angela Merkel's right-left coalition in an election year when environmental issues are expected to take centre stage.

Partially upholding a series of claims by environmentalists and young people, Germany's Constitutional Court ruled that Berlin's current goal of reducing CO2 emissions to 55 percent of 1990 levels by 2030 was "incompatible with fundamental rights".

The current measures "violate the freedoms of the complainants, some of whom are still very young" because they "irreversibly offload major emission reduction burdens onto periods after 2030", the court ruled.

  

Besides an emissions target for 2030, Germany's new climate change law introduced by Merkel's government in 2019 includes a range of policies, including incentivising renewable energies, expanding electric car infrastructure and carbon trading

 AFP / Odd ANDERSEN

It argued that while the state had not violated its duty to protect citizens against climate change, the government had nonetheless not set out the timeline for further emissions reductions in enough detail.

Assessing that the risk of "serious burdens" being put on generations beyond 2030 as significant, the court called on Berlin to "at the very least determine the size of the annual emission amounts to be set for periods after 2030".

   

Yet activists have long argued that the law does not go far enough, prompting a series of legal claims against the government to toughen the measures AFP / THOMAS KIENZLE

Besides an emissions target for 2030, Germany's new climate change law introduced by Merkel's government in 2019 includes a range of policies, including incentivising renewable energies, expanding electric car infrastructure and carbon trading.

The law was passed in order to comply with the 2016 Paris Agreement, under which countries aim to keep the global temperature increase to under two degrees Celsius, and ideally closer to 1.5 degrees, by 2050.

Germany said last month it had met its annual climate goals set out by the law in 2020, in part due to a reduction of activity during the coronavirus pandemic.

Yet activists have long argued that the law does not go far enough, prompting a series of legal claims against the government to toughen the measures.

The decision heaps further pressure on the government at a time when the environmentalist Green Party has taken a surprise lead in the polls ahead of September's general elections POOL / Kay Nietfeld

Supported by Greenpeace and German Fridays for Future activist Luisa Neubauer, the claimants included a group of nine young Germans whose families' agricultural or sustainable tourism businesses have been threatened by heatwaves and floods.

"We have won! Climate protection is not a nice-to-have, it's a fundamental right," tweeted Neubauer, 25, in reaction to the ruling.

The government also appeared to welcome the ruling, with conservative Economy and Energy Minister Peter Altmaier calling it an "epochal" decision for "climate protection and young peoples' rights", which would also give "planning security to business".

Environment Minister Svenja Schulze also said the decision was an "exclamation mark for climate protection".

Yet the decision in fact heaps further pressure on the government at a time when the environmentalist Green Party has taken a surprise lead in the polls ahead of September's general elections.

Several recent polls have shown the Greens as the most popular party, ahead of both Merkel's conservatives and their centre-left coalition partners SPD.

If the party can hold their lead, then their candidate Annalena Baerbock could become Germany's first ever Green chancellor in the autumn.

Armin Laschet, the candidate for Merkel's CDU party, has meanwhile been accused of neglecting environmental policies.

"It's not enough to see the environment as mere decoration, it is a central issue," said Laschet's Bavarian rival Markus Soeder amid a bitter battle for the conservative nomination earlier this month.

CLASSIC RAYMOND CHANDLER
Deadly California Fire Was Started To Cover Up A Murder: Police

By AFP News on April 29 2021 

A California fire that killed two people last year was intentionally set to cover up a murder, investigators revealed in a press briefing.

The Markley Fire was started in Northern California's Solano County on August 18, 2020 near where police found the burned body of 32-year-old missing person Priscilla Castro.

Authorities had previously said Castro was reported missing after she went on a date with Victor Serriteno two days before the fire. She was not seen again.

"Based on an extensive, eight-month investigation, we believe Serriteno deliberately set the Markley Fire in an attempt to conceal his crime," Tom Ferrara, the Solano County Sheriff, said in a briefing Wednesday.

The LNU Lightning Complex was one of the largest wildfires in California's history AFP / JOSH EDELSON

Serriteno, who was arrested in September and accused of killing Castro, now faces additional charges of arson and the murders of both men -- 82-year-old Douglas Mai and 64-year old Leon "James" Bone -- who died in their homes as a result of the fire.

