UK

Defra’s failure to protect and restore water bodies ‘unlawful’, high court rules

Helena Horton Environment reporter
Mon, 20 November 2023

Photograph: Richard Burdon/Alamy

The government and environment agency failed in their duty to restore and protect waterways from pollution, the high court has ruled in a significant case that could force an overhaul of the government’s plans.

Fish Legal and Pickering Fishery Association took the government to judicial review over its river basin management plan for the Costa Beck river in the Humber district, which had a reputation as one of the best fly fishing spots in the UK until a few years ago.

The lawyers presented the court with evidence that the Costa Beck is failing for fish under the Water Framework Directive regulations. One of the reasons for that, they argued, is sewage pollution – Yorkshire Water’s “storm” sewage overflow at Pickering treatment works discharged into the Costa Beck more than 250 times in 2020 and more than 400 times in 2019.

They argued that the Environment Agency had failed to follow through with its proposed action against polluters.

The high court ruled that the government and the Environment Agency had failed in their mandatory legal duties to review, update and put in place measures to restore rivers and other water bodies under the Water Framework Directive regulations. The judge concluded there was no evidence the programme of measures could be expected to achieve the stated environmental objectives.

The judge accepted discharges were contributing to the poor condition of the river and said that, under the regulations, discharges for specific rivers such as the Costa Beck need to be regulated more tightly, if their condition is to improve.

The judge characterised the approach of the secretary of state for the environment as one of “smoke and mirrors”. The angling club, which won the court case, said the secretary of state was planning to fail.

Lawyers believe the ruling means the basis for the government’s plans to protect waterways from pollution – which have been criticised as weak – could be unlawful, and ministers could be forced to strengthen their measures.

This has potentially created a mess for the new environment secretary, Steve Barclay, who may have to overhaul the plans of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

It could open the door for other groups to bring similar challenges for the other river basin plans across the country, as the court found that the fundamental requirement to assess and identify specific measures to achieve the legally mandatory targets for each water body – such as tightened environmental permits for controlling sewage pollution – had unlawfully not been done.

Andrew Kelton, a solicitor at Fish Legal, said: “This case goes to the heart of why government has failed to make progress towards improving the health of rivers and lakes in England. Only 16% of water bodies – 14% of rivers – are currently achieving ‘good ecological status’, with no improvement for at least a decade, which comes as no surprise to us having seen how the Environment Agency at first proposed, but then for some reason failed to follow through with the tough action needed against polluters in this case.

“The Upper Costa Beck is just one of 4,929 water bodies, but it is a case study in regulatory inaction in the face of evidence of declining river health.”

He added: “The Environment Agency and the government have taken a high-level, generic – and effectively non-committal – approach to achieving targets when what was needed was a water-body-by-water-body plan of real action to stop ongoing damage.

“We hope this ruling will lead to actual environmental improvements, not only on the Costa Beck but on every other ‘failing’ river and lake across the country.”

Lawyers acting for the campaigners believe the ruling could force the government to strengthen its entire water plans including its much derided “plan for water”, which was announced earlier this year.

Penelope Gane, head of practice at Fish Legal, said: “The environmental objectives and information in river basin management plans underpin all sorts of long-term statutory plans and other strategic planning, including the government’s plan for water, water company business plans, water resources regional plans and the chalk stream restoration strategy. This legal action exposes that all of those policies and plans are effectively built on foundations of sand.”

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Water previously said: “The EA has undertaken water framework directive assessments at Costa Beck. These indicate that neither the water industry nor sewage are either confirmed or even probable causes of the watercourse failing to achieve good ecological status.

“Yorkshire Water is not party to this ongoing case. Nevertheless, we continue to work in partnership with the local angling association on this issue.”

The shadow secretary of state for the environment, Steve Reed, said: “The water industry is broken after 13 years of Conservative failure, with stinking, toxic sewage swilling through our rivers, lakes, and seas. This Conservative government’s plan is so weak it’s now been declared unlawful. They have been happy to stand by and let the sewage flow due to their sheer incompetence.

“Only Labour will take tough action to end this scandal by putting the water industry under special measures. We will ban water bosses’ bonuses, and introduce severe, automatic fines until the water companies clean up their filth.”

A Defra spokesperson said: “We are carefully considering the outcome of this judgment and next steps.

“The government has an ambitious plan for water, which is delivering more investment, stronger regulation and tougher enforcement needed to clean up our waterways. This includes reforming river basin management plans and delivering tailored long-term catchment action plans for local groups to improve all water bodies in England.”

AUSTRALIA

‘Where did I go wrong?’ The scientist who tried to raise the climate alarm

Graham Readfearn

GUARDIAN AUS
Mon, 20 November 2023 



“I often wonder: where did I go wrong?” Graeme Pearman says. “Why didn’t people respond? Is that my responsibility?”

When Guardian Australia meets him at his home on the outskirts of Melbourne, the veteran climate scientist is frustrated.

“If you go through the whole process and the rigour of conducting science, [you think] at the end of the day surely people will understand what you’re saying – they will incorporate those risks into what they do,” he says.

“Well, it doesn’t work that way.

“The reality is that for a period of nearly two decades, Australia went backwards [on climate action]. From a personal perspective, yes, it’s frustrating.”

Outside two alpacas are busy keeping the grass down. A pagoda over a deck is heaving with pink wisteria flowers and inside on a kitchen bench Pearman has been struggling with an impossible jigsaw of a Van Gogh painting.

The calmness and lazy beauty of it all is jarring, given we’re here to talk about his life’s work studying a phenomenon that could send countless species extinct, reshape coastlines from rising seas and supercharge storms and wildfires.

More than 50 years ago, Pearman was working at the government science agency the CSIRO and measuring how many CO2 molecules were in the air.

He went on to establish the government’s first climate science program and brief three prime ministers (Hawke, Keating and Howard) on climate change. Later, after an acrimonious parting with the CSIRO, he would travel from community groups to fossil fuel company board rooms giving presentations on climate change.

If there is such a thing as the grandfather of Australian climate science, then 82-year-old Pearman is surely a contender.

Six flasks of air

In 1971, in Pearman’s first job at the CSIRO, he and his colleague John Garratt were asked by their boss Bill Priestley to develop, test and then install equipment that could measure how much carbon dioxide there was in the atmosphere.

Every Thursday Pearman and Garratt drew air samples from a 10 metre-high mast above a wheatfield in Rutherglen, Victoria.

What shocked Pearman was that his measurements were a close match to those taken in Hawaii by the American scientist Charles Keeling – 8,600km away and in a different hemisphere.

“The curiosity for the two of us was why should the concentration be the same?” Pearman says. “Above this growing wheat crop – and on the top of a mountain in Hawaii. Two hemispheres that are totally different. Why should that be the case?”

