India: Frequent heat waves a reminder of climate change impacts

Climate scientists warn that South Asia is likely to experience more extreme weather brought on by heat waves in the coming decades. In March, wide swathes of northern India experienced more than dozen heat waves.


Women in Rajasthan, India during a heat wave this week

Parts of northern India have experienced over a dozen heat waves in March, and the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasts the unusually hot weather will continue into April.

Severe heat waves, which were rare in the past, have become yearly events in India.

In 2022, heat waves have started earlier. The IMD declared India's first heat wave on March 11 and, since then, several heat waves have been declared "severe."

The IMD declares a heat wave when the maximum temperature tops 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in a region with low elevation. A heat wave is also considered when temperatures reach at least 4.5 degrees above the normal average temperature.

A "severe" heat wave is declared if the departure from normal temperature is more than 6.4 degrees, according to the IMD.

India's northwestern Gujarat state has been the most affected. Parts of the state experienced heat waves for 11 days in March. Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir — considered to be cooler areas of India — experienced heat waves as well.

R Krishnan, a senior climate scientist from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, told DW that while such heat-wave events have been observed in the past, they seem to now be getting more severe and lasting longer.

"There is increased temperature in a region for a few days and then it returns to normal. But what we have seen in the recent years is that the heat waves have increased both in frequency and severity," Krishnan said.

India has also experienced other unusual weather conditions in 2022. The coastal metropolis of Mumbai has experienced uncommon heat waves this year, and dust storms blew across the Arabian Sea toward Mumbai from Afghanistan and Pakistan in January and February.

Two subtropical depressions also formed in ocean surrounding India in March, which is rare so early in the year.

South Asia vulnerable to climate change

The 2021 and 2022 reports issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have warned that in South Asia, heat waves and humidity-related heat stress are set to intensify.

Frequent and intense heat waves, extreme or abnormal rainfall events and other odd weather-related calamities in the coming decades are in store for India, according to the report. The IPCC report also warns that there is also an increased likelihood of droughts in already arid areas.

By the end of the century, the IPCC predicts South Asia will be one of the hardest-hit regions in the world by heat stress, and "deadly" heat waves could push the limits of human survivability.

Scientists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) have also analyzed sea surface temperature in a section of the western Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal between 1982 and 2018. They found that over 150 marine heat waves occurred in the areas examined.

During this time period, the marine heat waves increased four-fold in the Indian Ocean and three-fold in the Bay of Bengal.

Heat waves are of tremendous significance in India due to its largely agrarian society, which depends on stable weather patterns. Heat waves on land disrupt agricultural yields, which is a vital source of income for farmers living in central and northwestern India.

Marine heat waves, which cause bleaching of coral reefs and disrupt marine ecosystems, affect coastal communities which depend on fishing.

Krishnan said that human-induced increases in surface temperatures caused by greenhouses gases are a likely cause for such abnormal weather conditions.

"Greenhouse gases like C0-2 have a long life. Even if we reduce emissions significantly, we may see its effects in the coming decades," he said.

WOMEN AND GIRLS: VICTIMS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Dangerous distances
As places around the world become more arid and suffer from increasing drought and deforestation, wooded areas are disappearing. According to a new study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), women, particularly those living in the global south, are being forced to walk farther and farther to find firewood for cooking — and are increasingly at risk of being raped.
1234567

India: Doubts emerge over spiritual Yogi's environmental mission

Jaggi Vasudev, the Indian spiritual Yogi also known as "Sadhguru," is riding a motorbike thousands of kilometers to raise awareness about soil degradation. But questions are being asked over the campaign's effectiveness.

NOT RUNNING ON VEGETABLE OIL

Vasudev's ride is part of his Save Soil movement

Riding 30,000 kilometers (18,640 miles) on a Ducati Multistrada 1260 across 26 countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, Indian spiritual leader Jaggi Vasudev is on a mission.

Known as "Sadhguru" to his followers, Vasudev's ride on this special edition bike is part of his Save Soil movement, spreading awareness about soil degradation.
New age ecological influencer

In the past two decades, Vasudev's activities have received global attention and given him the status of a new age ecological influencer.

Vasudev's flagship platform Isha Foundation receives support from the Dalai Lama, Leonardo Di Caprio, Deepak Chopra and Will Smith, all of whom help spread the word about his campaigns.

According to the Isha Foundation, Vasudev's awareness-raising approach is "ecology married with economy." But how traveling across continents, as an approach, marries economy with ecology remains a mystery.

Vasudev's model of activism mainly focuses on spreading the word which, according to Isha, will "urge governments to set up policies."

