CANADA / NUNAVUT

Qapik Attagutsiak, last survivor of the Inuit collectors of bones to make Second World War munitions – obituary

Telegraph Obituaries
Wed, 20 December 2023 

Qapik Attagutsiak lights an oil lamp in her home in Arctic Bay, 2014 - Clare Kines

Qapik Attagutsiak, who has died aged 103, was the last known survivor of the Inuit who contributed to the Second World War by collecting animal carcasses in the Arctic that were shipped to southern Canada to be made into munitions, aircraft glue and fertiliser.

She was born on June 11 1920 on the island of Siuraq, a few degrees south of the Arctic Circle, in the vast territory of Nunavut. Her father, Quliktalik, was a hunter and her mother, Pakak, was a seamstress.

They lived nomadically all over the eastern Arctic. The winter was spent on the ice in igloos with walrus-intestine windows. In the spring, they moved to the land, in tents of hide. In the summer and early autumn, they would hunt caribou for clothing, living in a hut of sod, with a roof of hide and a porch made of clear panes of ice. At the age of 10, she began training as a midwife.

When a Catholic missionary informed them in 1940 that the world was at war, she recalled, “we were afraid that our husbands would be killed if they encountered [the enemy] who may jump from an airplane.” The missionary told them they should “shoot to kill” and “we must collect the bones as the army wants us Inuit to make something for smoke”. (The Inuit do not have a word for explosives.) This was part of the National Salvage Campaign, a patriotic appeal for Canadians to gather rags, rubber, paper, metals, fats and bones, which could be recycled into war materials.

At that time, the Inuit’s hunting and sled dogs were being ravaged by an unknown disease. Hunters who had once had between 12 to 14 dogs to pull their sleds were reduced to one or two.

Qapik Attagutsiak near her home in Arctic Bay - Parks Canada

Qapik Attagutsiak put her one-year-old son in her amauti – a caribou parka with a baby pouch – and began picking up maggot-covered dog carcasses with her bare hands. She would fill up three government-supplied sacks per day, harvesting walrus and seal, as well as dog. The work was revolting, and a full sack weighed nearly 9 stone, but, she reasoned, “I suppose that it was worth it just as long as we win.”

Small schooners of the Hudson’s Bay Company then ferried the carcasses to a steamship, which took them to Montreal or Halifax for processing into cordite, aircraft glue and fertiliser. In total, millions of pounds of animal carcasses were collected across Canada, and several tons by the Inuit alone.

The thought of being paid for their work did not cross their minds. “They made smoke out of the bones that we gathered and [the Allies] won,” she said. “The Germans lost most of their people. We immediately stopped thinking about it.”

Her philosophy in life was: “We cannot give in. We cannot give up. We always have to think, if this situation is very hard, we can trudge ahead and help each other.”

Qapik Attagutsiak with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2019

 - Shutterstock

She continued to work as a seamstress and midwife, delivering hundreds of babies, helping to found the Akausivik Inuit Family Health Team in Ottawa, and advising academic studies on how to improve the health of Inuit who had relocated to cities. She was concerned to see a younger generation of Inuit “taking in substances that are not natural”, and expecting elders to visit them, rather than the other way around. Modern life meant that “I no longer know how to be in serenity,” she said.

In the town of Arctic Bay, she was the last resident to live in a traditional hut, heated with seal oil. Her neighbours delivered chiselled ice to her, which she melted for fresh water.

In 2012, she was given the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. In 2020, she was honoured as a representative of wartime efforts by the Inuit in a ceremony at the Canadian Museum of History.

She had 14 children with her husband Attagutsiak, a founding member of the Canadian Rangers. When he died in 1984, she adopted two more.

Qapik Attagutsiak, born June 11 1920, died December 14 2023

ZIONIST KANCEL KULTURE

German cultural institutions turn on pro-Palestinian voices

Jonny Walfisz
Wed, 20 December 2023


This November in Berlin, Oyoun, a cultural institution that “conceives, develops and implements artistic-cultural projects through decolonial, queer * feminist and migrant perspectives,” lost its state funding.

The decision is believed to have followed Oyoun running an event for Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East, a Jewish-led organisation that has supported the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. In 2019, Germany’s Bundestag classified the BDS movement as antisemitic.

Oyoun’s funding was set to last until 2025 but the venue will now be left destitute by the end of December this year. It’s not the first cultural institute to face challenges over support for Palestine during a conflict that has seen over 20,000 Palestinians and over 1,200 Israelis killed with over 200 kidnapped in the 7 October assault.

'Peace, please': How European street artists are reacting to the Israel-Hamas war

Eight films to better understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

The Frankfurt Book Fair cancelled a prize giving ceremony for Palestinian-born and Berlin-based writer Adania Shibli in October, a decision that Shibli says was not made with her consent.

The German Photography Biennale cancelled its March 2024 tour after the host cities, Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg, took issue with co-curator, Bangladeshi photojournalist Shahidul Alam’s social media content.

Alam had posted antisemitic content, including an “uncommented interview by Shahidul Alam with the Palestinian ambassador to Bangladesh, a comparison of the current war with the Holocaust and accusations of genocide by the state of Israel against the Palestinian population in Gaza. Racist and other comparable comments, e.g. with terrorist imagery directed against the Israeli civilian population (paragliders with weapons),” wrote the Biennale in a statement.

After Alam refused to delete these posts, the Biennale hosts say the “relationship of trust” was damaged. Bangladeshi co-curators, Tanzim Wahab and Munem Wasif, resigned in solidarity and the tour was cancelled.

A demonstrator holds up a placard with the lettering 'Germany is on the wrong side of history again' during a rally in solidarity with Palestinians at Oranienplatz, Berlin - AFP

Alam has since told Al Jazeera that “I am an anti-Zionist which means I am against colonialism, settler colonialism, against racism, against apartheid and genocide.” He notes he is “not an anti-Semite, and it’s most unfortunate that Germany chooses to conflate the two, [as this] serves and furthers the white supremacist agenda.”

A similar situation played out for Haitian-born writer, professor, and curator Anaïs Duplan when his collaboration with the Museum Folkwang in Essen was suspended following their social media posts in support of BDS.

The museum cancelled the 24 November show and explained: “This decision was made neither for artistic-curatorial reasons nor because of the exhibition’s theme, but solely because the curator personally takes sides with the BDS campaign, which questions Israel’s right to exist.”