Since the late 1950s, Keeling had been finding the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere was creeping up and by the late 1960s he was blaming the rise on fossil fuel burning.

Pearman suspected Keeling was wrong and that the rise was down to “drifting standards” in the way the measurements were being taken.

“We thought: he’s got to be wrong. How could humans, mere humans, actually influence the global climate?

“But within about a year, we knew Keeling was right.”

In 1974 Pearman took six flasks of Australian air samples to laboratories around the world, including Keeling’s, where scientists were also measuring CO2.

Within a few years, different readings were being taken from planes and Pearman had helped set up a long-term monitoring station for atmospheric gases at Cape Grim on the north-west tip of Tasmania.

Related: How a false claim about wind turbines killing whales is spinning out of control in coastal Australia

The very first carbon dioxide reading at Cape Grim in May 1976 showed CO2 at 328 parts per million. On the day of our interview, the latest reading shows 417 ppm (an increase of 26%).

Australia has just had its warmest winter on record, during what will very likely be the globe’s hottest year on record.

A fact easily forgotten in the blast radius of the last decade of Australia’s climate wars is that in 1990 the Hawke government wanted to introduce a target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by the year 2005.

In 1989 the UN awarded Pearman and the CSIRO a global award, recognising Australians were as well informed on climate change as almost any other community in the world.

Pearman had organised a conference in 1987 where he had asked scientists working across the economy – from irrigation to agriculture, energy and the natural environment – to present their thoughts on the potential implications of climate change for their sectors.

Pearman would eventually make his way through the ranks to become the chief of CSIRO’s atmospheric research division.

By the early 1990s, it seemed Australia was well positioned and well informed.

But Pearman admits he was naive to think that policy and action would just follow the science.
Political pressure and vested interests

Just as Pearman and his colleagues were telling the public and politicians about the risks from climate change, Australia’s fossil fuel industries were bringing their weight and cash to the policy table. Ultimately, the science was outgunned by vested interests.

In 2003 Pearman joined the Australian Climate Group – a group of experts convened by WWF and a multinational insurance group. In 2004 the group released a report saying Australia should cut its emissions by 60% by 2050.

Joining this group would be Pearman’s downfall.

He suspects – but doesn’t know for sure – that CSIRO had come under “a huge amount of pressure” from the government because of the group’s suggestions that fossil fuel use would need to be curtailed.

Related: Guardian Essential poll: most voters don’t believe Australia will meet Labor’s net zero by 2050 target

“I think it was from a government level of some sort to say that we don’t want people actually talking down the future of these particular commodities,” he says. “And I don’t think I ever did that – I simply pointed out what the consequences of pursuing that future would be.

“So all of a sudden I found myself in a discussion … about how it might be a good time to go. I felt devastated.”

Pearman took an academic role at Monash University and started a consultancy to provide briefings on the latest science to industry and the community.

He has racked up more than 500 presentations and continues to write scientific papers.

But he continues to be frustrated at the lack of action.

“We still have people talking about utilising massive gas reserves that should never come out of the ground. Because whether we burn them or someone else burns them, they will contribute to further warming.

“We’ve got to stop this. Not just Australia, but the global community. But Australia should be leading the way, not dragging its feet.”

Pearman is an instinctively optimistic character, but the country’s continued promotion of fossil fuels is causing that optimism to become “overwhelmed by pessimism” about the future.

It is part of the human condition to care about other species, he says. But at the same time “it is us as humans that have created this way of looking at the world – created the importance of wealth generation compared with other values that we might have”.

“And we’re not going to turn that around very quickly.”

What does give Pearman “some sense of security” for the future is that young people are well informed.

“I think they need to have courage – to find courage if they haven’t got it – to accept that the world is different and needs to be different into the future and that they should stand up and be part of the transition.

“The older people of the community have had their time. It’s their time now.

“Stand up and take responsibility and do what you think is necessary.”

UK
Academics call for national database on drug-related harm at music festivals

"AVOID THE BROWN ACID,MAN"

WOODSTOCK,THE MOVIE

Ella Pickover, PA Health Correspondent
Wed, 22 November 2023 


A “small but significant” number of people die in the UK after taking drugs at music festivals, according to a new study.

Academics from the University of Liverpool estimated that between 2017 and 2023 there were 32 drug-related deaths at UK music festivals, including Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds, Creamfields and the Isle of Wight Festival.

But only 18 have been confirmed, they said.

Ecstasy was the drug linked to the most deaths, with others including ketamine and prescription medicines.

The study, published in the journal Drug Science, Politics and Law, mentions a teenager who died after taking ecstasy at Leeds Festival.

David Celino, 16, died after falling ill at the festival last August, an inquest was told earlier this year.

The boy, from Worsley, Greater Manchester, became ill after taking ecstasy, which his group bought from a dealer in the Camping Plus area of the festival, and died after being taken to hospital in Leeds.

The researchers said there is no standard process for reporting or accessing data on medical incidents at music festivals.

They collated the information by cross-referencing media and social media content with a national database contributed to by coroners and also spoke to bereaved families.

The team has called for a publicly accessible national database – updated in real time – of drug-related medical incidents at UK music festivals.

Professor Fiona Measham, chairwoman of criminology at the University of Liverpool, said: “Our research has shown that there is a small but significant number of drug-related deaths at UK music festivals each year.

“It is clear that more needs to be done to reduce drug-related harm, to ensure that everyone can enjoy festivals safely and to prevent any other parents hearing the heartbreaking news that their child won’t be coming home.

“While our research has shed light on the issue, currently we’re in a situation where we don’t know the definite number of drug-related deaths at festivals.

“This makes it extremely difficult for everyone to understand whether the situation is getting better or worse and whether festival health initiatives such as drug-checking services, amnesty bins and medical services are effective.

“Introducing a transparent, real-time publicly accessible database of drug-related harm across festivals would provide a comprehensive picture of the extent of the issue and whether or not on-site festival support services are effective.”

H2 NEWZ

EU set to launch world's first hydrogen bank


Maria Psara
Mon, 20 November 2023 

The idea is to make €800 million available from European funds to help the industry and at the same time, incentivise private investment.

Green hydrogen is expected to play a key role in decarbonising the EU so that it can achieve its emission reduction goals by 2050.

"We would like clearly to demonstrate that we are the global leader if it comes to the use of these new technologies," Commission Executive Vice President, Maroš Šefčovič, said in an interview on Monday.

"(And) That we can indeed replace fossil fuels with green hydrogen, that we can produce steel with very low or no carbon footprint and actually that we can also have cars, buses, trains, even planes and ships visually powered by green hydrogen, which is not polluting."

In 2022, hydrogen accounted for less than 2% of the bloc’s energy consumption and was primarily used to produce chemical products, such as plastics and fertilisers.

The priority for the EU is to develop renewable hydrogen and it aims to produce 10 million tonnes and import another ten million by 2030.

