Israeli Culture Minister Threatens To Claw Back State Funding From Local Doc ‘Two Kids A Day’ Exploring Detention Of Palestinian Children

Melanie Goodfellow
Mon, January 16, 2023 


Israel’s newly appointed Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar has lashed out against Israeli filmmaker David Wachsmann’s award-winning documentary Two Kids A Day, probing the country’s detention of Palestinian children in the West Bank, and is threatening to take back its state funding.

The minister, who took up office in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new hard-right government at the end of December, has criticized the work for presenting Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers “as those who harm children, while terrorists are presented as innocent victims”.

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Zohar said he had requested Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to investigate whether it would be possible to retroactively take back state money given to the film for its production.

“The Ministry of Culture and Sports under my leadership will not finance works that harm the good name of the State of Israel, both in Israel and in the world,” he was quoted as saying by local media.

Two Kids A Day explores Israel’s detention of Palestinian youngsters, suggesting as per the title that on average Israeli Defences Forces arrest two children a day, or some 700 youngsters a year.

Sometimes the children have been caught throwing stones at Israeli soldiers or committing other low-level crimes, sometimes not, but Wachsmann and human rights activists say that Israel’s detention and treatment of the youngsters cannot be justified.

Wachsmann puts forward the theory that the detention of Palestinian children in West Bank is being used by Israeli security forces as a way to exercize control over the Palestinian population in the occupied territory.

Two Kids A Day premiered in the Israeli Documentary Competition of the Jerusalem Film Festival in July, winning the Best Research Award. It will get its international premiere at the upcoming Norwegian human rights documentary film festival Human in Oslo in March.

The film has stoked the ire of Israeli right-wing activists who have been picketing screenings of the film. The situation came to a head last Wednesday when a group of these protestors tried to shut a screening down at the Herzliya Cinematheque.

Zohar made his comments in the wake of the disturbance, coming out in favor of the protestors.

The minister has since said he is working on a measure under which filmmakers and producers will have to sign a document in which they pledge not to harm the reputation of the State of Israel or its army to secure state funding.

“It is permissible to make any films you want within the law, but we don’t have to finance them,” he was quoted as saying to Israeli media on Monday.

Two Kids A Day is an Israeli-Finnish co-production lead produced by Aurit Zamir and Yoav Roeh. The film was supported by The New Fund for Cinema and TV, YES TV and The Israel Lottery.

Roeh told Deadline that Zohar’s threats were a worrying development for freedom of expression and creativity in Israel.

“Firstly, he is trying to change the law so he can take funds back from films that he doesn’t like. Filmmakers will be afraid to spend state funds on films if the government can take it back after they’re completed, which will result in self-censorship,” said the producer.

“The next step will be a law curtailing the freedom of the artistic choices of filmmakers,” he continued.

It is not the first time an Israeli Minister of Culture has tried to tie in state film funds with stipulations banning criticism of the State of Israel and the Israeli army.

Former Culture Minister Miri Regev, who served under Netanyahu’s last government from 2015 to 2020, tried to push through the Loyalty in Culture bill in 2018.

Israel’s cultural sector lobbied hard against the move and attempts to get it through Israel’s Knesset parliament were ditched after Netanyahu’s majority was weakened by defections, making it less likely to pass.

Israeli state cinema funding is administered by a collection of around half a dozen autonomous funds that until now have mainly resisted attempts at censorship.

Roeh said the situation is different this time round following Netanyahu’s victory in elections in last November and his creation of Israel’s most far-right, religious conservative government in its nearly 75-year history.

“The new government which is a very right-wing government is trying to change everything,” said Roeh, noting the government’s current drive to reform the judiciary, to give it the power to appoint judges and overturn High Court decisions.

“Everything that democracy is, they are trying to change,” he continued.

Roeh suggested the government’s actions were in a similar vein to those of Viktor Orbán’s government in Hungary, where his ruling Fidesz party has eroded the independence of the country’s judiciary and freedom of speech during its 12 years in power.

“Hungary is the model for our new prime minister,” said the producer.

