Germany: Bild newspaper chief editor relieved from his duties

Julian Reichelt has been acused of leading a workplace culture that "mixed sex, journalism and company cash" at Germany's most-read newspaper.


Julian Reichelt is one of the highest-profile journalists in Germany

Germany's publishing giant Axel Springer announced on Monday that the chief editor of Bild, the country's top-selling newspaper, Julian Reichelt would be let go. The decision came a day after an article in the New York Times (NYT) detailed accusations of workplace misconduct under Reichelt's leadership.

The 41-year-old Reichelt had taken over as editor-in-chief of Bild in 2018. He will be replaced by Johannes Boie, the editor-in-chief of Springer's conservative weekly broadsheet Welt am Sonntag.

The NYT article and Reichelt's subsequent sacking come as Axel Springer has sought to expand internationally in recent years, with its latest high-profile purchase of US-based Politico last month.

In a statement, Axel Springer said Reichelt "did not clearly separate his private and work lives and did not tell the board the truth about it," citing information gained "as a result of press investigations in recent days."

But the publisher also announced legal steps against ''third parties" for releasing confidential business information and private communications, with the aim of trying to harm the company and having Reichelt removed.

Axel Springer did not specify which new allegations had prompted it to sack Reichelt, as the NYT report was based on the company's own investigation about how Reichelt had promoted interns with whom he had had affairs and then sidelined or fired them.
Internal investigation had cleared Reichelt

NYT said that evidence it gathered "paint a picture of a workplace culture that mixed sex, journalism and company cash" at Bild, under Reichelt’s leadership.

Reichelt had stepped aside while Axel Springer concluded its internal investigation into his conduct, but he was reinstated once the probe concluded that his actions didn't warrant dismissal.

The 41-year-old also sued German magazine Der Spiegel for an expose on what it described "the Reichelt system," in which he allegedly recruited female trainees and interns, sometimes quickly promoted them, but also quickly dismissed them.

NYT reported that Axel Springer also sought to keep details of the investigation's findings out of the German press.

One of the most powerful German journalists

Founded in 1952, Bild has grown to become Germany's top-selling paper, focusing on a mixture of human-interest stories, sports and celebrity news.

Reichelt was the outspoken face of Bild and arguably one of the most powerful journalists in Germany. Recently, he had been at the helm of Bild's new TV venture.

His fall from grace comes as journalists at rival German Ippen media group had been investigating allegations against Reichelt, but were prevented from publishing their findings, NYT said.

Ippen media group denied having axed the story due to any pressure from Axel Springer executives over the matter, instead saying it's to "avoid the impression we might want to economically harm a competitor."

jcg/sri (Reuters, AP, AFP)

EU says it has exported over 1 billion COVID-19 vaccines

The European Union has exported more than 1 billion coronavirus vaccines, making the bloc the biggest vaccine exporter in the world. Almost 90 million jabs have been delivered to the WHO's COVAX scheme.



The EU has exported COVID-19 vaccines to over 150 countries worldwide


The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Monday that the EU has exported over 1 billion coronavirus vaccines produced in member states since December 2020.

"Very clearly, the European Union is the largest exporter of COVID-19 vaccines," von der Leyen said in a statement.

She also pointed out that the bloc has exported as many vaccines as it has administered to its own citizens.
EU pledges to donate more

While the US restricted the export of its home-produced vaccines, the EU allowed vaccines to leave the bloc with the onset of the vaccine rollout.

However, the biggest vaccine recipients have been wealthier countries such as the UK, Japan and Turkey that had contracts with vaccine producers based in the EU.

Only a small number of the exported or donated doses ended up in poorer nations that are still struggling to increase their vaccine coverage. But the EU has pledged to boost its donations and has said it will send at least 200 million shots to the most vulnerable countries.
Warnings against vaccine inequality continue

At the same time, member states have already started administering booster shots.

The WHO has warned against the hoarding of vaccine supplies by richer countries that has left poorer countries lacking sufficient doses to give even the minimum level of protection to their populations.