The Berlin government has also banned Palestinian flags and kaffiyeh scarves from schools. Alongside the moves from prominent cultural institutions, there has been little room in Germany for open discussion of the conflict that promotes the voices of Palestinians representing those suffering a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Palestinian flags are seen during a pro-Palestinian rally in central Berlin on December 10, 2023. - AFP

Berlin-based Jewish writer Deborah Feldman spoke to The Hill about the difficulty of discussing Israel-Palestine with Germans. “Germans tend to cut off any attempt at constructive conversation with the much-favoured phrase that that topic is ‘much too complicated’.”

Over 100 Jews in Germany's culture sector signed a petition to condemn how Germany has dealt with pro-Palestinian expression.

It’s no surprise, given Germany’s longstanding attempt to rectify past atrocities against Jewish people, that the country would take a staunch pro-Israel view.

“Germans defending the restrictions note that the country has a less permissive stance on free speech than many democracies for subjects beyond Israel, a legacy of World War II and how the Nazis exploited the democratic process to seize power," writes Erika Solomon for the New York Times. "Holocaust denial is illegal, for example, as are slogans that directly avow National Socialism.”

However, treating the – increasingly internationally recognised as inhumane – actions of the IDF as sacrosanct is not the same as fighting antisemitism.

A blanket ban on artistic voices concerned about the treatment of Palestinian people caught in the current violence isn’t just unhealthy for a culture sector, it’s fundamentally undemocratic.

SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER
BBC urged to sack Eurovision entrant who called Israel an ‘apartheid state’

Dominic Penna
Thu, 21 December 2023 

Olly Alexander has faced calls by a Jewish charity to be replaced over his comments

 - Gus Stewart/Redferns

The BBC has been urged to drop Britain’s entrant at next year’s Eurovision Song Contest after it emerged he had signed a letter calling Israel an “apartheid regime” and criticising “Zionist propaganda”.

Olly Alexander, who was announced as the UK entrant by the national broadcaster last week, endorsed a statement by an LGBT charity that also accused the country of genocide, The Telegraph can reveal.

On Wednesday, the Conservative Party accused the BBC of “either a massive oversight or sheer brass neck” by selecting Alexander, who found fame in pop band Years and Years. A Jewish charity called for him to be replaced and anti-Semitism campaigners demanded the corporation cut ties with him altogether.

However, The Telegraph understands the BBC does not plan to take any action because Alexander signed the letter before he was unveiled as the UK’s act.

The BBC has been heavily criticised for its coverage of the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict, during which it has refused to refer to Hamas as “terrorists”.

Israel first participated in Eurovision in 1973. It has won four times, and its entry next year has already prompted a boycott of the contest from pro-Palestinian activists.

The statement signed by Alexander was co-ordinated by Voices4 London, an LGBT “direct action” pressure group. It was published on Oct 20 amid the ongoing Israeli military response to the Oct 7 terror attacks carried out by Hamas.

It said: “We are watching a genocide take place in real time. Death overflows from our phone screens and into our hearts. And, as a queer community, we cannot sit idly by while the Israeli government continues to wipe out entire lineages of Palestinian families.

“We cannot untangle these recent tragedies from a violent history of occupation. Current events simply are an escalation of the state of Israel’s apartheid regime, which acts to ethnically cleanse the land.

“Since the violent creation of the state 75 years ago, the Israeli military and Israeli settlers have continued to terrorise Palestinian people.”
Israel ‘a queer issue’

The group claimed that solidarity with the Palestinian territories – where same-sex activity between men is criminal with a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment – was a “queer issue” because oppression was “rooted in the same violent structures – colonialism, imperialism, and capitalism”.

Alexander, who is gay and starred in the drama It’s a Sin about the 1980s Aids crisis, has vowed to fly the flag for the UK “in the gayest way possible” after his selection was confirmed on Saturday.

The letter continued: “Queer and trans Palestinians have long highlighted that pinkwashing plays a significant role in Zionist propaganda… We stand against any and all harassment and discrimination against Jewish communities.

“For the many queer and anti-Zionist Jewish individuals invested in liberation, this unthinking philosemitism, which hesitates to criticise an ongoing genocide out of fear of being seen to criticise Jewish people, is simply the other face of anti-Semitism”.

Anti-Zionism is the denial of the state of Israel, while philosemitism refers to an interest in and appreciation of Jews – particularly their history and influence – but was used as a pejorative term in Nazi Germany to describe positive sentiments.

Alexander and the BBC came under fire over his remarks on Wednesday. A Conservative Party source said: “Letting an openly anti-Israel singer compete on the same stage as Israel is either a massive oversight or sheer brass neck from the BBC.

“After they refused to call Hamas a terrorist organisation, you would think BBC bosses would try to steer clear of causing any more diplomatic blunders.

“Maybe it’s time to stop letting the BBC decide who represents the UK at Eurovision.”

Alexander’s comments represent the second Eurovision impartiality row this year after Mae Muller, who sang for Britain in Liverpool in May, posted tweets prior to her selection that attacked Boris Johnson and the Conservatives over a range of issues.

Muller said Mr Johnson did not deserve an ICU bed when he was ill with coronavirus, attacked the Conservatives over the free school meals row and campaigned for Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader.

Campaign Against Antisemitism, a volunteer-led Jewish charity, insisted the BBC “can and must” cut ties with Alexander.

A spokesman for the group told The Telegraph: “The rhetoric in this letter, which is seemingly endorsed by Olly Alexander, is extreme. It is appalling in particular that it condemns ‘unthinking philosemitism’.

“At a time when nearly seven in 10 British Jews feel afraid to express their identity in public, this must not be the person to represent our country at the Eurovision Song Contest. The BBC can and must right this wrong.”

Alexander, who topped the charts in 2015 as part of Years and Years with their song King, has been vocal about his sexuality and LGBT rights, making a speech on stage about discrimination during his Glastonbury performance in 2019.

He has previously presented a documentary, Growing Up Gay, for the BBC, and said he felt “horrified” about the attitudes of people like Piers Morgan, who is gender critical, towards transgender people.

The BBC declined to comment. A representative for Alexander and Voices4London were contacted for comment.

PRISON NATION U$A

Man who spent nearly 50 years in prison for murder he didn't commit is exonerated by judge

Sky News
Updated Thu, 21 December 2023 



A man who spent nearly 50 years in prison for murder has been exonerated by a judge - becoming the longest serving inmate to be declared innocent of a crime.

Glynn Simmons, 71, was released in July after prosecutors agreed that key evidence in his case was not turned over to his defence lawyers.

Oklahoma County District Judge Amy Palumbo ruled him innocent on Tuesday.

"This court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the offence for which Mr Simmons was convicted, sentenced and imprisoned... was not committed by Mr Simmons," the ruling says.

Mr Simmons is now eligible for up to $175,000 (£138,000) in compensation from the state for wrongful conviction.

