G-7 should adopt 'risk-based' AI regulation, ministers say

The Group of Seven advanced nations on April 30 agree to promote "responsible" use of artificial intelligence as they seek to harness rapidly developing technologies such as AI bot ChatGPT at their digital ministers meeting at Takasaki, Japan.

April 30, 2023 

TAKASAKI, Japan (Reuters) -- Group of Seven advanced nations should adopt "risk-based" regulation on artificial intelligence, their digital ministers agreed on Sunday, as European lawmakers hurry to introduce an AI Act to enforce rules on emerging tools such as ChatGPT.

But such regulation should also "preserve an open and enabling environment" for the development of AI technologies and be based on democratic values, G7 ministers said in a joint statement issued at the end of a two-day meeting in Japan.

While the ministers recognised that "policy instruments to achieve the common vision and goal of trustworthy AI may vary across G7 members", the agreement sets a landmark for how major countries govern AI amid privacy concerns and security risks.

"The conclusions of this G7 meeting show that we are definitely not alone in this," European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager told Reuters ahead of the agreement.

Governments have especially paid attention to the popularity of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by Microsoft Corp-backed OpenAI that has become the fastest-growing app in history since its November launch.

"We plan to convene future G7 discussions on generative AI which could include topics such as governance, how to safeguard intellectual property rights including copyright, promote transparency, address disinformation" including information manipulation by foreign forces, the ministerial statement said.

Italy, a G7 member, took ChatGPT offline last month to investigate its potential breach of personal data rules. While Italy lifted the ban on Friday, the move has inspired fellow European privacy regulators to launch probes.

EU lawmakers on Thursday reached a preliminary agreement on a new draft of its upcoming AI Act, including copyright protection measures for generative AI, following a call for world leaders to convene a summit to control such technology.

Vestager, EU's tech regulation chief, said the bloc "will have the political agreement this year" on the AI legislation, such as labelling obligations for AI-generated images or music, to address copyright and educational risks.

Japan, this year's chair of G7, meanwhile, has taken an accommodative approach on AI developers, pledging support for public and industrial adoption of AI.

Japan hoped to get the G7 "to agree on agile or flexible governance, rather than preemptive, catch-all regulation" over AI technology, industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Friday ahead of the ministerial talks.

"Pausing (AI development) is not the right response - innovation should keep developing but within certain guardrails that democracies have to set," Jean-Noel Barrot, French Minister for Digital Transition, told Reuters, adding France will provide some exceptions to small AI developers under the upcoming EU regulation.

Besides intellectual property concerns, G7 countries recognized security risks. "Generative AI...produces fake news and disruptive solutions to the society if the data it's based is fake," Japanese digital minister Taro Kono told a press conference after the agreement.

The top tech officials from G7 - Britain, Canada, the EU, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States - met in Takasaki, a city about 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Tokyo, following energy and foreign ministers' meetings this month.

Japan will host the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in late May, where Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will discuss AI rules with world leaders.

 

Iran-Turkey transactions hits $1.3 b in 3 months

TEHRAN, Apr. 30 (MNA) – Iran and Turkey traded $1.379 billion worth of goods in the first three months of 2023 to register a 14% year-on-year decrease.

The latest data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute show that the value of bilateral trade between Iran and Turkey stood at $1.379 billion in the first three months of 2023, down 14%, with Turkish exports at $702 million, up 2%, and Iranian exports at $677 million, registering a 27% decline.

The European Statistical Office (Eurostat) also reported exports of 1.567 billion cubic meters of Iranian gas to Turkey in the first three months of 2023, which shows a 17% decrease compared with the same period of the year before.

Earlier, the spokesman for the Trade Promotion Commission of Iran’s House of Industry, Mine and Trade, Ruhollah Latifi said that China, Iraq, Turkey, the UAE, and India have been the top five destinations for the exports of Iran’s goods over the last year.

AMK/IRN85096674

Russian missile or UFO? Mystery object crashes in Poland: Report

ByMallika Soni
Apr 30, 2023 

Social media users speculated the object to be a UFO. "UFO crashed in Poland, Bydgoszcz," a Reddit post read.

A mysterious object fell down from the sky near Bydgoszcz, a small town in northern Poland, sparking speculation on social media. Local media claimed the object to be a surface-to-air missile with "Cyrillic writing" on it, saying that it belonged to the Russian military, Newsweek reported as tensions run high between NATO and Russia following Moscow's Ukraine invasion.

