'Pashtun nationalism poses threat to Pakistan statehood's existence'

Across Pakistan, there is a debate on whether Pashtun nationalism can bring an end to the existing Pakistani state.

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ANI | Islamabad | Updated: 12-12-2021

Representative Image . Image Credit: ANI

Across Pakistan, there is a debate on whether Pashtun nationalism can bring an end to the existing Pakistani state. Islamabad is repeating its previous mistake by treating the Pashtuns and other tribal communities in a similar fashion like it did the Bengali community of erstwhile East Pakistan, after independence that ultimately led to the creation of Bangladesh, according to an analysis by the Policy Research Group (PRG)s Strategic Insight.

Pashtun is the same people who live on either side of the Durand Line and it is only natural for them to be united to their people and land on either side. Meanwhile, the feeling of ethnic belonging among the Pashtun community on either side of the Durand Line is very strong combined with systemic discrimination meted to them by Pakistan's politico-military establishment, according to PRG's Strategic Insight.

Earlier, the violence meted out to them by the Pakistani state, such that any initial spark towards a civil war resulted in the unification of Pakistan's provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan with Afghanistan. The above may come from within the Pashtun people themselves without requirement of any external provocation.

On the other hand, during the brief Taliban rule over Afghanistan in the late 1990s, the Pakistani military thought that the Taliban recognize the Durand Line. However, things turned out quite the opposite; the Taliban refused to recognize the Durand Line and encouraged Pashtun nationalism.

The tribal Pakhtuns live this peculiar fate. They are being killed by bullets, sliced apart by fencing, and silenced by the state machinery. Living in this state of apartheid, they are left with few options; to quit or become war fodder in the state's foreign policy designs and the least of which is to rise up to initiate a civil war, according to PRG's Strategic Insight. (ANI)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Religious scholars condemn persecution of Shia, Hazara minorities in Islamic countries

ANI
11th December 2021

Jammu (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], December 11 (ANI): Religious scholars have raised concerns about the persecution of Shia and Hazara minorities in the Islamic nations, especially Pakistan and Afghanistan.

On Friday, JK People's Justice Front (JKPJF) organized a seminar titled "Why is Muslim world bleeding and Shia Rigths" in Jammu city to observe International Human Rights Day.

The seminar highlighted the world scenario about minorities like Shia, Yazdi and Hazara communities who are victims of atrocities and are prosecuted for frivolous matters all across the world including Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan as well.

The seminar was presided over by Chairman JKPJF Agha Syed Abbas Rizvi.

Rizvi said that there is no need to take a tough stance against the growing traits of extremist ideology amongst the youth of the Muslim world.

"We need to stop the flow of Petro Dollars, which is fueling the extremist ideologies like ISIS, Daesh, and Taliban who are the root cause of all extremist thoughts and activities and Shia community and at large are soft targets of them in Muslim State of Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said.

"The terrorism happening in the Muslim world and especially the targeting of Hazara and other minority communities across the world is increasing at an alarming rate", he added.

Further addressing the seminar, Rizvi said: "Afghan Taliban is not only massacring Hazaras but is also displacing them from their lands, they have been living upon for ages. There is a need for collective efforts to tackle this issue. The cause for the rise of extremist ideology is that we have moved far away from Sunnah and Sufism".

Agha Syed Abbas Rizvi mentioned in a report published in New York Times in early October 2021, the Taliban and associated militias forcibly evicted hundreds of Hazara families from the southern Helmand province and the northern Balkh province.

These followed earlier evictions from Daikundi, Uruzgan and Kandahar provinces.

Since the Taliban came to power in August, the Taliban have told many Hazaras and other residents in these five provinces to leave their homes and farms, in many cases with only a few days' notice and without any opportunity to present their legal claims of the land.


A former United Nations political analyst said that he saw eviction notices telling residents that if they did not comply, they "had no right to complain about the consequences".

The world is observing Human Rights Day but the Shia community is suffering under the umbrella of Islamic countries.

Agha Syed also mentioned how Shia Hazaras are ethnically cleansed in Pakistan's Quetta and Karachi. He also mentioned Gilgit Baltistan where Shias have no freedom to carry out their religious activities and other rituals.


