Fauci says Fox News and RFK Jr. attacks 'accelerated' death threats
Dylan Stableford and Kate Murphy
December 21, 2021

Dr. Anthony Fauci says he and his family continue to receive death threats amid inflammatory statements made by critics including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent anti-vaxxer whose new book is filled with wild claims attacking the nation’s top infectious disease expert.

“It’s very unfortunate because I don’t think he is inherently malicious,” Fauci said of Kennedy in a wide-ranging interview with Yahoo News on Tuesday. “I just think he’s a very disturbed individual.”

The former environmental lawyer’s book, “The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health,” was published last month.

“It’s a shame because he comes from such an extraordinarily distinguished family, many members of whom I know personally,” Fauci continued. “I was very close to Sen. Ted Kennedy, who was such an extraordinary person and a real warrior for public health and to have RFK Jr. just spouting things that make absolutely no sense ... I’m so sorry that he’s doing that.”

Fauci added: “Not just because he’s attacking me — that seems to be the rage among some people — but because ultimately it is going to hurt people.”

RFK Jr. responded to Fauci's comments in a statement to Yahoo News late Tuesday, blaming Fauci for “catastrophic mismanagement” of the pandemic and accusing him of “adopting a militarized response to a public health crisis.” He added: “Dr. Fauci’s belief that, as a government official, he should be immune from criticism is contrary to our nation’s democratic traditions.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci at a press briefing at the White House earlier this month. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Fauci's interview with Yahoo News came a day after Fox News host Jesse Watters encouraged attendees at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest conference to “ambush” Fauci with questions about the National Institutes of Health’s alleged funding of “gain-of-function” research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.

“Now you go in for the kill shot,” Watters said. “The kill shot? With an ambush? Deadly. Because he doesn’t see it coming.”

Fauci told Yahoo News that such statements are often followed by death threats.

“It even gets accelerated when you have the inflammatory statements that are made, [by] people like RFK Jr. and some of the Fox media personalities,” Fauci said, adding that he finds it “strange that they go unchecked with no consequences for people to say that.”

“And when they do that publicly, that’s when I get more death threats and people harass me, my wife and my children,” he added.

“The only thing I’ve ever said or done is to encourage people to get vaccinated, to wear a mask and to do things that would be good for their health, the health of their family and the health of the community,” he said. “So to get villainized because of that is a sad testimony on our society.”

Fauci was also asked whether he believes former President Donald Trump has the power to change minds among his supporters who refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

“I would think so, because of so many followers that he has — people who hang on his every word,” Fauci said.

In a live interview with Bill O’Reilly on Sunday, Trump revealed that he received a COVID-19 booster shot after previously saying he was not going to get the additional dose — and was booed by a smattering of those in attendance.

“One of the things that surprised me is that when he publicly made that statement, he was actually booed by his followers,” Fauci said. “Which tells me that the depth of the divisiveness in society, where people are so intent on not doing something almost for ideological reasons, without dropping back and taking a look at the big picture — that it’s for one’s own good to protect one’s self, to protect one’s family, but also for your communal responsibility to not allow this virus to run rampant through society.

“So I was pleased that the former president said publicly that he was vaccinated and boosted,” Fauci added. “I was dismayed that even his own followers booed him. It was rather disturbing to see that.”

Biden Launches Plan to Fight Meatpacker Giants on Inflation

Mike Dorning
Mon, January 3, 2022

Biden Launches Plan to Fight Meatpacker Giants on Inflation

(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden promised to “fight for fairer prices” for farmers and consumers Monday as he announced plans to combat the market power of the giant conglomerates that dominate meat and poultry processing.

“Capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism, it’s exploitation,” 

Biden said. “That’s what we’re seeing in meat and poultry.”

Biden joined Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Attorney General Merrick Garland to meet virtually with ranchers and farmers to hear complaints about consolidation in the industry, ratcheting up a White House campaign blaming anti-competitive practices in the industry for contributing to surging food inflation.

Biden launched a portal that will allow producers to report unfair trade practices by meatpackers. He also highlighted initiatives the administration is taking to counter meatpackers’ economic power, including $1 billion in federal aid to assist expansion of independent processors and new competition regulations under consideration.

The announcement focuses fresh attention on Biden’s fight with the meat-processing industry and helps cast him as a president willing to take on powerful business interests over consumer prices. Many Democrats are concerned that months of negotiations over Biden’s economic plan have distanced him too much from the most pressing kitchen-table problems facing Americans.

Inflation has swiftly moved to the top of public concerns as the annual rise in consumer prices hit its highest level in almost 40 years. Meat prices, which in November were up 16% from a year earlier, have been the biggest contributor to grocery inflation. Meatpacking industry representatives blame soaring prices on labor shortages, rising fuel prices and supply-chain constraints.

Shares for meat companies were mixed. Tyson Foods Inc., the biggest U.S. meat company by sales, climbed 0.7%, reversing earlier losses. JBS SA, the world’s biggest meat supplier, fell 4%.

Scott Blubaugh, president of the Oklahoma Farmers Union, praised the initiative. “Not since Teddy Roosevelt have we had a president that’s willing to take on this big issue,” he said.