Local media claimed the object to be a surface-to-air missile with "Cyrillic writing" on it.(Representational)

In November 2022, a missile crossed into Polish territory and was confirmed to have come from a Ukrainian air defense system. Poland's RMF24 radio station reported that initially the object was thought to be a drone, with “inscriptions in Russian”.

But social media users speculated the object to be a UFO. "UFO crashed in Poland, Bydgoszcz," a Reddit post read.

"Is this the object that crashed in Poland? Recorded same day in the same area. If not, hell of a [coincidence]," wrote another user.

With a video in which panoramic footage featuring the same object was seen, a third user questioned the object.

Reports of large "military presence" and temporary restrictions around the site following the fall of the object fuelled several theories suggesting that the Polish authorities were "covering up" an alien spaceship crash site

Human remains campaigners chase UK museums for the ‘skeletons in their closets’ and appeal to King Charles III

As artefacts looted under colonial rule begin to make return journeys, campaigners are increasingly turning their attention to body parts

Mostafa Waziri, the head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, inspects an ancient Egyptian wooden sarcophagus that was formerly displayed at Houston Museum of Natural Sciences after having been looted and smuggled years before (Photo: AFP/Getty)

By Kieron Monks

April 30, 2023 

Zimbabweans are haunted by their ancestors, says Vusi Nyamazana.

“They are angry,” says the accountant and activist, referring to the spirits of a generation that fought and died in an uprising against British colonial rule during the 1890s.

The remains of warriors were never recovered in many cases, including those of leaders such as Mbuya Nehanda – a national icon who was executed and decapitated by the forces commanded by colonial tycoon Cecil Rhodes.

Many Zimbabwean skulls from the colonial period ended up in the UK either as trophies or objects of scientific study.

The soul sits in the head, according to traditional beliefs, says Mr Nyamazana, and with body and soul disconnected the spirits cannot rest.

The Hararean is part of campaign group Bring Back our Bones (BBOB), which aims to recover the missing remains of the heroes of the uprising, so that their spirits have peace.

The group formed branches in several countries, all of which petitioned the British government. Zimbabwe’s government offered to return the body of Rhodes, buried in Zimbabwe, in exchange for the skulls of the warriors.

In response, the foreign office said that “to the best of our knowledge the remains in question are not held within a UK institution”.

Activists from the ‘Bring Back our Bones’ campaign (Photo: Bring Back our Bones)

The Natural History Museum in London acknowledged that it held Zimbabwean skulls in its collection but said they were not the warriors’. In October 2022, the museum agreed to return 11 of uncertain provenance.

BBOB has no intention of letting the matter drop there, and they are not alone.

The Zimbabwean activists are part of an emerging frontier within the wider restitution struggle. As artefacts looted under colonial rule begin to make return journeys, campaigners are increasingly turning their attention to body parts that were also plundered and often transferred to museums.

Vast collections of remains are kept in museums and state institutions across the western world, ranging from ritualistically shrunken heads from Latin America to Egyptian sarcophagi and, until recently, Congolese revolutionary leader Patrice Lumumba’s missing tooth.

The Natural History Museum is believed to hold around 20,000. The Museum of Mankind in Paris has 18,000 skulls. The British Museum says there are more than 6,000 remains in its collection.

National flag-draped coffins containing the remains of Algerian resistance fighters decapitated during the French colonial rule before being returned from Paris (Photo: AFP/Getty)

Governments and campaign groups in former colonies are making claims on those collections. Algeria is negotiating with France for the return of skulls of anti-colonial fighters. Native Hawaiians are touring European museums in search of their ancestors. Trinity College Dublin has agreed to return skulls to the tiny Irish island of Inishbofin.

In many cases, remains from the colonies – particularly skulls – were used in race science exhibits that reflected the conventional, racist belief in European superiority at the time. This is one factor in a growing taboo around displays of human remains in European museums, with some in the sector arguing these should be considered “displaced bodies”.

Restitution of artefacts such as the Benin Bronzes has been held back by laws preventing museums from dispersing their collections – which are being revisited in several European countries but not the UK. But governments and museums have taken a more conciliatory line on human remains.