The ruling also opens the door for a federal lawsuit against Oklahoma City and the law enforcement involved in Mr Simmons' arrest and conviction, defence attorney Joe Norwood said Wednesday.

Compensation, though, is likely years away, Mr Norwood added.

Mr Simmons is currently living on donations while undergoing treatment for cancer that was detected after his release from prison.

"Glynn is having to live off of GoFundMe, that's literally how the man is surviving right now, paying rent, buying food," Mr Norwood said.

"Getting him compensation is in the future and he has to sustain himself now."

Mr Simmons served 48 years, one month and 18 days in prison after his conviction, making him the longest imprisoned US inmate to be exonerated, according to data kept by The National Registry of Exonerations.

He said afterwards that he feels vindicated after his time in prison which included initially being sentenced to death.

"It's a lesson in resilience and tenacity," Mr Simmons said during a brief news conference following the ruling. "Don't let nobody tell you that it (exoneration) can't happen, because it really can."

Oklahoma judge rules Glynn Simmons, man who wrongfully spent nearly 50 years in prison for murder, is innocent

Jessie Christopher Smith and Kayla Jimenez, USA TODAY NETWORK
Wed, December 20, 2023 

OKLAHOMA CITY — An Oklahoma man who served the longest wrongful imprisonment in U.S. history has now been formally declared innocent of a murder he has always maintained he did not commit.

Oklahoma County District Court Judge Amy Palumbo ruled in favor of Glynn Simmons, 71, updating the dismissal of his murder conviction with a declaration of "actual innocence" Tuesday.

Simmons had been convicted of the December 1974 murder of Carolyn Sue Rogers, who died after being shot during an Edmond liquor store robbery. He was imprisoned for more than 48 years and a former death row inmate, according to data from The National Registry of Exonerations.

Palumbo said she had reviewed decades' worth of transcripts, reports, testimony and other evidence while preparing to make her decision before granting Simmons' request.

"This Court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the offense for which Mr. Simmons was convicted, sentenced and imprisoned in the case at hand, including any lesser included offenses, was not committed by Mr. Simmons," Palumbo said.

Simmons said Palumbo's ruling Tuesday was a confirmation of something he had known all along for nearly 50 years: that he was an innocent man.

"This is the day we've been waiting on for a long, long time. It finally came," Simmons said. "We can say justice was done today, finally, and I'm happy."
Simmon's attorney: 'He has 50 years stolen from him'

One of Simmons' attorneys, Joe Norwood, said the state of Oklahoma wrongfully took a chunk of his life away.

“He had 50 years stolen from him, the prime of his work life when he could have been getting experiences, developing skills. That was taken from him, by no fault of his own, by other people,” he said.

Kim T. Cole, a civil rights attorney based in Texas, supported Simmons on Tuesday and said the state needed to be held accountable for “robbing” Simmons of five decades of his life.

"It’s too late for justice, at this point, but it’s not too late for retribution," Cole said. "Retribution is due."
Prosecutors, attorneys dispute 'failure of proof' in Simmons case

After 48 years of incarceration, Simmons was released from prison earlier this year when Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna determined that prosecutors had violated Simmons' right to a fair trial by not disclosing a police lineup report to his trial lawyer.

While Behenna had decided not to pursue a retrial and agreed to dismiss Simmons' murder conviction, she had been reluctant to describe Simmons' case as "exonerated." Her office had objected to Simmons' actual innocence claim, saying that the state could not prove Simmons' guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt" and that an eyewitness would not recant her identification of Simmons in 1975.

"The state had a failure of proof — that’s the only reason for the requested dismissal," Behenna wrote in court filings dated Oct. 18. "This simply is not an 'actual innocence' case where DNA was used to exonerate a person; or a conviction was obtained using ‘forensic’ evidence that was later debunked; or where an eyewitness recanted their identification; or where the actual perpetrator of the crime confessed to the commission of the crime and the details of that confession were later corroborated by independent evidence."

Simmons' attorneys, Joe Norwood and John Coyle, said that the lineup report was "powerful innocence evidence" because it showed the eyewitness, who had survived being shot in the head during the robbery, did not actually identify Simmons.

"Not only would the withheld lineup report have changed the outcome of Simmons trial, but it would also have prevented the State from being able to try Simmons at all," the lawyers wrote on Nov. 17. They also pointed to the testimony of a dozen witnesses who said that Simmons had been in Louisiana at the time of the murder.

His attorneys also said that the "actual innocence" claim was a necessary first step in Simmons being able to pursue monetary compensation from the state for the several decades he spent wrongfully imprisoned. But any compensation, Norwood cautioned, was not guaranteed and could be long into the future.

Glynn Simmons reads the court order Tuesday as his attorneys Joe Norwood and John Coyle, left, niece Cecilia Hawthorne and Madeline Jones, right, look on after Judge Amy Palumbo ruled to approve Simmons' actual innocenceu claim.

Will Simmons be compensated by the state?

Simmons is eligible for up to $175,000 in compensation from the state of Oklahoma for the wrongful conviction but it could be years before he sees any of that money, Norwood said.

Norwood added that Simmons is living off of donations, primarily from GoFundMe, while he's undergoing treatment for cancer, The Associated Press reported.

“Whatever compensation he has coming is down the road, but I would just encourage people to donate to Glynn's GoFundMe, because money ain’t showing up in his bank account tomorrow," Norwood said.

Simmons can also file a federal lawsuit against Oklahoma City and law enforcement officers who were involved in Simmons’ arrest and conviction, Norwood said.
'Black people's voices need to be heard'

Don Roberts, Simmons' co-defendant in 1975, also was convicted of Rogers’ murder. At the time, both men received the death penalty, but their sentences were modified to life in prison after a 1977 U.S. Supreme Court decision. Roberts was released on parole in 2008.

The University of Michigan Law School’s National Registry of Exonerations lists Simmons as the longest-served wrongful incarceration in its database of exonerees.

Simmons’ exoneration comes amid a time of heightened scrutiny of both mass incarceration and the death penalty throughout the United States. Counties with high numbers of wrongful convictions show patterns of systemic misconduct from police and other officials, and researchers argue that race often plays a role.

Perry Lott — another high-profile exoneree who saw his 1988 Pontotoc County rape conviction officially overturned this year thanks to DNA testing — appeared at the court Tuesday in support of Simmons. He was visibly moved as Palumbo revealed she would grant Simmons’ request, and he later told The Oklahoman, part of the USA TODAY Network, that he noticed the parallels in the cases between him and Simmons.

