Israel summons Spanish, Belgian ambassadors following criticism during visit to Gaza border crossing

Israel has summoned the ambassadors of Spain and Belgium after leaders of the two European nations visited the border with Gaza and criticized it 


Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez (left) and his Belgian counterpart Alexander de Croo visited the Rafah border crossing [Getty]


The Israeli government said on Friday that it would summon the Belgian and Spanish ambassadors following remarks by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and his Belgian counterpart Alexander de Croo on its indiscriminate war on Gaza.

The announcement came after the two leaders criticized Israel for the suffering of Palestinian civilians who have been the victims of ferocious Israeli bombardment in Gaza. Sánchez also called for European Union recognition of a Palestinian state, saying Spain might do so on its own.

Speaking at a joint press conference on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza on Friday, Sánchez said the time had come for the international community and the European Union to once and for all recognize a Palestinian state.

He said it would be better if the EU did it together, “but if this is not the case … Spain will take their own decisions.”

Sánchez was speaking at the end of a two-day visit to Israel, the Palestinian territories and Egypt with de Croo. Spain currently holds the EU's rotational presidency and Belgium takes over in January.

Sánchez reiterated comments made Thursday to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the killing of civilians.

“I also reiterate Israel’s right to defend itself but it must do so within the parameters and limits imposed by international humanitarian law and this is not the case,” Sánchez said. “The indiscriminate killing of civilians, including thousands of boys and girls, are completely unacceptable.”

An estimated 15,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's bombing and ground attacks, including around 6,000 children.

De Croo did not comment on recognition of a Palestinian state, but said, “first things first, let’s stop the violence. Let’s liberate the hostages. Let’s get the aid inside... the first priority is help people who are suffering."

De Croo stressed the need and hope for a permanent cease-fire, adding that this "needs to be built together. And it can only be built together if both parties understand that the solution to this conflict is never going to be violence. A solution to this conflict is that people sit around the table.”

Israel's war on hospitals in Gaza
In-depth
Alessandra Bajec

“A military operation needs to respect international humanitarian law. The killing of civilians needs to stop now. Way too many people have died. The destruction of Gaza is unacceptable," he said.

"We cannot accept that a society is being destroyed the way it is being destroyed,” he added.

Israel later lashed out at the two prime ministers “for not placing full responsibility for the crimes against humanity committed by Hamas, who massacred our citizens and used the Palestinians as human shields.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen instructed the countries’ ambassadors to be summoned for a sharp reprimand. “We condemn the false claims of the prime ministers of Spain and Belgium who give support to terrorism,” Cohen said.

“Israel is acting according to international law and fighting a murderous terrorist organization worse than (the Islamic State group) that commits war crimes and crimes against humanity."

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares responded to the summon of Spain’s ambassador late Friday.

“The Israeli government’s accusations against the President of the Government and the Belgian Prime Minister are totally false and unacceptable,” he said in a statement. “We categorically reject them.”

Albares said the Spanish prime minister has publicly and repeatedly defended what he described as Israel’s right to self-defence and that his tour in the region this week was seeking “a path to peace.” 

Spain open to recognising Palestinian state, even if EU disagrees

Currently, nine out of the 27 EU member states recognise the state of Palestine. In 2014, Sweden became the first country to do so while being an EU member state.


#KSD11 : Spain's PM Pedro Sanchez visits / Photo: AFP

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says that Madrid is open to unilaterally recognising a Palestinian state, even if it goes against the opinion of the European Union.

“I think that the moment has come for the international community, especially for the European Union and its member states to recognise the state of Palestine,” Sanchez told media during a press conference on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing.Sanchez said that ideally, the recognition would come all at once with at least several member states participating.

“But if this is not the case, of course, Spain will take its own decisions,” said the newly re-elected Spanish premier, who previously vowed that recognizing the state of Palestine was a priority for his upcoming term.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo joined Sanchez on his tour of Israel, Palestine and Egypt. Throughout the trip, both leaders called for the protection of the civilian population in Gaza and for Israel to respect international humanitarian law.

Israel summons ambassadors

On Friday, after their press conference at the Rafah crossing, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen ordered the summoning of the Spanish and Belgian ambassadors in Tel Aviv for a "harsh rebuke."

"We condemn the false claims of the Prime Ministers of Spain and Belgium who are giving support to terrorism," he posted on the social media network X, defending that Israel is "acting according to international law."

While the Belgian leader was more contained in his language, Sanchez said Israel was not following international law and accused it of the "indiscriminate killing" of "thousands of children" in Gaza. Sanchez also firmly condemned the Oct. 7 Hamas attack

'Violence will only lead to more violence'

"Violence will only lead to more violence. We need to replace violence with hope and peace. This is what I told the Israeli president and prime minister," said Sanchez at the Rafah border crossing.

Speaking on whether Belgium would recognize Palestine, De Croo said the first priority was freeing the hostages held by Hamas and helping alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

“Then, we will need to sit around the table and discuss the subject,” said De Croo. Currently, nine out of the 27 EU member states recognize the state of Palestine.

In 2014, Sweden became the first country to do so while being an EU member state. Earlier on Friday, the Belgian and Spanish prime ministers met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. He suggested that the international community needs to take the reins for lasting peace in Israel and Palestine.