The seminar was attended by scholars of other sects too like it included Sunni Scholars Molana Javed Quadri Sufi, Moulana Zaheer Quadri, Moulana Haji Basher Ahmad and Hindu social activist Munshi Ram and Devi Dutt.

The seminar was also attended by Agha Mubashir Kazmi, Coordinator JK, JKPJF.

Munshi Ram while speaking at the event said that the Taliban is a terrorist organization prosecuting the minorities in Afghanistan and violating their human rights.

It was pledged at the end of the seminar that if there is human rights violation anywhere in the world in any form we will stand with victims.

Syed Abbas Rizvi also urged upon the UT Administration to accede to the request of Shia community for grant of reservation, like as given to Gujars and Bakarwals in Jammu and Kashmir.

He also paid rich tributes to CGS General Bipin Rawat who got martyred in a helicopter crash. (ANI)

China eyes New Caledonia's mining sector, ahead of final independence referendum

Issued on: 11/12/2021

Kanak independence supporters wave flags of the Socialist Kanak National Liberation Front (FLNKS) after the referendum on independence on the French South Pacific territory of New Caledonia in Noumea on October 4, 2020. AFP - THEO ROUBY

Text by: David Coffey with RFI

France's Pacific territory of New Caledonia goes to the polls this Sunday for a third and final referendum on independence with observers saying China has its eye on bringing the archpelago into its sphere of influence.

The French overseas territory, some 2,000km east of Australia was allowed three independence referendums when the Noumea Agreement was ratified in 1998 aimed at easing tensions with the indigenous Kanak population.

Having rejected secession from their former colonial masters in 2018 and then again in 2020, the territory's 185,000 voters will be asked one last time: "Do you want New Caledonia to accede to full sovereignty and become independent?"

Sunday's vote comes against the backdrop of increasingly strained ties between Paris and its allies in the region.

France regards itself as a major Indo-Pacific power thanks to overseas territories like New Caledonia.

Australia infuriated France in September by ditching a submarine contract in favour of a security pact with Britain and the United States.

Behind the recent spat looms China's growing role in the region, with experts suspecting that an independent New Caledonia could be more amenable to Beijing's advances, which are partly motivated by an interest in the territory's mining industry.

China is already the biggest single client for New Caledonia's metal exports, especially for nickel.

What is the strategic importance of New Caledonia to France?

RFI · The Importance Of New Caledonia To France - Antoine Bondaz

China waiting in the wings

Some observers say that if the French safeguard disappears China would move quickly to establish itself permanently in New Caledonia.

Other nations in the Melanesia region - including Fiji, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea - have already become "Chinese satellites."

Pro-independence campaigners are boycotting Sunday's vote, saying they want it postponed to September because "a fair campaign" is not possible while coronavirus infection numbers are high.

The French government has rejected the demand, saying the virus spread had slowed down with the infection rate down to a relatively modest 80 to 100 cases per 100,000 people.

The pro-independence movement has still threatened non-recognition of the referendum outcome, and vowed to appeal to the United Nations to get it cancelled.


New Caledonia sets date for decisive referendum on independance from France
New Caledonia agrees to sale of controversial nickel mine, with Tesla as partner
Independence groups claim poll is "declaration of war"

Meanwhile, the pro-French camp has called on its supporters not to be complacent and cast their ballots. This, amid fears that the pro-independenc boycott of the polls may prompt people to stay at home since victory may look like a foregone conclusion.

In June, the various political parties agreed with the French government that Sunday's referendum, whatever its outcome, should lead to "a period of stability and convergence" and be followed by a new referendum by June 2023 which would decide on the "project" that New Caledonia's people want to pursue.

But hopes for a smooth transition were jolted when the main indigenous pro-independence movement, the FLNKS, deemed the government's insistence on going ahead with the referendum "a declaration of war".

Observers fear that renewed tensions could even spark a return of the kind of violence last seen 30 years ago, before the feuding parties reached successive deals to ensure the island group's peaceful transition.