The Human Tissue Act of 2004 gave British museums discretion over the return of remains, and museums across Europe have similar powers. The International Council of Museums guidelines advise that requests for returns should be “addressed expeditiously with respect and sensitivity”.

Zimbabwean activists are seeking the remains of revolutionary leader Mbuya Nehanda, left, executed by British colonial forces in the 19th century (Photo: Wiki)

In practice, returns of “literal skeletons in the closets” of museums are often thwarted by a lack of information, says Professor Dan Hicks, curator of world archaeology at Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford.

“It’s always a shock to those who work outside museums how little we know about what is actually in the collections,” he said.

Dr Hicks has tried to establish figures for how many remains are held in UK institutions and their nations of origin without success. Data held by museums is incomplete, he says, suggesting a new approach is necessary.

“The first thing we need is transparency… we have to open up access and knowledge in terms of what’s in the storerooms,” he said.

Related Article

NEWS

University of Cambridge to return collection of 116 looted Benin bronzes

Read More

Recent cases have highlighted the knowledge gap. The Natural History Museum was unable to say whose skulls they are returning to Zimbabwe. France has returned different skulls to Algeria than the ones requested, including some it cannot identify.

Not all remains are made available for return. Sarcophagi from ancient Egypt are not covered by the Human Tissue Act, which states that the “individual must have died less than 1,000 years before” it came into force. Egypt has sought to reclaim sarcophagi over decades with occasional success.

Museums argue they are taking proactive measures. Pitt Rivers has stopped displaying remains out of respect for the dead and their descendants. The museum has advertised the availability of remains for returns and supplied returns to claimants including India’s Naga community and the Torres Strait Islanders.

The Natural History Museum is working through claims from several countries and has made hundreds of returns, a spokesperson said, adding that the museum would continue to cooperate with Zimbabwe.

BBOB campaigners want to see archives opened and documentation produced for the period the bones were taken. They are considering legal action to compel transparency. Activists intend to produce DNA samples from descendants of the warriors to match them with Zimbabwean skulls held in the UK.

They are aiming higher than negotiating with museums. Mr Nyamazana says that the British monarchy – and the new monarch – are ultimately responsible.

“The Crown issued a Royal Charter in 1889 to [Cecil] Rhodes to conquer our lands,” he said. “Everything he did was in the name of the Crown. It is in this regard that we hold the Crown vicariously liable and answerable for these crimes that were committed.

“We are appealing to the Crown to make amends by instructing her subjects to seek our skulls and return them.”

Tides may be shifting. A recent Belgian government report recommended limiting displays of remains, a ban on commercial trade of remains, and active steps to support claims for returns. New laws are progressing in France that will make it easier for museums to return remains.

Such developments cannot come soon enough for campaigners seeking to be reunited with lost relations.

“It’s a moral and a spiritual issue,” says Mr Nyamazana. “They belong to us and they need proper funerals.”

TUNISIA

Censorship or no censorship, at the Book Fair opinions differ
BOOKS

Katherine Celebrities a day ago REPORT

-
Tunisians visit the 37th International Book Fair open on April 29, 2023 in Tunis

Return of censorship or not in Tunisia? Saturday at the Tunis International Book Fair, opinions differ the day after the withdrawal of an essay criticizing President Kais Saied and the closing of the stand of his publishing house.

The publisher of the book “The Tunisian Frankenstein”, illustrated by a caricature of Mr. Saied, reopened his stand at the end of the morning, assuring AFP that he had “cleared up misunderstandings” with the organizers of the Fair.

On Friday, security agents had seized all the copies for sale and closed the stand of “La Maison du Livre”, a major Tunisian publisher, arguing of “possession of unauthorized books”.

And this less than an hour after the inauguration of the Fair by President Saied, who came to launch a fervent appeal “to free thought”.

After removing the tarpaulin covering his stand on which he had affixed the sign “closed by an arbitrary decision”, Habib Zoghbi of the Maison du Livre retracted his accusations of “censorship” on Saturday.

“The book in question was not confiscated for its content but because it was not on the list initially presented to the management of the fair as required by the regulations”, assured its publisher.

This fictionalized essay is presented by its author Kamel Riahi as a “political” book, evoking a Frankenstein personified by Kais Saied, elected according to him by surfing on the anger and frustrations of a people disappointed by the system in place since the 2011 Revolution. , the first of the Arab Spring.