"We need international recognition of the Palestinian state, and the UN needs to intervene. Going in this direction would reflect the seriousness of the international community to achieve peace in our region,” he said, explaining his idea for a demilitarised Palestinian state with the borders of 1967, potentially with the presence of international forces.

Kenya: rare birth of twin elephants

A baby elephant drinks water during Britain's Queen Camilla's visit to Sheldrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi on November 1, 2023. -
BEN STANSALL/AFP or licensors

By Rédaction Africanews
with AFP Last updated: 15 minutes ago

KENYA


An elephant has given birth to twin daughters in Kenya, a rare occurrence for the world's largest land mammal, a conservation organization for this endangered species announced on Friday.

The two baby elephants were born in the Samburu National Reserve in the north of this East African country, to a female named Alto, said the Save the Elephants organization, welcoming this "double joy".

Twin births account for only around 1% of elephant births, but the Samburu reserve has seen the birth of two more twin elephants - a male and a female - in early 2022.


In a video posted by Save the Elephants on its X (ex-Twitter) account, the two baby elephants can be seen suckling their mother, in the presence of the other individuals in the group.

Female elephants have the longest gestation period of all mammals, carrying their young for almost 22 months and giving birth approximately every four years.

Elephant twins don't always make it: twins born in Samburu in 2006 survived only a few days.

There are over 36,000 elephants in Kenya, according to figures from the first national census of all the country's wildlife, to be carried out in 2021.

This figure represents a 12% increase on the population recorded in 2014, when poaching for ivory was higher.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) warned in 2021 that poaching and habitat destruction, particularly due to land conversion for agriculture, were having a devastating effect on elephant numbers across Africa.

Far-right party poised to make major gains in snap Portugal polls

Portugal’s upcoming general vote is expected to see the far-right Chega party secure 10 times more seats than in 2019.

Andre Ventura's Chega party is expected to secure 10 seats in Portugal's parliament 

[File: Armando Franca/AP]

By Alasdair Fotheringham

No single party looks likely to secure a majority in Portugal’s snap general elections, but for one fast-rising political formation, the vote is already set to be a landmark success.

After taking just one seat in the 2019 vote, current polls show the far-right Chega (Enough) party is poised to claim up to 10 times that in Sunday’s elections.

Albeit at a considerable distance of the two largest parties, the ruling Socialist Party (PS) and their right-wing opponents in the Social Democratic Party (PDS), Chega could thus become the country’s third-largest parliamentary force.

“Chega had one percent of the vote in 2019 and at the moment polls indicate they’ve got around seven percent,” Marina Costa, principal researcher of the University of Lisbon’s Social Sciences Institute told Al Jazeera.

“For a party that first made it into parliament in 2019, that’s a very significant rise,” she added

Chega and CDS billboards in Lisbon [Pedro Nunes/Reuters]

Costa argues that the reasons behind Chega’s big increase in support are three-fold.

“Getting parliamentary representation was a very important factor when it came to legitimising the discourse of their party leader, André Ventura,” she said.

Second, whereas the mainstream media had shied away from far-right views in the past, they subsequently U-turned to give Chega a disproportionate amount of coverage, she said.

“Chega has received the most attention because of their sensationalist statements, attacks on mainstream politicians and aggressive attitudes. This has obviously paid off,” she said.

“The third reason is that Riu Rio, the PDS leader, has not said that his party would exclude Chega from supporting a minority government. So the right-wing electorate is not obliged to vote strategically. And this raises the numbers of those intending to vote for Chega.”

Chega’s agenda

A typically leader-centric far-right party, Costa says Chega is attempting to bring two main issues to Portugal’s political table.

“One is the subsidy dependence of certain minority groups. Chega claims they are basically getting benefits from the state compared to the middle classes who are paying for them, and that only deserving people should receive them,” she said.

“The other is corruption. It’s an important source of discontent in Portugal.”

José Sócrates, a former Prime Minister for the ruling Socialist party, faces a trial for corruption and “several members of the government were part of the Socrates administration. So Chega attacks the government for a lack of renewal of the [country’s] political class”, Costa said.

Ventura, centre, greets supporters during his 2022 electoral campaign in Braga [Octavio Passos/EPA]

Manuel Carvalho, director of one of the country’s biggest daily newspapers, Público, believes Chega’s rise is due both to a partial radicalisation of the country’s right-wing and to Chega being backed by a segment of Portuguese society with longstanding unresolved grievances.

In their voter base, “there are citizens who are really angry about some things that are happening, but if you look at the polls, the fragmentation of the political system is not as great”, he said.

While in Germany the SPD party won last year’s elections with just 25 percent and more than half of the population did not vote for either of the two biggest political formations, Carvalho said, Portugal’s two main parties continue to capture about 75 percent of the country’s support.

“So the central block of Portuguese voters is not as stable as 20 years ago and there are signs of rising support for the extreme right. But that central block is still remaining stable.”

Social discontent

Even so, other social analysts warn that those fighting Chega’s progress should not underestimate current levels of political and social disaffection in certain sectors of Portuguese society.

