Saturday, December 04, 2021

IMF says chief economist taking top leadership role

By AFP
Published December 3, 2021

The IMF for the first time will have women in the two top leadership positions when chief economists Gita Gopinath takes the No 2 role - Copyright AFP Bertha WANG

The IMF’s high-profile chief economist Gita Gopinath next month will become the number two official at the Washington-based crisis lender, the fund announced Thursday.

Gopinath will succeed Geoffrey Okamoto as first deputy managing director, serving under IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva — the first time two women have held the top leadership roles.

Georgieva call Gopinath “the right person at the right time” to take the leadership role.

“Especially given that the pandemic has led to an increase in the scale and scope of the macroeconomic challenges facing our member countries, I believe that Gita — universally recognized as one of the world’s leading macroeconomists — has precisely the expertise that we need for the FDMD role at this point,” Georgieva said in the statement.

“Indeed, her particular skill set — combined with her years of experience at the Fund as Chief Economist — make her uniquely well qualified.”

Gopinath, who was appointed to her current role in October 2018, was due to return to her position at Harvard University in January but will now leave the university. She was born in India but also is a US citizen.


The economist, who leads the IMF team that produces the closely-watched quarterly World Economic Outlook, became a much more visible figure during the Covid-19 pandemic.

She displayed “intellectual leadership in helping the global economy and the Fund to navigate the twists and turns of the worst economic crisis of our lives,” Georgieva said.

Gopinath said that “As the pandemic continues its grip on us, the work of the Fund has never been more critical and international cooperation never more important.”

IMF warns of 'economic collapse' unless G20 extends debt relief

By AFP
Published December 2, 2021

The IMF called for urgent action to ease debt loads in poor nations and prevent "economic collapse"
 - Copyright AFP Bertha WANG Heather SCOTT

The IMF on Thursday urged advanced economies in the G20 to extend and improve their debt relief initiative, warning that many countries face a dire crisis without the help.

“We may see economic collapse in some countries unless G20 creditors agree to accelerate debt restructurings and suspend debt service while the restructurings are being negotiated,” IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said in a blog, adding that it is critical private creditors also offer relief.

The G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) expires at the end of the year, and without a renewal, countries would face financial pressure and spending cuts just as new Covid-19 variants are spreading and interest rates are expected to rise, she said.

“Debt challenges are pressing and the need for action is urgent. The recent Omicron variant is a stark reminder that the pandemic will be with us for a while,” Georgieva said in the blog co-authored by Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, director of the fund’s Strategy, Policy, and Review Department.

Georgieva did not specify which economies faced a crisis, but referred simply to “low-income countries.”

Advanced economies in the Group of 20 announced the program last year amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which hit poor countries the hardest, hampering the ability of those governments to service their debt and support their people.

The G20 twice extended the DSSI, but the IMF and World Bank have been urging creditors to do more to help with the burgeoning debt load. There are 73 countries eligible for relief under the program.

– Debt distress –


The World Bank estimates that debt loads in poor countries surged 12 percent to a record $860 billion in 2020 amid the pandemic, and Georgieva said “about 60 percent of low-income countries are at high risk or already in debt distress.”

Given the problems with the debt relief program and the common framework for dealing with private creditors, only three countries so far have applied for relief — Chad, Ethiopia and Zambia — and they have faced “significant delays.”

The framework has “yet to deliver on its promise. This requires prompt action,” she said.

She noted that Chad’s program is hung up due to the need to restructure a large amount owed to a private company.

And with inflation surging in major economies, central banks are pulling back on stimulus and expected to begin raising interest rates next year, which would increase debt service costs for poor nations and likely would see capital flee those countries.

“No doubt 2022 will be much more challenging with the tightening of international financial conditions on the horizon,” Georgieva said.

The IMF is calling for improvements in the program, especially mechanisms to oblige private creditors to participate, which would encourage more poor countries to make use of the DSSI.

In addition, “a comprehensive and sustained debt service payment standstill for the duration of the negotiation would provide relief to the debtor at a time when it is under stress,” she said.

#ECOCIDE
Greek-flagged ship caused Brazil mystery 2019 oil slick: police

By AFP
Published December 2, 2021

A boy removing oil spilled on Itapuama beach, in Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Pernambuco State, Brazil. After a tw-year investigation police have said a Greek-flagged ship was behind the mystery slick - Copyright AFP Ronny Hartmann

A mystery oil slick that caused environmental disaster along a vast stretch of Brazilian coastline in 2019 and 2020 was caused by a Greek-flagged vessel, federal police said Thursday after a two-year investigation.