During the bloc's Hydrogen Week in Brussels, which started on Monday, the sector will try to join the dots between the European Commission, policymakers, researchers, and industry.

"The energy crisis that Europe has faced so far, especially due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has shown how dependent we are. Hydrogen can be produced in Europe, mainly in countries that have a lot of wind and a lot of solar," Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe, told Euronews.

"So, Spain or Ireland or Denmark are perfect countries for the production of hydrogen.

"But to be honest, we also need to import hydrogen and that's why we are super happy to welcome here South Africa, Brazil, Saudi Arabia."

There is still work to be done on infrastructure and investment, but some projects are already underway.

Among others, Germany has asked the UK to consider the construction of a 400-mile hydrogen pipeline under the North Sea and an underwater pipeline to carry green hydrogen is being prepared between Spain and France

FROM THE MOON TO MALI

Breakthrough hydrogen discovery in Moon samples could lead to permanent lunar bases


Vishwam Sankaran
Tue, 21 November 2023 


Scientists have discovered how water and hydrogen are formed and retained on the Moon’s surface, taking humans a step closer to establishing permanent lunar bases.

Finding ways to make and utilise fuel on the Moon are key for the future of human space exploration, according to astronomers.

Water and hydrogen on the surface of the Moon are potentially vital resources for future lunar bases and longer-range space exploration.

Effective use of these key resources on the Moon depends on developing a better understanding of where and how water is formed and retained within the lunar soil that is also called regolith.

“Hydrogen has the potential to be a resource that can be used directly on the lunar surface when there are more regular or permanent installations there,” said study co-author Katherine D Burgess from the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL).

“Locating resources and understanding how to collect them prior to getting to the Moon is going to be incredibly valuable for space exploration,” explained Dr Burgess.

Until now, scientists have found hydrogen from solar winds can react with regolith and form water on the Moon.

However, researchers said this water is formed and retained differently, depending on the content of other minerals in the regolith and other factors.

Microscopy techniques to assess lunar soil samples collected from the Apollo missions were used in the research published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.

Scientists found hydrogen from solar wind is concentrated in small voids within calcium-phosphate minerals in the lunar soil.

“This is the first time scientists have demonstrated the detection of hydrogen-bearing species within vesicles in lunar samples,” said Dr Burgess.

The research revealed that the weathering of lunar soil by solar wind can form and trap hydrogen on the Moon, indicating grains of regolith containing some minerals can be potential fuel sources.

This finding could help inform the search for potential locations on the Moon where hydrogen and water fuel could be more concentrated.

“Previously, the same team at NRL used state-of-the-art techniques... to detect helium in lunar samples, and other researchers have found water in other planetary samples, but this is the first publication to show hydrogen in-situ in lunar samples,” said Dr Burgess.

MALI

The hunt for clean energy’s ‘holy grail’ buried beneath the ground

Welcome to wildcatter 2.0 and the race for natural hydrogen.

Louise Boyle
Mon, 20 November 2023 

Aerial view of drilling operations by Natural Hydrogen Energy LLC in Nebraska (Courtesy of Natural Hydrogen Energy LLC)

In 1974, “Diamond” Glenn McCarthy sat down to reminisce about the highs and lows, the fortunes made and squandered, by the “wildcatters” of American oil.

“They risked and sometimes they won,” Mr McCarthy, the gregarious risk-taker dubbed “King of the Wildcatters” told Texas Monthly. In the early 20th century, he had bet big on drilling wells in places ignored or considered unproductive by major oil companies. By the 1940s, he had 400 wells and a $200million fortune (about $2.5billion in today’s money).

Today, a new energy revolution is in motion: an unprecedented, multibillion-dollar sprint towards renewables and away from burning oil and gas which have helped crank up the planet’s temperature, leaving it a cauldron of dangerous extremes.

While solar arrays and wind turbines are now commonplace, there are smaller, riskier niches within the clean energy sector. One of these, if it pans out, could be no less than transformational on a global scale, advocates say.

Welcome to wildcatter 2.0 and the race for natural hydrogen.

In Africa, Europe, Australia and the United States, a growing number of start-ups are staking their fortunes and reputations on finding vast, underground deposits of hydrogen.

Like fossil fuels, natural hydrogen can be used as a primary source of energy. Unlike fossil fuels, the gas produces no carbon emissions. What’s more, hydrogen is constantly renewing underground when water and iron minerals react under high temperatures. Early research says there may be enough accessible natural hydrogen to power the planet’s clean energy needs for generations.

The drilling operations of Natural Hydrogen Energy LLC in Nebraska. In 2019, the company established its first hydrogen borehole (Viacheslav Zgonnik)

“There’s a wildcatting phenomenon to it and risk-taking,” Dr Michael Webber, professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, told The Independent. “But now it’s super scientific and sophisticated.”

Until relatively recently, it was commonly accepted that natural hydrogen (also called geologic, white or gold hydrogen) didn’t exist on Earth. Or at least, it didn’t exist in places that humans could reach, or in large accumulations.

Then in 2007, a discovery was made in Bourakébougou in the West African nation of Mali. A Malian businessman, Aliou Diallo, had funded tests of a water well in the small village which had been plugged in the late Eighties after an unfortunate worker leaned over the hole while smoking a cigarette and was badly burned. The tests revealed that the borehole was releasing 98 per cent natural hydrogen.

Bourakébougou subsequently became the first place in the world to get its electricity from a source of natural hydrogen, which was run through a retrofitted Ford engine.

For the village, it was a game-changer, giving people lights in their homes and public spaces for the first time. Children did better in school as they were able to study into the evening.

“We were called crazy when we went to conferences,” Asma Diallo, Aliou Diallo’s daughter and development director of Hydroma, the Montreal-based company which emerged from the discovery, told The Independent. “But we decided this was still an interesting discovery, and that we wanted to see what was possible.”

Beneath Mali, a layer of impermeable rock traps hydrogen in highly-concentrated, large quantities fairly close to the surface. In the past decade, Hydroma has drilled 30 wells across an area the size of Switzerland, all of which have yielded high concentrations of hydrogen, Diallo says.

Hydroma has estimated that there are 630 billion cubic meters of hydrogen (around 60 million tons) of natural hydrogen in the Mali field, and the company is forging ahead with plans to become commercial, Diallo says. First, they plan to provide electricity to bolster Mali’s unreliable power grid, and in the long-term, pipe natural hydrogen to neighboring countries and possibly export to Europe.

Testing of the abandoned well in the village of Bourakébougou, 60km from Bamako, Mali, in about 2007. The borehole was found to be releasing 98 per cent hydrogen (Courtesy of Hydroma)

Development, however, is hampered by a volatile political situation. Mali has experienced three coup d’etats in the past decade and 30,000 people have been displaced.

