CANADA

Disconnect between employers, employees on in-office work: Survey

Daniel Johnson , BNN Bloomberg

A new survey shows that poor sentiment towards in-office work by employees presents a significant challenge for employers.

A survey released Thursday by workplace-design consultancy Unispace, found that 50 per cent of employees are now in the office at least four days a week, but only 31 per cent of Canadian employees approve of the current model.

“The data from Canadian respondents shows that employers are clearly emphasizing the value of the workplace, but this, by itself, may not be enough to drive successful employee engagement and performance,” Ryan Caffyn-Parsons, the chief executive officer of The Americas at Unispace, said in a news release. 

The survey found that 55 per cent of workers felt reluctant about working in the office, which was slightly higher than the global average of 51 per cent. Some of the main factors behind employee dissatisfaction with office work included a lack of privacy and lower levels of productivity.  

And while 41 per cent of those surveyed indicated they sat at a shared workstation, 79 per cent of respondents stated they would view working in the office more favourably if they had an assigned desk. 

Around 27 per cent of employers indicated that learning and development opportunities were among the main benefits of in-office work. However, employees ranked those fourteenth on the list of things they liked about working in the office.  

Canadian respondents also indicated that they’d be interested in regularly having a long weekend, with 87 per cent saying they be interested in test-driving a four-day work week.

“What our data also highlights is that employers may be missing an opportunity to better define the purpose of their office and how this can best enable their employees' full work ecosystems,” Caffyn-Parsons said. 

The survey was conducted between April 3-14 by Opinium Research. Results were derived using responses from 9,500 employees and 6,650 business leaders across 17 countries.

HINDUTVA ALLIED WITH BUDDHIST ISLAMOPHOBES

How India is supporting Myanmar's military with arms

A new UN report has revealed that state-owned and private Indian companies supplied arms and raw materials to the junta in Myanmar. Pro-democracy activists decry the actions.

Murali Krishnan in New Delhi

DW
May 25, 2023

Since the military junta seized power in Myanmar in February 2021, companies within India — including state-owned entities — have shipped at least $51 million (€47.3 million) in arms, raw materials and associated supplies to Myanmar's military and arms dealers.

A UN report released last week revealed that a total of 22 unique suppliers based in India shipped arms to the junta during the military's violent clampdown on dissent and protests.

Among the suppliers were state-owned entities, including Bharat Dynamics, Bharat Electronics and Yantra India, and private companies Sandeep Metalcraft and Larsen & Toubro.

The report said India's continued supply of materials to Myanmar, which have been used for surveillance as well as to boost artillery and missile stocks, could be considered a violation of customary international law and international humanitarian law.

"India should therefore be aware that the arms it provides to the Myanmar military — though relatively limited — are likely to be used in the commission of international crime," the report stated.

Myanmar has been gripped by a civil war since the junta led by General Min Aung Hlaing toppled the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 in a coup.

Myanmar: Protesters hit with tear gas, stun guns
Demonstrators were met with ramped up aggression from security forces, following the most deadly days since last month's coup.

Taking to the streets
A protester wearing a gas mask sits on a blocked road in Yangon on Tuesday, March 2. Police in Yangon fired tear gas on Monday at crowds who returned to the streets to protest last month's coup.Image: ASSOCIATED PRESS/picture alliance

Russia, China and Singapore main suppliers

Besides India, Russia, China, Singapore and Thailand also provided military support worth a total of about $1 billion to the Myanmar military, including arms dealers who have figured out how to play the system, the report noted.

Russia, China and Singapore continue to be the main suppliers of advanced weapons systems to the Myanmar military, accounting for over $400 million, $260 million and $250 million, respectively, since the coup, with of the trade originating from state-owned entities.

"That's because sanctions are not being adequately enforced and because arms dealers linked to the junta have been able to create shell companies to avoid them," said Tom Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.

In its detailed report, the UN accuses the arms manufacturer Yantra India Limited of sending 122 mm barrels for weapons to Myanmar in October. The barrels, valued at $330,000, were shipped to Yangon-based Innovative Industrial Technologies Company Limited, which is owned by the Myanmar military's arms broker.

