COP27: Host resort town gives Egypt tight grip over protests

AP
5 Nov, 2022 

Workers walk past signage promoting this year’s United Nations global summit on climate change. Photo / AP

With turquoise seawaters and rich coral reefs, Egypt’s resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh is a picturesque location for this year’s United Nations global summit on climate change, known as COP27.

But behind postcard-perfect appearances, it’s a tightly controlled fortress on the Red Sea. Climate activists say the restrictions will discourage protests that have been a way for the public to raise their voices at past summits.

Many working in tourism have been sent home; those who stayed need special security cards. Vacationers have been turned back at security checkpoints surrounding the town. Hotel rates have increased ten-fold, pricing out many. Local workers are prevented from speaking freely with visitors.

In a country where protests are virtually banned, the government has set up a specific venue for climate protests — except no one is quite sure where it is. Notifications are required 36 hours in advance.

The sun sets over Al Sahaba mosque in the old market in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Photo / AP

Egypt’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment. In past statements, officials have pledged to allow protest and participation from activists.

As COP27 approaches, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi’s government has touted its efforts to make Sharm el-Sheikh a more eco-friendly city, with new solar panels and electric vehicles.

“From the beginning, there was a big question mark on the choice of Egypt as a host country,” said one Egyptian activist, who was detained for over two years without trial during the government’s crackdown on dissent. He spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing he could be re-arrested. “They know that the choice of Sharm means there would be no protests.”

The scene is likely to be a sharp contrast to COP26 last year in Glasgow, Scotland, where some 100,000 people marched through the streets in one rally and protesters massed frequently in public squares, parks and bridges.

On Friday, a group of activists took part in a small protest calling for climate action on the African continent at a roundabout in front of the conference venue in Sharm el-Sheikh. A line of police stood by.

A group of UN-appointed experts has expressed concern that the environment in Egypt will not be conducive to full and open participation.

For decades, Sharm el-Sheikh has been the government’s favourite spot for conferences and high-level summits precisely because it is so easy to control. The 1996 Mideast peace summit attended by then-President Bill Clinton was held there.

A 10-lane highway, part of the refurbishing of the city for this year’s United Nations global summit on climate change. Photo / A

Isolated in the desert near the Sinai’s southern tip, Sharm — as it’s often referred to — is a six-hour drive from the capital, Cairo. Vehicles must pass through a closely guarded tunnel under the Suez Canal, then numerous checkpoints along the highway, enabling authorities to turn back those considered undesirable.

A concrete and razor-wire barrier surrounds parts of Sharm. One entrance is set into a several-story-high concrete wall, painted with a gigantic peace sign — a reference to the “City of Peace,” a nickname authorities have tried to make stick to Sharm. Large boulevards in the desert link walled resorts, with few public spaces for people to gather.

Hussein Baoumi, Amnesty International’s researcher for Egypt and Libya, called it a “dystopic city.”

“There is so much surveillance, so much control over who enters and who leaves the city, which is again an attempt to control who gets to speak to the international community,” he said.

Hotel workers say security is particularly tight for COP27 — all must obtain security clearance and since Tuesday, they have been barred from leaving their places of work or housing. Some decided to return to their hometowns until the conference ends.

“We are accustomed to restrictions, but this time it is very harsh and there were no exceptions,” said a waiter at a four-star hotel.

Security has always been high in Sharm because to the north, across the length of the peninsula, Egypt’s military has been battling a decade-old insurgency led by a local branch of the Islamic State group. In 2015, a Russian MetroJet plane crashed soon after takeoff from Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 224 people onboard, an attack claimed by IS.

Sinai has twice been occupied by neighbouring Israel: first during the Suez Crisis in 1956, which also involved France and Britain, and later in the 1967 Middle East war. It was returned to Egypt in 1982 as part of the US-brokered peace deal between Egypt and Israel.

Flags from countries participating in this year’s United Nations global summit on climate change. Photo / AP

Since then, government-licensed development has helped Sinai’s southern coast become a top beach and scuba-diving destination.

The COP27 conference is taking place at Sharm’s large convention center. As in past COPs, only official UN-accredited delegates can enter the venue, known as the Blue Zone, which during the gathering is considered UN territory and subject to international law.

Another venue, the Green Zone, is for businesses, youth and civil society to hold events on the sidelines of the summit. It remains unclear where protests are meant to happen. A government COP27 website says that besides the 36-hour notification for protests inside the venue, a 48-hour notice via email is required for protests outside it.

From the few photos of the Green Zone in pro-government press, it appears to be on a section of highway or a parking area with cafeterias set up. Maj. Gen. Khaled Fouda, the provincial governor, called the site “very chic and clean” in comments to local TV last month.

“Protests are allowed, but smashing and insulting are not allowed,” he said.

The government has dispatched 500 taxis to transport COP27 attendants, Fouda said — all with cameras connected to a “security observatory” meant to monitor the drivers’ behavior.

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None of this bodes well for activism, climate protest leaders say.

Greta Thunberg, a youth leader of the protest movement, has said she would not attend. “The space for civil society this year is extremely limited,” she said at a recent London event. “It will be very difficult for activists to make their voice heard.”

Cost is another factor. The recently released Egyptian activist said that many can’t afford to travel, with the cost of a plane ticket from Cairo out of reach for many amid double-digit domestic inflation.

Cristine Majeni, a youth environment volunteer from Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, scraped together thousands of dollars required for her 10-day trip, after struggling through the accreditation process.

“It’s crucial for us to be given an opportunity to take part,” she said.

Tight security and last-minute hustle as Cop27 opens in Sharm El Sheikh

Red Sea resort is almost unrecognisable in some parts after major sprucing up


Delegates look at map of the climate summit venue in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh on November 6. AP

Hamza Hendawi
Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
Nov 06, 2022

Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh prepared to receive global leaders for nearly two weeks of talks on curbing climate change with a flurry of last-minute activity before the formal opening of Cop27 on Sunday.

Long known for its pristine sea waters and golden beaches, as well as coral reefs at risk from global warming, many parts of the city are almost unrecognisable after four months of sprucing up at a cost of billions of pounds.

New five-lane motorways now connect hotels where the delegates will stay to the conference venue, the International Convention Centre. The roads have been built without speed breakers to allow the motorcades of presidents, prime ministries and other top-level officials to dart from their hotels to the conference venue and back without hindrance.

With about 200 heads of state and government representatives among the 45,000 participants, security is tight throughout the city, particularly at the venue.

