Antoinette Lattouf: ABC presenter sacked over Gaza post ignites row in Australia

Tiffanie Turnbull - BBC News, Sydney
Fri, January 26, 2024 a

Antoinette Lattouf inside the ABC Sydney studio

On 20 December Antoinette Lattouf signed off from the Sydney radio show she was hosting with a promise she'd be back the next day.

"Can't wait," she told listeners.

But the veteran journalist and presenter did not return to the airwaves. Later that afternoon she was sacked, with her boss saying the order had come from "above".

She was only three days into a week-long stint filling in as host of the local Mornings show on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Just hours earlier she insists she was told it was going well.

But behind the scenes, her appointment to the coveted role had attracted ardent lobbying from pro-Israel groups who accused her of antisemitism and bias.

Lattouf - who is of Lebanese heritage - says she fears the ABC buckled under external pressure, sacking her based on political opinion and race. She has launched a wrongful termination case.

The broadcaster vehemently denies this and says Lattouf was let go because she broke its directions on social media by re-sharing a Human Rights Watch (HRW) post about the Israel Gaza war.

Her dismissal has triggered a wave of public outrage and created turmoil at the public broadcaster - raising questions over its independence and reviving concerns over how it supports staff, particularly those who are culturally diverse, when they come under attack.

Criticism over activism

Lattouf is believed to be the first Arab-Australian woman to be a reporter on commercial television, and today is a regular staple on Australian airwaves or in its local newspapers.

But the 40-year-old has also made a name for herself as an activist on issues like racism, discrimination in media and mental health.

Before she was hired by the ABC, Lattouf attracted criticism for social media posts on the Israel Gaza war which decried the impact on Palestinian civilians.

In some posts she accused Israel of targeting and killing journalists in Gaza, something echoed by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists but which Israel denies.

She also drew ire for an article she co-authored in which online verification experts questioned video which purported to show pro-Palestinian protesters chanting "gas the Jews" at a march in Sydney.

The ABC has stressed the critical importance of impartiality and also has strict social media requirements. It bans posts which could damage its reputation.

Lattouf has long been a regular contributor to the ABC, and agreed to curtail her social media use when she started her presenting stint.

But she says she was told sharing information from "reputable" sources like human rights groups was fine, and so on 19 December shared a post from HRW which said Israel was using starvation as a tool of war. Israel denies the accusation.

Palestinians queuing for food in Rafah

Lattouf's post came hours after the ABC itself had covered the HRW report, and Lattouf claims other ABC employees had also shared the post. She also alleges other staff have written "far more inflammatory" social media posts in the past but remain employed.

"The difference between them is they are white and I have an Arab background," she told the BBC.

She wants a public apology from the ABC, compensation, and a similar role back on air.

But in its reply to Ms Lattouf's legal action, the ABC said her case was "entirely misconceived", and she was taken off-air "because she failed or refused to comply with directions that she not post on social media about matters of controversy".

She was paid for all five shifts, it added.

Swift backlash

The case sparked an immediate uproar in Australia.

HRW wrote to the ABC Chair, Ita Buttrose, saying it was "troubling" that its "factual" material had been deemed "controversial'", something it said could have a "chilling effect" on Australian journalism.

The media union also called the decision to remove Lattouf "incredibly disturbing", while Minister for Industry Ed Husic said people expressing a "peaceful" view "shouldn't feel like their jobs are on the line".

Protestors have graffitied ABC offices in Perth and Melbourne, and crowdfunding for Lattouf's legal fees has already raised over A$90,000 (£40,100; $62,500).

Others, defending the broadcaster's decision to sack her, argued she shouldn't have been hired for the role in the first place - given her history on the issue.

But a series of leaked WhatsApp chats have in recent days have dramatically intensified the storm.

Dozens of messages from two groups seen by the BBC show a concerted letter-writing campaign against Lattouf in the days before she was fired.