Myanmar marks two years since military coup

03:00 India's ambiguous engagement with Myanmar

Pro-democracy leaders and activists in Myanmar have been taken aback by India's assisting and supporting the junta through military supplies.

"India, as the biggest democracy in the area, continues its counterproductive policy of engagement with military junta, which is not a reliable partner for India and not serving Indian interests even in the short run," Zaw Tuseng, president of the Myanmar Policy Institute, told DW.

The expert also warns that ties between New Delhi and the junta won't help curb China's influence in the country.

"If India goes on like that, there is more to lose than gain," Zaw Tuseng said.

Moe Zaw Oo, a deputy foreign minister of the National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar, said he was shocked to learn that India supplied arms to Myanmar's military. The NUG is the government-in-exile formed by elected representatives and members of ethnic minority groups.

"The people of Myanmar will remember that and it will have impact on the long-term relations of the two countries. India's government should seriously take into consideration our people's desire and will rather than short-sighted business interests," Moe Zaw Oo told DW.

According to Sui Khar, a leader of the Chin National Front (CNF), India sees China's influence in Myanmar as a threat. "It is therefore trying to forge good relations with the military junta which is misplaced. It will not work. Tatmadaw (Myanmar's ruling military junta) is not the only stakeholder in the country, and the sooner New Delhi realizes this, it will be good," Sui Khar told DW.

The CNF is also affiliated with the NUG.

Thousands of fighters from Chin state and the Sagaing region have joined an armed struggle and put up fierce resistance to the Myanmar army over the past two years.

"The people's rights are being crushed. New Delhi should consider the moral and ethical implications of such arms transfers and sales," Salai Isaac Khen, the former minister of Chin state, told DW.
India denies being major source of Myanmar arms

Indian representatives told UN rapporteur Andrews that the arms supplied to Myanmar were part of commitments made to the civilian government before the coup, and were exported in light of New Delhi's own domestic security concerns.

Myanmar dissidents resist junta from Thailand



02:50


"India has never been, nor is, a major source of arms to Myanmar, and India has been fulfilling our past obligations. Our exports are very clearly scrutinized. We consider what is in the interest of the people of Myanmar," the representatives said, according to the report.

There are an estimated 1,704,000 total internally displaced persons in Myanmar as of 6 March, according to UN figures.

At least 2,940 civilians have been killed by Myanmar authorities, according to the Independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a watchdog group that tracks killings and arrests. Another 17,572 have been arrested since February 2021, with 13,763 of them still behind bars.

Edited by: Sou-Jie van Brunnersum

Can oil money and fancy shopping malls finally unite Libya?

New roads, public parks and expansive reconstruction — Libya has recently seen an influx of cash from oil sales, and locals are hopeful. But all the economic progress also has a dark side.

Cathrin Schaer | Islam Alatrash in Libya
DW

May 25,2023

"After a difficult and turbulent time, there is hope," Mustafa Abu Braidaa, a shopkeeper in Tripoli, Libya, enthuses.

"Of course, there are still challenges," he told DW. "Inflation, the currency is devalued and there are increases in costs. And yes, it's taking a long time for things to get better. But there have been positive changes and I think all this contributes to an improvement for people like me," the 32-year-old concludes optimistically.

Khadija Al-Buri, a 26-year-old nurse based in Tripoli, feels the same. "I'm worried that fighting could begin again, and there is lots of uncertainty and fogginess, but I do have hope for improvement," she says. "I think what we are seeing now is really raising people's spirits."

New construction is evident in Libya's biggest cities, observers say

MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP

A nation divided

Libya has been split into two since 2014, with opposing governments located in the east and west of the country respectively. A United Nations-backed administration known as the Government of National Unity is based in Tripoli in the west, and its rival, known as the House of Representatives, is based in the east, in Tobruk. Each is supported by a number of local militias and foreign powers, and each has tried to wrest control from the other.

However, after several years of fighting and instability, the violence has largely subsided and most recently, it is the country's economic prognosis that has been getting all the attention.