“They cannot afford to ignore the resentment, the anger, the disillusion a lot of people feel, either,” said Dr Francisco Miranda Rodrigues, president of one of Portugal’s top associations of mental health professionals, Ordem dos Psicólogos Portugueses (OPP).

“Of course, a pandemic could intensify that because a lot of things have happened which produce powerful emotions: lower wages, losses of certain freedoms, the way we have to live now … And these get entangled in fake news and psychological problems.”

Miranda Rodrigues said Chega also thrives off semi-furtive nostalgia among certain senior citizens for the António de Oliveira Salazar dictatorship, by using “a kind of forbidden speech for the Portuguese after the 1974 Revolution” – which brought back democracy to the country – based on “a kind of collective narcissism about the greatness of Portuguese people and in a way about the history of Portugal”.

Chega has even adopted one of Salazar’s best-known political rallying cries – “God, Country and Family” – for their 2022 manifesto, by just tacking two words, e Trabalho [and Work] at the end of the dictator’s slogan.

A Chega supporter holds a placard reading ‘racism is distraction’ at a protest in Lisbon against those who say racism exists in the country [File: Rafael Marchante/Reuters]

But at the grassroots voter level in Portugal, the far right’s rise in popularity and apparent predilection for elements of Salazar’s Estado Novo [New State] authoritarian regime produces very mixed reactions.

“We have a generation of voters that do not really know what happened in their grandparents’ time,” said Alexandre Pinto, a language teacher in Lisbon who is worried about Chega’s increased support.

“Ventura is backed by a politician like Diogo Pacheco de Amorim” – broadly considered to be Chega’s chief political thinker – “who’s been a part of the country’s far right since 1974”, he said.

“And of course he [Ventura] doesn’t say he’s xenophobic, but his messages all go in that direction,” Pinto said.

“I thought their vote was dropping but they’re still third in the polls. Maybe six percent isn’t a high level of support for a political force in other European countries, but in Portugal, with its two very big parties, it is different.”

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

Bangladesh Prepping for ‘Unfair’ Election, Say Analysts, Opposition

Bangladesh Prepping for ‘Unfair’ Election, Say Analysts, Opposition

November 24, 2023 
Shaikh Azizur Rahman

Leaders and supporters of the opposition Bangladesh National Party and its allies assemble in Dhaka, July 12, 2023, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and installation of a neutral caretaker government.

 (K.M. Nazmul Haque/VOA)

Although the national poll body of Bangladesh has announced parliamentary elections will be held on January 7, opposition parties, rights activists and political analysts are saying that the situation in the country is not suitable for elections at all.

With a massive crackdown continuing against the opposition political parties, and party leaders and activists still being arbitrarily arrested across the country, the election cannot be free and fair, rights activists said.

“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is rapidly filling Bangladesh's prisons with her opponents ahead of the general election in January. In just the last month, Human Rights Watch has documented cases of enforced disappearance, torture, extrajudicial killings and mass arbitrary arrest of the political opposition,” HRW senior Asia researcher Julia Bleckner told VOA.

"The ongoing systematic crackdown on opposition members, critics and human rights activists by Bangladesh security forces makes a free and fair election impossible,” she said.

The opposition Bangladesh National Party (BNP) boycotted the 2014 general elections. In 2018, the general elections were marred by widespread allegations of vote rigging by Hasina’s ruling Awami League (AL).

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addresses the EU Global Gateway Forum 2023, in Brussels, Belgium, on Oct. 25, 2023.

Since last year, the United States and other countries have urged the Hasina government to hold the next general election in a free and fair manner. In September, the U.S. announced that it had started “taking steps to impose visa restrictions” on Bangladeshi individuals who were found complicit in “undermining the democratic electoral process” in Bangladesh.

Following the announcement of the next general elections schedule, the BNP and its allies have continued to demand the resignation of Hasina. An anti-opposition crackdown by government security forces has led to hundreds of opposition leaders and activists being arrested every day.

Jails full of political prisoners

The country’s 68 prisons, with the capacity to house 42,700 inmates, are severely overcrowded. Bangladesh’s home minister put the figure at 77,200 in September.

Among the inmates, at least 25,000 are political prisoners from the BNP and its allies, a party statement said.

The government actually wants to keep the country’s largest opposition party away from the election, BNP Senior Joint Secretary-General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told VOA.

“The government has arrested almost all our senior leaders, including the BNP’s secretary-general [Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir] and thousands of party activists, after filing false cases against them, so that our party cannot utilize its full strength to participate in the election,” Rizvi said. “To avoid arrest, hundreds of thousands of BNP leaders and activists are in hiding, away from their homes. The condition for a free, fair and acceptable-to-all election does not exist in the country now.”

It’s “pointless” for the BNP to participate in the general election, Rizvi added.

Mohammad Faruk Hossain, spokesperson for the Dhaka metropolitan police, said that the accusation of filing false cases against the opposition was “baseless.”

“After we receive reports of the BNP or other opposition parties being involved in some violent activities like cocktail bombing, attack[s] on police, et cetera, a primary investigation is conducted by the police," he told VOA. "The police arrest and file cases against someone only if the allegation of the person being involved in a criminal incident is found to primarily true in our investigation."