Regretting “hot statements”, the publisher insisted that the withdrawal of the book “was not censorship but a question of procedure”. He said he omitted it from his initial list, following delays in printing.

Mr. Zoghbi assured that a few copies “are available in bookstores in Tunis”, that it will be reprinted and should return to the Fair by its end on May 7.

Read more

On the neighboring stand, of the publisher Mashrinalia, closed on Friday “in solidarity” with the Maison du Livre, the manager remains convinced that the refusal of a book not registered beforehand is only a “pretext to censor it” .

Mortadha Hamza evokes “a book which traces what is happening for the opponents of the president” who denounce “an authoritarian drift” since Kais Saied’s coup of July 25, 2021 by which he granted himself full powers.-

– “not normal” –

“It’s not normal that in 2023 we can censor the idea, the writing, under any pretext,” he says.

Despite everything, he reopened his stand on Saturday, “the first real day of the Fair” where families flock to take advantage of deep discounts on the usually very expensive books.

On the stand of the publisher Nirvana which faces the Maison du Livre, Mohamed Bennour relativizes from the top of his 70 years, including more than 40 in publishing, the incident around the book.

According to him, the obligation to provide a list of exhibited books in advance “has existed for a long time” and dates back to the era of the father of independence Habib Bourguiba (1956-1987).

It was intended, he said, to avoid the introduction of books “by Salafists and fundamentalists teaching the techniques of terrorism or to fight against the secular state”.

The procedure was maintained under the dictator Ben Ali who had also set up censorship committees for literature and cinema.

And it continued after the 2011 Revolution and the fall of the regime for fear of the exhibition of works “inciting to manufacture weapons or explosives”, he adds.

“This rule is known and the publisher had accepted it like all of us. So, either we play the game, or we decide not to participate in the Fair as some publishers have done”, believes Mr. Bennour.

On the other hand, the publisher would like a revision of this procedure “in consultation between the cultural authorities, the publishers and the booksellers”.

“The fact of imposing a list is a form of censorship and control of the books exhibited, and that is abnormal,” he admits.

fka/hj

-

Morocco: How French Guiana became a refuge for Sahrawis fleeing repression

Middle East Eye meets Sahrawis who fled to Latin America to seek asylum in an overseas department of France looking for safety

Moroccan Sahrawis used to try to reach Europe via the Mediterranean. But some are now heading to South America (AFP/Dominique Faget)

By Pauline Chambost in
Cayenne, French Guiana
Published date: 30 April 2023 

Seated alone by the sea on the terrace of Les Amandiers, a famous cafe in Cayenne, Saïd* frantically exchanges vocal notes with his family. Amid the conversations in Creole, French, and Brazilian that surround him, his Hassani Arabic stands out. But perhaps, less and less.

Saïd, 25, arrived in French Guiana in December. He is originally from Guelmim, in southwestern Morocco, and says he is fleeing "persecution from the Moroccan regime" in what he calls "occupied Western Sahara".

Western Sahara is 80 percent controlled by Morocco but considered a "non-autonomous territory" by the UN.

This situation has pitted Rabat against the Sahrawi separatists of the Polisario Front, who have been supported by Algiers, since 1975.

Since the recognition of the "Moroccanness" of Western Sahara by Washington in December 2020 - in return for the resumption of its relations with Israel - Rabat has been pressing the international community to follow the American example.

Stay informed with MEE's newsletters
Sign up to get the latest alerts, insights and analysis, starting with Turkey Unpacked

For several months now, more and more Sahrawis like Said have been arriving on this French territory in South America to seek asylum.

The phenomenon is too recent to be quantified but it has been documented by the French refugee rights group Cimade.

Several Sahrawi activists from France interviewed by Middle East Eye confirm this spike in Sahrawi asylum seekers, which is also corroborated by a simple walk through the streets of Cayenne.

Stopover in Turkey

Moroccans wishing to migrate to Europe usually try to reach it via the Mediterranean.

Those who leave the south of the kingdom sometimes embark from Tan-Tan (in the southwest of Morocco) and head towards the Canary Islands.

But the danger of the crossing is increasingly dissuading people from leaving, several asylum seekers tell MEE.

Sahrawis, therefore, decide to fly to Brazil after a stopover in Turkey, two countries to which they have visa-free access. This migratory route has been used for several years now by Syrians, Afghans, and Palestinians.

