Taliban broke multiple pledges on human rights since taking over Afghanistan, says rights group

New York [US], August 11 (ANI): The Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday said the Taliban have broken multiple pledges to respect human rights and women's rights since taking over Afghanistan a year ago.

After capturing Kabul in August last year, the Islamic authorities have imposed severe restrictions on women's and girls' rights, suppressed the media, and arbitrarily detained, tortured, and summarily executed critics and perceived opponents, among other abuses.

The New York-based rights group in its report said Taliban human rights abuses have brought widespread condemnation and imperilled international efforts to address the country's dire humanitarian situation.

The economy has collapsed, largely because governments have cut foreign assistance and restricted international economic transactions. More than 90 per cent of Afghans have been food insecure for almost a year, causing millions of children to suffer from acute malnutrition and threatening serious long-term health problems.

"The Afghan people are living a human rights nightmare, victims of both Taliban cruelty and international apathy," said Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at HRW. "Afghanistan's future will remain bleak unless foreign governments engage more actively with Taliban authorities while pressuring them vigorously on their rights record."Since taking power, the Taliban have imposed rules that comprehensively prevent women and girls from exercising their most fundamental rights to expression, movement, and education, and affect their other basic rights to life, livelihood, health care, food, and water.

They have prohibited women from traveling or going to their workplace without a male family member accompanying them - an impossible requirement for almost all families - and barred them from many jobs. Moreover, the Taliban have denied almost all girls access to secondary school.

According to HRW, the Taliban's horrendous human rights record and their unwillingness to meaningfully engage with international financial institutions have furthered their isolation.

They argue that foreign governments should ease restrictions on the country's banking sector to facilitate legitimate economic activity and humanitarian aid, but the Taliban also need to curtail rights abuses and hold those responsible for abuses to account.

"The Taliban should urgently reverse their horrifying and misogynistic decision to bar girls and women from secondary school," Abbasi said. "This would send a message that the Taliban are willing to reconsider their most egregious actions."Aside from the rights situation, the humanitarian crisis in the country is reaching an alarming level. Almost 20 million people - half the population - are suffering either level-3 "crisis" or level-4 "emergency" levels of food insecurity under the assessment system of the World Food Programme (WFP).

Overall, Afghans have been suffering from some form of food insecurity since last August, skipping meals or whole days of eating and engaging in extreme coping mechanisms to pay for food, including sending children to work.

The impact of the economic crisis on women and girls is especially severe, as women and girls have increasing difficulties accessing assistance and health care.

 (ANI)

Senior Taliban cleric Rahimullah Haqqani, brother killed in Kabul suicide blast

Agencies Published August 12, 2022

Rahimullah Haqqani

KABUL: A senior Taliban cleric known for his fiery speeches against the militant Islamic State (IS) group and support for female education, was killed in a suicide blast at his madressah in the Afghan capital on Thursday.

Rahimullah Haqqani, who had recently spoken publicly in favour of girls being allowed to attend school, had survived at least two previous assassination attempts — including one in Pakistan in October 2020.

“The madrassa of Sheikh Rahimullah was targeted today and as a result he and one of his brothers were martyred,” Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran told AFP, adding that three others were wounded in the blast.

Government spokesman Bilal Karimi confirmed Haqqani’s death “in an attack carried out by a cowardly enemy”, but did not offer further details.

Haqqani backed girls’ right to attend school; IS claims responsibility for attack

Despite sharing the same name, the cleric was not related to Afghanistan’s Haqqani militant group network.

Hours later, IS claimed the attack on its telegram channels, saying the bomber had detonated his explosive vest inside the cleric’s office.

However, Reuters claimed the attacker detonated explosives “hidden in a plastic artificial leg”, quoting officials and Taliban sources.

Four Taliban sources told Reuters the attacker was someone who had previously lost his leg and had hidden the explosives in a plastic artificial leg.

“We are investigating who this ... person was and who had brought him to this important place to enter the personal office of Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani. It’s a very huge loss for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” said one senior Taliban official of the interior ministry.

Haqqani was one of the most “prominent advocates for the Taliban and one of the biggest of them who incited to fight” IS, jihadist monitoring group SITE said, translating a statement from IS.

Taliban sources said that although he held no official position, Haqqani was an influential figure who had taught many of the group’s members over the years.

Scores of Taliban officials took to social media to express their condolences.

“You have fulfilled your responsibility. Destiny cannot be prevented, but the Muslim community has been orphaned,” tweeted Mobin Khan, a former spokesman for the Kabul police.

Haqqani was known for angry speeches against IS, that has claimed several attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s return to power in August last year.

In recent months, Haqq­ani also backed the right of girls to attend school.

“There is no justification in Sharia to say female education is not allowed. No justification at all,” he told the BBC in an interview in May.

He added: “All the religious books have stated female education is permissible and obligatory, because, for example, if a woman gets sick, in an Islamic environment like Afghanistan or Pakistan, and needs treatment, it’s much better if she’s treated by a female doctor.”

Since seizing power, the Taliban have imposed harsh restrictions on girls and women. They have not allo­wed secondary schools for girls to reopen in most parts of the country.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2022

Afghan cleric’s killing

Editorial Published August 13, 2022

THAT a suicide bomber belonging to the self-styled Islamic State group managed to target a senior Taliban cleric in Kabul should send alarm bells ringing, specifically regarding the terrorist outfit’s reach and capabilities. Rahimullah Haqqani, the cleric in question — who is not a part of the powerful Haqqani Network — was targeted in a suicide blast inside his madressah. The late Haqqani was a staunch critic of IS and, by the Taliban’s standards at least, relatively liberal as he advocated for the cause of girls’ education. Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have lamented the targeting of the senior cleric, blaming “a cowardly enemy” for the hit and calling the killing “a huge loss for the Islamic Emirate”. Reportedly, Haqqani had also been targeted earlier by IS, including an attack in Pakistan in 2020. If IS militants can strike someone so high in the current Afghan hierarchy, they are capable of striking anywhere, and Afghanistan’s de facto rulers need to come up with a plan of action to root out the terrorist group from their soil.

