ALT CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

What's being done about 'murder-for-hire' sites on the dark web, and how dangerous are they?

The latest episode of the Sky News Daily podcast looks at "murder-for-hire" websites, how dangerous they are, and what is being done about them.

Tom Gillespie
News reporter @TomGillespie1
Monday 28 November 2022 

At some point in our lives most of us have done something to upset someone.

That person might have responded by politely asking you not to do it again, or they may have decided life is too short and simply let it go.

If you're lucky they won't have responded by paying a hitman thousands of pounds to have you killed.

Alexis was 19 when she received a call from the police in her hometown in the United States in 2018.

The officer told her to come to the station immediately for a conversation that would change her life forever.

"They asked if I had p****d anyone off and I said 'no, I don't think so'... then they said someone had paid a couple of grand to put a hit out on me."

Alexis, whose surname we are not reporting to protect her identity, was understandably left wondering why somebody would want to have her killed, and on top of that - who did she know that had access to a hitman?

However, it turns out whoever it was didn't need to go to the effort of making contacts in the mafia or violent street gangs.

Finding a hitman was apparently much easier than that.




This person had simply fired up their laptop and accessed a dangerous online space where criminals can remain anonymous as they operate outside the law.

It is known as the "dark web".

The hidden underbelly of the internet allows people to buy and sell drugs and weapons, watch illegal pornography and even hire hackers to target individuals or businesses.

There is also a disturbing amount of apparent "murder-for-hire" sites offering hitman services in exchange for cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin.

One site claims to have 'thousands of satisfied customers'

An anonymous dark web user had logged on to a site called Camorra Hitman and made a Bitcoin transaction worth $5,770 (around £4,800) to have Alexis kidnapped and murdered.

Camorra Hitman is no longer running but dozens of sites claiming to offer the same services are still operating on the dark web.

'Contract murder from $15,000'

Sky News contacted several of these websites to see if they would put someone forward for interview to discuss their operations.

None of the websites responded.

The order form from one of the sites - which asks customers for the name and address of the 'target'

A couple of the sites feature images of people who appear to have been killed in knife attacks or road accidents. It's not clear if the photographs are real or genuinely linked to the services the websites claim to offer.

One site, which we have chosen not to name, claims to offer "contract murder" from $15,000 (£12,600) and "beatings" from $2,000 (£1,600).

Dark web users provide personal details of people they want killed

Chris Monteiro is a UK-based hacker and dark web vigilante who gains access to transactions between buyers and sellers on these sites.

He then passes the information on to law enforcement agencies in the UK and abroad.

In fact, it was Mr Monteiro who tipped off police in the United States about the hit on Alexis.

"Over several years I have encountered thousands of legitimate murder plots," he said.

"People are going to these sites and providing details of the person they want killed, such as where they work, where they live and how much they're willing to pay."

Chris Monteiro says he has uncovered thousands of legitimate murder plots on the dark web

'I had a knife on me'

However, over the years Mr Monteiro discovered the websites he had been hacking into were not what they seemed to be.

The ones he had accessed were not real - and all investigations into "murder-for-hire" websites have found them to be fake.

And thankfully for Alexis, this includes the one used by her would-be perpetrator.

But whether the site was real or not, there was still someone out there who had used it with the intention of ending her life.

"I was a little scared at first... I had pepper spray on me. I had a knife on me. I had a plank of wood in my car in case someone attacked me. So life was very different."

Read more about the dark web:
Global dark web drug network properties raided in North East and Surrey
Dark web crackdown on opioid traffickers triggers 179 arrests across the world

Law enforcement officials 'not doing enough'

The police passed the investigation on to the FBI who closed her case in 2019 and told her the "United States Attorney's Office has declined to prosecute".

Whoever did try and have Alexis killed is still living freely today.

Both Alexis and Mr Monteiro accuse law enforcement of doing little to resolve the problem around these sites.

When asked what they are doing to tackle the issue, the UK's National Crime Agency told the Sky News Daily podcast in a statement: "The NCA and its partners around the world work closely to remove criminal sites, and frequently identify and bring to account individuals committing serious and organised crime on the dark web - ranging from sharing indecent images of children to supplying class A drugs."

Regardless of the legitimacy of the "murder-for-hire" websites, it doesn't mean dangerous people aren't paying money to them with the intention of having people killed.

When it comes to her own murder-for-hire story, Alexis says she is now getting on with her life.

"I'm trying to really grow as a person... at this point, it's better to just move on, not to dwell on it and drag myself down."