We met Tel Yacoub* in another cafe in downtown Cayenne. He showed us a Facebook post reporting several migrants found drowned in Sidi Ifni, off the Atlantic coast, justifying his trip to Brazil as a safer alternative.

Yacoub hails from a village near Assab, an oasis in southwestern Morocco, about 60km from the 2,700km Western Sahara Wall, erected by Morocco in the 1980s and which cuts Western Sahara into two parts, one controlled by Morocco and the other by the Polisario Front, an armed political movement demanding the independence of Western Sahara.

US approves $524m sale of Himar rocket launchers to Morocco

Read More »

Yacoub said he learned of the existence of this alternative route from news reports on Al-Jazeera.

Arriving in Sao Paulo, asylum seekers usually take several flights to reach Macapá, in northeastern Brazil.

From there, by bus they reach the Oyapock River, a natural border with French Guiana.

Saïd opted for a stopover in Doha, during the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, to avoid suspicion from Moroccan police.

The total cost of his trip was around 2,000 euros.

Said says it was in 2013 that the Moroccan authorities put him - a member of a famous activist family - as he puts it, "in the crosshairs".

Guelmim is however 300km north of Western Sahara.

Yacoub proudly recounted that he took part in protests, stood up to the geography teacher who presented a map of Morocco that included the Sahara, and sprayed Sahrawi slogans and flags on the walls of the city.

During his studies, he organised rallies on the history of the Sahara and political prisoners with other activists.

This resulted in a court summons for his parents, detention in police custody for him, and even torture, he tells MEE.

The UN human rights office (OHCHR) has denounced the Moroccan crackdown on Sahrawi freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association.

This includes "unnecessary and disproportionate use of force" by security forces to disperse demonstrations, as well as: "Searches without warrants, arbitrary arrests and detentions, unlawful and arbitrary surveillance measures, harassment, intimidation and destruction of property."

Sleep on a balcony

It was because Yacoub “ended up in the hospital” and his situation was the most problematic that he was the first of his siblings to leave.

“Inshallah my big brother will join me soon,” he hopes.

For the sake of doing the right thing, perhaps for fear of not being taken seriously, Saïd substantiates his story by showing papers from the French refugee office (OFPRA) and the French Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII) which he has meticulously filed in a document holder.

The young economics graduate is now awaiting response from the French administration.

This photograph taken on 15 October 2022 shows a general view of Cayenne,

 taken from the Ceperou Fort in French Guiana (AFP)

The 28-year-old Hassan*, who we met at Amandiers cafe, has already received a decision and is officially recognised as a refugee. Like the others, he lives in a suburb of Cayenne. He rents a room for 150 euros a month, thanks to the 250 euros he is paid by the state and his family's savings.

Amina*, a young Saharawi activist who arrived in Cayenne a few weeks ago without mastering a word of French or English, says she sleeps on a balcony belonging to an acquaintance.

“French Guiana is a territory that has always had a fairly high number of asylum applications but an extremely low number of accommodations," Lucie Curet, Cimade's representative in the Americas, told MEE.

The state must provide accommodation for the duration of the application procedure: this may be a place in a reception centre, in emergency accommodation for asylum seekers (CADA/HUDA), in a hotel, or in an apartment.

In general, part of the allowance for asylum seekers (ADA) is automatically taken to pay for this accommodation at the hotel. "While 40 percent of asylum seekers were housed in France, the rate was below 10 percent here," she added.

Until 2021, the overwhelming majority came from Haiti and relied on the diaspora to find accommodation, often in slums.

Faced with the arrival of people from the Middle East who were sleeping in the streets of the city center, the prefecture finally set up accommodation structures.

'French Guiana is a territory that has always had a fairly high number of asylum applications but an extremely low number of accommodations'

- Lucie Curet, Cimade

But their capacities remain insufficient.

Hassan, Said, Yacoub, and the other Sahrawis MEE met all claim not to have access to this system.

These free public structures are reserved for families and vulnerable people.

However, they do not complain about their living conditions. One of them insists: “The objective was to be safe. And that is the case now, so we are not disappointed."

Although Lucie Curet remarks that French Guiana now registers fairly high protection rates, these young people are not certain of obtaining the desired status.

In 2021, OFPRA granted protection to 41 Sahrawis while 492 others were denied.