Libya has the most oil deposits in Africa and last year earned $22 billion (€20.4 bilion) in oil revenues as prices rose, thanks to shortages caused by the war in Ukraine. Oil prices jumped from around $41 (€38) a barrel on average over 2020, to just over $100 (€93) a barrel last year, according to numbers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

In January, Italy signed an $8 billion gas production deal with Libya

Image: Hazem Turkia/AA/picture alliance

All this meant that Libya's state budget was in the black in 2022, the World Bank has noted. And for 2023, the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, expects Libya "to top the list of growth for Arab countries with 17.9%," a monthly briefing published by Germany's Konrad Adenauer Foundation reported.

This kind of growth in gross domestic product, or GDP, is partially due to much lower numbers in previous years. But it's still a lot more than IMF forecasts for elsewhere in the region. For example, the Middle East's average predicted GDP growth for this year is about 2.7%.

But is all that good economic news actually having any meaningful impact on ordinary Libyans' lives?

Life is better, city residents say

There's a lot of new and very noticeable construction and infrastructure in places like Tripoli and Benghazi, confirms Claudia Gazzini, the senior Libya analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank. "You have parks and roads that weren't there before, and there are some astounding shopping malls," says the expert, who was in Libya this month. "And by and large, that pleases many ordinary Libyans. When you're in Tripoli, you'll hear residents saying that day-to-day life is much better than it was two years ago. So there is no doubt that those who live in these big cities share some payback from all this recent economic activity."




However, much of the current economic growth mostly benefits the country's elite, as they are the ones who dispense construction contracts and cash, Gazzini explains. "So the outlook for a major economic boost from which ordinary Libyans — especially those at lower levels of society — can benefit is still far away. It's easy to see the glitzy construction in Tripoli and Benghazi and even to some extent in Misrata, but what about those Libyans on the periphery, in smaller towns, the mountains and the desert?"

"The bottom line is that Libya could not have asked for better circumstances than [those that existed] in 2022 or, so far, in 2023," says political scientist Jalel Harchaoui, an associate fellow with the UK-based think tank the Royal United Services Institute. Oil is pumping, and prices currently offer the country a good income. And the population that's sharing that money is comparatively small, at about 7 million.
Real reconstruction?

"The population is not struggling with a Lebanon-type situation, and the situation should in theory be satisfactory," Harchaoui told DW. But, he says, for many Libyans it is not.

As is the case in many countries dependent on oil revenues, almost three-quarters of Libya's labor force is employed by the government, and the public sector wage bill is only growing. Youth unemployment remains high, sitting at around 51% in 2022.

"What this means is that the income of the state is not actually benefiting its population," the Libya expert explained, referring to the lack of transparency in infrastructure projects and dubious, or even nefarious, motivations for some of the new development.

"For example, Egyptian companies were invited to build like a ring road near Tripoli," he continued. "It's very, very expensive and not particularly useful. It was all done to please Egypt from a political perspective. There was no transparency."

Similar concerns plague major reconstruction in downtown Benghazi, he says, where families who decided to remain in damaged homes are now being pushed out in a worrying way to make room for new building. "So what you have is reconstruction done in the interests of the elites," Harchaoui noted, "but not based on popular demand."

Last year, European nations bought almost three-quarters of Libya's oil exports

Image: AFP via Getty Images
'Wheeling and dealing'

Despite all this, Libya's current economic development might also offer a kind of opportunity, experts say.

Last July, the Tripoli-based government agreed to appoint Farhat Bengadra, a former head of the country's central bank, to run Libya's all-important oil company, the National Oil Corporation.

Bengadra is a supporter of Khalifa Hifter, who effectively controls the eastern Tobruk-based government. The appointment came after several months of politically motivated blockades of fuel production facilities and ports that substantially reduced the country's oil output, and therefore its national income. Observers suggest that Bengadra got his new job as the result of a private agreement between the two opposing governments, one that seems to benefit both sides.

"Since this informal, transactional agreement was made last July, we've seen much wheeling and dealing between the two camps " the Crisis Group's Gazzini points out. "Both camps are receiving very profitable kickbacks in shady ways — it's all informal and involves individuals rather than institutions — but this transactional relationship is also keeping the peace on the ground. Because the actors involved have more interest in enabling these arrangements than in going to war with one another."