Trump’s dinner with a Holocaust denier draws rare criticism from ZOA

Republican Jewish Coalition, Zionist Organization of America, and commentator Ben Shapiro blast Trump over dinner with antisemites.

Ron Kampeas, JTA
Nov 28, 2022, 

Two weeks after feting Donald Trump as America’s most pro-Israel president ever, the Zionist Organization of America had harsh words for the man who aspires to return to the White House.

“ZOA deplores the fact that President Trump had a friendly dinner with such vile antisemites,” ZOA said Sunday in a news release. “His dining with Jew-haters helps legitimize and mainstream antisemitism and must be condemned by everyone.”

The group was referring to Trump’s dinner last week with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West who came out as an antisemite in recent weeks, and Nick Fuentes, the right-wing provocateur and Holocaust denier. Trump hosted the pair at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate, on Tuesday.

Reaction to the dinner was initially muted in the days before Thanksgiving, but over the long weekend, a host of figures denounced Trump for meeting with the two men, though some did so more strongly or explicitly than others. Among Jews, the criticism has come not only from Trump’s longtime detractors but from some of his biggest fans.

“To my friend Donald Trump, you are better than this,” David Friedman, Trump’s ambassador to Israel, said Friday on Twitter. “Even a social visit from an antisemite like Kanye West and human scum like Nick Fuentes is unacceptable.”

Friedman is rarely anything but effusive in praising Trump, whom he once said would join the “small cadre of Israeli heroes” for moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty on the Golan Heights and exiting the Iran nuclear deal, among other measures. But on Friday, his tone was more pleading as he tweeted to Trump: “I urge you to throw those bums out, disavow them and relegate them to the dustbin of history where they belong.”

Trump for his part said in statements on his Truth Social social media site that he hoped to assist Ye, whom he described as “troubled,” and that he did not know who Fuentes was. (Ye said he had come to Mar-a-Lago to ask Trump to be his running mate in his own nascent campaign.)

“We got along great, he expressed no antisemitism and I appreciated all of the nice things he said about me on ‘Tucker Carlson,'” Trump said of Ye. “Why wouldn’t I agree to meet? Also, I didn’t know Nick Fuentes.”

Fuentes, who routinely rails against Jews on his livestream, also attended the 2017 far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

But even those who took Trump at his word that he did not previously know Fuentes said that was little excuse for dining with him.

“A good way not to accidentally dine with a vile racist and anti-Semite you don’t know is not to dine with a vile racist and anti-Semite you do know,” the Jewish right-wing pundit Ben Shapiro tweeted on Sunday. (Shapiro’s tweet kicked off a heated exchange with Ye, who recently returned to Twitter as the social media platform’s new owner, Elon Musk, restores many accounts that were suspended for violating the site’s old rules, including Trump’s.)

Reaction to the dinner kept Trump in the spotlight over the course of a holiday weekend, a double-edged sword for the first Republican to declare a 2024 presidential campaign. Trump’s rise was fueled by nonstop media coverage, including of seeming misdeeds that did not doom him with his supporters. Still, one Trump advisor told NBC News that the event was a “f—ing nightmare” for the campaign, which has gotten off to a rocky start.

Also condemning the meeting were Jewish organizations that have not hesitated to criticize Trump’s flirtation with extremists in the past, including the American Jewish Committee, the Reform movement of Judaism and the Anti-Defamation League.

The Biden White House also condemned the incident. “Bigotry, hate, and anti-Semitism have absolutely no place in America, including at Mar-a-Lago,” its statement said. ”Holocaust denial is repugnant and dangerous, and it must be forcefully condemned.” (Asked to comment on Trump saying he didn’t know Fuentes, Biden himself told a reporter, “You don’t want to hear what I think.”)

The White House’s statement did not name Trump, nor did statements from many Republicans, including the Republican Jewish Coalition, at whose annual conference Trump spoke last week. The group did not initiate a statement, but, in response to reporters’ queries, released one.

“We strongly condemn the virulent antisemitism of Kanye West and Nick Fuentes and call on all political leaders to reject their messages of hate and refuse to meet with them,” said the statement, first solicited by The New York Times’ Maggie Haberman. The RJC and its CEO, Matt Brooks, retweeted Haberman.

Why the RJC would not name Trump drew follow-up questions from reporters, including Haberman, as well as a barrage of criticism on social media.

Brooks, evidently stung, called such queries “dumb and short-sighted” on Sunday morning and said on Twitter by way of explanation, “We didn’t mention Trump in our RJC statement even though it’s obviously in response to his meeting because we wanted it to be a warning to ALL Republicans. Duh!”

