Turkish investigative reporter's detention sparks protests

AFP
Thu, 2 November 2023 

Tolga Sardan, 55, is one of Turkey's most respected investigative reporters (Adem ALTAN)

Turkish journalists and rights campaigners rallied Thursday in defence of a veteran investigative reporter detained under a controversial "disinformation" law for writing about corruption.

Tolga Sardan, 55, was detained late Wednesday in the capital Ankara following the publication of an article on October 31 by the T24 independent news site.

The article concerns an alleged report Turkey's MIT intelligence agency presented to the presidency about its investigation into corruption within the judiciary.


Sardan's arrest is one of the most prominent under Turkey's new "disinformation" law, which threatens journalists and social media users with jail terms of up to three years.

The legislation was adopted last year with the help of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party, further tightening the government's grip over news sites and social media platforms.

"Tolga will walk free and write again," journalists and opposition lawmakers chanted in Ankara, while the police looked on.

"We are journalists, we will continue to shout that journalism is not a crime," the Turkish Journalists' Association said in a statement.

Istanbul's chief prosecutor launched an investigation into Sardan's article, accusing him of "publicly disseminating false information".

The presidency denied the existence of the MIT report moments after Sardan's detention.

Sardan has stood by the story, arguing that he was simply "practising journalism".

"Sardan wrote what the public needed to know, he did his duty, and should be released," said Erol Onderoglu, Turkey's representative for Reporters Without Borders (RSF), who himself is being tried on "terrorism" charges.

Turkey is ranked 165th out of 180 countries on RSF's 2023 World Press Freedom Index.

bg-fo/zak/jj

PAKISTAN

Students ordered to wear masks in smog-hit Lahore

AFP
Thu, 2 November 2023 

Authorities in Pakistan ordered students in the city of Lahore to wear masks during school starting Thursday, an effort to protect against hazardous air pollution (Arif ALI)

Authorities in Pakistan ordered schoolchildren in the smog-smothered city of Lahore to wear masks during lessons starting Thursday, an effort to protect against hazardous levels of polluted air.

The Punjab state government issued the mandate after the High Court declared a "smog emergency" and asked officials to take steps to help mitigate health problems.

On Wednesday night, private and public schools sent out messages to parents via text and WhatsApp, stating that children must come to school wearing masks for a month.


"Parents whose children suffer from asthma or eye problems often stop sending their children to school. So this is a good step by the government," said Madeeha Hassan, a secondary school teacher in the city.

Student Afshan Maqsood, 15, has had two bouts of throat infections since the beginning of October when the smog arrived.

Wearing a mask is "better than being sick", she said.

Globally, South Asia is the region worst hit by air pollution, according to the Air Quality Life Index report from the University of Chicago.

Pakistan is the fourth most polluted country -- behind Bangladesh, India and Nepal -- in terms of annualized, population-weighted averages of fine particulate matter, which is linked to lung disease, heart disease, strokes and cancer.

Air pollution has worsened in Pakistan in recent years, as a mixture of low-grade diesel fumes, smoke from seasonal crop burn off and colder winter temperatures coalesce into stagnant clouds of smog.

Lahore, the country's second-most populous metropolis and close to the border with India, is consistently ranked in the top 10 cities globally with the worst air quality by monitoring firm IQAir.

On Thursday it was ranked number two, second only to New Delhi.

"We have the dirtiest diesel and fuel in the world," Ahmad Rafay Alam, an environmental lawyer, told AFP, calling smog "a total failure of governance".

str-ecl/sco

Thames Water: 300 jobs at risk at UK's largest water company

OWNED BY A CANADIAN PENSION FUND

Sky News
Updated Thu, 2 November 2023 


The UK's largest water company, Thames Water, has said around 300 of its jobs could be cut.

In a separate statement, the GMB union said it was told of 140 redundancies at the firm.

Consultations on cutting 89 retail and 39 digital jobs will begin, the union added.

The retail side of Thames Water deals with business customers. But there will be no changes to how customers are served, the company said.

Recruitment for a range of digital roles, including in programming, cyber security, data and insights, started in January this year.

More than half of the roles under review have yet to be filled, Thames Water added.

Read more:
Why water companies insist higher household bills are 'essential'

A company spokesperson said: "We are consulting on a proposal which could lead to the potential loss of around 300 roles."

Compulsory redundancies will be minimised where possible, through redeployment and voluntary redundancy, they said.