The police said “there is sufficient evidence that a Greek-flagged oil tanker was responsible for leaking” the oil that afflicted more than 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) of coast between August 2019 and March 2020.

The slick affected more than 1,000 towns in 11 coastal states, investigators said, without naming the company that owns the ship.

The vessel’s owners, as well as the ship’s captain and chief engineer, faced charges of “crimes of pollution, non-compliance with environmental obligations and damage to natural reserves,” police said.

In November 2019, Brazilian authorities identified the Greek oil tanker Bouboulina, owned by the Delta Tanker company, which is also based in Greece, as “the main suspect.”

But at the time Delta Tankers denied all responsibility for the environmental catastrophe, which threatened mangroves, humpback whale sanctuaries, coral reefs and numerous beaches in northeastern coastal cities, a poor region whose economy is highly dependent on tourism.

The police estimated that the costs incurred by federal, state and municipal public powers alone for the clean-up of beaches and the ocean ran to some 188 million reais ($47.7 million).

During the disaster, the government of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, whose environmental policies have been broadly criticized, mobilized some 5,000 soldiers for clean-up operations and more than 4,500 tons of oil residue were collected.

Diverse doubts: How vaccine scepticism takes root


By AFP
Published December 2, 2021

While large swathes of the global population remain unvaccinated because of a lack of access, other people who do are choosing not to get them -
 Copyright AFP RODGER BOSCH

Governments and scientists around the world are championing vaccination as the way to end the Covid-19 pandemic.

Yet while large swathes of the global population remain unvaccinated because of a lack of access, other people who can get their jabs are choosing not to.

French sociologist Jerome Gaillaguet, who has spent years speaking to those who choose not to vaccinate, told AFP their reasons can be diverse and surprising. His answers have been condensed and edited for clarity.

– Is there an anti-vax phenomenon? –

The influence of a loosely-defined activist anti-vaccine movement cannot be discounted but it has to be separated from hesitation.

The way the media frames it you get the impression that there is an anti-vax phenomenon that is widespread with people firmly opposed to vaccination.

Those movements exist and are highly visible and noisy on social media. But the reality is not at all the same: it’s doubt.

The vast majority of people are feeling real hesitation or even indifference and there are as many reasons behind the hesitation as there are states of mind.

As soon as you start talking to people you realise that doubt comes from experience and it comes in many different forms.

And when you start to follow people over time you can see how things can evolve.

Media buzz around a controversy will change attitudes, and I’ve also seen people change their minds after becoming parents.

You also find a huge amount of defiance among people with bad experiences with healthcare.

For example, some people may hesitate if they have gone to doctors who minimise their problems while failing to offer any solutions.

– Have you seen attitudes change? –


One woman I talked to was about 60 years old, we met in 2017 and she was pretty hesitant about vaccines.

When she was younger she worked as a pharmaceutical salesperson who sold medicines to doctors.

She came to the conclusion that lab profits were far more important than people’s health and eventually she got sick of that life and left everything behind to open a pizzeria.

Yet a year into the pandemic she went to get vaccinated without hesitation because she had been in constant contact with customers and had seen many people get sick or die.

She made friends with a nurse who worked in a hospital that was greatly affected.

It can also work the other way.

One person when I first met her was pretty mistrustful. Then, over the course of a few years, the issue kind of disappeared from the media.

She began to have friends and acquaintances with children and she had friends who were doctors and a grandfather at home and she began to think about getting the flu vaccine to protect him.

She began to think: “I was young and rebellious but I can see that risks linked to vaccination are very rare.”

But then the vaccine became mandatory to get a health pass and she completely turned again.

She said: “I do not accept being told what to do.”

– Is the health pass counter-productive? –


In the short and middle term, the health pass [in France] helped force people who were hesitant to get vaccinated by restricting their day-to-day lives.

Of course it did: we were telling them they would no longer be able to travel or go to a restaurant.

But we replaced the health concerns with social concerns.

We took people out of a situation where they had to think in terms of pandemic risks — like whether someone close to them might be fragile, whether they could get sick or whether they might be at high risk.

Acting like these questions did not enter into it when they concern a huge part of the population does nothing to solve the problem of trust in vaccination.