In Tobruk, former Libyan warlord Khalifa Hifter (pictured on poster) is in control

Image: ABDULLAH DOMA/AFP

There have been calls for a general election in Libya for some time in the hopes that this would reunite the country under one democratic government. According to the United Nations' plans for the country, another attempt at a national vote should take place later this year.

"But elections are essentially a trigger for change," Gazzini notes. "And these deals between the former enemies are very profitable for both sides. So this [the profit sharing and economic growth] clearly rubs up against the UN-backed road map."

An immediate solution is difficult. Gazzini thinks formalizing the informal "wheeling and dealing" could help bring Libyan politicians on board for an election. Harchaoui worries that the current situation, even if it brings some hope, is only cementing existing corruption and lack of transparency among Libya's political elites.

Only one thing seems to be clear, the experts agree: Despite all the shopping malls and new roads, volatility remains the overriding factor in Libya, whether that's due to international oil prices or Libyan militias' infighting.

Edited by Timothy Jones.

Solar power investment overtakes oil for first time

The IEA said renewable energy is expanding faster than many people realize, but it warned that investment in fossil fuels is not slowing fast enough to reach goals to slash emissions by 2050.

DW

May 25,2023

Global investment in solar power is expected to overtake investment in oil production for the first time ever this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Thursday.

The IEA projects investment in solar power to hit $380 billion (€354 billion) in 2023, compared to investments in oil exploration and extraction at $370 billion (€345 billion).

"This crowns solar as a true energy superpower," said Dave Jones, head of data insights at the energy think tank Ember.

But, he added, "the irony remains that some of the sunniest places in the world have the lowest levels of solar investment."

Renewable energy uptick

Annual investment in clean energy more broadly is expected to hit $1.7 trillion in 2023 — roughly a 25% increase compared to 2021.

Another $1 trillion was expected to be invested in fossil fuels. Spending in this field has increased by 15% since 2021, according to the Paris-based energy watchdog World Energy Investment.

"Clean energy is moving fast — faster than many people realize," said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. "For every dollar invested in fossil fuels, about $1.7 are now going into clean energy. Five years ago, this ratio was one-to-one."

Photovoltaic solar panels account for the bulk of green energy investment.

The best places to put solar panels  06:23

Investment in fossil fuels still rising

Despite the gains for solar and renewable energy in general, the IEA warned that investment in fossil fuels is rising when it should be falling fast in order to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

For example, spending on upstream oil and gas is still projected to grow by 7% in 2023, largely due to a handful of national oil companies in the Middle East investing more than they did before the coronavirus pandemic.

The IEA also said that advanced economies and China accounted for more than 90% of new investment in renewables, which presents "a serious risk of new dividing lines in global energy if clean energy transitions don't pick up elsewhere."

Scientists agree that countries need to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, for example by transitioning away from fossil fuels, in order to avoid catastrophic global warming.

zc/nm (Reuters, AFP, dpa)

Russia summons 3 ambassadors over Nord Stream probe



Moscow has summoned the German, Danish and Swedish ambassadors in protest of what it says are delayed efforts to investigate the cause of the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions last year.

Russia has summoned the ambassadors of Germany, Denmark and Sweden to protest a "complete lack of results" in a joint investigation into the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions last year.

Russia's Foreign Ministry on Thursday accused the three countries of dragging their feet and refusing to engage with Moscow.

"It has been noted that these countries are not interested in establishing the true circumstances of this sabotage. On the contrary, they are delaying their efforts and trying to conceal the tracks and the true perpetrators of the crime behind which we believe are well-known countries," it said.

The move also comes a month after Russia expelled more than 20 German diplomats in what it said was retaliation for Germany expelling Russian diplomats fairly soon after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Nord Stream probe ongoing

The United States and NATO have called the Nord Stream explosions "an act of sabotage" by an unknown actor, while Russia has blamed the West.

Neither side has provided evidence for their claims.

"It is no coincidence that 'leaked' improbable versions [of what happened] are dumped in the media to try to muddy the waters," Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

Several different reports have emerged on the pipeline's destruction in recent months, some seeming to implicate Russian involvement and others — perhaps most famously from US journalist Seymour Hersh — suggesting US involvement.