Roeh’s comments came just two days after about 80,000 people attended a demonstration in Tel Aviv protesting the government’s reforms of the judiciary.

Zohar was among the ministers dismissing the demonstrations.

“Tens of thousands of people were at the demonstrations tonight. In the election held here two and a half months ago, millions turned out,” he Tweeted. “We promised the people change, we promised governance, we promised reforms – and we will make good on that.”

Nations express 'deep concern' at Israeli punitive measure


EDITH M. LEDERER
Mon, January 16, 2023

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — More than 90 countries have expressed “deep concern” at Israel’s punitive measures against the Palestinian people, leadership and civil society following a U.N. request for an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice on the legality of Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem.

In a statement released Monday by the Palestinians, the signatories called for a reversal of the Israeli measures, saying regardless of their position on the General Assembly’s resolution, “we reject punitive measures in response to a request for an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice.”

The 193-member General Assembly voted 87-26 with 53 abstentions on Dec. 30 in favor of the resolution which was promoted by the Palestinians and opposed vehemently by Israel. Even though rulings by the International Court of Justice are not legally binding, they can be influential on world opinion.

Israel’s new hardline government responded on Jan. 6, approving steps to penalize the Palestinians in retaliation. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a meeting of his Cabinet two days later that the measures against the Palestinians were aimed at what he called “an extreme anti-Israel” step at the United Nations.

The government’s Security Cabinet decided to withhold $39 million from the Palestinian Authority and transferring the funds instead to a compensation program for the families of Israeli victims of Palestinian militant attacks.

It also decided to deduct the amount of revenue Israel typically transfers to the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority by a sum equal to the amount paid last year to families of Palestinian prisoners and those killed in the conflict, including militants implicated in attacks against Israelis. The Palestinian leadership describes the payments as necessary social welfare, while Israel says the so-called Martyrs’ Fund incentivizes violence.

The Security Cabinet also targeted Palestinian officials directly, saying it would deny benefits to “VIPs who are leading the political and legal war against Israel.” The first Palestinian affected was Foreign Minister Riad Malki who said in a statement on Jan. 8 that he was returning from the Brazilian president’s inauguration when he was informed that Israel rescinded his VIP travel permit, which allows top Palestinian officials to travel more easily in and out of the occupied West Bank than ordinary Palestinians.

The statement released Monday was signed by representatives of Arab nations and the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation and 37 other countries — 27 of them from Europe including Germany, France and Italy as well as Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa.

Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour welcomed the statement of support, telling The Associated Press that “we exercised our democratic rights to go to the General Assembly in a peaceful way, a legal way, and put a question to the ICJ to seek an advisory opinion.”

“What is amazing about that statement,” he said, is that it was signed by some countries that abstained or voted against the resolution referring the question to the court.

“But to punish people for going to the General Assembly in an adoption of a resolution is something else,” Mansour said. “That’s why they stood with us and opposed this policy of the Israeli government, and they are demanding a reversal of this decision.”

He predicted more countries will support the statement when the Security Council holds its monthly meeting on the Middle East focusing on the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Jan. 18.

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang calls on Israel to stop worsening Palestine issue with provocation

Mon, January 16, 2023

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang has called on Israel to refrain from provocations that could worsen the situation with Palestine, saying Beijing supports a fair and permanent solution to the issue.

"China is deeply worried" about the recent escalation of tensions between Israel and Palestine, Qin said in the Egyptian capital Cairo - his last stop on a five-nation African tour and first overseas trip since taking office in December.

"Israel should stop all incitement and provocation and avoid any unilateral actions that might lead to aggravation of the situation," the Chinese diplomat said at a joint press briefing on Sunday with Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.


Qin also called for "maintaining the status quo" at Jerusalem's most important holy site - after an ultranationalist Israeli cabinet minister visited the site known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary - or the Al-Aqsa Mosque - Islam's third holiest shrine.


The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is Islam's third holiest shrine. Photo: dpa alt=The Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is Islam's third holiest shrine. Photo: dpa>

The visit by Itamir Ben-Gvir, Israel's national security minister, was seen by Palestinians as a provocation and drew widespread condemnation from across the Muslim world.

