Philippine boxing champion Manny Pacquiao retires, sets sights on presidency

Issued on: 29/09/2021 -

Manny Pacquiao raises his hands during a national convention of his PDP-Laban party in Quezon city, Philippines, on September 19, 2021. 

© Manny Pacquiao MediaComms, via AP

The eight-division world champion and Philippines senator on Wednesday announced his retirement from the ring,

“As I hang up my boxing gloves, I would like to thank the whole world, especially the Filipino people for supporting Manny Pacquiao. Goodbye boxing,” the 42-year old said in a 14-minute video posted on his Facebook page. “It is difficult for me to accept that my time as a boxer is over. Today I am announcing my retirement.”

Pacquiao finished his 26-year, 72-fight career with 62 wins, eight losses and two draws. Of those 62 wins, 39 were by knockout and 23 by decision. He won 12 world titles and is the only fighter in history to win titles in eight different weight classes .

His retirement from boxing followed a disheartening defeat to Yordenis Ugas in Paradise, Nevada on Aug. 21. The younger Cuban boxer, who defected to the United States in 2010, beat Pacquiao by unanimous decision, retaining his WBA welterweight title. It was Pacquiao’s first fight in more than two years.

“Thank you for changing my life, when my family was desperate, you gave us hope, you gave me the chance to fight my way out of poverty,” Pacquiao said in the video. “Because of you, I was able to inspire people all over the world. Because of you I have been given the courage to change more lives. I will never forget what I have done and accomplished in my life that I can’t imagine. I just heard the final bell. The boxing is over. “

Presidential aspirations

Pacquaio had hinted at retirement recently. It also had been expected because he is setting his sights on a bigger political battlefield. Earlier this month, he accepted his political party’s nomination and declared that that he will run for Philippines president in the May 2022 elections.

He has accused the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, his former ally, of making corruption worse in the Philippines. He promised to fight poverty and warned corrupt politicians they will soon end in jail.

Pacquiao’s rags-to-riches life story and legendary career brought honor to his Southeast Asian nation, where he is known by his monikers Pacman, People’s Champ and National Fist.

He left his impoverished home in the southern Philippines as a teenager and stowed away on a ship bound for Manila. He made his professional boxing debut as a junior flyweight in 1995, at the age of 16, fighting his way out of abject poverty to become one of the world’s highest-paid athletes.

Eddie Banaag, a 79-year-old retiree, said Pacquiao was his idol as a boxer and he watched almost all of his fights. But he believes the boxing icon should have retired earlier.

“He should have done that right after his victory over (Keith) Thurman,” Banaag said of Pacquiao’s win over Thurman on July 20, 2019 in Las Vegas, Pacquiao’s second-last fight. “It would have been better if he ended his boxing career with a win rather than a loss.”

(AP)

Manny Pacquiao: Philippine icon, boxer... next president?

Issued on: 29/09/2021 - 

Philippine great Manny Pacquiao has announced his retirement from boxing 

Mohd RASFAN AFP/File

Manila (AFP)

Manny Pacquiao, who said on Wednesday that he is retiring from boxing at 42, is idolised by many in the Philippines both for his punching power and rise from poverty to the peak of world sport.

Now the man known at home as "The National Fist" wants to be his country's next president, vowing to tackle corruption and help the poor as he seeks to win over voters with his rags-to-riches story.

After two terms as a congressman and one as a senator, his ambition is not unrealistic in a country famed for its celebrity-obsessed politics.

Pacquiao dropped out of high school at 14, sold doughnuts on the roadside and became a grocery stacker to help his mother support two younger siblings.

Known at home as 'The National Fist', Manny Pacquiao now wants to be the next president of the Philippines

 Mohd RASFAN AFP/File

Within a few years, the diminutive southpaw was a pro boxer.

In the ring, he is a volume power puncher who uses lightning footwork to create angles with which to deliver flurries, the likes of which have felled Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera.

He became an eight-division world champion and one of the best boxers ever, but age was catching up with him.

In what turned out to be his last professional fight, "Pacman" lost against Cuban Yordenis Ugas in Las Vegas last month -- the eighth defeat of a glittering career spanning more than two decades.

Manny Pacquiao is now aiming to win over voters in the Philippines with his rags-to-riches story 

Apu Gomes AFP/File

Boxing bought him fame, power, influence and wealth, and with it, the vices: booze, gambling, cockfighting and romantic links to beautiful film stars that at one point nearly wrecked his marriage.

But in 2012, Pacquiao, now a father of five, found religion and left his playboy lifestyle behind.

Pacquiao has also served as a celebrity endorser for products ranging from appliances to pizza and cars, hosted TV shows, starred in movies and had an improbable stint as a professional basketball player and coach.