"Frontline colleagues will not be impacted by these proposed changes, with roles at risk primarily in our retail and digital functions as well as some other areas.

"Change does mean difficult decisions and we are focused on supporting our colleagues throughout the process."

The utility company currently faces debts of up to £14bn and risked collapse over the summer when it looked unable to meet repayments.

It eventually secured backing from investors including Omers, the Canadian pension fund, and the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS).

The Thames Water spokesperson also said: "The last year has been an extremely challenging year for the business and we continue to take a rigorous approach to financial discipline throughout the company in order to operate within budget.

"We need to make more difficult but necessary decisions to ensure we continue to deliver to our budgets. That's why today we've announced a range of measures to reduce our costs further and become more efficient."

The GMB union said it will fight to minimise compulsory redundancies and "make sure our members get every penny they are due".

GMB national officer, Gary Carter, said: "Thames Water has danced with the devil and now workers are paying the price. In the 40 years since privatisation, we've seen virtually no investment, systematic asset stripping and billions of public money drained from the system to fill already building shareholder and fat cat coffers.

"As a result, Thames is on its knees and water workers are losing their livelihoods."

Roughly 8,200 people are employed by Thames Water.

UK
Who owns the major energy and water suppliers, and how much profit do they make?

Lowenna Waters and Nuray Bulbul

Evening Standard
Thu, 2 November 2023 

Every energy company has made massive profits (Alamy)

Global oil giant Shell has revealed that its adjusted earnings have fallen by 34 per cent in the last three months compared with a year earlier, meaning it fell 24 million dollars (£19.7 million) behind expectations.

Addressing the recent financial quarter, Shell’s CEO, Wael Sawan, explained: “Shell delivered another quarter of strong operational and financial performance, capturing opportunities in volatile commodity markets.

“Shell is commencing a 3.5-billion-dollar buyback programme for the next three months, bringing the buybacks for the second half of 2023 to 6.5 billion dollars, well in excess of the 5 billion dollars announced at capital markets day in June.”

BP, on the other hand, missed its forecast underlying replacement cost profit by around 700 million dollars (£575 million), causing its shares to plummet earlier this week.

Meanwhile, earlier this summer, British Gas had reported profits of £969m after the price-cap rise allowed the company to make more money from household bills.

Regulator Ofgem had said the bumper record half-year profits were a “one-off” due to the changes but poverty campaigners have slammed the news, saying rising profits when so many people are struggling is a “further sign of Britain’s broken energy system”.

It had been reported that around half the profit — £500m — was due to changes to the price cap made by the energy regulator. In comparison, British Gas reported a profit of £98m in the same period the year before.

Two other major energy suppliers also announced large increases in profits this year, helped by the changes in the price cap. Scottish Power went from a large loss last year to profits of £576m and EDF said its British operations, including nuclear and wind-power generation, saw earnings jump to £1.95bn from £740m in the same period last year.

In May, SSE reported a near-doubling of its annual profits compared to last year and was fined for overcharging. The Scottish company said its adjusted pre-tax profits catapulted to £2.18bn for the 12 months to the end of March, up from £1.16bn for the same time period the year before.

The company said it had made “profits with a purpose”, which they are now planning on investing in renewable energy.

Trades Union Congress (TUC) general secretary Paul Nowak previously said oil and gas companies were treating the British public “like cash machines”. Most trade unions in the UK belong to the TUC.

“These eye-watering profits are an insult to working families as millions struggle with sky-high bills,” he said. “The Government has left billions on the table by refusing to impose a proper windfall tax on the likes of BP. And even now ministers are refusing to take action to fix our broken energy market and stop this obscene price gouging.”

So, who owns the UK’s biggest energy firms, and how much profit are they making?
Who owns British Gas and how much profit does it make?

British Gas is owned by the company Centrica, which is the largest domestic gas supplier in the UK, and is also one of the largest electricity suppliers.

It was previously publicly owned but in December 1986 the prime minister at the time, Margaret Thatcher, privatised it.

Centrica owns British Gas and other energy companies, including Ireland’s Bord Gais Energy. In February, it reported a record operating profit of £3.3 bn last year.

They have today (July 27) reported profits of £969m after price-cap rises allowed it to make more money from household bills. About half of the profit — £500 m — was due to changes to the price cap made by the energy regulator. By comparison, British Gas reported a profit of £98 m in the same period the year before.
Who owns SSE and how much profit does it make?