Lawyer for Philippines' Nobel Prize winner Ressa 'confident' about Oslo trip

By AFP
Published December 3, 2021

The former CNN correspondent is on bail pending an appeal against a conviction last year in a cyber libel case -
 Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP Ernesto Distefano

A lawyer for Philippine Nobel Prize winner Maria Ressa, who faces multiple court cases, said Friday he was “confident” the journalist would be allowed to travel to Oslo to collect the award in person.

Ressa, co-founder of news website Rappler, and Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov were given the award in October for their efforts to “safeguard freedom of expression”.

The former CNN correspondent, who is on bail pending an appeal against a conviction last year in a cyber libel case, applied to three courts for permission to travel to Norway for the December 10 ceremony.

The Court of Appeals, which is handling the cyber libel case, on Friday gave her the green light after rejecting government lawyers’ claims that she was a “flight risk”.

Ressa has already received permission from a regional trial court hearing another case, according to Francis Lim, one of her lawyers.

She is still waiting for the Court of Tax Appeals to rule on her travel application, but Lim said: “We are confident that it will be granted.”

Ressa has been a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte and his government’s policies, including a drug war that has killed thousands.

Since Duterte was swept to power in 2016, Ressa and Rappler have endured what media advocates say is a grinding series of criminal charges, investigations and online attacks.

She faces a total of seven court cases, including the appeal against a conviction in the cyber libel case, for which she faces up to six years in prison.

Ressa, who is also a US citizen, returned to the Philippines on Thursday after a court-approved trip to the United States.

Chinese people dodge censors to discuss Peng Shuai case online


ByAFP
Published December 3, 2021

Peng Shuai alleged that former Chinese vice-premier Zhang Gaoli forced her to have sex. — © AFP

With coded references to “eating melons” and “that person”, Chinese social media users are getting creative to discuss tennis star Peng Shuai online as censors race to scrub all mentions of her sexual assault allegations.

When Peng last month posted that former Chinese vice-premier Zhang Gaoli forced her to have sex, censors were quick to scrub the message and obvious discussion of Peng from social media.

The 35-year-old’s allegations spread on Twitter — which is blocked in China but accessible using special Virtual Private Networks — and sparked an international outcry.

And many found ways to get around the censorship inside the Chinese firewall, initially using Peng Shuai’s initials in English, “PS”, to refer to the former world doubles number one online.

Messages including those initials were soon censored.

“Eddie Peng is too handsome,” read one since-deleted post, according to screenshots — in an apparent reference to the Taiwanese actor. The characters for the movie star’s surname and “handsome” make up Peng Shuai’s name in Chinese.

On pop culture review site Douban, some users turned to a mix of English and Chinese.

“Her WB id no le,” one user wrote in a screenshot of a now-deleted Douban forum thread, referring to the disappearance of Peng’s official Weibo account from the platform’s search function.

“I hope her ping’an,” another user said, wishing for the tennis player’s safety.

Douban is considered a more liberal platform, often drawing discussion pushing the political boundaries of the Chinese internet.

Some took to the “Tennis” topic page on Weibo to post obliquely about a “big melon” that had exploded in the world of tennis overnight.

In Chinese internet slang, the phrase “eating melon” means to consume gossip.

“Even when I’m asleep I must wake up to eat melon,” one Weibo user wrote in a now-deleted post, after Peng’s allegations were posted late one evening, describing Zhang — or the “person involved” — as “too politically sensitive”.

The authorities have been quick to catch up, swiftly identifying and deleting new coded posts related to Peng — even blocking the Douban page for the Korean drama “Prime Minister & I”, where users had retreated to discuss Peng’s claims against Zhang.

But the sheer volume of comments means that some linger, especially those made on remote parts of social media unrelated to Peng Shuai.

“I support WTA” and “please respect every woman”, commenters wrote on a Weibo post by the Women’s Tennis Association listing 2021 tournament winners.

Some online users starred out some letters from “WTA” to avoid censors, with one asking on Weibo if the “*TA” move on Wednesday to cancel tournaments in China was “because of that person?”


WTA chief Steve Simon sticks to his guns in Peng Shuai case


Steve Simon's standoff with China in the Peng Shuai affair has earned the head of the Women's Tennis Association praise as an innovative leader with the courage of his convictions.