Fans see Manny Pacquiao as living proof that success is possible for anyone who works hard, but critics accuse the high-school dropout of lacking intellect 

John Gurzinski AFP/File

He launched a professional basketball league in 2017 and founded his own cryptocurrency, the "PAC Token".

Known for his generosity and common touch, he has given away huge amounts of money to friends, supporters and the poor.

He is known for accommodating his fans, letting them watch his training sessions.

- Next step: the presidency? -

Victory in next year's presidential election is far from assured.

Fans see Pacquiao as living proof that success is possible for anyone who works hard, no matter their origins.

Manny Pacquiao is considered one of the greatest boxers of all time 

John GURZINSKI AFP/File

But critics accuse the high-school dropout of lacking intellect and being a frequent no-show in the senate, raising questions about his ability to run the country of 110 million people.

Less than a year out from the elections, Pacquiao has risked political capital in a public joust with President Rodrigo Duterte, who rivals the boxer for the affections of many Filipinos and previously mentioned him as a possible successor.

A fervent evangelical Christian, Pacquiao has publicly opposed divorce, abortion and contraceptives, and has compared gay couples to animals -- a slur that cost him a sponsorship deal with sportswear giant Nike.

© 2021 AFP

TRUMP NDA'S MEANINGLESS IN LAW

Arbitrator says Trump can't enforce NDA with Omarosa Manigault Newman


An arbitrator ruled in favor of Omarosa Manigault Newman concerning a non-disclosure agreement she signed with the Trump campaign. 

 File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 28 (UPI) -- An arbitrator has said former President Donald Trump can't enforce a non-disclosure agreement signed by former aide Omarosa Manigault Newman.

The decision by arbitrator T. Andrew Brown came three years after Trump accused Manigault Newman of violating a 2016 confidentiality agreement with the Trump campaign in her book Unhinged. A Trump campaign official said she improperly disclosed details about her work with the campaign and the White House.

Brown said the language of the NDA was "vague, indefinite and therefore void and unenforceable."

"The agreement effectively imposes on [Manigault Newman] an obligation to never say anything remotely critical of Mr. Trump, his family, or his or his family members' businesses for the rest of her life," Brown wrote in his ruling dated Friday. "Such a burden is certainly unreasonable."

Manigault Newman said she signed an NDA in 2016 while working for the Trump campaign, but refused to do so during her time working at the White House. She said she didn't believe her book violated the 2016 agreement.

"Clearly, I am very happy with this ruling," she said Friday. "Donald has used this type of vexatious litigation to intimidate, harass and bully for years! Finally the bully has met his match!"

Her lawyer, John Phillips, said Trump attempted to abuse the Constitution with the "outrageously unenforceable" NDA.

"Since Omarosa came forward, and was sued, we've said this agreement was illegal and offensive," he said.

"It's over. We've won in Donald Trump and the Trump campaign's chosen forum. They now owe attorney's fees. Whether the campaign tries to bankrupt out of this ruling or it energizes more people to come forward and blow the whistle on corrupt government, it's a win we can all be proud of."

On This Day:

Babi Yar massacre begins in Kiev

On Sept. 29, 1941, the Babi Yar massacre of nearly 34,000 Jewish men, women and children began on the outskirts of Kiev in Nazi-occupied Ukraine. 

WITH SUPPORT OF THE UKRAINIAN NATIONALISTS
UPI Staff


A Jewish choir performs at the menorah monument at the Babi Yar ravine in Kiev on September 27, 2006. File Photo by Sergey Starostenko/UPI | License Photo

UPI ARCHIVES

SEPT. 25, 1988

Soviets officially mark anniversary of Nazi massacre at Kiev

MOSCOW -- Soviet officials Sunday led the first ever official public meeting to mark the anniversary of the Nazi massacre of the Jews at Babi Yar in the Ukraine.

Lev Shapiro, a deputy of the Supreme Soviet, or parliament, opened the meeting at Vostyakov Cemetery in Moscow to mourn the killing of 33,700 Jews on Sept. 29-30, 1941, by the German occupiers of Kiev, capital of the Ukraine.

'We have gathered here to pay tribute to the memory of the Babi Yar victims -- Jews, Ukrainians, Byelorussians, Moldavians, Russians, Kazakhs and Georgians -- Soviet people of many nationalities who became victims of the policy of genocide pursued by the Nazi occupiers,' Shapiro said.

No such official ceremony for Babi Yar had been held before in Moscow, and the scenes from the cemetery were shown on the Soviet televison Vremya news show as part of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's effort to allow open discussion about the past.

A longtime complaint by Soviet Jews has been that the Jewish victims of the massacre are not mentioned prominently.