The warning signs regarding IS’s existence in Afghanistan had been present even before the Taliban took Kabul last year. The terrorist group has staged regular attacks, targeting Afghanistan’s Shia community, as well as the country’s tiny Sikh minority. Earlier this month, the Taliban claimed to have neutralised an IS cell that was apparently planning to carry out attacks during Muharram-related activities. The fact is that the Khorasan chapter of the terrorist franchise is one of its deadliest and most well-organised units. While IS’s reign of terror in its erstwhile Middle Eastern heartland may be over, it has found fertile ground to regroup in Afghanistan. As per a recent UN report, IS seeks to use Afghanistan as a launching pad to revive its vision of a ‘great caliphate’. Needless to say, any progress on this front would spell trouble for neighbouring states, as well as the international community. Primarily, the Afghan Taliban need to do more to liberate all their territory from IS control. Regional states — which face a direct threat from the IS presence — should also help the Taliban achieve this goal while the US and Western states need to chip in if they are serious about counterterrorism efforts. The Taliban may be difficult partners, but IS poses a much bigger threat to regional security, which is why Afghanistan’s rulers, as well as foreign states, must work together to neutralise the outfit.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2022

PTI hires firm to ‘improve image’ in US

Anwar Iqbal Published August 13, 2022

• Documents reveal party to pay firm $25,000 per month

• Fawad says firm engaged to communicate party’s viewpoint in US media

WASHINGTON: The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s (PTI) US chapter has hired a public relations firm to improve its image in the United States, where it has been portrayed as anti-America since April, when party chairman and former premier Imran Khan accused Washington of backing efforts to overthrow his government through a no-confidence motion.

Following his ouster in April, Mr Khan and his party have been running a systematic campaign on the narrative that the US backed “local abettors” to topple his government through a conspiracy, and install an administration of its choice.

However, this latest move suggests that the party is looking to carry out damage control following its leader’s campaign, vilifying the US to win over popular support in Pakistan.

“This is an agreement between a PR firm, not a lobbyist, and a group of US citizens,” Sajjad Burki, the PTI chairman’s focal person for the US, told Dawn. “We are not lobbying for PTI Pakistan, and certainly not within the US administration.”

The agreement, signed on Aug 1 between David Fenton of Fenton/Arlook and attorney for PTI USA Salman Ravala became effective on Aug 9. It points out that PTI USA “is not supervised, owned, or controlled by any foreign political party, but will in certain instances be directed by a foreign political party in Pakistan”.

The PTI USA will pay the firm $25,000 per month, “collected from PTI supporters who are legal US residents”, Atif Khan, another PTI official, in Dallas, Texas, told Dawn.

The documents filed on Aug 9 showed the party had engaged Fenton/Arlock LLC to support the PTI’s “goals for good relations with the United States and the Pakistani diaspora in the US”.

The documents appear to lend credence to reports that the party was trying to mend its ties with the Biden administration after relentlessly accusing it of backing efforts to overthrow the PTI government through a “conspiracy”, which includes backing the Pakistan Democratic Movement that is in power in Islamabad.

Under the agreement, the New York-based PTI USA is the principal client of the PR firm, which has been hired for six months to manage the party’s public and media relations.

The same firm has previously represented the Pakistan embassy in the US for a brief period while the PTI was in power. Former prime minister Imran Khan also had dinner at Fenton’s in 2019 when he visited New York to attend the UN General Assembly session.

Both agreements – with the PTI USA and the embassy – are available on an official US website as public documents. The documents have been made public under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act, on a website controlled by the Unit of Counterintelligence and Exports Control in the US National Security Division, which falls under the Department of Justice.

A document filed on March 26 shows the firm had been contracted to work for the embassy from March 21 to Sept 20, 2022. But an embassy official told Dawn the contract was cancelled in May after the ouster of the PTI government.

Under the agreement, the firm was providing public relations services to the embassy, which included distributing information to and briefing journalists; placing articles and broadcasts in the respective media; arranging interviews with representatives and supporters of Pakistan; advising on social media efforts; and other such PR services.

For this, the firm was charging $30,000 a month, plus expenses.

Usually, when such a contract is cancelled, the hiring party is required to pay the entire amount specified in the agreement.

A US lawyer, who requested not to be identified because he was not involved in the case, told Dawn that “there’s nothing illegal in either agreement. Foreign governments and parties often hire PR persons and lobbyists in the US. It’s not unusual”.

The lawyer also said the amount mentioned in the two documents – $25,000 and $30,000 per month – “are peanuts. Other embassies and organisations pay much more”.

Under its agreement with the PTI USA, “Fenton/Arlook shall provide public relations services, including but not limited to distributing information to and briefing journalists, placing articles and broadcasts, arranging interviews with representatives or supporters of PTI, advising on social media efforts and other such public relations services”.

Until recently, the PTI USA publicly promoted Mr Khan’s claim that a US State Department official had threatened to topple his government in a lunch meeting with the then Pakistani ambassador Asad Majeed Khan.

But since last month, the party has been trying to rebuild its ties with the US, and it is alleged that recently the PTI chairman held a video call with US Ambassador in Islamabad Donald Blome.

‘Seeking pardon from US’

Meanwhile, the ruling PML-N was quick to avail the opportunity to take on PTI chief Khan over the ‘hypocrisy’.

“I have never had any doubts that Imran Khan has a hundred faces. What he poses and professes is a smoke screen. Behind this smoke screen is the face of an egomaniac, narcissist & selfish person. He is now begging the USA by all means whether by sending emissaries or engaging lobbyists,” federal minister Ahsan Iqbal said in a tweet on Friday.

Federal Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman also urged the PTI to tender an unconditional apology for what she called misleading the nation through its fake and concocted narrative to target its political rivals.

At a media briefing in Islamabad, she said the PTI had quietly hired an American lobbying firm to improve its ties, perception in the US and enhance its advertisements.

“You have repeatedly perpetrated propaganda against the US and befooled the nation under your fake narrative,” the minister stressed. “What kind of hypocrisy is this that the entire nation was engulfed in hoax propaganda and this party secretly hired a lobbyist firm to improve its projection in the US?”

She also questioned the claims of some PTI leaders that the agreement was meant for the PTI’s advertisement in the American media, saying: “Why do you need advertisements in the US?”

In the same breath, Ms Rehman also claimed that during the recent visit of the US ambassador to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the PTI had held talks with him, and Imran Khan allegedly secretly spoke to him too.

“You are not going to improve Pakistan’s image rather your own party’s in the US. Who is imported now, as you have been accusing all other political parties of being foreign assisted?” she remarked.

However, in his party’s defence, former PTI minister Fawad Chaudhry tweeted in response to a journalist’s tweet that he had asked for an Urdu translation of the agreement “so that some incompetent journalists and ministers understand that it’s not a lobbyist firm, but a media relations firm that the PTI USA has engaged to put its point across in the media. It’s the job of these firms to develop a relationship between the media and the party”.