The Markley Fire later merged with a series of other fires to form the LNU Lightning Complex, one of the largest wildfires in the state's history, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The other fires were believed to have been sparked after nearly 11,000 lightning strikes hit the northern part of the state as it endured a historic heatwave

Collectively, the fire complex scorched over 363,000 acres across California's famed wine country and burned down almost 1,500 structures after forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents.

The massive inferno tore through the area north of San Francisco for two months and killed six people.

Sex Sells: China Farm Region Becomes 'Lingerie Capital'

"Youth attitudes are catching up and bringing sensuality into the home. (Lingerie) is becoming popular," said Li Yue, a local lingerie factory worker.

By Dan Martin on April 25 2021 

Americans like their lingerie to be risque, Europeans prefer it more classy, and Chinese remain a bit shy but are opening up. But the biggest order of all came from North Korea.

So goes the street-corner discussion in Guanyun, a sleepy coastal county that for generations followed the rhythms of wheat and rice cultivation, but today concerns itself with global preferences on sensual wear.

Guanyun county is China's self-proclaimed 'Lingerie Capital', where sewing machines hum in village-level micro-factories to meet demand at home and abroad AFP / Hector RETAMAL

The flat farming region between Beijing and Shanghai is China's self-proclaimed "Lingerie Capital", where sewing machines hum in village-level micro-factories to meet up to 70 percent of the fast-growing domestic demand.

Millions more items are exported annually in a textbook example of the ability of internet-enabled Chinese entrepreneurs to profit from even the most off-the-wall idea.

The man widely credited with lighting the spark is Lei Congrui, a lanky 30-year-old with a ponytail and cap who would look at home on a skateboard. It all happened almost by accident.

Lee Congrui employs more than 100 workers who produce lingerie that brings in more than $1.5 million in annual revenue AFP / Hector RETAMAL

As a teenager, Lei began making extra cash by hawking various consumer goods on China's rapidly growing e-commerce sites 15 years ago.

"Customers kept asking if we have any lingerie. I had never heard of it before, but I just said 'yes' and then looked up what it was," he said.

Lei "figured out a way" and now employs more than 100 workers who push lacy black and red panties and bustiers through stitching machines. His brands such as "Midnight Charm" pull in more than $1.5 million in annual revenue, he said.

Guanyun's government says there are now more than 500 factories employing tens of thousands and churning out more than $300 million worth of lingerie annually AFP / Hector RETAMAL

The success of early movers like Lei inspired an industrial revolution.

Guanyun's government says there are now more than 500 factories employing tens of thousands and churning out more than $300 million worth of lingerie annually.

Chang Kailin, who runs a factory and is Lei's uncle, says the lingerie industry has helped people in the area shake off poverty AFP / Hector RETAMAL

Loosening Chinese sexual attitudes made it all possible.

Communism left a prevailing legacy of modesty. Pornography is banned and authorities launch periodic crackdowns on anything deemed "vulgar".

Market consultancy iiMedia says Chinese online sales of sex-related products grew 50 percent in 2019 to $7 billion AFP / Hector RETAMAL

But prolonged exposure to more open foreign attitudes is liberating a younger generation, especially women.

Market consultancy iiMedia said Chinese online sales of sex-related products grew 50 percent in 2019 to $7 billion. It predicted a further 35 percent growth in 2020 despite pandemic disruptions.

"Youth attitudes are catching up and bringing sensuality into the home. (Lingerie) is becoming popular," said Li Yue, a local lingerie factory worker.

Lingerie has transformed Guanyun, with factories sprouting up next to wheat fields AFP / Hector RETAMAL

When Lei first started, most buyers were over 30 and many had lived abroad or had some other exposure to foreign ways.

But by around 2013, volumes soared as younger Chinese consumers began discovering their sensuality, Lei said. Most buyers are now between 22 and 25.

Initially, loose-fitting, not-too-revealing designs were favoured in China. Today, semi-transparent, "body-hugging" numbers dominate.

Lei Congrui (R) says his biggest single lingerie order, worth $1 million, came from a mysterious North Korean buyer in 2012. The customer abruptly backed out without explanation and the merchandise was sold elsewhere AFP / Hector RETAMAL

Guanyun's industrial reinvention didn't happen overnight. Early pioneers found it hard to hire squeamish local staff.