Biden orders U.S. to stop financing new carbon-intense projects abroad

By Valerie Volcovici 

 

U.S. President Biden 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Biden administration has ordered U.S. government agencies to immediately stop financing new carbon-intensive fossil fuel projects overseas and prioritize global collaborations to deploy clean energy technology, according to U.S. diplomatic cables.

The cables, seen by Reuters, say U.S. government engagements should reflect the goals set in an executive order issued at the start of the year aimed at ending American financial support of coal and carbon-intensive energy projects overseas.

"The goal of the policy ... is to ensure that the vast majority of U.S. international energy engagements promote clean energy, advance innovative technologies, boost U.S. cleantech competitiveness, and support net-zero transitions, except in rare cases where there are compelling national security, geostrategic, or development/energy access benefits and no viable lower carbon alternatives accomplish the same goals," a cable said.

The announcement was first reported by Bloomberg.

The policy defines "carbon-intensive” international energy engagements as projects whose greenhouse gas intensity is above a threshold lifecycle value of 250 grams of carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour and includes coal, gas or oil.

The policy bans any U.S. government financing of overseas coal projects that do not capture or only partially capture carbon emissions, allowing federal agencies to engage on coal generation only if the project demonstrates full emissions capture or is part of an accelerated phaseout.

It exempts carbon-intensive projects for two reasons: they are deemed to be needed for national security or geostrategic reasons or they are crucial to deliver energy access to vulnerable areas.

The policy formalizes the goals set by the administration in earlier executive orders and policy guidances and reiterated in multilateral forums such as the G7 meeting in France in August and U.N. climate summit in the fall.

At the U.N. climate talks in Scotland, the Biden administration pledged with 40 countries and five financial institutions to end new international finance for unabated fossil fuel energy by the end of 2022, except in limited cases.

"The administration has elevated climate change as a core tenet of its foreign policy," a State Department spokesperson said on Friday in response to a request for comment on the cables. The commitment made in Scotland "will  reorient tens of billions of dollars of public finance and trillions of private finance towards low-carbon priorities, " the spokesperson said.

Environmental groups said the policy, for which they have long advocated, is a step in the right direction but creates loopholes that could undermine its goals.

“This policy is full of exemptions and loopholes that lack clarity, and could render these restrictions on fossil fuel financing completely meaningless," said Kate DeAngelis, a climate finance expert at Friends of the Earth.

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Timothy Gardner; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Angry Canada threatens to impose tariffs on U.S. goods over EV tax credit plan


The Canada-United States border crossing in Lansdowne

David Ljunggren
Fri, December 10, 2021

OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada dramatically hardened its tone with Washington in a dispute over proposed U.S. credits for electric vehicles on Friday, threatening to slap tariffs on a range of American goods unless the matter was resolved.

In a letter to senior members of the U.S. Senate, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and Trade Minister Mary Ng also said Canada was ready to launch a dispute settlement process under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade deal.


Canada fears the tax credit for American manufacturers will undermine its own efforts to produce electric vehicles in Ontario - the country's industrial heartland - and also undermine the integrated North American auto industry.

"We are writing to register our objection in the strongest terms," said the letter, which emphasized that the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not want a confrontation.

If the matter was not resolved "Canada will have no choice but to forcefully respond by ... applying tariffs on American exports in a manner that will impact American workers in the auto sector and several other sectors of the U.S. economy," the two ministers continued.

In previous trade disputes between the two close neighbors and trading partners, both sides have slapped sanctions against a wide range of goods.

Ottawa is preparing to publish a list of U.S. products that may face Canadian tariffs, Freeland and Ng said, adding that Canada might also suspend dairy quotas for U.S. producers it agreed to under the USMCA, the letter said.

Months of lobbying has done little to dissuade U.S. legislators, who are considering a new $12,500 tax credit that would include $4,500 for union-made U.S. electric vehicles.

In the letter, Freeland and Ng said the proposal was equivalent to a 34% tariff on Canadian-assembled electric vehicles and represented a significant threat.