A sign at the venue of the climate summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh. Getty

The police presence at hotels is heavier than usual, while armed officers in combat fatigues are posted along roads to the venue and plainclothes policemen, conspicuous in suits and ties, keep watch on roads near the conference centre. People entering the venue must go through airport-level security checks.


Egyptians coming into Sharm El Sheikh by road have been subjected to intense searches and identity checks in recent weeks, with police in some cases demanding documents to explain their reason for visiting. Passengers arriving at the city's airport on domestic flights are requested to scan their passports if they are participating in the conference.

The main entrance of the International Convention Centre in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh where the UN climate summit is being held. AFP

The roads to the venue are adorned with billboards bearing climate-related phrases such as “Return nature to its nature” and “From ambition to work”, but no billboards featuring President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, which can be seen on most main roads in the capital Cairo and other major cities in the country of 104 million.

As is usually the case with conferences of this size, last-minute work continued at the venue until just hours before the official opening on Sunday.

Technicians were connecting communication cables, porters were ferrying new chairs and desks still wrapped in nylon into conference rooms, and the rattling of trolleys laden with office equipment being pushed by workers in blue overalls filled the air in the venue’s hallways.
The opening day of Cop27 in Sharm El Sheikh — in pictures






















Alok Sharma, president of the Cop26 climate summit, speaks at Cop27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. AP

Sam Matekane - can a diamond magnate help Lesotho to sparkle?

BBC

Published 12 hours ago

IMAGE SOURCE,AFP

By Pumza Fihlani
BBC News, Maseru

Sam Matekane has taken many chances in his life - it is how he has been able to build a multimillion-dollar mining empire and become one of Lesotho's most formidable businessmen. But those close to him say entering politics is by far his biggest gamble.

"It wasn't an easy decision for him because politics has become poisoned. But the country was going down, the economy, everything was collapsing, and something needed to change," Teboho Kobeli, his friend of more than 30 years and business partner, told the BBC.

The 64-year-old, who until recently headed the Matekane Group of Companies (MGC) - a business empire that spans mining, aviation and real-estate development - has become the mountain kingdom's newest prime minister.

A daunting challenge, given the political and economic turmoil in the country, where no prime minister has served out his term for the past decade.

"Sam decided it was worth sacrificing himself if it saves Lesotho," said Mr Kobeli.

The diamond-mining magnate is a political novice, having started his bid for the top job with a party he launched just five months before the elections.

But does he have what it takes to change Lesotho's fortunes?


Podcaster Katleho Selatela says people are no longer afraid to speak about politics

"Sam does not like to fail," Mr Kobeli, a textile business owner, told me.

"He has a determination I've never seen in anyone [else]. When he starts something, rest assured that he will see it to the end and he will make sure it succeeds.

"What he doesn't know, he works hard to learn and makes sure to have people with expertise around him. That is what gives him his edge."

Mr Kobeli says the political arena will be no different: "He will pour everything of himself into it."

No military patrols

We met up in Lesotho's capital Maseru, a small, bustling old city whose streets highlight two of the main issues facing the country:

Young people selling fruits and vegetables on the side of the road - a not-so-subtle sign of the lack of jobs and prospects

A handful of labourers working feverishly to patch up pitted roads, painstakingly refilling the craters that make driving a challenge - a nod to the country's strained infrastructure.

Having covered Lesotho's fractious and sometimes tense politics over the years, the mood seems more light-hearted than on my previous visits.

It is notable that there are no military patrols on the streets and that people seem more comfortable to talk about politics when asked.

BBC
If he does for Lesotho what he has done for his businesses then he could be our saviour"Retired soldier Mokaba Matlalane

on the new prime minister


Twenty-five-year-old aspiring podcaster Katleho Selatela attested to this: "It feels like we can be critical about the government and not worry about safety. It feels like we can be proud to be Basotho again."

Another resident, retired soldier Mokaba Matlalane, put this change down to Mr Matekane.

"We have been suffering for many years and our governments have been failing us," the 72-year-old told me.

"If he does for Lesotho what he has done for his businesses then he could be our saviour."

Missed school to farm

Mr Matekane is a well-regarded businessman in the small country, which has a population of 2.2 million and is entirely surrounded by South Africa. But outside business circles he is known mostly for his philanthropy.


The Bocheletsane Combined School opened in Mantšonyane in 2019

Over the years he has built a school that offers sponsorships, hospital wards, a football stadium and started farming projects, to get people working and earning a living back in his home village of Mantšonyane.

He is the seventh of 14 children born to farmers. Village life was demanding and school was juggled between herding the family's livestock and working the fields - each child expected to help out, which at times meant missing classes for days.

With many mouths to feed in the Matekane household, his parents sent him to Maseru to live with relatives when he was old enough.

"Daddy didn't go as far as he would have wanted to in school - this is one of the reasons he feels led to help children in similar circumstances to get an education," his daughter-in-law, Mamotake Matekane, told the BBC.

Married to one of Mr Matekane's six children, she has worked at MGC for more than a decade and is now its chief operations officer, describing her father-in-law as "all business".

"He takes what he does seriously, he is results driven. He has an impeccable eye for detail, and a sharp memory and does not miss anything."

BBC
There is no underperforming on his watch"Mamotake Matekane
Sam Matekane's daughter-in-law and MGC executvie


Mrs Matekane then warned, half-jokingly: "I hope the people in government understand that about him and are ready for that. That is who Lesotho is getting.

"He is warm, giving, loyal but also believes in doing what you have said you will do. There is no underperforming on his watch."

The move to politics was an unexpected adjustment for his family.

When Mr Matekane, a grandfather of seven who lost his wife to cancer last year, called a gathering to tell them he would be forming a political party, the news was met with concern at first, his daughter-in-law said.

"One of his sisters even shed a tear. Some were worried about his safety, some about what this would do to the businesses and legacy he has built for over 30 years."

Yet he was determined, she said, telling them: "Our family have the ability to leave and go and rebuild our lives elsewhere, but what about the rest of Basotho? What about them? I have to try and do something."

'It is his game to lose'

It is a sacrifice that appears to have paid off.

Back in his village, where the infrastructure is scant, and modest homes dot the mountain slopes and valleys of the one-street neighbourhood, the people beamed with pride when they spoke of the new prime minister.


Mantšonyane residents have confidence in the new prime minister

"We have hope. I've never voted before, it didn't seem worth the time, but when Mr Matekane entered politics that all changed for me," said 36-year-old street vendor Maretsepile Kapoko.

"I believe if he was able to bring so many good things to our village from his own money, how much more for Lesotho if he is running the country," she said.

But Mr Matekane has his work cut out for him. Running the government is not a one-man show and many politicians in Lesotho are seen as tainted, experts warn.