"When they first came in contact with these things, they didn't quite understand," said Chang Kailin, 58, who runs a factory and is Lei's uncle.

"But after the industry got bigger and stronger, people could make money and shake off poverty."

"Now everyone loves it."

Lei exports 90 percent of his output, mostly to the United States and Europe.

Significant volumes also go to South America, where sales indicate role-playing costumes rule the bedroom.

Middle Eastern buyers -- favouring longer, more modest items -- are also surprisingly active, as are Africans, who like a splash of colour. Southeast Asia is growing fast as well.

But Lei's biggest single order, worth $1 million, came from a mysterious North Korean buyer in 2012. The customer abruptly backed out without explanation and the merchandise was sold elsewhere.

Lingerie has transformed Guanyun, with factories sprouting up next to wheat fields, and newfound wealth displayed in new homes and cars.

Previously, many of the county's roughly one million inhabitants left for the hard life of a migrant worker in far-off factories. No more, said Li, the garment worker.

"Working away from home, you get homesick," said the mother of two.

"These companies allow us to come home to work. It's not easy out there."

Guanyun is feeding its golden goose.

It has broken ground on a $500 million, 1,700-acre (690-hectare) lingerie-themed industrial zone that will "integrate R&D and design, fabric accessories, e-commerce operations, warehousing and logistics".

Pandemic lockdowns last year hit output. It has since roared back, but demand remains tepid in overseas markets still struggling with the coronavirus while home-bound consumers are concentrating spending on basic household necessities, said Lei.

"After these problems are solved," he says with a smile, "they will be ready to play again."

lust-for-life.org/Lust-For-Life/_Textual/WilhelmReich_TheSexualRevolution-TowardsASelfRegulatingCharacterStructure_TheresePol-translator_1945_324pp/WilhelmReich_TheSexualRevolution-TowardsASelfRegulatingCharacterStructure_TheresePol-translator_1945_324pp.pdf

LONG LIVE THE BOURGEOIS DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION
China Warns US Against Imposing Democratic Ideals After Biden Speech
By AFP News on April 29 2021 

China warned the United States on Thursday against imposing its democratic ideals, while criticising trade sanctions and military moves in Beijing's backyard just hours after President Biden's speech on American geopolitical priorities.

The remarks came after Biden's first address to Congress, in which the US leader placed a renewed focus on diplomacy and said the country was in competition with China and others to win the 21st century.

Biden added that "autocrats think democracies can't compete", while noting the US welcomes competition and is not looking for conflict.

Asked about the speech, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said it was normal for the US and China to compete in some areas.

"But this kind of competition should be a track and field race, not a duel to the death," he told a regular press briefing on Thursday.

Wang also warned that "forcing other countries to accept one's democratic system... will only create divisions, intensify tension, and undermine stability."

China on Thursday warned the US against imposing its democratic ideals just hours after President Biden's speech on the US' geopolitical priorities POOL / JIM WATSON

In his speech, President Biden also said the US would stand up to unfair trade practices such as subsidies for state-owned enterprises and intellectual property theft.

COMMUNIST CAPITALI$M
But China lashed out a day later at the US for "violating the market principle of fair competition" and "politicising" issues such as the economy, trade and technology, in reference to the trade war between both countries in recent years.

YES VIRGINIA ALL CAPITALI$M IS STATE CAPITALI$M 

TO A VARYING DEGREE

"China is committed to developing a relationship with the US based on non-conflict and non-confrontation," Wang said.

While Biden said he told Chinese President Xi Jinping the US would maintain a strong military presence in the Indo-Pacific to prevent conflict -- just as it did with NATO in Europe -- China highlighted issues with US deployments in the region.

China's defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian added in a separate statement Thursday that, since the inauguration of the current US government, the frequency of US warships sent to China's maritime territory increased by 20 percent from last year.

The frequency of reconnaissance aircraft activity in the region also increased by 40 percent, Wu added, saying that China "resolutely opposes this".

"The US frequently sends warships and planes to carry out activities in maritime waters and airspace near China, advancing regional militarisation and threatening regional peace and stability," he said.

Afghanistan's Last Jew Eyes Exit Ahead Of Taliban Return

By Jay Deshmukh and Usman Sharifi on April 29 2021 

For decades, Zebulon Simentov refused to leave Afghanistan -- surviving a Soviet invasion, deadly civil war, brutal rule by the Taliban and the US-led occupation of his homeland.