SSE’s retail business, which provides energy to household customers, was sold to OVO Energy in January 2020.

OVO Energy reported that it had significantly reduced its losses in 2020 to £7 million — down from £103m the previous year. The company also reported a significant increase in revenues, from £1.5bn to £4.5bn.

In May, the company said its adjusted pre-tax profits climbed to £2.18bn from the end of March 2022 to the end of March 2023, up from almost £1.16bn the year before.

The sharp increase in full-year profits came as earnings from its gas-fired power plants surged almost fourfold to £1.24bn for the last financial year, up from £331.1m the year before.
Who owns Shell and how much profit does it make?

Shell is a British-Dutch-owned company, headquartered in the Netherlands, and is incorporated in the United Kingdom. The company, which first sold antiques and seashells, was expanded by the Samuels brothers in the 1880s into an oil-exporting business.

The Samuels brothers achieved a revolution in the transport of oil by using a tanker called the Murex across the Suez Canal to transfer oil.

Shell supplied the British Army with the majority of its fuel during World War I and made all of its ships —including the Murex — available to the British Admiralty.

Recently, Ben van Beurden, who has been CEO since January 1, 2014, was replaced by Wael Sawan.

In Sawan’s previous role as the head of Shell’s integrated gas and renewables division, he oversaw their growth into low-carbon energies, as well as its giant gas business.

Shell has revealed a big fall in the second quarter of its financial year this week (July 27), largely due to energy prices plunging from their Russia-Ukraine war peak.

The oil and gas major reported net profits of just over $5 bn (£3.9 bn) for the three months to the end of June.

The figure represents a drop of more than 50 per cent on the $11.5 bn achieved in the same period last year and fell short of analysts’ estimates.

It was also well down on the $9.65bn sum the company raked in during the first three months of the year.

Chief executive Wael Sawan said: “Shell delivered strong operational performance and cash flows in the second quarter, despite a lower commodity price environment.

“Today, we are delivering on our Capital Markets Day commitment of a 15 per cent dividend increase. We are going further on our buyback guidance by commencing a $3 bn programme for the next three months and, subject to board approval, at least $2.5bn at the Q3 2023 results.
Who owns BP and how much profit does it make?

British Petroleum, better known as BP, is a British company founded in 1909.

Its top five shareholders are State Street, BlackRock, Dimensional Fund Advisors, Fisher Investments, and Menora Mivtachim.

With operations in nearly 80 countries, BP announced it made a profit of $5 bn (£4 bn) in the first three months of 2023.
Who owns Scottish Power and how much profit does it make?

Scottish Power is owned by Spanish utility firm Iberdrola and today (July 27) announced it has gone from a large loss last year to profits of £576 m in its retail division.

In October 2021, Scottish Power reported a 39 per cent decline in underlying profits, at its division responsible for providing energy to domestic customers. It cited rising wholesale costs, as well as low wind volumes, as the key reasons for this.

In February this year, it was announced that underlying group profits in 2022 had risen 3.6 per cent to £1.6bn on a year earlier, due to increased wind volumes.

However, the group made a loss of £18m in its retail business — which, with 4.7 million customers, is the sixth-biggest supplier — after slumping from a £3m profit the year before.

ScottishPower said the total volumes of gas it supplied to households, sourced from wholesale suppliers, fell 18.3 per cent in 2022, while electricity use was down 4.5 per cent.
Who owns Southern Water and how much profit does it make?

Southern Water supplies water and sewerage services to customers across the south of England. It loses 88.1 million litres of water per day from the pipes in its network.

Macquarie, the Australian banking group that controls Southern Water, posted record profits after a boom in its commodities trading division this February.

They recorded an annual net profit of A$5.18 bn (£2.8 bn), up 10 per cent on the previous year, according to The Guardian. The profits outstripped analysts’ expectations of A$4.96 bn (£2.6 bn) for the 12 months to March 31, 2023.

Its shareholders took home £622 million in profit between 2013 and 2017. In 2021, Southern Water was ordered to pay a record £90m in fines for widespread pollution after pleading guilty to 6,971 unpermitted sewage discharges, according to Gov.uk.

The group’s Annual Report and Financial Statements are due to be released imminently.
Who owns EDF and how much profit does it make?

EDF Energy is owned by the French energy supplier Électricité de France (EDF), which is itself owned by the French government.

