UBS set to carve up Credit Suisse after takeover day


By AFP

June 10, 2023


UBS is set to get even bigger when it absorbs its rival Credit Suisse on Monday, but the merger presents challenges 

- Copyright AFP/File Daniel LEAL

Nathalie OLOF-ORS

UBS is set to finalise the takeover of Credit Suisse on Monday, but the hardest part is yet to come: turning the arranged marriage of Switzerland’s biggest banks into a success.

Reassuring the financial markets, customers, employees, the government and the public remains a challenge once the mega-merger is completed.

“From Monday onwards, UBS can start being proactive,” Andreas Venditti, an analyst at Swiss investment manager Vontobel, told AFP.

Switzerland’s largest bank must already have an idea of what bits of Credit Suisse it wants to keep, close or sell, but “so far they were limited in what they could do,” he said.

On June 5, the two Zurich-based banks announced that the merger should be completed on June 12.

A merger this complex could turn out to be a nightmare, particularly given how little time UBS has had.

UBS expects an exceptional accounting gain of nearly $35 billion due to the difference between the purchase price and the recognised net assets of Credit Suisse.

UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti has warned the coming months will be “bumpy” for the bank.

Takeover preparations have already brought “a first wave” of emotions and difficult decisions, but “other waves” are still to come, he told the Swiss Economic Forum conference in Interlaken on Friday.

He said jobs would be the trickiest part of the merger, adding that cuts were inevitable given the overlap in some activities.


– Shotgun wedding –


Like UBS, Credit Suisse was among 30 international banks deemed too big to fail due to their importance in the global banking architecture.

But the collapse of three US regional lenders in March left Credit Suisse looking vulnerable, and its share price plunged more than 30 percent during trading on March 15.

The Swiss government, the central bank and financial regulators then stepped in and strongarmed UBS into a $3.25 billion takeover announced on Sunday, March 19, before the markets reopened the following day.

The government feared Credit Suisse would have quickly defaulted and triggered a global banking crisis.

The deal includes guarantees for UBS in case there are any nasty surprises in the Credit Suisse cupboards.

UBS and the Swiss government signed the guarantee contract on Friday, which can reach up to nine billion Swiss francs ($9.85 billion), if the losses exceed five billion francs.

The takeover terms and the size of the resulting megabank are causing serious concern in Switzerland.

The parliament in Bern has set up an extremely rare commission of inquiry, with lawmakers set to investigate how the emergency rescue was stitched together in double-quick time.

– Questions remain –

Many questions surrounding the merger remain unanswered. Investors want to know more about the integration process and the bits of Credit Suisse that will be kept and absorbed.

Venditti said the picture should be clearer once second-quarter financial results come out. UBS has pushed back the publication date by more than a month to August 31.

He said he hopes UBS will say more about the fate of the profitable domestic retail branch of Credit Suisse, the arm that was untouched by the scandals that dogged the bank.

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, an analyst at Swissquote Bank, said “talent retention” would be one of the biggest challenges, as staff departures multiply in the face of downsizing fears.

She also highlighted the need for “creating a new bank culture” in the merged institution, referring to the string of scandals that tarnished the Credit Suisse brand.

From the political standpoint, the financial regulators FINMA “should make sure to protect competition, which could necessitate an eventual spin-off of certain business units”, Ozkardeskaya told AFP.

The Socialist Party fears the merger will create a “monster” that would be too big to rescue in a crisis — in which case the whole country would be held “hostage”.

The government and the central bank released some 259 billion Swiss francs of liquidity to facilitate the takeover.

“We owe it to the youth of this country to ensure that such a crisis cannot happen again,” Damien Cottier, the parliamentary leader of the centre-right Liberals party, said in the National Council lower chamber on Wednesday.

Israel reinvents kibbutz by embracing of new industries


ByAFP
June 10, 2023

Standing in a former factory in Hanita, a kibbutz in Israel's north, Yuval Vakrat is surrounded by shops, an art gallery and a distillery 

- Copyright AFP/File MENAHEM KAHANA

Alexandra Vardi

Entrepreneurs are repurposing the Israeli kibbutz into hubs for creative and hi-tech industries, after decades of decline in the rural communities once considered models of socialism.

Founded on ideals of communal living and agriculture, the kibbutzim — whose residents often shared work, accommodation and possessions — were crucial to Israeli society in the 20th century.

Today, standing in a former metal factory in Hanita, a kibbutz in Israel’s north, Yuval Vakrat is surrounded by shops, an art gallery and a distillery.