Zulqernain Tahir in Lahore and Jamal Shahid in Islamabad also contributed to this report.

Published in Dawn, August 13th, 2022

Nigeria: How Female Athletes Are Driving Nigeria to Global Successes

13 AUGUST 2022

Daily Trust (Abuja)

By David Ngobua

Millions of Nigerian sports enthusiasts are presently in a joyous mood following the historic outing of Team Nigeria at the just concluded 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.

Represented by 94 athletes in seven events, namely weightlifting, power-lifting, boxing, para-table tennis, athletics, boxing and table tennis, Team Nigeria produced their best ever performance in the games as they scooped an unprecedented 12 gold, 9 silver and 14 bronze for a total of 35 medals, finishing seventh out of 42 countries that participated in the games.

Apart from the fact that Nigeria emerged the best African country at the multi-sports events in which she made her debut in 1950 in Auckland with a bronze medal, Team Nigeria broke and set four Commonwealth Games records and one world record in Birmingham.

The most intriguing and fascinating thing about Team Nigeria's success story in England is that all the 12 gold medals that earned the country her enviable rating were won by female athletes in wrestling, weightlifting and athletic events.

Team Nigeria's best performance in Commonwealth Games was in 2014 in Glasgow Scotland, where the country amassed a total of 11gold, 8 silver and 14 gold medals with the female athletes led by Blessing Okagbare contributing nine gold medals.

It is, therefore, easy to understand why Nigerian sports fans are so ecstatic about the performance of the contingent to the 2022 Commonwealth Games, especially the outstanding performances of their female athletes.

The heroic deeds of the female athletes may come as a surprise to some Nigerians, but a former director-general of the defunct National Sports Commission (NSC), Alhassan Yakmut, said he was not surprised by the feats achieved by the young women.

In an exclusive interview with Daily Trust Saturday, the former Nigerian international volleyball player said, "Personally, the superlative performances of Team Nigeria's women didn't come to me as a surprise. It has been the trend in the past 25 years. Our best performances in international competitions have been limited to the women.

"I, therefore, agree with the Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, who said the performance of Nigerian women in Birmingham was a proof of how much women could contribute to the image and development of the country

"Now, the events are 50-50 for male and female athletes. Therefore, it is the male gender that we must revive for podium performances," Yakmut said.

However, as Nigerians continue to feast on the heart-warming performances of Team Nigeria in Birmingham, there are divergent opinions, with some attributing the success to individual brilliance of the athletes, who defied all the odds against them to win the laurels.

Considering the fact that Nigerian athletes are oftentimes starved of the necessary motivation before and during international competitions, such views can't be said to be unfounded.

Therefore, the debate as to whether or not the Federal Ministry of Sports should take credit for the good outing of Team Nigeria in Birmingham has continued unabated.

But the ministry under Sunday Dare is also convinced that it was instrumental to the 35 podium appearances of Team Nigeria in England. Of course, there are enough evidences to collaborate the claims by the ministry.

Ministry's role in the success story

Team Nigeria's performance in Birmingham can't be separated from the Adopt-An-Athlete initiative launched by the sports minister on December 2019 at the Lagos Civic Centre. This step was taken by the minister after discoveries were made that the root cause of the challenges athletes faced, which had impeded their performances at continental and global competitions, was lack of funding and scholarships.

Interestingly, substantial solutions to the above mentioned problems hitherto faced by athletes were found as soon as the initiative started in earnest.

At the moment, some home-based athletes receive as much as $10,000, paid directly into their accounts and managed solely by them. This takes care of their coaches, kits, nutrition and health insurance. And based on higher overhead, foreign-based athletes earn as much as $20,000.

To sustain this initiative, some states like Delta, Edo, Ogun, Lagos and Bayelsa, as well as corporate organisations like Fidelity Bank, Zenith Bank, UBA, Access Bank, adopted most of the athletes.

Interestingly, most of the athletes who won medals in Birmingham are among the 38 beneficiaries of the Adopt-An-Athlete initiative of the sports minister.

In addition, the ministry ensured that Team Nigeria didn't go to England for jamboree as it was the practice in the past. Thus, Nigeria went to Birmingham with only 94 athletes, who featured in only 9 sports where the country is ranked amongst the top 50 in the world. It was a deliberate decision to feature athletes in events where Nigeria also has comparative advantage.

Unlike before, reward for victorious athletes was instant, as it is said that even before most of them competed in their games, they had their allowances available.

While gold medalists received as much as $5,000, silver medalists got $3,000. Bronze medalists receive $2,000. Cash rewards were also given to the coaches. These and other available incentives, no doubt, motivated the athletes to put in their best.

Future of sports in Nigeria is with women - Ibrahim Galadima

Overwhelmed by the outstanding performances of Team Nigeria's female athletes in Birmingham, one of Nigeria's most respected sports administrators and patron of the Nigeria Olympics Committee (NOC), Alhaji Ibrahim Galadima, has concluded that the future of sports in Africa's most populous country lies with women.

Speaking exclusively to Daily Trust Saturday, the chairman of the Kano State Sports Commission said, "Every Nigerian is elated at what happened in Birmingham. It is long we had such an outstanding performance. The performance of the young women is an indication that the future of Nigerian sports is with women.

"I hope and pray that we sustain the tempo. Managing success has been one of our major problems in sports. We have to keep a close watch on the victorious athletes as we prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games in France. We have to maintain the standard we have set.

He, however, expressed dissatisfaction with Team Nigeria's preparations before the games as he also attributed much of the success story to individual efforts of the athletes.

"We didn't prepare adequately because even when it was close to the games, most of the athletes were not in closed camp. This has always been our problem. So most of what we were able to do show that there was individual brilliance and resilience on the part of the athletes.

Galadima, however, gave the Sports Ministry a pat on the back for paying more attention to athletes' motivation by instantly rewarding winners with cash prizes.

"I am also impressed with the response from the ministry in terms of giving them winning bonuses almost immediately. I think that also spurred the athletes to do better.

"It shows that the ministry is becoming aware that motivation is key to success," the former president of the then Nigeria Football Association said.

How Birmingham success can be sustained - Tijani Yusuf, Alhassan Yakmut

Meanwhile, two foremost Nigerian sports administrators, Dr Tijani Yusuf and a former director-general of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Alhassan Yakmut, in exclusive interviews with Daily Trust Saturday, called on the Ministry of Sports to sustain the momentum by taking sports development to the grassroots, where they believe more Tobi Amusans and Ese Brumes are waiting to be unearthed.