“In a politically insecure location, it doesn’t make it easy. But from a geological and scientific standpoint, it’s the perfect scenario of how natural hydrogen makes sense,” Diallo said.

Some have needed no convincing.

Viacheslav Zgonnik first became interested in natural hydrogen while at university in Ukraine, and what he learned had such an impact that he switched his postdoctoral studies from chemistry to geochemistry. “The Mali discovery happened when I was doing my post-doc. It was extremely encouraging to see that happen,” he told The Independent.

A decade ago, he founded Natural Hydrogen Energy (NH2E) in the US. And in 2019, the company established its first hydrogen borehole near the tiny town of Geneva, Nebraska, and now says it is working towards commercial production.

Zgonnik estimated that five years ago, only a handful of companies were working on natural hydrogen. “This year, I counted around 50 already,” he said. “I believe that next year, that growth will be even faster and we will see hundreds of companies.”

Hydrogen, which releases only water and heat when burned, is already a $150billion industry. But it must be separated from other elements — like the oxygen in water — and that takes vast amounts of energy, still mainly powered by fossil fuels. There are more sustainable ways of producing “green” hydrogen but the process remains expensive.

Still, governments have invested billions in hydrogen production and storage, particularly in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, an event which showed the danger of relying on an authoritarian regime’s supply of natural gas to power economies.

One tech company estimates that natural hydrogen could be a $75billion industry by 2030 even though it remains to be seen whether it can work at a commercial scale.

Companies from Spain and the UK to Australia are racing to prove it’s possible, and investors with deep pockets and an appetite for risk are flocking. Hyterra, an Australian investment company, has a stake in NH2E. Koloma, a Colorado-based natural hydrogen company, recently received $91m from a group that includes Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

So far, it’s mainly venture capital funds and wealthy individuals that are involved. “There are unknowns associated with exploration, and larger companies are still waiting,” Zgonnik said.

“Small companies are much more agile and willing to take risks to crack the code, so to speak, on how to drill and where to drill. When they find the sweet spots, then I believe bigger companies will put much larger amounts of money in, and accelerate the development significantly.”

Some startups claim that natural hydrogen has the potential to be produced for much lower costs than other forms of hydrogen — one dollar a kilogram and as low as 50 cents — making it cheaper than green hydrogen currently, and comparable to gray hydrogen, which has a chunky carbon footprint.

‘It’s better to work with the Earth’

Last month, the International Energy Agency said that it was the “unprecedented” acceleration in clean energy keeping the Paris Agreement temperature limit of 1.5C within reach, for now — countering emissions from oil and gas, which continue to rise.

But even with an increasing array of clean energy options, reaching global net zero emissions by 2050 is dogged by some serious problems — particularly on how to decarbonize major sectors like shipping, aviation, long-haul trucking and steel manufacturing.

Amid a daily montage of climate disasters, the arrival of natural hydrogen seems an almost Hollywood plot twist.

“I get very philosophical, so excuse me, but of course it’s better to work with the Earth. We just have to know where to look,” said Webber, who has written hundreds of articles and books about energy and advises the US government.

“I’m an engineer but we don’t always have to engineer a solution. That’s been true for coal, oil, gas, wood, wind, solar, water, you name it. Why wouldn’t the Earth make hydrogen as well?”

Hydroma’s operations in Mali. In the past 15 years, the company has drilled 30 wells across an area the size of Switzerland in the landlocked West African nation (Courtesy of Hydroma)

Webber learned about natural hydrogen when he joined French energy company Engie as chief science and technology officer in 2018. There, he met geologist Isabella Moretti, the chief science officer, who he called the “godmother” of natural hydrogen.

Webber said he was “blown away” by what he learned from Moretti, one of a small band of scientists who has been studying natural hydrogen for decades.

“Instead of torturing nature to liberate hydrogen from water, or methane, you can go look for it,” Webber said. “There’s a lot of it, and it’s in a lot of places. As you dig into it, you discover that, actually, we’ve been stumbling over hydrogen for decades but it was a nuisance.

“What if we just change our mindset? It is a remarkable, transformational moment for the globe potentially.”

It’s hard to fathom in a world where atmospheric geoengineering — aka manipulating how much sunlight reaches Earth — is considered a climate solution, that we are only beginning to understand what is beneath our feet.

Dr Geoffrey Ellis, a geologist with the US Geological Survey [USGS] in Colorado, offered a theory. Hydrogen doesn’t exist in the same places as oil and gas and because it is a diffusive and reactive, it was thought it couldn’t accumulate in large amounts.

“Companies weren’t looking for it, or did see it and it wasn’t what they were exploring for, so they walked away from those places,” he told The Independent.

With more time on his hands during the pandemic, Ellis re-read a study, written by Alliou Diallo and colleagues, on the Bourakébougou discovery. Since then, he and a few others at USGS have focused their efforts on figuring out natural hydrogen’s potential.



As you dig into it, you discover that we’ve been stumbling over hydrogen for decades but it was a nuisance.

Dr Michael Webber, Professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Texas at Austin

A USGS simulation model estimated between tens of millions and tens of billions of megatons of hydrogen are in Earth’s crust. But an important caveat: much of that would be inaccessible to humans, either too deep or too far offshore, or too small amounts to exploit, Ellis said.

But if just 1 per cent was recoverable, that would be enough hydrogen to keep the world going for at least two centuries, even if there was a surge in demand for hydrogen.

“There’s still a lot of learning to be done to understand this better,” Ellis said. “But I think we could do it. We just need to do the research and figure it out.”

Despite growing enthusiasm, the challenges surrounding natural hydrogen are immense as even those heavily invested acknowledge.

There is still much to learn about how hydrogen forms and accumulates underground. “There is the prospect of a valuable new primary and even renewable energy source, but for long-term success, the industry will need new subsurface imaging technologies and new data processing techniques to identify potential hydrogen accumulations efficiently,” Rod Davies, hydrogen lead at net zero consultancy, Marakon told The Independent in an email.

He also noted that there may be “potential public resistance to a new form of energy that relies on the extraction of resources”.

Mining laws would need to be adapted in countries where hydrogen does not yet fall into any category that would allow an exploration or production permit to be requested, Moretti explained in a recent interview.

So-called fairy circles, located in the Namib Desert, in the Namib-Naukluft National Park of Namibia. Their presence is a sign that hydrogen is escaping from the Earth

 (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Even if large amounts could be tapped underground, the next challenge would be storing and transporting hydrogen over long distances. Hydrogen is the lightest of all atoms and loves to make its escape into the atmosphere, so wastage becomes an issue. And it takes up a lot of space unless pressurized or liquefied, which are expensive.

There is a “mismatch” where natural hydrogen is being discovered and where it could be used, which would require massive investments in completely new infrastructure, said Dr Emre Gençer, a principal research scientist at the MIT Energy Initiative.

“I think it will be part of the solution but we need to take it with a grain of salt,” he told The Independent.