But enough is enough for Afghanistan's last Jew, and the prospect of the Taliban's return has him preparing to say goodbye.

"Why should I stay? They call me an infidel," Simentov told AFP at Kabul's only synagogue, housed in an old building in the centre of the Afghan capital.

"I'm the last, the only Jew in Afghanistan... It could get worse for me here. I have decided to leave for Israel if the Taliban returns."

The prospect of the Taliban's return has Zebulon Simentov 

preparing to say goodbye to Afghanistan AFP / WAKIL KOHSAR

That appears likely given the deal struck by Washington to withdraw all US forces by later this year, and ongoing peace talks between the insurgents and the Afghan government.

Born in the 1950s in the western city of Herat, Simentov moved to Kabul during the Soviet invasion in the early 1980s for the capital's then relative stability.

Jews lived in Afghanistan for more than 2,500 years, with tens of thousands once residing in Herat, where four synagogues still stand -- testimony to the community's ancient presence.

But they have steadily left the country since the 19th century, with many now living in Israel.

Simentov is now certain he is the last Afghan Jew in the country 

 AFP / WAKIL KOHSAR

Over the decades, all Simentov's relatives left -- including his wife and two daughters.

He is now certain he is the last Afghan Jew in the country.

Dressed in a traditional Afghan tunic and trousers, a black Jewish kippah and tefillin on his forehead, Simentov fondly remembers the years before the Soviet war as the best time for Afghanistan.

"Followers of every religion and sect had full freedom at that time," said Simentov, who calls himself a proud Afghan.

Simentov continues to mark the Jewish new year Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur holidays at the synagogue -- sometimes even accompanied by Muslim friends

AFP / WAKIL KOHSAR

But events since have made him bitter -- particularly the Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001, when the Islamists tried to convert him.

"This disgraceful Taliban regime put me in prison four times," he said.

In one incident they ransacked the temple -- a large room painted in white with an altar at one end -- tore books in Hebrew text, broke Menorahs and took away the antique Torah, he said, still simmering with anger.

Simentov fears what lies ahead if he stays AFP / WAKIL KOHSAR

"The Taliban said this is the Islamic Emirate and Jews had no rights here," he said.

Still, he refused to leave.

"I have resisted. I have made the religion of Moses proud here," Simentov said, kissing the floor of the synagogue.

He continues to mark the Jewish new year Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur holidays at the synagogue -- sometimes even accompanied by Muslim friends.

"If it weren't for me, the synagogue would have been sold 10, 20 times by now," he said, as he limped across to his living quarters next to the temple.

Simentov, who lives off handouts from friends and relatives, prepares his meals on a small gas stove placed on a red carpet in the room.

On a table in a corner are some books and old photographs of his daughters.

He says when the Taliban were ousted in 2001, he believed Afghanistan would prosper.

"I thought the Europeans and Americans would fix this country... but that didn't happen," he said.

Simentov's neighbours will be sorry to see him go.

"He is a good man," said Shakir Azizi, who owns a grocery store in front of the synagogue.

"He has been my customer for 20 years. If he leaves, we will miss him and his presence."

But Simentov fears what lies ahead if he stays.

"The Taliban are still the same as 21 years ago," he said.

"I have lost faith in Afghanistan... there is no more life here."

Colombians Protest Tax Reform Proposal Amid Pandemic

By Lina VANEGAS on April 29 2021 

Tens of thousands of people marched in Colombia Wednesday against a proposed tax reform they say will leave them poorer as the country battles its deadliest phase yet of the coronavirus pandemic.

President Ivan Duque's government wants to tax the incomes of those earning more than $656 a month, lowering the threshold to broaden the tax base.

It also wants to impose a tax on basic services in upper-middle class areas and on funerals.

The measures are meant to raise some $6.3 billion in ten years for the country which saw GDP drop 6.8 percent in 2020 -- its worst performance in half a century.

Protesters take to the streets of Bogota to denounce proposed tax reforms on April 28, 2021 AFP / JUAN BARRETO

Protesters took to the streets of several cities to denounce the reforms which they see as an unwarranted attack on the middle class in a time of dire economic straits.