Dr Yusuf, who is a senior lecturer in the Department of Physical and Health Education, Bayero University, Kano, said the success of Team Nigeria in Birmingham was not an accidental.

He reiterated that the achievement in Birmingham was a result of hard work, scientific planning and developmental programmes that put the athletes in top shape for podium finishes.

Yusuf also commended the victorious female athletes for upstaging American and Jamaican rivals, even in events they (Americans) had dominated for decades.

The former secretary-general of the then Nigeria Football Association said, "If you look at things holistically, the women who made Nigeria proud did so in those areas that were dominated by Jamaicans and Americans.

"For instance, the 4x100m women's relay team has broken the African record and set a new one so others will have to do more in order to either equal or surpass their record in Birmingham."

The university don also said that to avoid what had become the bane of the female senior national team, the Super Falcons, there should be plans for the future, even as the country is still celebrating.

"We have to begin to prepare for the future. Talents abound in Nigeria. They are only waiting to be discovered. I want to appreciate the minister for some of his innovations in sports. He has done what Napoleon couldn't do. I congratulate him and those who made the success possible," Yusuf said.

Yakmut also lauded Team Nigeria, saying hope has been greatly rekindled by their superlative performances, especially the female athletes in Birmingham.

Furthermore, he painted a bright future for Nigeria in sports as he expressed happiness and satisfaction with the average age of the athletes.

"I think that in the history of this country, there is no better time that sports have healed it of so many problems than now. There is the problem of disunity, insecurity, poverty, inflation and so on. These are global challenges, anyway.

"The performances at the Commonwealth Games have rekindled the hope of Nigerians in their country and the younger generation.

"We should also plan to sustain the success. With the vibrant and talented youths we have, it shouldn't take us years to achieve this performance. We need good administrators, good funding, upgrading of sporting facilities, regular international exposure for the athletes and strict adherence to anti-doping regulations to thrive.

"And if you look at the average age of those who competed, it is the youngest we have ever presented. This is one area most people haven't looked at. The age bracket of our athletes is promising," he noted.

Like Yusuf, the former NSC director-general also made a passionate appeal for grassroots sports development if the success story in Birmingham is to be sustained.

"Ese Brume was discovered at a grassroots competition in Lagos when I was the Director of Grassroots Sports Development in the Federal Ministry of Sports.

"So, we have to go back to the grassroots where these talents abound. If we have sustainable programmes as some of us have always proposed, our athletes will continue to make podium appearances," he advised.

Find below a complete list of the winners and their events:

Weightlifting

Adijat Adenike Olarinoye (gold, women's 55kg)

Edidiong Joseph Umaofia (bronze, men's 67kg)

Rafiatu Folashade Lawal (gold, women's 59kg)

Slamiyat Yusuf (bronze, women's 64kg).

Taiwo Laidi (silver, women's 76kg).

Mary Taiwo Osijo (bronze, women's 87kg)

Athletics

Chioma Onyekwere (gold, women's discus throw)

Obiageri Amaechi (bronze, women's discus throw)

Favour Ofili (silver, women's 200m)

Amusan Tobi (gold, women's 100m, hurdles)

Onwuzurike Udodi Chudi, Ashe Favour Oghene Tejiri, Akintola Alaba Olukunle, Ekevwo Raymond (bronze medal, men's 4 x 100m)

Amusan Tobi, Ofili Favour, Chukwuma Rosemary, Nwokocha Nzubechi Grace, Udo Joy Gabriel Chinenye (gold, women's 4 x 100m).

Ese Brume (gold, women's long jump)

Para-athletics

Goodness Chiemere Nwachukwu (gold, women's discus throw F 42-44/61-64)

Eucharia Njideka Iyiazi (gold, women's F55 - 57, shot put)

Ugochi Constaine Alam (bronze, women's F55 - 57, shot put)

Power-lifting

Alice Folashade Oluwafemiayo (gold, women's heavyweight)

Bose Patricia Omolayo (silver, women's heavyweight)

Ikechukwu Christian Obichukwu (silver, men's heavyweight)

Innocent Nnamdi (bronze, men's lightweight)

Wrestling

Adekuoroye Odunayo (gold, women's freestyle 57kg)

Kolawole Esther (bronze, women's freestyle 62kg)

Oborodudu Blessing (gold, women's freestyle 68kg)

Genesis Mercy (gold, women's freestyle, 50kg)

Wilson Ebikewemino (silver, men's freestyle 57kg)

Hannah Reuben (silver, women's freestyle 76kg)

John Ogbonna Emmanuel (bronze, men's freestyle 74kg)

Para-table tennis

Ikpeoyi Ifechukwude Christiana (silver, women's singles classes 3-5)

Sule Nasiru (silver, men's singles classes 3-5)

Ogunkunle Isau (bronze, men's singles classes 3-5)

Obazuaye Faith (bronze, women's singles classes 6-10)

Boxing

Onyekwere Ifeanyi (bronze, men's over 92kg, super heavyweight)

Umunnake Jacinta (bronze, women's 75kg)

Ogunsemilore Cynthia (bronze, women's over 57kg-60kg, light weight)

Oshoba Elizabeth (silver, over 54kg-57kg, featherweight)

Read the original article on Daily Trust.

Enduring colonialism has made it harder to end the COVID-19 pandemic

The Conversation
12th August 2022, 



Rich countries are hoarding vaccine doses while poor countries become breeding grounds for new COVID-19 variants.

The World Health Organization's COVAX - an abbreviation for COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access - warned that "no one is safe, until everyone is safe," yet colonial attitudes are an obstacle to reining in the global pandemic.

COVID-19 has shown that global equity and inclusion are necessary to manage global crises. A major lesson from this pandemic is the need to decolonize transnational governance so that the world is better able to handle both future and current global crises and issues.

COVAX's naïve failure

COVAX has failed.

It was supposed to provide vaccinations globally and equitably as well as serve as a mechanism through which both rich and poor countries would access vaccines. More than 80 per cent of the population in rich countries is fully vaccinated, compared to less than 10 per cent of the population in poor countries.

Credible reports say that poor countries have been affected the most by the global pandemic both in terms of how deadly it has been, as well as economically.

This summer, we're seeing new pandemic waves in Europe and Asia driven by new SARS-CoV-2 variants first spotted in South Africa.

COVAX is based on lofty ideals of equity and social justice. The initiative has been necessary to moderately balance the gap between rich and poor countries that would have fared worse had it not been launched.