It made a profit of £1.12 bn in 2022 in the UK, following a loss of £21 m the previous year.

Now the French nuclear-power giant has swung to profit in the first half of the year, rebounding from a record loss in 2022 thanks to higher electricity prices and nuclear reactor output.

EDF chief executive Luc Remont said the improved results are explained by a “good operational performance in a favorable price environment after a particularly difficult 2022”.

He also defended the use of long-term electricity-supply contracts, stating that EDF will be able to provide offers to industrial consumers in September, giving them “visibility on volumes and prices”.
Who owns E.ON and how much profit does it make?

E.ON is owned by E.ON SE, an electricity supplier based in Essen, Germany. The company was formed in 1989 and was originally known as Powergen, before it was privatised in the 1990s.

The company also owns Npower, which it acquired in December 2018, and was previously owned by German multinational energy firm RWE.

In November 2021, its parent company reported a nine-month adjustment to earnings before interest and tax, of €3.93 bn (£3.29 bn), while its customer-solutions arm more than doubled its profits to €910 m (£810.4 m).
Who owns Octopus Energy and how much profit does it make?

Octopus Energy is owned by Octopus Group, the fund-management company which founded the energy firm in 2015. Octopus Group has interests in venture capital, investment management, and real estate, as well as the energy sector.

In February this year, Octopus posted a £92.7 m profit, representing a 98 per cent increase year-on-year; and £268.7 m turnover, an increase of 41 per cent on the previous year.

Mayotte turns to bottled water in century's worst drought

AFP
Thu, 2 November 2023 

Bottled water will be delivered to all of Mayotte (Chafion MADI)

French island group Mayotte will begin distributing bottled water to its 310,000 inhabitants this month as the region faces its worst drought episode this century, the government said Thursday.

The Indian Ocean archipelago, the lowest-income region in France with most people below the poverty line, depends on rain for its drinking water, but rainfall has been at its lowest since 1997.

France's minister for overseas territories Philippe Vigier told reporters each inhabitant would be entitled to one litre of bottled drinking water per day starting on November 20.

According to the European Food Safety Authority, two litres of water per day are considered an adequate intake for women, and 2.5 litres for men.

The archipelago has been facing severe water restrictions since September, and the government has already been supplying bottled water daily to the 50,000 most vulnerable inhabitants.

Preschools and primary schools will be the first to benefit from the additional water deliveries.

Mayotte's daily water needs are estimated at around 43,000 cubic metres, but supply is currently down to 26,000 on average.

This will drop to or below 20,000 cubic metres per day once the remaining reserves in Mayotte's artificial lakes run out.

Oil-spill ferry towed to port in Sweden: coast guard

AFP
Thu, 2 November 2023 

The passenger ferry Marco Polo was towed into the port of Karlshamn without leaking any more oil, the Swedish coast guard said (Ola TORKELSSON)

Sweden's coast guard said Thursday the passenger ferry that ran aground last month causing a large oil spill had been safely towed to port without further leaks.

The Marco Polo ferry, operated by TT-Line, ran aground south of the southern city of Karlshamn on October 22, with the vessel's 75 passengers safely evacuated.

It stayed still for days but then drifted off due to strong winds on Sunday and once again ran aground, causing further oil spills.

"The passenger ferry Marco Polo has been towed into the Stilleryd harbour in Karlshamn.... without complications or new oil spills," the Swedish Coast Guard said in a statement Thursday.

"The coast guard maintains a presence in Pukavik Bay in case previously leaked oil is found," it continued.

It added that once the ship had been moored in port, the municipal rescue service would take over.

Sweden on Friday fined two crew members for "recklessness in maritime traffic".

On Tuesday, the coastguard said some 50 cubic metres (50,000 litres or 13,000 gallons) of oil and oil waste had been collected.

Swedish authorities said last week it could take as long as a year to completely clean up the spill.

nzg/phy/rl

Lockdown caused ‘rapid’ decline in brain health for over-50s, study finds

Michael Searles
Thu, 2 November 2023 

Experts analysed the brain function of more than 3,000 Britons before and during the pandemic

Lockdown caused “rapid” and “lasting” deterioration in the brain health of over-50s, a landmark study has found.

Experts analysed the brain function of more than 3,000 Britons before and during the pandemic, with results published in the Lancet Healthy Longevity journal.