A police officer fires at opposition BNP activists and supporters in Dhaka, Dec 7, 2022. The police in Bangladesh have been accused of using disproportionately high aggression against the opposition rallyists over the past year.

 (K.M. Nazmul Haque/VOA)

In recent days over 400 former lawmakers, senior leaders and activists from the BNP have been sentenced by courts. Among those sentenced were some prospective candidates, a BNP statement said.

Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman of the Capital Punishment Justice Project, who has been documenting rights violations in Bangladesh for more than 15 years, said that Hasina “systematically uses” Bangladesh’s judiciary “as a tool to punish dissidents.”

“The judiciary has been complying with the Hasina regime by convicting the main opposition political leaders en masse prior to the unilateral national election,” Ashrafuzzaman told VOA. “The judiciary, law enforcement agencies, intelligence units and the Election Commission are complementing each other to facilitate a sham election that the people of Bangladesh have already apparently rejected.”

Not a 'genuine' election

Bangladesh is going to hold yet another “one-sided” election, said Badiul Alam Majumdar, founder of Dhaka-based pro-democracy group Citizens for Good Governance.

“Election, by definition, involves an act of choosing by voters from alternative candidates, who are comparable, and the voters enjoy the freedom to choose," Majumdar told VOA. "In Bangladesh's election, we have two major, comparable brands — Awami League and BNP — and in the absence of one of these two, despite the participation of other fringe and king's parties, the voters will be deprived of the opportunity to choose from worthy candidates in a one-sided election.

“Such an exercise, where who will win is almost predetermined, cannot be called a ‘genuine’ election.”

Ali Riaz, professor of political science at Illinois State University, said that a Bangladesh election excluding the major opposition parties and “engineered like the previous two general elections” would have serious consequences, “not only politically but also economically and diplomatically.”

“The 2024 election is heading to be the most consequential election in the history of the country," Riaz told VOA. "How the election is conducted will determine which way the country will be heading – a de facto one-party state like Cambodia or reverse to the democratic path.”

The mass arrests of the BNP leaders and activists ahead of the election and the “conviction of them in unprecedented speed,” even in unfounded cases, have clearly shown that the “ruling party wants to hold an engineered election,” he said.

“The unilateral announcement of the election schedule by the Election Commission has added fuel to the fire,” Riaz added. "The EC is acting as a tool for implementing the ruling party’s design of the engineered election. Any way to have a meaningful election is now almost impossible.”

NOW A FULL FASCIST MOVEMENT

World Hindu Congress renounces 'Hinduism', embraces 'Hindutva', 'Hindu Dharm'

The third World Hindu Congress (WHC) adopted a declaration asserting that the word Hindutva was more accurate and renounced the word Hinduism as it includes the gamut of all that the word 'Hindu' implies.

HINDUTVA IS FASCISM HINDUISM IS ARYANISM

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat addressing the World Hindu Congress. (Screengrab)


Press Trust of India
Bangkok,UPDATED: Nov 25, 2023
Posted By: Chingkheinganbi Mayengbam


The World Hindu Congress on Friday renounced the word Hinduism, contending that the term reflected oppressive and discriminatory and embraced Hindutva and Hindu Dharma to refer to the "eternal" religion.

The third World Hindu Congress (WHC) adopted a declaration here asserting that the word Hindutva was more accurate as it includes the gamut of all that the word 'Hindu' implies.

"In the term “Hindu Dharma”, the first word, i.e, 'Hindu' is an unbounded word. It signifies all that is Sanatan or Eternal. And then there is Dharma, which means 'That, which sustains'," read the declaration adopted at the end of the first day of deliberations of the WHC.




It said that in contrast, Hinduism is totally different because it is suffixed with an “ism”, which is a term defined as an oppressive and discriminatory attitude or belief.

"It is for such reasons that many of our elders preferred the term "Hindutva” over Hinduism as the former is a more accurate term since it includes the gamut (spectrum) of all that the word “Hindu” implies. We agree with them and should do the same," the declaration read.

The assertion in the declaration came against the backdrop of a row that erupted after DMK leaders made certain controversial remarks about Sanatan Dharma at a symposium with the theme 'Abolition of Sanatana'.


The declaration said that Hindutva was not a complicated word and simply meant Hindu-ness.

"Others have used the alternative “Sanatan Dharma”, often abbreviated as “Sanatan”. Here the term “Sanatan” works as an adjective indicating Hindu Dharma’s eternal nature," it said.




The declaration noted that many academicians and intellectuals portray Hindutva as the antithesis of Hindu Dharma, out of ignorance.

"But most are anti-Hindutva because of their visceral hatred and biases against Hindu Dharma. Many politicians driven by political agendas and personal prejudices have also joined that group, and are criticizing Sanatan Dharma, or Sanatan with increasing regularity and vitriol," it added.

The WHC condemned such attacks and urged Hindus worldwide to unite to overcome those who are engaging in such bigotry and emerge victorious.

Earlier, addressing the inaugural session of the WHC, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said India will show the path of happiness and satisfaction to the world which is stumbling from experiments with materialism, communism and capitalism.

He appealed to Hindus across the world to reach out to each other and connect with the world together.