But COVAX has been called naïve for relying upon the good will of rich countries for funding and on their willingness to wait patiently in line for their own populations' doses.

COVAX's good intentions have had to co-exist with "might is right" politics. Rich countries made their own deals and bought large amounts of vaccine supplies before they were even available.

Vaccine nationalism turned COVAX into a broker of charity. The colonial mentality believes it's OK to cut deals with Big Pharma for vaccine doses ahead of populous poor countries, and to charitably donate to them their soon-to-expire leftovers.

Read more: COVID-19 vaccine inequity allowed Omicron to emerge

Colonial mentality

Global capitalism as we know it emerged from a colonial world order set up for exploitation of people and lands. European countries kidnapped people from Africa and enslaved them as they dispossessed Indigenous Peoples. This created the extractive economy of today.

Racial classifications and racism have remained an enduring aspect of the modern world. Colonialism produced the initial and current gap between the rich and the poor world, and racialized the latter. When the mercantilist order of the colonial day morphed into capitalism in the 1800s, the colonial mentality that simply assumes European superiority remained.

This has been the basis for the colonial upper hand of the West and the United States in the type of transnational governance that emerged after the Second World War (the United Nations and Bretton Woods organizations, including the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank). This has also been the basis for the colonial mentality of today.

COVAX was conceived during the rich World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2020. As news of the virus emerged from China, two professional white men sipped whisky and envisioned COVAX in a Swiss ski resort bar.

Seth Berkley (CEO of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, or Gavi) and Richard Hatchett (CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or CEPI), heads of global vaccination networks, discussed pandemic scenarios. They knew the world would need a funding and distribution strategy for shots, so they started thinking about a global solution.

Hatchett wrote a white paper in March 2020 and those ideas were the basis for the creation of COVAX in April that year. All this sounds great, but colonial mentality ultimately prevented the success of their initiative. It stopped COVAX from emerging as the co-ordinator of sorely needed 21st-century solidarity.

Decolonizing crisis governance

People rarely hear the names of Berkley and Hatchett in the global public sphere. Berkley's Gavi is a global vaccine alliance that brings together the public and private sectors. Hatchett's CEPI describes itself as a "global partnership between public, private, philanthropic, and civil society organizations."

Today, these two global organizations - supported by the World Health Organization - are dealing with the enduring pandemic. But their transparency and accountability have been questionable.

Gavi designed COVAX without oversight and "with a small group of like-minded advisors, primarily Global North philanthropists, academics, and consultants," according to a Doctors Without Borders report. The perspectives of low- and middle-income countries, civil society organizations or regional disease control groups weren't considered in a meaningful way.

At the same time, pharmaceutical industry representatives have had a seat at the table of major decision-making discussions, and this has helped maintain the status quo of their intellectual property rights.

Read more: Peru's COVID-19 vaccine scandal shows the shady deals made with pharma companies

The world needs to move beyond myopic national self-interest. It has become apparent that in order to control the COVID-19 pandemic, equity and inclusion are urgently required.

Scientists anticipate there will be new pandemics along with climate change crises. This will hardly be the last global public-health emergency.

Out of self-interest, transnational governance needs to embrace true solidarity. World leaders must use a decolonialized imagination to face these coming global challenges.

Author: Monica Sanchez-Flores - Associate Professor of Sociology, Thompson Rivers University

LIKE A JAMES BOND MOVIE

Third Russian hypersonic missile scientist charged with treason

Robert Besser
10th August 2022

MOSCOW, Russia: A leading Russian scientist in the field of hypersonic flight, Dr. Alexander Shiplyuk, has been arrested on suspicion of treason, according to Russian state media.

Director of the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Siberian Branch, Shiplyuk is the third Russian scientist this summer to be arrested for treason.

Meanwhile, the institute's scientific director, Vasily Fomin, told the Russian news agency TASS that Shiplyuk was sent to the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center in Moscow.

On 27th June, the chief researcher of the institute, Anatoly Maslov, was also arrested on suspicion of transferring state secret data related to hypersonic missiles.

According to the institute's website, Shiplyuk heads a technology lab with unique wind tunnels purpose-built for simulating hypersonic conditions.

On 30th June, another scientist, Dmitry Kolker, a researcher at the Institute of Laser Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, was arrested by the Sovetsky District Court.

Reuters reported that Kolker was detained on state treason charges for allegedly collaborating with China's security services.

Military powers in Russia, China, and the United States are working to develop hypersonic glide vehicle weapons, which are highly maneuverable and can theoretically fly at hypersonic speeds.

Russia is thought to have a hypersonic system, the Avangard, which Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed, in 2018, was "practically invulnerable" to Western air defense systems.

Domino's closes in Italy, unable to compete with local pizza

Robert Besser
13th August 2022

MILAN, Italy: Milano Today has reported that seven years after launching in the country, American pizza giant Domino's has now closed all of its stores.

The company, franchised by EPizza SpA, had failed to win over Italians, who preferred local options.

According to a document filed in a Milan court, after struggling to be profitable during two years of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, EPizza SpA filed for bankruptcy in April.

Italian food industry publication Food Service reported that the company closed all its Domino's stores on 20th July.

According to ePizza, it lost out to competition from food delivery apps, while others attributed its failure to its brazen attempt to infiltrate the motherland of pizza with American fast food.

The court filing said the Milan-based company faced "unprecedented competition" from local restaurants that started using delivery services, such as Glovo, Just Eat, and Deliveroo, during the pandemic.

In a document attached to the court filing, Domino's said that ePizza's failure last year was due to the "significantly increased level of competition in the food delivery market with both organized chains and 'mom & pop' restaurants delivering food to survive."

After COVID-19 restrictions were eased and consumers began visiting sit-down restaurants again, the company faced further troubles, the document added.

In 2015, Domino's signed a 10-year franchising agreement with ePizza, aimed at introducing a large-scale pizza delivery service to the country, which was absent at that time, the court filing stated.

Right-wing media figures upset after report shows that Inflation was at 0.0% in July

Right-wing pundits attempt to discredit Biden noting that there was zero net inflation in July

screenshots via Newsmax and Fox News

WRITTEN BY JACINA HOLLINS-BORGES

RESEARCH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM JOHN WHITEHOUSE

PUBLISHED 08/12/22 

At an August 10 White House press conference, President Joe Biden marked a report that showed that the “economy had 0% inflation in the month of July,” explaining that “while the price of some things …went up last month, the price of other things went down by the same amount.”