But Sunday they were the first ones listed by Shapiro as victims, and Jewish speakers recalled the horrors of the victims who were shot to death by the Nazis at the edge of a ravine, which became their common grave.

Viktor Pushkarev, another deputy of the Supreme Soviet, also mentioned the Jewish victims at Babi Yar.

The official Tass news agency also said specifically that 33,700 Jews were shot in the two-day massacre.

It also said, 'In the 26 months of the Nazi occupation of Kiev, Babi Yar became the grave for nearly 100,000 Soviet people -- civilians, POWs, guerrilla fighters and underground workers.'

Cherokee Nation reaches $75M settlement with three major opioid distributors

Sept. 28 (UPI) -- The Cherokee Nation announced a settlement Tuesday with three of the nation's largest distributors of opioids.

In a statement, the Cherokee Nation said the settlement with AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson includes a payment of $75 million to be paid over six and a half years, marking the "largest settlement in Cherokee Nation history."

"Today's settlement will make an important contribution to addressing the opioid crisis in the Cherokee Nation Reservation; a crisis that has disproportionately and negatively affected many of our citizens," Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. said. "This settlement will enable us to increase our investments in mental health treatment facilities and other programs to help our people recover."

The companies issued their own statement saying they view the settlement as "an important step toward reaching a broader settlement" with other Native American tribes.

RELATED Opioid addiction kills as many people in U.S. as heart attack, study says

"While the companies strongly dispute the allegations against them, they believe this resolution will allow the companies to focus their attention and resources on the safe and secure delivery of medications and therapies while delivering meaningful relief to affected communities, and will also support efforts to achieve a broad resolution with the remaining Native American tribes," they wrote.

The Cherokee Nation noted that Tuesday's settlement is separate from similar claims brought by state and local governments as well as other Native American nations.

It also added that other claims against pharmacies such as Walmart, Walgreens and CVS remain pending and are expected to go to trial next fall.

"The Cherokee Nation intends to vigorously pursue those claims through trial," the nation said.

Four refugees who sheltered Snowden find sanctuary in Canada

Issued on: 29/09/2021 -

Supun Thilina Kellapatha and Nadeeka Dilrukshi Nonis touched down in Toronto and are due to go on to Montreal to "start their new lives", a non-profit said 

Cole Burston AFP

Montreal (AFP)

Four Sri Lankan refugees who hid Edward Snowden in their tiny Hong Kong apartments when he was on the run after exposing NSA spying landed in Canada on Tuesday where they were granted asylum, ending years in limbo.

Supun Thilina Kellapatha and Nadeeka Dilrukshi Nonis touched down in Toronto with their children Sethumdi and Dinath and were due to go on to Montreal to "start their new lives," non-profit For the Refugees said in a statement.

The family were part of a group of seven poverty-stricken refugees from Sri Lanka and the Philippines living in Hong Kong who nonetheless agreed to shelter Snowden after his bombshell revelations in 2013.

Vanessa Rodel, from the Philippines, and her daughter Keana were granted asylum in Canada in 2019 with the help of For the Refugees, who have lobbied Canada to take in the others, arguing they faced persecution both in their homeland and in Hong Kong because they helped Snowden.

Kellapatha's family had faced deportation after their initial refugee claims in Hong Kong were rejected.

He spoke of his relief at finally finding a place of permanent sanctuary.

"I'm so happy this is over. I'm so happy to be going to Canada," the South China Morning Post quoted him as saying before he and his family boarded a plane in Hong Kong.

"We have a new life, our children now have a future. We're so grateful right now. Really, I am speechless... The kids are so happy. I'm so grateful."

- 'One more' -

Snowden welcomed the news of the family's arrival in Canada.

Former US National Security Agency contractor and whistle blower Edward Snowden was forced into exile after leaking government secrets 

FREDERICK FLORIN AFP/File

"This is the best news I've heard in a long, long time," he wrote on Twitter.

"We need to bring one more home before we can say we're done, but I cannot thank you enough for bringing us this far," he added.

A seventh member of the group, Sri Lankan army deserter Ajith Pushpakumara, remains in Hong Kong, where "his safety is still at risk," according to For the Refugees, which renewed its call for Ottawa to expedite his asylum claim.

"We are happy with the end result -- at least for six of the seven," For the Refugees president Marc-Andre Seguin told AFP.

"Although we welcome the arrival and start of a new chapter in the lives of this family of four, we cannot ignore that Ajith has stayed behind," he said.

"We are asking that Canada (again) do the right thing and admit the last of Snowden's Guardian Angels before it's too late."

- 'All alone'-

Robert Tibbo, Pushpakumara's lawyer in Canada, said his client has a pending application with Canadian immigration.