"People need to understand that Black people’s voices need to be heard, once and for all," Lott said. "We’re not angry, we’re not upset, but there’s an enemy out here and he’s not seen."

"Don’t be scared to stand up for what’s right," Lott added. "We need your voice in this war against injustice."

Who are the 11 people?: Oklahoma tied for the 2nd most death row convictions overturned in the US.

Who else has spent decades in prison before being exonerated?

The University of California Irvine Newkirk Center for Science and Society, the University of Michigan Law School, and the Michigan State University College of Law are tracking the lengths of time exonerees have been incarcerated across the country.

"While the average time spent in prison for all of the exonerees in the National Registry of Exonerations is just over nine years, there have been some prisoners who spent an extraordinary amount of time imprisoned for crimes they did not commit," the project database reads.

Before Simmons' exoneration, Anthony Mazza spent the longest time incarcerated after he served 47 years and two months in prison in Massachusetts. He was originally sentenced to life in prison without parole for a murder in Boston. He was exonerated in 2020.

Richard Phillips was imprisoned for 46 years in Michigan after being sentenced to life in prison for murder before he was exonerated in 2018. Isaiah Andrews was imprisoned for more than 45 years in Ohio in 2020. He died at the age of 83 in 2022. And Wilbert Jones served more than 44 years in prison in Louisiana before he was cleared of rape charges in 2018.

Dozens of other exonerees across the nation have spent more than 30 years in prison, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.

'The truth has finally set him free.' Man released after serving 28 years for crime he didn't commit

Contributing: Associated Press

Alexys Woods, with the Oklahoma County public defender's office, takes a selfie with Glynn Simmons on Tuesday after the ruling.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Glynn Simmons formally exonerated in Oklahoma after 48 years in prison

Quarter of London’s rough sleepers are now ex renters as costs soar



Rachael Burford
Wed, 20 December 2023 at 7:37 am GMT-7·2-min read


Angela Rayner visiting a Crisis centre in central London (Crisis)

Ex-renters make up more than a quarter of people sleeping rough in London, it was revealed on Wednesday.

Around 100 evicted tenants now end up on the capital’s streets every month as the city saw private rents rocket by a record 6.9 per cent on average this year.

Shadow Housing Secretary Angela Rayner visited a Crisis homelessness in central London on Tuesday and warned that rough sleeping cannot be solved without rental reform, including banning no fault evictions.

She said: “The Conservatives’ failure to end no-fault evictions is hitting the most vulnerable in London this Christmas, meaning successful efforts to tackle the homelessness epidemic in the capital are being held back by a government dragging its feet on rental reform.

“We will deliver the long-term change needed to bring an end to this housing crisis with our plan for safe, secure and affordable homes.”

Data from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) shows that 27 per cent of rough sleepers spoken to by outreach workers reported last living in private rental homes.

The only form of previous accommodation more common as a last settled base was staying with family or friends at 31 per cent.

Landlords can currently evict tenants who are not on fixed-term contracts without giving a reason, under Section 21 housing legislation.

After receiving a Section 21 notice they have two months to leave before their landlord can apply for a court order to evict them.

Ministers have been promising to end the practice since 2019, but new laws were delayed indefinitely this year until after the court system is reformed,

Housing Secretary Michael Gove said the ban cannot be enacted before a series of legal improvements are made.

It comes as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said this year saw the highest annual hike in London rents since it began collecting the data in 2006.

It means Londoners now account for a third of the money spent on private rental homes across the UK.

Crisis CEO Matt Downie said: “The ongoing cost of living crisis coupled with rising rents means that thousands more people across the country are under immense pressure. Many households are teetering on the brink, living in fear of falling into arrears and facing the very real threat of eviction and being forced into homelessness.

“Ahead of the general election, it’s absolutely vital that all political parties commit to ending homelessness and delivering the changes needed to do so. Unless the next Westminster government takes the urgent action we need, starting with ending no-fault evictions and a comprehensive plan to deliver more social housing, we will only see thousands more people needlessly pushed into homelessness.”

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has quadrupled City Hall’s rough sleeping budget since 2016, which Labour says has helped more than 16,000 people in the capital off the streets.

Week of strike chaos on the Tube in New Year as RMT announces details of London Underground walkout


Ross Lydall,Jacob Phillips and Matt Watts
Thu, 21 December 2023 

The RMT said hundreds of jobs are set to be axed, affecting Tube stations and maintenance

 (Jonathan Brady/PA) (PA Archive)

London Underground workers will strike over a week in early January bringing New Year chaos to the Tube network, it can be revealed.

Members of the RMT union on the London Underground will walk out on January 5 with strike action taking place until January 12, according to an update to members on the union's website.

Different workforces will strike on different days, in action intended to cripple the network across a sustained period without all workers needing to walk out - and lose pay - at the same time.

Strikes will begin at 6pm on January 5, with Engineering Vehicles Operations and Maintenance workers walking out until 5.59pm on Saturday January 6. This is expected to cause the cancellation of planned maintenance works.

Track Access, Power Control, and Control Centre workers will strike on January 7 to 8,with Service Control workers striking on January 9 and January 11.

All other London Underground staff will strike on January 8 and January 10. These two weekdays will be the worst affected by the strike action, with the Tube brought to a standstill as most stations will have too few staff to be able to open.


RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said in the update to members: “On Friday last week, beforethe ballot had even closed, LUL advised us that it was ignoring any of your wishes and that the pay offer would be imposed in January.

“This has understandably been met with a furious response from you and your colleaguesand your Reps have reported overwhelming support for a significant andimmediate response.

“I urge you to support the strike action to demand an improved offer that addresses the inflation of pay bands and protects the lower paid grades.”

It comes after RMT members who work on the London Underground overwhelmingly rejected a five per cent pay offer from Transport for London.The union voted 90.5 per cent in favour of taking strike action in a bid to win a better deal, it was revealed on Tuesday afternoon.

A total of 5,334 of 9,723 RMT members took part in the ballot, with 4,827 voting yes to strikeaction and 505 no.

The strike action represents a major blow to Mayor Sadiq Khan, after a “ceasefire” hadbroken out between TfL and the unions earlier this year when strikes over pensions and station staffing were called off at the 11th hour.

It is still possible the strike action could be called off.

A TfL spokesperson said: “We are disappointed that RMT has announced strike action based on our full and final pay offer.

"We have been clear throughout our productive discussions with our trade unions that this offer is the most we can afford whilst ensuring that we can operate safely, reliably and sustainably.

"We encourage the RMT to engage with us to avoid disruption for Londoners at the start of next year."

