Opinion: It's about more than a rainbow heart on an armband

The controversy surrounding the One Love armband is tragic, according to DW reporter Olivia Gerstenberger. It’s also emblematic of everything that this World Cup is not: diversity, tolerance and freedom of opinion.

Olivia Gerstenberger

DW
Commentary

Image: Revierfoto/IMAGO
What is a campaign worth if it crumbles under the threat of sanctions? What value is held by campaigns that are run peacefully and unanimously in democratic countries but not where it actually matters?

Seven national soccer teams wanted to set an example by representing "Western" values at the World Cup in Qatar: the Netherlands, from where the campaign originated, England, Wales, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark and also Germany.

The "One Love" captain's armband was a vital component of the message as outlined by Germany's captain Manuel Neuer amongst others. An armband with a colorful striped heart and the words "One Love" — a sign against homophobia, antisemitism and racism and for human rights. Now all seven associations have folded. Why? Because they fear the sporting consequences.

FIFA's show of force

Sporting sanctions, such as a yellow card for wearing an article of clothing? Or even points docked during the tournament? That's crazy, but it's actually possible because the FIFA armband with its own messages is considered an official piece of clothing according to World Cup regulations. Wearing "incorrect" clothing can be sanctioned by the referee.

FIFA has made it clear that captains could even be forced to leave the field, according to a joint statement from the seven federations. As a result, they are advising their captains not to wear the armband because they do not want to put their players in that position, but they said they were frustrated by the "unprecedented" decision.

The One Love armband, which the captains of seven nations was due to wear in Qatar.

Image: Sebastian Gollnow/dpa/picture alliance

Fear of heart armband

Unprecedented? Certainly! And it must be repeated clearly at this point: we are not just talking about the rainbow armband. A rainbow as a symbol of the LGBTQ+ movement does not even appear on it! It is about a rather inconspicuous heart bandage, clearly reduced in its symbolism.

And yet this piece of cloth has caused such a stir at FIFA that it has responded with its own "No Discrimination" campaign: A wide variety of statements from "Protect children" to "Save the planet" now appear on the official FIFA armbands of the 32 team captains. "One Love," of course, does not. A clever move by FIFA, which has now seemingly asserted itself with all its might.

Sport and politics cannot be separated

But what does backing down say about the seven football associations? "They just want to play soccer" can no longer be an argument. Sport and politics cannot be separated, even if FIFA, the IOC and co. might want it that way.

The seven teams took a clear stance before the start of the World Cup. Every demonstrator decides in advance and knows about the possible consequences, whether in Germany, Iran or Qatar. But such a decision also requires courage and the absolute will to really want to make a difference, come what may.

The seven European federations had the chance to do this. They could have stood together, shown a common stance and shown that they had a backbone. All that remains are empty promises and extensive damage to the image of an already tarnished World Cup.

This opinion article was originally written in German.

Qatar: FIFA yet again 'fails to uphold human rights' after 'One Love' armbands pulled

© 2021 SOPA Images

Responding to FIFA’s threats to sanction players who planned to wear ‘One Love’ armbands to show support for the LGBTI community, Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Head of Economic and Social Justice, said:

“Last minute threats to sanction players for wearing messages in support of human rights and equality is the latest example of FIFA failing to fully uphold its own values and responsibilities. Sport does not happen in a vacuum and these are issues on which FIFA should be leading, not cracking down on.

“Agreements on armbands, and better protections for LGBT communities, should have been reached a long time ago.

“We applaud the courage of teams and players who have spoken out about human rights and we hope they continue to do so. Fans, players and FAs want to ensure that football can be a vehicle to promote human rights, and FIFA needs to heed these calls quickly. It must not only encourage messages of equality, but take proactive action to ensure LGBTI people are protected.

“And let’s not forget the migrant."

 

Armband ban 'unprecedented' from FIFA, says German football boss

Issued on: 21/11/2022 - 

Al Shamal (Qatar) (AFP) – German Football Association president Bernd Neuendorf said on Monday that FIFA's threats of on-field sanctions for wearing the 'One Love' armband were "an unprecedented event in World Cup history".

Neuendorf confirmed an earlier announcement that Germany captain Manuel Neuer would not wear the rainbow-themed armband, which supports LGBTQ rights, at the tournament.

FIFA had "threatened on-field sanctions", believed to be yellow or red cards, against players who wore them on the pitch.

"We will not place the weight of FIFA's confrontation on the back of Manuel Neuer," Neuendorf said, telling reporters the DFB "was very frustrated with FIFA's decision".

"We don't want to expose our captain to such a risk (that) he would receive a sporting sanction," he said from the team's training ground at Al Shamal, in northern Qatar.

"We were willing to pay the fines that are normally imposed for violations and we strongly advocated wearing the armband."

Neuendorf said the decision to threaten on-field sanctions was "a show of force from FIFA".

While FIFA has previously discouraged teams from making "political statements", the organisation's statutes are unclear on whether these could lead to on-pitch consequences.

The director of the German team, former striker Oliver Bierhoff, said FIFA "escalated" the situation, with Neuer and the German team "going to bed last night believing he would be wearing the armband".

"Manu is in a difficult situation -- we all are. Manu is disappointed, as he said in the press conference he would wear the armband, along other European team captains like (England's) Harry Kane."

Germany play their Group E opener against Japan on Wednesday.

© 2022 AFP

OneLove campaign hit by threat of FIFA sanctions

James Thorogood
8 hours ago

DW

Nations planning to wear a rainbow-themed One Love captain’s armband decided to back down on Monday. The seven countries have cited the threat of disciplinary action from world governing body FIFA for the decision.

The threat of sanctions have resulted in the seven European nations who had signed up to the One Love campaign, including England and Germany, announcing their decision to abandon plans to wear the rainbow-themed captain’s armbands.

The joint-statement, released just hours before England’s game opening 2022 World Cup group game against Iran was due to kick-off, cited the threat of disciplinary action from world football governing body FIFA as the reason for the decision.

Having previously outlined that they were prepared to face fines, the statement highlighted that "FIFA has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play."

"We cannot put our players in the situation where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play."


Conflicting sentiments

FIFA president Gianni Infantino opened the World Cup with a message of inclusion before Qatar became the first host nation to lose their opening game of the tournament. "Dear friends, welcome. Welcome, to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Welcome to a celebration of football because football unites the world."

Yet the latest decision from FIFA doesn’t share the same sentiment with leading European captains such as Harry Kane and Manuel Neuer no longer able to make a free choice.