Included in this total are people from Western Sahara on either side of the wall, including refugees from Tindouf, in Algeria, who are opposed to the Polisario Front.

Even if the French administration has responded positively in this case, Yacoub does not wish to join the metropolis and would prefer to stay in French Guiana.

“Even if life is expensive, the towns are small and the climate is mild, like ours." So he is ready, for his own safety, to exchange the dry heat of southern Morocco for the humidity of the Amazon.

*Names have been changed to protect identities.

RED SHIRTS

Thailand’s election race heats up with opposition party Pheu Thai dominating poll

Supporters of the Pheu Thai party, which is leading in the race, cheer during a campaign rally in Bangkok, on April 24, 2023. 

PHOTO: EPA-EFE

BANGKOK – Thailand’s main opposition party, Pheu Thai, is in prime position ahead of the country’s hotly contested May 14 general election, with the latest poll showing it has a significant lead over its political rivals.

Pheu Thai, which has a longstanding affiliation with former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, won the backing of 41.37 per cent of roughly 162,000 eligible voters surveyed, according to the Suan Dusit Poll released on Saturday. The nationwide poll was conducted between April 10 and April 20.

The Move Forward Party, which proposes some of the most reform-minded progressive policies, is second, with 19.32 per cent support. The United Thai Nation Party of incumbent Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha received 8.48 per cent, while the Palang Pracharath party led by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan saw 7.49 per cent support.

The election is shaping up to be a battle between the pro-establishment groups of the ruling military-backed coalition and a pro-democracy camp of opposition parties.

The major parties are all promising a similar package of cash handouts, higher minimum wages and the suspension of debt repayments to woo about 52 million voters.

In another survey by Thai language newspapers Matichon and Daily News released on Saturday, the Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat was the top choice for premier, with 49.17 per cent support. He was followed by two candidates from Pheu Thai: Mr Thaksin’s youngest daughter, Ms Paetongtarn Shinawatra, with 19.59 per cent backing, and Mr Srettha Thavisin with 15.54 per cent.

The poll was conducted virtually, and results were based on some 78,000 respondents between April 22 and April 28.

The popularity of Mr Prayuth and Mr Prawit, both of whom are retired generals, continues to trail behind the prime ministerial candidates from the opposition camp. The incumbent premier received 6.52 per cent support, while the Palang Pracharath Party leader was picked by just 2.35 per cent of respondents. 

BLOOMBERG

How women-led companies are trying to make condoms more appealing — to everyone

Social Sharing

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Email
• Reddit

Canadian companies Jems and Slipp aim to change how condoms are marketed

James Dunne · CBC News · Posted: Apr 30, 2023

Whitney Geller and Yasemin Emory of Toronto co-founded condom company Jems because they felt the established brands on drug store shelves aren't appealing to women or LGBTQ+ consumers. (Heather Waldron/CBC)

With sexually transmitted infections surging to alarming levels in Canada and the U.S. over several years, a number of female entrepreneurs have moved into the condom industry, intent on making change.   

The $8.3 billion US global business is dominated by five massive companies that produce brands like Durex, Trojan and Lifestyles. And it was drug stores shelves, packed with hyper-masculine images from some of those brands, that inspired the Canadian women behind two new companies to get into the market. 

Their plan? To change how condoms are marketed and sold to make them more appealing to any gender or sexuality, normalizing the idea that anyone can buy them. 

Whitney Geller and Yasemin Emory co-founded Toronto-based Jems in 2020, after being surprised on a trip to the pharmacy by what they say are the toxic stereotypes and embarrassing imagery they found on some condom packaging.

"It looked like something from the 1950s," said Geller. 

"It all seemed to be speaking to males," added Emory, "certainly we noticed we felt excluded."

Victoria Lyons started London, Ont.-based Slipp in 2021. When she quit hormonal birth control and was seeking condoms, she says she felt put off by the warrior icon of Trojan packages, and others focused on performance.       

"You kind of feel like the products there aren't really speaking to you or aren't necessarily made with you in mind."

Now, Jems and Slipp are among 10 female-owned condom companies CBC News found around the world in an online search, most quite new to the business. 

Doing condoms differently

Both Jems and Slipp are taking a different approach to branding and who they're targeting as customers. 

At Jems, Emory says, "we wanted it to be a fun name, something light, playful." They wanted a gender-neutral and inclusive overall look, said Geller, "so it feels like it's not for women or for men, it's really for everyone."   