Like previous efforts, the Save Soil campaign also plans to do this, and aims to make "at least 3.5 billion people" or "60% of the global electorate" aware of the cause. This approach seems to shift the focus away from institutions such as the state and markets. Instead, it puts the onus on the people to pressure governments into action.

'Nothing at all'

Prakash Kashwan is a professor who specializes in environmental governance. For him, "the campaigns that Sadhguru and celebrities run can contribute positively only if they are tied to institutional arrangements that hold public and private institutions accountable."

Environmentalist Leo Saldanha said: "A review of the public records of the financials of Isha Outreach reveals that the foundation has spent nothing at all on planting trees from the millions they have raised abroad."

In India, there were at least two instances when the state acknowledged Vasudev's campaign and announced policy measures. However, these measures seldom get materialized and thus end up weakening India's environmental regulatory framework, says Kashwan.

What is the impact on the environment?

Isha Foundation's successes are adequately portrayed through statistics and numbers. While many may recognize Fridays for Future as the world's largest ecological movement today, it is Vasudev's Rally for Rivers campaign that lays claim to this title.

But the tangible impact of these awareness campaigns on the environment is challenged by some. According to Saldanha, "to build soil health we need to build biomass. Which can only happen if we were to return to agroecological practices suited to particular agroecological zones." This cannot happen as the Indian soil is "acutely carbon deficit," says Saldanha.

Doubts persist about whether motorbiking thousands of kilometers is the most climate-friendly way to raise awareness about soil degradation.

Vasudev's followers remain loyal

Australian neuroscientist Sumaiya Shaikh's interest in Vasudev was piqued when videos of him solidifying mercury went viral. She asked herself, "if he can do this with his hands and has that power, why use it for mercury? Use it for bigger things!"

Shaikh then fact-checked this claim and published an article on Alt News, an Indian nonprofit fact-checking website. Her arguments on mercury poisoning, as opposed to Vasudev's claims on mercury's benefits, point to the debate between modern medicine and South Asian traditional medicinal practices such as Ayurveda and Siddha.

But criticism of Vasudev, no matter how densely packed with scientific explanation, doesn't seem to diminish the faith among his followers. "It really doesn't affect [me]," said Durba, a follower of Vasudev's. "Absolutely nothing."

Volunteer Kaninika is "overwhelmed and humbled to hear the success stories, achievements and fulfillment of the ecological projects undertaken by Isha Foundation" and doesn't have time for the critical stances of others.

Ecological restoration and spirituality

Followers such as Durba and Kaninika say it is the personal path that matters, not the layers of discourse that Vasudev's public image comes with.

This connection that Vasudev has managed to create with his ardent fans ensures that his followers join the ecological activities he promotes, irrespective of the critique.

Sociologist Radhika Chopra, who studies South Asian masculinities, said Vasudev had "inherited a lineage of someone who can restore lost spirituality and connections with the spiritual inner self. This lineage harks back to people like Mahesh Yogi and Osho. [But] he has also moved significantly away from this lineage and intertwined the discourse of recovered spiritual selves with the restoration of ecology."

Why Save Soil?

Chopra said Vasudev's emphasis on soil could represent the anxieties of people who consider themselves the rightful tenders versus those who simply suck the land of all its meaning.

The movement is a "dangerous distraction" from from the climate-saving work being done by grassroots activists, Kashwan said. But the Isha Foundation remains steadfast, particularly as several Caribbean nations — Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, Guyana and Barbados — have already pledged their commitment to protect their soil, in close partnership with Isha.

"There are some who use media with the genuine intent of promoting ecological wisdom and the precisely necessary environmental responses," Saldanha said. And, given the unshakable faith that Vasudev's followers have in him, he could be on the brink of being one of the biggest influencers today. Arundhathi Subramanian thinks that it is the "mix of the irreverent and the sacred" that ‘Sadhguru' offers to his followers in a nonhierarchical manner that sets him apart from others.

"There has to be meaningful will on his part to be active on the ecological front. And that could be a way of legitimizing all the other stuff that he is doing in India," Shaikh said. By "other stuff," Shaikh refers to the accusations of illegal land-grabbing, kidnapping and murder that surround the public image of Vasudev in India.

It is the eco-influencer aura of Vasudev that seems to be his most-exported image. As social media open up to environmental activism, this seems to work in the favor of his outreach model, further distracting from the responsibilities of the state and markets.

World Bank urges support for poor as food prices soar

A senior World Bank official called for more support for poor people globally Thursday as the war in Ukraine sends food prices soaring.

© Khaled Ziad Rising food prices are having a dramatic impact in war-torn Yemen, where millions of people have been displaced from their homes

Developing and import-dependent countries have been heavily impacted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- the two countries that account for more than a quarter of the world's annual wheat sales.