The hundreds of members in both groups - one called Lawyers for Israel and another called J.E.W.I.S.H Australian creatives and academics - were encouraged to write directly to ABC boss David Anderson, the ABC board and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland.

ABC board chair Ita Buttrose has been embroiled in the controversy

"It is important ABC hears not just from individuals in the community but specifically lawyers so they feel there is an actual legal threat," wrote one member of Lawyers for Israel, Nicky Stein, something she later admitted "a bit cheeky".

Some letter-writers claimed they had received direct responses from board chair Ita Buttrose and when news of Lattouf's exit spread, many congratulated themselves.

"Good riddance to bad rubbish," one person said.

"No doubt the PP [pro-Palestinians] will start whinging now about censorship and the Jewish lobby controlling the media," another wrote.

And when she launched her legal case in the Fair Work Commission (FWC) one person called her lawyer, who is Jewish, a "traiter".

Several members of the Lawyers for Israel chat have denied the group - which included Jewish community leaders - was controlled by any bodies or intended for organised lobbying.

Ms Stein told the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) it was simply "a group of lawyers concerned about Israel and rising antisemitism".
Staff revolt

The WhatsApp messages sparked a livid meeting of the ABC staff union, attended by about 200 people.

One of the broadcaster's most senior journalists, global affairs editor John Lyons, reportedly said the release of the messages marked "one of [the ABC's] darkest days".

"When I read those WhatsApp messages, for the first time ever… I felt embarrassed to work for the ABC," he said, according to the SMH.

"I was embarrassed that a group of 156 lawyers could laugh at how easy it was to manipulate the ABC."

The meeting culminated in a rare vote of no confidence in the ABC boss David Anderson.

Union members made a list of demands, giving the editorial leadership team until Monday to respond. They have previously threatened a walkout if their concerns aren't addressed.

The ABC board has called the criticism of David Anderson "abhorrent"

The ABC board responded by calling its own emergency meeting and passing a unanimous vote of confidence in Anderson.

"Any suggestion I would not defend our position when external pressure is applied - regardless of where that pressure is coming from - is offensive and incorrect," he said in a statement.

He agreed to meet staff - but "in the coming weeks".

The case has reopened old wounds for the ABC.

It has revived concerns about how it treats diverse staff, after an ugly saga last year in which pioneering Aboriginal journalist Stan Grant quit over what he called a failure to protect him from racist attacks.

And it's also fed uneasiness about the broadcaster's independence. Advocates worry that politicised appointments to the ABC board, its government-dictated funding model, and increased - often frenzied - scrutiny is jeopardising its work.

Racism furore reignites scrutiny of Australian media

Political influence row hits Australia ABC

The saga also comes as the broader Australian media grapples with tension over the impartiality of its coverage of the Israel Gaza war.

Most notably, ABC political reporter Nour Haydar left the public broadcaster this month over its coverage of the war, as well as its treatment of culturally diverse staff. The ABC has defended its impartiality and said it is "continuing to progress" on diversity matters despite having its "most representative" workforce ever.

Lattouf says its these broader themes that make her case so important.

"It is not just about me. It's about free speech, it's about racism… and crucially, it's also about a fair, independent and robust ABC," she told reporters last week.

After a failed mediation meeting, the ABC is now attempting to have Lattouf's case thrown out, arguing it didn't actually sack her.

The matter is back at the FWC in March, and Lattouf says she's in it for the long haul.

"I'm willing and prepared to fight for as long as it takes," she said.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez says Americans should not ‘toss someone out of our public discourse’ for accusing Israel of genocide

Summer Concepcion
Sun, January 28, 2024 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., on Sunday argued that Americans should not “toss someone out of our public discourse” for accusing Israel of genocide in its war against Hamas.

During an interview on “Meet the Press,” Ocasio-Cortez argued that “large amounts of Americans” feel the term “genocide” applies to Israel’s actions in the Middle East.