In UK seaside town, migrants call barge accommodation a 'prison'

Marie HEUCLIN
Thu, 21 December 2023 

The migrants take a special bus to Weymouth

 (Ben STANSALL)

In the damp December cold, a blue bus stops near Weymouth town centre in southwest England. A few men get off, relieved to be spending a few hours away from what they call their "prison" -- a barge housing asylum seekers.

Hasan James, a 38-year-old Nigerian, is one of around 200 migrants staying on the Bibby Stockholm in the port of Portland, around 20 minutes' drive from Weymouth on the Dorset coast.

"We have limited mobility. It is just like prison security," James, wrapped in a warm parka jacket and hat, said of the controversial accommodation, detailing its detection scanners and searches.


Before the UK authorities sent him to the facility a month ago, James, who arrived in Britain on a now-expired tourist visa, was living in a hotel in London.

"Not everything is awful on board," he said, pointing out that he liked the food, but he said he found the feeling of isolation "really challenging".

"It makes me feel like I'm in a different world," he told AFP.

Migrant charities have questioned living conditions on the vessel.

One migrant on the barge used a translation app on his phone to tell AFP: "Everything is very bad there. They don't treat us like humans."

Britain is currently seeing record numbers of migrants arriving on its southern coast by small boats from northern France.

- 'Depressing' -

Almost 30,000 people have arrived so far this year.

More than 110,000 migrants have made the sea crossing since Britain began publicly recording the arrivals in 2018.

To reduce the cost of housing them in hotels while their asylum applications are assessed, and to discourage new arrivals, the government announced in April that it would put around 500 asylum seekers on the barge.

The first arrived in August but had to leave a few days later following the discovery of Legionella bacteria in the water supply.

They began returning in mid-October.

Earlier this month, an asylum seeker on board died.

Lodman, a 50-year-old Iranian, arrived two weeks ago. He also struggles with his limited freedom.

"It's really bad, like a prison. It's depressing," he says.

A 22-year-old Iraqi man, who arrived illegally by boat from France and who did not want to give his name for fear of harming his asylum application, said he disliked the lack of privacy.

He showed a video of the room, just a few square metres (square yards) in size, that he shares with another person, and said guards show indifference when some residents complain.

"They don't care," he explained, dragging frantically on a cigarette.

Activities do take place on board, including a gym, but "there are too many people", the young man lamented.

- Mental issues -

Many of the men head to Weymouth whenever they can, sometimes several times a week.

A special bus service takes them there, the last one returning to the barge late at night.

In the seaside town, they buy a Coca-Cola with their weekly allowance of £9.58 ($12) and mill about.

"(We come) just to walk and for the fresh air," said the Iraqi.

The idle men do not go unnoticed by passers-by finishing up their Christmas shopping.

"There are not a lot of black people here," said James, "so people here know we come from the barge".

"Some wave at us. Some have been saying 'Merry Christmas'. They are welcoming," he smiled.

The Iraqi noticed that some local residents look at him.

"'Oh he's a refugee'," he hears them say. "It is not racist but..," added the migrant.

Some residents of Portland, a small town of 13,000 inhabitants, voiced anger when the government announced its plans for the barge, which has continued to attract controversy.

Earlier this month, Leonard Farruku, a 27-year-old Albanian asylum seeker, was found dead on the Bibby Stockholm in a suspected suicide.

A coroner's inquest that opened and adjourned in Bournemouth on Thursday gave the cause of death as "compression of the neck caused by suspension by ligature".

In front of the barriers that prevent access to the port, flowers and messages left in tribute to the man remain.

"We missed the chance to get to know you, but we will fight to end inhumanity," reads one tribute.

James did not know the man but said some residents were starting to "fight mental issues".

No asylum seeker knows when he will leave the barge.

"(But) we are praying that it will soon be over," said James, bringing with it the right to remain the United Kingdom.

mhc/pdh/phz/

Shrinking Caspian Sea worries secretive Turkmenistan

Anton LOMOV
Thu, 21 December 2023 

The Caspian Sea, an inland body of water flanked by the Caucasus region and Central Asia, has been shrinking precipitously year on year 

On the Caspian Sea coast in Turkmenistan -- one of the world's most secretive states -- Batyr Yusupov can no longer ferry his passengers between two ports. There is not enough water.

"I used to go between Turkmenbashi and Hazar," the 36-year-old ferry worker said of the ports separated by a small gulf on Turkmenistan's coast.

"But we haven't been able to go there for a year due to the serious shrinking of the Caspian," he said.


In at least one seaside city, local bathers have noted the waters receding by hundreds of metres.

But it is not just about ferry routes or having to walk further for a proper swim: the changes hit the heart of Turkmenistan's struggling economy.

And year after year, the water levels are falling.

It is still not entirely clear why that is happening, but scientists say it is down to naturally occurring processes exacerbated by climate change.

One 2021 study projected that by 2100, water levels in the Caspian Sea could drop by another 8 to 30 metres (26 to 98 feet).

The Caspian Sea, an inland body of water, is flanked by the Caucasus region to the west and Central Asia to the east.

Turkmenistan, a former Soviet republic, is one of five countries on the Caspian Sea together with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran and Russia.

And they are all, to some extent or another, affected by the changes.

- Receding shoreline -

South of Turkmenbashi, in the seaside town of Hazar, satellite images show the shore has receded around 800 metres (half a mile) on both sides.

That has turned the town, which sits at the end of a peninsula, into an island.

Instead of sailing between Hazar and the main port of Turkmenbashi, Yusupov now takes passengers to Gyzylsuw -- between the two -- which is more accessible by boat.

But even there, the situation is not much better.

"A new pier is being built because the old one is no longer deep enough," said one local resident, 40-year-old Aisha.

Dozens of rusty boats line the shore in Gyzylsuw.

Aisha's house has stilts protecting it from the sea, which now seem superfluous.

"Even during storms, the water doesn't reach the house," she said.

In Turkmenbashi itself, Turkmenistan's largest coastal city, the changing shoreline is evident to swimmers.

"Last summer, the water was up to my shoulders, then around my waist," said one regular, 35-year-old Lyudmila Yesenova.

"This year, it's below my knees."

- Sounding the alarm -

The receding waters threaten the maritime infrastructure of Turkmenbashi, a major Central Asia port crucial for trade between Europe and Asia.

And on the opposite coast of the Caspian lies Baku, the capital of oil-rich Azerbaijan.

Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov sounded the alarm in a recent speech.

"At present, the sea level is close to the minimum values for the entire time of instrumental observations," he said in August.

"In the last 25 years, it has decreased by almost two metres," which meant that the retreat of the sea had become particularly noticeable in recent years, he added.

"The sea has moved hundreds of metres away from its former shores," he said. "In the north of the Caspian these figures are even higher."