"The difficulty here is that Ajith is all alone right now and he's questioning why his case is taking so long," he told AFP.

Tibbo himself left Hong Kong in 2017, saying he feared for his safety after representing the Snowden refugees in the Chinese business hub.

Snowden revealed thousands of classified documents exposing vast US surveillance put in place after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

He ended up stranded in Hong Kong as media published his findings, initially in a hotel, surrounded by journalists from around the globe.

The group of refugees agreed to shelter him for about two weeks until he could fly to Russia, where he now lives.

Their role in the saga was only revealed in a 2016 Oliver Stone film about Snowden, which left them in "constant fear and worry" in Hong Kong, said For the Refugees.

It also highlighted the plight of refugees in Hong Kong, which has one of the lowest asylum approval rates in the world.

Only around one percent of claims are granted and the tiny fraction of claimants that are approved must get ultimate sanctuary in a third country.

While cases drag on for years, asylum applicants are not allowed to work and receive a stipend of just HK$3,000 ($385) a month in what is one of the world's least affordable cities.

© 2021 AFP

Darien Gap: Where hell and hope collide for US-bound migrants
AFP joined a group of 500 Haitians for part of the journey through the perilous Darien Gap Raul

Issued on: 29/09/2021 - 
  

 ARBOLEDA AFP

El Darién (Colombia) (AFP)

Stumbling over a stone in the Colombian jungle, a 12-year-old Haitian boy only pauses before readjusting the folded tent slung over his shoulder and catching up to his family, part of a group of migrants on a perilous journey toward the United States.

The group of some 500 Haitians are making their way on foot through the Darien Gap -- a 1,430,000-acre (575,000-hectare) stretch of swampy, snake-infested jungle between South and Central America where criminals routinely rob and rape travelers.

The Darien is the only hope for migrants seeking to cross by land from Colombia to Panama en route to the United States -- and the prospect of a better life.

"Those who made it say that one has to prepare mentally to see many things... one is afraid for what can happen, for the children, for the family," said Francisco, a 30-year-old Haitian bracing himself for the dangerous journey.

AFP accompanied the migrants for part of their four-day trip through the Darien. Almost every day a new group sets out to brave the jungle and inhospitable terrain in a desperate effort to escape South America.

The migrants did not want to give their full names, for fear of having their undocumented journey interrupted and being sent home.

The UN says the route is one of the world's most dangerous, infested with snakes and armed gangs who rob and rape

 Raul ARBOLEDA AFP

Up to the border with Panama, the migrants were accompanied by three dozen "guides" dressed in black, who claim to offer the group "protection."

For the unsolicited service, each migrant had to pay $300.

Dragging children by the hand or carrying them on their backs, many shed their belongings along the way as the road stretched on and fatigue set in.

- 'The children don't understand' -

Most of the Haitians in the group come from Chile or Brazil, countries they moved to after the 2010 earthquake that killed some 200,000 people in their home country.

The South American economies, however, have been hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and now that travel restrictions are being lifted, many people have decided to head north.

One 38-year-old Haitian woman had migrated to the Dominican Republic and then to Chile, where she worked for years to save up money for the trip with her kids.

She told her children "that we are going on a trip and that we could encounter attackers, animals, many dangers," the woman told AFP.

Michaud Noel, 41, saved $1,500 in Brazil, where he worked in construction for a while to cover the costs of the trip for him and his family Raul ARBOLEDA AFP

The night before entering the Darien Gap at the migrants' temporary camp, on the edge of the jungle, Noel was so anxious that he could not sleep.

He was traveling with his partner, his four-year-old daughter, a 14-year-old niece and his brother, who carried the youngest child on his shoulders.

"The children don't understand what is happening," he said.

On some of the most difficult parts of the trek, the members of the group, advancing in a long line, hold hands and form a human accordion that stretches and contracts as people struggle over slippery, uneven terrain.

- 'Ann Ale' -

The group walks for two days in the Colombian jungle until they reach the top of the mountain range bordering Panama.

A physically fit person could make the journey in a day, "but here we have children, old people, obese people, sick people," said Alexis, one of the guides.

From the many Haitians he has accompanied, Alexis, 42, learnt the Creole phrase "Ann Ale" (Let's go), which he repeats frequently as he leads the migrants through a stretch of jungle where the Gulf Clan -- Colombia's most powerful criminal syndicate -- reigns supreme.

Many among the group are children and old people 

Raul ARBOLEDA AFP

Warned of encountering assailants along the way, the migrants follow their guides with a mix of distrust and relief.

Alexis disdains the word "coyote," the name associated with human smugglers in Mexico.