In the latest revelation on the impact of lockdowns, the study found people’s cognitive functions, such as their memory and verbal reasoning skills (ability to understand and draw conclusions from information), declined 50 per cent faster during the first year of the pandemic than they had in the year before.

Researchers from the University of Exeter said consecutive lockdowns resulting in increased loneliness, depression and alcohol use, as well as reduced physical activity, were to blame.

Prof Anne Corbett, Protect study lead at the University of Exeter, said: “Our findings suggest that lockdowns and other restrictions we experienced during the pandemic have had a real lasting impact on brain health in people aged 50 or over, even after the lockdowns ended.”

The 3,142 participants from the Protect study had an average age of 67.

They were routinely tested on their ability to memorise sequences of numbers, search for a target among other objects, pair and associate words, and their ability to interpret phrases, among other brain-functioning metrics.
Deteriorating faster

It found that the speed that the participants’ cognitive functions deteriorated had become significantly faster between March 2020 and February 2021 than expected, and continued to do so, albeit at a slightly slower pace, in the second year after the pandemic.

The scientists said this was worse among those who already had some form of cognitive decline, and those who had previously contracted Covid-19, but had still accelerated faster than it should have among those without either.

The researchers said the brain’s executive function – ability to plan, manage, multi-task and think flexibly – and its working memory, had declined by an average of 0.61 and 0.64 per cent in the year before the pandemic, but this accelerated by 49 and 55 per cent respectively during the pandemic.

It means there is a significant increase in the risk of developing a condition caused by dementia, such as Alzheimer’s or vascular dementia.

Dr Susan Mitchell, head of policy at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said the study “demonstrates how the profound lifestyle shifts triggered by the lockdown restrictions might have influenced the nation’s brain health”.

“It underlines the fact that there are steps we can all take to protect the health of our brain. Our own analysis has shown that just 2 per cent of people say they’re doing all they can to optimise their brain health,” Dr Mitchell said.

“While our genetics play an important role in the health of our brains as we age, we know that a range of health and lifestyle factors can impact our brain health. This study found that some of these factors, such as less exercise, were worsened during the pandemic – with knock-on consequences.”
‘Self-harming and suicide’

It is the latest in a series of revelations on the longer-term impacts of lockdowns that have come to light through research and the Covid inquiry.

Caroline Abrahams, Age UK director, told the hearing last month that lockdowns had caused “much higher rates of depression and self-harming and suicide” among elderly people who had suffered “a great loss of confidence”.

Previous studies have also highlighted the increase in harm to children’s mental health and development, while also causing increased levels of obesity.

Prof Corbett said: “Our findings also highlight the need for policy-makers to consider the wider health impacts of restrictions like lockdowns when planning for a future pandemic response.”

Prof Dag Aarsland, head of department in old age psychiatry at King’s College London, said: “This study adds to the knowledge of the long-standing health-consequences of Covid-19, in particular for vulnerable people such as older people with mild memory problems. We know a great deal of the risks for further decline, and now can add Covid-19 to this list.”

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Jail for Indonesian drug manufacturers over cough syrup linked to 200 child deaths

Sarah Newey
Thu, 2 November 2023 

Riski Agri holds the bottle of cough syrup that hospitalised his five-year-old son Farrazka in Jakarta. The boy survived but was left with kidney damage

Four senior officials of a company that produced a cough syrup linked to the deaths of more than 200 children have been sentenced to jail in Indonesia.

The chief executive and three other senior employees of Afi Farma – which manufactured medicines containing excess quantities of a toxic substance – were given two-year prison sentences on Wednesday, and fined one billion Indonesian rupiah (£52,000).

Their products were linked to the deaths of more than 200 otherwise healthy children in Indonesia, who died from acute kidney injury after consuming ethylene glycol.

Since 2022, about 100 fatalities linked to other counterfeit medicines – mainly produced in India – have also been reported in Gambia and Uzbekistan, in what has become the biggest tainted medicine scandal since contaminated cough syrup killed 365 people in Panama in 2006.

In Indonesia, prosecutors in East Java found the four defendants guilty of producing pharmaceutical products that did not meet safety standards.

The ruling referred to events between October 2021 and February 2022, when Ali Farma received two batches of propylene glycol, which is used to make cough syrup.

But despite having the means to do so, the company “consciously” did not test the ingredients – which turned out to contain 96 to 99 per cent ethylene glycol, the prosecutor said.