© ROSLAN RAHMAN Steve Simon has decided to suspend all the WTA's tournaments in China over the Peng Shuai affair

Since taking over as WTA chair and CEO in 2015, Simon had made China the main source of revenue for the women's circuit, signing a lucrative 10-year contract in 2018 to make Shenzhen the host of the traditional end-of-season tournament for the women's game.

Giving that event to a country which already had nine other tournaments for a total of 30 million dollars (26.4 million euros) did not look like a risky strategy at the time.

But three years on the financial interests of the WTA could be considerably weakened by the consequences stemming from Peng, an ex-doubles world number one, who went missing after claiming on social media that a former senior Chinese Communist Party official coerced her into sex.

After threatening to cancel tournaments in China, the WTA on Wednesday announced "the immediate suspension of all WTA tournaments in China, including Hong Kong".

"We're definitely willing to pull our business and deal with all the complications that come with it," Simon warned after Peng's disappearance, insisting the issue was "bigger than business".

While the International Olympic Committee has been criticised for failing to hold China to account two months before the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics, the WTA's stand has earned Simon praise, including from tennis legend Billie Jean King, who founded the WTA organisation in 1973.

"I applaud Steve Simon & the @WTA leadership for taking a strong stand on defending human rights in China & around the world," King wrote on Twitter.

"The WTA is on the right side of history in supporting our players. This is another reason why women’s tennis is the leader in women's sports."

Former men's world number one Andy Roddick also praised the WTA's action: "There are a lot of organizations who can afford to do something like this a lot more than the WTA can ... Respect. Doing the right thing is a lot easier when there aren’t associated costs."

- 'Thoughtful and respectful' -


Simon, a 66-year-old American, first entered tennis in 1989 in a sales role at the Indian Wells tournament after six years at sportswear giant Adidas, taking over the direction of the tournament in 2004 and turning it into the "fifth Grand Slam".

He stood out for his innovations -- the tournament was the first to adopt "hawkeye" technology on all courts -- and his personality.

Serena Williams praised Simon as "thoughtful and respectful" on his appointment as WTA chief in November 2015, recalling his decisive role in convincing her to return to play in Indian Wells a few months earlier, after boycotting it for 14 years because of racism from spectators.

"Steve couldn't have been more helpful, professional and supportive. I know how much he cares about the opinions of the players. He's a good listener, he has our best interests in mind," said the 23-time Grand Slam winner.

King agreed that Simon was "the right person for this job", praising a "thoughtful, respectful" man.

"Steve Simon is the right person for the job," King said. "His track record is marked by success. He is thoughtful, respectful and he has excellent business judgement.”

Speaking about his new role as head of the WTA, Simon said advocating for change was "the right thing to do".

nip/ng/ea/gj
#LEGALIZEDRUGS
Thousands of addicts lost their lives in 2020 when they should have been saved

By Dr. Tim Sandle
Published November 30, 2021

Germans queue up at a Covid vaccination centre in Berlin - Copyright INDONESIA FOREIGN MINISTRY/AFP Handout

Recently released data, presented in the London Evening Standard, reveals that of the 275,896 people who accessed treatment for their drug and alcohol addiction during the COVID-19 pandemic, a staggering 3,726 lost their lives. This is based on the UK population.

Further, the number of addicts who lost their lives whilst already in the treatment process in 2020 rose by a staggering 27 percent compared to the previous year. 2020 saw a rise in the proportion of people dying while in treatment in all substance groups. Those seeking treatment for opiate addiction but who instead lost their lives rose by 20 percent, and those in treatment for alcohol addiction but who instead died rose by a sharp 44 percent.

Drug and alcohol addiction treatment experts UKAT blame treatment services closing their doors to addicts during the pandemic.

Nuno Albuquerque, Head of Treatment for the UK Addiction Treatment Group tells Digital Journal: “The start of the coronavirus crisis was extremely frightening and uncertain. But drug and alcohol treatment is critical care intervention and cannot be simply put on pause. We know that a concerning number of facilities closed their doors to addicts who were already in the treatment process and although it was such a difficult time, it cannot be a coincidence that more people have subsequently lost their lives when they were in fact trying to save it.”

Albuquerque explains that the figures go on to reveal that people in treatment for alcohol alone make up the second largest group (28 percent) after those in treatment for opiates. The number of people who started treatment for alcohol addiction in 2020 rose by 3 percent compared to the previous year- from 74,618 to 76,740 (based on UK government statistics).