Qin called on all concerned to maintain calm and restraint to prevent further escalation of tensions.

He said the Palestinian issue concerned regional peace and stability as well as international fairness and justice, and that China attached great importance to it, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Qin also noted that Chinese President Xi Jinping had put forward proposals on resolving the Palestinian issue on many occasions, urging the international community to firmly support the "two-state solution" and adhere to principle of "land for peace" to promote peace talks, expand humanitarian and development assistance to Palestine, and promote an early, just and lasting solution to the issue.

Qin said China had responded to Arab and Palestinian demands by supporting the UN Security Council in holding an emergency public meeting last week on the Palestine issue, and had pushed the council to play its due role in the matter.

He said the cause of the worsening situation between Israel and Palestine was that peace talks had stagnated and the "two-state solution" had not been implemented - referring to China's long-held ideal of an Israeli state and a Palestinian state in harmonious coexistence.

"The international community should increase its sense of urgency, put the Palestine issue at the top of the international agenda, and promote the resumption of peace talks between Israel and Palestine," Qin said.

Shoukry said the two ministers had "discussed the Palestinian cause, as well as the political and economic consequences of the Russia-Ukraine war regionally and internationally".

"That's in addition to the updates on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam issue," he added, referring to a US$4.6 billion hydropower project being built by Ethiopia on the Blue Nile, on which Egypt is heavily dependent for its water supply. China supports an Africa-led mediation process to resolve the dispute between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.

Qin also met separately on Sunday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and secretary general Ahmed Aboul-Gheit of the Arab League, which is headquartered in Cairo.

The meeting with Aboul-Gheit came weeks after the first China-Arab States Summit, held in the Saudi capital Riyadh last month during Xi's tour of the region.

Calling the summit a success, Qin said China "firmly supports Arab countries in solving regional security issues via solidarity and coordination".

China supported a greater role for the Arab League in promoting peace and stability in the Middle East, he added.

Arab countries are a major source of China's oil and Beijing has lately increased its investments in the region, especially in the petroleum industry and in the reconstruction of countries destroyed by war, such as Iraq and Syria.

At his meeting with Qin, Egyptian President Sisi said he looked forward to the return of tourists from China following its recent border reopening, and invited Chinese companies to invest in the north African nation.

Chinese companies are already building massive projects in Egypt under Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative - such as a new administrative capital in Cairo and the Suez Canal special economic zone.

Qin said China would continue to develop its investments in Egypt's infrastructure, promote and speed up cooperation projects, as well as "advance belt and road cooperation and promote more fruitful implementation of the China-Arab States Summit's outcomes in Egypt".

Qin criss-crossed Africa for his first foreign trip since being named to replace the veteran Wang Yi as China's foreign minister on December 30.

His first stop was Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa, where he unveiled the Chinese-funded African disease control centre headquarters.

He next travelled to Gabon and Angola in central Africa and then further west to Benin, before rounding off his trip in Egypt.

Paul Nantulya, a China-Africa expert with the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies at the National Defence University in Washington, said Qin was hitting two birds with one stone in Cairo.

He said Egypt was a major power in Africa and enjoyed a "strategic cooperative partnership" with China, one of only seven African states to be accorded that highest level of engagement in bilateral ties.

Egypt is also an African Union heavyweight, as one of the "big five" that contribute most to its budget. This was a major criterion for how China prioritised and ranked its partners in Africa, Nantulya explained.

The meeting with the Arab League secretary general was "part of China's push to expand its ties in North Africa and the larger Arab world", he said.

Qin's trip to Egypt came close on the heels of Xi's visit to Saudi Arabia in December and the China-Arab States Summit, held up as the Middle East's version of the long-standing Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

"It is interesting to see that China's latest push in the Arab world is occurring at the same time as the US seems to be pivoting, again, to Asia," Nantulya said.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Palestinian motorist shot dead by Israeli troops in checkpoint scuffle



Scene of a security incident near Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank

Sun, January 15, 2023 
By Ali Sawafta

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Israeli troops shot dead a Palestinian motorist in the occupied West Bank on Sunday during what a witness said was a scuffle at a crowded checkpoint, with the Israeli army saying the man had tried to grab a soldier's gun.