For now, the oil and gas industry remains on the sidelines. “It’s not that they don’t believe in it, it’s more a stage and maturity thing,” Webber said. “If people figure it out, then they buy it. The wildcatters don’t mind that either, that’s how you get rich.”

Zgonnik suggested natural hydrogen is a “gift” for the fossil fuel industry and one that could provide new jobs. “It presents an opportunity to pivot from fossil fuels, using their skills, existing infrastructure and tools,” he said.

“Switching to renewables requires building new infrastructure, which is expensive and takes time. We need to make the clean energy transition much faster and leverage existing infrastructure for transmission and distribution to end users.”

But the initial problem is finding the stuff. The largest accumulation of white hydrogen to date was stumbled upon this summer by scientists who were studying methane at a mining basin in France.

Fairy circles, which appear across landscapes where hydrogen is present, are a giveaway, but in hundreds of other locations hydrogen has been seeping unnoticed out of the ground for decades.

The USGS plans to publish a map next year of promising US locations of natural hydrogen. The east and west coasts are likely prospects along with the Mid-Continental rift which runs from Minnesota down through Iowa and into Kansas.

But don’t grab a shovel just yet. “The map is at national scale, and very coarse resolution. You’re not going to be able to look at the map and say, ‘I’m going to buy a lease and put a well right there,’” Ellis said.

Election officials count the ballots in Mali’s referendum in Bamako on June 18, 2023, using the light from their cellphones. Mali often has electricity curtailment of up to eight hours a day (AFP via Getty Images)

Whatever the difficulties, the potential remains tantalizing for those on the frontlines of the experimental field. “We don’t know yet how efficient it will be, how quickly we will be able to scale up,” Zgonnik said. “But because the reserves of hydrogen on Earth could potentially supply all we need for the clean energy transition, and even more that, then it’s worth trying at least.”

And it’s hard to underestimate the potency of natural hydrogen in a country like Mali. More than 50 per cent of the population do not have electricity, and even for those who do, power can be curtailed up to eight hours a day. This not only makes daily life harder for its citizens but a lack of stable electricity has hampered the country’s economic progress.

“If you live in the Western world and had to think of living without electricity, you wouldn’t imagine what that means for quality of life,” said Asma Diallo, who took up her role at Hydroma after working in the green hydrogen industry in France.

“I saw hydrogen as having real potential for economic development in the African continent.

“This is an African project that was founded by an African, that has the potential to really change the energy mix in the region. It is very exciting and empowering.”

‘Super mosquito’ driving malaria surge in Africa, study confirms

Sarah Newey
Wed, 22 November 2023 

IT'S A MONSTER MOSQUITO!!!

The study revealed that in Dire Dawa, malaria cases increased 12-fold in the 2022 dry season, compared to 2019 - Simon Townsley

A “super mosquito” from Asia is driving an uptick in malaria across the Horn of Africa, scientists have confirmed for the first time.

In recent years, there has been speculation that the arrival of the Anopheles stephensi mosquito – native to parts of Asia and the Arabian peninsula – in at least five African countries could be behind an unexpected surge in malaria.

This increase has been dramatic and fast: in Djibouti, for instance, infections skyrocketed by 2,800 per cent in just eight years after the highly adaptable, city-loving super mosquito was first spotted in 2012.

But until now, the “impact of An. stephensi in malaria transmission in Africa has been anecdotal,” said Dr Luigi Sedda, an epidemiologist at Lancaster Medical School.

While experts theorised that the mosquito has played a major role – and the World Health Organization warned last December that it poses a “threat to malaria control and elimination” across Africa – no study had confirmed the link.

But in a new report, published in Nature Medicine, researchers tracked a specific outbreak in a university campus in Dire Dawa – a city in eastern Ethiopia, less than 150 miles from the border with Djibouti – and found the “strongest evidence to date” that the stephensi mosquito is driving urban malaria outbreaks in Africa.

The study revealed that in Dire Dawa, malaria cases increased 12-fold in the 2022 dry season, compared to 2019. To track the role played by the insect, researchers mapped where these bugs were living and compared that to the location of patients.

They also analysed which malaria parasites the insects were carrying, and found they were the same as the strains causing disease in people.

“We found a strong geographical and clinical interlink between An. stephensi and the [malaria parasite],” Dr Sedda, a co-author of the report, told the Telegraph. “This evidence is unique.”

Unlike the Anopheles gambiae, the most widespread carrier of malaria, the highly adaptable stephensi mosquito thrives in urban areas and breeds almost anywhere – in a dirty puddle between slum shacks, a rubbish dump, or even water in an abandoned car tyre.

It also survives in high temperatures in dry seasons, when malaria transmission usually lulls, and is resistant to many of the insecticides used to curb the parasitic disease.

“At the moment we don’t have a clear picture of the distribution of An. stephensi in Africa, apart from the Horn of Africa,” added Dr Sedda. Since it was first spotted in Djibouti in 2012, it has been found in Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria and recently northern Kenya – but surveillance is patchy, making it difficult to assess its overall prevalence.

In the Nature article, researchers also found that the mosquito was carrying malaria parasites resistant to existing treatments and diagnostics.

This is a known problem in the Horn of Africa, but the high prevalence of resistance revealed in the paper demonstrates the urgent need to develop new drug formulations if there’s any hope of eliminating the disease.

“In terms of drug-resistant parasites, this is not new in Africa, but the discovery of a sustained transmission of drug-resistant parasites by a new vector is worryingly,” said Dr Sedda.

Despite huge progress since the millennium, malaria remains one of the world’s deadliest diseases. According to the latest report, it killed roughly 619,000 people in 2021 – a slight drop from 625,000 in 2020, but up from 568,000 before the Covid pandemic struck.

“Sadly, apart from the good news of the development and approval of the first malaria vaccine, more is needed in terms of new drug formulations,” said Dr Sedda. “Malaria elimination is stalled and more needs to be done to understand the bionomics, distribution and resistance of the malaria autochthonous and invasive mosquitoes and parasites.”

Dr Fitsum Tadesse, a malariologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and co-author of the paper, added: “Given increasing reports of An. stephensi in Africa and the lack of urgency, the time window during which elimination of this mosquito from parts of the continent is possible is rapidly closing.”

Camembert row: French rage at EU plan to ban wooden box packaging producers claim will impact cheese

WAIT, WHAT?!
A new EU recycling rule which could see the traditional round wooden boxes used replaced with plastic.

Sky News
Wed, 22 November 2023


French cheesemakers are furious about a new EU recycling rule which could see the traditional round wooden boxes used to encase Camembert cheese replaced with plastic.

The European Parliament is set to vote on the proposed new regulation which will state that by 2030 all food packaging must be recyclable.

Jean-Paul Garraud, a member of the European Parliament for France's far-right Rassemblement National, said: "It is a matter of common sense. Don't touch our Camemberts!"