On November 2022, Swedish authorities announced that traces of explosives had been found at the site of the leaks and confirmed the cause to be sabotage.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said it would keep trying to ensure that Germany, Denmark and Sweden would allow Moscow to participate in investigations.

German lawmaker on Nord Stream blasts: 'These are rumors, there is no proof'

09:23

zc/msh (Reuters, Interfax)

Germany: Last Generation plan further protests after raids


May 25,2023

The group appeared defiant a day after police raids, launching a new website and rerouting their crowdfunding via a different organization. Labeling the group as possibly criminal also triggered a political debate.

Last Generation, or Letzte Generation, the group raising climate awareness using often controversial protest methods in Germany, continued to collect funds and call for protests on Thursday, a day after raids against members suspected of helping finance a criminal enterprise.

The group, whose website was blocked amid the raid, launched a new website with the domain .org, instead of the German .de domain. It also continued to rally for protests on its Twitter account.

The raids have sparked a political debate across Germany's spectrum, with some Christian Democratic Union (CDU) politicians staunchly supporting the legal action, and others opposing the group's "criminal" classification.

The decision follows near-daily protests and demonstrations around Germany, particularly in Berlin in recent months, for the most part seeking to disrupt traffic and roads. The group says it is doing this to raise awareness on climate issues; its critics allege that it's annoying ordinary people and regularly wasting police time and resources.

German police carry out raids against climate protest group  02:17

Divided opinions on 'criminal' classification in law

When blocking Last Generation's official website on the .de domain, German authorities briefly redirected the website to a Bavarian police page which classified the group as a "criminal organization."

Why do some see Last Generation as a criminal organization?  01:36

The authorities later retracted the move, whose legality stirred controversy.

Green Party legal expert Helge Limburg told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) that the "blanket assumption" of labeling the group Last Generation as criminal as a whole was legally dubious.

Sebastian Hartmann, the Social Democratic Party's (SPD) legal expert, meanwhile stressed that for the moment law enforcement was only investigating "an initial suspicion" — the German term for evidence deemed sufficient to launch formal investigations or possibly proceedings.

Left-wing politician Lorenz Gosta Beutin told Bavarian broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk that the Bavarian prosecutors' office had overstepped its bounds on Wednesday. He said that the linking to a website describing the group as "criminal" as a statement of fact was prosecutors "putting themselves above our judiciary and courts," considering that for now only the prosecutors' suspicions exist.

Meanwhile, CDU leader Friedrich Merz supported the police and public prosecution's moves against the group, in statements on Twitter.

He said that "massive damage to property, graffiti on memorial plaques and gluing [oneself onto] streets or cars are quite simply criminal offenses."

Speaking to broadcaster RTL, the conservative politician described the group members as "criminals" rather than "interlocutors," saying he had no intention to meet with the activists over their climate demands.

Last Generation protest plans defiant

The group has meanwhile continued to plan and mobilize for further protests on its various platforms. A rally in Berlin late on Wednesday saw several hundred people join, the group said, calling it the largest protest to date.

Last Generation called for another rally in the capital later on Thursday.


It also announced receiving numerous donations in the wake of the raids. Climate activist and group member Henning Jeschke announced on Twitter that the group received over €162,000 (roughly $173,774) in less than 24 hours, calling on more to donate.



A professional and well-funded organization, the group regularly advertises training sessions for would-be protesters and other such activities, offers support paying any possible fines for protesters and even compensates some of its protesters financially for their time via third party organizations.

Germany's Last Generation group has repeatedly blocked traffic in Berlin and other cities in its campaign to press for more strident action to counter global warming.

The group is demanding that the German government formulate a plan to meet an international goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times.

As well as gluing themselves to busy intersections and highways, its members have targeted various artworks and exhibits.

Climate campaigners block Berlin traffic 01:22

rmt/msh (AFP, dpa)

German economy enters recession amid worsening outlook

Ashutosh Pandey | Richard Connor
May 25,2023

Inflation has taken a heavy toll on the German economy, with consumers spending less on items such as food and clothing. To make matters worse, the outlook for the rest of the year isn't looking much brighter.

Germany's economy shrunk slightly in the first quarter of 2023 compared with the previous three months, thereby entering a technical recession, data showed on Thursday.