"I am not a coyote. A coyote is someone who robs, rapes, scams his clients," said the gray-haired guide, who refuses to be filmed. "I'm a guide and we are here to help."

Alexis concedes the guides operate with the Gulf Clan's blessing -- for a fee. In return, the clan promises to protect the passing migrants from rival marauders.

There are no police, soldiers, or any government presence in the region.

- 'Trust in God' -

Day one of the migrants' journey starts at dawn.

Locals appear periodically from villages along the trail offering to help carry luggage.

Noel's family initially refuses, but after an hour's walk over jagged stones in the suffocating jungle heat, they negotiate a fee: $40 to carry two suitcases.

A man takes one on his back and disappears up the path. The family can rest assured they will find their belongings at the next camp, said a guide.

The perils of the Darien Gap Tatiana 

MAGARINOS AFP

By 9 am, the group is already exhausted as they reach a steep, muddy ravine.

"Trust in God because if you don't have God, you won't make it there," said one migrant.

When they reach the mountain top at the end of the second day, the guides leave and the Haitians are on their own for the final two days' trek on the Panama side.

Alexis described the area as a "no man's land" of rival gangs.

Since the beginning of the year, some 70,000 people have made the journey across the border from Colombia, according to Panamanian authorities.

A further 19,000 are awaiting their turn at the Colombian port of Necocli, undeterred by the treacherous journey ahead of them.

jss-burs/mlr/ch/sw

© 2021 AFP

Fumio Kishida: calm centrist picked as Japan's next PM

Issued on: 29/09/2021 

Japan's former foreign minister Fumio Kishida is widely regarded as a safe pair of hands Philip FONG AFP

Tokyo (AFP)

Japan's next leader Fumio Kishida is a soft-spoken former foreign minister from a Hiroshima family of politicians, with a reputation of seeking the middle ground and a fondness for baseball.

The 64-year-old won the ruling party's leadership vote on Wednesday, beating popular vaccine chief Taro Kono to finally clinch a job he has long targeted.

It was second time lucky for the experienced politician: he lost out in 2020 to Yoshihide Suga, who is stepping down after just a year as prime minister.

Kishida is widely regarded as a safe pair of hands, despite a low-key presence that has sometimes been characterised as a lack of charisma.

He has pledged to spend big on new pandemic stimulus while vowing to tackle income inequality and move away from the neo-liberal economics that have dominated Japanese politics for the past two decades.

And seeking to set himself apart from the unpopular pandemic response of Suga's government, he has emphasised the lessons learned from his failure to win the leadership last time around.

"I wasn't good enough. I think I didn't have enough conviction," he admitted when he launched his campaign earlier this month.

"It's different this time. I'm standing here with a strong conviction that I am the leader needed at this time."

Kishida previously served as LDP policy chief and was foreign minister between 2012-17, during which he negotiated accords with Russia and South Korea, with whom Japan's relations are often frosty.

The 64-year-old Kishida beat popular vaccine chief Taro Kono in the second round of the LDP leadership vote 

Carl Court POOL/AFP

He has called abolishing nuclear weapons "my life's work", and in 2016 helped bring then-US president Barack Obama to Hiroshima on a historic visit.

But despite his liberal reputation, he has been less direct than Kono on social hot-button issues like gay marriage.

Vaccine chief Kono said he backed same-sex marriage and called for it to be discussed in parliament.

Kishida, however, said he had "not reached the point for accepting same-sex marriage", and took a softer stance than Kono on allowing married couples to keep separate surnames, another controversial issue.

- 'Politics of generosity' -

Tobias Harris, senior fellow for Asia at the Center for American Progress, said Kishida had been "more flexible" than Kono, "certainly on foreign policy and security policy".

"There are all sorts of things in his past that suggest that (Kishida's) conservative leanings are stronger than maybe he appeared," he added.

Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Kishida entered politics in 1993, having previously worked at a bank as the Japanese economy boomed.

As a child, his family lived for several years in New York where he suffered racism at school, an experience he says gave him a strong sense of justice, according to Harris.

He is a big fan of the Hiroshima Carp baseball team, and is said to enjoy a drink -- unlike Suga, who is teetotal -- while his wife hails from a wealthy sake-brewing family.

  

Kishida votes during the LDP presidential election

 STR JIJI PRESS/AFP

A keen baseball player at school, Kishida failed three times to pass the law entrance exam for Tokyo University, much to his parents' disappointment.

He studied instead at Waseda, a prestigious private university in the capital that he reportedly chose for its serious, non-pretentious atmosphere.

The father-of-three has touted his listening skills and says Japan's public wants a "politics of generosity".

He has invited voters to leave him messages in a suggestion box and carried a notebook to events in which to scribble down ideas from the public.