“Whether you are an individual that believes this is a genocide — which by the way, in our polling we are seeing large amounts of Americans concerned specifically with that word. So I don’t think that it is something to completely toss someone out of our public discourse for using,” she said.

The New York Democrat added that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government “has lost public support.”

Ocasio-Cortez was also asked to respond to her colleagues accusing President Joe Biden of supporting genocide, including fellow progressive Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.

“Do you agree with that word, ‘genocide,’ that the president’s been supporting a genocide, or does that go too far?” moderator Kristen Welker asked.

“I think what we are seeing right now throughout the country is that young people are appalled at the violence and the indiscriminate loss of life,” she said.

Ocasio-Cortez also noted that the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take all measures within its authority to prevent genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza.

“The fact that they said there’s a responsibility to prevent it, the fact that this word is even in play, the fact that this word is even in our discourse, I think demonstrates the mass inhumanity that Gazans are facing,” she said.

Ocasio-Cortez and other progressives have faced backlash for comparing Israeli treatment of Palestinians to Apartheid South Africa while expressing their support for Palestinians. The members of the progressive “Squad” of House members have been accused of being too soft on Palestinian militants.

Ocasio-Cortez, a vocal supporter of a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, has condemned the militant group, saying, “I condemn Hamas’ attack in the strongest possible terms” in October after clashes broke out at a pro-Palestinian rally held and promoted by some of her allies.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

AOC raising money by using pro-Israel group's attack on her 'Squad' ally

Elizabeth Elkind

FOX NEWS
Sun, January 28, 2024 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is raising money by using political attacks against a top pro-Israel lobbying group in Washington.

In an email sent to supporters Thursday evening, Ocasio-Cortez sounded off about the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) endorsing challenger George Latimer against Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., a fellow member of the leftist House group known as the "Squad."

"When right-wing megadonors attack one of us, they’re trying to silence our whole movement. And in this moment, standing strongly beside leaders calling for peace and humanity has never been more important," Ocasio-Cortez’s email says.

"My friend Jamaal Bowman just officially announced his campaign for re-election. Help us show that we have the people power to beat his AIPAC-backed opponent by splitting a grassroots donation between our campaigns."

House Oversight and Accountability Committee member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks to reporters while joined by fellow House Democrats in the Rayburn House Office Building Dec. 13, 2023, in Washington, D.C.

AIPAC works with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and is known for helping facilitate bipartisan trips to Israel, including a trip in August led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.


That group has recently clashed with hardliners in the Democratic Party who have been critical of Israel’s response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, as well as the Biden administration’s support for Israel.

"Jamaal’s opponent is an establishment, career politician — who yesterday was officially endorsed by AIPAC. The path to victory won’t be easy. AIPAC will launch millions of dollars of nasty attack ads," Ocasio-Cortez’s email states.

EDUCATORS URGE LARGEST TEACHERS UNION IN US TO RESCIND SUPPORT FOR BIDEN UNTIL 'PERMANENT CEASE-FIRE' IN GAZA

Rep. Jamaal Bowman and other members of the "Squad" hold a press conference with rabbis in front of the U.S. Capitol to call for a cease-fire and end to the Israeli attacks on Gaza in Washington D.C., Nov. 13, 2023.

"This is about justice. This is about community. This is about what we want the Democratic Party — and our democracy — to look like."

When asked for comment about Ocasio-Cortez's ad, an AIPAC spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "We proudly have endorsed George Latimer, who is aligned with President Biden’s pro-Israel stand, in clear contrast to his opponent in this race. An extremist anti-Israel fringe will not deter us from engaging in the democratic process to help elect candidates who support the Jewish state in its fight against Hamas barbarism."



Chuck Schumer and the U.S. delegation also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Westchester County executive George Latimer became the first non-incumbent AIPAC has endorsed this 2024 cycle. The group gave a statement to Jewish Insider on Thursday, saying, "We are proud to endorse George Latimer who — in clear contrast to his opponent — is strongly committed to strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship and standing by our ally as it fights Hamas terrorism."