"It's not so much about food availability," Mari Pangestu, the World Bank's managing director for development policy, told AFP during Middle East and North Africa Climate Week in Dubai.

"The production at the moment is adequate, whether we're talking about wheat, rice or maize, which are the main food products.

"It's more about affordability. Apart from making sure the flow of goods and fertilisers are not impeded, we really need to make sure that affordability of food for the poor households is also going to be addressed."

Net food importers will suffer the most from the economic repercussions of the war, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which lists 36 countries as highly dependent on wheat imports from Ukraine and Russia -- mostly in Africa and the Middle East.

Among those affected are Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia and war-torn Yemen, whose humanitarian crisis is already considered the world's worst.

- Rising climate risks -

Supply chain problems caused by the Covid pandemic have quickly worsened since the invasion, further adding to the price of food.

The cost of freight has shot up by 34 percent since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, according to UNCTAD.

Pangestu, a former Indonesian trade minister, said it was important to maintain and expand programmes to provide food support, especially in the face of rising climate risks.

"This really means social protection schemes in countries which are the most affected -- to be able to provide support to the poor households... and then for the farmers, to make sure they can get access to fertilisers and inputs (so) they can produce for the next season," she said.

© Erin CONROY The FAO Food Price Index and individual commodity price indices, to Feb 2022

Pangestu was speaking after an International Monetary Fund report released on Wednesday found temperatures in the Middle East and Central Asia have risen 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) since the 1990s, twice the global average.

It warned that the region is on the "frontlines" of the climate crisis, with food security and public health in danger, and increased risks of poverty and conflict.

"The fall in food production in (the Middle East) region has been an issue related to climate change even before the (current) crisis," Pangestu said, urging governments to focus on sustainable agriculture practises to address food security longer-term.

dm/th/fz/pjm

Greenpeace blocks Russian oil delivery off Denmark


Thu, 31 March 2022

Greenpeace activists blocked two Russian tankers from transferring 100,000 tonnes of crude oil off the Danish coast (AFP/Kristian Buus) (Kristian Buus)

A dozen Greenpeace activists in kayaks and swimming in the water blocked the transfer of Russian oil between two tankers off Denmark's coast on Thursday, the environmental organisation said.

Greenpeace organised the action to call for a ban on the import of fossil fuels from Russia, following its invasion of Ukraine.

"At 11:00 am (0900 GMT), activists began the blockade of the supertanker Pertamina Prime, preventing the other ship Seaoath from approaching it and blocking the transfer of oil," Greenpeace spokeswoman Emma Oehlenschlager told AFP.

Both ships are Russian.

Eleven activists rode kayaks or swam in the icy waters off of Frederikshavn, some of them carrying signs calling on governments to "stop fuelling the war".

The activists painted "Oil fuels war" on the hull of the Pertamina Prime.

Some 100,000 tonnes of crude oil were to be transferred between the two ships.

In the past two weeks, the Danish branch of Greenpeace has carried out several actions against Russian vessels conducting oil transfers, though this was the first successful blockade.

"This is the only time we've managed to stop the delivery. In the other instances, the tankers either diverted or accelerated", Oehlenschlager said.

"They will now maintain the blockade as long as possible to make sure the ships can't get close to each other to carry out the transfer", she said, urging Denmark to ban the transfer of Russian oil in its waters.

cbw/map/po/lth

UN starts task force for company climate targets



Issued on: 31/03/2022 -

United Nations (United States) (AFP) – The United Nations launched a task force Thursday to pressure businesses to keep their emissions-cutting promises instead of masking progress with feel-good "greenwashing".

The group will draw up standards for measuring the credibility of claims by non-state groups -- including cities and companies -- that they are cutting the carbon emissions driving devastating climate change.

The 16-member group of experts will be chaired by Canada's former environment minister Catherine McKenna and includes various academics and leaders from business, finance, energy, politics and NGOs.

Countries have agreed they must cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius to avert the worst impacts. The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says this requires carbon-neutrality by mid-century.

But UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that state pledges will not be enough if regional authorities, polluting companies and the banks that finance them do not pull their weight.

"We also urgently need every business, investor, city, state and region to walk the talk on their net-zero promises," he said, according to pre-prepared remarks released ahead of the group's launch.

In February, a landmark IPCC report on climate change impacts warned that time had nearly run out to ensure a "liveable future" for all.

A report by Boston Consulting Group found that some 3,000 companies had set some form of net-zero commitment by November 2021.

