Voices: Why do we ask this one terrible question every time a woman is killed?


Sophie Gallagher
Thu, July 7, 2022 

For weeks after the murder of primary schoolteacher Sabina Nessa in September, one of the top suggested questions on Google was “what was Sabina Nessa wearing?”

If you did a quick search of the 28-year-old’s name, instead of being served information about her career, her love of make-up and bags, her fondness for her three pet cats, how she would pick fruit off the crabapple tree in her parents’ back garden or how her family would come to desperately mourn her during Eid, readers would be presented with that question.

Although the misguided entry now appears to have been removed – and is only partly the fault of the search engine given that it is dictated by what users are commonly looking for – it points perfectly to one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves about violence against women. Namely, that women are partially to blame for the tragic fates that befall them. That something Sabina did, or did not do, was (at least in part) the reason behind what happened to her.

As a society we tell ourselves this constantly: that women can do more, be safer, take greater precautions, wear different clothing, drink less alcohol, walk a better-lit route home and never be alone to avoid becoming victims of male violence. Instead of tackling gender-based violence where it starts, with men, we try to prepare women to avoid becoming victims.


This is wrong. Our whole approach needs to be flipped on its head. But it is not the only lie we tell ourselves about this social ill. We also believe falsehoods about the men who commit violence – namely that it is only monsters, those on the fringes of society, who do so. But, as educator and author of The Macho ParadoxJackson Katz said in his 2012 TEDx Talk, these men do not “crawl out of the swamp, come into town and do their nasty business and then retreat into the darkness”. In reality, perpetrators are much more normal than that.

In January 2022, Scottish MSP Karen Adam tweeted: “Paedophiles and predators are people. Not bogey men under the bed. Not mac-wearing flashers in the street, faceless and nameless. They are our family, friends and colleagues. They are not scary monsters.” But this reality jars with the narratives we have woven around violence: consider even the most basic of rape myths – that of stranger danger.



Contrary to what we might believe, the majority of sexual attacks on women are not perpetrated by random men lurking in the darkness, waiting to pounce, but by people known to the victims. Only 16 per cent of rapes are committed by strangers, according to the crime survey. The most likely perpetrators are partners or ex-partners (44 per cent). Sociologist Michael Flood says: “[Our] vision of what that violence looks like is very narrow. A vision of rape is a stranger leaping out of the bushes and physically assaulting a woman with a weapon or leaving her physically injured.”

In addition to this mistaken belief, we tell ourselves that violence is rare and unlikely to affect most women. But a survey by the UN found that more than 70 per cent of women in the UK had experienced sexual harassment in public. This number rose to 97 per cent among 18 to 24-year-olds. More than half of women had experienced catcalling, 40 per cent had been groped, a third had been followed and one in five had faced indecent exposure.

Young women are not exempt – a 2015 survey of 1,574 young girls by Girlguiding found that 81 per cent had experienced or witnessed sexism in the week before the survey was taken. This isn’t even the full picture – fewer than one in six victims (16 per cent) had actually reported their assault to the police, according to the latest crime survey for England and Wales.

Even when women do report it, we tell ourselves yet another untruth: that there is a significant proportion of women who create false accusations for their own gain. The bogeyman of the fabricated story lingers in spite of the evidence that demonstrates such cases are rare.

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In 2013, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) published a report looking into the phenomenon and showed that over a 17-month period there were a total of 5,651 prosecutions for rape and, in the same period, 35 prosecutions for false allegations of rape. This is 0.62 per cent. Even among that small number, the CPS concluded that “in some cases, the person alleged to have made the false report had undoubtedly been the victim of some kind of offence, even if not the one which he or she had reported”.

What is far more likely than false accusations, according to the stats, is that women won’t be believed when they are telling the truth. In 2014, a joint government-police monitoring report indicated a “culture of disbelief” as police forces wrote off up to a third of all rape allegations reported to them.

These lies all help to convey a false narrative around who is responsible for violence and what can be done about it, a narrative that alleviates men of the requirement to change. But the biggest lie of all? That extreme violence, like that dispensed against Sabina, or Sarah Everard, or Zara Aleena, is unconnected to other inequalities.

There can be phenomenal reluctance to connect sexism and sexual violence with women’s lower economic, social and cultural standing, but this sub-status is implicitly linked. When society sees women’s needs, their wants, their ambitions, their intelligence, their capability, their leadership as secondary to men, in a world in which women are dehumanised, it creates the conditions for men to use control if it further serves their needs.