Palestinian medics summoned to the scene near Silwad village said they found 45-year-old Ahmed Kahleh with a fatal bullet wound to the neck. Kahleh's son had been pepper-sprayed, they said. Reuters was not immediately able to reach him for comment.

Relatives said both father and son worked in construction and had been driving together to their jobs.

The West Bank, among areas where Palestinians seek statehood, has seen an increase in violence since U.S.-backed peace talks with Israel stalled in 2014.

Tensions have surged following an intensification of raids by Israel in response to a spate of Palestinian street attacks in its cities last year.

A Palestinian motorist, who said he had witnessed Sunday's shooting, described tempers fraying earlier at the checkpoint, with drivers honking horns in impatience as they waited.

"The army fired stun grenades and one of the grenades hit the man's (Kahleh's) car and the man began shouting at the soldiers," said the motorist, Maher Hadid, 37. When soldiers approached the car and used pepper spray, Kahleh got out, scuffled with them and was shot, Hadid said.

A statement from an Israeli army spokesperson said troops had "identified a suspicious vehicle which refused to stop for a routine inspection" and had "used riot dispersal means in order to detain one of the suspects in the vehicle".

In an ensuing "violent confrontation", one of the suspects was shot as he tried to seize one of the soldiers' weapons, said the statement, without specifying whether the suspect shot was the same as the one detained.

A video posted on social media on Sunday, which Reuters could not independently verify, showed a man grappling with two soldiers in an underpass while a third soldier is nearby. In the video, a soldier appears to fire a rifle at a low angle. Another shot is heard, and the man falls out of view.

(Additional reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Writing by Dan Williams; editing by James Mackenzie and Jane Merriman)

Palestinians say Israeli army kills 14-year-old during raid



Mon, January 16, 2023 

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Israeli security forces fatally shot a 14-year-old Palestinian during an early morning raid Monday into a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said, the latest incident in weeks of surging violence.

The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the teenager as Omar Khumour and said he died after being struck in the head by a bullet during an Israeli military raid into Dheisha refugee camp near the city of Bethlehem. Crowds of Palestinians full of rage massed outside the hospital where he died in Bethlehem, chanting against Israel and praising God.

The Israeli army said forces entered the Dheisha camp and were bombarded by Molotov cocktails and rocks. It said soldiers responded to the onslaught with live fire.

The death of Khumour brings the toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank so far this year to 14, including three people under the age of 18, according to a tally by The Associated Press.

Violence and unrest have raged for months in the occupied West Bank, which Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war, along with east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip — territories the Palestinians want for their hoped-for state. Some half-million Israelis now live in about 130 settlements across the West Bank, which the Palestinians and much of the international community view as an obstacle to peace.

The Israeli military has been conducting near-nightly arrest raids in the territory since last spring. The raids were prompted by a wave of Palestinian attacks against Israelis that killed 19 people, while another 10 Israelis were killed in a second string of attacks later last year.

Israel says the raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks. The Palestinians see them as further entrenchment of Israel’s open-ended, 55-year occupation of lands they seek for their future state.

Nearly 150 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 2022, according to figures by the Israeli rights group B’Tselem, making it the deadliest year since 2004.

Israel says most of the dead were militants. But Palestinian stone-throwers, youths protesting the incursions and others not involved in confrontations also have been killed.

Masked Palestinians carry the body of 14-year-old Omar Khumour during his funeral in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Monday, Jan. 16, 2023. The Palestinian Health Ministry said Khumour died after being struck in the head by a bullet during an Israeli military raid into Dheisha refugee camp near the city of Bethlehem. The Israeli army said that forces entered the Dheisha camp and were bombarded by Molotov cocktails and rocks. It said soldiers responded to the onslaught with live fire.