They included more than a fifth of those in the Fortune Global 2000 ranking of listed companies -- some 420 major world firms.

But companies are accused of "greenwashing" -- trumpeting climate pledges while taking action that undermines those goals.

The UN says greenwashing is made possible by a lack of common standards for assessing the credibility of carbon-cutting commitments and enforcing them.

It warns that pledges by fossil fuel companies to shift to methods such as carbon-capture technology are not enough -- carbon emissions must be actively reduced overall.

"The recent avalanche of net-zero pledges by businesses, investors, cities and regions will be vital to keep 1.5 degrees Celsius alive and to build towards a safe and healthy planet," McKenna said in pre-released remarks.

"But only if all pledges have transparent plans, robust near-term action, and are implemented in full."

Guterres said the new body -- the High-Level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities -- will draw up such standards and aim to embed them in international regulations.

Similar initiatives are under way in the United States and the European Union.

Guterres asked the group to make recommendations by the end of the year.

"To avert a climate catastrophe, we need bold pledges matched by concrete action," he said.

"Tougher net-zero standards and strengthened accountability around the implementation of these commitments can deliver real and immediate emissions cuts."

© 2022 AFP

Ethiopia's Tigray region still waits for aid despite a government truce

Aid convoys have yet to reach Ethiopia's war-ravaged Tigray region almost a week after the government announced a humanitarian truce.



Barely any aid is reaching Ethiopia's Tigray region

\
Convoys carrying much-needed humanitarian supplies to Ethiopia's northern Tigray region are still stuck in Semera, the capital of the neighboring Afar region, despite Ethiopia's government declaring a unilateral humanitarian truce on March 24.

"There are still no convoys headed north [to Tigray]," a humanitarian source in Afar, who wishes to remain anonymous, told DW.

More than 700 trucks of supplies per week are currently needed in Tigray, where more than 5 million people are in urgent need of assistance. But not a single truck has entered the northern region in over three months.

Rather, trucks laden with aid have been stranded in Semera since mid-December, waiting for clearance to travel into the region.

Because of the delay, some aid organizations have even unloaded food or distributed it to communities outside of Tigray, including in Afar, to avoid wasting it.

The United Nations has warned of soaring rates of acute malnutrition in Tigray, and estimates that hundreds of thousands of people face famine in the region.
Airlifts getting in

There have also been no reports of increased cargo flights by the United Nations and the Red Cross since the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the truce last Thursday.

Airlifts carrying medicine and food supplies from the capital Addis Ababa to the regional capital Mekele resumed in January, but cover only about 4% of health needs on the ground, according to the UN's humanitarian agency OCHA.

Airlifts have been reaching regions in need of aid

Acute fuel shortages are also making it difficult for organizations to distribute the airlifted aid outside of Makele. As a result, those living in rural Tigray are getting little or no aid at all.

Humanitarian workers and diplomats still hope that the government's announcement of the truce will soon spell an end to the aid blockade.

"We hope that the humanitarian truce will allow us to send humanitarian convoys to the Tigray regions, which will enable us to contribute to alleviating the dire needs of the Tigray population," said Fatima Sator, Ethiopia spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Tigrayans in Afar region

Leaders from Tigray said on Monday that they were temporary ceasing hostilities.

Afar Police Commissioner Ahmed Harif told Reuters news agency on Monday that fighting was ongoing in two of the six districts occupied by Tigrayan fighters, and there was a "significant" buildup of Tigrayan forces along the border to Afar.

Militias in Afar confirmed to DW on Tuesday that fighting is ongoing around the town of Berhale in the region's north, not far from the border to Tigray.

Fighting in northern Afar flared in mid-January when Tigrayan forces crossed to the border town of Abala before advancing further into the region.

The federal government says that the aid trucks stuck in Semera since December are unable to leave because Tigrayan forces are blocking the route the trucks would take near Abala.

However, a humanitarian worker based in Addis Ababa told DW that fighting around Abala had obstructed aid for "a few days only" in January.

He said that that main reason for the continued delays to the aid delivery are procedures of local Afar authorities and the security of aid convoys within Afar-controlled territory.

Convoys attacked

Outside of Tigray, some additional 4 million people in Ethiopia are in need of aid, according to the United Nations, primarily in the Amhara and Afar regions, which have also been heavily affected by the conflict.

Dispatching aid within Afar has become a struggle.

Trucks carrying food to communities within Afar have been stopped and looted in recent weeks; the most-recent attack was on a World Food Programme convoy on March 20.

It's unclear who was behind this latest attack.

Afar fighters may have targeted the trucks in the mistaken belief that the convoy was headed to Tigray when it was actually taking aid to Afar communities.