Ocasio-Cortez called AIPAC an "extremist organization" last November after the group criticized her and the nine other House lawmakers who voted against a resolution affirming support for Israel’s response to Hamas.

"AIPAC endorsed scores of Jan 6th insurrectionists. They are no friend to American democracy. They are one of the more racist and bigoted PACs in Congress as well, who disproportionately target members of color," Ocasio-Cortez said on X at the time. "They are an extremist organization that destabilizes US democracy."

AOC and Pelosi clash over ‘genocide Joe’ label flung at Biden by Gaza protesters

John Bowden
Sun, January 28, 2024

Two champions of different wings of the Democratic Party offered dueling takes on the increasingly vocal protests against Joe Biden over the US’s role in funding Israel’s military assault against the Gaza Strip during interviews on Sunday.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a leader of the party’s progressive wing, appeared on Meet the Press where she hesitated to embrace the label of “genocide” being applied to the sustained carnage caused by Israel’s invasion of Gaza; the congresswoman did, however, defend those in her party (including fellow “Squad” member Rashida Tlaib) who have used the term and accused the US government of being complicit.

The International Court of Justice is currently hearing arguments brought by the South African government in favour of declaring the Israeli campaign a “genocide” — an initial ruling by the Court this past week demanded that Israel work to prevent one from occurring while the determination is made. The Israeli government has strongly opposed accusations of committing a genocide or ethnic cleansing against Palestinians, but a growing list of Israeli government officials have been heard in public using rhetoric which undermine those denials.

Kristin Welker, NBC’s moderator, noted to Ms Ocasio-Cortez during their interview that some activists on her party’s progressive left flank have started using the derisive moniker “Genocide Joe” for the US president. Welker then asked Ms Ocasio-Cortez if the descriptor of “genocide” went too far:

“Some of your colleagues have accused the president of supporting genocide, including Rashida Tlaib. Do you agree with that word, ‘genocide,’ that the president's been supporting a genocide, or does that go too far?”

”Young people are appalled at the violence and the indiscriminate loss of life,” the congresswoman responded. “We are not just seeing twenty-five thousand people that have died in Gaza. We are seeing the starvation of millions of people, the displacement of over 2 million Gazans.”

As the two noted that the ICJ has yet to make a formal determination, the congresswoman from New York continued: “In the interim ruling, the fact that they said there's a responsibility to prevent it, the fact that this word is even in play, the fact that this word is even in our discourse, I think demonstrates the mass inhumanity that Gazans are facing.”

Though the ICJ’s process of determining whether a genocide is being committed by Israel in Gaza remains ongoing, it is notably not the standard that the US government, under Joe Biden, has used when deciding whether military action or other conflicts cross that line.

The president himself described Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “genocide” in an April 2022 interview; the ICJ has yet to make a determination on that case either, though it has demanded that Russia cease military action in Ukraine. The civilian death toll since in Ukraine is reported to be less than half of the death toll in the Gaza Strip dating back to just October of last year; Israeli officials and international monitoring organisations strongly disagree over the number of Hamas militants killed, with Israel claiming as many as 9,000 have died.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez’s words came as a startling new poll from YouGov and The Economist reported that half of respondents who said they voted for Mr Biden in 2020 thought that the Israeli government was committing a genocide in the Gaza Strip. Similar numbers thought that the conflict was likely to broaden across the Middle East.

Meanwhile, a representative of the Democratic Party’s old guard (in both age and political thinking) appeared on CNN to discuss the same issue. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi was interviewed by Dana Bash and argued (without any evidence to support her view) that some of the recent demonstrations against Mr Biden were “connected to Russia”. The dismissal did not go over well with her detractors on the Democratic Party’s left wing.