Max Miller, a Jewish Republican just elected to Congress from Ohio, and a former wingman for Trump, also did not name Trump and instead appealed to Ye, who at least until recently had become cherished on the Right as a black Christian conservative, to make a course correction.

“Nick Fuentes is unquestionably an anti-Semite and a Holocaust denier. His brand of hate has no place in our public discourse,” Miller said on Twitter. Ye “doesn’t need to keep walking this path. Letting people like Nick Fuentes into his life is a mistake.”

Prominent Jewish Republicans not making statements included David Kustoff, a Tennessee Jewish Republican congressman; Jason Greenblatt, once a top Middle East adviser to Trump; and Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, who were both top advisers to Trump when he was president. A spokesman for Kushner did not reply to a request for comment.

Lee Zeldin, the Jewish Republican New York congressman seen as having a future in the GOP leadership after performing more strongly than expected in a failed bid to be elected governor of a Democratic state, also did not issue a statement, and his spokesman did not reply to a request for comment. Zeldin has otherwise been outspoken on Jewish issues in Congress and co-chairs the U.S. House of Representatives Black-Jewish caucus.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who is the only black Republican in the Senate and who co-chairs its Black-Jewish caucus, also had not commented as of Sunday night.

Other Republican leaders denounced extremism but did not call out Trump by name. Ronna McDaniel, the Republican National Committee chairwoman known for her closeness to the former president, like the RJC, replied only when asked by a reporter — in her case, from Bloomberg — and did not name Trump.

“As I had repeatedly said, white supremacy, neo-Nazism, hate speech, and bigotry are disgusting and do not have a home in the Republican Party,” McDaniel said.

Meanwhile, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo condemned antisemitism — but without mentioning Trump, Fuentes, Ye or any of the forms of antisemitism they have expressed. Instead, Pompeo spoke of his own role in undermining the boycott Israel movement — a cause that none of the men who dined together has embraced.

“Anti-Semitism is a cancer. As Secretary, I fought to ban funding for anti-Semitic groups that pushed BDS,” Pompeo said on Twitter. “We stand with the Jewish people in the fight against the world’s oldest bigotry.”

Trump was the ghost in the Republican machine last weekend at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual conference in Las Vegas: the declared candidate who party leaders believe still commands the unswerving loyalty of at least a third of the base. With his capacity for lashing out at critics, taking on Trump directly is seen as a fool’s game by many in the party.

A handful of Republicans already known for their open criticism of Trump, including Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, did denounce him by name.

“This is just awful, unacceptable conduct from anyone, but most particularly from a former President and current candidate,” Christie tweeted on Friday.

Palestinian Authority Muzzles Call for Reform, Elections

Shuts Down Activist Meeting in West Bank

Omar Shakir
Israel and Palestine Director, Middle East and North Africa Division

Demonstrators carry pictures of activist Nizar Banat during a protest in the West Bank city of Ramallah on the same day he was beaten to death in Palestinian Authority custody, Thursday, June 24, 2021. © 2021 AP Photo/Nasser Nasser

Israeli and Palestinian authorities restrict the rights of Palestinians to free assembly, expression, and association. But only one governing body tried to shut down a recent conference aimed at reforming and reinvigorating the Palestinian national movement, including calling for elections: the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank.

On November 5, Palestinian activists held a conference called “14 Million: Palestinian Popular Conference,” which Palestinians from across Palestine, Israel, and the diaspora joined in different cities and connected via Zoom.

One of the activists involved in organizing the Popular Conference, who requested anonymity, told Human Rights Watch that organizers brought together Palestinians across geographic lines around one core demand: democratization of the Palestinian political system.

But the PA, which manages affairs in parts of the West Bank, refused to allow the meeting to be held in the West Bank.

Activists there had planned a gathering in Ramallah to participate in the Popular Conference at the offices of the political movement, the Popular Alliance for Change. But the Palestinian Authority raided Popular Alliance’s office, detained and questioned two activists at a police station for several hours, and confiscated the phone of a third activist, according to the Palestinian rights group Lawyers for Justice.

On November 8, Popular Alliance sought to hold a press conference decrying Palestinian Authority repression, but PA security forces shut it down, an intervention that journalists captured on video. Two days later, PA forces blocked Popular Alliance activists from entering their own office, saying, according to the activists, that they had orders to shut it.

These restrictions reflect the Palestinian Authority’s systematic efforts to muzzle dissent, including by arbitrarily arresting critics and opponents, as Human Rights Watch has documented. The United Nations Committee Against Torture in July 2022 raised concern about arbitrary arrests, intimidation, and harassment by Palestinians officials of “journalists, bloggers, political opponents and government critics,” among other abuses.