But he hasn't always connected with the population and found himself roundly mocked during last year's leadership vote when he posted an awkwardly posed picture on Twitter of his wife serving him dinner in an apron.

© 2021 AFP

SAFFRON GETS JUST AS HIGH PRICE

Prices soar at opium market in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan

Issued on: 29/09/2021 - 05:22

Opium vendors and buyers chat over green tea around sacks of opium and hashish BULENT KILIC AF

(Afghanistan) (AFP)

While the economy teeters on the brink of collapse, vendors at an opium market in southern Afghanistan say prices for their goods have skyrocketed since the Taliban takeover.

Plunging his knife into a large plastic bag filled with four kilograms (nine pounds) of what looks like brown mud, Amanullah, who asked to use a fake name, extracts a lump and places it in a small cup suspended over a primus flame.

The poppy resin quickly begins to boil and liquify, and he and his partner Mohammad Masoom can display to buyers that their opium is pure.

"It is haram (forbidden) in Islam, but we don't have any other choice," Masoom says, at the market on the arid plains of Howz-e-Madad, in Kandahar province.

Since the Taliban overran Kabul on August 15, the price for opium -- which is transformed into heroin either in Afghanistan, Pakistan or Iran before flooding the European market -- has more than tripled.

Masoom said smugglers are now paying him 17,500 Pakistani rupees ($100, 90 euros) per kilogram. In Europe it has a street value of over $50 a gram.

As he sat beneath a canvas suspended from four stakes to protect the precious wares from the burning sun, he said the price prior to the Taliban takeover stood at just a third of what he can make today.

Speaking to AFP on his field a few kilometres away, poppy farmer Zekria confirms that prices have skyrocketed.

He says his opium is more concentrated -- and therefore of better quality -- than Masoom and Amanullah's because the flowers were picked at the start of the harvesting season.

He says he now gets over 25,000 PKR per kilo, up from 7,500 before the Taliban's takeover.

- Contingent on international aid -

Back at the market, hundreds of producers, vendors and buyers chat over green tea around sacks of opium and hashish, discussing the soaring prices.

The weather, insecurity, political unrest and border closures can all affect the ever-fluctuating opium price, but everyone seems to agree that it was a single statement by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid last month that made the prices take off.

At the time, he told the world the Taliban did not want to see "any narcotics produced" -- but added that international backing was needed to allow farmers to shift away from the trade.

The price of opium has more than tripled since the Taliban overran Kabul 

BULENT KILIC AFP

The rumour that a ban on poppy-growing was imminent spread through the province, a historical Taliban stronghold and the centre of the country's opium production and drug trafficking.

Buyers are bracing for a looming shortage, "so the opium price is soaring," said Zekria, who also used a pseudonym to avoid retribution.

But the 40-year-old, who like his father and grandfather has spent much of his life growing poppies, said he did not believe the Taliban "can eradicate all poppy (farming) in Afghanistan".

In 2000, during the hardliners' last stint in power, the Taliban banned poppy growing, declaring it forbidden under Islam, and virtually eradicated the crop.

After the US-led ouster of the Taliban in 2001, poppy farming again proliferated, even as the West poured millions of dollars into pushing alternatives, such as saffron.

- 'No other solution' -

Then, with the Taliban switching from ruling Afghanistan to insurgency against US-led forces, they relied on opium production to finance their rebellion.

In 2016, half of their revenue came from the trade, according to the United Nations.

Afghanistan's opium production has since remained high year after year, producing some 6,300 tonnes last year alone, the UN says.

Farmers in the south say it's impossible to eradicate the trade, which the UN estimates is worth $2 billion in annual revenues in Afghanistan.

"We know it's not good but we don't have enough water (or) seeds," he said.

"We cannot grow anything else right now," Masoom said, adding that any other trade would be far less lucrative.

Zekria, the sole breadwinner in a family of 25, agreed.

"Without opium, I cannot even cover my expenses," he said, adding there is "no other solution unless the international community helps us".

With the UN warning that a third of the country's population is facing the threat of famine, the Islamists have been tiptoeing around the issue of banning the lucrative practice.

In his office in Kandahar, head of the province's culture department Maulvi Noor Mohammad Saeed told AFP that "opium production is haram and bad for people".

Prices for opium have skyrocketed since the Taliban's takeover 

BULENT KILIC AFP

But said outlawing production would depend on the aid received.

"If the international community is ready to help the farmers not to grow poppy, then we'll ban opium."

© 2021 AFP

BOYS WILL BE BOYS

Taliban fighters hit the fairground as Afghans fear for freedoms

Issued on: 29/09/2021 - 

Taliban fighters were in a playful mood in the capital they seized less than six weeks ago 

WAKIL KOHSAR AFP

Qarghah (Afghanistan) (AFP)

"This is Afghanistan!" a Taliban fighter shouts on a pirate ship ride at a fairground in western Kabul, as his armed comrades cackle and whoop onboard the rickety attraction.