"We have to reach out, connect with every Hindu. And Hindus together will connect everybody in the world. As Hindus are connected in more numbers, the process of connecting with the world has also started," Bhagwat said at the gathering of thinkers, activists, leaders, and entrepreneurs, from across the world.

The quadrennial event began with the blowing of the conch by Swami Vigyanananda, the founder and global chairman of the World Hindu Foundation with delegates from over 60 countries participating in the three-day event.

Spiritual leader Mata Amritanandmayi Devi, Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) General Secretary Milind Parande, WHC organising committee chair Susheel Saraff, Bharat Sevashram Sangh Working President Swami Purnatmanand, Hinduism Today-USA Publisher Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami among others.

Published By:
chingkheinganbi mayengbam
Published On:
Nov 25, 2023

Highly skilled H-1B workers pivot from U.S to Canada amid visa program changes

ByPrapti Upadhayay
Nov 25, 2023 

Skilled international workers on H-1B visas in the US are now looking for job opportunities in Canada.

Thousands of highly skilled international workers holding H-1B visas in the United States are opting for job opportunities in Canada. The shift comes in the wake of changes made to the H-1B program under former President Donald Trump, which created hurdles for bringing in highly skilled immigrant talent.

Skilled international workers on H-1B visas in the US are now looking for job opportunities in Canada. (Representative Photo)

"The highly educated foreign national is really at the mercy of the United States employers," emphasizes Annie Beaudoin, a former Canadian immigration officer, shedding light on the challenges faced by skilled workers in the U.S.

According to a report by CNBC, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services dealt with a staggering 758,994 eligible requests for the H-1B program. However, only 188,400 applicants were selected in the final draw for permits due to the stringent changes implemented.

Canada, seizing the opportunity, announced in July that its H-1B visa program had attracted a substantial number of international applicants, closing within 48 hours after reaching the 10,000-application limit.

Starting July 16, 2023, holders of H-1B specialty occupation visas in the U.S., along with their immediate family members, can apply to work in Canada. Successful applicants will receive an open work permit for up to three years, granting them the flexibility to work for any employer across Canada.

The United States H-1B visa program has faced scrutiny for potential abuses, prompting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to take action. Measures include fraud investigations into organizations suspected of colluding to manipulate employee selection and law enforcement referrals for criminal prosecutions against violator companies.
Also Read | ‘I would deport you from those campuses’: Tim Scott warns students on visas against ‘encouraging Jewish genocide’

The H-1B visa, often dubbed the "Person in Specialty Occupation Visa," allows U.S. employers to hire qualified workers for specialized roles, including IT specialists, professors, architects, and doctors.

Criticism of the H-1B program has also surfaced domestically. Indian-American Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has vowed to abolish the program, denouncing it as "indentured servitude." Ramaswamy advocates for a meritocratic admission system, emphasizing the importance of skilled-based contributions to the country.

As skilled workers seek more welcoming opportunities, the exodus to Canada signals a potential reevaluation of immigration policies, both in the U.S. and abroad.

Mountain Twice as High as Tallest Building Found 'Hidden Under the Waves'

Ocean Explorers Discover Underwater 'Yellow Brick Road'

By Aristos Georgiou
Science and Health Reporter
Nov 24, 2023 


Researchers have uncovered a massive underwater mountain that was previously unknown in the Pacific Ocean.

The mountain, known as a seamount, sits around 13,100 feet below sea level and peaks at a depth of roughly 7,900 feet. Rising 5,249 feet above the ocean floor, the underwater mountain is roughly twice as tall as the world's tallest building—the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

The seamount was identified by an expedition conducted by the Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) in international waters, around 84 miles outside the exclusive economic zone of Guatemala.

Seamounts are underwater mountains with steep sides that rise from the ocean floor, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Most seamounts are remnants of extinct volcanoes and they are often cone-shaped.

Underwater mapping showing the newly discovered seamount, which stands 5,249 feet tall. The underwater mountain is located just outside the exclusive economic zone of Guatemala.

SCHMIDT OCEAN INSTITUTE


These underwater geological features are numerous, found in every ocean basin around the world, although it is not known exactly how many there are. The number of seamounts measuring at least 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) high is thought to be greater than 100,000. But only a fraction of these have been explored.

The seamount found by the latest SOI expedition was observed using an instrument known as the EM124 multibeam echo sounder on the research vessel Falkor (too). This instrument is capable of high resolution mapping of the seabed.

After the echo sounder revealed the seamount, an onboard expert confirmed that the feature was not currently present in any ocean floor databases. The data showed that the underwater mountain covers an area of more than 5 square miles.

"A seamount over 1.5 kilometers [0.9 miles] tall which has, until now, been hidden under the waves really highlights how much we have yet to discover," Jyotika Virmani, executive director of SOI, said in a press release.

"A complete seafloor map is a fundamental element of understanding our ocean so it's exciting to be living in an era where technology allows us to map and see these amazing parts of our planet for the first time!"

Seamounts are hot spots of biodiversity, providing a surface where organisms such as deep-sea corals, sponges and a range of invertebrates can settle and grow. These organisms, in turn, provide food for other animals. Seamount ecosystems are often home to unique species that are found only in a single location.