"We do not accept the tax reform. We are thinking of our children, of ourselves... Either we die of the virus or we die of hunger," said protester Victor Cordoba, 33.

Some 47,500 police and security personnel were deployed countrywide.

In the southeastern city of Cali, indigenous protesters pulled down a statue of Spanish conquistador Sebastian de Belalcazar AFP / PAOLA MAFLA

Colombia, where almost one in five people are unemployed and the minimum wage is the equivalent of $248 per month, is battling a deadly new wave of Covid-19.

Its planned reform "will make millions more Colombians go hungry," said Francisco Maltese, president of the CUT workers' union.

In Bogota, thousands marched on the central square, which houses the presidency and congress, to the rhythm of drums.

Protesters clashed with police in Bogota AFP / Raul ARBOLEDA

Caravans of taxis, trucks and motorbikes slowed traffic on the capital's main roads, and there were reports of confrontations with police.

"We are tired of abuse the population must endure ... we are tired of our president not doing anything about it. We are more afraid of our government than of the virus," protester Added Felipe Zapata, 24, told AFP in Bogota.

In the southeastern city of Cali, indigenous protesters pulled down a statue of Spanish conquistador Sebastian de Belalcazar.

Cali mayor Jorge Ivan Ospina said one person died in an incident "related to the demonstration," and advanced to 1:00 pm the 6:00 pm curfew in place for epidemic control.

Thousands more people marched in Medellin, Barranquilla and other cities.

There had been calls for the demonstrations to be canceled given the pandemic risk, and a court on Tuesday ordered that the gatherings be postponed -- a ruling that went unheeded.

Colombia's rights ombudsman also decried the decision to hold mass protests "in this period of such high risk to health and life."

With 2.8 million Covid-19 cases, the country of 50 million inhabitants has the third-highest coronavirus infections in Latin America, behind Brazil and Argentina. It has registered some 72,200 deaths.

While Duque has sought to portray the tax reform as a tool to mitigate the economic crisis unleashed by the pandemic, the initiative faces many obstacles in a legislature where the ruling party has no outright majority.

US Oil Lobby Moves Towards Supporting Carbon Tax

By AFP News on March 03 2021 5:22 AM

The American Petroleum Institute (API) confirmed Tuesday it is considering supporting a carbon tax, a sign of the shifting politics of climate change in the United States.

API has been working with scientists, geologists and others throughout the industry "to meet the world's energy demands and drive down US emissions, and our efforts are focused on supporting a new US contribution to the global Paris Agreement," a spokeswoman for the institute, whose 600 members include ExxonMobil and Chevron, told AFP.

The move comes as newly inaugurated President Joe Biden shifts environmental policy, making aggressive climate mitigation a priority and rejoining the Paris Agreement after former president Donald Trump exited the pact.

A draft statement circulated within the API endorsed an economy-wide carbon tax as a means to "lead to the most economic paths to achieve the ambitions of the Paris Agreement," the Wall Street Journal reported.

The American Petroleum Institute has previously opposed US efforts to tax carbon emissions AFP / Jonathan NACKSTRAND

That would be a reversal for the organization, which opposed Congress's last major legislative attempt to price carbon more than a decade ago.

Taxing carbon would likely speed a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy and other emissions-free technologies.

How to respond to climate change has split members of the API, with European oil giants favoring a more aggressive stance at cutting emissions than their American counterparts.

In January, French oil major Total announced it was exiting the API, citing the group's support in 2020 of political candidates who argued against the US participation in the Paris Agreement, among other issues.

Ancient Egypt Martial Art Enthusiasts Eye Olympic Status

By Emmanuel Parisse on April 29 2021

Egypt's tradition of tahtib (stick fighting), popular at festivities and dating back at least 5,000 years, has become a modern martial art that enthusiasts hope will eventually make it to the Olympics.

French-Egyptian Adel Paul Boulad, who for some 15 years has been the driving force behind modern tahtib, calls the push a "unifying project" and a "cultural revolution".

The modern practice "is an updated sports version of a multi-millennial art", said the 69-year-old martial arts teacher.

"It is a sporting practice that is codified, structured... and which spans the entire history of Egypt," he told AFP.

In traditional tahtib, popular in Egypt's rural south, two men perform a dance while wielding bamboo-like rods, in a face-off somewhat resembling a fencing duel.