The UN health body has repeatedly called on the EU, US and others to hold off on their plans to administer third shots until a certain level of global vaccine equality has been achieved.

The rampant spread of coronavirus among unvaccinated populations could lead to the emergence of strains that render already existing vaccines less effective.

Centre-left wins Rome, main prize in Italy local vote

Gualtieri is seen as a safe pair of hands to run the Italian capital

 Tiziana FABI AFP

Issued on: 18/10/2021 

Rome (AFP)

Romans have elected a centre-left former economy minister as their next mayor, rejecting by a large margin a right-wing contender dogged by accusations of anti-Semitism, near final results showed Monday.

With counting complete in more than 92 percent of polling stations, Roberto Gualtieri was leading with more than 60 percent over Enrico Michetti, a lawyer and local talk radio host with no prior political experience.

"The result is clear cut. I wish good luck to Roberto Gualtieri," the loser of the second-round run-off vote said in a concession statement.

Gualtieri, 55, is seen as a safe pair of hands.

A trained historian whose only known extravagance is a love for playing Brazilian music on the guitar, he served in government during 2019-2021, and was previously head of the European Parliament's economic affairs committee.

His victory marked another setback for Italy's right-wing bloc, which despite leading in national opinion polls, lost other key mayoral battles in a first round of local elections two weeks ago -- namely in Milan, Naples and Bologna.

A choice of lacklustre candidates and divisions due to the internal rivalry between Matteo Salvini of the nationalist League and Giorgia Meloni of the hard-right Brothers of Italy were offered as explanations for the bloc's poor showing.

"I think we have to recognise that the centre-right has been defeated," Meloni said. "We are all aware of it."

Analysts do not expect the result of the two rounds of local voting to destabilise Prime Minister Mario Draghi's government, which is backed by a left-right coalition including the League but not FDI.

On Monday, the centre-left also won Turin, Italy's automotive capital in the north west. Both Rome and Turin were previously run by the formerly anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), which suffered a rout.

Aside from the capital, more than 60 towns and cities held mayoral elections between Sunday and Monday. Turnout was very low at under 44 per cent, and analysts said it was mostly centre-right voters who stayed away.

In the Eternal City, the campaign was dominated by complaints about its state of disrepair, including old buses that catch fire due to lack of maintenance and piles of uncollected rubbish in the streets that attract wild boars and rats.

"Rome cannot resign itself to talking about just rubbish and potholes. Rome is a great European capital," Gualtieri said at his closing rally on Friday.

Michetti's campaign was derailed last week when he was forced to deny accusations of anti-Semitism over an article he wrote last year that was unearthed by a left-wing newspaper.

In it, he said the Holocaust was commemorated more than other massacres because the Jews "control banks and a lobby capable of deciding the fate of the planet".

Michetti, who describes himself as a moderate, had also previously suggested that the stiff-armed Roman salute -- commonly used by fascists -- should be used during the coronavirus pandemic because it was more hygienic.

© 2021 AFP

Drought-hit Iraq's crop farmland to be halved

An aerial view taken on September 24, 2021 shows a dried up river bed

 in the Al-Huwaiza marshes on Iraq's border with Iran

 Asaad NIAZI AFP/File

Issued on: 18/10/2021 

Baghdad (AFP)

Extreme water shortages in Iraq will halve the area of crops being grown next harvest, the authorities said Monday, following UN warnings calling for "urgent" action.

Iraq's government said the area of farmland with crops would this 2021-2022 season cover "50 percent of the cultivated area last year", according to a statement published by the state news agency INA.

Iraq is struggling amid the consequences of dire droughts exacerbated by global warming, compounded by the extraction of water from the Tigris and Euphrates, rivers shared with neighbouring Turkey and Syria.

"The impact of water shortages in Iraq is becoming evident through the lower crop yields for 2021. Urgent action is required to confront climate change," UN agencies said in a joint statement Saturday, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

"Resilient, modern food systems are important for long term food security and the sustainable economic growth of Iraq," it added.