Impunity remains the norm for these abuses. In the summer of 2021, PA forces beat to death prominent activist and critic Nizar Banat while he was in custody, and then violently dispersed people demanding justice for his death – including rounding up scores of peaceful protesters. No one has been held to account.

The Palestinian Authority last held presidential elections in 2005 and legislative elections in 2006. Leaders who have been in power for more than 16 years without elections should at the very least listen to criticism, not muzzle it.

Call for smoking cessation for World AIDS Day

By Dr. Tim Sandle
Published December 1, 2022

An awareness event organised on the eve of the 'World AIDS Day' at Khalpara area in Siliguri on November 30, 2021 - Copyright AFP Jung Yeon-je

For World AIDS Day (December 1st each year), the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) has called on the health care community to increase lung cancer screening for people with HIV who are current or former heavy smokers and may be at high risk for developing the disease.

The message is that as HIV- infected individuals have high smoking rates, smoking cessation should also be encouraged.

Smoking, Lung Cancer and HIV Rates

According to American Thoracic Society President Gregory Downey, in a quote provided to Digital Journal: “As antiretrovirals have prolonged the lives of people with HIV and made it more like a chronic disease, lung cancer has emerged as a leading cause of death in smokers infected with HIV.”

Downey adds: “Lung cancer is a major and preventable cause of death. Screening done by chest CT scans, as well as stepped up smoking cessation efforts, may slow this trend.”

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among those with HIV/AIDS worldwide, and HIV-positive patients who smoke die at a significantly younger age than those who do not. Studies show that lung cancer occurs more often among people living with HIV than among the general population.

Some geographic regions are harder hit by both HIV and lung cancer. Sub-Saharan Africa is home to approximately half of the world’s HIV-positive population—20 million in all. These individuals have three times the incidence of lung cancer of people without HIV.

In addition, several sub-Saharan regions have seen increases in the incidence of lung cancer in recent years. However, the need stands in great contrast to the limited resources and access to care in these regions. It is, therefore, critical that governments and health systems prioritize greater access and ongoing awareness campaigns in order to see improvements in lung cancer care.

The 38 million globally living with HIV – © AFP

People living with HIV have a higher risk of lung cancer than the general population. However, many people with this malignancy do not have symptoms at early stages. Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer, worldwide, accounting for 1.8 million deaths in 2020.

Screening for Lung Cancer

Lung cancer screening, which may be done for smokers or former smokers who are at especially high risk, uses low-dose CT scans of the chest. Research has shown that these scans can save lives, detecting abnormalities that may be cancer, before symptoms start. Some research suggests that young (under age 55) people with HIV who are current or former heavy smokers may benefit from screening at an earlier age.

While studies have shown that screening with low-dose CT for current or former heavy smokers who are over 55 has saved lives, screening may not be for everyone in this age group. It’s best to speak with one’s primary care provider or pulmonologist to determine if lung cancer screening is appropriate.

The Importance of Smoking Cessation In general, HIV infected individuals lose more years of their lives from smoking than they do from HIV. A large Danish study found that HIV infected participants lost a median of 12 years of life from smoking, while the median years lost to HIV in non-smokers was 5.1. This study illustrates the potential impact of smoking cessation.

Disasters cost $268 billion in 2022: Swiss Re


By AFP
Published December 1, 2022

Ian, a category four hurricane, caused more than 150 deaths, almost all in Florida, where it made landfall on September 28 - Copyright AFP/File Frederic J. BROWN

Robin MILLARD

Natural and man-made catastrophes have caused $268 billion of economic losses so far in 2022, chiefly driven by Hurricane Ian and other extreme weather disasters, reinsurance giant Swiss Re estimated Thursday.

Insured losses covered $122 billion — less than half — of the total economic losses to date this year, said the Zurich-based group, which acts as an insurer for insurers.

“Hurricane Ian and other extreme weather events such as the winter storms in Europe, flooding in Australia and South Africa as well as hailstorms in France and in the United States resulted in an estimated $115 billion of natural catastrophe insured losses this year to date,” Swiss Re said in a statement.

There were $7 billion of insured losses from man-made disasters.

It is the second consecutive year in which total insured losses from natural catastrophes topped $100 billion, with the figure hitting $121 billion last year.

“Urban development, wealth accumulation in disaster-prone areas, inflation and climate change are key factors at play, turning extreme weather into ever rising natural catastrophe losses,” explained Martin Bertogg, Swiss Re’s head of catastrophe perils.

“When Hurricane Andrew struck 30 years ago, a $20 billion loss event had never occurred before; now there have been seven such hurricanes in just the past six years.”