Although the numbers are relatively low, there was an increase in adults entering treatment in 2020 to 2021 with ketamine problems (from 1,140 in 2019 to 2020 to 1,444 this year). This is a 27 percent rise in one year and is part of a trend in rising numbers entering treatment over the last 7 years.

The rise in people suffering with mental health illness alongside a substance addiction is also revealed. Nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of those who started treatment for all substance groups needed mental health treatment as well, but a quarter of them (25 percent) who had a mental health need were not receiving any treatment to meet this need.

Unfortunately, Albuquerque adds, there are still thousands of people suffering with drug and alcohol dependency who aren’t getting the treatment they need.

The new data reveals that there are an estimated 602,391 adults with alcohol dependency in need of specialist treatment, but only 107,428 of them were in treatment for alcohol in 2020/21. This means that an estimated 82 percent of adults in need of specialist treatment for alcohol are still not receiving it.

The story is much the same for those needing help for opiate and crack use. The proportion of estimated opiate users who are not in treatment has continued to rise from 41 percent in 2014 to 2015 to 47 percent in 2019 to 2020. The proportion of crack users who are not in treatment is 58 percent.

Albuquerque clarifies further: “Report’s like these are frightening because each figure is a person, each figure could be your mother, father, grandparent, colleague or friend. Reports like these should be being discussed by Government as a priority, but instead we get radio silence.”

In terms of action taken, Albuquerque outlines: “We have been lobbying for the Government to reinforce ring fenced, protected budgets for drug and alcohol treatment and prevention for some time. The decision to remove these protected budgets back in 2012 has been the catalyst for disaster. It’s time they admitted that and make the change required to help those who need it.”
DW exclusive: Belarus dissident Maria Kolesnikova speaks from jail

Maria Kolesnikova, a leading figure in the Belarus opposition movement who has been jailed in Minsk, has given DW an exclusive interview. She talks about her trial and the ongoing struggle against Lukashenko.


Maria Kolesnikova was handed a 11-year jail term


Leading Belarus opposition figure Maria Kolesnikova has been held behind bars for over a year in a Minsk penitentiary. In 2020, Kolesnikova coordinated Viktor Babariko's election campaign in the run-up to the country's presidential race. When Babariko, a prominent banker, was arrested, Kolesnikova joined the Belarusian opposition's Coordination Council, which backed anti- Lukashenko mass protests across the country. Demonstrations erupted after it was announced in August 2020 that incumbent leader Alexandr Lukashenko had been re-elected as president. Many countries refuse to accept the election result.


Maria Kolesnikova at a Minsk protest on August 30, 2020

Maria Kolesnikova — a professional flutist who spent years working as a cultural manager in the German city of Stuttgart — soon rose to become one of the country's most prominent women dissidents. In September 2020, Belarus authorities attempted to force her into exile. She would not budge, however, and was arrested. One year later Kolesnikova and fellow laywer Maxim Znak were tried for "inciting action aimed at harming national security" and "extremism." They were handed jail terms of 11 and 10 years, respectively.

International observers have called the trial a farce. Germany has repeatedly demanded Kolesnikova's release.

Kolesnikova will appeal the verdict on December 24.
Life behind bars taking its toll

DW succeeded in sending Kolesnikova a range of questions concerning her trial, life behind bars and expectations. Kolesnikova tells DW that life in custody means being deprived of "everything: air, the sun, my flute, letters, conversations, and a shower." But, she added, "knowing what you live for means that does not matter."

While her mail correspondence has been restricted, she nevertheless feels "the care and love of people in Belarus and the whole world." That, she said, gives her "colossal support and energy."

German singer-songwriter Wolf Biermann — once a prominent East German dissident — and Green politician Claudia Roth have been campaigning for her release.

Kolesnikova says jail terms handed down to her and Maxim Znak are "absurd, because neither of us are guilty." She said it was "only one person who seized state power," and refuses to ask for a pardon, saying "that is out of the question." How, she writes, is she supposed to confess to something she has not done?
No regrets

Together with Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and Veronika Tsepkalo, Kolesnikova made up a trio of prominent dissident woman who have come to represent the Belarus opposition movement. Tikhanovskaya and Tsepkalo have been forced into exile. Indeed, Tikhanovskaya recently said she could work more effectively from abroad, as a return to Belarus could land her in jail, too.