The White House says President Joe Biden considers the tax credits a personal priority and that the administration does not view them as a violation of the USMCA. Officials have said they hope to work to resolve the dispute with both Canada and Mexico, which also opposes the credit proposal.

As recently as last Friday, Ng had said Canada still had some room for maneuvering before the U.S. Senate voted.

Asked why Canada had hardened its tone, Ng spokeswoman Alice Hansen said: "We have always made clear we will stand up for the Canadian auto industry. This is the next step."

(Reporting by David Ljunggren in OttawaEditing by Matthew Lewis)

Reinventing the Battery Can Save Us From Climate Disaster


Thor Benson
Fri, December 10, 2021

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty

Batteries make our world run. They’re in your remote control, your phone, your laptop, and your car. If we’re going to win the fight against climate change, we’ll need them to power our homes, too.

Solar panels don’t produce much power when it’s cloudy, and they don't produce any power at night. Wind turbines don’t produce energy when the wind isn’t blowing. We have other sources of renewable energy that don’t have such limitations, such as hydroelectric power, but solar and wind will undoubtedly dominate the future of energy. We’ll need to deal with what is often called the “intermittency” problem to end our reliance on fossil fuels.

Batteries can be used to store energy in the long run and keep things powered when the sunlight goes out and wind stops blowing. As things stand, however, most grid-scale battery installations rely on lithium-ion batteries that can keep your home powered for hours but not for several days on end. The average American home requires roughly 30 kilowatt-hours of energy per day. If there’s a week of overcast weather or with hardly a breeze, there’s a good chance you and your neighbors simply lose power for extended period of time.

Jay Whitacre, a materials science professor at Carnegie Mellon, told The Daily Beast lithium-ion batteries have improved significantly in recent years. Most grid-scale lithium-ion batteries that are being used today hold a charge that could power a local grid for about four hours or so, but the storage capacity depends on its size. Lithium-ion is not typically used for long duration storage simply because of the high costs involved, said Whitacre.

And anyone who's seen the charge capacity of their smartphone or laptop shrink over time knows that lithium-ion batteries can be fickle and difficult to work with for the long-term.

The Electric Car Battery of the Future Could Be Made From Trees

Multiple start-ups are also racing to produce affordable alternatives to lithium-ion batteries that could meet grid-scale demands and provide us with long duration energy storage.

One popular example is the flow battery, which stores energy in tanks of liquid electrolytes. You can increase its storage capacity by simply increasing its size. This might be a bit impractical in high-density communities, but stationing a large battery next to large renewable energy installations like, say, a solar farm should be fairly easy.

“The larger your tanks are in a flow battery—the more material that you have—the longer you can charge and discharge,” Whitacre said.

A huge appeal to these type of batteries is that they could be made of way cheaper materials than lithium, such as iron. Oregon-based company ESS recently installed iron flow batteries at a solar power installation in California earlier this year.

Another company called Form Energy, co-founded by the creator of Tesla Motor's Powerwall battery, is working on a spinoff technology called an iron-air battery. It discharges electricity by converting iron to rust; and it converts the rust back to iron to charge back up again. Form believes its battery, about the size of a washing machine, will be able to deliver 100 to 150 hours worth of electricity to a local grid.

There’s been a lot of excitement surrounding Form due to its innovative battery technology and storage promises. The company raised $240 million in new funding earlier this year and is backed by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, which Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos have invested in. Form is bullish that it can get its batteries out at more affordable prices than current technologies—claiming they could come out to less than a tenth of the cost of lithium-ion batteries due to the cheaper materials and other factors. The company’s first project is set to go online at a wind power facility in Minnesota in 2023.

Donald Sadoway, a professor of materials chemistry at MIT, and his colleague David Bradwell invented what’s called the Ambri Liquid Metal Battery. It stores energy using molten metals and a molten salt electrolyte. Ambri is working on deploying its batteries as part of a 250-megawatt system at a data center in Nevada. Ambri is backed by Bill Gates, and it received $144 million in funding in August to commercialize its batteries.