Hurricane Ian is by far the largest loss-causing event in 2022, with an estimated insured loss of $50-65 billion, said Swiss Re.

It estimated that Hurricane Ian caused the second-costliest insured loss ever, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

– Neighbourhoods flattened –

Ian, a category four hurricane, caused more than 150 deaths, almost all in Florida, where it made landfall on September 28.

One of the most powerful storms ever to hit the United States, it flattened whole neighbourhoods and knocked out power for millions of people. Storm surges and immense downpours left even inland neighbourhoods submerged.

“This highlights the threat potential of a single hurricane hitting a densely populated coastline,” Swiss Re said.

The reinsurer added that so-called secondary natural disasters such as floods and hailstorms — as opposed to major disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes — caused more than $50 billion of insured losses.

The storms in Europe in February prompted estimated insured losses of over $3.7 billion, putting winter storms back on the insurance industry’s agenda, Swiss Re said.

France experienced the most severe hailstorms ever observed in the European spring and summer, with insured market losses reaching an estimated five billion euros ($5.3 billion), said Swiss Re.

And in Australia in February and March, torrential summer rains led to widespread flooding that, at an estimated $4 billion, became the country’s costliest-ever natural catastrophe.

– ‘Vast’ protection gap –

Swiss Re highlighted how the insurance and reinsurance industry covered roughly only 45 percent of the economic losses so far this year.

“The protection gap remains vast,” said Thierry Leger, the group’s chief underwriting officer.

Of the estimated $268 billion total economic losses for property damage so far this year, $260 billion are from natural catastrophes and $8 billion from man-made disasters, such as industrial accidents.

The $268 billion figure is down 12 percent from $303 billion last year, but above the $219 billion average over the previous 10 years.

At $115 billion, total insured losses from natural catastrophes were down five percent from the $121 billion in 2021, but well above the previous 10-year average of $81 billion.

Mauna Loa and beyond: Reading volcanic activity by recorded seismic waves

By Dr. Tim Sandle
Published November 30, 2022

Mauna Loa erupts for the first time since 1984 on Hawaii Island,

on November 28, 2022 - 

Copyright BELTA/AFP/File Ramil NASIBULIN

A Northwestern University seismologist – Suzan van der Lee – has been ‘looking inside the Earth’, focusing on the Mauna Loa eruption and what science can learn in terms of predicting future volcanic activity. Mauna Loa is one of five volcanoes that form the Island of Hawaii in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.

Currently, Mauna Loa (the world’s largest active volcano) is erupting for the first time since 1984, as the BBC has reported. The report indicates that lava is flowing down the side of the volcano at a temperature of 1,000 degrees Celsius. This brings with it the additional risks of ashfall, and destructive earthquakes.

While ash is an issue, it is the quantity of lava that is of greatest interest to the researchers. Van der Lee says: “Each volcano is unique. The Hawaiian volcanoes are not known for the amount of ash that they erupt. It’s mostly the lava, which is gently flowing. It’s not a very violently erupting volcano. Even though there was originally a warning for ash — which can affect lungs, crops and water supply — It seems most of the danger for people living on the rim of the Hawaii island at the lower elevations was the potential for lava flow.”

One reason why researchers know about the distinctive features of Mauna Loa is based on advances with tracking systems. Technology has enabled improved predictions and communication about Mauna Loa’s eruption.

Van der Lee explains in a statement sent to Digital Journal: “Since a journey inside the Earth is not physically possible, we use data and technology, for example, recorded seismic waves to see what’s happening inside the Earth. It’s as amazing that we can look inside the Earth as it is we can look inside a human body with an MRI.” Through the technology it is possible to create tomographic images (images using seismic waves to virtually section the Earth’s interior).

A key means of monitoring is by using seismometers, installed round the island to pick up increasing activity. This reveals considerable details since as magma accelerates its way to the surface, it needs to break solid rock. That creates seismic waves that are recorded and tremors.

According to Van der Lee: “That’s a very important observational tool. Other ways are geodetic instruments, like tilt meters of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), that constantly measure the shape of volcanoes. If that shape is expanding left, right or up, that could be an indication that something is going on underneath and trying to make room for magma coming to the surface. Other instruments measure gases that routinely escape through fissures and cracks and vents and so on.”

These approaches have been used elsewhere in the world. For example, assessing a volcanic island in Tonga which has erupted in a very unusual and uncharacteristic way. Van der Lee’s research on observed seismic waves helps researchers to better understand volcanoes and draw insights about the structure of the Earth’s interior.

Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.