These sacks of food, earmarked for Afar and Tigray regions, face distribution fraught with difficulties

There has been growing frustration towards aid agencies within the Afar population. Due to the recent fighting in Afar, more than 300,000 people have been displaced from Afar's Zone 2.

They have so far received little in the way of food, drinking water, shelter or clothing, causing resentment and suspicion against foreign aid organizations taking aid to Tigray.

However, the attack on the aid convoy could also have been carried out by other organized groups wanting to sabotage aid delivery or peace negotiations.
Eritrea's murky role

The intentions of Eritrea in the Tigray conflict, for instance, remain unclear.

Eritrean forces have been fighting against Tigrayan forces ever since the conflict started in November 2020.

In February, Tigrayan leaders accused Eritrean mercenaries of initiating violence in Afar, which borders Eritrea to the southeast, forcing Tigrayan troops to retaliate.

DW could not independently verify this information due to a lack of access to the region and a telecommunications blackout.

"An important element is what role is Eritrea playing, both in terms of possibly creating the security situation that led to the [Tigray] occupation of parts of Afar and perhaps being behind some of the attacks on the aid convoy in Afar," said William Davison, a senior Ethiopia analyst for the International Crisis Group, an independent think thank.

"There is a possibility that Eritrea is playing a spoiler role, as it does not want to see the TPLF [Tigray People's Liberation Front] recover legitimacy and standing as part of a peace process," he said.

Building trust

As both parties — the TPLF and Abiy's government — advance conditions for the implementation of a truce, analysts say that both sides need to make allowances.

This would mean the progressive withdrawal of Tigrayan forces from Afar while the federal government simultaneously opens up routes for humanitarian convoys into Tigray.

Only then could enough trust be built to, eventually, reach a peaceful settlement in the 17-month-old conflict, analysts say.

Ethiopian forces have declared a cease-fire

"For a peace process to get off the ground, the federal government and its regional allies are going to have to actually allow the consistent delivery of sufficient aid to Tigray," Davison said.

"Announcing a unilateral truce with the stated intention of addressing the humanitarian situation needs to be matched by action, otherwise it will have no effect on resolving the conflict," he noted.
Difficult national dialogue

More generally, building trust among communities is a daunting task in today's Ethiopia. The conflict in the north is only one of the country's many territorial and political disputes.

At the end of 2021, Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed launched a long-awaited national dialogue, which aims to bridge divides between ethnic groups and promote unity within the Horn of Africa nation.

A commission was established to oversee the process after a parliamentary vote on December 29.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed controversially won the Nobel Peace Prize

But the initiative has already been met with skepticism, and few in the opposition believe it's inclusive and independent enough to be credible.

The dialogue excludes some of Ethiopia's most influential regional opposition groups, namely the Oromo Liberation Army, as well as the Tigray People's Liberation Front.

The government has labeled both groups as terrorist organizations.

Other major parties, such as the Oromo Liberation Front and the Oromo Federalist Congress, which were invited to participate, have boycotted the dialogue.

"We do not believe that a national dialogue that does not include all stakeholders and is led by a neutral body can resolve all outstanding issues facing the country," the Oromo Federalist Congress said in a statement on Sunday.

Ethiopia's path to peace will be a long one, it seems.

The Tigray conflict has absorbed much of the government's attention and resources since November 2020.

Ending the war would enable Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to shift his focus back to other security issues and other divisions. But the multitude of actors involved will make this task particularly difficult.

Pakistan: Why is Imran Khan blaming the West for his downfall?

The premier has lost support in parliament after key coalition partners decided to support the opposition's no-confidence vote. Instead of stepping down, Khan is accusing a "foreign power" of plotting his ouster.


Analysts say that Khan should not expect the military to rescue him at this point

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has claimed that a foreign conspiracy is being hatched to topple his government amid an upcoming no-confidence vote against him.

In a public rally on Sunday, Khan spoke about a "letter" from a "foreign power" as "proof" of the conspiracy.

The center-right premier accuses Pakistani opposition parties of colluding with the West to oust him.

"We have been threatened in writing, but we will not compromise on national interests," he said, without naming the country in question.

On Wednesday, Khan discussed the alleged document with some local journalists but didn't show it to them, in compliance with the national security act.

"The letter is quite serious and threatening," Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told DW

Khan alleges foreign interference amid no-confidence vote

Khan's supporters are claiming that the US is trying to destabilize the government.

The US State Department has denied these reports and said "there is no truth to these allegations."

Analysts say Khan is trying to turn the public against the opposition by accusing the West.