"We are experiencing an unprecedented event in World Cup history," said German Football Association President Bernd Neuendorf. "We will not carry out the confrontation brought about by FIFA on the back of Manuel Neuer."

When asked previously, Neuer had said he was "not afraid of consequences" as he had "the support of the German FA (DFB) and our DFB president." As Neuendorf pointed out though, "part of the problem is that we don't know what sanctions would have been imposed" had they pushed ahead with the idea.
Showing inclusion the yellow card?

The Football Supporters' Association said they felt "betrayed" by the decision. "Today we feel contempt for an organisation that has shown its true values by giving the yellow card to players and the red card to tolerance.

"Never again should a World Cup be handed out solely on the basis of money and infrastructure. No country which falls short on LGBT+ rights, women's rights, workers' rights or any other universal human right should be given the honour of hosting a World Cup."

The One Love campaign, an idea by the Netherlands, is designed to promote inclusion and equality at the World Cup in Qatar and beyond. The other nations that were due to wear the armband in Qatar were England, Belgium, Denmark, France, Switzerland and Wales.


Inclusive "within a framework"

Qatar and FIFA President Infantino have both reiterated that everyone will be welcome in the country despite the fact same-sex relationships are a criminal offense in Qatar. There is also no recognition of civil partnerships in the Gulf state.

FIFA had been informed about their plans to wear the rainbow-themed armband in Qatar as early as September. On Monday they stressed in a follow-up statement that it is "an inclusive organization that wants to put football to the benefit of society by supporting good and legitimate causes, but it has to be done within the framework of the competition regulations which are known to everyone."



FIFA offered its own compromise Monday by saying captains of all 32 teams "will have the opportunity" to wear an armband with the slogan "No Discrimination" in the group games.

FIFA's original offer Saturday was that "NoDiscrimination", the only one of its chosen slogan aligned with the European teams' wish would appear only at the quarterfinal stage.

Germany: Huge candle action commemorates Qatar worker deaths

Story by Timothy Jones, Deutsche Welle • 9h ago

A German artist has lit a stadium with 20,000 candles to remember migrant workers who have died in Qatar. FIFA and the Qatari government are accused of putting profit before human rights with the current World Cup.

Masses of grave candles illuminated a football stadium in the western German city of Herne on Sunday night as the controversial FIFA World Cup got underway in Qatar.


Germany: Huge candle action commemorates Qatar worker deaths

© Provided by Deutsche Welle

The action by the workers' welfare agency AWO and the artist Volker-Johannes Trieb commemorated the more than 15,000 migrant workers who have died in Qatar in the past decade, according to Qatari government statistics.

Altogether 6,500 footballs filled with sand were also placed on the playing field in the stadium in Herne, reflecting another estimate of migrant deaths based on figures provided by non-Qatari governments.

The action bore the title "World conscience, you are a blight."

Qatar has denied many of the accusations leveled at it ahead of the sports event.

'Treated like slaves'

Related video: 'Distrubed and irritated' - Germany FA president slam FIFA on WC human rights issues    Duration 3:14    View on Watch

Although the statistics include all migrant worker deaths in Qatar over the past 10 years or so, the artist, Volker-Johannes Trieb, placed the blame squarely on the World Cup preparations.

"The soccer world championship has cost the lives of many thousands of people. They were treated like slaves and died of heat, exhaustion or because of deficient safety precautions," he said in a statement.

"FIFI and Qatar's government have gone over dead bodies, and that mustn't be ignored amid World Cup celebrations," he added.

The chairman of the local AWO branch, Michael Scheffler, said that his organization considered human rights to be nonnegotiable.

"The life of migrant workers is more important than any profit. With our action, we want to appeal to the conscience of the football world and remind it of the atrocities that have occurred in the run-up to the world championship," he said.

"Sports events must never again be handed to hosts that violate fundamental rights," he added.

AWO and Trieb already caused a stir in April with a protest in front of FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, against the awarding of the World Cup to Qatar.

Edited by: Rebecca Staudenmaier

Copyright 2022 DW.COM, Deutsche Welle. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Nepalese workers in Qatar pay ultimate price for World Cup


Issued on: 21/11/2022 -
FOCUS © FRANCE 24

By: Tashi BISTA|Savitri RAJALI|Anit KATWAL|Marion LAOUAMEN

Thousands of Nepalese workers have died in Qatar since 2010 on the construction sites of the World Cup. But victims' grieving families are rarely given any compensation by Qatari companies. Most deaths are due to workers falling from high buildings or suffering heart attacks. Human rights groups have questioned working conditions in Qatar, where temperatures often reach 50 °C. Some workers do return home, but their health is ruined. Despite this, many Nepalese continue to flock to the Gulf.

According to local authorities, 13,000 Nepalese have left to work on the World Cup construction sites in Qatar. Some 2,000 of them have died. Various human rights groups believe this number is very much an underestimate.

Due to a lack of jobs and high salaries at home, half a million Nepalese leave every year to work in the Gulf states and Malaysia, getting entrapped in what's been called modern-day slavery. Our correspondents report.

Soccer-mad Germans turning their backs on World Cup

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 Fans display a banner during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart in Dortmund, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022. Normally when the World Cup comes around, Germans proudly fly their country’s flag and enthusiastically back their team. Not this time. People boycotting the tournament and many fans say they won't watch in protest against human rights abuses in Qatar. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner,file)

By CIARÁN FAHEY

November 18, 2022

BERLIN (AP) — Normally when the World Cup comes around, Germans happily wave their country’s flag and enthusiastically back their team.

Not this time.

Anyone walking around Berlin this week will struggle to notice any signs of World Cup fervor. There are no flags, no signs, no public viewing events – no indication that the soccer-mad country’s bid for a fifth world title is about to begin with a game against Japan on Tuesday.

Qatar’s human rights record and treatment of migrant workers have spoiled the party for many.

“We don’t want to enjoy a World Cup like this,” Bernd Beyer of the Boycott Qatar 2022 initiative told The Associated Press. “The fans do not identify with it and are saying they don’t want to have anything to do with it.”

There were widespread protests against the tournament during Bundesliga and second division games over the past few weekends, with fans holding banners blasting the human rights situation in Qatar and recent comments by World Cup ambassador Khalid Salman denouncing homosexuality.

The lack of enthusiasm also has had a commercial impact. Retailers have previously capitalized on the buzz around major tournaments with Germany team-related offers. Former Germany coach Joachim Löw and his players could be seen everywhere promoting various goods and services. This time, the Association of German Sports Retailers says sales of fan articles are way down compared to previous World Cup years.