Since independence from the UK in 1966, there have been a number of military coups, including one in 2014, and three national elections in the past five years.

For a decade none of Lesotho's political parties has garnered enough votes to form a government. As a result, the country has been run by coalitions that have proved fractious, and no prime minister has served a full five-year term.

Mr Matekane's newly formed Revolution for Prosperity Party (RFP) won 56 constituencies, falling short of the 72 for an outright majority, and invited two smaller parties into a coalition.

But as the dominant partner, political analysts believe the new PM is well placed to end the streak of short-lived terms.

"It is his game to lose," said Dr Thlolohang Letsie, head of the politics department at the National University of Lesotho.

"Two things are counting in his favour: he has the goodwill of the people and the older parties have been humbled at the polls - some are even more divided now than before."

Politics aside, the economy is in a mess. Unemployment and poverty have worsened in recent years and hundreds of thousands of Basotho are facing food insecurity.

If this was a business venture, it would be considered by some as a bad investment.

Yet those close to him say he is driven by his love for Lesotho and her people and for that he is prepared to put it all on the line.

"If he governs using his firm business ethics, delivers then he has the power to make this work," said Dr Letsie.

But he warns: "He needs to remain bold, and show leadership like he does in business."

More on this story

Lesotho country profile
2 days ago

WB aims to ‘spur’ action with Pakistan climate report

Amin Ahmed Published November 6, 2022 

ISLAMABAD: The World Bank will release a Pakistan-centric climate report during the United Nat­ions Climate Conference (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, to help prioritise impactful actions needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and boost adaptation.

According to a statement by the World Bank, ‘Climate and Development Report’ will be launched on November 10.

Pakistan ranks among the ten countries most affected by climate change, the statement said, adding climate and development reports are diagnostic reports that integrate climate change and development considerations within the context of nations. The launch will follow a multi-stakeholder discussion on priority investments and policy changes to drive Pakistan’s development while managing climate risk.

Meanwhile, in a report, released on Friday, the World Bank calculated that investing an average of 1.4 per cent of GDP annually could reduce emissions in developing countries by as much as 70pc by 2050.

‘Climate and Devel­opment: An Agenda for Action’, compiled results from reports, covering over 20 countries accounting for 34pc of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The report added investment needs are “markedly higher” in lower-income countries which are more vulnerable to climate risk, often exceeding 5pc of the GDP. These countries will need incre­a­sed amounts of concessional finance and grants to manage climate change impacts and develop along a low-carbon path.

The report also analysed the financial stability of individual countries and highlighted steps on integrating climate and development objectives.

“This approach to climate action can help them manage the negative impacts of climate change, while generating positive impacts on GDP and economic growth, and delivering critical development outcomes such as reducing poverty.”

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2022

The Secret Mission to Snatch Crimea Back From Putin’s Clutches

TAKEOVER

A top Ukrainian official shared with The Daily Beast an underground plan to take back key territory stolen by Vladimir Putin eight years ago.


Shannon Vavra
National Security Reporter
Updated Nov. 06, 2022 

EXCLUSIVE

Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty

Ukrainian forces are working to force Russia to retreat from Kherson, a key region Russia seized in the early days of the war this year. But behind the scenes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s administration is plotting next steps for a takeover of Crimea, which Russia has been occupying since 2014 when Vladimir Putin illegally annexed the peninsula.

Tamila Tasheva, the official responsible for the plan to take back Crimea and kick Russia out, told The Daily Beast she is looking to the battlefield and an underground network of informants in Crimea to help.

Tasheva has long believed the “main mechanism” for kicking Russia out will depend on political factors and diplomacy with allies. But as the invasion has raged into its ninth month and Ukraine has begun to gain momentum in counteroffensives, the military component of the Crimea takeover is upon the Ukrainian government.

The “main mechanism of deoccupation” is the “political and diplomatic way,” Tasheva told The Daily Beast in an exclusive interview this week. “But of course we also in this strategy of deoccupation, we also [talk] about another mechanism of deoccupation including, of course, military components of deoccupation.”

Ukraine’s intelligence services have told her they believe Ukraine will be able to seize Crimea by the spring or summer of 2023, Tasheva said. But she thinks it might happen sooner.

“General Budanov also mentioned that we could deoccupy the territory of Crimea at the end of spring 2023 and maybe in summer,” Tasheva said, referring to Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s top military intelligence official. “It’s really my belief that we return Crimea back to Ukraine in a shorter period of time.”

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The Zelensky administration’s optimism about liberating Crimea underlines the dramatic shift in momentum in the war over recent months. Global leaders who fretted that Kyiv would fall to Russia in a matter of days after Russia’s invasion are now watching Ukrainians make stunning gains on the battlefield. The strategy has now shifted from talk of clawing back territory Russia has taken this year to taking back territory Russia took in 2014, including Crimea.

“We understand that the situation dramatically changed after the full scale invasion,” Tasheva said, noting that victory for Ukraine lies in pushing Russia out with its 2022 and 2014 gains in mind. “We have had a war in Ukraine for more than eight years, and it has not started on Feb. 24 this year, but eight years ago with the occupation of Crimea.”

The timeline for Ukraine to try to retake Crimea is unclear, Tasheva pointed out. But with the Ukrainian military forcing Russia to retreat from multiple pockets of Ukraine, the prospect is closer than ever before.

“I don’t know at this moment and maybe… nobody… [has] really concrete data when we deoccupy Crimea,” Tasheva said. “But it’s a shorter period than we expected one year ago.”

Deputy Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Tamila Tasheva
Inna Borodaieva / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images

The retaking of Crimea by Ukraine would be a major blow to Moscow. For Putin, losing Crimea would be personal, and could threaten his political legitimacy in Russia, especially considering his popularity ratings surged when he seized Crimea in 2014, according to Angela Stent, a former national intelligence officer for Russia and Eurasia at the National Intelligence Council.

“This is one of his claims to legitimacy,” Stent told The Daily Beast. “One of the major claims is that he restored Crimea to its rightful place. If Crimea were now to be taken by the Ukrainians, then that would be a huge blow to his own legitimacy.”

“The concern would be what the next kind of escalation might be from Russia,” Stent said.

Already, following numerous attacks on Russian military entities in Crimea, Russia has intensified assaults on Ukrainian infrastructure, knocking out Kyiv’s water and power supplies. These attacks show Putin is likely raging about incursions into Crimea, according to Stent.

“Putin senses—and the people around him—the reality that their army really is doing very badly… therefore, you have this intensification of the strikes on infrastructure,” Stent said.