But others were skeptical it would do enough. “The Administration has not announced that it will take decisive enforcement action to protect America’s cattle producers from the harms they’ve been experiencing for the past seven years, and we remain disappointed with that omission,” Bill Bullard, chief executive officer of R-CALF USA, a group that represents independent cattle producers.

Biden didn’t answer a question on whether he would seek to break up large meat-processing companies. His efforts to inject more competition in the industry run counter to decades of consolidation since the late 1970s as the industry shifted to larger plants to cut costs and courts adopted a more permissive interpretation of antitrust law.

Companies including JBS have said that a shortage of workers is affecting operations in every developed nation, limiting production increases and raising costs.

“Labor remains the biggest challenge,” Sarah Little, a spokeswoman for the North American Meat Institute, a trade group, said in a statement. “Our members of all sizes cannot operate at capacity because they struggle to employ a long-term stable workforce. New capacity and expanded capacity created by the government will have the same problem.”

Mike Brown, president of the National Chicken Council, a poultry trade group, said levels of concentration in the sector haven’t changed much over the past 20 years.

“It’s time for the White House to stop playing chicken with our food system and stop using the meat industry as a scapegoat for the significant challenges facing our economy,” Brown said in an emailed statement.

Biden singled out the meat and poultry processing industries for scrutiny in a July executive order on promoting competition across the economy. His top economic adviser later criticized meatpackers for “pandemic profiteering.” The U.S. Agriculture Department also announced plans in June to consider three new sets of regulations on unfair trade practices in livestock and poultry markets, with officials anticipating the proposal of new rules early this year.

The president has placed critics of corporate consolidation in key positions across his administration, including Lina Khan as chair of the Federal Trade Commission and Jonathan Kanter as assistant attorney general for antitrust.

Four large meatpacking companies control 85% of U.S. beef processing capacity, according to data released by the White House. Other meat sectors are also highly concentrated, with four companies controlling 70% of the pork market and 54% of the poultry market, according to the White House.

A fact sheet the White House distributed to reporters asserts that as a result of that concentration, most livestock producers “now have little or no choice of buyer for their product and little leverage to negotiate.” Tyson Foods Inc. reported record profits on its beef processing in quarterly earnings released in November.

In November, ranchers received 36.7 cents for every dollar consumers spent on beef at the grocery store, down from 51.5 cents in 2015, according to the Agriculture Department. Fifty years ago, their share was more than 60 cents, according to the White House.

“This is a decades-long trend that we are seeing,” said Bharat Ramamurti, Deputy Director of the National Economic Council, in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “The result, based on the economic literature, is higher prices for folks, fewer options for workers, which means that there’s downward pressure on wages. It also means that there’s less innovation and productivity.”

The aid for independent meat and poultry processors, which will come from Covid relief funds, includes $375 million for gap financing grants and $100 million for guarantees of loans made through private banks, according to the fact sheet.

Ted Schroeder, a Kansas State University agricultural economics professor who specializes in livestock markets, said it’s difficult to forecast the overall impact of Biden’s efforts, but expressed doubt the federal aid for independent processors will alter the market much.

Meatpacking is a cyclical business and processors may soon be squeezed again as droughts and higher feed grain prices drive up cattle prices, he said.

“How can smaller, higher cost, highly leveraged new plants hope to survive through such a market environment in the next few years? I am concerned many will not,” Schroeder said.

Biden to meet with farmers as he seeks to cut meat prices

President Joe Biden waves as he leaves St. Ann Roman Catholic Church after attending Mass in Wilmington, Del., Saturday, Jan. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

By JOSH BOAK

AP

President Joe Biden will meet virtually with independent farmers and ranchers to discuss initiatives to reduce food prices by increasing competition within the meat industry, part of a broader effort to show the administration is trying to combat inflation.

The White House event occurs Monday afternoon as higher-than-expected inflation has thwarted Biden’s agenda. Consumer prices in November rose 6.8% over the prior 12 months — a 39-year high. Inflation has hurt Biden’s public approval, become fodder for Republican attacks and prompted Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., to cite higher prices as a reason to sideline the Democratic president’s tax, social and economic programs.

Biden is building off a July executive order that directed the Agriculture Department to more aggressively look at possible violations of the 1921 Packers and Stockyards Act, which was designed to ensure fair competition and protect consumers. Meat prices have climbed 16% from a year ago, with beef prices up 20.9%.

The administration is targeting meat processing plants, which can shape the prices paid to farmers and charged to consumers. The White House issued a fact sheet saying that the top four companies control 85% of the beef market. In poultry, the biggest four processing firms control 54% of the market. And for pork, the figure is 70% for the four biggest firms

Biden plans to stress the plans to distribute $1 billion from the coronavirus relief package to help independent meat processors expand. He also plans to highlight funding to train workers in the industry and improve conditions, as well as issue new rules for meatpackers and labeling requirements for being designated a “Product of USA.”

The Justice Department and the Agriculture Department will launch a joint effort to make it easier to report anti-competitive actions to the government. The administration will also seek to improve the transparency of the cattle market.

The effort is part of a broader attempt to regain control of America’s economic narrative. Besides inflation, the repeated waves of coronavirus outbreak have dampened people’s opinions about the economy despite strong growth over the past year.