 (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Poll Leader in Nigeria Presidential Election Pledges Debt Revamp



Anthony Osae-Brown
Mon, January 16, 2023 at 9:33 AM MST·1 min read

(Bloomberg) -- Peter Obi, the top choice in four opinion polls ahead of next month’s Nigerian elections, has promised to reprofile the nation’s debt if elected.

Obi, a third-party candidate who is running on the Labour Party ticket, said he would extend payments of the country’s debt over a longer period.

“Then we will say no more borrowing for consumption,” he said at Chatham House in London on Monday. “We will borrow transparently for investment.”

Nigeria’s total debt stock almost quadrupled under outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari to about 44 trillion naira ($95 billion) as of September. While this represents less than 30% of the nation’s gross domestic product, debt service consumes more than 80% of the country’s income.

Most of the country’s borrowing has been spent on “consumption” rather than on production, according to Obi.

“Nigeria has grown its debt by about 400% but its per capita income has declined,” he said, adding “That means that the money we borrowed was thrown away.”

Peru extends state of emergency in protest-hit cities

Sun, January 15, 2023 

By Marco Aquino

LIMA (Reuters) -Peru has extended a state of emergency for another month in the capital city of Lima and two southern regions where deadly protests against the government have sparked the country's worst violence in 20 years.

Peru first announced a month-long, nationwide state of emergency in mid-December, shortly after demonstrations broke out over the ousting of former leftist President Pedro Castillo, who had attempted to dissolve Congress and rule by decree.

More than 40 people have died in violent clashes between protesters and security forces since early December.

The extended emergency measures signed by President Dina Boluarte late on Saturday, which grant police special powers and limit freedoms including the right to assembly, apply to Lima and the southern regions of Puno and Cusco.

In Puno, where nearly half of the victims have died, the restrictions include a 10-day curfew.

In a march in Lima on Saturday, protesters raised red and white national flags alongside banners rimmed in black in a sign of mourning. They also lashed out against Boluarte, Castillo's former vice president, who the day before had apologized for the deaths while calling for investigations.

"She is a hypocrite," said protester Tania Serra, speaking over shouts of the crowd, which at times jostled with police outfitted in anti-riot gear. "She says sorry, sorry, but she doesn't come out to talk, she sends the police, the military to go kill."

As of Jan. 12-13, a poll by Ipsos Peru published in newspaper Peru 21 on Sunday showed 71% of Peruvians disapproved of Boluarte's government up from 68% in December.

Protesters have demanded Boluarte step down, and that Castillo, who was arrested for "rebellion," be released.

(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Additional reporting by Anthony Marina; Writing by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Diane Craft)

GLOBALIZATION
Siemens signs 3 billion eur train deal in India

The logo of German industrial group Siemens is seen in Zug

Mon, January 16, 2023 at 5:40 AM MST·2 min read
By John Revill

ZURICH (Reuters) - Siemens has signed a 3 billion euro ($3.25 billion) contract to supply and service freight trains in India, the German engineering company said on Monday, the biggest locomotive deal in its history.

Siemens will deliver 1,200 electric locomotives and provide servicing for 35 years under the agreement, also its biggest ever in India.

The Siemens-designed, 9,000-horsepower trains with a top speed of 120 km (75 miles)/hr will be assembled in India over the next 11 years, with deliveries starting in 24 months.

"These new locomotives ... can replace between 500,000 to 800,000 trucks over their lifecycle," said Siemens Mobility CEO Michael Peter.

The order was a big step for Siemens in India, Peter told Reuters, saying the company had previously mainly provided components and infrastructure there.

"India is looking for technology, better efficiency, and longer lifespan for its trains," he said in an interview. "In the past India built their own trains, but they want to increase reliability and average speeds."

The deal is the latest bumper contract won by Siemens after it signed a 900 million euro deal for a new metro line in Sydney, Australia in December.

Peter was confident about reaching Siemens's goal of increasing revenue at the mobility business by 6-9% this year, although this contract would mainly appear as orders in 2023. He said profit margins were in line with what he expected for rolling stock, declining to comment further.