Mr Biden himself is the subject of a lawsuit brought by civil rights groups and Palestinian-Americans arguing that the president has violated both US and international law by allowing US military aid to support a country accused of committing genocide. Initial arguments began in the case this past week.

A White House spokesman, John Kirby, did not comment on the suit itself but told reporters on Tuesday that “nothing’s changed about the president’s strong view that we’ve got to continue to make sure Israel has what it needs to defend itself”.

 

 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez urges Democrats to focus on student debt, abortion rights in 2024

David Jackson, USA TODAY
Updated Sun, January 28, 2024 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. said Sunday President Joe Biden should be doing more to promote his own domestic agenda, rather than rely on attacks against former President Donald Trump as both men seek a second term in office.

"I think we can certainly do more to be advancing our vision," Ocasio-Cortez said on NBC's "Meet The Press," adding that Biden and the Democrats should talk more about health care, student loan debt and abortion rights.

Ocasio-Cortez, one of the leading progressive voices in the Democratic Party, also said Trump has "extraordinary vulnerabilities" as he seeks reelection, including including criminal indictments, major lawsuits and and lagging support from moderate voters.

But as Biden seeks to build a broad coalition in 2024, Ocasio-Cortez on Sunday also did not say whether Biden has directly reached out to her about his reelection bid.

"We've been in contact with the Biden administration throughout my term and throughout his term, as well," she said.

The Biden campaign in a statement later on Sunday said the president is already trying to pursue many of the issues Ocasio-Cortez outlined, including health care and Medicare.

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

On the foreign policy front, the New York Democrat called on the United States to push for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, saying young Americans are "appalled at the violence and the indiscriminate loss of life."

Her comments come as talks intensified Sunday on a potential agreement under which Israel would pause military operations against Hamas for two months in exchange for the release of more than 100 remaining hostages.

Contributing: John Bacon, USA TODAY

Ocasio-Cortez says Democrats can ‘do more’ to tout accomplishments

Lauren Sforza
Sun, January 28, 2024 


Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said the Democratic Party needs to “do more” to promote its accomplishments and its “vision” for the country.

“I think we can certainly do more to be advancing our vision. And I believe that we have a strong vision that we can run on,” Ocasio-Cortez said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

She credited President Biden with promising voters he would codify abortion rights if Democrats win the House and keep control of the Senate in 2024 but said the party could do more to connect with voters. She said Democrats should be talking more about health care and student loan forgiveness to convince voters why they should vote for Biden and not just against former President Trump.

“We can talk even more about the fact that public colleges and universities should be tuition free or reduced. The president has advanced student loan forgiveness just this month for people who have taken out SAVE loans under $12,000,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “They will see their loans wiped out.”

“But I do believe that advancing that affirmative vision is going to be very, very important as well as really laying out and showing, between now and November, through our governing decisions, our governing decisions, when we have that power in the White House, what we are willing to do with it,” she added.

Anchor Kristen Welker then asked Ocasio-Cortez whether the Biden team has reached out to her to help Biden’s reelection bid. She said she has been in contact with the administration throughout his term, but she said she is committed to working with movements on policy issues across the country.

She said she is “committed” to ensuring those movements “are not stamped out with a Trump presidency.”

“I think my role is in allegiance to people’s movements across this country: in the labor movement that had extraordinary gains last year, whether it was the Teamsters, whether it was UAW’s historic contract, whether it is the bubbling labor fights that we are seeing across the country,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

Scientists fear ‘zombie’ phenomenon may ravage Hawaiian waters: ‘The people who lived there have always wondered’

Leo Collis
Sat, January 27, 2024



Scientists are growing concerned that chemicals leached into the ocean from beach showers could be doing serious damage to one of the most vulnerable marine species.
What’s happening?

A report on Undark described how Craig Downs, an ecotoxicologist and the executive director of Haereticus Environmental Laboratory in Virginia, has been researching how sunscreen pollution might impact coral populations.

In 2019, Downs and a research team took samples from the ground and water around beach showers on three Hawaiian islands.