“So far it’s not even half of what is usually sold in stores at major events of this kind,” the association’s president Stefan Herzog told the RND newspaper group.

Adidas said demand for Germany kits was low and that its biggest seller to date was Mexico’s jersey, considered by some to be among the most stylish of the shirts worn by the 32 World Cup teams.

Sales of TV sets, which generally go up for major sporting events, are also down, RND reported.

Hundreds of bars across the country are refusing to show World Cup games.

Steif Krüger, who runs a bar in Berlin, said Friday he’s boycotting the entire tournament, even if Germany makes it to the final.

“What’s happening at the World Cup is just terrible,” Krüger said. “The people who have always watched soccer with us also know that we won’t show it and are happy to support that.”

Dortmund pub Mit Schmackes, owned by 2014 World Cup winner Kevin Grosskreutz, is also not showing the games.

“We love soccer and we can also say that we live soccer. The reasons are clear – that’s why we will decline to broadcast the World Cup matches in Qatar, even if this results in losses for us,” the pub said in an Instagram post to which Grosskreutz replied with three fire emojis to indicate his approval.

Qatar has repeatedly pushed back against criticism over its human rights record, insisting the country has improved protections for migrant workers.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, said Friday that he wouldn’t rule out Scholz traveling to the final if Germany makes it that far.

“This World Cup was awarded and will now take place under difficult circumstances,” Hebestreit said, referring to fans’ boycott plans. “Everyone is free to decide whether they want to follow this event or not – we live in a free country, that’s how it should be.”

Bundesliga clubs including Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Mönchengladbach have criticized the decision to give the World Cup to Qatar and said they will only give it minimum attention on their websites and social media platforms. Another club, Hoffenheim, says it won’t report on the tournament at all.

“There’s just a multitude of things that have happened and are happening there that overshadow the great joy of sporting competition,” Jörg Schmadtke, the sporting director of Bundesliga club Wolfsburg, told the Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper last week.

Schmadtke said he didn’t even know if he will watch the games on TV.

“It doesn’t move me like in previous years, when I looked forward to such a tournament,” Schmadtke said.

Qatar Holding LLC holds a 10.5% stake in automobile giant Volkswagen, which owns Wolfsburg.

In contrast to previous tournaments, there will be no major public viewing events due to various factors including the cold weather, complications caused by the coronavirus pandemic, and the difficulties staging more outdoor parties during the Christmas market season.

The usual massive “fan mile” viewing party at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate was nixed in September, when the organizing company said it wasn’t feasible this year. Around 9 million supporters took part in it when Germany hosted the tournament in 2006.

German fans are not the only ones who appear to be unimpressed by this year’s World Cup. Belgium’s soccer federation this week dropped plans to set up a fan zone for supporters to follow games on big screens citing a lack of demand, and Paris and other French cities also nixed public viewing parties. In Barcelona, mayor Ada Colau said she would not “dedicate public resources nor public spaces for the viewing of a World Cup that is being held in a dictatorship.”

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

News|Qatar World Cup 2022

‘Say her name, Mahsa Amini’: Iran protests arrive at World Cup

Iran football fans use the Iran-England match to raise their voices in support of those protesting in their country.

A fan with "Zan, Zindagi, Azadi" (women, life, freedom) written on her hand protests at Khalifa International Stadium where Iran take on England [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]

By Hafsa Adil
Published On 21 Nov 202221 Nov 2022

Doha, Qatar – Chants of “Say her name, Mahsa Amini,” reverberated among protesters outside Khalifa International Stadium ahead of Iran’s first match of the World Cup 2022 against England.

A few dozen men, women and children were seen on Monday wearing t-shirts saying “Zan, Zindagi, Azadi” (women, life, freedom), a famous chant from the protests in Iran.

Protests have been taking place across Iran since mid-September after the death in custody of Amini, a 22-year-old woman from Iran’s Kurdistan province. Amini was arrested by the country’s morality police in the capital Tehran for allegedly not adhering to Iran’s dress code for women.

In the past few days, protests have been most intense in northwestern Kurdish-majority provinces, with videos continuing to come out from several cities, including Mahabad, Bukan and Piranshahr in West Azerbaijan and Javanrud in Kermanshah

.

The Iran protests in Qatar [Hafsa Adil/Al Jazeera]

“My people in Iran are under a lot of pressure and are being killed by the regime, so we want to use this opportunity to raise a voice for them,” Mahmoud Izadi, one of the protest organisers, told Al Jazeera in Qatar’s capital Doha.

The protests started off with claps and chants of “Iran” but soon turned political as a charged-up crowd started waving banners with Amini’s picture on them.

Dressed all in black to register his protest, Izadi said the demonstrators want the world to pay attention to the situation in Iran and are using the World Cup as a platform because their voices are being crushed in their home country.

Once those protesters went quiet, a group of men in Iran football shirts began shouting in support of the team.

“People who are dancing and cheering for Iran have been sent here by the regime to paint a different picture,” Izadi said, adding that he was not there to support the team “because they are not supporting our people”

.

Fans gather outside Khalifa International Stadium [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]

The most vocal protesters seem to be those who have travelled to Qatar from places other than Iran.

Others, who seemed to be based in Iran or will travel there, were simply clapping from the sidelines and steered away from any attention.

A few families and women turned down requests for a comment, saying they wanted to stay away from trouble back home.

Hasti, an Iranian-born American here to watch Iran’s matches, said she does not think a sports tournament is necessarily the best place to register a protest but there are not many options left for the people of her country.

“We are going to use whatever platform we can get to raise the issue and this may not help the people in Iran directly but it will help show the world what’s happening there.”

Amidst the chants, a group of people held up a poster of former Iran footballer Ali Karimi who has been supporting the protests.

Karimi left the country soon after the protests broke out in Iran.

“The regime was after his life and he has been on the run since then,” said Izadi.

Abi Shams, donning a green t-shirt that says “Help free Iran,” has flown in from the US and says his choice of outfit is aimed at attracting attention.

“What we have in Iran is a dictatorship and we, the protesters, are the voice of the Iranian people,” he said.

As the crowd built up outside the stadium entrance, people started making their way through the turnstiles. The protesters, however, stayed behind for one last round of chanting and clapping and say they do not plan on stopping anytime soon.

“We have reached a point of no return and will no longer be suppressed by the regime,” said Izadi, before joining a chant of “zan, zindagi, azadi”.