How Men Can Help: A Guide to Undoing Harm and Being a Better Ally, by Sophie Gallagher, is published by Welbeck on 7 July, £12.99

The fall of Boris Johnson: any democracy should look to his case and ask if it is enabling Machiavellian leaders

Johnson is not the first world leader to prioritise his own ambitions over meaningful governance.

The Conversation
July 8, 2022

Boris Johnson’s resignation as prime minister is not just a portentous political event. His time in office – and the nature of his departure – throw up vital questions about democratic values and institutions.

Blaming the failings of an entire political culture on the moral deficiencies of one leader might make us feel righteous, but most of us know that the rot goes rather deeper than one flamboyant character. The fall of Johnson could be taken as a historical juncture to be built upon – and not just in the UK.

Some have argued that the political debate preceding the Brexit referendum was a nadir; that public hopes and fears were cynically exploited by politicians who did not even believe the substance of their own messages. Johnson’s premiership fell because it seemed to recognise no distinction between what is true and what is politically expedient. Once that distinction ceases to matter, democratic discourse becomes unsustainable and political communication becomes a matter of permanent decoding.

Integrity depends upon binding structures, such as codes of conduct and ethics committees. It also relies on a cultural commitment by politicians and citizens to call out intentional deceit, corrupt practices and hateful speech. The fall of Johnson is a good moment for explicit reflection on how far any democracy is prepared to tolerate, and even reward, Machiavellian tendencies.
Red-meat politics

The Johnson years highlight the important difference between a popular government and a government making meaningful difference to its people. Too often, attention grabbing “red-meat” solutions have been proffered in response to intractable challenges. Flying refugees to Rwanda or declaring Brexit “done” may have made for ephemerally forceful headlines and opinion poll effects, but they are typically merely symbolic and often dangerously counter-productive.

Governing takes time and thought. And it calls for honest appraisal, followed by serious efforts to fix what does not work well. This is quite different from government by propaganda whereby every manifest failure is described as a success and critics are sidelined or mocked.

Parliaments, which are supposed to hold governments to account on behalf of the public, need to assert their power. The British parliament may have acted to remove a prime minister who looked like an electoral liability but a more important role for parliament to play is to challenge policy proposals that are clearly not thought through or are offered as mere crowd-appeasing gestures.

The Johnson government was far from unique in having promoted a number of simplistic policies. It was, however, perhaps unprecedented in its willingness to flirt with the policy rhetoric of populism.

Better discourse surely involves paying attention to the ways in which our current media ecology too often rewards the loudest, most contentious demagogues and enables politicians who know how to capitalise on the worst practices of the journalistic trade.
Oxbridge politics in a changing world

A final, important matter, is how to bring a much wider range of voices and experiences into democratic politics. Recent events in the UK have included a damaging lobbying affair and multiple revelations of political figures breaking their own lockdown laws during the pandemic. Further, Johnson’s end came in the immediate wake of accusations of serious sexual misconduct against a senior figure in his government.

These might all have attracted a degree of weary popular interest in the Westminster soap opera. But the overall effect has surely been further erosion of the electorate’s already low trust in politics, fuelling renewed motives for disengagement.

The end of any leader’s career is an opportunity to reflect on what expectations we have of our democratic representatives. During Johnson’s tenure, too much time has been spent discussing what the British public is willing to put up with. Johnson will soon be gone from Downing Street. The question instead should be what do the people want next – and how can they make it happen?

Stephen Coleman, Professor of Political Communication, University of Leeds

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Boris Johnson breaks from his party in bitter resignation speech – what he said and what he really meant

THE CONVERSATION
Published: July 8, 2022 

Having apparently delayed the inevitable for as long as he could, Boris Johnson finally took to a podium outside 10 Downing Street on July 7 to say he would be stepping down as leader of the Conservative Party. This ultimately means his time as prime minister is over too.

This followed a torrid few days during which many of his MPs turned on him by either calling on him to resign or resigning themselves from government jobs. Johnson said he would stay in post as prime minister until the governing Conservatives had elected a replacement.

Resignation, defeat and concession speeches in politics are difficult to make. Johnson, like so many departing leaders before him, wanted to shore up his reputation while also taking aim at his enemies and those who brought him down. This is always a tricky line to walk. Too much attack and you are the sore loser, too much self-praise and you are deluded.