"Bringing foreign policy into the public domain could be disastrous. The government's position on this matter is damaging for Pakistan," Abdul Basit, Pakistan High Commissioner to India and former ambassador to Germany, told DW.

Basit added that diplomatic norms don't allow foreign officials to make statements against other countries and their governments.

Khan is facing the toughest political challenge of his three-and-a-half year tenure as prime minister, with many lawmakers from his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and key coalition allies supporting a no-confidence vote in parliament set for April 4.

Opposition parties blame Khan for economic mismanagement and a crack down on political opponents and civil society activists. Since Khan took reins of the country in 2018, inflation and unemployment have increased manifold.

Khan's anti-US posturing

Analysts say that Pakistan is heading toward early election regardless of the outcome of the no-confidence vote, and that Khan believes anti-US rhetoric could help escort him back to power should the country go to early polls.

"I would be quite surprised if a foreign country had so much at stake in Pakistan these days that it would be willing to orchestrate an effort to oust Khan," Michael Kugelman, a South Asia expert at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, told DW.

"One could talk about all the meddling that the US has done in the past, but given everything it has on its plate right now, it seems questionable that it would suddenly accord special significance to the internal politics of Pakistan," he added.

Mosharraf Zaidi, a Pakistani political analyst, says that a "standard diplomatic cable is being used as a political instrument" in an attempt to save Khan's government.

"The premier has clearly chosen an anti-West platform for the next elections," he added.

Khan visited Moscow last month and held a meeting with President Vladimir Putin the same day Russia invaded Ukraine. Since then, Khan has been presenting himself as an "anti-West" leader to his supporters, the one who has the guts to stand up against "imperialists."

Khan has been posturing himself as an 'anti-West' leader

"Khan has likely already annoyed quite a few countries because of his sharp anti-West criticism in recent weeks. For Khan's government to now imply that the US has sought regime change in Pakistan certainly won't play well in Washington," Kugelman underlined.

"I also imagine this messaging has made the Pakistani military unhappy. The generals appear more positive about the idea of a continued partnership with the US than the civilian leadership does," he added.

Khan 'on his own now'

The Pakistani military has so far remained neutral in the political crisis. Analysts say this has put Khan in a vulnerable position, as he has tried to use generals' support to thwart previous conflicts.

"I don't think that Khan can expect to be rescued by the military at this point. His relationship with army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa appears to be irreparable, and the broader military likely isn't pleased with him either. Khan is on his own now," Kugelman said.

"He has blamed the opposition and external forces for his predicament, but at the end of the day he only has himself to blame. And that's not only because of his governance failures but also because of his refusal to reach across the aisle and work with rivals. He has remained a highly partisan prime minister, and at a moment when he needs all the help he can get, he's struggling," he added.

Ukrainian refugees bring their pets to safety

Millions of people are fleeing the war in Ukraine. But cats, dogs and even bears are also arriving in Germany as refugees. Part of their welcome package: a rabies shot.


Luna, center, made it to safety in Germany — and found a place to stay for her family

Perhaps Luna, too, will never forget the two weeks she spent on the run: the hectic departure from her home in the city of Kharkiv, the ride in the packed train cars in the arms of 21-year-old Adana, the four newborn cats on a blanket on a fellow traveler's lap, and the arrival in Cologne after stops in Poland and Hanover.

Now Luna scurries like a little whirlwind through the apartment, making a giant leap onto a nearby chair, back to the floor and from there onto the sofa. Luna is a Jack Russell terrier, just six months old. For Adana, who fled Ukraine with her mother and two little brothers, she has long been more than a dog. She is a ray of hope, a lifeline and a rock in these dark times.

"When we are very sad, we play with her. Luna makes sure that we all stay close. She gives us positive feelings and helps us work through bad emotions," said Adana.

Pets comfort Ukrainian refugees

Luna was a New Year's gift for Adana and her three siblings — her oldest brother, 18, had to stay behind in Ukraine. The family briefly considered leaving the dog with him in Kharkiv, but then decided against it. And when they finally arrived in Cologne, exhausted, it was Luna who helped the family find a place to stay.

Jan, a volunteer helping Ukrainian arrivals at Cologne train station, noticed the dog and knew instantly that he had to help the family.

"I imagined that I was a refugee and had to flee; then, of course, I would take my two dogs with me. And I had read a newspaper report on how difficult it was for families with pets to get accommodation. So then I decided to take them in," he said.

Volunteer Jan (right) took in Luna's family because the dog reminded him of his own pets

Luna meets Wanda and Lilou

And so, Luna from Ukraine now lives together with two other dogs: Wanda from London and Lilou from Paris. Jan is a photographer, he quickly emptied his photo studio to make room for the refugee family. Luna's first order of business was a trip to the veterinarian.