Barred from stadiums at home, Iran women travel to World Cup


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Iranian soccer fans hold up signs reading Woman Life Freedom and Freedom For Iran, prior to the World Cup group B soccer match between England and Iran at the Khalifa International Stadium in in Doha, Qatar, Monday, Nov. 21, 2022. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — To 27-year-old Mariam, the World Cup match ticket was a precious gift. A sports fanatic, she traveled to the World Cup in Qatar from Tehran to catch Iran’s opening game Monday against England, her first live soccer match.

Women are banned from attending men’s matches in Iran.

“I’ve never attended a football match in my life so I had to take this chance,” said Mariam, a student of international relations who like other Iranian women at the match declined to give her last name for fear of government reprisals.

Iran is competing in the World Cup as a major women’s protest movement is roiling the country. Security forces have violently cracked down on demonstrations, killing at least 419 people, according Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that has been monitoring the protests.

The unrest was spurred by the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the country’s morality police. It first focused on the state-mandated hijab, or headscarf, for women, but has since morphed into one of the most serious threats to the Islamic Republic since the chaotic years following its founding.

“A big achievement for protesters would be to have the choice to wear the hijab,” said Mariam. Her brown hair draped over her shoulders and ran long down her back. “But after that, women will go for their right to be in stadiums.”
In an effort to restrict large gatherings, Iran has closed all soccer matches to the public since the protests erupted. The reason for authorities’ fear became apparent as fans filtered into the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on Monday. Many Iran fans wore T-shirts or waving signs printed with the mantra of the uprising — “Woman, Life, Freedom.” Others wore T-shirts bearing the names of female protesters killed by Iranian security forces in recent weeks.

In the 22nd minute of the match - a reference to her age when she died - some fans chanted Mahsa Amni’s name, but the chant quickly faded out and was replaced by “Iran.”

The World Cup in Qatar, just a short flight across the Persian Gulf from Iran, has emerged as a rallying point for Iranian political mobilization. Protesters have even called on FIFA, soccer’s governing body, to prohibit Iran from competing in the tournament over restrictions on women in soccer stadiums and the government’s crackdown.

The question of whether to root for the national team has divided Iranians as the team becomes entangled in the country’s combustible politics. Many now view support for the Iranian team as a betrayal of the young women and men who have risked their lives in the streets.

“The protest movement has overshadowed the football,” said Kamran, a linguistics professor who lives in the verdant northern province of Mazandaran. “I want Iran to lose these three games.”

Anusha, a 17-year-old whose Tehran high school has been rocked by protests, said the past few weeks of unrest had changed everything for her.

“A few months ago I would have said of course I want Iran to win against England and America,” she said. “Now, it’s strange. I really don’t care.”

Others insist the national team, which includes players who have spoken out on social media in solidarity with the protests, is representative of the country’s people and not its ruling Shiite clerics. The team’s star forward, Sardar Azmoun, has been vocal about the protests online. Two former soccer stars have even been arrested for backing the movement. Iran’s players didn’t sing along to their national anthem before the match against England.

“At the end of the day, I want the players to achieve their dreams,” said Mariam. “It’s not their fault our society is so polarized.”

The Iranian government, for its part, has tried to encourage citizens to support their team against Iran’s traditional enemies. Iran plays the United States on Nov. 29 — a contentious showdown that last occurred at the 1998 World Cup in France.

Observers note that the players are likely facing government pressure not to side with the protests. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has urged his government to prepare for potential problems. Iran International, the Saudi-financed Farsi news channel that heavily covers the Iranian opposition, reported that Qatari authorities barred its reporters from attending the World Cup under Iranian pressure.

Already, Iranian athletes have drawn enormous scrutiny. When Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi competed in South Korea without wearing her country’s mandatory headscarf, she became a lighting rod of the protest movement.

“We’re waiting for them to show us they’re supporting the people in Iran,” Azi, a 30-year-old Iranian fan living in Ottawa, Canada, said of the national team. “Some kind of sign, by any way they can.”

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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

France demands Twitter ensure

it can preserve 'safe environment'

Mon, November 21, 2022

PARIS (Reuters) - French regulator Arcom said on Monday it had sent a letter to Twitter asking it to ensure by Nov. 24 that it can meet its legal obligation to guarantee transparent information despite a series of drastic job cuts.

Arcom, the regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication, said that following Twitter's takeover by Elon Musk, Twitter had announced its decision to drastically reduce its workforce by firing half of its employees and terminating the contracts of several thousand contract workers.

"Arcom would like to express its deep concern about the direct consequences of such decisions on Twitter's ability to maintain a safe environment for its users," Arcom president Roch-Olivier Maistre said in a letter to Twitter, published by Arcom.

The regulator said that Twitter is one of the widely used online platforms in France, which raises systemic issues regarding democratic debate and public safety.

"In this respect, Twitter is subject in particular to obligations, which Arcom is responsible for ensuring are properly applied," the regulator said.

It added that Twitter must fight against the manipulation of information within the framework of a 2018 law which imposes on it a duty of cooperation towards Arcom.

Arcom said it had asked Twitter in writing to confirm that it is able to face its legal obligations, in particular to ensure the effective moderation of illegal or harmful content and practices while guaranteeing respect for users’ rights, including their freedom of expression.

It said it wanted Twitter to respond by Nov. 24 at the latest.

(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain and Geert De Clercq; Editing by Chris Reese, William Maclean)

Public safety accounts urge caution on Twitter after changes

By STEPHEN GROVES

November 19, 2022


 The Twitter splash page is seen on a digital device, Monday, April 25, 2022, in San Diego. On Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, Twitter continued to bleed engineers and other workers after new owner Elon Musk gave them a choice to pledge to “hardcore” work or resign with severance pay. 

(AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

As Twitter became knotted with parody accounts and turmoil, Rachel Terlep, who runs an account for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources that intersperses cheeky banter with wildfire and weather warnings, watched with equal parts trepidation and fascination.

“It kind of feels like a supernova moment right now — a big, bright flash before it all goes away,” she said.

So the department stepped into the fray, taking advantage of the moment with some of its signature humor. “Update: The Twitter wildfire is 44 billion acres and 0% contained,” they posted.

But under the joke, it linked to a thread that gave helpful tips about how to review a handle to see if it’s real. Some of the suggestions included looking at how old the account is and checking to see if the public safety agency’s website links to the profile.

It underscored the challenge for the people tasked with getting public safety information out to communities. Now, they don’t only have to get information out quickly. On the new Twitter, they also have to convince people they are actually the authorities.