The FAO estimates that "by the end of the season, wheat production will be 70 percent lower and barley production negligible."

Agricultural produce of Iraq usually includes wheat, barley, dates, tomatoes and rice.

Salah El Hajj Hassan, FAO's chief in Iraq, said Monday that the agency was working with government ministries to support farmers to "increase their income, make better use of available resources and cope with drought".

Funds from the European Union are supporting a project to repair irrigation infrastructure in the north, including canals and pumping stations.

In August, 13 aid agencies, including Mercy Corps and the Norwegian Refugee Council, warned seven million people in Iraq risk losing access to water amid rising temperatures and record low levels of rainfall, creating an "unprecedented catastrophe" forcing more from their homes.

© 2021 AFP

US special envoy for Afghanistan steps down in wake of chaotic withdrawal

Issued on: 19/10/2021 

Zalmay Khalilzad spent years as Washington's point man for talks with the Taliban. 

© Alex Wong, Getty Images North America/AFP/File

Text by: NEWS WIRES

The U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan is stepping down following the chaotic American withdrawal from the country, the State Department said Monday.

Zalmay Khalilzad will leave the post this week after more than three years on the job under both the Trump and Biden administrations. He had been criticized for not pressing the Taliban hard enough in peace talks begun while Trump was president but Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanked him for his work.

“I extend my gratitude for his decades of service to the American people,” Blinken said of Khalilzad, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and Afghanistan.

Khalilzad had initially planned to leave the job in May after Biden’s announcement that the U.S. withdrawal would be completed before the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in September. However, he was asked to stay on and did so.

Khalilzad had served as the special envoy for Afghan reconciliation under both the Trump and Biden administrations since September 2018, when the-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brought him on board to lead negotiations with the Taliban and the Afghan government.

An Afghan native, Khalilzad was unsuccessful in getting the two sides together to forge a power-sharing deal but he did negotiate a U.S. agreement with the Taliban in February 2020 that ultimately led to the end of America’s longest-running war.

The agreement with the Taliban served as the template for the Biden administration’s withdrawal of all U.S. forces from Afghanistan, which many believe was conducted too hastily and without enough planning. Thousands of Afghan citizens who worked for U.S. forces there over the past two decades were left behind in the rush to leave as were hundred of American citizens and legal residents.

President Joe Biden and his aides frequently said the agreement that Khalilzad negotiated tied their hands when it came to the pullout and led to the sudden takeover of the country by the Taliban, although administration critics noted that Biden had abandoned the “conditions-based” requirements for a complete U.S. withdrawal.

In interviews and in his resignation letter described to The AP, Khalilzad noted that the agreement he negotiated had conditioned the final withdrawal of US forces to the Taliban entering serious peace talks with the Afghan government. He also lamented that those negotiations and consequently the withdrawal had not gone as planned.

Despite the criticism, Khalilzad remained on the job, although he skipped the first high-level post-withdrawal U.S.-Taliban meeting in Doha, Qatar earlier this month, prompting speculation he was on his way out. Khalilzad will be replaced by his deputy Thomas West, who led the U.S. delegation to that last round of talks in Doha.

However, the U.S. will not be sending a representative to a Russia-hosted conference on Afghanistan this week, the State Department said. Speaking before Blinken’s announcement of Khalilzad’s departure, department spokesman Ned Price cited “logistics” as the reason the U.S. would not participate in the Moscow talks.

Khalilzad said in his resignation letter that after leaving government service he would continue to work on behalf of the Afghan people and would offer his thoughts and advice on what went wrong in Afghanistan and the path forward.

(AP)

State Department watchdog launches reviews of Afghanistan withdrawal


United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on September 23 during the 76th Session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York. File Photo by John Minchillo/UPI/Pool | License Photo

Oct. 18 (UPI) -- The State Department's inspector general has opened multiple reviews of the United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan, according to reports Monday.