Biden will have an opportunity to highlight the economy’s strengths with the December jobs report being released Friday. Economists surveyed by FactSet expect that the United States added 362,000 jobs last month with the unemployment rate ticking down to 4.1%. Gains of that magnitude would indicate that the U.S. added roughly 6.5 million jobs last year, more than in any other previous year in a reflection of population growth and government spending.

Biden Unveils Plan to Boost Competition in US Meat Industry
January 03, 2022
Reuters

U.S. President Joe Biden, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland attend a video conference with farmers, ranchers and meat processors to discuss meat and poultry supply chain issues, on the White House campus, Jan. 3, 2022.

The United States will issue new rules and $1 billion in funding this year to support independent meat processors and ranchers as part of a plan to address a lack of "meaningful competition" in the meat sector, President Joe Biden said on Monday.

The initiative comes amid rising concerns that a handful of big beef, pork and poultry companies have too much control over the American meat market, allowing them to dictate wholesale and retail pricing to profit at the expense of their suppliers and customers.

"Capitalism without competition isn't capitalism. It's exploitation," Biden said. "That's what we're seeing in meat and poultry industries now."

A recent White House analysis found that the top four meatpacker companies – Cargill, Tyson Foods Inc., JBS SA and National Beef Packing Co. – control between 55% and 85% of the market in the hog, cattle and chicken sectors.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack speaks during a video conference on the White House campus in Washington, Jan. 3, 2022.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) will spend the $1 billion from the American Rescue Plan to expand the independent meat processing sector, including funds for financing grants, guaranteed loans and worker training, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who was speaking at an event with Biden.

USDA will also propose rules this year to strengthen enforcement of the Packers and Stockyards Act and to clarify the meaning of "Product of USA" meat labels, which domestic ranchers have said unfairly advantage multinational companies that raise cattle abroad and only slaughter in the United States.

Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a virtual meeting on the White House Campus in Washington, Jan. 3, 2022.

Attorney General Merrick Garland, also speaking at the event, said "too many industries have become too consolidated over time," and that the antitrust division of the Department of Justice has been chronically underfunded.

The Biden administration issued an executive order last year that advocated a whole of government approach to antitrust issues.

A central concern in agriculture has been meat prices, which have risen at a time when the White House is fighting inflation. An analysis in December by the White House economic council found a 120% jump in the gross profits of four top meatpackers since the pandemic began.

Reaction to plan

The meat industry has said the White House analysis was inaccurate and criticized the new plan.

National Chicken Council President Mike Brown called the plan "a solution in search of a problem."

North American Meat Institute spokesperson Sarah Little said staffing plants remains the biggest issue for meatpackers and that the White House plan would not address it.

"Our members of all sizes cannot operate at capacity because they struggle to employ a long-term stable workforce," she said. "New capacity and expanded capacity created by the government will have the same problem."

Eric Deeble, policy director at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, cheered the plan, calling it a "very positive step to ensure farmers and ranchers receive fair prices."

The anticipated rulemaking under the Packers and Stockyards Act "could have a significant impact," said Peter Carstensen, emeritus professor of law at University of Wisconsin-Madison and former antitrust attorney at the Department of Justice. But he noted that investment in independent processing itself would not address market concentration.

Austin Frerick, deputy director of the Thurman Arnold Project at Yale University, an antitrust research center, said the plan does not go far enough to tackle the power of the top meatpackers.

"I do not believe this (plan) will meaningfully change the concentration numbers," he said.

Teva Suffers Loss In New York's Opioid Trial

Vandana Singh
Mon, January 3, 2022

A jury in Suffolk County State Supreme Court found Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (NYSE: TEVA) contributed to New York's opioid epidemic.

Next, the court will hold another trial to determine how much Teva should pay.

"Teva Pharmaceuticals USA and others misled the American people about the true dangers of opioids, which is why, in 2019, I made a promise that our team would hold them and the other manufacturers and distributors responsible for the opioid epidemic accountable for the suffering that they have caused," said New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Related: McKesson, Cardinal Health, AmerisourceBergen Face B Opioid Trial In Washington.

Any payments by Teva will come on top of more than $1.5 billion in settlements already agreed upon in the sprawling case, James added.

The news comes more than two years after James filed suit against AbbVie Inc's (NYSE: ABBV) Allergan, Purdue Pharma, members of the Sackler Family (Purdue's owners), Johnson & Johnson's (NYSE: JNJ), Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Mallinckrodt plc (OTC: MNKKQ), Endo Health Solutions and Teva for allegedly fueling a nuisance in New York with their opioid sales strategies.

The case also targeted McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK), Cardinal Health Inc (NYSE: CAH), AmerisourceBergen Corp (NYSE: ABC), and the Rochester Drug Cooperative.

French police face disciplinary hearings amid high numbers of femicide


Mon, 3 January 2022


Six French police officers will appear in disciplinary hearings January 4 accused of “administrative failings” in the gruesome case of Chahinez Daoud, who was killed by her husband last May. Daoud was one of 113 femicides in France in 2021, a number that continues to climb despite high-profile campaigns and government measures aimed at combating the violence.