Brazilian Amazon deforestation falls, but up 60% under Bolsonaro


By AFP
Published November 30, 2022

Humans have spent the past half-century tearing down and burning whole swathes of the Amazon — © POOL/AFP Matt McClain

Joshua Howat Berger

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon destroyed an area bigger than Qatar in the 12 months through July, according to official figures released Wednesday, which showed a decline from the year before — but a sharp increase overall under outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro.

In the latest grim news on the world’s biggest rainforest, satellite monitoring showed 11,568 square kilometers (4,466 square miles) of forest cover was destroyed in the Brazilian Amazon from August 2021 to July 2022, according to national space agency INPE’s annual deforestation tracking program, PRODES.

The figure was a decrease of 11.3 percent from the year before, when INPE detected 13,038 square kilometers of deforestation — a 15-year high.

But it closed out four years of what environmentalists call disastrous management of the Amazon under the far-right Bolsonaro, whose successor, veteran leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has vowed to work toward zero deforestation when he takes office on January 1.

Under agribusiness ally Bolsonaro, average annual deforestation rose by 59.5 percent from the previous four years, and by 75.5 percent from the previous decade, according to INPE figures.

“The Bolsonaro government was a forest-destroying machine… The only good news is that it’s about to end,” said Marcio Astrini, executive secretary of the Climate Observatory, a coalition of environmental groups.

“Jair Bolsonaro will hand his successor a filthy legacy of surging deforestation and an Amazon in flames,” he said in a statement, urging Lula — who previously led Brazil from 2003 to 2010 — to show “zero tolerance” for environmental crimes.

Bolsonaro’s office and the environment ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Experts say the vast majority of the clear-cutting and fires erasing the Amazon are to create new farmland — especially for cattle ranches in Brazil, the world’s top beef exporter.

The deforestation figures show the Amazon is being pushed toward a “tipping point,” warned Mariana Napolitano, science director at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Brazil office.

“Significantly reducing deforestation… is imperative for humankind in the face of the twin climate and nature crises the world is facing,” she said in a statement.

– All eyes on Lula –

Environmentalists said the figures had been ready since November 3, and accused the government of stalling their release to avoid embarrassment at the United Nations’ COP27 climate conference in Egypt.

Bolsonaro, who has faced international outcry over the Amazon, did not attend the conference.

Lula did, fresh off defeating Bolsonaro in a runoff election.

The 77-year-old president-elect received a rock star’s welcome from climate campaigners hoping Brazil will now do a far better job protecting its 60-percent share of the Amazon, whose billions of carbon-absorbing trees are a key buffer against global warming.

“Brazil is back,” Lula told the conference, vowing to fight to end illegal deforestation and revive the internationally backed, $1.3-billion Amazon Fund to protect the rainforest — suspended under Bolsonaro.

Annual deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by 75 percent during Lula’s first presidency, an accomplishment many experts attribute to respected former environment minister Marina Silva — now tipped to return to the job.

But Lula also faced criticism during his previous two terms from environmentalists — including Silva — over some policies, such as the controversial decision to push ahead with the massive Belo Monte hydroelectric dam in the Amazon.

The latest figures came the same day as a new study that found 90 percent of all land deforested in Brazil has been converted to pasture.

The Amazon is the region with the most pasture land, found the study from satellite tracking institute MapBiomas.

It found the amount of pasture in the Amazon grew 40 percent in the past two decades, as Brazil emerged as the world’s top beef powerhouse.

Archeologists find ancient Peruvian fresco, lost for a century


By AFP
Published November 30, 2022

The pre-Hispanic fresco "Huaca pintada", in northern Peru, had not been seen in a century. 

- Copyright Airbus DS 2022/AFP/File Handout

Luis Jaime CISNEROS

Archeologists have rediscovered a pre-Hispanic fresco depicting mythological scenes in northern Peru that they had only seen in black and white photographs that were more than a century old.

“It’s an exceptional discovery, first of all, because it is rare to unearth wall paintings of such quality in pre-Columbian archeology,” said Sam Ghavami, the Swiss archeologist who led excavations that uncovered the mural in October.

Ghavami spent four years looking for the rock painting, which he believes could be around 1,000 years old, with a team of Peruvian students.

“The composition of this painting is unique in the history of mural art in pre-Hispanic Peru,” added the archaeologist, who trained at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.

The fresco forms part of the Huaca Pintada temple, which belonged to the Moche civilization that flourished between the 1st and 8th centuries, and venerated the Moon, the rain, iguanas, and spiders.

The uncovered mural is about 30 meters (98 feet) long, and its images in blue, brown, red, white, and mustard yellow paint remain exceptionally well preserved.