Diana Shaw, the State Department's acting inspector general, notified top lawmakers that her office is conducting "oversight projects related to the suspension of operations at the U.S. Embassy Kabul, Afghanistan," according to letters obtained by Politico and CNN.

According to the letter, the reviews will focus on the State Department's Special Immigrant Visa program, Afghans processed for refugee admission into the United States, resettlement of refugees and visa recipients and the emergency evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.

"Given the elevated interest in this work by Congress and the unique circumstances requiring coordination across the Inspector General community, I wanted to notify our committees of jurisdiction of this important work," Shaw wrote in the letter addressed to leaders of the Senate foreign relations committee, House foreign affairs committee and the intelligence committees of both chambers.

Ryan Holden, a spokesman for the office of the inspector general, confirmed it had notified lawmakers of its plans but said the probe did not meet the watchdog's definition of an "investigation."

"State OIG notified its committees of jurisdiction today of planned projects in the areas you mention," Holden told Politico. "This work will be conducted in coordination with other members of the IG community. However, it is inaccurate to say that these projects are investigations. We indicated to Congress that these projects will be reviews."

The reviews will add to existing scrutiny of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, including a review into a drone strike on Aug. 29 that killed 10 civilians, including seven children in Kabul, which was announced by the Air Force inspector general last month.

Criticism of the withdrawal has largely centered around the special immigrant visa program, as the State Department said there were 17,000 applicants stuck in the program's pipeline before the August evacuation.

Famed gorilla dies at 35 in Congo park

Issued on: 18/10/2021

A female eastern lowland gorilla in the Kahuzi-Biega National Park. 

The gorillas are one of the world's most endangered species 

ALEXIS HUGUET AFP

Bukavu (DR Congo) (AFP)

A veteran gorilla descended from a celebrated forebear immortalised on a banknote has been found dead near a national park in the Demoratic Republic of Congo, the protected reserve announced on Monday.

"The solitary gorilla Mugaruka, aged about 35, died of bloody diarrhoea" on Friday, park spokesman Hubert Mulongoy told AFP.

The body was discovered by rangers in a tea plantation close to Kahuzi-Biega.

The gorilla was the last descendant of Maheshe who was killed by poachers and remembered on a banknote under Mobutu Sese Seko's presidency.

"It's an enormous loss," Mulongoy said.

"He would come regularly to visit us in the general area of the park, to the public's delight."

Mugaruka lived alone having lost an arm in a trap at the age of three.

The 600,000 square kilometre (2,300 sq mile) reserve, lies between two extinct volcanoes near Bukavu, in one of the most troubled areas of the vast country.

Kahuzi-Biega provides a habitat for one of the last populations of eastern lowland gorillas, made up of about 250 primates, according to its website.

In August, the park -- close to the Rwanda border -- celebrated the birth of an eastern lowland gorilla.

It is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage site in danger because of the presence of armed groups and settlers, poaching and deforestation.str-bmb/bp/pbr

© 2021 AFP

THE AMERICAN HALF OF THE PROVINCE

Early results suggest SOUTHERN Alberta votes in favour of removing equalization from Canada's constitution

While a final tabulation for the whole province won't be available from for another week, unofficial results were reported in several of the province's largest municipalities

Author of the article: Tyler Dawson
Publishing date:Oct 19, 2021 •

 

In Calgary, roughly 58 per cent of voters cast a "yes" vote for the equalization referendum. 

EDMONTON — Voters in Calgary, Alberta’s largest city, appear to have cast their votes in favour of removing equalization from Canada’s constitution, according to unofficial results in the province’s referendum on equalization payments.

While a final, official tabulation for the whole province won’t be available from Elections Alberta for another week, unofficial results in the referendum were reported in several of the province’s largest municipalities, including Lethbridge, Red Deer and Medicine Hat, in addition to Calgary, forecasting the possible outcome of voting.