Both substances can be used as additives to solvents, but while propylene glycol is non-toxic and widely included in medicines, cosmetics and food, ethylene glycol is an industrial solvent used in paint, pens and brake fluid – and very dangerous if ingested in high quantities.

The World Health Organization says the safe limit is no more than 0.10 per cent.

According to prosecutors, Ali Farma relied on quality and safety certificates from its supplier, instead of independently testing them.

The company’s lawyers denied negligence and told the BBC that rigorous testing of ingredients is not a requirement in Indonesia, adding that the firm is considering an appeal.

Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security

Hong Kong gears up for first Gay Games in Asia despite pushback

The Gay Games will kick off in Hong Kong on Friday, the first time the international sporting event is held in Asia, despite some local opposition and fears over political freedoms.

AFP
Thu, 2 November 2023

Thai singer Silvy Pavida Moriggi (C) attends a press conference ahead of the Gay Games in Hong Kong (Peter PARKS)

The event, which features both LGBTQ and heterosexual athletes, will see 2,381 people compete in sports including football and badminton -- as well as Hong Kong dragon boat racing and mahjong -- and aims to promote diversity through sport and culture.

"We all need this platform where it doesn't matter who you are, how you identify. We all come together in this culture of respect and acceptance," event co-chair Lisa Lam said at a press conference Thursday.

Hong Kong does not permit same-sex marriage and there is no law against discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

The city's top court in September rejected gay marriage but ordered the government to set up an "alternative framework" to recognise same-sex couples' rights.

"Hong Kong always says it's an international metropolis, but in some aspects, progress has been slow," event promoter Bu Chan told AFP.

The Chinese finance hub won the bid in 2017 to host the games, initially slated for last November but delayed due to strict pandemic curbs which were only lifted late last year.

Mexico's city of Guadalajara is co-hosting the event, with no overlap in sporting events between the two locations.

Lam said the Gay Games can show that Hong Kong is "open for business (and) everyone is welcome".

But while Hong Kong officials backed the organisers' initial bid to host the event, most have refrained from publicly expressing support in recent months.

- Security concerns -

Seven Hong Kong lawmakers spoke out on Wednesday against the Gay Games, with pro-Beijing firebrand Junius Ho accusing the event of "attempting to subvert national security".

Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong in 2020, after the former British colony saw widespread and at times violent pro-democracy protests.

Lai Wen-wei, chair of the Taiwan Gay Sports and Movement Association, told AFP last month that his team of up to 12 athletes will head for Mexico.

"(Athletes) could risk arrest or detention if they wave Taiwan's national flags due to the national security law, so we still decided against sending a team to Hong Kong over personal safety concerns," Lai said.

Organisers say the Gay Games are "strictly non-partisan and non-political, and we ask all participants and visitors to respect and observe local laws and customs during their stay in Hong Kong."

Authorities said in August that Gay Games organisers have been reminded to "observe the city's laws and regulations".

Regina Ip, a top government advisor, is expected to be the lone pro-establishment figure to attend the Gay Games opening ceremony, according to organisers.

A survey this year found that 60 percent of Hongkongers supported same-sex marriage, compared to just 38 percent a decade ago.

Louis Ng, a Gay Games promoter, told AFP that he encountered people at a Hong Kong street corner handing out flyers opposing the event and tried to reason with them.

"I saw a horrible flyer that demonised gays... We should try to talk to them and explain what (the event) really is," Ng said.

hol/dhw

Colombian guerrilla group kidnapped Liverpool striker Diaz's parents: Bogota

AFP
Thu, 2 November 2023 

Luis Diaz is the first Indigenous Colombian to make it to the top echelons of football (HENRY NICHOLLS)

The Colombian government on Thursday accused the ELN guerrilla group, with which it is seeking to negotiate peace, of kidnapping Liverpool winger Luis Diaz's parents in their home town last weekend.

Diaz's mother Cilenis Marulanda was rescued hours after the abduction in Barrancas, but his father Luis Manuel Diaz has been missing ever since.

The crime "was perpetrated by a unit belonging to the ELN," a government official said on X, formerly Twitter, adding: "we demand the ELN immediately free" the missing man, who local media say is 56 years old.


The ELN and the government of leftist President Gustavo Petro are in the midst of peace negotiations and a six-month ceasefire which entered into force in August.