Late in the afternoon of May 4, 2021, Chahinez Daoud stumbled out of her home on Avenue Carnot in the well-heeled Merignac neighbourhood near Bordeaux in southwestern France. The 31-year-old mother of three was being pursued by her estranged husband. He shot her in the legs a number of times and she fell to the ground. He took a can of flammable liquid from a van parked in front of their house, doused her with it and set her on fire. The fire brigade arrived shortly after 6.30pm but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her 44-year-old ex-husband fled before the authorities arrived. He was arrested half an hour later, almost 5 kilometres away in the neighbouring district of Pessac. At the time of his arrest he was in possession of a 12-gauge shotgun, a pellet gun and a cartridge belt.

Their children – ages 3, 7 and 11 – lived with their mother but were not at home at the time of the gruesome attack.

At the time of Daoud’s murder her ex-husband had already been convicted by the Bordeaux criminal court, in June 2020, of committing “intentional violence” against her. He received an 18-month sentence but was released the following December, although he was forbidden from making contact with his former partner.

France remains one of the European countries with the highest number of femicides per capita. It is estimated that at least one woman is killed by her partner or former partner every three days.

Just two months before the attack, Daoud had lodged a new complaint against her ex-husband. But the police officer’s report was illegible and was never properly forwarded to court authorities, according to a state review of how the case was handled.

“It is important to know that a third of femicide victims lodge a complaint with police before being killed – yet no real action is taken to prevent the crime from happening,” Maëlle Noir, a member of the national steering committee of the French feminist collective Nous Toutes (“All of us”), told FRANCE 24. “The French government is not taking enough measures to protect victims.”

“There is a crucial lack of training when it comes to taking complaints with regard to gender-based violence. This should be mandatory for anyone dealing with vulnerable people who come to them to report an attack or fear of an attack.”

The officer who took Daoud's complaint on March 15 had himself recently been convicted of "habitual intra-family violence", the public prosecutor's office said in July, confirming a report published in the weekly Le Canard enchaîné.

"We were informed on June 24 by the Bordeaux enforcement judge that one of the officials who took the complaint from Chahinez Daoud had himself been convicted of domestic violence," the Bordeaux prosecutor's office told AFP.

The officer received a suspended eight-month prison sentence and was in the middle of disciplinary proceedings when he recorded Daoud’s complaint. He was only moved from a post dealing with the public after she was killed.

>> FRANCE 24 on femicide: Our stories on violence against women

‘Administrative failings’

Eight months to the day after Daoud’s grisly murder, six police officers will appear before two disciplinary boards – in Bordeaux and Paris – on January 4. Four officers and police commissioners, including the departmental director of public security (DDSP), will present their accounts in Paris while two police officers will be heard in Bordeaux.

The latter are suspected of "administrative failings", said Eric Marrocq, regional secretary of the Alliance police union, in comments to AFP. "A review of the case by the disciplinary committee will make it possible to address doubts about their impartiality and professionalism," he explained. The four superiors summoned to Paris include the commander of the western division and the commissioner of Mérignac.

“It is good that the police will now know there can be repercussions. But it is not enough,” Julia* from the collective Féminicides par compagnons ou ex, told FRANCE 24.

“The problem is not just with the police, it’s the whole system. The judiciary also plays a key part. If the police do their job well and arrest someone, it is up to the judge to administer the right punishment. Instead, we have recidivists being set free too quickly and returning to attack again.”
113 women in 2021

In 2019, 146 women were reported killed by a spouse or partner, a 21 percent increase from the previous year. Following protests across France, the government introduced the use of electronic bracelets to alert victims when their attackers are nearby in September 2020. That year there was a drop in killings: According to figures on domestic violence from the interior ministry, 102 women and 23 men were killed.

Daoud was the 39th of the eventual 113 women who died at the hands of a partner or ex-partner in France in 2021.

From 8am to 8pm on January 1, 2022, there were three femicides in different corners of France. The first victim was stabbed to death by her partner in western France. A second woman was killed by her husband at home in the northeast and the third victim was strangled by her ex-partner and then hidden in the boot of a car in Nice.

“The start of a new year is always a tricky time,” said Julia. “People don’t want to be alone. They seek out partners even if they are estranged – it can be a very stressful time. We always see peaks during the holidays, both winter and summer. Men are reminded that they are not going to be with their families and they can find this very difficult to deal with.”

Noir from Nous Toutes believes a sea change needs to happen in the way that French society thinks about gender-based violence.

“It must happen across media, education, the judiciary – everywhere. We need to start thinking of it as a systemic issue rather than an individual issue. In the media, for example, femicides are often described as a fait divers (sensationalist news) rather than as a systemic, patriarchal issue. Education is clearly a key part of the change that need to happen.”

The collective Féminicides par compagnons ou ex has been recording all the femicides that happen in France for the past six years – 770 deaths since 2016.

“It is a difficult but necessary task to ensure that these women do not remain invisible, that they are named whenever possible and do not just become one of the many anonymous victims in a global annual figure that does not raise much concern or indignation among politicians or even society,” the group says on its Facebook page.

“These are not ‘family dramas’ or ‘breakup dramas’ or ‘crimes of passion’. These are conjugal femicides perpetrated by frustrated men who think they have a licence to kill.”