Did he manage to walk the line? Not really. The speech was followed by objections over its tone and led to calls for him to depart straight away rather than staying on until his successor is appointed.

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Here are a few things we learned from Boris Johnson’s resignation speech.

1. He still doesn’t believe he should go

The build-up to Johnson’s eventual resignation involved a stand-off with his own ministers and a protracted refusal to quit. Even though Johnson has now agreed to leave, it was abundantly clear from his speech that this is a man who struggles to accept what has happened to him.

An awkward moment in parliament on Johnson’s last day. Alamy

His choice of words was telling. Johnson revealed that he had argued to his cabinet that a change of government at this current moment would be “eccentric” given the country’s needs. He accused his own parliamentary party of acting under a “herd instinct” and referred to a “Darwinian” method of leadership selection. He, it seems, was the victim of his party’s senseless antics.

“Them’s the breaks” he concluded – a phrase used when something happens outside your control.

2. He’s lost what interest he had in his party

Johnson has pressured his ministers into agreeing to let him stay on as a caretaker prime minister until a new leader is in place. But the tone of his speech has already triggered their regret at making such a concession. Conservative Party grandees have weighed in, with former prime minister John Major arguing that months with Johnson as PM would be “unwise”.

Johnson’s resignation speech.

It is usual in these type of speeches to pledge support for a successor. Johnson’s version of this tradition was lukewarm at best:

0ur brilliant and Darwinian system will produce another leader equally committed to taking this country forward through tough times … And to that new leader, whoever he or she may be, I say: I will give you as much support as I can.

It is often said that he is not as rooted in the Conservative party as many of his fellow MPs – and this speech left it hard to imagine him staying on as a backbencher after he finally leaves Downing Street. Before becoming prime minister he had seen no problem in rocking the boat. Those Conservatives aching for a period of calm will be worried about letting Johnson continue in Downing street when he no longer has a stake in future elections.

3. He remembers the highs and has already forgotten the lows

The broader style of Johnson’s speech was also unusual. The rhetorical devices he deployed are common in politics, but perhaps less so in resignation statements specifically. Groupings of three ideas are popular in political speeches, for example. Johnson said he “felt it was my job, my duty, my obligation” to stay on in the role of prime minister.

Lists using very active language are also popular and Johnson opted for this style to remind us of his achievements:

getting Brexit done and settling our relations with the continent after half a century, reclaiming the power for this country to make its own laws in parliament, getting us all through the pandemic, delivering the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe … leading the west in standing up to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.

These devices are standard in campaign-type speaking, or in speeches at party conferences or conventions. But the boosterism sounded odd in a speech effectively marking a huge (personal) defeat. Anyone without background knowledge who tuned in for this speech could have been forgiven for wondering why on earth he was resigning.
4. He’s still not interested in apologising

Perhaps the most significant words were those missing from Johnson’s speech – “thanks” and “sorry”.

It’s normal in a speech like this to thank your colleagues, even if things ended badly. There were thanks for the public, Johnson’s family and the civil service but none for any ministers or MPs. Where, I wondered, was the thanks for those ministerial colleagues who had been defending him in parliament and in the media for several months? Many had of course ended up advising him to quit but it is quite a snub to not rate a mention.

It is fair to say that the speech elicited an immediate backlash. Critics pointed out that there was no sense of taking responsibility and no sense of apology. This is not part of Johnson’s DNA and while using apologetic language in the House of Commons has sometimes been necessary in recent times, he probably felt he had little to gain by saying sorry at this final moment.

Author

Paula Keaveney
Senior Lecturer in Politics, Edge Hill University
Disclosure statement
Paula Keaveney is a member of the Liberal Democrats

MACEDONIA
Shootings at latest protest in Skopje as unrest intensifies

Violence and incidents marked the fifth day of protests in Skopje.

By Valentina Dimitrievska in Skopje July 7, 2022

The protests in North Macedonia’s capital Skopje continued for the fifth consecutive day on July 6 against the compromise solution for lifting the Bulgarian veto on the country’s EU accession talks.

Violence and incidents marked the fifth day of protests, organised by the opposition conservative VMRO-DPMNE party. Two police officers were injured and there were reports of shootings. Leader of VMRO-DPMNE, Hristijan Mickoski, claimed that he was a target of gunfire during the protest.

People in North Macedonia are dissatisfied with the French proposal, which is intended to unblock the stalled EU accession process, claiming that it is harmful for the Macedonian national interests.