With AK-47 and M4 assault rifles strapped to their chests, the soldiers cling to colourful steel benches as they are flung back and forth, their scarves and headdresses flapping in the wind.

It was decided a rocket launcher one of them was earlier cradling was better left on solid ground.

On the shores of the Qarghah Reservoir, Taliban members hopped into swan-shaped pedalos with their assault rifles 

WAKIL KOHSAR AFP

The group -- ranging in age from 18 to 52 -- is relaxing at a small amusement park next to Qarghah Reservoir on the outskirts of the Afghan capital, where families and children normally ride the Ferris Wheel and carousel.

The scene is an incongruous one: the Taliban fighters were in a playful mood in the capital they seized less than six weeks ago.

Since then, Afghans have feared a return to the group's brutally oppressive rule of the 1990s, when they banned music, photography, television -- and even children's games such as kite-flying.

Wearing camouflage clothing as well as traditional Afghan clothes, the Taliban pose with their automatic rifles 

WAKIL KOHSAR AFP

The Taliban promised a more moderate rule this time, but have already curtailed Afghans' freedoms, including excluding girls from school and sports.

Fighters from around the country flocked to Kabul after the Islamist hardliners swept to power in mid-August and many had never been to a funfair.

Taliban fighters decided to leave a rocket launcher on solid ground before riding a pirate ship at a Kabul fairground 

WAKIL KOHSAR AFP

Once the three-minute ride is over the battle-hardened fighters clap, grin and giggle amongst themselves -- and the RPG launcher is reunited with its owner.

On the shores of the picturesque reservoir, other Taliban members hop into swan-shaped pedalos as the sun begins to set behind the hills in the distance.

Still brandishing their weapons, they set off in pairs across the water in the pink, blue, green, yellow and blue boats, laughing as the vessels bump together.

Afghans fear a return to the Taliban's brutally oppressive rule of the 1990s, and the Islamists have already curtailed some freedoms 

WAKIL KOHSAR AFP

Dressed in camouflaged military uniforms and traditional Afghan clothes, they pose with their assault rifles as friends take pictures on the pebbly shore.

Nearby, a few of the more senior Taliban members take the opportunity to pray, setting down their shawls between two boats on a jetty.

© 2021 AFP

The corner of Costa Rica where people live on, and on

Issued on: 29/09/2021 -

Saturnino Lopez, 94, stands next to a pile of firewood at his home in Nicoya, Costa Rica, on August 27, 2021 

Ezequiel BECERRA AFP


Dulce Nombre (Costa Rica) (AFP)

Aged 94, Saturnino "Sato" Lopez rises early each day, chops wood and takes long walks in a part of Costa Rica that's a global oddity: like him, people there tend to live a very long time.

Home for Sato is the Nicoya Peninsula, where 1,010 people aged 90 or older live in a so-called "Blue Zone" -- five areas around the world where life expectancy is particularly high.

And these people did not move to the peninsula, located in the northwest of Costa Rica. Rather, they have always lived there.

"At my age, I feel well because the Lord gives me strength to walk at ease. I go out, walk maybe a kilometer (around half a mile), or four kilometers, and I return, no problem," said Lopez.

His house in a village called Dulce Nombre -- Sweet Name -- is a sort of nature refuge.

The village's wood, concrete and stick-and-mud houses are surrounded by vegetation and cicadas drone non-stop. The Covid-19 pandemic has gone easy on this village.

"During the day if I have to sweep the patio, I sweep. If I have to chop wood, I chop, also. A bit of everything," said Lopez.

- Blue Zones -

In the late 20th century, demographer Michel Poulain and a physician named Gianni Pes used a blue marker to highlight on a map the Barbalia region of Sardinia, Italy, where they found people lived a very long time.

In 2005, an American author and National Geographic fellow named Dan Buettner discovered similar characteristics in Loma Linda, California; Ikaria, Greece; Okinawa, Japan, and Nicoya.

So what is their secret?

"The main food is rice and beans. A bit of meat, fruit, avocado. That is what you eat. They say this is good food," said Lopez.

His neighbors Clementina Espinoza, 91, and her husband Agustin, 100, follow a similar diet.

Espinoza has outlived six of her 18 children. She walks slowly but steadily, and still tosses corn to her chickens, prepares meals and washes up afterward.

Clementina Espinoza, 91, tends to her garden in Nicoya 

Ezequiel BECERRA AFP

She exhibits robust energy in a country where the life expectancy is a mere 80. For the world in general it is 72, the World Health Organization says.