"We had her vaccinated against rabies," said Jan. "And then the vet said Luna also had to be chipped and quarantined for three weeks."

Luna has had her microchip and registration since Friday, an effort organized by the aid organization Blue-Yellow Cross. The German-Ukrainian association has already brought more than 400 Ukrainian refugees to Cologne. Many of them have brought pets, but it hasn't always been that easy.

Rabies risk?

Unlike Germany, Ukraine is not yet considered to be free from rabies. Animals entering the country from there aren't allowed to stay in refugee shelters; instead, they're sent to an animal shelter upon arrival, where they are vaccinated and must remain in quarantine.

Following the strict regulations, German animal shelters are at risk of being overloaded. And Ukrainian children, already traumatized, are further upset by being separated from their pets.

"All Ukrainians must be provided with accommodation allowing them to keep their pets," said Thomas Schröder, president of the German Animal Welfare Federation. "A separation would be an additional burden for humans and animals, to be avoided under all circumstances."

Many pets left behind

Since the conflict began in late February, German animal welfare activist Babette Terveer has made two trips to Ukraine.

Animal welfare activist Babette Terveer (left) traveled to Ukraine with donations of food for pets

"It is unacceptable that we shift responsibility to countries like Hungary and Poland, which already have problems with animal protection," she said. "Germany does not allow the direct entry of animals from Ukrainian animal shelters because of rabies, but instead insists on a 30-day quarantine in EU countries like Hungary. And there they have to be vaccinated, even if they have documented vaccination from a shelter in Ukraine."

On her first rescue operation, Terveer set off in the direction of Ukraine with a 12-ton truck, four vans and 18 tons of animal food. She unloaded the food at a spot some 15 kilometers (9 miles) beyond the Hungarian-Ukrainian border, and in exchange took 35 dogs from animal shelters in Kyiv.

The convoy also arranged to transport six refugees along with their pets, including a woman who was inseparable from her 10-year-old German shepherd.

"The refugees are all totally exhausted, and so are the animals," she said. "Many pets have just been packed into shopping bags, because everything has to happen so fast when they flee."

Every few days, she added, volunteers risk their lives to drive to Kyiv and rescue 10 to 15 dogs per trip.

Ukrainian bears Popeye and Asuka have found a new home in Germany

Bears escape to Germany

The animal shelters in Ukraine are full of dogs and cats. But there are special cases, too. Magdalena Scherk-Trettin is a wildlife project coordinator for the German branch of the animal protection organization Four Paws.

"We have long been cooperating with partner organizations in Ukraine," she said. "After the war broke out, we were contacted by an organization that runs a sanctuary in the Kyiv region with seven bears, who had been rescued from abusive captivity. And they were afraid for the animals. We then evacuated them to our sanctuary near Lviv."

The bear sanctuary in Domazhyr, western Ukraine, already cares for 29 bears. For three of the seven new arrivals, the journey has since continued on to Germany. Bear cubs Asuka and Popeye are now romping through a bear park in Thuringia, and one bear has traveled on to a sanctuary in northern Germany. A happy ending, at least, for these animals, said Scherk-Trettin.

This article was originally written in German.

IMPERIALIST WAR ON POLISARIO FRONT

Morocco Seeks To Impose Solution In Western Sahara Conflict

By Philippe AGRET
03/31/22

Boosted by Western support, Morocco is working to impose its own settlement in the long-running Western Sahara conflict, even at the cost of a falling out with its allies, analysts say.

Morocco and the Polisario Front, an independence movement backed by the kingdom's arch-rival Algeria, have been locked for decades in a bitter struggle over Western Sahara.

The monarchy sees the former Spanish colony as an integral part of its territory, with King Mohammed declaring in November that "Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara will never be up for negotiation".

This unbending stance appears to have paid off, with Germany and Spain coming out in favour of Rabat's 2007 "autonomy" plan to keep the phosphate-rich desert under Moroccan sovereignty.

Morocco is looking to capitalise on support from the United States, Germany and Spain 

Photo: AFP / FADEL SENNA

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares is expected in Rabat on Friday to relaunch bilateral relations after Madrid, dramatically reversing decades of policy, backed the plan in what Moroccans hailed as a "diplomatic coup".

"There is a consensus on the question of the Sahara. The whole of (Moroccan) society supports the cause, it's an absolute priority for every Moroccan," said Tajeddine Houssaini, professor of international relations at Rabat's Mohammed V University.

Western Sahara, with rich Atlantic fishing waters and access to key markets in West Africa, is 80 percent controlled by Morocco but considered a "non-autonomous territory" by the UN.