If Ukraine tries to kick Russia out of Crimea, it could run the risk of giving Putin a way to galvanize support domestically for the war, warned John Herbst, the former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine.

Ukrainian soldiers carry a wounded comrade across a heavily damaged bridge over the Oskil River on Sept. 30, 2022 in Kupiansk, Ukraine.
Scott Peterson/Getty Images

“A little bit of caution is in order,” Herbst told The Daily Beast. “A serious Ukrainian offensive in Crimea might enable Putin to rally support at home for his misbegotten war.”

Tasheva’s confidence about planning a Crimea takeover comes as signs emerge that Russia could be preparing to retreat from Kherson, which would be a necessary precursor to going after Crimea, she said.

Russian forces seized Kherson in the early days of the war. It sits just north of Crimea and represents a key component of Putin’s dreams to create a “land bridge” from Russia to Crimea, which has been crucial to supplying troops and pushing northwards into Ukraine.

And although Russian forces were able to take Kherson—in part by using Crimea as a launchpad—it’s now Moscow’s only major stronghold on the western side of the Dnieper River.

Tasheva acknowledged that booting Russia from Kherson should come before going after Crimea.

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“We understand it’s really connected—deoccupation of Crimea—connected to the situation in the battlefield, in the southern part of Ukraine, especially deoccupation of Kherson,” Tasheva said.

Some of Russia’s foothold is starting to crumble, according to U.S. officials and reports from the ground. A Russian-installed administrator for the region said Thursday that Russia may abandon the region soon.

“Most likely, our troops will leave for the left-bank part of the Kherson region,” Kirill Stremousov, the Russian-installed deputy chief for the region, told Solovyov-Live.

Videos have emerged from Ukraine showing Russian flags had been taken down from the regional administration building in Kherson, according to Russian war correspondent Sasha Kots.

For Ben Hodges, the former commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, Russia’s fate is all but sealed, given Russia’s poor logistics and Ukraine’s methodical approach.

“As long as we continue to provide them with what they need, to me this is irreversible. The Russians cannot stop it,” Hodges said. “The only thing that they’re able to do right now is murder innocent people.”

But although there’s promise in Kherson, roadblocks remain. Rains in recent days have made the approach muddy and slow for Ukrainians, The Washington Post reported. Ukraine’s military said last week that Russia had moved up to 1,000 troops into the region.

Despite reports of a potential Russian retreat, Ukrainian progress on the battlefield has been slight, The White House said Friday.

“The lines… have been pretty well static over the last few days, not much movement,” White House National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby said on a call in response to a question from The Daily Beast. “We continue to see that the Ukrainians are making some incremental progress in the south.”

The White House declined to comment on Ukraine’s prospects of taking back Crimea.

And although the timing is up in the air on when Kyiv will make the move, one thing is clear: Kyiv’s plan includes cutting the peninsula off completely from Russia once Zelensky’s forces kick Russia out, according to Ukrainian military intelligence. Budanov indicated in an interview that a key bridge that connects Crimea to Russia, the Kerch bridge, will be taken out once Crimea is deoccupied.

People look at thick black smoke rising from a fire on the Kerch bridge that links Crimea to Russia, after a truck exploded, near Kerch, on Oct. 8, 2022.
Roman Dmitryev/AFP via Getty Images

“The Crimean bridge is the symbol that will be destroyed. When Crimea returns, this bridge will cease to exist,” Budanov said.

Concerns remain that Russia might interpret an attempt to retake Crimea as an invasion of Russian territory, particularly as Moscow has been hinting it might use nuclear weapons if its territory is threatened.

Tasheva doesn’t buy it.

Russia is “nuclear blackmailing,” Tasheva said, adding that she thinks kicking Russia out of territory it illegally annexed is not cause for escalation.

European leaders in particular have expressed concerns to Tasheva about Russia escalating over Crimea attacks. But for those who are worried, Tasheva stressed it’s not just about taking back territory from Russia. It’s about saving civilians, Crimean Tatars, and Ukrainians from Russia’s brutality.

“To deoccupy Crimea, it’s not an escalation. It’s our way for a liberation,” Tasheva told The Daily Beast. “When I speak with some of my friends or colleagues in European Union, for example, and when they asked me about escalation and about nuclear blackmailing and what we must do with it, and maybe Ukraine must do some compromises… we always say no. No compromise.”

A man rides a scooter with a child in front of an image of a stamp showing explosions on the Kerch Bridge, a key supply route Russia built after it illegally annexed Crimea, on Oct. 12, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

“Because it’s not only about territory, because Russians during the years of occupation persecute people,” she added.

Tasheva and her team have their work cut out for them. In preparation for liberating Crimea and then reintegration, they have begun working with an “underground” network of human rights activists, non-governmental organizations, and dedicated civilians in Crimea who can help when the time comes, Tasheva said.

“We really work with people underground—with activists, with lawyers… with ordinary Crimeans—who now live in Crimea,” Tasheva said.

The work of sharing information outside of Crimea has been difficult since 2014. But it has grown incredibly sensitive and dangerous in recent months, according to those working with locals to share information with advocacy organizations about human rights abuses, political prisoners, Russian detention centers, and torture.

“We fight for our people… it's not only territory.”

“The situation has obviously become extremely difficult since February in terms of access to the peninsula, as far as reaching out to and speaking with activists and others who are in Crimea,” Dave Elseroad, the Head of Advocacy for Human Rights House Foundation, which works to advance freedom of expression, assembly, and association in Crimea and across Eastern Europe, the Western Balkans, and the Caucasus, told The Daily Beast. “It’s certainly risky for them.”

It’s a gamble for those who choose to share information about the Russian occupation, so most of it must be done secretly so it’s obscured from Moscow, since Russia has systematically quashed freedom of expression and assembly in Crimea, and particularly discriminates against the Crimean Tatar community, according to Elseroad.

Four organizations that the Human Rights House Foundation works with “have informal networks” and “are still operating across the peninsula,” Elseroad said.

The list of tasks and horrors that Ukraine has to confront in Crimea is seemingly endless. There have been reports of enforced disappearances, torture, extrajudicial punishment, and forced conscription with Russia. There are also reports of Russian authorities placing Crimean dissidents in psychiatric institutions.

Crimean Tatars, a group Ukraine recognized last year as an indigenous people, have been one of the most vocal groups opposed to Russia’s occupation. Russia’s crackdown against them has been relentless, activists say.

And as Russia’s occupation continues, the list of human rights abuses is only growing.

“We’re seeing a significant increase in number of individuals who are being disappeared,” Elseroad told The Daily Beast. “The situation got progressively worse over the years… since 2022, it’s gone from bad to worse.”