The parents of Colombia and Liverpool player Diaz were abducted Saturday by armed men on motorcycles at a gas station in their home town of 38,000 people in the northern La Guajira department.

Marulanda was rescued hours later and a massive search operation was launched for her husband.

Colombian authorities have said there has been no ransom demand.

The ELN, or National Liberation Army, has not claimed responsibility for the kidnapping.

"We demand the ELN immediately free Luis Manuel Diaz," said Thursday's statement signed by Otty Patino, the head of the government delegation in peace talks with the ELN.

He added it was the ELN's "responsibility to guarantee his life and integrity."

Attorney General Francisco Barbosa has said the older Diaz "could be" in Venezuela, without giving further details.

- Meteoric rise -

Luis Manuel Diaz was an amateur coach at the only football academy in Barrancas, a town near the Venezuelan border, where his son showed promise from a very young age.

Dissidents of the FARC guerrilla group that disarmed in 2017 are also known to be active in this remote part of Colombia, as are paramilitary fighters and criminal gangs.

Petro, a former urban guerrilla himself, took office last August with the stated goal of achieving "total peace" in a country ravaged by decades of fighting between the security forces, leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries and drug gangs.

More than 38,000 people have been kidnapped in Colombia over the years, mainly by groups raising funds with ransom money.

The ELN, Colombia's last recognized guerrilla group, started as a leftist ideological movement in 1964 before turning to crime -- focusing on kidnapping, extortion, violent attacks and drug trafficking.

With some 5,800 combatants, the group is primarily active in the Pacific region and along the 2,200-kilometer (1,370-mile) border with Venezuela.

Official data shows the ELN has a presence in more than 200 municipalities where fighting has displaced communities caught up in the violence.

"We remind the ELN that kidnapping is a criminal practice, in violation of international humanitarian law, and that it is its duty (within the context of) the current peace process not only to stop the practice but also to eliminate it forever," said Patino.

The elder Diaz is credited with aiding the meteoric rise of the Liverpool and Colombia striker known as Lucho.

Acquaintances have told AFP that he sometimes sold food he cooked himself to pay for his son’s trips to Barranquilla, the city where he had his debut with the football club Junior.

The younger Diaz, who has not spoken publicly about the kidnapping, has played for his country 43 times and arrived at Liverpool last year from Portuguese club Porto.

He has played 11 games with Liverpool and scored three goals, and is the first Indigenous Colombian to make it to world football's top echelons.

Colombian police have offered a reward equivalent to about $48,000 for information that leads them to Diaz and his captors.

das/mlr/dw

Luis Diaz’s hometown prays for return of footballer’s kidnapped father

Matthew Charles
Thu, 2 November 2023 

The parents of Luis Diaz, pictured with their son, were abducted and threatened at gun point

It was about 5pm on Saturday afternoon when rumours began to spread that someone had been kidnapped. Barrancas in northern Colombia is a small town so news travels fast.

“My phone beeped, my wife’s phone beeped, my son’s phone beeped. All pretty much simultaneously,” local resident, José Hernández told the Telegraph. “So we knew something was up.”

The parents of Liverpool left-winger, Luis Diaz, had been abducted from a petrol station as they stopped to fill up their car. His mother was rescued hours later, but his father remains missing.


“Everyone’s in shock,” said Mr Hernández, a friend of the couple. “This just doesn’t happen here.”

That shock has reverberated across the country.

Almost a year since the government embarked on a controversial, soft-touch “total peace” gang-crime strategy, murder and kidnapping rates are once again on the rise.

The Colombian government has launched a major military search operation to find Luis Manuel Diaz, mobilising elite police officers, as well as more than a hundred soldiers specially trained in hostage rescue missions. Helicopters and planes equipped with heat-seeking cameras have also been deployed to scour the jungle for the footballer’s father.

Like most places in Colombia, Barrancas, a hot and dry place in the La Guajira desert region, has a painful past.

But more recently the town has enjoyed a sharp rise in tourism, not least because of its connection to the Liverpool star.

CCTV footage broadcast by local television shows men on motorbikes following his parent’s car just before they were abducted.

“Something like this is not spontaneous, it is planned,” Alejandro Zapata, deputy director of the national police, said in a press conference. “But we know who they are.”

The military fear Luis Manuel Diaz may be transported over the border into Venezuela - EyePress News/Shutterstock

On Monday, police confirmed they had identified a number of individuals linked to the kidnapping, but no names have been released for operational reasons and, so far, no warrants have been issued.