Spain withdrew in 1975 but the Polisario waged a long armed struggle for independence from Morocco before reaching a ceasefire in 1991 on the promise of an independence referendum.

A Moroccan soldier stands guard at an outpost in Western Sahara Photo: AFP / Fadel SENNA


The Polisario in November 2020 declared the ceasefire null and void, and has since stepped up attacks on Moroccan forces.

Madrid, whose enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla share land borders with Morocco, now officially sees the autonomy plan as "the most serious, realistic and credible basis" for a resolution.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has defended the shift as necessary to forge "more solid" ties with Morocco, after a string of crises over migrants and relations with the Polisario.

The move "is undoubtedly a victory for Morocco in the short term", said Bernabe Lopez, professor of Arab and Islamic studies at Madrid's UAM university.

Demonstrators wave Western Sahara flags during a protest against the Spanish government support for Morocco's autonomy plan for Western Sahara, in Madrid, on March 26, 2022 

Photo: AFP / Pierre-Philippe MARCOU

But he added that it was "difficult to know" if the shift would have a concrete effect.

"We will have to see if there is a good agreement in the future (between Madrid and Rabat) and if this brings other countries around" to Madrid's position, he said.

Former US president Donald Trump's recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the territory in late 2020 marked a shift on which Rabat has been quick to capitalise -- and one that Trump's successor Joe Biden has not reversed.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, visiting Morocco this week, also described the autonomy plan as "serious, credible and realistic".

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita urged European states on Tuesday to follow Spain's lead and "get out of this comfort zone where people are just supporting a process (without) supporting a solution".

King Mohammed in November warned countries with "vague or ambivalent positions" that Morocco "will not engage with them in any economic or commercial process that would exclude the Moroccan Sahara".

Political scientist Khadija Mohsen-Finan said Morocco's latest push was "taking place at a time when all eyes are on Ukraine".

She said Morocco was making itself "indispensable" to the West by leveraging "migration, airspace, security and the fight against Islamism".

The UN recently appointed a new envoy on the conflict, raising hopes of reviving a dialogue frozen since 2019 -- despite a particularly bitter period in relations between Algeria and Morocco.

Morocco has carefully steered clear of taking sides in the ongoing war in Ukraine, abstaining from voting on UN resolutions condemning Russia for invading its neighbour.

Observers say this neutrality illustrates Rabat's desire to avoid alienating the UN Security Council member, which could impact the Western Sahara question.

But a Western diplomat, who asked not to be named, said Morocco's position had "greatly disappointed" its traditional allies "in view of the seriousness of Russian aggression and in respect of its traditional alliances with Western countries".

Instead, the diplomat said, Rabat had taken those ties as a given and sought "a rapprochement with Russia".

 Hackers got user data from Meta with forged request

ByAFP

SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook owner Meta gave user information to hackers who pretended to be law enforcement officials last year, a company source said Wednesday, highlighting the risks of a measure used in urgent cases.

Imposters were able to get details like physical addresses or phone numbers in response to falsified “emergency data requests,” which can slip past privacy barriers, said the source who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Criminal hackers have been compromising email accounts or websites tied to police or government and claiming they can’t wait for a judge’s order for information because it’s an “urgent matter of life and death,” cyber expert Brian Krebs wrote Tuesday.

Bloomberg news agency, which originally reported Meta being targeted, also reported that Apple had provided customer data in response to forged data requests.

Apple and Meta did not officially confirm the incidents, but provided statements citing their policies in handling information demands.

When US law enforcement officials want data on a social media account’s owner or an associated cell phone number, they must submit an official court-ordered warrant or subpoena, Krebs wrote.

But in urgent cases authorities can make an “emergency data request,” which “largely bypasses any official review and does not require the requestor to supply any court-approved documents,” he added.

Meta, in a statement, said the firm reviews every data request for “legal sufficiency” and uses “advanced systems and processes” to validate law enforcement requests and detect abuse.

“We block known compromised accounts from making requests and work with law enforcement to respond to incidents involving suspected fraudulent requests, as we have done in this case,” the statement added.

Apple noted its guidelines, which say that in the case of an emergency application “a supervisor for the government or law enforcement agent who submitted the… request may be contacted and asked to confirm to Apple that the emergency request was legitimate.”

Krebs noted that the lack of a unitary, national system for these type of requests is one of the key problems associated with them, as companies end up deciding how to deal with them.

“To make matters more complicated, there are tens of thousands of police jurisdictions around the world — including roughly 18,000 in the United States alone — and all it takes for hackers to succeed is illicit access to a single police email account,” he wrote.