Though Biden made sure to point out that “people are still hurting,” and that “our work is far from over,” right-wing media figures have taken this chance to suggest that what the report shows is meaningless and accuse Biden of lying, intentionally misleading people, or bragging about bringing down inflation. In reality, while 0.0% inflation in July does not erase inflation in the year leading up to it, it is fair to suggest that this report may reflect a turning point.

The consumer price index slightly declined in July, leading to a market surge

News broke on August 10 that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of the average change over time in consumer prices, slowed slightly in July to 8.5%, from 9.1% in June.


Inflation cooled in July as gas prices and airfares fell, a welcome reprieve for consumers and economic policymakers but not yet a conclusive sign that price increases are turning a corner.

The Consumer Price Index climbed 8.5 percent in the year through July, compared with 9.1 percent the prior month, a bigger slowdown than economists had projected. After stripping out food and fuel costs to get a sense of underlying price pressures, prices climbed by 5.9 percent through July, matching the previous reading. [The New York Times, 8/10/22]


Markets “surged” on Wednesday following a 0.0% months increase on the Consumer Price Index. Bloomberg’s Joe Weisenthal explained that while falling gas prices was a dominant factor, “core inflation — which excludes food and energy— also came in well below expectations (0.3% sequentially versus the 0.5% median estimate of economists).”


Markets surged yesterday after we got a 0.0% reading on month-over-month headline CPI. This was below the 0.2% that was expected, and well below the 1.3% number that we saw in the previous month. Of course, headline inflation was heavily influenced by the recent plunge in gasoline prices. However, core inflation — which excludes food and energy— also came in well below expectations (0.3% sequentially versus the 0.5% median estimate of economists). [Bloomberg, 8/11/22]


CNBC: “Stocks soar, S&P 500 hits highest level in three months after key report shows slowdown in inflation.” [CNBC, 8/10/22]
President Joe Biden noted that the CPI inflation data showed 0.0% change in July

On August 10, Biden talked about the CPI data showing 0% inflation in July, saying “people are still hurting” but “we’re setting some signs that the inflation may be beginning to moderate.”


PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I want to say a word about the news that came out today relative to the economy. Actually I just want to say a number. Zero. Today, we received news that our economy had 0% inflation in the month of July. Zero percent. Here’s what that means: While the price of some things go up -- went up last month, the price of other things went down by the same amount. The result, 0% inflation last month, but people are still hurting. But zero inflation last month.

Economists look at a measure of inflation that ignores food and energy prices and they call it core inflation. That’s about the lowest amount in several year -- several months. When you couple that with last week’s booming jobs report of 528,000 jobs created last month and 3.5% unemployment, it underscores the kind of economy we’ve been building. We’re seeing a stronger labor market where jobs are booming and Americans are working. And we’re seeing some signs that inflation may be beginning to moderate. [The Guardian, 8/10/22]

Analysts say Biden is right and this may reflect a turning point

Economist and author Zachary Carter: Inflation in July was zero. In a Twitter thread, Carter explains, “Inflation in July was 0. Nobody is tricking you or conning you by stating that fact.” He continues: “It is also true that prices in July 2022 were 8.5% higher than they were in July 2021. That is because prices increased between July 2021 and June 2022. Prices stopped increasing in July 2022, which is why it is correct to say inflation was zero in July 2022.” [Twitter, 8/11/22]

Slate analyst: “It’s totally acceptable to cite the one-month change in prices if you want to convey how much inflation is speeding up or slowing down in real time.” Slate’s Jordan Weissmann, while writing that Biden is “is at risk of spiking the football early” in noting that inflation was at 0.0% for the month, notes, that “You can accuse Biden of omitting context, but he isn’t lying, making things up, or violating any kind of longstanding practice by economists and journalists.” in noting that inflation was at zero for the month. [Slate, 8/10/22]


Along with critical race theory, “wokeness,” the deep state, and other recent conservative obsessions, it appears we can now add the basic language of economics to the list of things Republicans have decided to go to war on.

Take the latest round of inflation statistics. On Wednesday morning, the U.S. got its first bit of truly good news about the rising cost of living this year. The Consumer Price Index, which has been surging in recent months, remained essentially flat in July. That was largely thanks to tumbling gas prices, which canceled out rising costs elsewhere. (Technically, the index actually declined a tiny amount, but the change rounded to zero.)

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, and is watched closely by economists and the markets, rose at a 3.8 percent annual rate, its lowest reading since September 2021.


Now, personally, I think the president is at risk of spiking the football early here. While today’s inflation report was certainly welcome news, the month-to-month data can be erratic and reading too much into a single report can be hazardous. (I mean, trust me.) Nonetheless, everything Biden said was strictly accurate. Overall prices did not rise in July, meaning that inflation for the month was zero.

It makes sense to cite the rate of inflation from the past 12 months when you want to talk about the cost of living versus a year before, which is what most families care about. But it’s totally acceptable to cite the one-month change in prices if you want to convey how much inflation is speeding up or slowing down in real time. I’ve often done it after particularly bad reports to highlight that prices were accelerating. You can accuse Biden of omitting context, but he isn’t lying, making things up, or violating any kind of longstanding practice by economists and journalists. [Slate, 8/10/22]

Right-wing media figures argue that the inflation report showing a net zero increase in July is meaningless because it is month-to-month and could be because demand is lowering

Fox co-anchors Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino pushed back on White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein’s statement that inflation did not increase during July. Hemmer responded, “a lot of those price reductions reflect demand, too, in the economy and the consumer.” When Bernstein pointed to gas prices lowering, Hemmer pushed back saying, “So is demand. Demand is lowering, too. That's a big reason why gasoline is dropping the way it is.” The on-screen chyron during the segment stated: “Consumer prices in July up 8.5% from a year ago.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom, 8/10/22]

Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy disingenuously said that “the way the White House calculates things, when pierces are 8.5% higher than this time last year, that 8.5 actually could equal zero.” He went on to say that calculating inflation month-to-month is “not the way most economists do it.” Conservative economic commentator Steve Moore later added, “The reason that gas prices are coming down is because people aren't traveling as much in their car because they can't afford the high price of gasoline.” [Fox News, Your World with Neil Cavuto, 8/10/22]
Accusations that the Biden administration is ignoring prices are still high

Fox co-host Greg Gutfeld said Biden took “a premature victory,” in his “ridiculous new talking point.” Co-host Dana Perino accused the White House of saying that “wages are up so everyone should just be happy,” while co-host Jesse Watters argued Biden’s announcement was akin to him saying, “I just gave you a black eye but oh you know the swelling is going down a little bit.” [Fox News, The Five, 8/10/22]