As the fog of war grips Ukrainian forces, for Crimeans, kicking Russia out is existential.

“We fight for our people… it’s not only territory,” Tasheva said. “It’s also about values, values of freedom, values of human rights.”

Indian hackers ‘snooped on Pakistani politicians, generals

Published November 6, 2022

AN India-based computer hacking gang targeted Pakistani politicians, military officials and diplomats to eavesdrop on private conversations at the behest of Indian secret services, claimed an expose by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Sunday Times.

The revelations based on the leaked documents and undercover work in India by the reporters of the said organisations revealed that private British investigators, through the hacking gang based in India, were spying at the behest of “autocratic” rulers on dozens of high-profile individuals.

According to the report, former military dictator General Pervez Musharraf was “the most famous Pakistan-related target”.

On Jan 10 this year, the email account of Fawad Chaudhry, who was serving as information minister at the time, was hacked and the hacker also “took a screenshot of Chaudhry’s inbox” seen by the Sunday Times and The Bureau.

TBIJ, Sunday Times report claims targets also included critics of World Cup in Qatar

“Jain’s team used malware to take over his computers and targeted the country’s senior generals as well as its embassies in Beijing, Shanghai and Kathmandu in a similar way,” it added.

The hacking gang, which operated under the name WhiteInt, was being run from a fourth-floor apartment in a suburb of the Indian tech city Gurugram and its mastermind is 31-year-old Aditya Jain — an occasional TV cybersecurity pundit.

As per the report, Mr Jain admitted that he had “hacked people in the past” but also claimed he “did not know some of the people named on his database and denied hacking the others listed”.

The report revealed that Mr Jain ran the network of hackers for seven years, who were hired by British private detectives to hack email accounts and take control of computer cameras and microphones of their targets.

According to the expose, criminals targeted the private email accounts of more than 100 victims, including critics of Qatar who threatened to expose wrongdoing by the Gulf state in the run-up to this month’s World Cup.

Mr Jain said he was hired for the project to target the critics by a Swiss-based investigator named Jonas Rey but confirmed the ultimate client was Qatar. The allegations have been denied by the lawyers of the Qatar government, the report added.

The report also found that at least seven of Mr Jain’s clients included British private investigators.

Many of the targets were British lawyers and members of wealthy families including two of the UK’s richest families, Ashok Hinduja and Robert Tchenguiz, the report revealed.

Other targets included Sunday Times Insight editor Jonathan Calvert, BBC’s political editor Chris Mason, president of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis and his deputy Alain Berset, UK’s former chancellor of exchequer Philip Hammond, a London-based businessman Ghanem Nuseibeh, French politician Nathalie Goulet, a British-based oligarch fleeing Vladimir Putin, former head of European football Michel Platini, Formula One motor racing bosses Ruth Buscombe and Otmar Szafnauer, former Fifa and Uefa investigator Nick Raudenski, AP journalist Alan Suderman, German lawyer Mark Somos and French investigative reporter Yann Philippin.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2022

 Indian Dalits leave Hinduism in droves in blow to ruling BJP

Nikkei Asia ^

Posted on 2022-11-06, 

NEW DELHI -- Recent mass conversions to Buddhism by Indian Dalits have underscored anew the fears and frustrations of a community of about 200 million people considered to be at the bottom of the traditional Hindu caste system.

"We refuse to be punished any longer," said Ramji Lal, 34, who attended a conversion event in New Delhi on Oct. 5. He was one of a crowd of around 8,000, according to organizers, who made a point of leaving Hinduism. Such conversions are seen as a protest by people commonly known as "untouchables" due to their descent, leading to a life of exclusion and often abuse.

On Oct. 14, in the southern state of Karnataka, more than 100 Dalit men and women did the same, throwing pictures of Hindu deities into the Krishna River to renounce their faith.

Converting to Buddhism is not new for Dalits. Indeed, the Karnataka event came on the anniversary of social reformer B. R. Ambedkar's public conversion to Buddhism in 1956, a move that continues to reverberate generations later. "If you continue to remain within the fold of Hinduism, you cannot attain a status higher than that of a slave," Ambedkar said in a speech 20 years before he made the change, according to a collection of essays and speeches published on the Indian Ministry of External Affairs website.

In 2013, organizers of a conversion event in the state of Gujarat claimed that 60,000 people abandoned Hinduism at once, local media reported at the time.

The trend stands out given the Hindu nationalism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, and raises further questions about the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) record on human rights, which is already under scrutiny for alleged discrimination against Muslims, an accusation the BJP denies.

The BJP appears to have mixed views on such conversions, but after the Oct. 5 event in the capital, parliamentarian Manoj Tiwari tweeted that the event was "anti-Hindu," and criticized a Delhi legislator and minister from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for attending. The Delhi BJP chief urged the AAP, which runs the capital territory government, to sack the minister, Rajendra Pal Gautam, "for his attempt to stoke communal tensions and spread hatred along religious lines within the country."

BJP & the Hindu Right: Are Dalits as Much a ‘Common Enemy’ as Muslims?

The ‘othering’ of the Dalits, like that of Muslims, helps the right-wing consolidate its traditional base.

HARISH S. WANKHEDE

Published: 14 Jun 2022, 


Many have suggested that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has improved from being an upper-caste party. The post-2014 BJP has emerged as an umbrella organisation that ‘allows’ Dalit-Bahujan sections to become an influential part of its political mobilisation. The BJP has influenced sections within the Dalits by executing smart socio-cultural strategies. Further, by invoking Babasaheb Ambedkar as a nationalist icon and by promising that the government will follow the constitutional mandate in defence of social justice policies, the right-wing has built an effective connection with Dalits.

However, the rise of caste atrocities and the growing police action against Dalit activists demonstrate that Hindutva lacks sincerity in dealing with the Dalit agenda. Instead, by raking sentimental issues against Ambedkarite Dalit activists, a systematic public antagonism is manufactured against them.
Snapshot

In the same way as Muslim issues help Hindutva forces form communal ‘unity’, the ‘othering’ of the Dalits at the social level helps the right-wing consolidate its traditional base.

The current BJP regime uses Ambedkar as only a symbolic artefact, divorcing him from his radical and revolutionary ideas.

The Hindu right-wing projects conscious Dalit agents as the ‘social other’.

Expecting that a Hindutva-driven regime will facilitate a sensitive discussion about Dalit problems and class concerns is wishful thinking.

For the Hindutva camp, the idea of a robust Dalit who possesses a strong socio-political consciousness and is ready to challenge the conventional authority, as Ambedkar did, will always be a threat.