Sadoway told The Daily Beast he believes Ambri's battery could hold a charge of up to 24 hours worth of power. He also claimed the battery wouldn’t lose so much capacity over time like lithium-ion batteries do in devices like smartphones and laptops.

Biden Admin Reveals Big Plans for Solar Energy

“We’ve got plenty of data that demonstrates that the liquid-metal battery doesn’t fade the way lithium-ion does,” Sadoway said.

Hydrogen fuel cells—which aren’t electric batteries themselves but can work in lieu of them without the need to recharge—are another potential solution to the intermittency problem. These types of fuel cells, according to Sadoway, are currently too inefficient and costly. But the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion Build Back Better bill passed by the House and currently being debated by the Senate includes a hydrogen production tax credit that could make producing hydrogen for these fuel cells very affordable, which may make them a more viable solution.

“If that passes, some people will be able to essentially make hydrogen for free because the electrolysis is pretty inexpensive,” Whitacre said. If fuel cells can find backing through renewable sources of energy, “we’re going to see a different kind of storage,” he said.

The number of new innovations in the energy storage space might seem overwhelming, but that’s kind of the point—the industry doesn’t need to pick just one to make a clean energy grid work, and a combination might actually be the way to go. There’s “no panacea,” Sadoway said. Different storage options will become more or less popular as they’re shown to be more or less effective and practical. Some will make sense in cities while others will be more appropriate for rural communities. Newer battery chemistries that haven’t even been tested yet are also surely around the corner.

“I think there’s room for innovation,” Sadoway said. “No question.”

Whitacre said the real innovations that need to happen are ones that reduce the cost and increase the efficiency of energy storage systems. The good news is these kinds of innovations aren’t far off in the distance. Our energy storage technology is improving every year. Soon enough you may be powering the device of whatever you’re reading this on with a battery that was charged by the sun or the wind.

Conservationists rush to contain toxic cane toad invasion



Cheryl Santa Maria
Thu, December 9, 2021

Conservationists in Taiwan hope to minimize the negative ecological impact of a cane toad invasion.

Over the weekend, a team of volunteers assembled to remove the invasive and toxic toads from the environment, collecting up to 300 during their outing, NBC News reports.

The cane toad (Rhinella marina) is originally from the Americas, with a range that spans from Peru to Texas.

While native to about 14 countries, they're now established in around 40 nations. Cane toads aren't in Canada yet, but conservationists say it could happen at some point, given their stronghold in parts of the U.S.

Sometimes, like in Australia and Florida, the toads were introduced intentionally, as a form of pest control. But with no natural predators, a voracious appetite, and a break-neck reproductive cycle, cane toad populations can quickly explode.

toads
GIF by Cheryl Santa Maria.Cane toads: Josch13/Pixabay, snarsy/Pixabay, edelmar/Getty Images. Background: Pixabay/Pexels.

To date, there is no known way to curb their growth once they've become established. Taking cues from studies that have linked their presence to ecological decline, the Global Invasive Species Database lists cane toads as one of the worst invasive species in the world.

THE CANE TOAD PROBLEM

When threatened, cane toads release a toxin called bufotoxin, which is lethal to most predators. It's a competitive advantage that helps them flourish in non-native lands.

Females can produce between 8,000 and 35,000 eggs at a time, up to two times a year. Tadpoles are toxic as well, and once they reach adulthood, a cane toad can live up to 25 years.

They'll eat anything - from rodents, to birds, to insects that play a vital role in maintaining a local environment

REMOVING TOADS IN TAIWAN

Experts in Taiwan became aware of the recent invasion after seeing photos posted online.

"A speedy and massive search operation is crucial when cane toads are first discovered," Lin Chun-fu, an amphibian scientist at Taiwan's Endemic Species Research Institute, told the French news agency AFP.

"They have no natural enemies here in Taiwan."

It's believed the toads found their way into the environment due to a black market pet trade. They are sometimes used in traditional medicine and are popular pets in Taiwan, AFP reports.

The Taiwanese government banned the import of the toads in 2016, but illegal trading continues.

It's not clear how long the toads have been spreading in the wild in Taiwan, but experts suspect their foray began a few months ago, LiveScience reports. Yang told AFP he hopes the volunteers have contained the invasion, but they won't know for sure until spring mating season.