*Name has been changed

Bangladesh: How climate-resilient farming is empowering women

Bangladesh is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate catastrophes. 

But, there are several initiatives to help local communities, particularly women, overcome the effects of climate-related problems.


Bangladesh faces frequent floods, droughts, riverbank erosion, coastal erosion and cyclones

Geeta Moni Mandal spends several hours a day in her homestead where she is cultivating a variety of vegetables this winter. Mandal, wife of a daily-wage laborer and a mother of two, started growing vegetables in her yard two years ago after her husband's income declined.

"Intense floods and waterlogging forced many farm owners to abandon agricultural production. It was hard for daily-wage laborers like my husband to find regular work," she said, adding: "I am now supporting my family and my children's education by selling vegetables."

Mandal's case is not unique in the region. Many women living in Bangladesh's coastal areas, where extreme weather events linked to climate change routinely cause misery in local communities, share similar stories.

Extremely vulnerable to climate change

Bangladesh is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate catastrophes. The country faces frequent floods, droughts, riverbank erosion, coastal erosion and cyclones that form in the Bay of Bengal.

Lessons from Bangladesh: Living with floods

The southern coastal part of the country, where around 30 million people live, is often battered by climate-related natural disasters, which displace hundreds of thousands of people and inundate vast tracts of land.

Daily-wage workers frequently bear the brunt of these disasters, with many of them losing their income sources.

Intense and frequent flooding, heavy rainfall, tidal surges and water salinity have also hurt crop production for the past few years, affecting farm workers, who account for around 60% of the nation's labor force and 70% of the rural poor.
Women hit hard by adverse climate events

Women in these regions mostly rely on small-scale agriculture, cattle, poultry rearing, as well as handicrafts for their livelihood.

With climate-related problems affecting agriculture, women from poor households have been particularly hard hit.

Mohammad Abdur Rahman, a climate researcher, told DW that traditional farming is one of the important sources of income for women in the region. But adverse climate events such as waterlogging and salinity are preventing them from growing vegetables using traditional farming methods, he added.

Climate stress and the resulting decline in incomes have also led to increased migration of men from villages to cities in search of jobs, often leaving women behind.

CLIMATE CHANGE: BANGLADESHI FARMERS TURN TO HYDROPONICS TO STAY AFLOAT

Paradise in peril

Where the Ganges and Bramhaputra rivers converge at the Bay of Bengal, they form a vast fertile delta. Sediment brought down from the Himalayas means this has long been a region of agricultural plenty. But as climate change pushes up the sea level and storms become more frequent and more severe, its inhabitants and way of life are among the most threatened on the planet.

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The climate challenges compound the other socio-economic challenges women face in the region.

The patriarchal social norms here mean that female mobility and participation in decision-making processes are heavily restricted. They have limited access to and ownership of land and other productive assets.

Furthermore, their access to market and capital is constrained, while many of them face problems like domestic violence and early marriage.
Building up environmental resilience

Many local and international organizations have been making efforts to help the local communities, particularly women, overcome the effects of climate-related problems.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP), for instance, joined forces with the Bangladeshi government and has been helping people in the districts of Satkhira and Khulna, particularly women and girls, to cope with climate change adaptation and problems like salinity.

Swiss NGO Helvetas has also been active in the region, helping the community with sustainable farming methods.

It includes building suitable water management systems that are necessary to ensure rainwater flows to the fields and usage of climate-resilient seeds and organic fertilizers, among other things.

At the same time, support is provided to link the farmers to the market, which ensures that their produce reaches consumers.

The NGO says that the assistance has helped raise the incomes of women.

Ashish Barua, a climate change and disaster risk reduction expert at Helvetas, told DW that his organization's project in the country provided support to at least 1,800 women.

"Considering the other socio-economic factors, we can say the climate-resilient livelihood approaches have helped the women improve their situation," he said.

Key to women's financial empowerment

Shymali Rani, a resident of Samaddarkhali village in Bangladesh's southern Bagerhat district, grows vegetables on a plot of land near her house.

Shyamali learned how to carry out vertical farming during a training arranged by a local NGO.

Through vertical farming, food crops can be cultivated easily in urban areas by planting in vertically stacked layers to save space and use minimal energy and water for irrigation.

The method has helped her not only to combat inundation but also ensure the best use of a small piece of land, she said.

"With the help of my husband, who is a daily-wage laborer, I grow a variety of vegetables in the garden and earn 5,000 to 7,000 taka (€50 to €70, $58.55 to $82) per month," she told DW.

Climate researcher Abdur Rahman said that climate-resilient livelihood approaches turned out to be successful not only in Bagerhat and Khulna districts, but also in other coastal areas of the country.

Such methods gave low-income women access to resources and empowered them financially, he added.

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru

Coronavirus pandemic: Could Omicron help reach herd immunity?


Issued on: 03/01/2022 


#France expects to see even higher daily counts of new #Covid-19 infections as the #Omicron variant continues its rapid spread around the world, French health minister Olivier Veran said on Monday. 

"I said that maybe - maybe - this is the last wave, meaning that considering the number of infections in our country and around the world, it's probable that we will have developed a form of immunity, either through vaccination or through getting infected, or both," he said.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

 "A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought."
US, France, Russia, China and Britain pledge to halt spread of nuclear weapons

Five global nuclear powers pledged Monday to prevent atomic weapons spreading and to avoid nuclear conflict, in a rare joint statement setting aside rising West-East tensions to reaffirm a goal of a nuke-free world.