The latest find is the third seamount that the research vessel Falkor (too) has discovered since launching in March. The two previous features were found in the Galápagos Islands Marine Reserve. In this time, the vessel has also identified three new hydrothermal vent fields, a new ecosystem underneath hydrothermal vents, and two pristine cold-water coral reefs.

"On every expedition, those aboard Falkor (too) have found the unexpected, the awe-inspiring, the new," Wendy Schmidt, co-founder and president of SOI, said in the press release. "While there is so much we've come to understand as discoveries tumble ever faster into view, so much remains unknown in our ocean—and we are thrilled to continue exploring."

Mapping and exploring unknown areas of the seafloor is a key element in understanding our planet. SOI is a partner in the Seabed 2030 initiative, which has set an ambitious goal of mapping the entire seafloor by 2030.

The lack of detailed maps for much of the seafloor hinders the ability to safely navigate vessels at sea, manage marine resources sustainably, and safeguard coastal communities.

"Yet another breathtaking discovery by the team onboard Falkor (too)," Jamie McMichael-Phillips, director of the Seabed 2030 Project, said in the press release. "We are hugely grateful to all at SOI for sharing essential information that will move us further towards our goal of delivering 100 percent seafloor mapping by the end of the decade."

UK, EU, U$A

Hundreds of Amazon workers hold Black Friday strike

By Amelia Jenne

 24 Nov 2023

Hundreds of workers at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse have joined strike action by company employees across Europe and the United States.

Unions are calling for higher minimum pay and improved working conditions – and say this is the biggest industrial action in Amazon’s history, designed to coincide with Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

The firm has insisted that customers won’t be affected.

 

Amazon faces worker protests on Black Friday: #MakeAmazonPay spreads globally

By Prapti Upadhayay
Nov 25, 2023

Global coalition of Amazon employees and activists protest on Black Friday, demanding workers' rights, tax adherence, and higher environmental standards.

On Black Friday, a coalition of Amazon warehouse employees and activists worldwide will unite in a day of protests, strikes, and actions known as #MakeAmazonPay. The demands are clear: respect workers' right to unionize, adhere to tax laws, and commit to higher environmental standards.

A demonstrator holds a placard during a protest outside the Amazon headquarters during Black Friday in London, Britain, November 24, 2023.(REUTERS


Protests will span Amazon's global supply chain, from Brazil to the United States, with actions in Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Poland, India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Australia. In Germany alone, 3,000 workers are expected to strike at six Amazon facilities, while in Bangladesh, garment workers who produce Amazon-sold clothes will voice their concerns.
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The #MakeAmazonPay statement, signed by 39 organizations and directed at Amazon, highlights the stark contrast between the company's success and its treatment of workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. It reads, "Amazon warehouse workers risked their lives as essential workers, and only briefly received an increase in pay."

The demands, supported by over 50 social justice organizations, include higher wages, reinstating fired workers who spoke up about safety concerns, allowing union access to Amazon worksites, achieving zero emissions by 2030, and ending the sale of surveillance-dependent devices like Amazon Ring. Amazon is also urged to pay taxes in full where economic activity occurs.

While Amazon spokesperson Conor Sweeney defends the company's record, emphasizing safe working conditions, a $15 minimum wage, and climate change initiatives, critics argue that Amazon's success is at the expense of public institutions. Alex Cobham from the Tax Justice Network notes, "If we allow Amazon to keep all these excess profits, it will only strengthen its monopoly position."

The protests follow a Motherboard report revealing Amazon's extensive surveillance of workers, unions, and environmental movements. The company closely monitors union activity, tracks environmentalist groups on social media, and reportedly hires the Pinkerton Detective Agency for surveillance.

#MakeAmazonPay is not just a call for change within Amazon but a broader plea for corporate responsibility, echoing concerns about labor rights, environmental impact, and fair taxation. As Black Friday kicks off Amazon's peak season, these coordinated global actions serve as a powerful reminder that workers and activists are demanding accountability and change.

Amazon workers strike in multiple countries on Black Friday

BY BRAD DRESS - 11/24/23 

THE HILL

Amazon workers in multiple countries went on strike for Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year, to protest the e-commerce giant’s labor practices.

The strike is organized by the UNI Global Union, which represents workers around the world and said it has mobilized workers from more than 30 countries, including Italy, Germany and the U.S., to speak out against Amazon’s treatment of employees.

Hundreds of workers were striking Friday at warehouses in Coventry, U.K., and in multiple German cities, Reuters reported. Additional walkouts were expected later in the day in other countries.

Officials with the GMB Union, a large trade union in the U.K. that organized protesters there, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the strike on Friday was the “the biggest industrial action in Amazon’s history.”

The effort is part of the “Make Amazon Pay” campaign, which has organized strikes for the past four years. Christy Hoffman, general secretary of UNI Global Union, said workers around the world are “standing up to Make Amazon Pay.”

“This day of action grows every year because the movement to hold Amazon accountable keeps getting bigger and stronger,” Hoffman said in a statement. “Workers know that it doesn’t matter what country you’re in or what your job title is, we are all united in the fight for higher wages, an end to unreasonable quotas, and a voice on the job.”