He said Siemens was also looking at other train contracts in India, the world's largest rail market with 24 million passengers travelling daily on more than 22,000 trains.

The government in New Delhi wants to increase the rail network' share of freight transport to 40-45% from the current 27%, said Siemens, whose first contact in India - a London to Calcutta telegraph line - dates back to 1867.

($1 = 0.9237 euros)

(Reporting by John Revill; editing by John Stonestreet)

TORY MINISTER

 Penny Mordaunt urges Church of England to allow gay marriages

Gabriella Swerling
Mon, January 16, 2023

Penny Mordaunt - DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images

Penny Mordaunt has urged the Church of England to allow gay marriage ahead of an historic vote by bishops, marking the first intervention by a Cabinet minister on the issue.

Ms Mordaunt, the Leader of the Commons and MP for Portsmouth North, has written to the Bishop of Portsmouth, calling on him to “recognise the pain and trauma” that failure to recognise same-sex marriage causes to “many LGBT+ people who are left feeling that they are treated as second class citizens within our society”.

According to current canon law, no Church of England minister can bless or marry gay couples.

Ms Mordaunt’s interjection is the first time a serving Cabinet minister has called for the issue to be reformed within the Church. She also warned that if bishops failed to approve same-sex marriage, the issue would “fester”.

Next month, bishops will present their long-awaited findings to the General Synod – the Church’s legislative body – on whether the ban on gay marriage could be overturned.

Traditionalists hope bishops will veto any changes to the existing stance that church weddings should be for only opposite-sex couples and that sex among gay couples amounts to a sin.

More liberal members of the Church are calling for it to modernise and welcome gay members.

In a letter to the Bishop of Portsmouth, the Rt Rev Dr Jonathan Frost, on Sunday, Ms Mordaunt said she was writing “regarding discussions on how the Church will move forward on the issue of same-sex relationships. I hope they will back reform”.

The letter said: “I want all of my constituents and others to be able to have the right to have their relationships solemnised in their local parish in England.

“It is some time now since Parliament legislated for civil partnerships and then same-sex marriage. Since then, both the Episcopal Church in Scotland and the Church of Scotland have agreed to offer same-sex marriage, and the Church in Wales plans to do so soon.

“The issue has been under discussion within the Church of England for a long time. Whilst not a reason in itself, I fear that if it is not resolved at next month’s General Synod the matter will continue to fester and detract from the positive contribution the Church of England makes to our society.”

The Bishop of Portsmouth has not publicly commented in response.

In November, the Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Rev Steven Croft, became the most senior Church of England cleric to back same-sex marriage, breaking ranks with the Church’s current view.

After he spoke out about the “acute pain and distress of LGBTQ+ people in the life of the Church”, a number of other serving bishops also spoke in support of gay marriage.

Responding to Ms Morduant’s letter, Jayne Ozanne, an LGBT+ campaigner and member of General Synod, said it was “something that all Church of England bishops must read”.

Couple confound Romania's tough anti-LGBTQ laws

Herve BOSSY with Anne BEADE in Vienna
Sun, January 15, 2023 

When Evie and Gia decided to get married they turned Romania's hardening discrimination against LGBTQ people on its head.

The country is one of the last in the EU where same sex marriages and civil partnerships are still outlawed, and last year its senate passed a law banning "gay propaganda" that might influence minors.

While Evie is a transgender woman, her identity papers class her as male.

So technically the two women could get legally married.

But official "resistance" to their union began as soon as Evie turned up at their local town hall with her life coach partner to sort out the paperwork.


"They looked at me weirdly... and said that they would have to do some extra checks on my background. They made me feel like a spy," said the 38-year-old IT developer.

Then officials demanded that "I come dressed according to the gender of my identity papers," said Evie, who refused.

- Wedding day stand-off -

On their wedding day, officials first refused to marry them before relenting "after 20 minutes of debate". They only managed to have photos taken after overcoming still more objections from the registrar.

The experience has left the couple, who did not want to reveal their full names for fear of attack, contemplating leaving the country.

"There are a lot of problems in the country's laws that directly affect people like me," said Evie.