“We can still see a bit of oil on the walls,” said the 43-year-old, who returned to his birthplace a few years ago, selling toys and wooden objects he crafts in the former factory.

“Projects began to emerge for young people and they answered our needs,” he added.

Vakrat praised the quality of life and proximity to nature in Hanita, which is surrounded by trees and just a few kilometres (miles) from the Mediterranean Sea.

“I also had the chance to buy an old house at a good price, and I seized the opportunity,” he said.

Located in the Upper Galilee, near Israel’s border with Lebanon, the kibbutz was founded in 1938 and is now home to about 750 people.

Across Israel, there are about 270 kibbutzim. Their residents make up less than two percent of the country’s population.

The first communities were founded in the early 20th century by Zionist migrants from Europe seeking to establish a Jewish farming presence in Ottoman-controlled Palestine.

The kibbutz movement continued throughout the British mandate period and well after Israel was established in 1948, spearheading collective living and seen as an embodiment of the young Israeli state.

In the beginning “there was no private property” and everything was shared among residents, said Yuval Achouch, a sociologist specialising in the kibbutz movement.

“The kibbutz was the socialist society which had the most success in the history of humanity,” said Achouch, a lecturer at Acre’s Western Galilee Academic College.

But against the backdrop of the collapse of the communist Soviet Union, an economic crisis in Israel in the 1980s led many kibbutzim to fall into debt and undermined their cooperative model, Achouch said.

Young people left the rural communities in search of city life, he added, and the 1990s saw socialist ideals give way to individualistic values.

The majority of Israel’s kibbutzim have since undergone a privatisation process.

“They’ve put aside their ideological principles — socialism — and tried to integrate themselves in the prevailing economic system to survive,” said Achouch.

– ‘First start-ups’ –

Further east along the border, a large black and white photo at the entrance of a renovated barn in Yiron reveals the stark contrast to today’s reality.

“Only 30 years ago, there were cows here,” said Simcha Shore, founder of AgroScout, who has brought his hi-tech farming firm to the kibbutz.

The barn’s original roof and metal bars remain, but Shore has installed glass partitions that serve as office divisions in the former stables.

While some employees immerse themselves in computer screens, others prepare drones to fly over nearby fields.

Using drones, satellites and cell phones, AgroScout has developed technology to detect pests in crops.

Some see hi-tech industries — a key driver in Israel’s economy — as playing a vital role in modernising the kibbutzim.

“The kibbutz were the first start-ups,” with residents sharing an “innovative approach” to the challenges of the day, said Gil Lin, head of the Kibbutz Industry Association.

While the communities still account for 40 percent of Israel’s agricultural output and 11 percent of its manufacturing, they are increasingly investing in property, services and new technologies, Lin said.

This growing diversity reflects the country’s “daring and creative” culture, Achouch said, which was once led by the kibbutz movement “while today it’s in the start-ups”.

Read more: https://www.digitaljournal.com/business/israel-reinvents-kibbutz-by-embracing-of-new-industries-2/article#ixzz84L3GOdk7

Storm at Baltic beauty spot over Germany’s gas plans


By AFP
June 10, 2023

To replace lost Russian supplies, the German government has been frantically installing LNG terminals along its coast

 - Copyright AFP Sebastien ASH

Sebastien ASH

Melanie Schmid grows walnuts and keeps sheep at her organic farm by the cliff’s edge above the port of Mukran on the German island of Ruegen in the Baltic Sea.

The view across the bay to the resort town of Binz brought her here, but Germany’s plan to park two ships at the port for the import of liquefied natural gas may drive her away from the popular beauty spot.

To replace lost Russian supplies, the German government has been frantically installing LNG terminals along its coast. Over the last months, Berlin has inaugurated several with fanfare, and is planning for Mukran to be the next.

Berlin sees the new terminal as insurance against the risk of a potential gas shortage but residents remain unconvinced.

Due to the thrum of machines turning LNG back into gas, 59-year-old Schmid says she fears she “simply won’t be able to sleep here anymore”.

Noise pollution is however only one concern for the organic farmer, who has joined a campaign to stop the project that brings together environmental groups and local politicians worried about the effect on the destination’s health and prosperity.

“Are there not other locations on the Baltic coast or the North Sea that would have less of an impact on nature, on people, on tourism as the island of Ruegen?” Binz mayor Karsten Schneider tells AFP.

– ‘Security buffer’ –

Piled up next to the port, the pipes that would connect Mukran to the gas network are leftovers from the construction of Nord Stream 2.