DEFIANT POSTER ART BY BELARUSIAN ARTISTS
Three symbols of Belarusian resistance
An exhibition at the Museum Folkwang in Essen shows how artists from Belarus are defending themselves against the regime in the digital realm. This picture by Antonina Slobodchikova shows the symbols of the strong trio of women who stood up to Lukashenko: Maria Kolesnikova's symbol is the heart, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya's is the fist, and the victory sign represents Veronica Tsepkalo.
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Kolesnikova tells DW she does "not regret" remaining in the country. She says that "jails are crowded with honest, courageous Belarusians, who waste no time thinking about giving up, despite the phenomenal pressure [they are under]." She adds that "it is an honor to join my people on this journey towards peace and change; everyone plays a [unique] role in this story."

Kolesnikova writes that she has plenty of plans for when she gets out of jail. "I have many ideas for music and arts projects; one of them is transforming the remand center into a cultural hub." She also intends to set up a "center for resocializing and rehabilitating women who have been imprisoned."
Will Lukashenko be toppled?

DW also asked Kolesnikova about a new constitutional draft proposed by Lukashenko, as well as a recently signed deal between Belarus and Russia. She writes that "nobody has seen the new conditional draft, or the 28 union state programs [road maps that are intended to bind the two countries more closely together]." The dissident writes she finds it hard to believe civil society and the media are being "destroyed" in the country, while at the same time effort is being made to "democratize" the constitution and "get away from authoritarianism."

She also urged all Belarusians in exile not to forget about their fellow compatriots at home. And she says "I admire all those who were forced to emigrate and still keep fighting for Belarus; everyone is putting in their share working towards a common goal." She goes on to say that "it is important not to get detached from reality, and to realize that the situation is rather serious and that it will take a while until a solution is reached."

She tells DW "over a year" had already been lost in the struggle to remove Lukashenko. But she is certain his departure is "merely a matter of time, that is the price Belarusians will pay." She writes that everyone — including Lukashenko and his allies — loses out the longer he remains in power. "Nothing lasts forever, and there are forces [within the government] open to constructive steps and dialogue," she tells DW. "The lives of Belarusians, our shared future, our shared home — those are our core values; and they compel us to seek a way out of this crisis."
Pok ta Pok: Mayan ball game is serious business

Alejandro Sanchez
Fri, December 3, 2021



Pok ta Pok: Mayan ball game is serious businessPlayers have to contort their limbs to strike a heavy rubber ball with their hips (AFP/Hugo BORGES)


With little regard for joints or bones, bare-chested men hurl their bodies at a hard floor and contort their limbs to strike a heavy rubber ball with their hips.

They are practitioners of the ancient sport of Pok ta Pok, sometimes translated as Mayan ball, and have been competing in the game's very own World Cup.

Participants, mostly indigenous Mayans from three Mexican states, as well as Guatemala, Panama and reigning champions Belize, vied for the world title in the Mexican town of Merida.

Belize won the championship once again, defeating Mexico in the final on Friday.

But unlike ancient Pok ta Pok athletes, these competitors were not playing for their lives, merely pride.

In pre-Columbian times, the outcome could be worse than defeat: players risked being sacrificed, usually by decapitation.

The tradition varied over the centuries, researchers say: sometimes, it was the winners who were killed, which was considered an honor. Sometimes the losers were the ones to pay the ultimate price.

The game was banned by the Spanish conquistadors shortly after their arrival in Mexico in 1519.

Like in most ball team sports, the aim of Pok ta Pok is to get the ball through the opposing team's defenses to score.

Four members per team play in two halves of 13 minutes each, and may touch the solid rubber ball weighing more than two kilos (4.4 pounds) only with their hips.

If another body part gets involved, points are deducted.

Each team can strike the ball only once before the turn passes to their opponents.

And while lives are no longer at stake, the game is not without risk.

"I come to bless the players so they don't twist a foot, so they don't break a bone, (tear) a tendon or something," said Tiburcio Can May, a Mayan healer who blew on a shell and shook smoke at participants in a pre-games ceremony.

"In order for them to be able to run well on the field, we have to ask the lord of the underworld, Xibalba, we have to ask the 13 gods, we have to ask the lord of the Universe, Mother Earth, because they are going to play a very sacred game."

For France Novelo, a player from Belize, Pok ta Pok is "a way to rescue culture in our country."