On Fox Business, Wall Street Journal columnist Mary O’Grady said that “they are trying to take a victory lap,” and that Biden is “not acknowledging, you know, the continuing pain for consumers.” Host Elizabeth MacDonald called it a “confusing message on inflation,” pressing that “inflation is not at zero. They mean net zero. Falling gas prices dropped it below zero. But everything else is up on everything else, especially food and groceries.” [Fox News, The Evening Edit, 8/10/22]

On Newsmax, guest host John Bachman said that he’s “not sure how the president came up with the idea of zero inflation over the past month when the food and energy prices are stripped out, and even if he shifts the focus to last week's jobs report, inflation is still not zero.” [Newsmax, The Record with Greta Van Susteren, 8/10/22]

Newsmax host Rob Schmitt said that “the Biden administration [is] desperately trying to spin today’s new inflation numbers as some kind of a win.” Congressional correspondent Kilmeny Duchardt said that “it’s a classic case, Rob, of playing politics with numbers,” adding, “There was no inflation in the month of July, but that doesn’t mean that inflation is not affecting the economy.” Schmitt went on to later claim, “CNN [is] gaslighting Americans to get them to believe that this very slight decrease in the inflation rate is something to celebrate.” [Newsmax, Rob Schmitt Tonight, 8/10/22]

Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner also criticized the announcement, saying, “I guess they haven’t been to the grocery store lately.” [Fox News, The Faulkner Focus, 8/11/22]

Newsmax’s John Bachman told his viewers: “repeat the lie enough and it becomes the truth. Now, here’s the real truth: Disregard what you hear from the White House.” Bachman continued, “Inflation, true, didn't go up last month per se, but prices, as [Sen.] Ted Cruz pointed out, are still much higher than they were last year.” [Newsmax, John Bachman Now, 8/11/22]
Claims of the Biden administration lying or intentionally misleading people

On CNBC’s Squawk Box, political strategist Frank Luntz said the announcement is “cynical. It's a destruction of the meaning of words. It's Orwellian at its worst.” [CNBC, Squawk Box, 8/10/22]

On Fox Business’ Kudlow, former Raegan economic adviser Art Laffer complained that Biden “never mentioned the month before where we had 17.8% inflation in that month” and that “he’s cherry-picking his numbers.” [Fox Business, Kudlow, 8/10/22]

In a report, Doocy claimed that Biden’s inflation claim “is not true” because “prices are not up 0% since last year,” ignoring that inflation was at a net 0.0% only for the month of July. The report further put a damper on the inflation report, pressing that some “worry about the reason for the decline” in gas prices. [Fox News, The Special Report with Bret Baier, 8/10/22]

Right-wing radio host Stu Burguiere called Biden “disingenuous” and he has “ignored the main measure” of inflation. He pressed that listeners need to “realize these idiots are going to come out here and say this all day because they think you are so stupid, you just might believe it. And they know they're lying and they're going to do it anyway.” [The Blaze, The Glenn Beck Program, 8/10/22]

Newsmax host Chris Salcedo called the administration “spin doctors.” Guest Sean Spicer, former White House press secretary and the host of Spicer & Co, added that “it is unbelievable to say zero, creating the impression that inflation is zero when it still remains at a historic 40-year high, is unbelievable.” [Newsmax, The Chris Salcedo Show, 8/10/22]

Fox News host Jesse Watters: “Today, President Biden walked up to the podium and lied to you.” [Fox News, Jesse Watters Primetime, 8/10/22]

Fox host Brian Kilmeade said that in his announcement, Biden “ignored all the price increases from last year.” While guest hosting Tucker Carlson Tonight, Kilmeade claimed, “What Joe Biden didn't tell you is that zero inflation is only from June to July of this year, he ignored all the price increases from last year — you haven't. But hey, if inflation is zero, why do we need the Inflation Reduction Act, remember that?” [Fox News, Tucker Carlson Tonight, 8/10/22]

Fox host Laura Ingraham said, “It is Orwellian, the manipulation of language when real people are suffering.” Fox Business’ Larry Kudlow later added, “This crowd is kind of making a career out of, shall we say, cognitive dissonance or fraudulent statements.” [Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, 8/10/22]

Fox correspondent Kevin Corke said, “Critics said the president doesn't understand simple math or he is gaslighting the American people.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends First, 8/11/22m]

On Fox, The Heritage Foundation’s Kevin Roberts said “Joe Biden has never let the truth get in the way of his political opinion.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends First, 8/11/22]

Fox’s Steve Doocy suggested the announcement was “lies, damn lies, and statistics,” and Kilmeade claimed Biden is “not being honest.” Co-host Ainsley Earhardt added, “They just look at the numbers and they find a number that might be appealing to them and then they run with that and they spin the story.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 8/11/22]

On Newsmax, co-host Katrina Szish argued that Biden’s announcement is “semantics at this point.” Her guest Republican strategist Erin Elmore agreed, accusing Biden of going on television to “brag and boast that he's lowered gas prices and that inflation is 0%,” while prices are still abnormally high. Szish later said, “They didn't take any responsibility for those numbers going up, but now to claim victory for those numbers sort of going down. Americans are not that stupid and also I think our memories are also not that short.” [Newsmax, Wake Up America, 8/11/22]

Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo: “This is more misinformation and disinformation.” [Fox News, America’s Newsroom, 8/11/22]

Fox Business’ Stuart Varney: Biden “knows that's not strictly accurate. He knows inflation remains at high levels, but he doesn't want to admit that to voters three months before an election.” He went on to say, “We know we're getting worse off no matter what the president says.” [Fox Business, Varney & Co, 8/11/22]

DNA Study Finds Etruscans Originated From Steppes, Not Anatolia

By Patricia Claus
August 13, 2022

A detail from the sarcophagus known as “The sarcophagus of the Spouses,” one of the masterpieces of Etruscan art, now in the Louvre Museum. New DNA evidence shows that these peoples were not from Anatolia but from the steppes, as were the forefathers of most Europeans. Credit: ecelan/CC BY 2.5

The mystery of the origins of the Etruscan people — the center of an enigma that stretches back millennia — has recently been solved, due to the miracles of DNA testing. But in effect, the answer the scientists uncovered only prompts more questions about the advanced civilization that flourished north of Rome.

It has long been known that the Etruscans, who called themselves the Rasenna and who battled the early Romans in defending their territory, had a very advanced culture, with elaborate architecture and burials, with grave objects of exquisite artistry showing the advancement of their technology.