The controversial pipeline, which would have relayed gas from Russia to Germany, was mysteriously sabotaged last year before it was ever put into use.

Approval for the energy link was blocked by Berlin amid tensions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while Moscow slowly dwindled gas deliveries to Europe, plunging the continent into an energy crisis.

To make up for the drop in Russian supplies, Germany quickly began to develop the capacity to import LNG.

Government-backed floating terminals are already in operation in ports on the North and Baltic Seas, with a total of five planned — including in Mukran.

The drastic expansion is a necessary “security buffer” and a safeguard against the risk of import drops “due to accidents, sabotage or other exogenous events”, according to the economy ministry.

To placate residents, Economy Minister Robert Habeck travelled to Ruegen in May for discussions, following which he agreed to almost halve the capacity of the terminal at the site.

A swift decision must be made on the site if LNG is to arrive via Ruegen in the winter, he wrote in a letter in May to the region’s economy minister following the visit.

But after Germany steered clear of its worst-case shortage scenario earlier this year, locals are questioning whether the Mukran installation is really necessary.

“It really looks like we will get through the next winter without any big problems,” says Binz mayor Schneider.

– Local challenge –

Unmoved by the government’s arguments, resistance continue to build up. Residents have petitioned parliament, while the local government has filed an injunction against the terminal’s accelerated planning approval.

Arguments for surplus capacity are “incomprehensible and not at all acceptable”, says Thomas Kunstmann, 64, one of the organisers behind the local campaign group “Liveable Ruegen”.

Opponents of the planned terminal are concerned about the environmental impact of building new gas infrastructure.

“Most of us are against LNG because it is a fossil fuel that is harmful to the climate,” says Kunstmann.

Concerns for nature abound, too. A new pipeline around the island could likewise disrupt wildlife, running straight through spawning grounds for herring, Kunstmann says.

“An industrial port simply does not belong here.”

The area’s natural bounty is why Binz attracts so many tourists. Increased shipping traffic and noise disruption “doesn’t fit with the reasons why people come here on holiday”, says the resort’s tourism director Kai Gardeja.

Already gas import vessels are anchored just off the coast and in sight of the beachfront.

The sight of the new terminal across the bay could “scare some tourists away”, says 25-year-old Kai Birkholz from Mannheim, out for a walk on the Binz pier.

Other visitors are less troubled. Pensioner Manfred Steiner, 88, says he would come again. “It’s just tremendous here.”

Row erupts in Germany over restitution of Benin bronzes

By AFP
June 10, 2023

The fate of the famous Benin bronzes, such as one from a collection in the Ethnological Museum in Berlin, has triggered a heated debate - 

Copyright AFP/File JENS SCHLUETER
Celine LE PRIOUX

In a move that many hailed as a salve for the historic wounds between Europe and Africa, Germany last December returned 22 artefacts, looted during the colonial era, to what is now Nigeria.

But five months on, questions are being asked in Germany as to whether cultural guardians were wise to hand back the priceless treasures, known as the Benin bronzes.

Controversy erupted after Nigeria’s outgoing president, Muhammadu Buhari, suddenly declared in March that the artefacts would be returned to a traditional ruler — and not to the Nigerian state, as Germany had expected.

The recipient named by Buhari is the Oba of Benin, a descendant of the sovereign who reigned over the kingdom of Benin when the bronzes were looted by the British at the end of the 19th century.

Custody of any repatriated bronzes must be “handed over to the Oba,” who will be “responsible for the management of all places” where they are kept, Buhari’s statement said.

Buhari’s announcement was one of his last moves in office before he was succeeded by Bola Tinubu following elections.

But it stirred soul-searching in Germany, where critics said it appeared to breach a key understanding with Nigeria.

Under a July 2022 agreement, Germany promised to return around 1,100 bronzes from 20 of its museums, and both sides agreed on the importance of making the works accessible to the public.

Underpinning this were plans to display the bronzes in a new museum in Benin City in southern Edo state.

The state of Saxony has put the brakes on further restitutions pending clarification on whether the Oba’s ownership would affect public display of the bronzes.

Saxony’s Grassi museum was among five museums that handed over the 22 bronzes in December and other museums in the state still hold 262 pieces.

Before proceeding with returning them, the state wants to “wait to see what the effect of this declaration is (…) and how the new government is going to proceed”, a spokesman for the Saxon culture ministry told AFP.

“We will not take any new steps” before the situation is made clear, he said.