While protesters were passing by the Skender Bey square, a group of ethnic Albanians started to provoke them and the two groups threw stones and other objects at each other. The incident lasted for 10 minutes, until special police units came to prevent a major incident.

“This is the man who was supposed to kill me tonight. I demand that he be immediately detained by [Interior Ministry Oliver] Spasovski and the Ministry of the Interior!” Mickoski said on Facebook, posting a photo of several people, one of them holding a gun.

“Several shots were fired, which luckily did not end up in the crowd,” Mickoski said.

At 10 pm Mickoski hold an extraordinary news conference to say that he had information that he was supposed to be assassinated.

“I want to remind that such a scenario was announced by the government, the Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, who announced that there will be inter-ethnic tensions if the proposal that foresees the assimilation and Bulgarisation of [North] Macedonia is not accepted,” opposition leader said.

The protest ended in front of the parliament.

In the meantime, the police said that they detained a person with initials E.J. (40) of Skopje who fired a gun in the air during the protests. He was not part of people who were protesting.

A day earlier, 47 police officers were injured, 11 of them seriously, while two officers with serious injuries were hospitalised. 11 protestors were detained, two of whom were minors.

Mickoski announced on July 6 that the protests will continue.

“We are continuing tomorrow at 7 pm in front of the government,” Mickoski said.

EU officials are urging North Macedonia to accept the proposal and start the long-awaited EU-accession talks, claiming that the Macedonian national identity and the language are protected with the French proposal.

Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine gradually impacting the economy
Russia's GDP contracted by 4% in May and the expectation for the full year has been reduced from 15% to 8%. But as the war wears on its affects are showing up in a number of places, according to the latest data release. / bne IntelliNews


By bne IntelliNews July 8, 2022


The effects of the Russian war of aggression are gradually beginning to be seen more widely in the Russian economy.

Rapid inflation has eaten away the purchasing power of Russians and cut consumption. Industrial production has been supported by the military industry, while other production has developed more poorly, the Bank of Finland institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT) said in its weekly update.

According to the Russian Ministry of Economy's preliminary estimate, the country's GDP shrank by 4% in May from a year earlier (chart). In the June survey by Consensus Economics, the average of Russia's GDP forecasts was -8% for this year and -2% for next year.

Consumption demand has decreased as uncertainty increases and purchasing power weakens. The amount of retail trade in May was 10% lower than a year earlier. Consumer prices rose in Russia in April-May by 17–18% y/y. In April, the average real (ie corrected for price increase) monthly salary of Russians was 7% lower than a year earlier. The unemployment rate has remained historically low and was 3.9% in May, reports BOFIT.

According to official statistics from the statistical office Rosstat, industrial production shrank by 2% in May from a year earlier. The production of the extractive industry was 1% and the production of the processing industry was 3% lower.

Within the processing industry, the development was again very variable. The production of passenger cars has almost completely stopped: in May, only barely 4,000 cars were manufactured in Russia, while a year earlier the production reached more than 112,000 cars. Also, e.g. the production of railcars and excavators has dropped rapidly. On the other hand, the production of e.g. certain turbines, radio-electronic devices and medicines increased several times in May compared to a year earlier.

“According to the estimate of the Russian economic research institute CMASF, Russian industrial production has contracted more strongly in recent months, if the production of the military industry is not taken into account. CMASF estimates a fall of 4% for May. In order to secure the operation of the military and the military industry, this week the Duma approved a law amendment, based on which the Russian government can, if necessary, target companies with special measures. Companies can be obliged, for example, to manufacture goods for the army, repair army equipment or manage the army's transport,” BOFIT said.

ECB climate stress test flags $71 billion risk to euro zone banks

By Francesco Canepa

 

© Reuters/WOLFGANG RATTAY FILE PHOTO:

 Illumination at ECB headquarters for the Euro's 20th anniversary in Frankfurt, Germany

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - A sudden jump in carbon prices coupled with floods and droughts this year would lead to losses of at least 70 billion euros ($71.1 billion) for the euro zone's largest banks, the European Central Bank said on Friday.

The ECB said the estimate in its first climate stress test significantly understated actual losses for the 41 banks in the sample as it only focussed on credit and market risk and did not factor in indirect effects such as an economic downturn.

Banks and other companies are under increasing pressure from their shareholders and environmental group to act quickly to reduce the carbon footprint of their activities.

The central bank's test also found that most euro zone banks did not have a framework for modelling climate risk and did not typically take it into account when granting loans.