Edmonton, the capital and second-largest city, chose not to release unofficial votes in this referendum, or a second on daylight saving time. (The cities, which are collecting referendum results while they also run a municipal election, have until next Monday to report results from the referenda and Senate elections to Elections Alberta.)

It was not clear Monday night, across all municipalities, what percentage of electors actually voted in the municipal election.

In Calgary, roughly 58 per cent of voters cast a “yes” vote for the equalization referendum, which asked if the equalization program should be removed from the Canadian constitution, compared to 42 per cent who voted “no.”

While that margin appears large — 16 percentage points — it’s small in comparison to margins seen in other cities in the province. In Medicine Hat, at times Monday night, the “yes” side had netted 70 per cent of voters. In Red Deer, early returns showed around 67 per cent voted “yes.” In Lethbridge 59 per cent voted in favour.

While the numbers were likely to shift overnight Monday into Tuesday, the “yes” side is clearly leading in several of Alberta’s major population centres, and equalization is a longstanding grievance in parts of the province.

For the United Conservative Party government, which has struggled to deliver on a number of election promises related to the economy, and has polled poorly over its management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the referendum was a badly needed win.

Kenney’s popularity has slumped badly, with just 22 per cent of Albertans — and only 39 per cent of 2019 UCP voters — voicing approval of his performance, according to ThinkHQ polling released in early October, underscoring his need for a win on the referendum question.

Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Calgary’s Mount Royal University, said even more than needing a win, Kenney needed “not to lose” this vote.

“This is a major plank of the UCP,” Bratt said Monday afternoon.

Still, it remains unclear what will happen next.

“It’s a very complicated affair, to say the least,” said Bratt.

Amending the constitution to remove equalization, a program that has existed since 1957, requires support in the House of Commons and the Senate, plus two-thirds of provincial legislatures, representing more than 50 per cent of the Canadian population.

ITS FIREWALL ALBERTA ALL OVER AGAIN

This is a result Alberta is unlikely to achieve. Still, supporters of the referendum, including former Alberta finance minister Ted Morton, have argued that a 1998 Supreme Court reference case about Quebec secession says that a win on a referendum necessitates negotiation between the federal government and provinces on constitutional amendments.

“If Albertans vote a ‘clear majority on a clear question,’ then Ottawa and the other provinces have ‘a duty to negotiate’ with us,” wrote Morton recently in the Calgary Herald .

Kenney has argued similarly: “A positive vote on a proposed constitutional amendment … (would) compel the government of Canada to engage in good faith negotiations with Alberta about the proposed constitutional amendment.”

But, that’s by no means guaranteed.

Eric Adams, a constitutional law professor at the University of Alberta, argued that the duty to negotiate is triggered — as in the case of Quebec — exclusively when there’s a constitutional crisis, such as secession, brewing. Not simply because one province wants to secure a change to the constitution.

“Let’s imagine ascenario in which any time a province holds a vote on any constitutional topic, and the positive outcome of that required every other province and the federal government to immediately engage in constitutional negotiations … it’s unfathomable, because of the dysfunction,” Adams told the National Post.

The United Conservatives, who swept to power in Alberta in 2019 by promising to get the economy roaring again and secure more autonomy — à la Quebec — for the province, have linked the referendum to other policy goals, such as equalization reform (not elimination) and changes to policies affecting the oil and gas industry.

“Even the premier is telling people to answer the question that’s not on the ballot, that this about leverage and this is about sending a message, and this isn’t about the constitution. But the question is about the constitution. That’s kind of the problem,” Bratt said.

The party’s 2019 platform promised to hold the referendum “if substantial progress is not made on construction of a coastal pipeline, and if Trudeau’s Bill C-69 is not repealed,” and refers to it as a tool for “leverage for federal action to complete a coastal pipeline and to demand reforms to the current unfair formula.”

Kenney himself has made these arguments in discussing the referendum.

“The point of it (the referendum) is to get leverage for constitutional negotiations with the federal government about reform to the entire system of fiscal federalism, which treats Alberta so unfairly,” said Kenney, according to The Canadian Press .