– No ‘conditions’ –

Asked about Buhari’s declaration, foreign ministry spokesman Christopher Burger said the return of the bronzes was “not subject to conditions.”

“It is the decision of the sovereign state of Nigeria to do what it wants,” he said, while adding that it was “important to us that the public continue to have access to the Benin bronzes”.

Culture Minister Claudia Roth said she was “surprised and irritated” by the response to the declaration in Germany.

“What happens to the bronzes now is for the current owner to decide, and that is the sovereign state of Nigeria,” she told the ZDF broadcaster.

Hermann Parzinger, president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK), which runs the Ethnological Museum in Berlin, said he did not believe Buhari’s declaration placed future restitutions in doubt.

The Ethnological Museum has around 530 historical objects from the ancient kingdom of Benin, including more than 400 bronzes — considered the most important collection outside London’s British Museum.

– Just an excuse? –

The Museum of Ethnology in Hamburg is also among the German museums that returned the first tranche of bronzes in December.

It has signed a deal to return 179 artefacts from its collection to Nigerian ownership, though a third of them are to remain in Hamburg.

The museum told AFP it “has confidence in its Nigerian partners”.

Abba Isa Tijani, who heads the Nigerian government agency in charge of recovering looted works, said the planned museum project in Benin City was unaffected by the declaration.

“The museum construction is still in place,” he said.

“The Oba of Benin relies on this museum, nothing has changed because he doesn’t have the staff or the expertise to run the museum,” he added.

“We want to reassure our partners, the museums in Europe” that the objects will be “made available for researchers, and for the public and tourists to be seen,” Tijani said.

“The artefacts of course can’t be sold, because in Nigeria it’s forbidden to sell Nigerian antiquities.”

Peju Layiwola, an art historian and artist in Nigeria who was heavily involved in the battle for the return of the bronzes, said the reaction of western museums to the declaration had been overblown.

“It’s an excuse… to not return those artefacts, because they didn’t want to give it back,” she said.

Last artisanal fishermen of Brazil’s Copacabana seek revival


By AFP
June 10, 2023

Long before acquiring its high-rises and international fame, Brazil's Copacabana beach was home to artisanal fishermen, who still ply the waters today 

- Copyright AFP CARL DE SOUZA

Eugenia LOGIURATTO, Florian PLAUCHEUR

Each day at dawn, Manoel Reboucas launches his small motor boat into the sea off Copacabana, a reminder of the century-old fishing collective established here long before it became Rio de Janeiro’s most famous beach.

But these days Reboucas and his colleagues are struggling to keep their livelihood afloat in the face of industrial fishing and a waning interest from young people.

After sailing a few kilometers and scanning the horizon, Reboucas turns off the engine and begins to collect the net that he has placed the day before, where several croakers and anchovies have been trapped.

“The shoals have decreased a lot, they are no longer coming like before,” laments Reboucas, 63, president of the Z13 Copacabana fishermen’s collective, founded in 1923.

Unsustainable fishing practices from both artisanal fishers and commercial trawlers, combined with difficulty attracting young people, is threatening the profession, says Reboucas — though not for his son Manasi, 34.

Even when the fishing is poor, “the feeling of being here is renewing,” he says.

On the boat, the noise of Rio is but a distant murmur, as the surrounding hills paint a panoramic postcard.

But Manoel and Manasi are not there to appreciate the dazzling sight.

“We have to quickly bring the fish to land for the customers, who buy it for lunch,” explains Manoel.

– The story of a neighborhood –

Back on the beach, they unload a box containing several kilos of fresh fish, which they will sell at the Z13 headquarters, where some 50 fishermen work.

Mauricio Thompson, a rowing instructor who works on the beach, is a regular customer.

“We know that they leave early and come back with something fresh, good. You are already sure of the quality,” Thompson said.

The fishmongers’ tuna, tilapia, octopus, and mussels are also sold on their website, which boasts of supplying “the best restaurants” in the city.

The fishermen of Z13, numbering about 500 in total, have long worked the 36 kilometers (22 miles) of coastline along the iconic Rio neighborhood, founded more than 130 years ago.

“When Copacabana was created, the fishermen were already here,” says Reboucas.

– Young apprentices –

In addition to the presence of large industrial fishing boats, artisanal fishing is also hemmed in by waste from the city and oil exploration in the region, says sociologist Lara Mattos, from the NGO Nucleo Canoas.