Government agencies, especially those tasked with sending messages during emergencies, have embraced Twitter for its efficiency and scope. Getting accurate information from authorities during disasters is often a matter of life or death. For example, the first reports this week of a deadly shooting at the University of Virginia came from the college’s Twitter accounts that urged students to shelter in place.

Disasters also provide fertile ground for false information to spread online. Researchers like Jun Zhuang, a professor at the University of Buffalo who studies how false information spreads during natural disasters, say emergencies create a “perfect storm” for rumors, but that government accounts have also played a crucial role in batting them down.

During Hurricane Harvey in 2017, for example, an online rumor spread that officials were checking people’s immigration status at storm shelters, potentially dissuading people from seeking safety there. However, crisis communication researchers have also found that the city’s mayor reassured residents and helped the community pull together with a constant stream of Twitter messages.

Amid the slew of changes at one of the world’s most influential social media platforms, the public information officers who operate government Twitter accounts are cautiously waiting out the turmoil and urging the public to verify that it really is their accounts appearing on timelines. While it’s an issue they’ve always had to contend with, it’s especially worrisome now as a proliferation of brand impersonations spreads across the platform and changes to verification take hold.

Darren Noak, who helps run an account for Austin-Travis County emergency medical services in Texas, said Twitter’s blue checkmark has often been discussed among those who operate government Twitter accounts. The badge — up until a week ago — indicated an account was verified as a government entity, corporation, celebrity or journalist.

The AP reviewed dozens of government agencies responsible for responding to emergencies from the county to the national level, and none had received an official label — denoted by a gray checkmark — by Friday. Spoof accounts are a concern, Noak said, because they create “a real pain and a headache, especially in times of crisis and emergency.”

Government accounts have long been a target of copycats. Fairfax County in Virginia had to quash fake school closures tweeted from a fraudulent account during a 2014 winter storm. And both the state of North Carolina and its city of Greensboro have had to compete with accounts appearing to speak for their governments.

It has become even harder in recent days to verify that an account is authentic.

In the span of a week, Twitter granted gray checkmark badges to official government accounts — then rescinded them. It next allowed users to receive a blue checkmark through its $8 subscription services — then halted that offering after it spawned an infestation of imposter accounts. Over the weekend, Twitter laid off outsourced moderators who enforced rules against harmful content, further gutting its guardrails against misinformation.

Twitter hasn’t responded to media requests for information since Musk took over, but its support account has posted: “To combat impersonation, we’ve added an ‘Official’ label to some accounts.”

Twitter’s changes could be deadly, warned Juliette Kayyem, a former homeland security adviser at the state and national levels who now teaches at Harvard’s Kennedy School.

Twitter has become a go-to source of localized information in emergencies, she said. But imposter accounts could introduce a new level of misinformation — or disinformation when people intentionally try to cause harm — in urgent situations. When instructing the public how to respond, the right instructions — such as sheltering in place or evacuating a certain area — can be a matter of life or death.

“In a disaster where time is limited, the greatest way to limit harm is to provide accurate and timely information to communities about what they should do,” Kayyem said. “Allowing others to claim expertise — it will cost lives.”

In the past, Kayyem had worked with Twitter to research how government agencies can communicate in emergencies. She said the leadership at Twitter’s trust and safety department “thought long and hard” about its public service role. But Twitter has lost those high-level leaders responsible for cybersecurity, data privacy and complying with regulations.

Some agencies are pushing audiences to other venues for information.

Local government websites are often the best place to turn for accurate, up-to-date information in emergencies, said April Davis, who works as a public affairs officer and digital media strategist at the Oregon Department of Emergency Management. She, like many others at emergency management agencies, said her agency doesn’t yet plan to change how it engages on Twitter, but also emphasized that it’s not the best place to turn to in emergencies.

“If it goes away, then we’ll migrate to another platform,” said Derrec Becker, chief of public information at the South Carolina Emergency Management Division. “It is not the emergency alert system.”

Twitter accounts for emergency management in Washington, South Carolina and Oregon provide public service information on preparing for disasters and weather alerts. They also tweet about evacuation and shelter orders.

Becker, who has cultivated the agency’s sizeable Twitter following with a playful presence, said emergency alerts broadcast on TV, radio or cell phones are still the go-to methods for urgent warnings.

Shortly after Becker fielded questions from The Associated Press on his agency’s plans Monday, the department tweeted: “Leave Twitter? Disasters are kind of our thing.

”
Twitter risks fraying as engineers exit over Musk upheaval
By FRANK BAJAK

November 18, 2022

 A receptionist works in the lobby of the building that houses the Twitter office in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022. On Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, Twitter continued to bleed engineers and other workers after new owner Elon Musk gave them a choice to pledge to “hardcore” work or resign with severance pay. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

Elon Musk’s managerial bomb-throwing at Twitter has so thinned the ranks of software engineers who keep the world’s de-facto public square up and running that industry insiders and programmers who were fired or resigned this week agree: Twitter may soon fray so badly it could actually crash.

Musk ended a very public argument with nearly two dozen coders over his retooling of the microblogging platform earlier this week by ordering them fired. Hundreds of engineers and other workers then quit after he demanded they pledge to “extremely hardcore” work by Thursday evening or resign with severance pay.

The newest departures mean the platform is losing workers just at it gears up for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which opens Sunday. It’s one of Twitter’s busiest events, when tweet surges heavily stress its systems.

“It does look like he’s going to blow up Twitter,” said Robert Graham, a veteran cybersecurity entrepreneur. “I can’t see how the lights won’t go out at any moment” — although many recently departed Twitter employees predicted a more gradual demise.

Hundreds of employees signaled they were leaving ahead of Thursday’s deadline, posting farewell messages, a salute emoji or other familiar symbols on the company’s internal Slack messaging board, according to employees who still have access. Dozens also took publicly to Twitter to announce their departure.

Earlier in the week, some got so angry at Musk’s perceived recklessness that they took to Twitter to insult the Tesla and Space X CEO. “Kiss my ass, Elon,” one engineer said, adding lipstick marks. She had been fired.

Twitter leadership sent an unsigned email after Thursday’s deadline saying its offices would be closed and employee badge access disabled until Monday. No reason was given, according to two employees who got the email— one who took the severance, one still on payroll. They spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing retribution.

A trusted phalanx of Tesla coders at his side as he ransacked a formerly convivial workspace, Musk didn’t appear bothered.

“The best people are staying, so I’m not super worried,” he tweeted Thursday night. But it soon became clear some crucial programming teams had been thoroughly gutted.