Strikers argue that Amazon pays warehouse workers lower wages compared to employees in other sectors of the company and for better health and safety policies. Some also raise concerns about the e-commerce corporation’s environmental footprint.

Jessie Moreno, an Amazon Teamsters member from Local 396 in California, said she and other works “are on strike against Amazon’s unfair labor practices.”


“We have taken our picket line across the country and now we’re joining our colleagues from around the world to demand respect, fair wages, and a workplace where our health and safety are a priority,” Moreno said in a statement. “Amazon is no match for the power of its workers united.”

Amazon spokesperson Mary Kate Paradis said the “vast majority of these allegations are false or misinformed.”

“The fact is Amazon has created millions of good jobs, while helping create and support hundreds of thousands of small businesses around the world. We offer great pay and benefits for our employees,” Paradis said in a statement to The Hill, “with great career opportunities, and provide a modern and safe working environment for all.


“We continue to invest in the countries and communities where we operate, and we’re proud to be the world’s largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy,” Paradis added. “That’s part of our drive to be net zero carbon by 2040, with billions already invested in packaging reduction, clean energy and electric vehicles.”

—Updated at 10:51 a.m.

COP28

Is this a new dawn that will transform the impact of ESG?

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM

Nov 24, 2023



Is it time to rethink ESG?


Image: Photo by Karsten Würth on Unsplash

Dr. Carsten LinzCEO and Founder, Bluegain

Cordula Prof. Dr. MeckenstockChief People, Culture & ESG Officer, BayWa




THE BIG PICTURE
Explore and monitor how Corporate Governance is affecting economies, industries and global issues


Environment, social and governance (ESG) are key drivers of stakeholder and shareholder value.
Yet, often CEOs, Chief Sustainability Officers and investors perceive ESG and sustainability through a risk mitigation perspective.
ESG needs to be repositioned to monitor an organization’s ability to continuously reconsider and operationalize how to positively impact society and the environment, while executing its core business.

Environment social and governance (ESG) are key drivers of stakeholder and shareholder value. Yet, often CEOs, Chief Sustainability Officers and investors perceive ESG and sustainability through a risk mitigation perspective, making the organization a 'regulation follower'. With this 'what is there' approach ESG is perceived as a reporting function, collecting and reporting activities that are carried out without asking if they make sense, if they follow an overarching strategic intent and if they can be bundled and orchestrated towards strategic impact.


In contrast, winning organizations’ strategic Impact-driven Transformation Programmes focus on change and transformation. They ask 'what is established and achieved' to create real impact. They take an entrepreneurial approach towards ESG, focusing on opportunities and driving the adaptation of new beliefs and behaviours. These empowered 'ESG entrepreneurs' design their impact programme and report it after it has been tailored and set up. If the integrated ESG report is not progressing, this is because the transformation programme that is driving change is not in place.


ESG should be conceptualized as a strategic initiative that goes beyond reporting a collection of isolated activities towards an ambitious transformation programme approach that makes ESG an integral part of the company's system for creating value, delivering value and capturing value.

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How entrepreneurial ESG leaders steer and orchestrate an ESG transformation

ESG entrepreneurs think of ESG as a strategic value engine. As they must pave the way and create an innovative edge, they are characterized as transformational leaders who define which core business areas to focus on ESG. They don't ask managers to be driven by reporting and rules and regulations.

ESG is a horizontal phenomenon. It cuts across industries and internally requires some horizontal orchestration across organizational silos. Therefore, to drive successful ESG transformation, ESG entrepreneurs must be created who can establish a level of centralized orchestration and steer a portfolio of impact projects across all business units and functions.

In most companies, the 'muscles' for transformation are not trained because the focus on day-to-day business is on retention/optimization and not on change/transformation. We all know the situation when you ask, 'Who is responsible for transformation?' and there is silence on the conference call.

This is why companies need to introduce at least some degree of central orchestration across all business units and functions. This means creating a dedicated expert function, typically at the headquarters, preferably reporting to the CEO to secure robust sponsorship from the top that is sensitive to the power bases within the firm. It can comprise the following elements:

• Rethink ESG approach and function: Treat ESG as an entrepreneurial, strategic CEO function to create an innovative edge for the company.


• Identify core impact business areas: Identify and define impact areas for ESG based on a thorough understanding of the business’s specific value drivers and business model logic. And, calculate 'ESG-driven business cases' including a baseline, target, roadmap with metrics and concrete milestones in partnership with the business. Guiding questions can include: How to create a sustainable ecosystem? How can others benefit from more careful use of resources, such as water, steel, human labour, etc? How can society participate in new infrastructure projects? How to optimize the supply chain to the benefit of everybody in the value network?


• Oversee and steer a portfolio of ESG projects: The ESG Programme comprises a portfolio of ESG projects (multi-project management), which must be steered, orchestrated and hedged. The ESG projects can be clustered into the following categories: ESG-driven products and solutions with an ESG price tag; social impact projects; and footprint reduction. The focus of every project in the programme portfolio is to make economic sense to ensure that the project, the product or the solution is viable and sustainable long term.