Together with the fishermen’s collective, the group is coordinating a training course for new, young fishermen, a project that is part of a compensation agreement signed between the prosecutor’s office of Rio de Janeiro and the US oil company Chevron (whose share was later acquired by Brazil’s PRIO oil company) after a spill of more than 3,000 barrels of crude oil in an offshore field off the coast of Rio state, in 2011 and 2012.

The objective is to keep alive a trade that contributes to — rather than harms — environmental preservation.

The fishermen’s knowledge “takes into account the cycles of marine life, the maintenance of biodiversity and the guarantee of resources for the next generations,” explains Mattos.

The first 20 students in the project will graduate this month.

Among them is 19-year-old Izabely Albuquerque, who expertly sews a fishing net, never letting it get tangled in her long, sculpted fingernails.

“If it’s unstitched, the fish escapes,” she explains.

Gilmar Ferreira, 39, seeks to make official a job that he has always done informally.

“My father is a fisherman and we’ve been fishing since we were kids, my brother and I. We had the opportunity to take a course to get a fisherman’s license and we’re doing it,” he says.

Giant air-breathing fish means big money for Amazon poachers

Pirarucu's skin can be used for shoes, bags and wallets and its flesh is wanted by restaurants

In 2017, a project was started in the Javari Valley with the help of CTI to ensure communities will be able to continue harvesting pirarucu for a long time to come. AFP

AFP
Jun 10, 2023

The freshwater pirarucu, a fish that can grow to be larger than a man, is wanted by poachers in a lawless part of the Amazon jungle where Brazil, Peru and Colombia meet.

Prized for its skin as much as its flesh, the pirarucu has long been a staple for Indigenous people who hunt the air-breathing fish in lakes in the Javari Valley.

But it has also become much sought-after by restaurants in Rio, Bogota and Lima – its rising popularity pushing up prices and raising the stakes for Amazon dwellers.
READ MORE
Miracle as children found alive in Colombian jungle after plane crash

The growing appetite for pirarucu is blamed for the deaths last year of Indigenous rights defender Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips at the hands of fish poachers who hid their bodies in the jungle.

In Brazil's Amazonas province, pirarucu harvesting is strictly regulated.


In the Javari Valley which holds the country's second-largest protected Indigenous reserve, home to seven tribes including the Kanamari, only residents may hunt it.

Yet, “they are stealing from us,” said Joao Filho Kanamari, an Amazon resident who takes his last name from his tribe which comes into regular conflict with intruders in pursuit of the fish.

For the Kanamari, the story of the pirarucu is that of “a tree leaf that fell into the water and became a giant fish”, tribal chief Mauro da Silva Kanamari told AFP.

The pirarucu, or Arapaima gigas, is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world.


The pirarucu is one of the world's largest freshwater fish. AFP

With its pink, tapered tail, awkwardly flattened head and globular eyes, it reminiscent of a prehistoric monster.

An omnivore, the pirarucu can grow up to three metres long and weigh more than 200kg.

Caught with nets and harpoons, the giant fish is relatively easy to spot and kill as it needs to surface to breathe about every 20 minutes.


Known to locals as “the cow of the Amazon”, presumably for its ability to feed many at a time, the pirarucu is also versatile: its skin is used for exotic leather products such as shoes, bags and wallets.

Pirarucu scales, reputedly resistant to piranha teeth, are sold to tourists as key chains.

Subject to overfishing in the Brazilian Amazon, the pirarucu all but disappeared in the 1990s until the government introduced fishing restrictions.
Armed fishermen

In 2017, a project was started in the Javari Valley with the help of an Indigenous NGO called CTI to ensure the community will be able to continue harvesting pirarucu for a long time to come. Sustainably.


The project is managed by the Kanamari themselves, who have voluntarily limited their catches of pirarucu and agreed not to sell any for five years.

“The idea is that the natives can feed themselves, provide for their needs, all while protecting their territory,” said CTI spokesman Thiago Arruda.

The project also involves patrols to spot and report poachers – a risky endeavour that can bring the tribespeople in contact with illegal fishermen, who are often armed.

“The project is very important for us,” said Bushe Matis, co-ordinator of the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley (Univaja.)

“Before people fished like crazy. From now on we will take care of the lakes and fishing areas, so that we will always have fish in the future.”

A stocktake will occur within weeks, and if fish numbers have recovered sufficiently, the Kanamari will be able to start selling again.

But there are obstacles ahead: the community still has to set up a cold chain to get the fish safely to clients from all the way inside the bowels of the jungle, and decide how to split the proceeds.

Some fear the opening to sales could expose the Indigenous jungle dwellers to a new kind of risk.