Indicating how strapped he is for programmers, Musk sent all-hands emails Friday summoning “anyone who actually writes software” to his command perch on Twitter’s 10th floor at 2 p.m. — asking that they fly into San Francisco if not local, said the employee who quit Thursday but was still receiving company emails.

After taking over Twitter less than three weeks ago, Musk booted half of the company’s full-time staff of 7,500 and an untold number of contractors responsible for content moderation and other crucial efforts. Then came this week’s ultimatum.

Three engineers who left this week described for The Associated Press why they expect considerable unpleasantness for Twitter’s more than 230 million users now that well over two-thirds of Twitter’s pre-Musk core services engineers are apparently gone. While they don’t anticipate near-term collapse, Twitter could get very rough at the edges — especially if Musk makes major changes without much off-platform testing.
Signs of fraying were evident before Thursday’s mass exit. People reported seeing more spam and scams on their feeds and in their direct messages. Engineers reported dropped tweets. People got strange error messages.

Still, nothing critical has broken. Yet.

“There’s a betting pool for when that happens,” said one of the engineers, all of whom spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from Musk that could impact their careers and finances.

Another said that if Twitter has been shutting servers and “high volume suddenly comes in, it might start crashing.”

“World Cup is the biggest event for Twitter. That’s the first thing you learn when you onboard at Twitter,” he said.

With the earlier layoffs of curation employees, Twitter’s trending pages were already suffering. The engineering fireworks began Tuesday when Musk announced on Twitter that he had begun shutting down “microservices” he considered unnecessary “bloatware.”

“Less than 20% are actually needed for Twitter to work!” he tweeted.

That drew objections from engineers who told Musk he had no idea what he was talking about.

“Microservices are how most modern large web services organize their code to allow software engineers to work quickly and efficiently,” said Gergely Orosz, author of the Pragmatic Engineer blog and a former Uber programmer. There are scores of such services and each manages a different feature. Instead of testing the removal of microservices in a simulated real-world environment, Musk’s team has apparently been updating Twitter live on everyone’s computers.

And indeed, one microservice briefly broke — the one people use to verify their identity to Twitter via SMS message when they log in. It’s called two-factor authentication.

“You have hit the limit for SMS codes. Try again in 24 hours,” Twitter advised when a reporter tried to download their microblogging history archive. Luckily, the email verification alternative worked.

One of the newly separated Twitter engineers, who had worked in core services, told the AP that engineering team clusters were down from about 15 people pre-Musk — not including team leaders, who were all laid off — to three or four before Thursday’s resignations.

Then more institutional knowledge that can’t be replaced overnight walked out the door.

“Everything could break,” the programmer said.

It takes six months to train someone to work an on-call rotation for some services, the engineers said. Such rotations require programmers to be available at all hours. But if the person on call is unfamiliar with the code base, failures could cascade as they frantically plow through reference manuals.

“If I stayed I would have been on-call constantly with little support for an indeterminate amount of time on several additional complex systems I had no experience in,” tweeted Peter Clowes, an engineer who took the severance.

“Running even relatively boring systems takes people who know where to go when something breaks,” said Blaine Cook, Twitter’s founding engineer, who left in 2008. It’s dangerous to drastically reduce a programming workforce to a skeleton crew without first bulletproofing the code, he said.

“It’s like saying, ‘These firefighters aren’t doing anything. So, we’ll just fire them all.’”

The engineers also worry Musk will shut down tools involved in content moderation and removing illicit material that people upload to Twitter — or that there simply wouldn’t be enough people on staff to run them properly.

Another concern is hackers. When they’ve breached the system in the past, diminishing damage depends on detecting them quickly and kicking them out.

It’s not clear how Musk’s housecleaning at Twitter has affected its cybersecurity team, which suffered a major PR black eye in August when the highly respected security chief fired by the company earlier this year, Peiter Zatko, filed a whistleblower complaint claiming the platform was a cybersecurity shambles.

“So much of the security infrastructure of a large organization like Twitter is in people’s heads,” said Graham, the cybersecurity veteran. “And when they’re gone, you know, it all goes with them.”

___

AP Technology Writer Matt O’Brien contributed to this report.

Malaysian elections lead to first hung parliament in history


Malaysian opposition leader chairman Anwar Ibrahim (C) with senior leaders in Pakatan Harapan (The Alliance of Hope) react during a press conference after the 15th General Election in Subang, Malaysia, on Sunday. Photo by Fazry Ismail/EPA-EFE

Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Nationwide elections in Malaysia on Sunday, meant to end political gridlock, caused more as none of the country's major parties earned enough votes to form a new government.

The result was the first hung parliament in Malaysia's political history as voters roundly rejected the ruling Barisan National coalition of current Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, which grabbed just 30 of the open 220 seats.

The coalition included the once-powerful United Malays National Organization party, which had been in power for decades.

Veteran Malaysian legislator and former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad lost his seat after 53 years in office. He had been best known for Malaysia's economic transformation in the 1980s.

With all but one parliamentary seat accounted for, the multi-ethnic Pakatan Harapan coalition, led by veteran opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, won 82 seats. The Perikatan Nasional party, led by former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, captured 73 seats.

Perikatan Nasional, or National Alliance, has the support of an Islamic party that is calling for the institution of shariah, or Islamic law, in the country.

"I am confident I will obtain enough support from lawmakers that will enable me to be appointed by the king as prime minister," Muhyiddin said after the election.

As the next step, rival parties must present the name of a candidate they think has majority support in the lower house of parliament.

On Monday, the Barisan National coalition's Supreme Council could not reach a decision on which coalition it would support to form the next federal government.

The coalition's president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said at UMNO's headquarters that negotiations with the leading parties will continue on Tuesday.

"No decision was made at today's supreme council meeting," Wee said.

Mahathir’s Shock Election Loss Marks End of Decades-Long Career



Anisah Shukry
Sun, November 20, 2022 

(Bloomberg) -- At 97, Mahathir Mohamad was looking to the future, plotting to form a government once again after Malaysia’s national vote. Instead, the country’s longest-serving leader finds himself dumped out of parliament in what’s likely to be the end of his storied political career.

It’s a stunning fall from grace for the man who, just four years ago, led a reformist coalition to victory at the general election. The defeat shows that even the elder statesman of Malaysian politics wasn’t safe from voters angered about the country’s political instability.

Best known for ousting the party he once led and then zeroing in on the multibillion dollar 1MDB scandal that saw ex-leader Najib Razak jailed, Mahathir lost traction this time with young, first-time voters worried about jobs and rising living costs.