© AFP (Archives)

"We believe strongly that the further spread of such weapons must be prevented," said permanent UN Security Council members China, France, Russia, the UK and United States, adding: "A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought."

The statement was issued after the latest review of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) -- which first came into force in 1970 -- was postponed from its scheduled date of January 4 to later in the year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Putting aside current differences that have caused major tensions between both China and Russia and their Western partners, the five world powers said they saw "the avoidance of war between nuclear-weapon states and the reduction of strategic risks as our foremost responsibilities."

"As nuclear use would have far-reaching consequences, we also affirm that nuclear weapons -- for as long as they continue to exist -- should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression, and prevent war," they said according to the English text released by the White House.

The powers added: "We each intend to maintain and further strengthen our national measures to prevent unauthorised or unintended use of nuclear weapons."

The statement also contained a pledge to abide by a key article in the NPT under which states committed to full nuclear disarmament in the future.

"We remain committed to our NPT obligations, including our Article 6 obligation" on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict control.

According to the UN, a total of 191 states have joined the treaty. The provisions of the treaty call for a review of its operation every five years.

'Reduce tensions'

The statement comes as tensions between Russia and the United States have reached heights rarely seen since the Cold War over a troop build-up by Moscow close to the Ukrainian border.

That has raised fears that the Kremlin, worried by the possibility of further eastward expansion of NATO, is planning a new attack on its pro-Western neighbour. Crunch talks between Russia and the US on European security are expected in Geneva on January 10.

The rise of China meanwhile under President Xi Jinping has also raised concerns that tensions with Washington could lead to conflict, notably over the island of Taiwan.

Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary.

Russia welcomed the declaration by the atomic powers and expressed hope it would reduce global tensions.

"We hope that, in the current difficult conditions of international security, the approval of such a political statement will help reduce the level of international tensions," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the RIA Novosti news agency that Moscow still considered a summit between the world's nuclear powers to be "necessary".

China vice foreign minister Ma Zhaoxu was quoted by the official Xinhua news agency as saying the pledge "will help increase mutual trust and replace competition among major powers with coordination and cooperation."

The statement also came as the world powers seek to reach agreement with Iran on reviving the 2015 deal over its controversial nuclear drive, which was rendered moribund by the US walking out of the accord in 2018.

Washington, which has never ruled out military action against Iran, has repeatedly warned time is running out to agree a deal.

The NPT recognises China, France, Russia, the UK and United States as nuclear weapons powers.

India and Pakistan however have also developed nuclear weapons while Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear arms but has never officially acknowledged this.

These three states are not signatories of the NPT. North Korea, which has also developed nuclear weapons, pulled out of the NPT in 2003.

(AFP)

Five world powers issue pledge to prevent nuclear war

China, France, Russia, the UK and the US have agreed that a nuclear war "cannot be won and must never be fought."



The five permanent members of the UN Security Council have issued a pledge to prevent the spread of nuclear arms and have stated, nuclear war cannot happen

Five of the world's nuclear powers on Monday pledged to prevent the proliferation of nuclear arms and have also said that nuclear war is not an option.

In a rare statement issued jointly, China, France, Russia, the UK and the US said: "We believe strongly that the further spread of such weapons must be prevented."

The statement went on to say: "A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought."

There was also affirmation that "nuclear weapons — for as long as they continue to exist — should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression, and prevent war."

What the P5 nations say they hope to achieve

The permanent five members of the United Nations Security Council (P5) agreed "to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control."

The joint pledge was issued ahead of what was to be the latest review of the Treaty of the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

The tenth review session which was scheduled to take place at UN headquarters in New York this month, was postponed to later this year.

China's Xinhau media agency quoted Foreign Minister Ma Zhauxu as saying that the joint agreement "will help increase mutual trust and replace competition among major powers with coordination and cooperation."

Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement: "We hope that in the current difficult conditions of international security, the approval of such a political statement will help reduce the level of international tensions."

Understanding the NPT

The NPT is an international agreement designed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology while seeking to achieve complete nuclear disarmament. It supports the right to harness nuclear power for peaceful purposes.

The treaty came into in force 1970 after being opened for signature in 1968. In total 191 states have signed the treaty including the five recognized nuclear weapon states.

According to the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, more countries have ratified the NPT than any other arms limitation and disarmament agreement, which is regarded as testament to its significance.

South Africa remains the only country known to have developed nuclear weapons and then to have dismantled its nuclear arsenal completely.

North Korea is the only country to withdraw from the treaty.

Geopolitical tensions among the P5 nations

The statement comes amid a heightened atmosphere of tension among global powers. The military buildup on Russia's border with Ukraine and Kyiv's concern of an invasion has had Washington warning Moscow of sanctions. The US said it would "respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine."

Relations between Beijing and Washington are also strained over the status of Taiwan and increased military activity in the Pacific.

In December both the US and the EU accused Beijing of undermining peace and security in the region.

China considers Taiwan to be its territory and has warned it will take the island by force if necessary.