A preliminary estimate had shown gross domestic product (GPD) stagnating at zero growth in the first quarter — meaning Germany would have narrowly escaped a recession. But recession fears were spurred again after data published earlier this month showed that German industrial production fell more than expected in March, hurt by a weak performance by the key automotive sector.

"It took a couple of statistical revisions, but at the end of the day, the German economy actually did this winter what we had feared already since last summer," ING economist Carsten Brzeski said in a note to clients. "The warm winter weather, a rebound in industrial activity, helped by the Chinese reopening and an easing of supply chain frictions were not enough to get the economy out of the recessionary danger zone."

 
What did the data show?

GDP fell by 0.3% for the quarter when adjusted for price and seasonal effects, according to the data from the Federal Statistical Office, Destatis.

"After GDP growth entered negative territory at the end of 2022, the German economy has now recorded two consecutive negative quarters," said Destatis President Ruth Brand.



The January to March figures follow a drop of 0.5% in the fourth quarter of 2022. A recession is commonly defined as two successive quarters of contraction.

Inflation continued to take its toll on the German economy during the quarter, the office said. This was reflected in household consumption, which was down 1.2% quarter-on-quarter after price and seasonal adjustments. Consumers have seen high inflation erode their purchasing power, reducing demand in the economy. Although the upward price trend has recently eased, the annual inflation rate of 7.2% recorded in April was still relatively high.

Private households spent less on food, drink, clothing, shoes and furniture than in the previous quarter. They also bought fewer new cars, possibly due to the discontinuation of government subsidies at the end of 2022. Government spending also slumped in the first three months of the year.

There was a ray of light when it came to investment, which was up in the first three months of the year after a weak second half of 2022, helped by a temporary rebound in the construction sector in unseasonably warm weather.

"The fall in GDP by 0.3% q/q [quarter-on-quarter] is much more in line with expectations at the beginning of the year as Germany has been hit by both high inflation and rising interest rates," Andrew Kenningham, chief Europe economist at Capital Economics, told DW.

Recession: Calamity or economic cleanser?   02:14

Germany avoids severe recession but outlook remains murky

Heavily reliant on Russian energy imports, Germany was left particularly exposed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

A mild winter in Germany meant that the worst scenarios — such as a gas shortage, which would have ravaged the economy — did not occur.

Germany's last recession came as the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of 2020 prompted governments to effectively shutter whole sectors of the economy.

The latest GDP figures are the latest in a series of data highlighting Germany's economic troubles. The country's crucial manufacturing sector is struggling amid weak demand for goods. A gauge of business climate published by the ifo Institute fell more than expected in May, marking the first decline after six consecutive increases.

The ifo Export Expectations fell to the lowest level since November 2022 with automotive companies severely curbing their export plans.

"The optimism at the start of the year seems to have given way to more of a sense of reality," Brzeski said. "A drop in purchasing power, thinned-out industrial order books as well as the impact of the most aggressive monetary policy tightening in decades, and the expected slowdown of the US economy all argue in favor of weak economic activity."

What does a German recession mean for the eurozone?

An economic contraction and bleak outlook in Europe's biggest economy is bad news for the entire eurozone with the most obvious implication being a downward revision of the common currency area's first-quarter GDP.

Kenningham expects eurozone GDP to be revised down to 0.0% in the first quarter from 0.1%, meaning that the bloc will avoid a technical recession by the slimmest of margins.

The eurozone is also reeling from high inflation and rising interest rates which are squeezing household consumption and business investment. The manufacturing sector is struggling with a sharp decline in new orders. The services sector, however, remains a bright spot as families hit by inflation prioritize spending on travel and leisure over buying goods.

The economic situation is expected to remain grim as the European Central Bank continues hiking interest rates to dampen demand in order to bring down prices. Inflation in the eurozone area, which came in at 7% in April, remains well above the central bank's 2% target.

With inputs from dpa, AFP, Reuters

Ashutosh Pandey Business editor with a focus on international trade, financial markets and the energy sector.@ashutoshpande85

Recession in Germany: What does that mean?

Klaus Ulrich
May 25,2023

Germany has entered a technical recession with data showing that the economy contracted in the first quarter of 2023. What constitutes a downturn and what does that entail?