Going into the election, Mahathir had positioned his fledgling party as an alternative to the three main coalitions contesting in the election. “Pejuang’s promise is to form a government that is free from corruption and thievery of government funds,” said Mahathir a day before the vote. “Choose Pejuang if you want to prevent the country from falling into chaos and disaster.”

How Malaysia’s 1MDB Scandal Shook the Financial World: QuickTake

Pejuang didn’t win a single seat of the 125 it contested. Mahathir, who was defending his Langkawi seat in a five-way contest in his home state of Kedah in northern Malaysia, secured just 10% of the votes and subsequently lost his election deposit.

He has yet to make a statement on Saturday’s showing. A spokesperson said Mahathir hasn’t indicated he would issue any comments.

Rise to Power

Mahathir’s political career began in 1964, and his rise to power was marked by a push for policies favoring Malays and other indigenous people who make up the majority of Malaysia’s 33 million people.

Propelled by an ambition to turn Malaysia into a developed country, Mahathir set up a state-owned carmaker, Proton, in 1983. Granted tax breaks to allow for lower sticker prices, the company began assembling so-called national cars powered by Mitsubishi Corp. engines but it faltered over the years and China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group bought a 49.9% stake in 2017.

He also helped put Malaysia on the world map, through ambitious construction projects such as the world’s tallest office building, the world’s longest building, one of the world’s largest dams and Southeast Asia’s largest airport. He introduced the “Look East Policy” to push Malaysia to emulate the economic performance and work culture of countries in the region, particularly Japan, as a way to move away from the West.

To be sure, Mahathir’s first stint as prime minister was not without controversy. During the height of the Asian financial crisis, the ringgit plummeted 35%, reserves dwindled and the stock market crashed and lost half its value. Repeatedly accused of being anti-Semitic, Mahathir said he suspected a Jewish “agenda” to be behind the drop in the value of the currency.

To address the crisis, Mahathir ignored advisors including his own deputy and finance minister at the time, Anwar Ibrahim, and rejected an IMF bailout in favor of imposing a currency peg and capital controls.

Mahathir also made short work of his No. 2, sacking Anwar from the cabinet within a week after unveiling his currency controls. Anwar was swiftly arrested on sodomy charges, prompting his supporters to hold the biggest anti-government rally since Mahathir took office 17 years earlier.

He shrugged off international criticism for his “authoritarian” ways and secured his fifth term as prime minister in a national vote held a year later, buoyed by a stronger economy that helped sway ethnic Chinese voters to his side.

King Maker

Mahathir stepped down in 2003 at 78 “to deflect the growing pressures from party members” who wanted him to serve for life, he said in 2002. But he kept his hand in politics by criticizing his successor, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, for scrapping pet projects such as Malaysia’s half of a bridge to Singapore.

Mahathir suggested that Najib Razak, who would later be sent to prison for his role in the 1MDB corruption scandal, should take Abdullah’s place. Yet shortly after Najib took office in 2009, Mahathir turned on him as well, citing worsening race relations and a tougher business environment. The attacks continued for years, especially as the 1MDB scandal grew.

In 2016 Mahathir quit Barisan Nasional, the coalition that had ruled Malaysia for more than 60 years, to join the opposition. For the 2018 election he offered himself as a prime minister candidate for a four-party opposition coalition while Anwar, the de-facto leader, sat in jail, promising to eventually step aside and let him take the post if they won. The gambit paid off when they scored a upset victory, ending BN’s more than six-decade reign.

Mahathir’s return was dominated by his fight against corruption. He focused on the multibillion dollar 1MDB scandal and the role Najib played in siphoning off about half the $8 billion the fund raised in bond sales.

But Mahathir’s popularity waned as he failed to deliver on promises such as abolishing road tolls and reducing living costs. His approval rating plunged to 37% from a high of 83%. As tensions with Anwar rose over the timing of the succession, Mahathir abruptly quit in 2020 and sought to strengthen his hand by forming a unity government outside party politics. It backfired.

The king ultimately appointed Mahathir’s right-hand man, Muhyiddin Yassin, as prime minister, paving the way for the coalition that Najib once led to return to power. Relegated to the opposition once again and feeling betrayed, Mahathir formed Pejuang to try to unseat him, while insisting he didn’t want to be prime minister again.

“Mahathir still retains a residual degree of influence among the Malays,” said Oh Ei Sun, a senior fellow at Singapore Institute of International Affairs. “Left on his own without a robust party machinery, his political aura could not be magnified sufficiently to win him significant electoral gains.”

Pejuang was trounced by the old ruling coalition during its by-election debut in 2020. It fared disastrously as well in the Johor state election in March, failing to win any of the 42 seats it contested.

That was a foreshadow of Saturday’s humiliating defeat.

New Zealand to consider lowering voting age to 16

Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern said Monday that she supports lowering the voting age to 16, but that the decision to do so will be made by all of Parliament.

 File Photo by Oliver Contreras/UPI | License Photo


Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that lawmakers will consider legislation to lower the voting age to 16 after the country's Supreme Court on Monday ruled that its current minimum age limit of 18 violated the country's bill of human rights.

Ardern made the announcement during a post-cabinet press conference, stating a super majority of 75% of lawmakers will be needed to pass the proposed legislation as it is a matter of electoral law.

"Ultimately, we see the best way for the matter to be resolved is for the whole Parliament to vote on it," she said. "Government alone cannot change this law."

Ardern made the announcement hours after New Zealand's Supreme Court ruled that the country's election laws establishing a minimum voting age of 18 are inconsistent with its Bill of Rights Act of 1990 that protects one from discrimination on the basis of age when they reach 16 years old.

The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by Make It 16, an organization seeking to lower the voting age.

"This is history," Caeden Tipler, Make It 16 co-director, said in a statement. "Today, New Zealand's highest court has confirmed that stopping young people from voting is a breach of our human rights."

"The government and Parliament cannot ignore such a clear, legal and moral message." Tipler said. "They must let us vote."

Ardern said that in reaction to the court's ruling Cabinet lawmakers decided to draft legislation on lowering the voting age for consideration by the entire Parliament.

"If supported, it would not take effect for the next general elections," she said.

The prime minister said that while she supports lowering the voting age she cannot speak on how any member of the House, including those of her own Labor Party, stands on the issue.

"What I can tell you is that this is a matter where I hope parties feel that they're able to have an open debate and discussion that isn't based on politics but on their own values and principles," she said.

Paul Goldsmith, spokesman for the center-right National Party, said they see no compelling case to lower the voting age.