According to one project promoter there is a danger of local politicians or businessmen “not necessarily 

But the freshwater pirarucu, which can grow to be larger than a man, is also wanted by poachers. AFP

Mexican and Russian oil shipments ease Cuban fuel crisis

By AFP
June 10, 2023

The Mexican oil tanker Bicentenario is docked at the Nico Lopez oil refinery in Havana, on June 8, 2023 - 

Copyright AFP YAMIL LAGE

Moisés ÁVILA

With oil tankers docking from Mexico and Russia in recent days, Cuba could see its severe fuel shortage ease for the near future.

Since the end of March, endless lines of cars queuing for gasoline have been a common site on the Communist Party-ruled island, and service stations have created WhatsApp groups to organize customers.

Cuba, under US embargo, is going through its worst economic crisis in three decades. It only produces a third of the fuel it needs each day, while residents navigate blackouts and food shortages.

According to shipping tracker Vessel Finder, Mexican tanker Bicentenario, with an estimated cargo of 265,000 barrels of oil, arrived at the port of Havana on Tuesday. The ship was anchored at the Nico Lopez refinery in the capital, AFP confirmed.

At the end of May, Cameroonian-flagged supertanker Limo, en route from Russia, arrived at the port of Matanzas with some 800,000 barrels.

Vicente de la O Levy, minister of energy and mines, had in recent weeks declared “there will be a recovery” from fuel shortages, “and a decrease in uncomfortable queues.”

With a processing capacity of 22,000 barrels per day at the Havana refinery, the capital could be supplied for up to three weeks, said Jorge Pinon, director of the Latin America and Caribbean Energy and Environmental Program at the University of Texas.

– Looking for partners –

Tuesday’s arrival of the Bicentenario is the third such shipment this year, said Pinon. State-owned Petroleos Mexicanos did not respond to a request for comment.

Mexico, led by leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is pursuing a policy of both pushing for an end to US sanctions on Cuba while also maintaining a dialogue with Washington and cordial hemispheric relations, said Arturo Lopez-Levy, a visiting professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid.

Relations between Moscow and Havana, meanwhile, have intensified in recent months, with an uptick in bilateral projects and visits between senior officials.

But it can be difficult for Cuba to pay for the oil. Sometimes, countries ship the oil on credit, or in exchange for Cuban doctors coming to work in the country shipping the oil.

“Cuba does not have money and I doubt that it will pay for that oil,” said Pinon. “I assume that Mexico, instead of paying in cash for the shipment of Cuban doctors, is doing it with oil, as Venezuela does.”

– Chevron vs. Cuba –

Cuba has faced a multitude of fuel difficulties recently, including a fire at its main fuel storage center in Matanzas, and a drop in shipments from Venezuela, a regional ally.

Even with shipments from allies, the country often runs a deficit of at least 20,000 barrels a day, said Pinon.

The decision by Washington earlier this year to authorize US oil producer Chevron to expand production in sanctioned Venezuela and resume exports of its oil, is also hitting Cuba.

But if tensions between the United States and Venezuela can further ease — like they did last year to allow Chevron to strike a major deal in Venezuela — that could free up more oil that could make its way to Cuba, said Lopez Levy.

Getting the oil to consumers is another problem. Because Cuban refineries do not have the capacity to process untreated Venezuelan crude, the island’s government had to resell a shipment from Caracas last month because it couldn’t use it.

China operating intel unit in Cuba for years: US official

By AFP
June 10, 2023

Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Fernandez de Cossio speaks during a press conference to deny US press reports that Cuba has agreed to let China set up a spying base on the island 

- Copyright AFP Sergei SUPINSKY

China has been operating an intelligence unit in Cuba for years and upgraded it in 2019 in an effort to enhance its presence on the Caribbean island, a White House official said Saturday.

“This is well-documented in the intelligence record,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in confirming China’s intelligence presence.

US media in recent days had reported that Beijing was planning to set up a spy base on the island, which is located just off American shores.

When President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, “we were briefed on a number of sensitive PRC efforts around the world to expand its overseas logistics, basing, and collection infrastructure globally,” the administration official said, using an acronym for the People’s Republic of China.

“This effort included the presence of PRC intelligence collection facilities in Cuba,” the official said. “In fact, the PRC conducted an upgrade of its intelligence collection facilities in Cuba in 2019.”

The developments come as Chinese leader Xi Jinping has pushed a rapid expansion of the country’s security presence around the world.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is scheduled to travel to China next weekend, rescheduling a visit that was canceled in February after a tension-filled incident involving a suspected surveillance balloon passing over the United States.