Was Congress More Sensitive to Dalit Issues?

The Dalit movement is inspired by Ambedkar’s social thoughts and political ideas. His writings and speeches on a caste-based social order, Hindu religion, patriarchy and classical Sanskrit texts open a rational and serious debate to understand the precarious conditions of the untouchables in India. Ambedkar is known not only for his reformist zeal that challenged the caste system, but also for his radical transformative thoughts. He envisaged a complete destruction of the base structure over which the Hindu caste citadel has been erected.

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Ambedkar’s conversion to Buddhism has been upheld as a ‘revolutionary’ act. He pledged that the new converts will offer an agnostic distancing and critical inquiry towards social rituals, Hindu Gods and Brahmin priests. In his writings and speeches, Ambedkar courageously reprimanded and dissected Hindu religious legends and thoughts to test their applicability in building social ethics. He elevated the stature of the former ‘untouchables’ and helped them become robust political agents, inspiring them to claim their economic and political rights fearlessly.

Importantly, the nationalist elites of the Congress viewed Ambedkar’s critical inquiry as a righteous approach to examining the social virus that has contaminated the Hindu order.

Ambedkar’s prominent role in the making of the Constitution suggests that the political elites were keen to understand caste problems and wanted to eliminate the brutal practice of untouchability.

How Dalit Radicals Joined the Mainstream

The post-Ambedkar social and political movement heralded Ambedkar’s radicalism and offered it a new life. The last political party that Ambedkar formed, the Republican Party of India, used secular or Buddhist symbols to mobilise vulnerable castes and communities and was critical of Dalits that retain allegiance to Hindu rituals and customs. The Dalit Panthers’ movement in the late 1970s published a revolutionary manifesto that denounced the hegemony of social elites over social and political spheres and challenged religious scriptures for dehumanising the lower castes. The arrival of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in north India further elevated the critical stance towards the Hindu social order and belittled the authority of the social elites.

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A Dalit Man's 20-Year Struggle for a Gate and a Road in Punjab Village


In various social and political spheres, the Dalit movement highlighted their precarious social conditions, issues of caste discrimination and economic exploitation, and staged a rational and radical opposition. Even though Congress regimes were apprehensive of Dalit critics, they refrained from issuing criminal warrants or bracketing them as the ‘enemy camp’. Instead, many popular Dalit radicals joined mainstream political parties (not only Congress but also the Shiv Sena – the revolutionary poet Namdeo Dhasal had joined the Sena).

What Is Hindutva’s Dalit Agenda?

But the current Hindutva-driven regime has not shown a similar sensitivity. It uses Ambedkar as only a symbolic artefact, divorcing him from his radical and revolutionary ideas. Today, Dalit protests are often condemned as uncivil, criminal or even ‘anti-national’. The arrest of scholars and social activists like Anand Teltumbde underlines the growing hostility of the state towards Dalit activism. Recently, police booked a Dalit faculty member of Lucknow University for hurting religious sentiments. Similarly, professor Ratan Lal of the prestigious Hindu College at the Delhi University was arrested for a satirical social media post on the Gyanvapi mosque row.

Also Read
‘Bhimti Hai Kya? Kaat Daalo’: The Anti-Dalit Side of Delhi Riots


The right-wing is insensitive when it comes to dealing with Dalit socio-political claims. It hardly offers a crucial road map to ensure substantive Dalit participation in state institutions, or to execute policies that examine the problems of caste atrocities. Instead, it often defends the perpetrators of caste violence and legitimises the use of coercive state actions when the Dalit protests in rage.

In April 2018, 14 people belonging to marginalised communities died due to police action while participating in protests to defend the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

The state’s antipathy towards Dalit tragedies is further visible in the Rohith Vemula case, the Una flogging case, the Bhima-Koregaon protest movement and the Hathras rape-murder case.

Further, the recent arrest of legislator Jignesh Mevani on flimsy grounds only underlines the fact that the BJP regime has developed a vengeful psyche against Dalit issues and activists.

Hindutva proponents often demean Dalit-Bahujan voices as irreligious or see them as contempt against the Hindu civilisational ethos. The Hindu right-wing projects conscious Dalit agents as the ‘social other’. In the same way as Muslim issues help Hindutva forces form communal ‘unity’, the ‘othering’ of the Dalits at the social level helps the right-wing consolidate its traditional base.

The Mirage of 'Subaltern' Hindutva

The post-Ambedkar Dalit movement belongs to the rich heritage of non-Brahmanical traditions and upholds the modern constitutional values of social justice. Dalit-Bahujan thoughts supplement Buddhist principles, herald the egalitarian teachings of Guru Nanak, Kabir and Chokha Mela, and find inspiration in the radical ideas of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Periyar and Ambedkar. This school of thought offers alternative sources of knowledge and dynamic liberal perspectives that enrich the democratic fabric of new India. It is this transformative ideological spectrum that has consistently been critical of the ruling socio-political elites for keeping Dalit-Bahujan masses poor, alienated from power and undignified in social relationships.

Also Read
‘Can’t Build a Nation on Caste’: What Ambedkar Meant By Equal Representation



For Hindutva proponents, the Dalit-Bahujan ideological school is a bête-noir that shall be clamped down by coercive and violent means. Though the BJP has embraced the Dalit constituency to expand its social base, it remains just a political strategy that has little impact or care for changing the conditions of these groups.

Expecting that such a Hindutva-driven regime will facilitate a sensitive discussion about Dalit problems and class concerns is wishful thinking. For the Hindutva camp, the idea of a robust Dalit, who possesses a strong socio-political consciousness and is ready to challenge the conventional authority, as Ambedkar did, will always be a threat.

(Dr. Harish S Wankhede teaches at Centre for Political Studies, JNU, New Delhi. He writes on identity politics, Dalit questions, Hindi cinema and the new media. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)

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UN to Musk: Ensure Twitter respects human rights

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights issues open letter to Twitter's new owner after mass firings.

Israel National News
Nov 6, 2022, 

Elon Musk

REUTERS/Patrick T. Fallon

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, on Saturday issued an open letter to Elon Musk, the new owner of Twitter, urging him to "ensure human rights are central to the management of Twitter".

"Twitter is part of a global revolution that has transformed how we communicate," Türk said in the letter quoted by Reuters. "But I write with concern and apprehension about our digital public square and Twitter's role in it."

"Like all companies, Twitter needs to understand the harms associated with its platform and take steps to address them," he added. "Respect for our shared human rights should set the guardrails for the platform's use and evolution."