"National will keep the voting age at 18," he said in a statement.

On the other end of the political spectrum, the left-wing Green Party said they were unequivocally for it.

"Young people deserve to have a say in the decisions that affect them, both now and in the future," Golriz Ghahraman, Green Party electoral reform spokeswoman, said in a statement. "We are calling on the government to come to the table with a plan to change the law to extend the voting age."

If New Zealand passes the legislation, it will join a short list of countries that have a minimum voting age of 16, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Malta, Nicaragua, Scotland and Germany, but in only some local elections, according to the ACE Electoral Knowledge Network.

EU rules in favor of Banksy in trademark dispute, allowing him to remain anonymous



The European Union’s Intellectual Property Office has ruled in favor of the British street artist Banksy in a trademark dispute with the greeting card company Full Colour Black. Photo courtesy of EUIPO


Nov. 18 (UPI) -- The European Union's Intellectual Property Office has ruled in favor of the British street artist Banksy in a trademark dispute with the greeting card company Full Colour Black.

The decision by the EUIPO's Fifth Board of Appeal reverses a 2021 decision that invalidated a trademark that had been registered in 2018 by Pest Control, the body that authenticates works by the anonymous artist, legal documents show.

The dispute centers on a 2002 stencil of a monkey with a sandwich board sign that reads, "Laugh now, but one day we'll be in charge."

Full Colour Black applied for a cancellation of Banksy's trademark, claiming his work was registered "in bad faith."

RELATEDBanksy unveils new work on war-damaged building in Ukraine

The EUPO's Cancellation Division had declared the trademark invalid on grounds including that much of the evidence for the trademark refer to Banksy and not Pest Control, his authenticating body, but that the trademark was not applied for in his name -- meaning that Banksy may have been required to lose his anonymity to keep the trademark.

Pest Control had argued "against the false narrative of Banksy as an individual as what is relevant is the corporate intention" of the EU trademark proprietor when filing the application, the documents read.

"It is also noted that as Banksy has chosen to be anonymous and cannot be identified this would hinder him from being able to protect this piece of art under copyright laws without identifying himself, while identifying himself would take away from the secretive persona which propels his fame and success," the EUIPO said.

The EUIPO had noted at the time that the work was "disseminated widely" and that Banksy had previously spoken strongly against copyright and that his work was free to reproduce.

In the latest documents, the EUIPO said that Full Colour Black failed to show that the cancellation of the trademark was justified or that Pest Control had acted on bad faith or with "clearly dishonest behavior" when it filed for the contested mark.

Full Colour Black was ordered to bear Banksy's costs for the proceedings.

The news came as Banksy hit out at the clothing retailer Guess for allegedly using his designs without his permission.

"They've helped themselves to my artwork without asking, how can it be wrong for you to do the same to their clothes?" Banksy wrote on Instagram, while apparently encouraging shoplifters to target the store.

Guess has advertised a new collection of clothing with "graffiti by Banksy" which it said was created with Bradalised, a company that licenses designs by graffiti artists.

However, if Banksy were to legally challenge Guess or Brandalised over the collection, he may once again risk his anonymity.

Last week, Banksy made headlines when he unveiled a new work stenciled on the side of a shelling-damaged building in Ukraine.

The work, posted to Banksy's Instagram account, features a side view of a human figure performing a handstand on a pile of rubble with their hair tied back into a bun in his signature stencil black-and-white stencil style.

Growing West Virginia sinkhole threatens local police department


A large sinkhole that opened in the West Virginia town of Hinton in June 2021 has grown after recent rain and is now threatening to swallow the local police department.

 Photo courtesy of West Virginia Division of Highways


Nov. 19 (UPI) -- A large sinkhole that opened in the West Virginia town of Hinton in June has grown after recent rain and is now threatening to swallow the local police department.

The sinkhole, located on West Virginia Route 20 next to the police department, was about 6 feet wide and about 30 feet deep when it first opened and has since grown due to rain caused by Hurricane Nicole, according to a news release from the West Virginia Division of Highways.

Officials blamed the original sinkhole on a 90-year-old drain under the road that began failing, leading to the collapse. The sinkhole has also left an underground gas line exposed, which was taken out of service after the initial cave-in.

"Yes, it has gotten worse. Please avoid using this road unless it is absolutely necessary," Hinton Mayor Jack Scott said in a statement earlier this week.

Workers on Saturday began the installation of a temporary bridge along the highway to span the sinkhole, which is expected to be completed on Sunday.

"The prefabricated steel bridge is similar to Bailey bridges developed by the British military during World War II, and requires assembly on site," WVDOH said in the statement.

State Sen. Stephen Baldwin said in a statement that officials have identified a long-term fix for the sinkhole, expected to cost around $5 million, and will be putting out a request for bids.

Google Doodle honors groundbreaking scientist Marie Tharp
By Tonya Pendleton

Google is celebrating scientist Marie Tharp with a Doodle. Screenshot from Google Doodle

Nov. 21 (UPI) -- A new Google Doodle celebrates a pioneering female scientist.

Michigan-born Marie Tharp earned the distinction of being the first woman to map the ocean floor in her work with the Lamont Geological Observatory in New York.

After earning her master's degree in petroleum geology from the University of Michigan, Tharp moved to New York In 1948, becoming one of the few female scientists in the field at the observatory, she and geologist Bruce Heezen worked together to map the ocean floor. But, when Tharp brought Heezen her discovery of the Mid-Atlantic ridge and continental drift, he dismissed them. Tharp was ordered to erase and completely redo her calculations.

When she uncovered the same findings, backed up by other scientific discoveries, Heezen was forced to accept them as facts. They two mapped the ocean floor and twenty years after their discovery the map was published in National Geographic as "The World Ocean Floor."

"I had a blank canvas to fill with extraordinary possibilities, a fascinating jigsaw puzzle to piece together," Tharp said. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime, a once-in-the-history-of-the-world opportunity for anyone but especially women in the 1940s."

The interactive Google Doodle tells Tharp's story via audio and animation. The three women who perform the voiceover, Caitlyn Larsen, Rebecca Nesel, and Dr. Tiara Moore, are all scientists who say they were inspired by Tharp's life and work.

"Marie's story inspires me because she was a woman in earth science when that was very uncommon and dealt with many challenges because of that, like not being allowed on the research vessels or having her work dismissed by her own colleagues," Nesel told Google. "Regardless, she remained confident in her work and her abilities, and didn't let those challenges dim her creativity and passion toward her work."

Tharp died in 2006 at the age of 86.