"Euro area banks must urgently step up efforts to measure and manage climate risk, closing the current data gaps and adopting good practices that are already present in the sector," the ECB's chief supervisor Andrea Enria said.

The ECB said the findings will not have an impact on the amount of capital banks will need to have and will only feed into its supervisory work "from a qualitative point of view".

The ECB is carrying out a separate "thematic review" to gauge banks' progress towards incorporating climate and environmental risk into their business. It expects them to meet its expectations by the end of 2024 at the latest.

The Bank of France was first among central banks to undertake a climate stress test of banks and insurers last year, followed by the Bank of England.

In its exercise, the Bank of England found that banks and insurers that fail to manage climate risks as a "first-order" issue could face a 10% to 15% hit to annual profits and higher capital requirements.

($1 = 0.9845 euros)

(Reporting by Francesco Canepa; Editing by Alexander Smith)

Mother in Srebrenica mourns for her family members lost through genocide

Mevlida Hukic says she does not hate anyone but as a Muslim seeks justice from Allah

AA   FRIDAY  08 JULY 2022


Bosnian mother Mevlida Hukic

Mevlida Hukic dearly misses her husband, three of her sons and two brothers who were among the thousands of victims of the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"I always dreamed of them after they were killed. I still ‘see’ them and cry. I'm still struggling. It wasn’t easy to raise children and guide them to the right path. Now they’re gone. I don't know how long God will give me to live,'' she said.

The 74-year-old Hukic will finally bid farewell after 27 years to her son Sejad and husband Hajdin on the 27th anniversary of the genocide.

Every year on July 11, newly identified victims of the genocide are buried at a memorial cemetery in the village of Potocari, located six kilometers (3.7 miles) northwest of Srebrenica.

Hukic had buried one of her sons earlier at the Potocari Memorial Center. But the remains of her youngest son, Samir, have never been found.

She said she raised her children with strong moral values.

"People admired them. After they were killed, I always saw them in my dreams,'' said Hukic.

Hukic said she seeks justice for those who are responsible.

"I don't hate anyone, but as a Muslim, I ask Allah to give those murderers what they deserve. Despite everything, we still have to live together. I hope the same things do not happen again, (that) there will always be peace. I always live in fear that something will happen again,'' she said.

Hukic now lives with her son Zuhdo, who managed to survive the route used by Bosnian civilians to reach a safe zone.

They both still live in the hope of finding Samir.

Bosnia Herzegovina on Monday will bid farewell to 50 more identified victims of the Srebrenica genocide on the 27th anniversary of Europe's worst genocide since World War II.

Thousands of visitors from various countries will attend the funeral service and burials.

After this year’s funeral, the number of burials in the cemetery will rise to 6,721.

A total of 8,372 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed after Bosnian Serb forces attacked the UN "safe area" of Srebrenica in July 1995, despite the presence of Dutch troops tasked with acting as international peacekeepers.

Srebrenica was besieged by Serb forces who were trying to wrest territory from Bosnian Muslims and Croats to form their own state.

The UN Security Council had declared Srebrenica a "safe area" in the spring of 1993. However, Serb troops led by Gen. Ratko Mladic – who in 2017 was sentenced to life in prison for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide – overran the UN zone.

The Dutch troops failed to act as Serb forces occupied the area, killing around 2,000 men and boys on July 11 alone. Some 15,000 Srebrenicans fled to the surrounding mountains but Serb troops hunted down and killed 6,000 of them in the forests.

The bodies of the victims of the genocide were found in 570 parts of the country.

‘Yu-Gi-Oh!’ creator Kazuki Takahashi found dead at sea

By 

Associated Press

July 8, 2022 

Kazuki Takahashi was found floating after snorkeling in southwestern Japan, according to a coast guard.Peter Endig/EPA/Shutterstock

Kazuki Takahashi, the creator of the “Yu-Gi-Oh!” manga comic and trading card game, has died, apparently while snorkeling in southwestern Japan, the coast guard said Friday.

The body of Takahashi, 60, was found Wednesday floating about 330 yards off the coast of Okinawa, by a person running a marine leisure business, according to an official at the Naha Coast Guard Nago station.

The coast guard and the fire department went by boat and watercraft and found the body, face down and wearing a snorkeling mask. He may have been dead for a day or two, according to the coast guard official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because their job did not allow them to be quoted by name.

The body showed signs of being attacked by a marine creature, possibly sharks, but the cause of death was still under investigation, the official said.