The physical reminders of the Etruscans, including stunning sculpture and monuments, show that they had a rich culture valuing great craftsmanship and the production of artwork. Almost all of Etruscan art shows that they had a deep understanding and knowledge of Greek culture as well. Their sophisticated political systems were also notable.

Until recently, however, huge holes in Etruscan scholarship remained, while academics tried to tease out more about how these people came to be and where they might have come from.

Their language — as recorded in inscriptions from southern Etruria, dating back to approximately 700 BC, is not believed to be an Indo-European tongue. As anyone might infer, usually language is an enormous — often the determining — factor in pinning down the origins and movement of peoples.

Although they developed and used a system of writing which employs symbols borrowed from Euboean Greek script, which originated on the Greek island of Evia, the Etruscan language still remains only partly understood.

Even ancient historians such as the Greek historian Herodotus, known as the Father of History, stated that the Etruscans had migrated into Italy from Anatolia or the Aegean, and that their culture had Greek origins.

This interpretation, however, is not favored by modern scholars; archeologists have uncovered very little evidence in support of their migration from what is now Greece. But the very unusual language of this people, whose culture was tantalizingly advanced for its time, has led many to assume that their origin was far from what is now Italy.

Much like the Basques, whose language is also not Indo-European, the origins of the Etruscans was assumed to be quite unlike those of other ethnically European peoples.

Exquisite Etruscan sarcophagus of Seianti Hanunia Tlesnasa, from 150-130 BC. British Museum. The dead woman, her name inscribed on the base of her chest, was clearly a well-to-do lady. She reclines upon a mattress and pillow, holding an open-lidded mirror in her left hand and raising her right hand to adjust her mantle. She wears a tunic (chiton) with high girdle and a bordered cloa, and her jewellery comprises a tiara, earrings, necklace, bracelets and finger-rings. The skeleton from the sarcophagus was found to belong to a woman who was about fifty years old at the time of her death. Credit: Unknown/CC BY-SA 3.0

The Etruscan language is not completely unique, belonging to what linguists now call the Tyrsenian languages — all of which are extinct. This linguistic family includes Rhaetic, which was once spoken in the Alps, and Lemnian, which originated from the Greek island of Lemnos in the Aegean Sea.

Obviously this leads anyone to believe that the languages could naturally have spread by way of seagoing peoples from the Mediterranean; but now, researchers know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Etruscans did not have such origins.

Researchers say that it is a possibility that all the Tyrsenian languages spread out from Etruria itself; this will be the basis of a great deal of further study.

The DNA for the recent study, the results of which were published in Science Advances, was was taken from twelve sites across Italy, from the skeletons of people buried over the past two thousand years. This now shows that Anatolia indeed was not only not the origin of this mysterious people, but that the Etruscans shared a great deal of DNA with individuals who lived just south of their homeland, in Rome itself.

The Etruscans actually descended from pastoralists (sheep herders) who moved into the region from the steppes during the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age, from approximately 6,000 BC to 3,500 BC.

The enormous region of the steppes, in what is now Hungary, the Ukraine and Central Asia, is of course part of the area where all Indo-European languages originate. A fact which makes these new DNA results even more perplexing — and almost maddening — for linguists, since language is almost always a determinant of culture.

But of course, nothing involving human beings is simple. Wars, and natural intermixing that can occur as peoples traded and interacted with each other, may have changed the genetic imprint of the people while their original language lived on for many centuries.

According to anthropologist David Caramelli of the University of Florence in Italy, “This linguistic persistence, combined with a genetic turnover, challenges simple assumptions that genes equal languages.

This, he explained, “suggests a more complex scenario that may have involved the assimilation of early Italic speakers by the Etruscan speech community, possibly during a prolonged period of admixture over the second millennium BCE.”

The extent of the Etruscan civilization. New DNA data shows that these people had their origins in what is now Italy, not Anatolia, as previously believed by many.

 Credit: NormanEinstein – Based on a map from The National Geographic Magazine Vol.173 No.6 June 1988/ CC BY-SA 3.0

It is also possible, the researchers say, that the Etruscan civilization came from an indigenous population that had already long been settled in the area, or an autochthonous civilization.

The recent DNA study was headed by anthropologist Cosimo Posth of the University of Tübingen in Germany, who guided a large international team of researchers who wanted to dispel the mystery of the Etruscans by taking look at ancient DNA.

By collecting genetic samples from 82 people who lived from 800 BC to 1000 AD across Etruria and all of southern Italy, and comparing them to DNA from other ancient and modern peoples, they found that Etruscans did indeed share the genetic profile of their neighbors.

Gold sheets known as the “Pyrgi tablets” showing a treatise in both Etruscan and Phoenician. Etruscan Museum, Rome. Credit: Pufacz/Public Domain

These included the Latins, who lived in Rome during the very same time period — despite the two groups not only speaking very different languages but having major cultural differences as well.

Having origins in the great grasslands of the steppes, along with most other European peoples, much of their genetic profile can be attributed to sharing this ancestry — but that’s what makes their linguistic and cultural differences all that much more striking.

According to this major new scientific study, there were enormous DNA changes that took place in what is now Italy as a result of the rise of the Roman Empire, with the Etruscans showing that their genes then intermixed with that of the many slaves and soldiers who came from other lands.

Anthropologist Johannes Krause, from the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, says “This genetic shift clearly depicts the role of the Roman Empire in the large-scale displacement of people in a time of enhanced upward or downward socioeconomic and geographic mobility.”

Then again, as is to be expected, during the Middle Ages, after the political collapse of the Roman Empire, the genetic profile of the people living in what is now Italy changed Ince more, with northern European genes inserting themselves in the DNA profiles of individuals living across the Italian peninsula.



The researchers believe that this most likely was because of the invasion of the Lombards, who originated from Germany and Sweden, who not only conquered but subsequently went on to stay in the country from 568 to 774 AD.

However, as one would also imagine, things calmed down on the DNA front after about 1,000 AD onward, as the invasions stopped and the genetic profiles of those living in Tuscany, Lazio, and Basilicata remained more or less unchanged.

The researchers say that this is also consistent with the genetic profile of individuals living in Rome itself at the time. There will be subsequent studies using other datasets from other regions of the Roman Empire in the future.

Posth, from the University of Tubingen, says in conclusion “The Roman Empire appears to have left a long-lasting contribution to the genetic profile of southern Europeans, bridging the gap between European and eastern Mediterranean populations on the genetic map of western Eurasia.”