Some French producers fear the language of the proposal would mean the cheese - which takes its name from a village in Normandy and dates back to the 18th century - would no longer be encased in wooden boxes.

"Plastic heats up the cheese, and alters the product over the long term," one producer told French broadcaster BFM TV.

The box packaging represents 2,000 jobs in France and 45 firms would be affected, Claire Lacroix, chief executive of the Lacroix Group which manufacturers 200 million boxes per year, told TF1info.

Many people have protested against the proposal, calling it a matter of national pride for France.

French MEP Laurence Sailliet said: "Our French cheeses are loved all over the world. But who can imagine a Camembert or a Mont d'Or without its wooden strapping? Packaging them in plastic would be a gustatory and environmental aberration.

"Europe must know how to protect the environment, but never to the detriment of the specific characteristics of its member states," she added.

Even if the boxes are not banned under the rules, they would be subject to new recycling and reuse regulations that could make them costly.

Stephanie Yon-Courtin, an MEP originally from Normandy, said wooden boxes used to package cheeses like Camembert don't have a dedicated recycling circuit because it would be too costly.

She is part of the centrist Renew Europe group in parliament which has tabled an amendment to exempt wooden packaging from the proposed recycling regulations.

Virginijus Sinkevicius, European commissioner for the environment, said on Tuesday the EU would make sure the raw-milk specialised non-industrial Camemberts - those that have a controlled designation of origin - will be exempt from any regulation.

The vote on Wednesday will include such an exemption.

"Indeed, in the EU, certain food packaging made of wood, textiles, ceramics are placed on the market in very small quantities, and many of them protected by the food quality legislation," he said.

"Such packaging may have difficulties to be recycled at scale and is open for specific exemptions."

Danksgiving: Why marijuana is on the menu for many this Thanksgiving
Jamie Davis Smith
Wed, November 22, 2023 

Who's using cannabis on Thanksgiving? Whether to enhance hunger or avoid family drama, those who plan to partake share why.

 (Photo: Getty; designed by Nathalie Cruz)

Marijuana is on the menu for many this Thanksgiving.

Using cannabis on the holiday has become so popular, in fact, that many call the day before the holiday "Danksgiving" or Green Wednesday because sales that day are consistently among the highest of the year.

"Typically, Green Wednesday brings a 50% increase in the number of transactions at a dispensary compared to an average day of the year," says Lizzy Tombler, vice president of business intelligence for Holistic Industries. The average customer also spends more than usual on Green Wednesday, even though dispensaries typically run promotions with deeper discounts just two days later on Black Friday, she adds. According to a 2022 survey from Ayr Wellness, 32% of those planning on shopping on Green Wednesday say they're planning to spend $100 or more.

Why use cannabis on Thanksgiving?

In much of the country, cannabis use isn't illicit and is popular on Thanksgiving for a variety of reasons. Julie Battel, an advanced practice cannabis nurse, says she sees an increase in cannabis use around Thanksgiving because the holiday "brings a lot of stress for people" due to family dynamics.

"Stress can present itself in a variety of ways like feeling anxious and overwhelmed," says Riley Kirk, a cannabis research scientist with Real Isolates. Aaron Sternlicht, an addiction specialist, adds that studies show low doses of marijuana can decrease stress and help with social anxiety, although the American Psychiatric Association thinks more research is needed.

Battel sees this in action in her practice and thinks cannabis is an effective way for a lot of people to "lighten the mood." That's true for Dan Wilson, editor of Visit Hollyweed. "The Thanksgiving holiday is stressful, especially when it involves being around crowds or dealing with family discord," he says. "Getting high can lessen that stress and make socializing more fun." Among those surveyed by Ayr Wellness, 24% of those who plan to use cannabis on Thanksgiving will do so to help them cope with family stress.

Others use cannabis during Thanksgiving, in part, because it helps them enjoy their Turkey Day feast. "Getting high for Thanksgiving makes sense considering food and cannabis go great together," says Wilson. "Consuming weed can stimulate the appetite, making you feel hungry and giving you strong food cravings."

Michael, a cannabis user from New York who prefers to omit his last name for privacy reasons, primarily uses cannabis on Thanksgiving to "calm [his] nerves" and "drown out the family dysfunction," but he appreciates another benefit of holiday cannabis use: "The food is much more enjoyable," he says.

For some, marijuana replaces alcohol

Some people like to use cannabis as an alternative to alcohol. Ryan Crandell, chief revenue officer for MariMed, notes that "cannabis doesn't come with the wicked hangover or, in most cases, the extra calories alcohol does."

Meghan M. from Pennsylvania, who also prefers to remain anonymous, finds cannabis more effective than alcohol in helping her stay calm on Thanksgiving. "There's a lot of tension in my family around politics, justice and human rights," she says. "To me, weed pairs perfectly with Thanksgiving — while drinking often makes people more combative, [cannabis] mostly makes people chill or sleepy."

Tombler feels the same way. "I personally have found I feel better and more present if I take a few inhales from a cartridge rather than going right to my go-to 'mom juice' of white wine," she says. "Cannabis helps me feel calm and present."

Cannabis can help with coping

Cannabis helps some have more fun. "A lot of people smoke cannabis during Thanksgiving to simply help them feel more festive," says Wilson. "Smoking a little pot can help you to feel happier and more chatty, which is great for being in a social situation."

For others, cannabis use helps them cope with the discomfort of travel. "I already have trouble sleeping, now add in an uncomfortable couch or air mattress, four grandfather clocks that chime every hour and grandparents who blast their air conditioning, and I'd never get any sleep," says Lisa Sass.

Tracy, an anonymous cannabis user from New Jersey, uses marijuana on Thanksgiving to help deal with anxiety and get some pain relief. "I have an upcoming hip replacement and my sister is about an hour and a half [drive] away," she shares. "The car ride does a number, so I'll most likely have my daughter drive and eat an edible."

The pressure to socialize on Thanksgiving is trying for some. "Getting together with a bunch of loved ones can put a lot of pressure on people to be social," says Lisa Black, head of education and training at Insa Cannabis. "Sometimes we just don't want to talk with Aunt Muriel about her annoying neighbor again."

How people partake in cannabis use on Thanksgiving

How you take cannabis matters, too. Battel says the effects of smoking and vaping are "nearly instantaneous," which some prefer. However, the effects of cannabis in edibles — including gummies, tinctures and infused foods — last longer. About a third of Ayr survey respondents said they plan on eating cannabis-infused foods as part of their Thanksgiving feast.

While some prefer to pop a gummy in their mouth before anyone can see, others enjoy partaking in cannabis with family. "There is a common joke about 'the cousins going for a walk' at Thanksgiving," which many understand means the younger generation is going out to get high together, says Wilson.