Monday’s vote, which occurred in conjunction with municipal elections for mayors, councillors and school board trustees, plus a vote for new Alberta senators, and a second referendum question on daylight saving time, represents the culmination of a United Conservative promise.

After the 2019 election, Kenney convened a panel to traverse the province, seeking feedback on how Alberta might gain greater autonomy over its affairs.

In May 2020, the panel reported back, making 25 recommendations to government, one of which was to hold a referendum on removing equalization from the constitution. In the 64 years since the equalization program was created, Alberta has been a “have not” province just eight times, and not since the mid-1960s.

“Albertans are frustrated and there is a growing perception that the equalization system is broken and fundamentally unfair to Alberta, pulling billions of dollars out of our province — even during times of economic recession,” wrote Finance Minister Travis Toews in an opinion piece published recently in the Edmonton Journal.

Results of Alberta's equalization, daylight saving votes to be announced Oct. 26

Author of the article:Lisa Johnson
Publishing date:Oct 18, 2021 •

Albertans got to weigh in Monday on whether the principle of making equalization payments should be removed from the Constitution — a non-binding vote, since equalization payments are set by Ottawa and paid for through money collected through federal taxes.

Albertans will have to wait until Oct. 26 for the results of two provincial referendums and a vote for preferred Senate candidates.

Among the three extra votes added to the ballot for Monday’s municipal elections, the referendum question on daylight saving time is the only binding vote. If Albertans opt to end the practice of changing clocks twice a year and move to permanent daylight time, which is observed in the summer, it will take effect in the fall of 2022.

When the province surveyed more than 140,000 Albertans online in 2019, 91 per cent were in favour of scrapping time changes and moving to permanent daylight time, or summer hours. However, some experts have warned the ballot question ignores a better option — going to permanent standard time — and that the switch to permanent daylight time would have negative effects on the health of Albertans.

Albertans also got to weigh in Monday on whether the principle of making equalization payments should be removed from the Constitution — a non-binding vote, since equalization payments are set by Ottawa and paid for through money collected through federal taxes. Making changes would require approval from the House of Commons, the Senate, and at least two-thirds of the provincial legislative assemblies.

The equalization program is based on the idea that provinces should have enough revenues to provide reasonably comparable levels of public services at comparable levels of taxation. Transfers are sent to provinces with lower incomes. Provinces with higher incomes — like Alberta — do not receive them.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has said the referendum vote isn’t about spurring a constitutional amendment or the end of equalization, but is meant to be used to get leverage in negotiations with Ottawa over equalization and other programs.

Albertans were also asked to choose up to three candidates among 13 Senate hopefuls on the ballot for the prime minister to consider.

The results of the Senate vote are similarly non-binding. Although Senate candidates from Alberta have been approved by previous federal governments, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has noted that the Senate appointment process, instituted in 2016, is based on merit. An independent advisory committee goes through applications and creates a short list of nominees for the prime minister and Privy Council Office to consider.

Municipalities will count the votes and have the option to release unofficial referendum and Senate election results. Edmonton’s Senate and referendum tallies will be sent to Elections Alberta, which will release official results on Oct. 26, including those reported from each municipality. Calgary, however, was set to release results on election night.

Canadian PM visits indigenous school graves

Issued on: 18/10/2021 - 

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lays flowers at a memorial outside of the Kamloops Indian Residential School in Kamloops, British Columbia

 Adam Scotti Office of the Prime Minister of Canada/AFP

Kamloops (Canada) (AFP)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a visit Monday to the indigenous community of Kamloops where the remains of 215 children were found in May at a former residential school, apologizing for not coming sooner.

The visit followed strong criticisms directed at Trudeau for ignoring an earlier invitation to the community on the first national day of truth and reconciliation on September 30, instead going on a family vacation.

"Instead of talking about truth and reconciliation, (everyone has) talked about me and that's on me. I take responsibility for that," he told a news conference.