Thumbnail by Cheryl Santa Maria. Cane toads: Josch13/Pixabay, snarsy/Pixabay. Background: Davidzydd/Pixabay.

20 endangered sea turtles flown to Florida to avoid freezing


In this photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, blood is drawn for analysis from a critically endangered Kemps ridley sea turtle Friday, Dec. 10, 2021, at the Florida Keys-based Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Fla. The reptile was one of 20 that were flown to the hospital after being rescued from Cape Cod Bay in a "cold-stunned" condition earlier this month. The turtles are to convalesce at the hospital in the subtropical Keys with the goal of releasing them in the future. 

(Bob Care/Florida Keys News Bureau via AP)

MARATHON, Fla. (AP) — Twenty critically endangered juvenile Kemp’s ridley sea turtles were flown from New England to the subtropical Florida Keys to convalesce at the Marathon Turtle Hospital after being rescued from Cape Cod Bay’s frigid coastal waters.

Each of the turtles suffers from “cold stunning,” a hypothermic reaction that occurs when sea turtles are exposed to cold water for a prolonged time, according to hospital manager Bette Zirkelbach. They arrived Friday by private plane.

“These sea turtles are at the Turtle Hospital in the Florida Keys to warm up just like the tourists that come to the Keys to warm up,” said Zirkelbach. “The Kemps ridley is the most critically endangered sea turtle in the world, so it’s important to help these little ones survive.”

The flight transport to Florida Keys Marathon International Airport was conducted in collaboration with Turtles Fly Too, a nonprofit group that engages general aviation pilots who donate their aircraft, fuel and time to provide emergency transportation for rescued sea turtles.

In this photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, staff from the Florida Keys-based Turtle Hospital, including, from left, Taylor Marsalis, Richie Moretti and Bette Zirkelbach, examine three of a group of 20 critically endangered Kemps ridley sea turtles that was flown to Marathon, Fla., Friday, Dec. 10, 2021, after being rescued from Cape Cod Bay in a "cold-stunned" condition earlier this month. The juvenile reptiles were transported to the warmer climate of the Florida Keys courtesy of "Turtles Fly Too," a nonprofit group of general aviation pilots who donate their aircraft, fuel and time to provide emergency transport for rescued sea turtles. (Bob Care/Florida Keys News Bureau via AP)

Upon the turtles’ arrival at the hospital, staff assigned a dedicated number to each reptile, photographed them and documented their weight and swimming ability in a small pool to gauge their in-water respiration and swim strength.


In this photo provided by the Florida Keys News Bureau, staff from the Florida Keys-based Turtle Hospital examine many of a group of 20 critically endangered Kemps ridley sea turtles that was flown to Marathon, Fla., Friday, Dec. 10, 2021, after being rescued from Cape Cod Bay in a "cold-stunned" condition earlier this month. The juvenile reptiles were transported to the warmer climate of the Florida Keys courtesy of "Turtles Fly Too," a nonprofit group of general aviation pilots who donate their aircraft, fuel and time to provide emergency transport for rescued sea turtles. (Bob Care/Florida Keys News Bureau via AP)

Treatment over the next few months at the Turtle Hospital is expected to include broad-spectrum antibiotics, fluids, vitamins, a diet of mixed seafood and rehabilitation in water tanks at about 75 degrees Fahrenheit (24 degrees Celsius).

According to Zirkelbach, once the sea turtles are healthy enough, they will likely be released off the central Florida east coast near Cape Canaveral.

Online The Turtle Hospital: https://www.turtlehospital.org/

Cheetah cubs threatened by pet trade, 

global warming in Somaliland

Cheetah cubs rescued from poachers in Somaliland

Fri, December 10, 2021
By Katharine Houreld

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The two starving cheetah cubs squeak and tug at their string leashes in the white dust of Somaliland as a government vet pushes needles through the fluffy fur to drip-feed them liquid and nutrients.