Neighbouring Kazakhstan, Central Asia's largest country, has echoed some of Turkmenistan's concerns.

But after years of disputes over the control of huge hydrocarbon reserves in the region, the collaboration Meredov has called for is only in its earliest stages.

- 'Tectonic movements' -

Turkmen scientist Nazar Muradov attributes the changing sea levels to "tectonic movements and seismic phenomena, which change the seabed".

He said the sea level had previously fallen in the 1930s and the 1980s before rising again. But the changing climate also had to be factored into this latest phenomenon, he added.

"The sea level also depends on the flow of rivers -- whose levels are diminishing -- as well as low levels of precipitation and intense evaporation."

Kazakhstan also depends on the sea for its oil and gas industry.

The drop in water levels, coupled with a rise in temperatures, has also hit marine life in the Caspian, including seals.

In a sign he is taking the situation seriously, Kazakh leader Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has announced he had taken the decline in the seal population under his "personal control".

He also said Kazakhstan would create a research institute for the study of the Caspian.

al-bk-oc/jbr/jj

H5N1
How a 21-year-old Cambodian became the world’s latest bird flu victim


Sarah Newey
Thu, 21 December 2023 

Outbreak response teams burn the carcasses of infected chickens in Dang Tong province, Cambodia - Mech Dara

Chem Seavmey’s family are still in shock. One Sunday morning, the 21-year-old woke up slightly breathless, struggling with a fever and cough. A week later, she was dead.

“I did not expect this, it was so quick,” Chem’s brother-in-law, Sok Reth, told the Telegraph. “She just got worse and worse … Although the doctors tried to help, she still passed away. I am very, very regretful and sad … it was too quick for us.”

On November 26, at a hospital in the capital city three hours from home, Chem became the third person to die from bird flu in Cambodia this year. The country has seen a spike of infections after an eight year hiatus, with six of the 12 human H5N1 cases detected in 2023 reported here, according to the World Health Organization.


“Southeast Asia has always been a bit of a hotspot… but it’s hard to say why Cambodia has seen cases this year,” said Dr Bolortuya Purevsuren, an avian influenza expert at the World Organisation for Animal Health in Bangkok. “Any new human case is always a concern, wherever it unfolds.”

These cases hold crucial clues for scientists and health officials analysing pandemic threats. Tracing how Chem caught H5N1 can help sculpt strategies to reduce the likelihood of future spillovers, while scrutinising samples of the virus that killed her allows virologists to track how the pathogen is changing – and whether the threat to humans has risen.

“Will bird flu cause the next pandemic? Who knows,” said Dr Purevsuren. “But it’s critical to have strong surveillance to monitor trends in wild birds and poultry, quickly identify signals of cases in humans, and then investigate every one that is detected.”

Awareness campaigns have been limited in rural Cambodia, where poultry is critical for both income and sustenance - Mech Dara

It was infected poultry that passed H5N1 to Chem – a “gentle, quiet” person who loved reading and playing with her nieces and nephews – according to interviews with her family, local officials and epidemiologists.

The 21-year-old, who was also a keen cook, lived with her sister’s family in Dang Tong district in southern Cambodia, some 80 miles south of the capital Phnom Penh and close to the border with Vietnam.

In early November, ducks and chickens in Chem’s village suddenly started to drop dead. Unaware it was bird flu which killed them, eight of the families which lost poultry shared the carcuses with their neighbours to eat.

“They did not inform us about the deaths because it seemed normal to them,” said Ney Norn, a village leader. “They have not heard about [bird flu] for so long and do not pay attention to this disease, so they eat them.”
‘Heavily exposed to the virus’

Among those affected were Chem’s neighbours. While they buried the smaller birds, they kept and shared the larger chickens for food because they “did not want to waste them”, according to Chem’s brother-in-law, Mr Reth.

He’s not exactly sure when – Mr Reth and his wife often work in the capital Phnom Penh – but Chem was given, cooked and ate one of these chickens. Soon, she fell sick.

Initially, Mr Reth didn’t think much of it; Chem had a history of underlying respiratory issues. Usually “she got medicines and recovered quickly… but this time it was different”.

According to a WHO situation report, the 21-year-old developed symptoms including a cough, fever and shortness of breath on November 19. She was sent to hospital in the capital four days later as her condition deteriorated. There, she tested positive for H5N1.

“It is likely that she was heavily, heavily exposed to the virus,” said Professor Munir Iqbal, head of the Avian Influenza Virus group at the Pirbright Institute in the UK, who’s team sequence human samples from across the globe. “People are regularly exposed to H5N1, but cases where people become sick are still rare. Viral load is a significant factor.”

A public health awareness poster offers advice on hygiene - Mech Dara

Across the globe, 882 people have contracted H5N1 avian influenza since 2003, including 461 who died. For the last few years, human infections have actually been relatively limited – 2023 has seen the highest toll since 2016, though the total remains far lower than the 145 cases detected in 2015, a record high.

But for Chem’s family, the diagnosis was a shock.

“We had very difficult feeling and did not expect this disease because it has never happen in this area,” said Mr Reth.

“[Chem had] hesitated to go to hospital [because] she was afraid of needles… but then [when she arrived] the doctor told us that it is a very helpless situation, because the virus has eaten a large part of [the] anatomy of lungs. He [said he] would try his best to treat her [and] we spend everything to treat her.

“But since we arrive at the hospital, doctors could not help her. She died like we all fall asleep,” Mr Reth added. “We miss her … I am full of regret about losing [my sister-in-law].”

Chem was not the only person to catch the pathogen in the village; surveillance teams deployed after her positive test result found a four-year-old also infected. On November 25 the toddler – who had a fever, cough and rash – was sent to an isolated hospital ward for treatment.

Sim Han, the village chief, said the child’s family – who lived close to Chem – had been nervous about eating the sick poultry.

“But the kid was infected because after the mother had buried the chicken, the kid went to dig it up and played with it,” Mr Han said. “When the team asked the family, firstly they tried to hide it. But since the kid was also [in a] serious condition, they confessed it.”

The toddler is recovering, but the village is scarred.

“Now no one dares to eat [sick poultry], and they only bury or burn them,” said Mr Han.

So far in Cambodia this year, despite a major scare in February, there have been no signs of human to human transmission. Instead, experts say these cases and deaths reiterate the need to focus on public education – especially in rural regions and backyard farms.

“The cases all had contact with infected birds,” said Dr Purevsuren. “It shows the importance of biosecurity on commercial farms but also in backyard chickens.”