"In short, I urge you to ensure human rights are central to the management of Twitter under your leadership," the High Commissioner said.

Musk, who officially took over Twitter last week, fired at least four top executives at the company upon taking over.

On Friday, Twitter laid off half its workforce and tweets by staff of the social media company said the team responsible for human rights was among those affected, a development which Türk described as not "an encouraging start".

Twitter layoffs fuel misinformation concerns

Agencies Published November 6, 2022

WASHINGTON: Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk has pledged the platform will not devolve into a “free-for-all hellscape,” but experts warn that mass layoffs may deeply impair the social network’s ability to curb misinformation.

Twitter fired roughly half of its 7,500-strong workforce, only days before next week’s midterm elections in the United States, when a spike in fake content is expected across social media. The cuts, which comes after Musk’s blockbuster $44 million buyout of the company, hit multiple divisions, including trust and safety teams that manage content moderation as well as engineering and machine learning, US reports said.

“I would be real careful on this platform in the coming days... about what you retweet, who you follow, and even your own sense of what’s going on,” said Kate Starbird, a disinformation researcher and assistant professor at the University of Washington.

Starbird warned in her own Twitter post of an increased risk of “impersonation” attempts, “coordinated disinformation by manipulators” and “hoaxes that attempt to get you to spread falsehoods.”

Biden says social media platform spews lies across the world

‘Deeply troubling’

Free Press is part of a coalition of more than 60 civil society groups that on Friday called on advertisers to boycott the platform until it committed to being a “safe place.” Members of the coalition met with Musk earlier this week after academic studies reported a dramatic increase in hate speech, Nazi memes and racist slurs after his acquisition of the company.

One study by Montclair State University found that Musk’s purchase had “created the perception by extremist users that content restrictions would be alleviated.” “Wemet with Elon Musk earlier this week to express our profound concerns about some of his plans and the spike in toxic content after his acquisition,” said the coalition, which uses the hashtag “Stop Toxic Twitter.”

Musk insisted that the layoffs were necessary as the company was losing more than $4 million per day. Twitter has long struggled to generate profit and has failed to keep pace with Facebook, Instagram and TikTok in gaining new users.

Twitter spews lies

US President Joe Biden said that Elon Musk had purchased a social media platform in Twitter that spews lies across the world. Biden said at a fundraiser: “And now what are we all worried about: Elon Musk goes out and buys an outfit that sends — that spews lies all across the world... Theres no editors anymore in America. Theres no editors. How do we expect kids to be able to understand what is at stake?” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters earlier that Biden had been clear about the need to reduce hate speech and misinformation.

“That belief extends to Twitter, it extends to Facebook and any other social media platforms where users can spread misinformation,” she said. Musk has promised to restore free speech while preventing Twitter from descending into a “hellscape.” But major advertisers have expressed apprehension about his takeover for months.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2022

Satellite image shows methane clouds over China’s largest oilfield

A high-resolution satellite image appears to show methane releases from China’s largest oilfield. (Screengrab: Bloomberg)

Bloomberg
Published: 06 November ,2022

A high-resolution satellite image taken less than 48 hours ago appears to show methane releases from China’s largest oilfield. The image is the first in a series of exclusive observations Bloomberg Green will publish during COP27 from emissions monitoring firm GHGSat Inc.

The detection highlights the rapidly expanding ability of satellites to identify and track methane almost anywhere in the world that is driving a new era of climate transparency in which greenhouse gases will be quantified and attributed in near real-time to individual assets and companies.

Scientists say reducing the emissions of the potent greenhouse gas, which has 84 times the warming power of carbon dioxide during its first two decades in the atmosphere, is one of the fastest and cheapest ways to cool the planet.

Methane is the primary component of natural gas and responsible for about 30 percent of the Earth’s warming. Leaks can occur during extraction and transport of the fossil fuel, but methane is also routinely generated as a byproduct of oil and coal production and if operators don’t have infrastructure to get the gas to market they may release it into the atmosphere. The International Energy Agency has called for oil and gas operators to halt all non-emergency methane venting.

The satellite image taken at 1:15 pm Beijing time on Nov. 4 and shows six methane releases in northeast China from the Daqing oilfield, according to GHGSat.

Estimated emissions rates ranged between 446 and 884 kilograms per hour and the cumulative rate was 4,477 kilograms an hour, the Montreal-based company said. If the releases lasted for an hour at that rate they would have the same short-term climate impact as the annual emissions from about 81 US cars.

PetroChina, which operates the Daqing oil field, didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Sunday outside of regular business hours. China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment didn’t immediately respond to a faxed request for comment on Sunday.

China is the world’s largest source of energy-related methane emissions with an estimated 28 million metric tons last year, according to the International Energy Agency’s Methane Tracker. Russia was second and the US third with 18 million and 17 million tons respectively.

China is the world’s largest coal miner, the fourth-biggest producer of natural gas and ranks sixth in terms of crude output. The country has so far declined to join the Global Methane Pledge, a US- and EU-led initiative that aims to cut emissions of the potent greenhouse gas 30 percent by the end of this decade from 2020 levels. More than 120 countries have so far joined the effort.

More companies and institutions are launching multi-spectral satellites that can detect methane’s unique signature. GHGSat has six satellites in orbit now dedicated to monitoring industrial methane and aims to launch another five by the end of next year.

US non-profit Environmental Defense Fund plans to launch its MethaneSAT in 2023 and a consortium including Carbon Mapper, the State of California, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Planet Labs expects to launch two satellites next year.

Around 40 percent of total methane emissions generated from human activity come from the energy sector and more than 40 percent of oil and gas emissions could be reduced at no net cost using existing technologies, according to the IEA. That’s because the captured gas can be sold as a product and combusted for energy or heating.

Methane is the primary component of natural gas.

Concentrations of methane in the atmosphere had the biggest year-on-year jump since measurements began four decades ago, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

Methane cloud spotted by satellite near India waste site
Bloomberg News | November 6, 2022 

Smokestack. (Reference image from Rawpixel).

A high-resolution satellite image taken less than 48 hours ago shows a cloud of the powerful greenhouse gas methane near a waste facility in India. The image is the second in a series of exclusive observations Bloomberg Green will publish during COP27 from emissions monitoring firm GHGSat Inc.


The detection highlights how piles of garbage — which generate the potent greenhouse gas when organic material like food scraps break down in the absence of oxygen — are triggering some of the world’s strongest and most persistent methane emissions. Landfills and wastewater are responsible about 20% of the methane emissions generated from human activity.