They found high levels of oxybenzone, avobenzone, benzophenone-2, octocrylene, and octinoxate, which are all chemicals found in sunscreen.

“The people who lived there have always wondered if it was an issue,” Downs told Undark.
Why is this so concerning?

Downs has investigated how human-caused pollution, such as sunscreen and microplastics, can damage coral reefs.

What is most concerning is so-called “zombie” corals, or otherwise healthy-looking corals made up of adults that aren’t reproducing.

Scientists first discovered this phenomenon in 2016 around the Caribbean, and it adds a new level of concern for a species that is already struggling amid global heating, coastal development, and other forms of marine pollution.

Corals are important for many reasons, as reefs provide healthy ecosystems for a huge amount of living species. The United Nations Environment Programme says that while coral reefs occupy just 1% of the ocean floor, they provide a habitat for 25% of marine life.

They act as natural flood defenses in coastal areas, and they are also a source of food and medicine. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that half a billion people depend on coral reefs.
What can be done to protect coral reefs?

While individually it might seem like trying to stop harmful sunscreen chemicals from entering oceans will make little difference, Downs is convinced even small changes can be beneficial in terms of reducing concentrations.

“One swimmer, one shower, does it pose a threat? But 500 swimmers and more than 500 showers?” he observed.

Although sunscreen is important to ensure skin health and reduce the risk of cancer, staying out of the water when wearing it or waiting until you get home to have a shower can prevent these pollutants from making it to the ocean.

Otherwise, the United Nations Environment Programme says that urgently tackling rising global temperatures, limiting coastal development, and reducing stressors such as overfishing and sewage pollution are all ways to protect coral reefs.

When it comes to the former, cutting reliance on dirty fuel is essential to slow global heating, which warms oceans and leads to coral bleaching. That means reducing plastic consumption, traveling by foot, bike, public transport, or electric cars, and making the most of renewable energy sources.

Elsewhere, fishing pollution is also a concern for coral health, with nets, lures, and hooks among the items often found wrapped around fragile corals.

Shocking video of ‘trash river’ exposes the egregious impacts of billion-dollar clothing companies: ‘There’s no water; it’s only trash’

Jenny Allison
Fri, January 26, 2024 

A disturbing video of textile pollution in Bangladesh shocked viewers on TikTok.

Fantastic Planet (@fantasticplanet007) posted a video of himself walking down the street in an unnamed city, with the caption, “Trash river in Bangladesh, where your clothes come from.”

Discarded textiles and multicolored plastics can be seen in great heaps, strewn in the empty riverbed between the buildings.

“That’s a trash river,” he says, matter-of-factly. “There’s no water; it’s only trash. This is insane.”

Viewers were dismayed. “We are destroying our world because people only care about money and nothing else matters,” one person commented.

As he flashes the logos of several well-known brands — Adidas, Zara, H&M, Nike — he says, “Probably the shirt you’re wearing right now is from Bangladesh.”

Should it be illegal to throw away old clothes?

YES

NO

Click your choice to see results and speak your mind

He’s right — 73% of the United States’ imported clothes in 2023 came from Asia, with China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh leading the supply. Of the 52 billion dollars in exports Bangladesh sold in 2021, 44 billion of them were garments.

“How can people just look at that and do nothing?” another commenter wondered.

The uncomfortable answer is that fast fashion has been causing harm for decades without consumers’ knowledge. The damage is multifaceted, with energy usage, the shedding of microfibers, and harmful chemicals in wastewater all posing threats to humans and wildlife alike.

Pollution from textiles and plastics has even been reported to increase the risk of severe flooding. In terms of carbon output, the apparel industry supersedes air pollution from both the aviation and shipping industries combined.

While there are certain regulations in place, their execution is inconsistent. One study found that treatment plants in Bangladesh only remove 68% of microplastics on average, meaning 32% go directly into the environment, in places like this video.