The demographic they're focused on is the teens to late 20s crowd known as Gen Z. Their goal is to take away the awkwardness or stigma of buying condoms for any shopper.   

• Syphilis cases on the rise across the province, warns B.C. Centre for Disease Control

• 7 in 10 Canadians don't use condoms: McMaster University

At Slipp, the packaging is purple and pink, and Lyons says the focus is to normalize women carrying condoms.

Both companies also say their products are made with only natural latex and 100 per cent silicone lubrication, to reduce vaginal irritation and skin reactions. 

The condom section at a downtown Toronto Pharmasave store is dominated by the Trojan brand. Female entrepreneurs are trying to make condoms more inclusive with gender neutral packaging and other changes. (Heather Waldron/CBC)

A tough business

Getting into the condom business isn't easy.  A 2021 research report says more than 35 billion condoms are sold globally every year, but only a handful of factories in the world make them and the minimum orders are huge.

Lyons crowdfunded and used savings to pay for her initial order of 300,000 condoms with Slipp. With only a few independent shops carrying her brand, she says most of her business is online.

"The pressure is definitely on given there's so much inventory," she said.     

Victoria Lyons started her condom company, Slipp, in 2021 to normalize the idea of women carrying condoms. Slipp is based in London, Ont., and sells primarily online. (Submitted by Victoria Lyons)

The pressure is on Jems, too. 

Geller and Emory started Jems as a side hustle from the design company they own together.  After three years, Jems has a staff of five and deals with major retailers. 

A key part of the company's plan: make sure its product isn't sold just in drug store condom sections, but instead is alongside other essentials, like hand sanitizer or sunscreen. The idea seems to be working. 

Jems is the only condom carried by Whole Foods Canada, is stocked in select Loblaws in Ontario, and is being  launched in 150 Target stores in the U.S. The company has raised money from investors for online advertising to help sell several hundred thousand condoms and stay on store shelves.

"It is nominal though in comparison to what the major brands are spending," said Geller, so Jems is using social media and event partnerships to boost its profile.

Jems has landed deals with three major retailers, Whole Foods Canada, Loblaws in Ontario and Target in the U.S. Here, their product is displayed near body washes in a downtown Toronto Loblaws store. (Jems)

The danger of pink-washing

Farrah Khan, a gender equity advocate and the Executive Director of Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights, said she hopes women getting involved in the condom industry will help flip the sexual script that only men should carry condoms and control when they're used. 

Khan says to be truly inclusive it's important companies invest in women's health and the health of gender non-binary people, "to understand what people's needs are, how they have sexual communication, how they want to have condoms be used to prevent other things besides just pregnancy." 

• ANALYSIS
  Free contraception — the intended consequences of Alberta NDP's new promise

• France to make condoms free for those 25 and younger amid rise of STIs

"Obviously we don't want just a pink-washing," she added, "where they're like, 'oh, we put a pretty flower on it, we're done.'"

An international trend 

Both Jems and Slipp are part of an international trend. A female-owned condom company in India called Bleu launched in 2019, and there are two in Australia, Get Down, which started in 2020, and Jonny, founded in 2018. 

In the U.K., there's Hanx, which started in 2017 and was co-founded by a gynecologist. 

In the U.S., several female-owned companies make sexual health products, including condoms, like Maude (with actor Dakota Johnson as a partner), Lola, (Serena Williams and model Karlie Kloss are investors), and Lovability, which was founded in 2013. 

• Everything you want to ask about STIs but maybe haven't yet

• Saskatchewan group launches cheeky condom wrappers in Indigenous languages

Lyons said she sees all of them as part of an evolution. She points out that sexual health products have gone mainstream, with vibrators and lubricants now carried by retailers like Indigo and Sephora. 

"I really feel like we're seeing a shift," she said, "talking more about sex in a healthy way with female pleasure and health and reproductive health at the forefront."

Lyons recalls launching her business in May last year, on the same day the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the abortion rights case Roe v Wade was leaked. She says it made her feel like what she was doing was even more important. 

"The mission behind the business really is about empowering women in particular to feel in control of their reproductive health," she said.

• PARENTAL GUIDANCE
  Reproductive rights should be a vital part of sex ed — and that means talking to your kids about abortion

At Jems, the founders also feel their business can make a difference.     