Takahashi was identified after police in another part of Okinawa contacted the coast guard Thursday, saying a rented car had been found abandoned on a beach. The car had a driver’s license, confirming the identity. Takahashi’s real first name was Kazuo. His family was contacted and identified him, the coast guard official said.

“Yu-Gi-Oh!” debuting in Shonen Jump magazine in 1996, became a hit, selling more than 40 million copies as manga, although the number of cards out in the world is far greater, in the billions.

The official card game went on sale in 1999. A TV show and video games, as well as figures and toys, were also part of the franchise.

There was an outpouring of mourning on social media.

Eric Stuart, the American actor who did the animation voiceover, said he was saddened by the news.

“An amazingly talented man. Sensei created a role that would help define my voice acting career,” Stuart said on Twitter, using the Japanese word for “teacher.”

Fans around the world posted their cards and manga images online. Some noted that was how they had become interested in Japan. People recalled how the cards had helped them make their first friends.

“We are deeply grateful for the wonderful ‘Yu-Gi-Oh!’ universe that he has created, and our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time,” the London-based YuGiOhNews account said on Twitter and on its official site.

The ambassador to Japan from Georgia, Teimuraz Lezhava, said “Yu-Gi-Oh!” evoked a distinct world.

“Yu-Gi-Oh!” made its wave onto the gaming scene when it debuted in Shonen Jump magazine in 1996.

AP

“I will never forget the excitement of playing the game,” he said on his official Japanese Twitter.

Takahashi’s work had children, and the young at heart, collecting the cards, decorated with mechanical monsters and wizard-like creatures, with a frenzy. The prices of some shot up during the height of the fad.

When a “Yu-Gi-Oh!” event was held at a Tokyo baseball stadium in 1999, so many children and parents came to buy the cards, game-maker Konami, the organizer, had to call in riot police.

“Yu-Gi-Oh!” is played by having two people facing off and placing cards from their deck with different powers to try defeat the other. Each player starts out with 8,000 “life points,” which get chiseled away as your cards lose.

The manga series left fans in a frenzy, as Takahashi’s work had children showing off their Yu-Gi-Oh!” cards online all across the world.

AP

The main character is a doe-eyed boy with spiky blond hair called Yugi Muto, an expert at card games. “Yu-Gi-Oh” means “king of games.”

The more expensive cards, the ones literally with glitter, are powerful in the game, called “super rare” and “secret rare.” But they weren’t that easily found, so people bought more packs, or cartons, of the cards.

The success of “Yu-Gi-Oh!” in the West was similar to that of other Japanese animation and game works like Pokemon.

Essity buys 80% of Canada's Knix Wear for $313 million

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Sweden's Essity on Friday said it had agreed to buy 80% of Canadian company Knix Wear, a maker of leakproof apparel for periods and incontinence, for around 3.3 billion Swedish crowns ($313.49 million).


© Reuters/Anna RingstromFILE PHOTO: Essity sign is seen in Stockholm

Essity said in a statement the acquisition would make it the global market leader in leakproof apparel, predicting the market segment would grow by more than 20% annually in the next five years, excluding Asia.

The world's second-biggest consumer tissue maker this week announced it had agreed to buy Australian leakproof apparel maker Modibodi.

It already offers leakproof wear under feminine care brands such as Libresse and Bodyform, and within incontinence products with its TENA brand.

Essity expects to finalise the acquisition in the second half of the year.

($1 = 10.5265 Swedish crowns)

(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Essi Lehto and Jason Neely)

Mongolia: Wrestling With Modernization

Mongolia’s traditional nomadic culture is vanishing in many ways, but it is preserved and passed down through traditional wrestling.

By Antonio Graceffo
July 08, 2022


Naadam Festival at the district level in Bulgan Province, July 3, 2022.

Credit: Antonio Graceffo

One of the most iconic popular images of Mongolia is that of nomadic herders, riding horses and living in gers (yurt tent-houses). The other is of powerfully built Mongolian wrestlers in traditional costume: a red or blue zodog (open-chested shirt), shuudag (heavy-duty briefs), wrestling boots, and a pointed Mongolian cap. As nomadism declines, the work of preserving Mongolia’s traditional culture is being done by the country’s wrestling coaches.