The bill to prevent "the promotion of homosexuality and sex changes" is one of several such measures that hangs over Romania's LGBTQ community.

A carbon copy of a controversial Hungarian law, it still needs approval from parliament's lower house, and no vote has yet been scheduled.

Homosexuality was only decriminalised in Romania in 2001, and in recent years the country has increasingly tried to restrict LGBTQ rights, including trying to axe gender studies and to enshrine a ban on gay marriage in the constitution.

- 'Very scary' -

"It's definitely very scary," said Evie, fearing the hostile atmosphere could even encourage violence.

Pictures of Evie and Gia's wedding on Facebook drew "very negative" comments, though the reactions on TikTok, which is used by younger people, were more positive, the couple said.

"The older generation is still not accepting us," Evie said.

While anti-gay legislation in Hungary and Poland has hogged the headlines, Romania ranks among the lowest EU nations in terms of LGBTQ rights, according to advocacy group ILGA-Europe.

Romania's powerful Orthodox Church is often accused of fostering homophobic attitudes, but it was the party of the mostly Protestant ethnic Hungarian minority that proposed the latest law against "gay propaganda".

Party lawmaker Zoltan Zakarias denies it is "an attack on freedom", saying it aimed to "protect children from content promoting or popularising homosexuality".

"Sex education is up to the parents... and when someone reaches the age to decide, they do what they want," he told AFP.

- Deep divide -

But talking about gay propaganda was "absurd", said Gia. "Showing people exist doesn't mean you are promoting their way of life."

Florin Buhuceanu, head of LGBTQ group Accept, said that it is "sad to see that in the 21st century some people in the political class think we are still a threat."

Hadley Renkin, an anthropologist at the Vienna-based CEU university, said the laws were "part of a much deeper, broader trend" with political leaders, such as Hungary's Viktor Orban railing against an "overly liberal, too tolerant West".

"It is very important to recognise that these kind of laws are part of a larger dynamic between East and West," he told AFP.

For Evie and Gia the fight goes on. Evie has applied to a local court to have her gender changed on her identity document and expects a ruling soon.

She is hopeful of a positive decision based on a European Court of Human Rights judgement that sided with several Romanian transgendered people on the issue.

MICROBREAKS THE NEW SMOKE BREAK
Sitting all day is terrible for your health – now, a new study finds a relatively easy way to counteract it

Keith Diaz, Associate Professor of Behavioral Medicine, Columbia University

THE CONVERSATION
Thu, January 12, 2023

Researchers have long known that sitting at your desk hour after hour is an unhealthy habit. Morsa Images/Digital Vision via Getty Images

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

To reduce the harmful health effects of sitting, take a five-minute light walk every half-hour. That’s the key finding of a new study that my colleagues and I published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.

We asked 11 healthy middle-aged and older adults to sit in our lab for eight hours – representing a standard workday – over the course of five separate days. On one of those days, participants sat for the entire eight hours with only short breaks to use the bathroom. On the other days, we tested a number of different strategies to break up a person’s sitting with light walking. For example, on one day, participants walked for one minute every half-hour. On another day, they walked for five minutes every hour.

Our goal was to find the least amount of walking one could do to offset the harmful health effects of sitting. In particular, we measured changes in blood sugar levels and blood pressure, two important risk factors for heart disease.

We found that a five-minute light walk every half-hour was the only strategy that reduced blood sugar levels substantially compared with sitting all day. In particular, five-minute walks every half-hour reduced the blood sugar spike after eating by almost 60%.

That strategy also reduced blood pressure by four to five points compared with sitting all day. But shorter and less frequent walks improved blood pressure too. Even just a one-minute light walk every hour reduced blood pressure by five points.

In addition to physical health benefits, there were also mental health benefits to the walking breaks. During the study, we asked participants to rate their mental state by using a questionnaire. We found that compared with sitting all day, a five-minute light walk every half-hour reduced feelings of fatigue, put participants in a better mood and helped them feel more energized. We also found that even walks just once every hour were enough to boost mood and reduce feelings of fatigue.