Jose Manrique, president of the Central American and Caribbean Association of the Ancestral Sport of the Mayan Ball, added: "We have to honor the memory of our grandparents, we have to honor our Mayan gods. That is why the ball game continues to be a ceremony for us."

The previous games were held in Chichen Itza, Mexico, in 2015, Guatemala in 2017 and El Salvador in 2019.

For now, it is an all-men event.

str-mlr/jfx
Pakistan teen climber confronts mortality and history on K2 summit

Pakistani mountaineer Shehroze Kashif faced many dangers climbing the planet's tallest peaks, but his toughest moment came when he passed the corpse of his hero on the savage slopes of K2.
© Arif ALI Pakistani mountaineer Shehroze Kashif plans to become the youngest person to climb the world's 14 highest mountains

Kashif was 19 years and 138 days old when in July he became the youngest person to summit both Mount Everest, the world's highest peak, and K2, the second-highest.
© Lakpa SHERPA Kashif summited Everest, which at 8,849 metres (29,032 feet) is Earth's tallest peak, in May

It was on K2, just below the infamous stretch known as the Bottleneck, that he passed the bodies of Iceland's John Snorri, Chile's Juan Pablo Mohr and Pakistani climbing legend Ali Sadpara.
© Arif ALI Kashif was first entranced by the mountains as a child when he spotted the scenic 3,885-metre Himalayan peak Makra

"The most emotional moment for me was going on past those climbers, the dead body of Pakistan's national hero," Kashif told AFP in an interview.

Many Pakistanis have crucial roles as high-altitude porters, but Sadpara was one of the few to break into the elite ranks of mostly Western climbers who have long dominated headlines in mountaineering.

He was declared missing along with Snorri and Mohr on February 5.

It was more than five months before their bodies were found, on July 26, and Kashif made his summit push as dawn broke the next morning.
© Arif ALI Pakistani mountaineer Shehroze Kashif became the youngest person to climb both the world's two highest mountains

"I got emotional, thinking that they had come with the same passion I had," Kashif said.

"But then I thought, why not fulfil their unfulfilled dream? And I took their dream with me."

- Savage Mountain -

This month, the Guinness Book of World Records officially declared him the youngest person to climb K2 and the youngest to climb both the world's two highest mountains.

Kashif summited Everest, which at 8,849 metres (29,032 feet) is Earth's tallest peak, in May.

But the 8,611-metre K2 -- known as the "Savage Mountain" and located near Pakistan's border with China -- is the more brutal summit.

They are "poles apart", Kashif said, calling K2 a "beast".

In winter, winds can blow at more than 200 kilometres (124 miles) per hour and temperatures can drop to minus 60 degrees Celsius (minus 76 degrees Fahrenheit).

Kashif suffered snow blindness and frostbite -- and said he was lucky his big toe was not amputated.

"My energy was too low, it was a difficult time... One wrong step and you are history," he told AFP from his home in Lahore, the sub-tropical, low-altitude Punjabi city where he was born.

- 'Blessings of God' -


Kashif was first entranced by the mountains at 11 years old when he spotted the scenic 3,885-metre Himalayan peak Makra while on holiday with his father in northern Pakistan.

"It all started there," he said.

While standing on top of the world he felt "chosen" -- a feeling that he described leaving on the peak, "so others coming behind you can also feel it".

Now, he said, Everest and K2 are not enough.

He plans to become the youngest person to climb the world's 14 highest mountains, the only peaks on the planet that are above 8,000 metres.

All lie in Asia, in the Himalayas or the Karakoram range, and five are in Pakistan.

Only around 40 people in history are believed to have climbed all 14. But it can be difficult to verify summit claims and some experts said there could be even fewer.

The youngest is Mingma Gyabu "David" Sherpa, of Nepal, who the Guinness Book of World Records said summited them all by age 30.

Kashif still has 10 to go.

He has also climbed Manaslu in Nepal and Broad Peak in Pakistan, the eighth and 12th highest mountains respectively -- and has given himself until 2024 to summit the rest.

He is well aware of the dangers.

Pakistan mourned the loss of Sadpara but Kashif also lost a friend, Pakistani-Swiss climber Abdul Waraich, on Everest in May.

Still, he refuses to contemplate an urban life at sea level.

"I think mountains are blessings of God," he said.

"I feel tired looking at all these concrete buildings, garbage and pollution.

"I just go where I feel most alive, and I feel mountains are the most suitable place for me."

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