£40,000 reward for information

Security camera footage released by the police shows two of the suspects they believe to be responsible. Authorities are offering a £40,000 reward for information.

Eyewitnesses to the kidnapping told The Telegraph that Mr Diaz’s parents were threatened with guns. They were driven off in their own vehicle, which was found 90 minutes later, seven miles away. The kidnappers had swapped cars, taking Diaz’s father with them, but leaving his mother behind.

“She was in good health, but obviously very distraught,” said Emiro Bonilla, the acting mayor of Barrancas. “We think they left her behind in an attempt to keep the police off their tail.”

Luis Manuel Diaz and Celina Marulanda are well known and much loved in this small town of 40,000 people. Luis Manuel, affectionately called “Mane” by most people, trains young footballers.

Residents in Barrancas attend a candlelight vigil for the safe return of Liverpool footballer Luis Diaz's father - Reuters

Eight-year-old Jesus Arbeláez is one of them.

“We want our teacher back,” he said, accompanied by his mother.

On Tuesday, residents of the town held a candlelight vigil to demand the safe return of Luis Manuel Diaz. Hundreds of people marched through the streets chanting “freedom”.

“Mane is a noble person,” said Mr Hernández. “He’s one of us. He’s helped the kids of this town. Now we need to help him.”

The geography of the region is hampering rescue efforts. Authorities say the kidnappers drove off through the Perijá mountains, which straddle the Colombia-Venezuela border. It is dense and difficult terrain, providing the perfect cover for criminal activity.

There are a number of organised criminal groups involved in smuggling and people-trafficking on both sides. A family friend told local media that the couple had received threatening calls demanding extortion before Saturday’s kidnapping.
Fears he may be taken across border

Military sources told The Telegraph that they were in a rush to find Mr Diaz because they feared he might be taken across the border.

The incident has stoked fears of increasing insecurity in Colombia, where such kidnappings were becoming less common until a surge in the past 12 months.

As part of its controversial “total peace” strategy, the Colombian state is negotiating with organised criminal structures and gangs in order to encourage their demobilisation.

But just more than a year into the programme, researchers say it has allowed Colombian criminal groups to grow in strength. Crimes such as murder and kidnapping have increased as a result.

“We’re at a critical crossroads,” said analyst, Maria Victoria Llorente. “The government’s ‘total peace’ strategy is not achieving the results it set out to achieve, so we need to reassess it.”

At the football club in Barrancas founded by Luis Manuel Diaz - and where his son played as a child - some 200 young footballers have suspended their training. The football pitch in the town’s Villa Luz neighbourhood has been taken over by helicopters from Colombian special forces.

The young players, clad in their football kits as a mark of respect, look on defiantly.

“Mane is like our dad,” says 10-year-old Rafel Pinto. “We won’t play again until he’s back with us.”

Nestle accused of 'sponsoring' Russian war effort

Our Foreign Staff
Thu, 2 November 2023 

Protesters carry 'Boycott Nestle' placards as they take part in a demonstration against the Russian invasion of Ukraine last March

 - LAURENT GILLIERON/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK

Kyiv has named Swiss food giant Nestle as a “sponsor of war” over the Kit Kat-maker’s continued operations in Russia.

Hundreds of Western firms quit the Russian market following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year, and Kyiv has not shied away from publicly criticising those that have remained.

“Despite Russian aggression, Nestle continues to operate in Russia, supply goods to the aggressor and expand its Russian production base,” Ukraine’s national anti-corruption agency said on Thursday.

“This is the basis for the company being entered into the list of international sponsors of war,” it added.

When asked to comment on the move, Nestle referred it to a previous statement, in which the company said it had “drastically reduced” its portfolio in Russia.

The Swiss company owns dozens of food and drink brands including Nescafe - KONSTANTIN ZAVRAZHIN/GETTY

Those comments also said the company had cancelled all future investment, halted advertising and was “fully complying with all applicable international sanctions”.

Nestle owns dozens of household food and drink brands, from Nescafe and Nestea to Haagen-Dazs ice cream and Purina pet food.

“We stand with the people of Ukraine and our 5,500 employees there,” a statement on Nestle’s website reads.

It says its operations in Russia are “focused on providing essential and basic foods to the local people”.

Nestle employed around 7,000 people in Russia before the war and its 2022 annual report says it had six factories in the country.