Methane is the primary component of natural gas and responsible for about 30% of the Earth’s warming. Leaks can occur during extraction and transport of the fossil fuel, but methane is also routinely generated as a byproduct of oil and coal production and if operators don’t have infrastructure to get the gas to market they may release it into the atmosphere. The International Energy Agency has called for oil and gas operators to halt all non-emergency methane venting.

The satellite image taken at 1:15 pm Beijing time on Nov. 4 and shows six methane releases in northeast China from the Daqing oilfield, according to GHGSat. Estimated emissions rates ranged between 446 and 884 kilograms per hour and the cumulative rate was 4,477 kilograms an hour, the Montreal-based company said. If the releases lasted for an hour at that rate they would have the same short-term climate impact as the annual emissions from about 81 US cars.

Scientists say reducing the emissions of the potent greenhouse gas, which has 84 times the warming power of carbon dioxide during its first two decades in the atmosphere, is one of the fastest and cheapest ways to cool the planet.

A high-resolution satellite image taken less than 48 hours ago appears to show methane releases from China’s largest oilfield. The image is the first in a series of exclusive observations Bloomberg Green will publish during COP27 from emissions monitoring firm GHGSat Inc.

The detection highlights the rapidly expanding ability of satellites to identify and track methane almost anywhere in the world that is driving a new era of climate transparency in which greenhouse gases will be quantified and attributed in near real-time to individual assets and companies. Scientists say reducing the emissions of the potent greenhouse gas, which has 84 times the warming power of carbon dioxide during its first two decades in the atmosphere, is one of the fastest and cheapest ways to cool the planet.

Methane is the primary component of natural gas and responsible for about 30% of the Earth’s warming. Leaks can occur during extraction and transport of the fossil fuel, but methane is also routinely generated as a byproduct of oil and coal production and if operators don’t have infrastructure to get the gas to market they may release it into the atmosphere. The International Energy Agency has called for oil and gas operators to halt all non-emergency methane venting.

The satellite image taken at 1:15 pm Beijing time on Nov. 4 and shows six methane releases in northeast China from the Daqing oilfield, according to GHGSat. Estimated emissions rates ranged between 446 and 884 kilograms per hour and the cumulative rate was 4,477 kilograms an hour, the Montreal-based company said. If the releases lasted for an hour at that rate they would have the same short-term climate impact as the annual emissions from about 81 US cars.

PetroChina, which operates the Daqing oil field, didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Sunday outside of regular business hours. China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment didn’t immediately respond to a faxed request for comment on Sunday.

China is the world’s largest source of energy-related methane emissions with an estimated 28 million metric tons last year, according to the International Energy Agency’s Methane Tracker. Russia was second and the US third with 18 million and 17 million tons respectively.

China is the world’s largest coal miner, the fourth-biggest producer of natural gas and ranks sixth in terms of crude output. The country has so far declined to join the Global Methane Pledge, a US- and EU-led initiative that aims to cut emissions of the potent greenhouse gas 30% by the end of this decade from 2020 levels. More than 120 countries have so far joined the effort.

More companies and institutions are launching multi-spectral satellites that can detect methane’s unique signature. GHGSat has six satellites in orbit now dedicated to monitoring industrial methane and aims to launch another five by the end of next year. US non-profit Environmental Defense Fund plans to launch its MethaneSAT in 2023 and a consortium including Carbon Mapper, the State of California, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Planet Labs expects to launch two satellites next year.

Around 40% of total methane emissions generated from human activity come from the energy sector and more than 40% of oil and gas emissions could be reduced at no net cost using existing technologies, according to the IEA. That’s because the captured gas can be sold as a product and combusted for energy or heating. Methane is the primary component of natural gas.

Concentrations of methane in the atmosphere had the biggest year-on-year jump since measurements began four decades ago, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

(By Aaron Clark, with assistance from Luz Ding and Dan Murtaugh)

UN Committee Expresses Regret over Lack of Progress in Japan's Wartime Sexual Slavery

Written: 2022-11-06 

Photo : YONHAP News

A United Nations committee has expressed regret over the lack of progress and efforts by Japan over its wartime sexual slavery, calling on Tokyo to offer a public apology and compensation for the victims.

The UN Committee of Civil and Political Rights made the call as it released recommendations and main concerns on Japan's implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

In its review, the committee assessed that Japan has not made progress regarding the wartime sexual slavery issue.

The committee noted that the offenders responsible for the issue were not put to criminal court and there has been a lack of adequate reparations to the victims.

The committee said that Japan is rejecting its duty to deal with the ongoing violations of human rights of the victims, which is regrettable.

The committee called on Japan to conduct independent investigations of the wartime sex slavery, indict and punish those responsible, make judicial remedies available for the victims and make adequate compensations.

Afghanistan: Retired govt employees protest against Taliban for non-payment of pensions in Kabul

Kabul | November 6, 2022

Retired employees of the Afghanistan Government on Saturday protested against the Taliban over the issue of non-payment of their pensions in Kabul.

They held a protest in Kabul and called on the Taliban government to pay their pensions, reported Tolo News.

The retirees said that they have not been paid for many months as of now.

Mohammad Daud, 68, who had worked for 30 years in the municipality department, said he is the breadwinner for a family of 13 members, reported Tolo News.

"We call on the Islamic Emirate to provide us with our rights. We have nothing, just honour our rights, we are about to die from starvation," he said.

"My sons are working as labourers. Each of them has 10 children. One of them feeds me breakfast another feeds me dinner. I sold all of my appliances in the house to buy my medicine," said Gul Jan, who came to take her husband's pension.

"I request they give us our rights," said Najibullah, a retiree.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) said that work on a plan has been shared with the Prime Minister's Office to facilitate the payment of retirees' pensions, reported Tolo News.

"The plan, which was formed about the retirees' payments, was introduced in the 5th cabinet meeting. The Ministry of Finance now is waiting for the decree of the Prime Minister to act accordingly," said Ahmad Wali Haqmal, a spokesman for the MoF.

The retirees have staged many demonstrations earlier as well, in which they called on the government to pay their pensions, reported Tolo News.

As Afghanistan witnessed a severe financial crisis, retired employees and veterans expressed their frustration over their economic problems and demanded the Taliban regime pay their pension payments.

These retired employees and military veterans of the former Afghan government led by Ashraf Ghani, who rely on their retirement pensions, said that they are struggling with economic difficulties, Tolo News reported.

The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated drastically since the Taliban took control of Kabul.

A combination of a suspension of foreign aid, the freezing of Afghan government assets, and international sanctions on the Taliban have plunged the country, already suffering from high poverty levels, into a full-blown economic crisis. (ANI)