According to the Ayr Wellness study, 70% of those stocking up in advance of Thanksgiving are purchasing in a way that will "ensure they have enough to share with friends, family and chosen family" and over half of Thanksgiving cannabis users plan on using cannabis with friends. Battel thinks this can be a great bonding experience if the family is open to trying cannabis together.

That's true for Adrienne Parkes who ends every Thanksgiving with a "perfectly rolled purple joint."

"Everyone, and I mean everyone in my family uses cannabis," she says. "My 70-year-old stepdad and I have shared many a bowl by the campfire or on the porch. ... My biological father was from Jamaica. So I kinda think of it as my birthright."

As cannabis use on Thanksgiving becomes more common Wilson says "cannabis is also a viable option as a host gift."

"Where in the past you might bring a bottle of wine or a dessert, now you might give a premium joint, edibles or drinks infused with THC," he says, adding that, "a high-end cannabis joint can cost as much as a nice bottle of liquor or a fine cigar."

UK

Government ‘minded’ to intervene over Telegraph sale deal – Culture Secretary

ARAB OIL BARONS CAN OWN FOOTBALL TEAMS BUT NOT NEWSPAPERS

Henry Saker-Clark, PA Deputy Business Editor
Wed, 22 November 2023 

The Government is considering a public interest intervention into an agreement which could hand an Abu Dhabi-backed fund control of the Telegraph newspaper, the Culture Secretary has announced.

Lucy Frazer said in a written statement she was “minded to” issue a Public Interest Intervention Notice, which could lead to an investigation by regulators.

It comes after Abu Dhabi-backed fund RedBird IMI said on Monday that it was poised to take control of the Telegraph Media Group and fellow publisher The Spectator after striking a deal with previous owners the Barclay family to help repay outstanding debts.

Telegraph Media Group entered receivership around five months ago

 (Jonatha Brady/PA)

But a group of Conservative MPs called on ministers to use the UK’s national security laws to investigate the potential deal.

The Culture Secretary said the possible intervention related to “concerns I have that there may be public interest considerations” over the loan to the Barclays and subsequent agreement with RedBird IMI – a joint venture between US firm RedBird Capital and International Media Investments of Abu Dhabi.

Ms Frazer said she had contacted Lloyds, the Barclays and RedBird IMI to inform them over the potential notice and given the parties until 3pm on Thursday to respond to her concerns.

It the Government decides to issue the notice, media regulator Ofcom would then assess public interest concerns over the move.

Meanwhile, the UK’s competition regulator – the Competition and Markets Authority – would also look into competition worries.

In the summer, lenders at Lloyds placed the media titles into receivership and sought potential buyers to help cover over £1 billion owed by the Barclays to the bank.

But the bank paused the sale process on Tuesday until at least early December to consider the fresh agreement.

RedBird IMI, which is led by former CNN boss Jeff Zucker, said it would provide a loan of up to £600 million, secured against the publications, with IMI also providing a similar loan against other Barclay-linked assets.

The fund said the deal includes an option to turn the loans into equity which would hand it control of the newspaper and magazine. It said it planned to “exercise this option at an early opportunity”.

The Spectator magazine was being sold in a separate process (Alamy/PA)

US-based RedBird said it would take over “management and operational responsibility” in the deal.

Any deal would need to receive clearance from the bank’s own regulatory process, alongside political scrutiny.

A raft of potential suitors including hedge-fund millionaire and GB News investor Sir Paul Marshall, Daily Mail publisher DMGT, Yorkshire Post owner National World and German publisher Axel Springer had all been linked with a takeover move for the Telegraph.

Meanwhile, DMGT and Rupert Murdoch’s News UK were both reportedly interested in a move for The Spectator.

Culture Secretary minded to intervene in Abu Dhabi’s Telegraph takeover

Christopher Williams

TELEGRAPH
Wed, 22 November 2023 

Ms Frazer has given the parties until 3pm on Thursday to respond to her concerns - Anadolu Agency

The Culture Secretary has told Lloyds Banking Group that she is minded to intervene to safeguard press freedom as it seeks to complete a £1.2bn debt repayment deal that would hand control of The Telegraph to a fund backed by Abu Dhabi.

Lucy Frazer has written to Lloyds, the Barclay family and RedBird IMI signalling that she will issue a Public Interest Intervention Notice (PIIN) that would prompt regulators to investigate. She asked for more information about the complex arrangements and gave the parties until 3pm on Thursday to respond to her concerns.

The Barclay family are attempting to repay £1.2bn in overdue loans to Lloyds with new lending mostly sourced from Abu Dhabi royalty. RedBird IMI, a media investment fund, would be the vehicle for £600m of the total and would seek to immediately convert its loan into ownership of The Telegraph.

The Barclay family lost control of The Telegraph and The Spectator magazine in June. It has agreed new loans backed by Manchester City owner and UAE vice-president Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. Redbird IMI is mostly funded by him and his business in Abu Dhabi would provide the balance of the debt directly to the Barclay family.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative Party leader, said: “Of number one importance is editorial independence of The Telegraph, which is absolutely critical. It is one of our oldest newspapers and a significant newspaper of record. Many will be concerned at the thought that it could be handed over to a foreign government.”

Ms Frazer has said she is minded to intervene in the deal despite allegations of threats by Lloyds.

The bank’s chief corporate affairs officer Andrew Walton warned officials in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) that using powers to protect the public interest in free expression risked angering Lloyds’s powerful shareholders.

Sources close to the discussions on Monday said the comments were interpreted as a threat, an interpretation Mr Walton rejected.

He said: “We made abundantly clear to the Government the significant implications to us and to our shareholders of a PIIN at this stage. It was not a threat but it was a very clear warning.”

Lloyds is lobbying hard for the PIIN to address only the conversion of the RedBird IMI loan into shares and not the overall debt repayment plan.

The bank fears that a broad investigation would mean the funds are not delivered to the Barclay family in time for a court hearing in the British Virgin Islands on December 4.

If the December 4 hearing goes ahead, a crucial entity in the chain of ownership would be liquidated and there would be no prospect of a full repayment of the £1.2bn debt.

In that scenario, Lloyds would be forced to restart an auction that was paused on Tuesday after its dealings with the Barclay family angered bidders including a consortium led by Sir Paul Marshall, the publisher of The Daily Mail and National World, a local newspaper group.

Mr Walton and his colleagues are instead lobbying for the debt repayment to be allowed to go through. They want Ms Frazer to trigger an investigation only into the second stage of the plan, the conversion of RedBird IMI’s loan into shares in The Telegraph. The fund has said it would cooperate with such a probe and that it would protect The Telegraph’s independence.

The conversion of the RedBird IMI loan into Telegraph ownership is planned for as soon as possible after the debt is repaid. An investigation of this stage alone could leave The Telegraph in regulatory limbo for several months, technically owned by the Barclay family but with rules in place to prevent them making changes to its operations.