"There can be a real positive outcome if we're able to shift the mindset around condoms," Emory said. 

UK republicans eye coronation to rally support

By AFP
April 30, 2023

Pressure group Republic, which wants an elected British head of state, plans to protest at the coronation 

- Copyright AFP Paul ELLIS

Valentine GRAVELEAU, Joe JACKSON

Despite his surname, Ryan King will not be among those waving Union Jack flags at the coronation of King Charles III next week.

Instead, he plans to protest on the historic royal occasion, dressed in a yellow T-shirt with the provocative slogan: “Abolish the monarchy.”

“The monarchy has no place in modern society given how outdated and undemocratic it is,” King, 40, told AFP.

He aims to join other protesters rallied by the pressure group Republic, which wants the monarch replaced by an elected head of state.

Republicans have long been a fringe group in Britain. But their voices have been getting louder since the death of Queen Elizabeth II last year.

Charles, who inherited the crown automatically, has been trailed by protesters holding up signs proclaiming: “Not my king!”

Republic’s chief executive Graham Smith sees the spectacle of dazzling jewels and golden carriages as a chance to make their case, particularly as Britons struggle with the rising cost of living.

That makes it “more fertile ground” for recruitment. “People are far more willing to listen and engage,” he added.

Times have also changed since Britons gave deference to those deemed their social superiors.

“People are far more critical generally of our political system, which comes into this whole debate not just about the royals but about the constitution and the government and parliament,” Smith said.

“And they are far less interested in the royals.”

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams agreed that for the first time, the republican movement was “showing its teeth”.

But he said it still failed to have major political support.

– ‘Tepid’ –

To get its point across, Republic has become more active than ever on social media, to try to mobilise its 130,000-strong base and expand its numbers.

It sends out regular emails about upcoming protests, including last week for a visit by the king and queen to Liverpool, in northwest England.

“Not my king” placards have as a result become more visible. Such protests were virtually unthinkable during Elizabeth’s reign.

A recent YouGov poll indicated that most Britons (58 percent) still support the monarchy. But Smith still sees that as at most “tepid”.

“You’re still going to get a good crowd in London (on coronation day),” he added.

“A lot of people will go because they want to see something which is historic… it doesn’t necessarily translate into royalism.”

Republicans prefer instead to concentrate on levels of support among younger people.

The YouGov poll indicated that 32 percent of those aged 18-24 supported the monarchy, against 38 percent who wanted an elected head of state.

“Polling that shows attitudes towards the monarchy are changing as the younger generation comes to the fore and quite rightly asks themselves, what’s the point of the monarchy?” said King.

But Sean Lang, a history professor at Anglia Ruskin University, disagrees: young people have never been enthusiastic about the monarchy, he said.

“I think republicans who see the polling as evidence that the end of the monarchy is round the corner are indulging in wishful thinking,” he added.

– Democratic –

Unlike the revolutionaries of old, who brought down foreign kings and queen with violence, Smith does not see the current crop of republicans as radicals.

“What we’re proposing isn’t particularly radical, it’s democratic,” he argued.

Instead of the hereditary principle of monarchy, they want a fully elected parliament and elected head of state, plus a written constitution that clearly separates powers.

“Our focus is getting the public on board and to push for a referendum,” he said.

Unlike recent direct action protests in London by environmental groups, Smith says they have “no plans to disrupt the actual procession”.

They are expecting supporters to be spread out along the route with about 1,000 at Trafalgar Square to chant “Not my king” as Charles passes by.

“There are huge swathes of society in desperate need of help and those are all far worthier causes for where our money should be spent,” said King.

“Parading a gold carriage through the capital isn’t going to solve any of these problems.

In pictures: Celtic fire festival celebrated with burning of giant wicker phoenix

By James King

30 April 2023,

A traditional Celtic fire festival to mark the coming of summer has been held at Butser Ancient Farm in Hampshire.

The experimental archaeology site in Waterlooville hosted the burning of a giant winged phoenix “wicker man” at dusk to mark the pagan quarter-day farming celebration of Beltane or Beltain, which has connections to later May Day celebrations.

Performers from the Steamship Circus and the Pentacle Drummers took part, along with living history interpreters, including some dressed as Roman soldiers.

Here are some of the best pictures.







 

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for MAYDAY