In one section, a procession of warriors can be seen heading toward a birdlike deity.

The painted images “appear to be inspired by the idea of a sacred hierarchy built around a cult of ancestors and their intimate links with the forces of nature,” said Ghavami.

He told AFP that deciphering the mural’s message would form part of his research, but he believes it “could be interpreted as a metaphorical image of the political and religious order of the region’s ancient inhabitants.”

The discovery is also unusual in that it shows a mixture of styles and elements of two pre-Incan cultures: the Moche and the Lambayeque, who lived on Peru’s north coast between 900 and 1350 AD.

– Forgotten by scientists –

The mural’s existence was only known via black and white photos taken in 1916 by the German ethnologist Hans Heinrich Bruning, who lived in Peru for many years.

However, treasure hunters destroyed a wall as they tried to loot the site, and “it was forgotten by the scientific community,” said Ghavami.

On top of that, no one even knew about the photos Bruning had taken until they were found in 1978.

“Since then, archeologists have known about Huaca Pintada, but no one came to excavate the site because they thought they would find nothing there.”

As the years went on, thick foliage took over. The fresco piqued Ghavami’s interest as he worked on his doctoral thesis on cultural transitions such as that between the Moche and Lambayeque civilizations.

However, first he had a long battle to obtain permission from the family that owns the land where the mural was found.

“It took me two years for them to let me dig and I had to try different ways to resolve the situation with the support of a shaman who works with the spirit of the shrine,” said Ghavami.

Read more: https://www.digitaljournal.com/tech-science/archeologists-find-ancient-peruvian-fresco-lost-for-a-century-2/article#ixzz7mFa5rSIi

Ex-governor tries; ‘outsider’ upset with Nigeria, presidential bid


By AFP
Published November 28, 2022


Labour Party's Presidential candidate Peter Obi (C) is appealing to many young Nigerians with his outsider message - Copyright AFP Hector RETAMAL

Quadri Taiwo

Horns blaring from the crowd, Nigerian candidate Peter Obi makes his pitch, repeating a mantra that he offers youth a chance for change in February’s election.

For 35-year-old footwear seller Joseph Nwankwo it was what wants to hear.

“I never voted for any party. They believed our vote never counted. This time round we believe our vote will,” said Nwankwo at the rally in southwest Ibadan city. “We are the youth. If we don’t do it, who will do it for us?”

Backed by the Labour Party, Obi is emerging as a rare third challenger to the two mainstream parties who have governed Africa’s most populous country since the end of military rule in 1999.

Next February’s election is set to be a tight race to replace President Muhammadu Buhari, who steps down with Nigeria facing huge security challenges and an economy hobbled by fallout from the pandemic and Ukraine’s war.

A former southeast Anambra state governor and one-time PDP vice presidential candidate, Obi has gained momentum with a vibrant social media following and what supporters see as a fresher voice over the other old guard rivals.

Ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and main opposition Peoples Democratic Party chieftains dismiss Obi as a Twitter phenomenon devoid of a national party network to challenge their deep pockets.

Obi, 61, may face many obstacles in his run to Aso Rock presidential villa, but his message is resonating especially among younger, urban Nigerians who call themselves “Obi-dients”.

Whether he can win remains unclear — some local polls have him ahead. But analysts say Obi’s challenge is already complicating the political outlook for the PDP and APC.

APC is fielding Bola Tinubu, an 70-year-old former Lagos state governor known as the “Godfather of Lagos” for his political clout.

Against him, the PDP has Atiku Abubakar, 76, a wealthy businessman on his sixth bid for the presidency. He was vice president in 1999.

“All of the political and economic and social conditions have made him a palatable alternative,” SBM Intelligence analyst Ikesemit Effiong said of Obi.

“It is beginning to dent the image of the traditional political parties.”

– Political geography –

Wearing glasses and often dressed in a simple black traditional suit, Obi has run a grass-roots campaign where he touts his experience as governor and his outsider status.

A wealthy trader, Obi says he is about turning Nigeria around — increasing production rather than consumption, governing responsibly and taking on insecurity.

“The government we intend to form, will be the beginning of a new Nigeria,” he told a crowd of thousands in Ibadan. “We will secure a united Nigeria.”

But with little structure nationwide and no governors, rivals say the Labour party and Obi will struggle. In 2019, the Labour Party candidate won 0.02 percent of the vote. The party elected one lawmaker.

“People say the Obidients, of course they will,” said Edo State governor Godwin Obaseki, who is campaigning for PDP. “But they will run out of steam.”