“Dhaka city discharges about 4,500 tons of solid waste every day, of which a maximum 30 percent is disposed at designated dumpsites — making the water unsuitable for humans and livestock,” Vice reported.

Efforts are being made to divest from fast fashion with the emergence of eco-friendly clothing brands, including the development of fully recyclable materials. Additionally, buying or thrifting secondhand clothes keeps consumer dollars out of the fast-fashion industry entirely.

By attempting to disrupt the industry and create a circular economy, many hope this fate can be avoided elsewhere. But not everybody is optimistic.

“Welcome to England in 3 yrs time,” one person wrote grimly.

Over half of Alpine glaciers could be gone by 2050 due to climate change

Ellen Manning
Sun, January 28, 2024

New research has shown that by 2050 the volume of ice in the European Alps could have fallen by 65%, based on the last ten years of global warming. (SWNS)

More than half of the glaciers in the Alps could be gone by 2050 due to climate change, a new study has revealed.

New research has shown that by 2050 the volume of ice in the European Alps could have fallen by 65%, based on the last ten years of global warming. The research, led by the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, suggests urgent action is needed to stop the rapid increase in global warming, but it is already too late to save the alpine glaciers.

The team predicted that even if global warming were to stop immediately, by 2050 the volume of ice would have fallen by 34%. If warming rates continue as they have in the last 20 years, almost half the volume of ice (46%) will be lost.

The study comes as the UK recorded its hottest ever January temperature after a provisional record of 19.6C was measured in Kinlochewe, a village in the northwest Highlands, on Sunday (28 January).

It's not the first time research has highlighted the effects of global climate change. A government report in Peru showed that the country has lost 56% of its tropical glaciers in the last six decades due to climate change. Scientists have also pointed out the alarming effect of climate change on ocean temperatures.

Recommended reading

Climate change could unravel decades of progress in human health, says WMO (PA Media)

Legal Action Over Climate Change Is Gaining Traction (HuffPost)

Climate change activists aim soup at 'Mona Lisa' in Paris Louvre (Reuters)

What does the latest study say?

The new study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, differs from traditional models, which project estimates for the end of the century, by considering the shorter term. Researchers hope this will make it easier for people to understand the changes they will see in their lifetime and therefore encourage action.

But they also suggested that things could be a lot worse than their predictions, which were made using a new computer model and AI algorithms, as the data used to build their scenarios only goes up to 2022. Dr Samuel Cook, from the team behind the study, said: "How old will our children be in 2050? Will there still be snow in 2038, when Switzerland may host the Olympic Games?

"These estimates are all the more important as the disappearance of kilometers of ice will have marked consequences for the population, infrastructure and water reserves.

"The data used to build the scenarios stop in 2022, a year that was followed by an exceptionally hot summer. It is therefore likely that the situation will be even worse than the one we present."
What are the other effects of climate change on Europe?

Temperature records have been breaking all over Europe in January, according to Maximiliano Herrera, a climatologist who tracks global weather extremes. In January they have included Madeira, areas of France, and also Scotland as suggested by the Met Office.

Last summer, temperatures around 40C were recorded all over southern Europe in July. The UK has also experienced winter heatwaves recently, with 21.2C recorded in February 2021 in London, 14.2C higher than average.

Spain was hit with scorching temperatures last week, despite it being winter, with some areas seeing 30C. In Calles in Valencia, temperatures of 30.7C were recorded on Thursday, marking the highest temperature ever recorded in Spain in January.

Other towns reached highs of 28C, while temperatures of up to 26C in Andalusia in southern Spain were recorded, according to reports.

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22 countries want to triple nuclear power. Is there enough uranium to go around?

Ines Ferré
·Senior Business Reporter
Sun, January 28, 2024 

Uranium has been hot this year, industry experts say. The trouble is there may not be enough to go around.