Why it matters

People who sit for hours on end develop chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease, dementia and several types of cancer at much higher rates than people who move throughout their day. A sedentary lifestyle also puts people at a much greater risk of early death. But just exercising daily may not reverse the harmful health effects of sitting.

Because of technological advances, the amount of time adults in industrialized countries like the U.S. spend sitting has been steadily increasing for decades. Many adults now spend the majority of their day sitting. This problem has only gotten worse since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the migration to more remote work, people are less inclined to venture out of the house these days. So it’s clear that strategies are needed to combat a growing 21st century public health problem.

Current guidelines recommend that adults should “sit less, move more.” But these recommendations don’t provide any specific advice or strategies for how often and how long to move.

Our work provides a simple and affordable strategy: Take a five-minute light walk every half-hour. If you have a job or lifestyle where you have to sit for prolonged periods, this one behavior change could reduce your health risks from sitting.

Our study also offers clear guidance to employers on how to promote a healthier workplace. While it may seem counterintuitive, taking regular walking breaks can actually help workers be more productive than working without stopping.
What still isn’t known

Our study primarily focused on taking regular walking breaks at a light intensity. Some of the walking strategies – for example, one-minute light walks every hour – did not lower blood sugar levels. We don’t know if more rigorous walking would have provided health benefits at these doses.

What’s next

We are currently testing over 25 different strategies for offsetting the health harms of prolonged sitting. Many adults have jobs, such as driving trucks or taxis, where they simply cannot walk every half-hour. Finding alternative strategies that yield comparable results can provide the public with several different options and ultimately allow people to pick the strategy that works best for them and their lifestyle.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Keith Diaz, Columbia University. The Conversation is trustworthy news from experts, from an independent nonprofit. Try our free newsletters.

Read more:

Walking workouts are great for heart, bone, and muscle health – and almost everyone can do it

Taking fitness outside: 9 tips for becoming more active through the Canadian winter

Keith Diaz receives funding from the National Institutes of Health.

UK
Hospitality chief demands energy regulator names and shames suppliers

Sun, 15 January 2023 


The energy watchdog must step in to penalise price-gouging behaviour by energy suppliers, according to the head of the lobbying group representing thousands of pubs, restaurants, hotels and gyms across Britain.

In a letter to the chief executive of Ofgem from Kate Nicholls, the boss of UK Hospitality, which has been seen by Sky News, she urges the regulator to "name and shame" energy companies that have acted "in bad faith" towards business customers.

Her letter comes ahead of a drastic cut in support for energy bills for British businesses, with the government having announced plans for a revised scheme several days ago.


Ms Nicholls was among the business leaders who met Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, for talks about the government's business energy support package in recent weeks.

Her intervention underlines the scale of the concern among private sector bosses about the potential spike in prices, although falling wholesale costs are expected to mitigate the pain, particularly for households, during the coming months.

In her letter to Jonathan Brearley, she said the "dramatic decrease in support for hospitality businesses will be catastrophic for the sector and inevitably businesses will fail".

She blamed this partly on "the behaviour of energy suppliers in the summer and autumn of 2022".

"Businesses were encouraged to move to fixed price deals but could only access very high contracted rates," she wrote.

"As well as extortionate rates, well above wholesale prices, suppliers hiked standing charges, demanded eye-watering deposits from hospitality businesses in particular, and some even cancelled existing contracts."

Read more:
Restaurants cut menu items as inflation pressures mount

Ms Nicholls urged Ofgem to seek new legislative powers to allow businesses to cancel or renegotiate energy contracts, as well as to seek appropriate compensation.

She said that energy suppliers that have customers on fixed contracts "at more than double the government's floor price should be compelled to offer a renegotiation of contracts".

The hospitality industry chief also urged Mr Brearley to ban the blanket withdrawal of supply quotes to entire sectors.

Speaking separately, Ms Nicholls said the conduct of some energy companies had been "nothing short of disgraceful".

"It's clear some rogue companies saw the significant intervention by the government to support business as nothing more than a cash cow," she added.