Nigerian elections are often about geography calculations. To win the presidency, a candidate must get a majority of the votes and also 25 percent of the votes in two thirds of its 36 states.

Almost equally split between predominantly Muslim north and the mostly Christian south, Nigeria is a patchwork of ethnic groups, including the largest Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo.

In an unwritten agreement to promote informal power sharing, the presidency has rotated alternatively between candidates from the north and south.

But 2023 is complex. After two terms under Buhari, a northern Muslim, many expected a southerner. But PDP went with Abubakar, a northerner. APC chose southerner Tinubu, but an all Muslim president and vice president team.

– New dimension –

Obi, an Igbo from the southeast, will likely do well in traditional PDP strongholds in that region, but may also dent APC’s vote in Tinubu’s Lagos stronghold, analysts said.

With the PDP already damaged by a deep split with Rivers State governor over its candidate, APC may benefit more from incumbency and Obi taking away PDP’s votes, risk analysts Eurasia Group said.

But opponents question Obi’s support in the north, where large voting blocks have delivered the presidency in the last two elections.

“Have you seen social media promoting Peter Obi in the north?” Zamfara State governor Bello Matawalle and APC leader told TVS news. “During the election they will understand they have the wrong calculation.”

Voter turnout is often low in Nigeria, and some observers ask whether Obi’s presence could disrupt APC and PDP support enough to force a second-round runoff for the first time ever.

“Clearly he is going to be a major factor in determining the outcome of the election,” said Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, a professor at Tufts University’s Fletcher School.

Lagos taxi driver Abrahim Babatunde Lawal agrees. He voted twice for Buhari and APC since 2015. Next year he is giving Obi a chance.

“He’s a new dimension, someone who is different from the old politicians,” Lawal said. “I won’

China touting 'ambitious, pragmatic' biodiversity pact from COP15 conference set for Montreal

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will attend COP15 — starting on Dec. 5 — despite China's plan not to invite heads of state

Reuters
Publishing date:Nov 28, 2022 • 

Polars bears hunt for beluga whales on the shores of Hudson Bay. The COP15 conference on protecting biodiversity begins in Montreal on Dec. 5. 

PHOTO BY OLIVIER MORIN /AFP via Getty Images


SHANGHAI — China will lead talks to secure an “ambitious and pragmatic” new global pact to preserve biodiversity at a U.N. meeting that begins next week in Montreal, but implementing the deal remains the biggest challenge, Chinese officials said on Monday.

Representatives of nearly 200 countries will gather starting on Dec. 5 and running to Dec. 17 to secure a “post-2020 framework” to protect habitats and ecosystems and ensure the sustainable and equitable use of biological resources.

Zhou Guomei, head of the international department of the environment ministry, told reporters that negotiations so far had not been “plain sailing” but focused on an ambitious deal that was “also pragmatic, balanced, feasible and achievable.”

Originally set to be held in China’s southwestern city of Kunming, the meeting, known as COP15, was relocated this year because of tough zero-COVID curbs. China will continue to serve as president.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will attend COP15, despite China’s plan not to invite heads of state — a decision criticized by green groups. Chinese President Xi Jinping is not expected to go.

COP15 is the 15th conference of parties to the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The pact was signed at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 and later ratified by about 195 countries, excluding the United States. Resulting negotiations and conventions are designed to safeguard plant and animal species, and ensure natural resources are used in sustainable ways.

Because the United States never ratified the original CBD treaty, it does not play a formal role in negotiations, although it will send a delegation to COP15 and recently appointed Monica Medina as special envoy for biodiversity and water resources.

In addition, President Joe Biden has pledged to protect at least 30 per cent of U.S. land and coastal waters by 2030, as part of the broader international campaign for 30×30. The campaign forms a central piece of the nature pact to conserve at least 30 per cent of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030, hence 30×30.

In last year’s first phase of talks, more than 100 nations signed the Kunming Declaration for urgent action to include biodiversity protection in all sectors of the global economy. But they were unable to reach consensus on issues such as funding conservation in poorer countries. Canada is among the signatories.

Zhou said there were still differences on a number of issues, and success would depend on an implementation mechanism for resources and financial support to be mobilized.

A previous biodiversity pact signed in Aichi, Japan, in 2010, set 20 targets to try to slow biodiversity loss by 2020. None of those targets was met in full.

Countries need to “fully consider” the attainability of any new targets, said Cui Shuhong, head of the ministry’s natural ecology department.

“We should learn fully from the experience and lessons during the implementation of the Aichi targets, not only to boost the ambition and confidence in global biodiversity conservation, but also to be down-to-earth and realistic,” he added.