Germany's economy is facing extreme testing times. First, the coronavirus pandemic took a toll, and now the impact of the war in Ukraine is pushing the economy to the brink.

Inflation, rising energy prices and supply bottlenecks all add up to a perfect storm for the economy — which, according to economists' theories, goes up and down in waves. A distinction is usually made between four phases:Upswing, also called expansion or prosperity
Boom
Recession
Depression

A recession marks a downturn when, for example, production capacities are no longer being utilized because exports are falling and demand for goods and services is shrinking at home.

GDP is the key guide

The benchmark here is GDP. This is the value of all services and goods produced in a given period.

If GDP shrinks for two quarters in a row, this is referred to as a "technical recession," which already loomed at the end of 2021 after GDP shrank by 0.3% in the last quarter of the year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

In the first three months of 2022, economic output increased by 0.2%. However, the situation now looks much different. Both in the last quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of this year Germany's economy contracted.

If a recession persists over a sustained period, it can turn into a tangible economic crisis. Unemployment and the number of insolvencies rise, goods pile up in warehouses, and financial crises, stock market crashes and bank failures round off a nightmare scenario.
A recession's antidote: government aid

The government's task is therefore to prevent the economy from sliding into depression and thus into the lowest phase of the economic cycle. It will try to counter emerging recessions in advance or to keep them as short as possible.

The tools at its disposal include relief packages for companies and citizens, such as government grants and tax cuts — much like what the German government has introduced to tackle the fallout from the energy crisis.

This article was originally published in German. It has been updated to reflect the latest news about Germany entering a technical recession.

South Korea hails successful launch of homegrown rocket

ICBM BY ANY OTHER NAME

Issued on: 25/05/2023 - 

Seoul (AFP) – South Korea said Thursday it had successfully launched its homegrown Nuri rocket and placed working satellites into orbit, hailing a key step forward for the country's burgeoning space programme.

South Korea launched its homegrown Nuri rocket on Thursday, officials said, a day after it was forced to postpone due to a technical glitch 

© Handout / Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI)/AFP

It was the third launch of the Nuri, which successfully put test satellites into orbit last year after a failed 2021 attempt saw the rocket's third-stage engine burn out too early.

The three-stage rocket, more than 47 metres (155 feet) long and weighing 200 tonnes, soared into the sky at 6:24 pm (0924 GMT) from the Naro Space Center in South Korea's southern coastal region, leaving a huge trail of white smoke.

"We report to the public that the third launch of Nuri, which was independently developed to secure domestic space transportation capacity, has been successfully completed," said Lee Jong-ho, minister of science and technology.

The main satellite made communication with South Korea's King Sejong Station in Antarctica, he said, adding that the launch confirmed "our potential for launch services for various satellite operations and space exploration".

South Korea will carry out three more launches of Nuri by 2027, Lee added.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol hailed Nuri's launch, saying it will give the country a competitive edge in the global space race.

"The success of Nuri's third launch is a splendid achievement that declares South Korea has joined the G7 space powers," he said in a statement.

The launch came a day after initial plans were called off over a computer communication error which was resolved by Thursday.

In previous tests, the rocket carried payloads mainly designed for verifying the performance of the launch vehicle.

This time, the rocket was topped with eight working satellites, including a "commercial-grade satellite", according to the science ministry.

More than 200,000 viewers were watching the livestream of the launch on YouTube, with one commenting: "Fly high Nuri! Let's go to space!"
Space race

South Korea has laid out ambitious plans for outer space, including landing spacecraft on the Moon by 2032 and Mars by 2045.

In Asia, China, Japan and India all have advanced space programmes, and the South's nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea was the most recent entrant to the club of countries with their own satellite launch capability.

Ballistic missiles and space rockets use similar technology and Pyongyang claimed to have put a 300-kilogram satellite into orbit in 2012 in what Washington condemned as a disguised missile test.

The South Korean space programme has a mixed record -- its first two launches in 2009 and 2010, which in part used Russian technology, both ended in failure.

The second one exploded two minutes into the flight, with Seoul and Moscow blaming each other.