Seated next to him, Tk'emlups te Secwepemc chief Rosanne Casimir said: "It was a long-awaited moment to receive a personal hand of recognition and sympathy regarding this horrific confirmation of unmarked graves from the Canadian head of state."

She said her community had felt "shock, anger, sorrow and disbelief" over Trudeau's September 30 snub, but added: "Today is about making some positive steps forward and rectifying a mistake."

Trudeau has made fence-mending with Canada's more than 600 indigenous tribes a priority of his administration, and named the national day of reconciliation meant to pay tribute to victims of the residential schools at the centre of a failed policy of force assimilation of indigenous peoples.

Since the first discoveries in Kamloops five months ago, more than 1,200 unmarked indigenous graves have been found at other former school sites, and searches have been launched across Canada for more.

Trudeau noted that requests have poured in for help in identifying graves and recovering remains, and vowed his government "will be there with as much as is necessary (for communities) to be able to get closure, and to move forward."

"Before we can get into reconciliation, we need to get to truth," he added. "We need families be able to grieve, to heal. To do that we need to support them in every way we can."

From the late 19th century to the 1990s, some 150,000 First Nations, Metis and Inuit children were forcibly enrolled at the schools across Canada.

Students spent months or years isolated from their families, and were physically and sexually abused by headmasters and teachers who stripped them of their culture and language.

Thousands are believed to have died of disease, malnutrition or neglect. Many more became detached or alienated.

Today those experiences are blamed for a high incidence of poverty, alcoholism and domestic violence, as well as high suicide rates, in indigenous communities.

© 2021 AFP

Pfizer seeks green light for Covid jab for children aged 5-11 in Canada


Issued on: 19/10/2021 -

A syringe is filled with a first dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine at a mobile vaccination clinic in Los Angeles

 Patrick T. FALLON AFP/File

Montreal (AFP)

Pfizer-BioNTech submitted an authorization request to Health Canada on Monday for the use of its Covid-19 vaccine in children aged 5-11, the companies and the Canadian government said.

"This is the first submission Health Canada has received for the use of a Covid-19 vaccine in this younger age group," it said in a statement.

The authorization request is based on data from trials conducted on 2,268 children in this age group for whom the dosage was lowered to 10 micrograms per injection -- three times less than the standard dose -- which the company says is "the preferred dose" for 5-11 year olds.

This same Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is approved in Canada for ages 12 and up.

Health Canada said that it will only authorize the use of the vaccine if the independent and thorough scientific review of all data submitted confirms that the benefits outweigh the risks with this group.

The Canadian ministry also indicated that other manufacturers also were testing their vaccines on children of different age groups.

Earlier this month, Pfizer and BioNTech laboratories made the same request for 5-11 year olds in the United States.

Childhood immunizations are raising questions around the world. Many countries vaccinate adolescents from the age of 12, but very few do so below that age.

In recent months, the World Health Organization (WHO) has insisted that the urgent issue was to immunize the population of poor countries before children and adolescents in rich countries.

© 2021 AFP

Hitlers Monsters The Occult Roots of Nazism

Eric Kurlander

22 Pages

1 File ▾

https://www.academia.edu/3998398/Hitlers_Monsters_The_Occult_Roots_of_Nazism

The Nazi Magicians' Controversy: Enlightenment, 'Border Science,' and Occultism in the Third Reich

Eric Kurlander

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Magic and the Occult (Anthropology Of Religion),

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Nineteenth Century Occultism,

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Hitler’s Supernatural Sciences: Astrology, Anthroposophy, and World Ice Theory in the Third Reich

Eric Kurlander

https://www.academia.edu/16833657/Hitlers_Supernatural_Sciences

Uwe Schellinger/Andreas Anton/Michael Schetsche: Pragmatic Occultism in the Military History of the Third Reich, in: Monica Black/Eric Kurlander (Hg.): Revisiting the "Nazi Occult". Histories, Realities, Legacies, New York: Camden House 2015, S. 157-180.

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