Just around five months old, the baby cheetahs are dehydrated, stunted and so lacking in the calcium they would normally get from their mother's milk that they have problems walking. But at least they are alive.

The Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) and the government of Somaliland - which broke away from Somalia in 1991 - have been rescuing trafficked cheetah cubs in the region for the past four years.

Only around 6,700 adult cheetahs are left in the wild worldwide, and the population is still declining, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Kidnapped cubs are often destined for the exotic pet trade in the Middle East but few people realise the suffering that entails. Four or five cheetah cubs die for each one that reaches the market, Dr. Laurie Marker, the head of CCF, said. Mothers are often killed.

Their first year, CCF received around 40 cubs in Somaliland, she added. Many didn't survive long. But by setting up safehouses and providing veterinary care, they've been able to cut deaths to almost zero, she said. Right now the organisation houses 67 cheetahs.

Droughts exacerbated by global warming are increasing pressure on the cheetahs, she said, as less grazing supports fewer herds of wild prey and farm animals. Farmers who once shrugged it off when a cheetah attacked one of their animals are now less able to shoulder losses, she said.

"If a predator eats their livestock, they are much more angry," she said. "They will go and track the mother down, where the cubs would be, and try to get money from the cubs to support the losses that they had."

Somaliland is planning to open a national park where the cheetahs will be able to roam, Environmental Minister Shukri Ismail Haji, said.

But although the tiny breakaway region lies in the band most affected by climate change, it cannot access most environmental funding because hardly any world bodies recognise it as a separate country from Somalia, the minister said.

"We are an unrecognized government. The international funding we can get is very little as a result."

(Editing by Andrew Heavens)

British plans to ban big-game hunting trophies


The last surviving male northern white rhino on the planet is seen at Ol Pejeta Conservancy near Nanyuki in Sudan on May 3, 2017. British officials announced Friday that rhinos would be included in a big-game trophy hunting ban. 

File Photo by Dai Kurokawa/EPA-EFE

Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Britain's environment ministry announced it plans to ban hunting trophies connected to thousands of species, including lions, rhinos, elephants and polar bears.

The ministry said Friday the ban will apply to imports of hunting trophies from endangered and threatened animals to Britain. It said the ban supports long-term species conservation and protects some of the world's most endangered and threatened animals.

It said a 60% decline in global wildlife over the past half-century was the reason for a change in British rules over wildlife trophies by big-game hunters.

"More animal species are now threatened with extinction than ever before in human history and we are appalled at the thought of hunters bringing back trophies and placing more pressure on some of our most iconic and endangered animals," Environment Secretary George Eustice said.

The ministry said the ban on imports of hunting trophies, one of the toughest in the world, will cover nearly 7,000 species. Officials said they received 44,000 responses on a 2019 ban that showed wide support from the public and conservation groups.

"The government's bill looks set to be the strongest ban in the world," Eduardo Gonçalves, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, said in a statement from the ministry. "This is the leadership that we have been calling for to save endangered species and help bring this terrible trade to an end. Wildlife needs this ban."

Born Free's Head of Policy Mark Jones said considering the challenges of wild animals around the world, the policy change was a positive first step.

"The proposed ban will send a clear signal that [Britain] does not condone the brutal killing of threatened wild animals for this so-called 'sport' by [British] citizens. It is two years since the British public overwhelmingly called for an end to hunting trophy imports, so we urge the government to introduce and implement this legislation as quickly as possible."

 

This wondrous true adventure from the best-selling novel about a woman who raised a lioness and eventually set her free is beautifully photographed on the vast, golden savannas of central Africa. BORN FREE is a story of courage and love, nature and human nature, and a relationship unlike any other ever filmed. When game warden George Adamson (Bill Travers) is forced to kill a menacing lion and lioness, he and his wife Joy (Virginia McKenna) adopt their three cubs. Two are sent off to zoos, but the third is kept - a female they name Elsa - to which they have become particularly attached. When Elsa becomes a full-grown lioness, the Adamsons realize that she must be set free and taught to survive on her own. A year later the Adamsons return to the savanna and are surprised by a very special welcome from their old friend. © 1965, renewed 1993 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.

 

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