A base in Cuba, which lies 90 miles (150 kilometers) off Florida’s southern tip, would present the most direct challenge yet to the continental United States.

China warned the United States Friday against “interfering in Cuba’s internal affairs,” in response to the media reports on a planned base.

When asked about the base at a regular press briefing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said he was “unaware of the situation” before criticizing US policy on Cuba.

“As we all know, spreading rumors and slander is a common tactic of the United States, and wantonly interfering in the internal affairs of other countries is its patent,” said Wang.

The US official said the administration believes that diplomatic efforts “have slowed the PRC down” in developing its activities in Cuba.

“We think the PRC isn’t quite where they had hoped to be,” the official said.

Earlier this year, China sent what the US called a high-altitude surveillance balloon across the United States. It floated from west to east above sensitive military installations before it was shot down by a US fighter jet.

ANOTHER CYCLON IS ON THE WAY

UN says Myanmar junta halts humanitarian access to cyclone survivors


By AFP
June 9, 2023

Cyclone Mocha unleashed devastation in Myanmar's Rakhine state - Copyright AFP SAI Aung MAIN

Myanmar’s junta has suspended travel authorisations for aid workers trying to reach hundreds of thousands of people in the cyclone-ravaged Rakhine state, the UN’s humanitarian affairs office said Friday.

Cyclone Mocha brought lashing rain and winds of 195 kilometres per hour (120 miles per hour) to Myanmar and neighbouring Bangladesh last month, killing at least 148 people in Myanmar.

The cyclone destroyed homes and brought a storm surge to Rakhine state, where hundreds of thousands of Rohingya minority refugees live in displacement camps following decades of ethnic conflict.

Junta authorities this week suspended “existing travel authorizations… for humanitarian organizations,” the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement.

Plans for distributing aid to cyclone-affected townships that had previously been approved by the junta were also rescinded, it added.

The restrictions would bring “a stop to activities that have been reaching hundreds of thousands of people”, it said.

AFP has contacted a junta spokesman for comment.

Local media reported that the travel ban applied to humanitarian groups working in Rakhine state.

Last month, the UN launched an appeal for $333 million in emergency funding for the 1.6 million people in Myanmar it said were affected by the storm.

After cyclone Nargis killed at least 138,000 people in Myanmar in 2008, the then-junta was accused of blocking emergency aid and initially refusing to grant access to humanitarian workers and supplies.

State-owned media reported last month that aid offers from the international community had been accepted.

“Relief and rehabilitation tasks must be done through existing united strength,” said the Global New Light of Myanmar.

Rakhine state is home to around 600,000 Rohingya, who are regarded by many there as interlopers from Bangladesh, and are denied citizenship and freedom of movement.

Most of the 148 people who died during the storm are from the minority, according to the junta.

ZOO'S ARE PRISONS
Europe’s oldest lar gibbon Brian celebrates 60th Birthday

By Dr. Tim Sandle
AFP

June 9, 2023

The fur coloring of the lar gibbon varies from black and dark-brown to light-brown, sandy colors. Image (C) Armathwaite Hall (with permission)

The Lake District Wildlife Park (in the U.K.) has recently celebrated the 60th birthday of one of its lar gibbons, Brian, who is the oldest of his species in Europe.

The Lake District Wildlife Park is committed to the conservation of many endangered species, including the lar gibbons (Hylobates lar), and is home to a family of the apes – Brian and his two children, Nobby and Sally.

Brian’s exact birth date is unknown, but his year of birth at the London Zoo is recorded as 1963. He arrived at the Lake District Wildlife Park in 2000 with his partner Sooty, mum of Sally and Nobby, who sadly passed away last year.

The life expectancy of a lar gibbon in captivity is just 44 years, so Brian is beating this record by some distance thanks to the care he receives at the wildlife park.

Lucy Dunn, Conservation Officer at the Lake District Wildlife Park tells Digital Journal: “We’re so happy to see Brian reach this milestone – and he’s still sprightly for his age! Our visitors adore our little lar gibbon family, and they live together as a cohesive unit. They all have their own individual characters, especially Brian!”

Dunn adds: “He loves venturing out when the sun is shining, but on colder days, he likes to stay in the warmth of his heated house – but he’ll keep an eye on everyone through the window! Nobby and Sally are very active and love swinging from branch to brand – also called brachiating. Nobby loves to sing from the treetops!”

Brian found fame in 2015 when videos of him running around his enclosure were meme-d by a visitor to the park – and the lar gibbon’s popularity has endured ever since.