Eventually, a 2013 launch succeeded, but still relied on a Russian-developed engine for its first stage.

Last June, South Korea became the seventh nation to have successfully launched a one-tonne payload on their own rockets.

The three-stage Nuri rocket has been a decade in development at a cost of two trillion won ($1.5 billion).

Sierra Leone’s historic tree, a symbol of freedom, lost in rainstorm

A before and after photo shows Sierra Leone's “Cotton Tree” damaged in storm.

 (Twitter)

Reuters
Published: 25 May ,2023

A giant tree that towered over Sierra Leone’s capital for centuries and symbolized freedom to its early residents came down overnight during a heavy rainstorm.

President Julius Maada Bio called the toppling of the famed tree “a great loss to the nation” as crowds gathered to look at the wrecked trunk.

The “Cotton Tree” was the most important landmark in the West African country which was founded by freed American slaves.

It is believed that when those slaves arrived by boat in the late 1700s, they gathered under its branches to offer prayers before moving into their new home.

“It was regarded as a symbol of liberty and freedom by early settlers,” the president wrote on Twitter.

“We will have something at the same spot that bears testament to the great Cotton Tree's place in our history. All voices will be brought together for this.”

The kapok tree stood in the middle of a roundabout in central Freetown near the national museum and the president’s office.

Passerby Victor Tutu Rogers told Reuters he saw the tree fall around 9:40 p.m. (2140 GMT) on Wednesday.

“The wind was blowing, the rain got heavy. I dashed round the cotton tree on my way from work, because I feared the branches might fall,” he said.

“Shortly after that there was a heavy lightning and I heard a heavy bang - the sound of the tree falling behind me.”

By Thursday, the branches and debris had been cleared away, leaving only a stump.

“As a municipality it was very much symbolic, the place where we hold our annual thanksgiving every November to offer prayers and for many other events,” the city’s Chief Administrator, Festus Kallay, said.

“The Freetown skyline will hardly be the same again.”

Sierra Leone's iconic Cotton Tree destroyed by storm


The centuries-old tree that towered over the skyline of Freetown was a symbol for the country's resilience. The President of Sierra Leone has vowed to erect a monument in its place

A giant, 400-year-old tree that served as a symbol of freedom in Sierra Leone has been destroyed in a storm, authorities said on Thursday.

Lovingly referred to as "Cotton Tree," the 70-meter (230-foot) tall, 15-meter (50-feet) wide Ceiba pentandra has long been a symbol of the country.

It is believed that the enslaved people who won their freedom by fighting with the British in the American War of Independence prayed under the tree when they eventually settled in West Africa in the end of the 18th century.

"All Sierra Leoneans will pause for thought at the loss of such a prestigious national symbol as Cotton Tree," President Julius Maada Bio said on Thursday.

Workers cleared rubble from the Freetown intersection on Thursday

TJ Bade/AP/picture alliance

"For centuries, it has been a proud emblem of our nation, a symbol of a nation that has grown to provide shelter for many," he added.

Freetown residents continued to pray beneath the tree in the decades that followed as it towered over a busy roundabout near the national museum, the central post office and the country's highest court.
An icon of Freetown

Cotton Tree has appeared on bank notes, is celebrated in children's nursery rhymes, and was visited by Queen Elizabeth II to mark the country's independence in 1961.

Government press agency Zabek International compared the loss to the fire that destroyed the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris in 2019.

After diggers cleared the wreckage on Thursday, all that was left behind was a stump.

"The Freetown skyline will hardly be the same again," said Freetown's Chief Administrator Festus Kallay.

Cotton Tree towered above the skyline of Freetown for centuries

 Michael Duff/AP/picture alliance

Preserving the spirit of Cotton Tree

Bio promised to include "all voices" to create a new monument at the same spot, and also discussed preserving remnants of the tree.

"There is no stronger symbol of our national story than the Cotton Tree, a physical embodiment of where we come from as a country," Bio told the Associated Press.

"Nothing in nature lasts forever, so our challenge is to rekindle, nurture, and develop that powerful African spirit for so long represented."

zc/lo (Reuters, AFP, AP)

French Olympic Committee in turmoil as president resigns

Issued on: 25/05/2023 - 

03:41

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