In Chem’s village, leaders said public awareness campaigns had taken place. But they have limits in rural Cambodia, where poultry is critical for both income and sustenance – culling initiatives can hit households hard.

“Often in our country when chickens get sick, [people] cook and eat them and it is fine,” said Toek Chat, a local police chief. “So some of our people are not worried about this… they [are] hesitant to cooperate with us to eliminate their chicken. It is very difficult for our people, because they do not want to kill their chickens.”

Since the village confirmed cases, though, there has been little opposition. Local health officials have sprayed disinfectant across the area, burned and buried hundreds of birds, and launched a renewed public health education campaign.

Others said the rapid detection and response also shows the surveillance system is working.

“We do not know why there is an increase in cases,” said Dr Filip Claes, a member of the Emergency Center for Transboundary Animal Diseases at the Food and Agriculture Organization, based in Bangkok.

“But it still happens around the major festivals in Cambodia, a time where we know the exposure to poultry increases,” he told the Telegraph. “Detection [and] surveillance systems [may] now be better at picking up cases.”

Across the globe, there have been concerns this year that the enormous recent outbreak in wild birds and poultry could provide new opportunities for the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain to mutate to better infect humans - especially because mammals from elephant seals in the Antarctic to mink in Spain have died.

But in Cambodia, it is a slightly older strain of H5N1 that has been circulating, said Prof Iqbal. And so far, analysis has picked up no signs that the virus has shifted to become more transmissible in humans.

“Current evidence does not show that the virus can infect humans, in Cambodia or elsewhere,” he said.

“But tomorrow? You never know, the virus may change. Which is why we have to report these cases and analyse these cases closely.”

Argentines bang pots to protest against Milei’s economic revolution


Our Foreign Staff
Thu, 21 December 2023 

Protesters in Buenos Aires banged pots to show their disapproval 

- LUIS ROBAYO/AFP

Argentina’s new president unveiled an emergency decree aimed at deregulating the country’s inflation-wracked economy on Wednesday as thousands took to the streets of the capital to protest against his plans.

Javier Milei, who took office in early December on a promise to slash public spending, mandated some 300 changes that will earmark many government companies for privatisation, and loosen protections for renters, employees and shoppers.

The Right-wing libertarian announced the moves for South America’s second-biggest economy just hours after Argentines descended on central Buenos Aires en masse to vent their anger over the new leader’s agenda.


Undeterred by the demonstration, Mr Milei said his goal was to “start rebuilding” the country as he made a televised address to the nation setting out his emergency decree.

Measures include deregulating mining and other industries. Regulations covering the property rental market, export customs arrangements, land ownership and food retailers will be struck down.

The decree will also modify existing rules within Argentina’s aviation, healthcare, pharmaceutical and tourism sectors in a bid to encourage greater competition.

In a pre-recorded broadcast, Mr Milei said: “Today we are taking our first step to end Argentina’s model of decline.

“I have signed an emergency decree to start to unpick the oppressive institutional and legal framework that has destroyed our country,” he added.

“The goal is start on the road to rebuilding our country, return freedom and autonomy to individuals and start to transform the enormous amount of regulations that have blocked, stalled and stopped economic growth in our country.”

After the announcement, people in some neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires banged pots to show their disapproval.

“Cacerolazos” — noisy anti-government protests in which people bang casserole pots — have been symbolic in Argentina in recent years when people want to express their anger.

Hundreds of protesters also staged an impromptu rally outside Argentina’s congress building, shouting: “Our country isn’t for sale!”

Demonstrators have been warned to expect 'prison or a bullet' after new protocol was brought into place to tackle protests 

- AGUSTIN MARCARIAN/REUTERS

Hours earlier, thousands of people took to the streets of the capital in the first big protest of Mr Milei’s administration, which last week devalued the Argentine peso by 50 per cent, and cut energy and transportation subsidies.

The measures come amid soaring inflation of over 160 per cent and rising poverty rates.

Authorities directed protesters away from roads and onto pavements so traffic could pass, after a government warning against blocking streets.

Mr Milei’s administration has said it will allow protests, but threatened to cut off state benefits to anyone who blocks thoroughfares. Marchers on Wednesday were forbidden to carry sticks, cover their faces or bring children to the protest.

Members of his coalition government have warned demonstrators to expect “prison or a bullet” after authorities brought in a “protocol” last week ostensibly aimed at maintaining public order that allows federal forces to block demonstrators from holding disruptive events.

The new rules also authorise the police to identify — through video or digital means — people protesting and obstructing public thoroughfares. It can charge them for the cost of mobilising security forces.

Some social organisations have said that the protocol goes too far and effectively criminalises the right to protest.

Eduardo Belliboni said protesters face 'an enormous repressive apparatus' 

- AGUSTIN MARCARIAN/REUTERS

Eduardo Belliboni, one of the organisers of Wednesday’s demonstration, said protesters faced “an enormous repressive apparatus”.

Mr Belliboni’s Left-wing Polo Obrero group has a long history of leading street blockages and he claimed large-scale marches wouldn’t fit on the sidewalks.

“This [the street] is where people move around all over the world... where are we going to fit 50,000 people?” he said.

A recent poll by the University of Buenos Aires’ Observatory of Applied Social Psychology said 65 per cent of those surveyed agree with banning street blockages.

Milei, a 53-year-old economist who rose to fame on television with profanity-laden tirades against what he called the political caste, became president with the support of Argentine’s disillusioned with the economic crisis.

Angola to quit OPEC over oil production quotas disagreement


Mario Paiva
Thu, 21 December 2023 

Angola is one of the largest oil exporters in Sub-Saharan Africa, alongside Nigeria (Rodger BOSCH)

Angola said on Thursday it would leave OPEC over a disagreement on production quotas following the oil cartel's decision last month to further slash output next year.

Mineral Resources and Petroleum minister Diamantino Azevedo said that the decision was not taken lightly, but OPEC membership no longer served the African country's interests.

"We feel that at this moment Angola gains nothing by remaining in the organization and, in defence of its interests, it decided to leave," the presidency quoted Azevedo as saying in a statement.


The presidency said the decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by President Joao Lourenco in the capital, Luanda.

After the meeting, Lourenco signed a decree to officialise the matter, it said.

Azevedo told state broadcaster TPA that Angola is unhappy with OPEC's decision last month to further slash production next year in an effort to prop up volatile prices.

"We think the time has come for our country to be more focused on our goals," he told state broadcaster TPA.

"If we remained in OPEC... Angola would be forced to cut production and this goes against our policy of avoiding decline and respecting contracts."