If RedBird IMI’s Abu Dhabi links ultimately prompt Ms Frazer to block a takeover, there would be further uncertainty over ownership.

Dutch election: what happens next?

Here's what happens next after (FASCIST) Wilders' PVV (Freedom Party) won 35 seats in parliament ahead of the centre-right on 23 and left wing parties 26 seats, according to exit polls.

Richard CARTER
Wed, 22 November 2023 

The voting is just the start (Sem van der Wal)

Geert Wilders' far-right party has won most seats in the Netherlands' election, according to exit polls, but the country's fragmented political system means months of talking will be needed before the next government is formed.

Here's what happens next after Wilders' PVV (Freedom Party) won 35 seats in parliament ahead of the centre-right on 23 and left wing parties 26 seats, according to exit polls.

- 'Complex and exciting' negotiations -

76 is the magic number. That's how many seats in the 150-seat parliament any coalition needs to govern.

As soon as the final results are in, the calculators will be coming out to see what combination of the many competing parties can get to that number.

The new House of Representatives meets to begin the business of forming a cabinet -- "a complex and exciting process", as the parliament's own website describes it.

First, political parties appoint a "scout" to kick off initial talks.

Then parliament appoints an "informateur" to scope out the possible contours of a coalition agreement. Before 2012, this person was appointed by the monarch.

When it looks like a group of parties can work together, in comes a "formateur", who is almost always the person who won the election. That person starts the sensitive work of building a potential cabinet.

If all is agreed, the parties sign a coalition agreement and the new government sets out its plans in parliament, followed by a vote of confidence.

- How long does this take? -

Ages. Parties compete to get as much of their manifesto into the coalition agreement as possible, and that's even before the jockeying for ministerial jobs.

The last government of Prime Minister Mark Rutte took a record 271 days to form. It could take even longer this time.

"Amid high fragmentation, government formation remains almost even more important than the exact election result," said Herman Betten from the Teneo Research Group.

Most analysts do not expect a government to be formed before mid-2024.

- Who's in charge then? -

Until a new government is officially sworn in, the outgoing cabinet and prime minister run the country, in this case Mark Rutte.

Rutte prompted the early elections when his cabinet collapsed over immigration policy and he announced he was leaving national politics.

Things tend to run pretty smoothly in the interim period. This is a tried-and-tested process, as never in Dutch history has one party gained more than 50 percent of the vote.

- How stable are coalitions? -

The problem with the system is that with such slim majorities in parliament, a coalition is always at the mercy of a smaller party withdrawing support.

Already coalitions must incorporate a wide range of viewpoints from parties that are often relatively far apart politically and which have been attacking each other during the campaign.

Rutte's last coalition was especially fragile and ultimately fell apart over "irreconcilable differences" on immigration.

- What next for Rutte? -

Best-known internationally for cycling to work, sometimes munching an apple along the way, Rutte was a strong voice in Europe, sometimes irking his southern colleagues with his focus on fiscal discipline.

Speculation is rife he wants to become the new secretary-general of the NATO alliance when Jens Stoltenberg steps down.

Rutte has played down the idea, although admitting it would be an "interesting role". He said he believes the post should go to a woman.

ric/tw

Myanmar fireworks festival muted as clashes spread


AFP
Wed, 22 November 2023 

Men stand under a hot air balloon as it's about to be released during the Tazaungdaing festival in Myanmar (STR)

A brightly patterned hot air balloon spitting fireworks soared into the night sky above Myanmar's Shan state as a much-loved festival returned, but crowds stayed away from the military-backed event as violent clashes swell across the country.

Tuesday marked the return of the Tazaungdaing festival to the city of Taunggyi after a three-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic and unrest following the military seizing power in 2021.

The usually riotous event sees teams load batteries of fireworks into homemade hot air balloons, with referees judging both the design of the contraptions and the magnificence of their aerial explosions.


But this year's military-managed celebration was muted, with revellers staying away and a heavy presence of security personnel deployed as the junta battles coordinated attacks across the country.

Taunggyi lies towards the southwestern edge of Shan state, around 350 kilometres (220 miles) away from the state's northeast, which has seen intense fighting since an armed alliance of ethnic minority groups launched an offensive against the junta on October 27.

Masked soldiers stood watch next to a signal-jamming truck in the city, and the shadows of others standing guard on the surrounding hills were silhouetted against the dusk sky.

A convoy of four-wheel-drive vehicles delivered local dignitaries -- some accompanied by pro-military militia bodyguards -- to the stage, where they watched hundreds of school and college students perform synchronised dances.

In the spectators' area across the fence -- usually packed with revellers -- people sat on blankets in small scattered groups.

"There are fewer people coming this year," said Nu Nu Sein, 70.

"I'm really sorry. Many more people should be here."

Launching the balloons requires teamwork and daring.

Team members hold up the heavy canvas balloons and inflate them by holding flaming torches underneath.

Once the balloon has filled with hot air, they attach a wooden frame loaded with fireworks, light the fuse and release the balloon.

The payload is timed to go off once the balloon has achieved a safe height, but in the past there have been injuries and even deaths from mistimed firings.

On Tuesday, teams banged drums and cymbals as each balloon was launched into the sky, the clamour competing with dance music thumping from a nearby fairground.

Win Aung, 54, said he enjoyed the event, despite the thinner crowds.

"We have to do it with the people we have here," he said after his team had launched their balloon.

"I really enjoy playing with gunpowder... I can't stand by when this festival arrives."

- Fighting rages -

A rock band on a stage belted out old favourites, including one wistful number about pretty Shan ladies selling local delicacies on the road to the town of Muse on the China border.

That road has been cut by the offensive launched last month by the alliance of ethnic minority groups across a swathe of northern Shan state.

The move has hampered the junta's ability to send reinforcements to tackle the offensive, which has seized a cross-border trade hub and dozens of military outposts.

Muse previously handled a sizeable share of border commerce with Myanmar's biggest trade partner, China, and the recent blockage is denying the cash-strapped junta taxes and foreign exchange.

In recent days junta-controlled media have published notices denying petrol shortages and restrictions on withdrawals at banks.

Wednesday's edition of the Global New Light of Myanmar refuted "false news" that young people were being press-ganged from the streets into serving as porters for the military.

The clashes in the north have galvanised other opponents of the junta, who have launched attacks in the east and west of the country in what analysts say is the biggest challenge to the military leadership since it seized power.

On Tuesday the military and anti-coup fighters said they were battling for control of a state capital in the east.

Anti-coup fighters also launched drone attacks on two airports in northern Sagaing region, hundreds of kilometres from Kayah, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun said.

"I'm also scared coming here," said Nu Nu Sein at the festival in Taunggyi.

"I was asked not to go to very crowded places."

"I want all to be peaceful and happy. I wish no one had to face the situation like this."