China hails UN Security Council permanent members' joint nuclear statement
 04-Jan-2022
CGTN
S

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu on Monday hailed a joint statement issued by the leaders of the five nuclear-weapon states – China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States – on preventing nuclear war and avoiding arms races.

The five countries reaffirmed in the statement that none of their nuclear weapons are targeted at each other or any other state and that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.

In an interview, Ma noted that it was the first time that the leaders of the five countries issued a statement on nuclear weapons, and that showed their political will to prevent nuclear war and also sent a shared voice of maintaining global strategic stability and reducing the risk of nuclear conflict.

The statement also helps the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)enhance mutual trust and replace great-power competition with coordinated cooperation, he said.

China, he added, had played an important role in facilitating the countries to reach a positive and solid statement.

The five countries are permanent members of the UNSC, known as P5, as well as legally recognized nuclear-weapon states under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Ma said they bear a common responsibility to prevent nuclear war and safeguard world peace.

"The five countries should take the joint statement as a new starting point to enhance mutual trust, strengthen coordination, and play a positive role in building a world with lasting peace and common security," he said.

China has always maintained a nuclear strategy that is defensive, pursued a policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons, and maintained its nuclear force at the minimum level required for safeguarding national security, Ma said, adding, "This in itself is an important contribution to global strategic stability."



Fu Cong, director-general of the arms control department of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, also welcomed the statement, calling it "very pertinent" and "very timely."

Fu told CGTN in an interview that the P5 countries do not issue joint statements very often – the last time was in 2000 – which showed the significance of the new statement.

He believes that the document will help maintain global strategic stability and reduce the danger of nuclear war.

China plays a very active role and even a leading role in the efforts to reach the agreement, according to Fu.

China has long advocated for the principle of "a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought," he said, adding that this principle is widely welcomed by non-nuclear-weapon states.

Preventing nuclear war

The joint statement noted that the five countries consider the avoidance of war between nuclear-weapon states and the reduction of strategic risks as their foremost responsibilities.

Stressing "a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought," the five countries affirmed that nuclear weapons – for as long as they continue to exist – should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression and prevent war.

"We reiterate the validity of our previous statements on de-targeting, reaffirming that none of our nuclear weapons are targeted at each other or at any other State," the joint statement reads.

The signatories also underlined their desire to work with all other nations to create a security environment more conducive to progress on disarmament with the ultimate goal of a world without nuclear weapons with undiminished security for all.

"We intend to continue seeking bilateral and multilateral diplomatic approaches to avoid military confrontations, strengthen stability and predictability, increase mutual understanding and confidence, and prevent an arms race," they added.

South Africa: Parliament fire flares up again

A man is set to appear before court over the fire that ripped through South Africa's Parliament complex in Cape Town. The oldest section of parliament was still burning over a day later, though the blaze was contained.

Firefighters were battling to contain a new fire at the South African Parliament on Monday. Earlier in the morning, the fire had seemed to be under control.

"The fire and rescue service confirms that the fire at parliament has flared up. The void beneath the roof sheeting of the National Assembly is on fire," a spokesman for the city's fire services said on Monday afternoon.

The blaze caused extensive damage and knocked down the roof of the old assembly building, authorities said.

"The fire was brought under control during the night," spokesman Jermaine Carelse had told reporters on Monday morning, adding that the fire was still burning in the oldest wing of the complex, which was built in 1884.

He warned that the current National Assembly chamber, located in one of the newer buildings, "won't be used for months."

City of Cape Town safety and security official J.P. Smith said that the main chamber of the National Assembly was "completely gutted." 

"The entire Parliament complex is severely damaged, waterlogged and smoke damaged," Smith said.

Police launch criminal case

A man was detained in connection with the initial blaze and the authorities have opened a criminal investigation, according to local media. However, the authorities did not immediately confirm that the blaze was caused by arson. The man was due to appear before court on Tuesday.

"It is alleged that he gained entrance through the window in one of the offices," spokesperson Nomthandazo Mbambo told eNCA television. He added that authorities were looking into how the suspect had managed to evade security.

A union representative also claimed security guards were not on duty when the fire started early on Sunday, because of cost cutting directives.

Sprinkler system failed

The Parliament complex houses many unique historical artifacts, including rare books and the original copy of the former Afrikaans national anthem. It is also the home of the 120-meter (roughly 390-foot) Keiskamma tapestry, which shows the history of South Africa from the earliest indigenous peoples to the end of the Apartheid era in 1994. Cape Town security commissioner Jean-Pierre Smith said "nothing" was left of the section where the tapestry was located.

He also told news channel eNCA that the electricity and ventilation systems failed to shut off during the fire. Separately, President Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters that the sprinkler system apparently failed.

It was not immediately clear if the issues were the result of poor maintenance or deliberate tampering.

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis offered city venues for lawmakers to continue their work, describing the fire as a "national tragedy."

dj/msh (AFP, dpa

FIRST FAMILY OF GRIFTERS 
Donald Trump: Former US president receives subpoena

Trump's two eldest children Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka have also been summoned to testify in an investigation into the family's business practices.



The disclosure was made public via a court filing

New York's attorney general issued subpoenas to former US President Donald Trump and his two eldest children on Monday.