• Measure ESG progress specifically: Make sure to agree on specific objectives and key results for your ESG Programme. Integrate the strategic planning of objectives into guiding 'north stars' with operational execution cycles to create meaningful progress. Objectives and key results as an agile goal management framework can play an important role. Guiding questions can include: Can you add a clear price tag to the ESG characteristic of your product? Is it measurable and underpinned with scientific evidence of what the customer will get, i.e. more sea freight instead of airfreight; less child labour and more children in school; smarter water irrigation of apples?


On the other side, it is pivotal to not fall into the trap of a centrally steered transformation programme, which is too distant from the domain-specific expertise of the organization. New projects should be assessed by people in the different lines of business. Piloting is done in a decentralized way by a small mixed frontline team of business, digital, ESG and strategy people embedded within a business unit – preferably together with (internal) pilot clients. The leaders of these cross-functional teams think and speak the ESG language and know how to land on the customer’s landing strip, how to convince banks, how to talk to rating agencies and how to make ESG-driven projects a success because the framing is understood. They are also part of ESG topic communities that foster best practice exchange across organizations, e.g. a water community in New Zealand and Austria.


There is no one size fits all. Regardless of the organizational archetypes chosen, comprehensive orchestration is required in the early stages of transformation to offset the typical organizational antibodies that resist change. As the transformation progresses and permeates the various functions and departments, the orchestration usually leaves more room for decentralization.
DISCOVER

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Operationalizing with the ESG cycle


In the future the license to operate will lie in the 'how' you do business. Societal acceptance, trust of business partners, loyalty of employees and willingness of customers to pay a premium will depend on an organization’s overall market behaviour and business model.


Key will be the organization’s ability to continuously reconsider and operationalize how to positively impact society and the environment while executing its core business. This approach is introduced in parallel with the annual financial planning and reporting cycle:

Image: Bluegain (2023)


Kick off with a 'know your ESG profile.' Start by identifying the company’s material impact topics and filtering out those where positive impact and value can be created. Then, set up an entrepreneurial programmatic approach and identify value levers along the entire value chain and impact measurement of the developed programme. Integrating ESG value drivers into the business model(s) ensures sustainable value creation in the literal meaning of sustainability. Impact measurement, which goes along with the discontinuation of what does not work and ramps up what works, creates satisfaction and credibility. Ultimately, reporting follows action, not the other way around.

Results of an Impact Transformation Programme driven by ESG entrepreneurs


Such a transformation does not mean that the existing approach - including awareness-raising, legal housekeeping, etc. – is completely abolished – because it serves as a foundation. Done right, it builds on existing achievements and takes them to the next level.


In an organization, where an ESG Impact Transformation Programme driven by ESG Entrepreneurs is in place, each business unit screens its core business according to the following ESG dimensions, with the following questions in mind:


• ESG driven products and solutions: Can we develop our portfolio further and make our products/solutions more ESG-driven, i.e. can we source our production material more responsibly, can we design our IT solution more data-privacy friendly, can we build in a circular economy component? Can we add a clear price tag to the new/further developed product/solution that reflects the additional benefit the customer receives, i.e. a more responsibly sourced product, a more data-protective IT solution, a circular economic product? How can we prove the customer benefit concerning the heightened ESG characteristics the customer is paying for, i.e. do we have auditable evidence that the product is sourced in a certain way, that the IT application is developed in a certain way, that the product can be recycled? Is the customer able to prove marketing claims, ESG scorings of bank financing and hiring promises for employees upon the evidence?


• Social impact: Is the product/solution beneficial for society and the environment, i.e. does it help society to reduce its water consumption? Does it lower access barriers to education? Does it shift transport from road to rail? Does it reduce plastic packaging? Does it increase access to healthy food? Is this positive impact measurable? This is clearly a complex topic as social impact measurement is a hotly debated and researched area. Nevertheless, measurement needs to be optimized and documented transparently, it must demonstrate how the impact is measured and why that method is used. A concrete example could be: how many farmers use a solution that digitally steers the needed irrigation for a certain farming area and thereby reduces water consumption? How many containers are shipped via rail that were formerly shipped via road under the same commercial logistics relationship?


• Management of own footprint: Is a project beneficial for the company’s own footprint? A footprint comprises of water and energy consumption, the carbon footprint, the waste produced, etc. Can we reliably collect the data regarding the footprint? Are we clear about data formats and data transmission? Can we collect the data from upstream and downstream in our value chain?



This approach ensures that the different ESG dimensions fall into clear boxes in the organization’s ESG programme with its standardized and circular impact measurement framework. The business units do not execute their own mix of detached activities without clear attribution to one of the ESG dimensions. They continuously contribute to a full-fledged measurable integrated strategic ESG programme.


The dedicated central ESG experts steer an ESG programme that is continuously fed by ESG entrepreneurs embedded everywhere in the organization, as close as possible to business operations. The yearly circle of impact measurement ensures that the activities driven by the ESG entrepreneurs are measured, evaluated and continued/discontinued according to their measured success or non-success.


Such an opportunity-driven programmatic approach can also be seen as a viable protection against greenwashing claims, which typically arise in cases of blueprint claims that are neither tailored to the specific business model nor measurable.


With its impact orientation with measurable results and its inherent alignment with the company's own business model, such an opportunity-driven programmatic approach can help the organization to gain a competitive edge.