"Out in the countryside, life is quieter," said Espinoza, insisting that diet is key. "You are more relaxed and there is not so much danger."

- Having purpose is key -

Having goals is critical to aging well, said Aleyda Obando, who works in the social security administration in Nicoya.

"They thank God for being alive and they make plans, to plant something or go see friends," said Obando. "It is a combination of factors that makes these people last longer."

It also helps to have a social support network, exercise, eat healthy food and minimize stress.

"We grew corn, rice, beans, everything. We grew what we ate," said Clementina. Now, her daughter Maria looks after her.

Agustin, one of 53 people in the area who are 100 or older, is blind now and suffered a stroke. Still, you can tell he likes it when Clementina caresses him.

- Back in the saddle -

Jose Villegas is another centenarian, who lives in the neighboring village of San Juan de Quebrada Honda, with one of his eight daughters.

He is hoping that when he turns 105 on May 4 he can once again ride a horse -- he used to make his living on horseback, herding livestock. But sometimes he has trouble with his legs.

Being 104, he says, "is a big deal because God has given me a lot of life. It was not fantastic but it was not bad, either," said Villegas, sitting in the house he was born in.

"Now, lifestyles have changed. It is not the same as before. Things used to be healthier and people loved each other a little bit more," said Villegas, who became a widower seven years ago and spends his evenings listening to folk music.

Gilbert Brenes, a demographer at the University of Costa Rica, said the Blue Zone's elderly population may peak in the next 20 or 30 years and then decline.

Younger generations have different diets and suffer more from diseases like obesity and diabetes. And fewer and fewer people grow what they eat.

But Saturnino Lopez, a father of nine, remains active.

"My children say to me, 'you no longer work. We have to work to support you.' But I don't like that, because I know what keeps me going," he said, referring to physical activity like cutting wood.

"Even if it is just a couple of blows with the machete, that's enough."

© 2021 AFP

Want to live forever? Theoretically, you could, study says

Issued on: 29/09/2021 -

Kane Tanaka is currently the oldest living person in the world, at 118

 JIJI PRESS JIJI PRESS/AFP/File


Tokyo (AFP)

Humans can probably live to at least 130, and possibly well beyond, though the chances of reaching such super old age remain vanishingly small, according to new research.

The outer limit of the human lifespan has long been hotly debated, with recent studies making the case we could live up to 150 years, or arguing that there is no maximum theoretical age for humans.

The new research, published Wednesday in the Royal Society Open Science journal, wades into the debate by analysing new data on supercentenarians -- people aged 110 or more -- and semi-supercentenarians, aged 105 or more

While the risk of death generally increases throughout our lifetime, the researchers' analysis shows that risk eventually plateaus and remains constant at approximately 50-50.

"Beyond age 110 one can think of living another year as being almost like flipping a fair coin," said Anthony Davison, a professor of statistics at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), who led the research.

"If it comes up heads, then you live to your next birthday, and if not, then you will die at some point within the next year," he told AFP.

Based on the data available so far, it seems likely that humans can live until at least 130, but extrapolating from the findings "would imply that there is no limit to the human lifespan," the research concludes.

The conclusions match similar statistical analyses done on datasets of the very elderly.

"But this study strengthens those conclusions and makes them more precise because more data are now available," Davison said.

The first dataset the team studied is newly released material from the International Database on Longevity, which covers more than 1,100 supercentenarians from 13 countries.

The second is from Italy on every person who was at least 105 between January 2009 and December 2015.

- 'One in a million' -

The work involves extrapolating from existing data, but Davison said that was a logical approach.

"Any study of extreme old age, whether statistical or biological, will involve extrapolation," he said.

"We were able to show that if a limit below 130 years exists, we should have been able to detect it by now using the data now available," he added.

Still, just because humans can theoretically reach 130 or beyond, doesn't mean we're likely to see it anytime soon.

For a start, the analysis is based on people who have already achieved the relatively rare feat of making it to well over 100.

And even at age 110, your chances of making it to 130 are "about one in a million... not impossible but very unlikely," said Davison.

He thinks we could see people reaching 130 within the century, as more people make it to supercentenarian status, increasing the chances of one becoming that one in a million.

"But in the absence of major medical and social advances, ages much over this are highly unlikely ever to be observed," he added.

For now, the oldest person on record is Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at the confirmed age of 122.

Her true age was the subject of some controversy, with claims of a possible fraud, but in 2019 several experts said a review of the evidence confirmed her age.

Other pretenders to the throne of oldest person ever have a long way to go. The oldest verified living person in the world is Japan's Kane Tanaka, a comparatively youthful 118.

© 2021 AFP