Attorney General Letitia James' office said in the filing that it is seeking testimony and documents from Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump "in connection with an investigation into the valuation of properties owned or controlled'' by the former president and his company, the Trump Organization.

The subpoenas come amid an ongoing criminal investigation into the organization and its executives and whether they manipulated the value of some of its assets.

The investigation into Trump's business affairs

James has spent more than two years looking into whether the Trump Organization deceived banks or tax officials regarding the value of the group's assets, increasing them to gain favorable loan terms or diminishing them to enjoy tax benefits.

The attorney general's efforts to get testimony from Trump was reported in December, but the court filing Monday was the first public acknowledgement that investigators were also seeking information from his two eldest children.

The family are expected to try and quash the subpoenas, sparking a probable legal battle similar to the one that occurred last year after James' office subpoenaed another Trump son.

Trump instigated legal proceedings against James on December 20, seeking to end the investigation after she called for him to sit for a deposition on January 7.

New York attorney general subpoenas Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr. in fraud inquiry


Issued on: 03/01/2022 -

New York Attorney General Letitia James recently subpoenaed former President Donald Trump and his two eldest children, demanding their testimony in connection with an ongoing civil investigation into the family’s business practices, according to a court filing made public Monday.

The subpoenas for Trump, his son, Donald Trump Jr., and his daughter, Ivanka Trump, stem from an investigation “into the valuation of properties owned or controlled” by Trump and his company, the Trump Organization, the filing said.

Messages seeking comment was left with lawyers for the Trumps and James' office.

The attorney general's attempt to get testimony from the former president was reported in December, but the court filing Monday was the first public disclosure that investigators were also seeking information from Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr.

The Trumps are expected to file court papers seeking to quash the subpoenas, setting up a legal fight similar to one that played out last year after James' office subpoenaed another Trump son.

Trump sued James last month, seeking to end the investigation after she requested that he sit for a Jan. 7 deposition. Trump's lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleges that the probe has violated his constitutional rights in a “thinly-veiled effort to publicly malign Trump and his associates.”

Monday's court filing was the attorney general office's first public acknowledgement that it has previously subpoenaed Trump's testimony.

James, a Democrat, has spent more than two years looking at whether the Trump Organization misled banks or tax officials about the value of assets - inflating them to gain favorable loan terms or minimizing them to reap tax savings.

James’ investigators last year interviewed one of Trump’s sons, Trump Organization executive Eric Trump, as part of the probe. James’ office went to court to enforce a subpoena on the younger Trump and a judge forced him to testify after his lawyers abruptly canceled a previously scheduled deposition.

Although the civil investigation is separate from a criminal investigation being run by the Manhattan district attorney's office, James’ office has been involved in both. Earlier this year, former District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. gained access to the longtime real estate mogul’s tax records after a multiyear fight that twice went to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Before he left office at the end of last year, Vance convened a new grand jury to hear evidence as he weighed whether to seek more indictments in the investigation, which resulted in tax fraud charges in July against the Trump Organization and its longtime CFO Allen Weisselberg.

Weisselberg pleaded not guilty to charges alleging he and the company evaded taxes on lucrative fringe benefits paid to executives.

Both investigations are at least partly related to allegations made in news reports and by Trump’s former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, that Trump had a history of misrepresenting the value of assets.

James’ office issued subpoenas to local governments as part of the civil probe for records pertaining to Trump’s estate north of Manhattan, Seven Springs, and a tax benefit Trump received for placing land into a conservation trust. Vance later issued subpoenas seeking many of the same records.

James’ office has also been looking at similar issues relating to a Trump office building in New York City, a hotel in Chicago and a golf course near Los Angeles. Her office also won a series of court rulings forcing Trump’s company and a law firm it hired to turn over troves of records.

(AP)

ARYAN FASCISM HATES HUMAN RIGHTS

Oxfam says 'severely' affected by Indian foreign funds ban]

Oxfam India says curbs on its access to foreign cash will hinder its charity work

 Andy Buchanan AFP
Issued on: 03/01/2022 

New Delhi (AFP) – Oxfam India says restrictions on its access to international funds will have severe consequences for its humanitarian work and hinder provision of vital medical equipment to fight the Covid pandemic.

The charity group's local arm said a decision by the country's home ministry meant that from January 1 it was no longer able to receive foreign funding to finance relief work.

It comes just a week after India imposed the same restrictions on the Missionaries of Charity, founded by the late Catholic nun Mother Teresa.

Oxfam India chief Amitabh Behar said his organisation had worked closely with local partners to "provide life-saving equipment and support" during the pandemic.

The ministry's decision "will severely hamper these collaborations which were providing relief to those who needed it the most during times of crisis", he said in a Sunday statement.

Charities and non-profit firms in India need to register under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) to receive money from abroad.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has been accused of cutting off access to funding for rights groups and charities based in the country.

Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity, which runs shelter homes across India, had its permission revoked last week for "not meeting the eligibility conditions", according to the home ministry, which did not give further details.

In total the ministry refused to renew FCRA registration for 179 non-government organisations, according to The Hindu newspaper.

Amnesty International announced it was halting operations in India after the government froze its bank accounts in 2020.

© 2022 AFP