At first glimpse, Ulaanbaatar is not terribly different from the capital cities of other former Soviet satellites. There are coffeeshop chains, private hospitals, and a stock exchange, as well as tall office buildings that house banks and mining companies. With a population of roughly 3 million, Mongolia boasts around 80 universities, including about 10 international university programs in business, IT, and engineering. Less than an hour’s drive from the city limits, however, the scenery explodes into breathtaking, rolling steppes of the deepest green, dotted with gers and populated by families of herders.


Children herding cows for morning milking in Bulgan Province. Photo by Antonio Graceffo.

It takes a minimum of 100 to 200 animals to support a family. Historically, Mongolian nomads moved four or more times per year, driving their flocks to better grazing grounds. Throughout the year, they live in gers made of felt, burning coal to survive temperatures as low as minus-50 degrees Celsius.
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In winter, they bring their animals closer to the mountains, to protect them from storms. Water has to be collected from wells or rivers, which may be a mile (1.6 km) from the encampment. In winter, ice is broken, carried, and boiled for drinking water.

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A family in a ger uses 10 to 20 liters of water per day for drinking, cooking, and washing. The average shower for a city-dweller, by contrast, utilizes 20 gallons (75 liters).

The herders’ day starts at 5 a.m., when teenage boys ride out to find the horses that were set loose for night pasture. They herd the horses back to the corral, and begin the arduous task of milking the mares. To kill time between milking cycles and other tasks, boys wrestle. Most begin wrestling by the age of 5, and both boys and girls begin riding horses as young as 3 or 4.

In the annual Naadam Festival, the biggest holiday of the Mongolian calendar, children of both genders as young as 8 ride horses in a 15 km to 30 km point-to-point race.ADVERTISEMENT


Herders ride horses, or sometimes motorcycles, nearly all day while herding and protecting their flocks. After years in the saddle, they develop powerful thighs, double or triple the size of city-dwellers.


A herder drinking airag, fermented horse milk. Photo by Antonio Graceffo.

In spring and early summer, most of the baby animals are born, during a very busy two-to-three-month period. Afterwards, the foals and calves must be closely watched, to ensure they get enough nutrition and do not become food for wolves and other predators.

In summer, the mothers have to be milked, once or twice daily for cows, but as frequently as eight times per day for horses. Before milking horses, the mares have to have a halter put on them, which often involves wrestling and pinning them. Some mares are used to the cycle of milking, and go along peacefully. Some fight, and have to be controlled by three men or boys, so their feet can be secured. And this process could be multiplied by 40 or more mares, depending on the size of the herd.

In the spring, hair or wool is removed from the sheep, goats, camels, and yaks. In the fall, animals are sold or slaughtered for food. Through a combination of the sale of wool, cashmere, meat, and milk, a subsistence herder family typically earns between $4,000 and $5,000 per year.

The herder’s life is extremely hard work, and the economic payoff is small. It is no wonder that over the past 20 years, the number of herders has steadily declined. The number of animals is actually increasing – but this is because big, commercial herding operations are replacing the small herders.

At the same time, it seems that herding parents are recognizing the privations of the nomadic life and are sending their children to the cities to attend school. Due to increasing parental support for education, the dropout rate by age 14, which was once extremely high, has declined to 1 percent. Nationwide, the high school graduation rate is 94 percent for girls and 91 percent for boys, which is only slightly lower than the U.S. which has a graduation rate of 94.5 percent.

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Herder families spend years’ worth of their income to send their children to university, most of whom do not return. In some surveys, as many as 100 percent of parents said that they wanted their children to remain in the city or go abroad, seeking a better life, rather than returning to herding.

A Mongolian ger (yurt tent-house), a typical dwelling of herders. Photo by Antonio Graceffo.

The transmission of traditional culture is diminishing, as fewer parents want their children to become herders. However, many still encourage their children to become wrestlers, and through Mongolia’s wrestling coaches, the country’s ancient traditions and culture are being passed on to a new generation.ADVERTISEMENT


Byambarenchin Bayaraa, wrestling coach at the Mongolian National University of Education, explained that wrestling continues to thrive alongside modernization, and that “Mongolians say that they will make their children to be wrestlers.”

He went on to say that wrestling is in Mongolians’ DNA. This sentiment was seconded by Budeebazar Adiyakhuu, coach of Avarga Wrestling Club, who said: “The genes of Mongolians are different. We still have that Mongol blood. So, we always like to wrestle, fight, struggle, and compete.”

Wrestling is part of the culture of Mongolia, according to Bayaraa, because wrestling is not a team sport. The wrestler, like the nomadic herder, is independent. He is “not looking at the teammates” and does not “need to ask anyone for strength or support.”