As part of his birthday bash, Brian was presented with presents and a cake – and according to Lucy Dunn, this isn’t just a gift, but is also a vital part of his enrichment: “We love giving Brian birthday gifts to celebrate his age – we often gift boxes full of treats and cakes made from roast sweet potato, rice cakes, honey, banana and Bertolini beans. These are all vital – and tasty! – components of a lar gibbon’s diet.

Explaining the gibbon’s habits, Dunn says: “Unwrapping and investigating his gifts offers him vital mental stimulation – one year, we gave him a bottle with food inside and it was great to see him work out how to get to the food. He’s essentially foraging for his own food, replicating his experiences in the wild. However, Nobby and Sally sometimes get to his presents first!”

The preparations are already underway for Brian’s big birthday bash – staff at the park are busy making banners, paper mâché balloons, his special cakes, cards and presents. And long-time fans of Brian can get involved too – the park has invited fans to make him birthday cards that they can send in or hand-deliver to the 60-year-old. Lar gibbons are the smallest of the ape species and are endangered due to hunting. The gibbons originate from Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand. They can be seen swinging through forest canopies and trees both at the Lake District Wildlife Park, set on the 400-acre Armathwaite Hall estate, and in the wild.

In Cyprus no-man’s land, owls come to the rescue of farmers

By AFP
June 10, 2023

The rodents that once ran rampant in the buffer zone diving Cyprs, destroying crops, are being driven out by owls -

 Copyright AFP Etienne TORBEY

Anais Llobet

Standing amid ears of wheat growing tall in the buffer zone dividing Cyprus, farmer Christodoulos Christodoulou can rest easy.

The rodents that once ran rampant in the decades since the no-man’s land was created and destroyed his crops are being driven out by owls.

“Our village was full of rats and mice. They ate our crops, nibbled on our tyres,” recalls Christodoulou, who owns a farm in the demilitarised corridor that splits the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus and the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

“Then we set up these boxes for the owls,” he said.

Around 50 light wooden boxes with circular openings have been installed on tree trunks as part of a 10-year-old initiative led by the BirdLife Cyprus non-governmental organisation and the Cypriot government.

BirdLife says the objectives of the project are to encourage farmers to abandon using poison and to help repopulate the barn owl population of Cyprus, which has been in decline across Europe.

Deneia, one of the few villages in the 180-kilometre (112-mile) buffer zone that is still inhabited, is now home to between 20 and 50 barn owls and their chicks — recognisable by their milk-white plumage.

The birds of prey are only about 30 centimetres (12 inches) tall, but have large appetites, devouring as many as 5,000 rats and mice a year.

Rodents have proliferated in the corridor in the absence of large amounts of human activity — ransacking agricultural areas.

– ‘A miracle’ –

Farmers have often tried to address the situation with rat poison — harmful to both humans and the environment — before the launch of the initiative.

“The owls are a miracle!” said Christodoulou, who first tried spraying poison on his fields. Their presence has had a “radical” impact in driving away the rodents and he can now practise organic farming.

Today, thanks to the owls, “to find a rodent here, you would have to search for a week”, said Deneia mayor Christakis Panayiotou.

BirdLife director Martin Hellicar, who counts more than 1,300 owl boxes across Cyprus, attributes the success of the project to farmers becoming “attached to the barn owls and reconnecting with nature”.

Further west in the same demilitarised corridor, whole villages have been abandoned for decades since the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus, in response to a Greek-sponsored coup attempt.

Bird boxes have gone up in coordination with the United Nations.

Not far from looming watchtowers manned by some of the 800 UN peacekeepers patrolling the area, a ranger wearing gloves pulls two owl chicks out of a box.

The small creatures blink, blinded by the daylight. With an expert hand, Nikos Kassinis attatches a ring to them with an identification number.

– Birds without borders –

Every year, authorities find the bodies of around 20 owls. Autopsies reveal that many die as a result of consuming rat poison.

“They lose their capacity to fly and get hit by cars,” added the mayor, noting that this most often takes place outside in more populated areas.

Scientist Iris Charalambidou describes the no-man’s land as a “unique” environment for its expanse of largely untouched nature in comparison to the unbridled real estate development on other parts of the island.

With permission from the United Nations, the Greek Cypriot specialist sometimes comes to the area with a Turkish Cypriot colleague.

The researcher says being able to work together to observe barn owls in the buffer zone that divides them is “invaluable”.

“Because no bird will ever respect the borders drawn by man,” she said.