Folk musicians with loud drums accompany the performance, which is popular at weddings and festivities, and pump up the crowd encircling the men, who don traditional galabeya robes.

The UN cultural agency UNESCO in 2016 listed the martial art as "intangible cultural heritage of humanity".

    

Youths take part in a training session of Egypt's combative sport of 'tahtib' (stick-fighting), in the capital Cairo AFP / Khaled DESOUKI


France-based Boulad, who was also behind tahtib's UNESCO candidacy, formalised its intricate moves and broke it down to 12 forms -- the equivalent of katas in Japanese martial arts.

The "secrets of combat" were inscribed in stone on the walls of temples and tombs of ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom (2,700 to 2,200 BC) until the arrival of the Greeks, who conquered the North African country around 300 BC.

Boulad, who is also a business coach, wants to see tahtib included as a combat sport at the Olympics in the coming years.

Wearing a red belt with three tips -- reminiscent of the style of ancient Egyptian warriors -- and black outfits, competitors wield a 1.3-metre rattan stick.

Unlike traditional tahtib, women can participate in its modern version.

  

Enthusiasts hope the modern martial art will eventually make it to the Olympics AFP / Khaled DESOUKI

With exhibitions, notably at the International Martial Arts Festival in Paris in 2016, modern tahtib already has attracted followers internationally, but is still trying to gain a foothold in Egypt.

Boulad said he had given himself two to three years, with the help of private financing, to create "regional centres" across the world for spreading the sport further, including in Canada, Colombia and Hungary.

"I say to Egyptians, get moving, otherwise tahtib will go to the Olympics without an Egyptian team representing it," he said.

In Cairo's upmarket eastern suburb of Rehab, a leisure park welcomes the first enthusiastic Egyptian instructors trained by Boulad, and their eager students.

Nasser Refai, 44, a physical education teacher and one of the trainers, said the Egyptian fighting style inherited from the time of the pharaohs was a "treasure".

"It's something we have to keep. Like any art form, if we don't practice, we lose it," added Refai, known affectionately as Captain Nasser to his students.

He and his associates have slowly started attracting young local admirers of the sport via social media.

"It's not just about fighting, it's about respecting and changing yourself," he told AFP, adding that it would be his "dream" to see tahtib recognised as an Olympic sport.

Stick in hand and wearing a headscarf, Jasmine Anwar, 25, is keenly taking part in her first training session.

"I will continue. I won't stop at just knowing how to hold the stick," the schoolteacher said.

New recruit, Jouba Ayoub Mohammed, a 27-year-old graphic designer, expressed interest in promoting the sport to others of his generation.

But "we must first let Egyptians know that tahtib is not a folk dance that is performed only at weddings and other cultural events," he said.

"It's a part of ancient Egyptian history."

Torrential Rain Collapses Roof Over Famed Aztec Temple In Mexico

By AFP News on April 29 2021 

The roof over the most important Aztec temple in Mexico City has partially collapsed in a hailstorm, officials said, just one day after the capital's archaeological zone reopened from pandemic closures.

The modern roof, made of metal and acrylic panels, was installed to protect the ancient ruins underneath.

Officials in Mexico City said the roof over the famed Templo Mayor had partially collapsed in a storm AFP / PEDRO PARDO

The extent of damage on Wednesday to the famed Templo Mayor in the city's historic zone was not immediately clear, though archaeologists said it was not severe.

"Despite the spectacular nature of the accident, the damage to the archaeological heritage is not great," said Leonardo Lopez Lujan, director of the Templo Mayor Project.

One person was injured but did not need hospitalization after the structure's partial collapse in the torrential storm, according to a local administrative office.

 

Templo Mayor was the most sacred temple in the Aztec capital AFP / RODRIGO ARANGUA

Images circulating on social media showed soldiers guarding the taped-off area where the roof, along with a part of the site's fence, had been damaged.

Built and rebuilt throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, Templo Mayor was the sacred heart of the Aztec capital and believed to be the site of many human sacrifices.

The vast religious building was destroyed when the Spanish conquistadors razed Tenochtitlan in 1521 and rebuilt a colonial city on top of it.

Archaeologists first uncovered the temple in 1914, but the ruins were not excavated in earnest until the 1970s.

The historic center of Mexico City was named a UNESCO heritage site in 19