Wrestlers at Suuj training camp, about 75 kilometers from Ulaanbaatar, preparing to compete in Naadam. Photo by Antonio Graceffo.

The coach of Nine Flags Wrestling Club, Eruult Suhbaatar, highlights the strong lineage of wrestling in Mongolian families, “Seventy percent of the wrestlers have some kind of family member who is a wrestler, whether it was their grandfather or father. There is definitely a connection with the ancestors.”

In addition to believing that wrestling is a significant component of Mongol identity, the coaches also use wrestling as a vehicle to convey traditional culture to young people. According to Eruult, “There are morals that need to be taught. Even daily routines, such as how to sleep and shower. A coach also teaches them to avoid alcohol, bars, and violence.”

The relationship between the wrestler and his coach is very similar to the relationship between a master and an apprentice, according to Bayaraa. “In Mongolia, there is such a discipleship that is formed between the coach and athlete, such a bond… which makes the wrestler dedicate everything to his teacher: their body, language, mind, everything.” In return for the students’ devotion, Bayaraa passes on wisdom handed down for generations.

The ancestors “are smarter than I am, because they have experienced both happiness and misery before me,” he said. “So, I have to respect their age and intelligence.”


Wrestlers at Suuj wrestling camp, preparing for Naadam. They generally live in camp, beginning in June, for at least a month before National Naadam, which is held July 11-15. Photo by Antonio Graceffo.

Amarbat Togtokhbayar, coach of Zaan Wrestling Club, also teaches his wrestlers traditional ethics. “There is definitely talk of morals outside the wrestling mat, as “only 1 out of 200-300 kids goes pro.” For this reason, he encourages his students to acquire job skills. “I do not want my students to only have wrestling in their life, studies must also be taken seriously. If not, they will hit a dead end, with no studies and no profession in wrestling.”

Today, although fewer Mongolian young people grow up learning the traditional culture and values of herding, many will still receive these lessons from their wrestling coaches. Most will not become professional wrestlers. They will go on to become tradespeople, accountants, or computer specialists. Wrestling will be a fond memory of their formative years, and one that leaves them with a deep appreciation of traditional culture, which they are likely to pass on to their children, ensuring that Mongol culture will continue.

GUEST AUTHOR
Antonio Graceffo

Dr. Antonio Graceffo is an American economist and author based in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Protests Build Across Africa Over Surging Fuel Prices, Shortages

Matthew Hill, Bloomberg New

BC-Protests-Build-Across-Africa-Over-Surging-Fuel-Prices-Shortages , Matthew Hill

(Bloomberg) -- Protests are building in Africa over surging fuel costs that have governments scrambling over how to respond.

Demonstrators blocked a key supply route in South Africa this week, tying up the delivery of commodities, over an increase in the regulated pump price. That followed a protest in Mozambique, the world’s third-poorest country, where bus drivers paralyzed the capital Maputo after diesel prices jumped.

The effect of fuel shortages throughout Africa in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is especially pronounced for populations whose transportation costs account for a disproportionately high percentage of monthly budgets. Suppliers have blamed richer nations for paying a premium for cargoes, while soaring margins benefit the refining businesses of companies such as Shell Plc.

“Transport price inflation feeds directly into food inflation –- so keeping it under control has been an imperative, even when fiscal resources have (in some instances) come under greater strain,” Razia Khan, Standard Chartered Bank’s head of research for Africa and the Middle East, said in reply to emailed questions.

The World Bank took the unusual step of subsidizing bus passengers in Mozambique to mitigate the crisis, while in neighboring Eswatini the government increased fuel prices by more than 10% after shortages. 

In Kenya and Nigeria, both heading to elections in the coming months, the governments are burdened with costly fuel subsidies, as they struggle to finance gaping budget deficits. Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo is now seeking a bailout from the International Monetary Fund after protests over issues including rising fuel prices.

“Governments across sub-Saharan Africa are always wary of pressure on urban electorates especially, who tend to be more politically mobilized,” Khan said. 

Though the continent includes a number of significant producers of oil, there is limited capacity to refine it into fuel for cars, trucks and planes. That means countries need dollars to buy imported diesel and gasoline.

Currency weakness resulting from rising interest rates in rich countries is exacerbating matters.  The currencies of Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya all dropped to record lows against the dollar this week and will continue to depreciate, AZA Finance, a currency broker, said in a note to clients Thursday. 

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