OPEC, headquartered in Vienna, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

- Diplomatic shift -

Angola's departure would hurt OPEC's international standing less than if it was a bigger producer such as Iraq or Saudi Arabia, said ActivTrades analyst Ricardo Evangelista.

The African country has a comparatively small output of about 1.1 million barrels per day.

But the timing couldn't be worse "when the cartel is working hard to convince its members to voluntarily reduce production in order to support prices," Evangelista said.

Angola is one of the largest oil exporters in Sub-Saharan Africa, alongside Nigeria.

Both countries expressed dissatisfaction with their quotas at the November OPEC ministerial meeting as they seek to step up production to secure vital foreign currency.

The meeting had to be postponed for several days because of disagreements.

"When we see that we are in organisations and our contributions, our ideas, do not produce any effect, the best thing is to withdraw," Azevedo said.

The announcement caused a further drop in oil prices already weighed down by expectations of sluggish economic demand. The main international and US crude contracts fell more than 1.5 percent before trimming their losses.

Crude prices are sitting near their lowest level in nearly six months despite the cartel's announcement in November to further cut output.

They have jumped in recent days as cargo shippers and oil firms say they will avoid using the Red Sea and Suez Canal because of drone and missile attacks by Huthi rebels. But they still remain below $80 a barrel.

Nevertheless, crude prices remain above the average of the past five years.

In an effort to prop up prices, the OPEC+ alliance has implemented supply cuts of more than five million barrels per day (bpd) since the end of 2022.

Founded in 1960, the 13-member OPEC cartel in 2016 partnered up with 10 other producers to form OPEC+ to gain more clout.

Discord among members has added to the challenges faced by the OPEC+, which is already contending with rising competition from increasing US crude production and a looming transition away from fossil fuels.

Angola's move fell in line with a recent diplomatic shift that has seen Luanda -- long close to China and Russia -- moving towards the United States, said independent analyst Marisa Lourenco, who specialises in the region.

Leaving OPEC "shows where Angola's foreign policy interests lie, and which it is pursuing with great intention," she told AFP.

Earlier this month nearly 200 states approved a first-ever call for the world to transition away from fossil fuels during the COP28 climate talks in Dubai.

str-lul-ub/rl

Angola departure a blow for OPEC+ as cartel tensions rise

Emeline BURCKEL

AFP
Thu, 21 December 2023

The expansion of OPEC has proved to be a double-edged sword for the cartel as it means decision-making has become more difficult, according to Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya (JOE KLAMAR)

Angola's departure from OPEC exposes the tensions with the oil cartel as it seeks to cut output to maintain prices just as the United States ramps up production.

Despite slashing oil production for months on end and announcing new cuts in late November, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its ten allies have struggled to boost flagging prices.

Moreover, the wider OPEC+ group faces pressure on multiple fronts, as rising US crude production, a looming transition away from fossil fuels, and discord within its ranks have added to the challenges.

Prices are sitting at their lowest level in nearly six months despite the cartel's announcement in November to further cut output.

They jumped briefly as cargo shippers and oil firms said they will avoid using the Red Sea and Suez Canal because of drone and missile attacks by Huthi rebels. But they still couldn't break above $80 a barrel.

Nevertheless, crude prices remain above the average of the past five years.

In an effort to prop up prices, the OPEC+ alliance has implemented supply cuts of more than five million barrels per day (bpd) since the end of 2022.

After nearly striking $100 in September, the alliance's strategy has since fallen short of reversing the price slide.

While Saudi Arabia blamed speculators for the drop, rather than the weak demand outlook as the world economy struggles, analysts say the cartel's lack of unity has fuelled scepticism about their latest announced cuts.

The decision by Angola will likely further fuel scepticism.

- Frictions laid bare -

"If the supply cuts went broadly unheard it is because the latest discussions showed frictions at the heart of the group," Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya told AFP.

Not only Angola, but also Nigeria expressed dissatisfaction with their production quotas at the November ministerial meeting, which had to be postponed for several days because of disagreements.

Furthermore, the OPEC+ alliance was unable to agree on a group-wide production cut that all 23 members would have supported.

Instead, heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Russia only managed to garner support from six other members in a bid to voluntarily reduce output.

SEB bank energy analyst Bjarne Schieldrop downplayed the impact of the departure of Angola, a smaller producer at 1.1 million bpd.

"Everyone knows that West African countries are in a slightly different league than Middle East countries," he said.

This is due not only to the volume of their production, but their higher production costs, making them more sensible to output cuts.

Moreover, Angola is far from the first small country to quit the cartel. Indonesia left in 2009, Qatar in 2019 and Ecuador in 2020.

"It would be really different if it was one of the key countries in the Middle East, like Kuwait, Iraq…," said Schieldrop.

- 'Double-edged sword' -

Founded in 1960, the 13-member OPEC cartel in 2016 partnered up with 10 other producers to form OPEC+ to gain more clout.

But the group's enlargement has proven to be "a double-edged sword", noted Ozkardeskaya, with decision-making becoming more difficult.

The Vienna-based group drew international attention in 1973, when it imposed an oil embargo against Israel's allies in the midst of the Yom Kippur War, triggering the first oil crisis.

Within just a few months, prices quadrupled, highlighting the cartel's dominance.

Faced with rising competitors in the 1980s, it introduced its famous quota system that enabled it to exert more control over the market.

This strategy meant the group fared relatively well during the 2008 financial crisis and the price shock in the wake of the Covid pandemic, despite increased internal tensions.

As a result of the supply cuts and amid various political crises in Libya and Venezuela, the OPEC+ share of the oil market has fallen to 51 percent -- the lowest since its creation -- the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its latest report.

Meanwhile, crude production in the United States, the world's leading producer, has risen above 20 million bpd, while Brazilian and Guyanese output has also soared.

"The shift in global oil supply from key producers in the Middle East to the United States and other Atlantic Basin countries... (is) profoundly impacting global oil trade," the IEA said.

- Green transition -

In recent years, OPEC+ has been confronted with its own demise as an increasing number of states have called for a transition away from fossil fuels owing to climate change.

OPEC has an "interest (in) delaying the green transition as much as possible, said Ozkardeskaya.

At the COP28 summit in Dubai this month, OPEC Secretary-General Haitham Al Ghais urged OPEC+ members in a heavily criticised letter to "proactively reject" any language that "targets" fossil fuels rather than emissions.

According to analysts, it is imperative for Riyadh to sustain the inflow of government revenues derived from oil.

They are "essential to finance Saudi Arabia's extensive and multi-year economic diversification programme, including ambitious giga projects", said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.

Riyadh has been working on developing other sources of revenue, but "the transition doesn't happen overnight", UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo added.

emb/anb-kym/rl/pvh