The squeeze on the metal, found in rocks and seawater, intensified recently after 22 countries, including the US, recently signed a pact at the UN Climate Change conference to triple their nuclear power capacity by 2050.

"There’s no other way to meet those net-zero carbon goals other than nuclear energy," said Nicole Galloway Warland, managing director of Thor Energy (THORF), an exploration company with projects in Utah and Colorado.

The backdrop to all this is, of course, is the march towards cleaner energy. But the rise of EVs and the anticipated power demands of artificial intelligence computing are also going to create a demand crunch for clean electricity — and nuclear is seen as a power source, unlike oil or coal, without the downside of carbon dioxide emissions.

That means the demand for uranium, the underlying fuel for nuclear plants, will be on the rise for years to come, experts and miners contend.

"Where is that uranium going to come from?," asked Galloway Warland. "There’s not enough to go around. There’s a supply deficit."

Earlier this month, the world's largest uranium miner, Kazatomprom (KAP.IL), warned it will likely not meet its production targets in the next two years because of mine construction delays and a lack of sulfuric acid needed for uranium production. Uranium prices shot up to 2007 levels this month, sitting above $106 per pound.

Uranium-related stocks have also been on fire.

Shares of Canadian giant Cameco (CCJ) have gained 83% over the past year. Kazatomprom, which trades on the London stock exchange, is up more than 60% over the past six months. Shares of US-based Energy Fuels (UUUU) are up about 25% during the same period.

Short on uranium? Geologists examine drilling samples at Wedding Bell Project in Colorado, a Thor Energy mining site. (Thor Energy)

'Uranium is becoming a household name'

A psychological shift surrounding nuclear is clearly helping fuel the market frenzy.

Nuclear power has been out of favor for years. But the Fukushima, Japan, nuclear disaster in 2011 prompted governments to scale back plans and shut down reactors. For much of the last decade, little investment went into the industry. Climate change, however, has changed attitudes.

"Nuclear power now has been realized as the new, vogue way of providing all this baseline power," Duane Parnham, executive chairman and CEO of Madison Metals (GREN.CN), told Yahoo Finance.

"Uranium is becoming a household name," he added.

Silicon Valley celeb billionaires, for example, have talked up the benefits of nuclear energy. Last year Sam Altman, the chief executive behind ChatGPT, announced his special purpose acquisition company would take nuclear energy startup Oklo public. And, of course, Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk weighed in. He tweeted last year that "The world should increase use of nuclear power!"

In the United States, the shortage is complicated by the fact that much of our uranium is imported from Russia. That's prompted the Biden Administration to seek more supply internally, and from US-friendly states such as Canada, the second-largest producer.

"The US has extensive in-ground uranium resources and quite a bit of idled processing capacity. But we have let our industry and infrastructure atrophy over the past few decades, as nuclear utilities bought cheaper uranium from places like Russia and Kazakhstan," Curtis Moore, senior vice president of marketing at Energy Fuels, told Yahoo Finance.

Now the US is playing catch-up. New uranium mines can take five to 15 years from start to finish, including permits, says Thor Energy's Galloway Warland.

"All of a sudden you’ve got no exploration, you’ve got a lot of old mines coming to the end of their life, you've got geopolitical tensions," said Galloway Warland. "We need to have more exploration, we need more mines coming online."

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed last year includes a tax credit to help preserve the existing fleet of nuclear plants and tax incentives for advanced reactors. But the IRA also earmarked $700 million to support the development of a domestic supply chain for high-assay low-enriched uranium, commonly referred to as HALEU. The funding is intended to help eliminate US dependence on Russia for nuclear fuel supply.


As for investors, the question is always whether a spike in demand is a big yellow caution flag.

Said Curtis of Energy Fuels: "Prices have skyrocketed, but we don’t think it is a bubble, as the price increases are based on real market fundamentals." He added, "We are likely in the beginning of a multiyear period of elevated uranium prices that will persist for several years until large mines around the world can get into production."

However, some industry watchers are more cautious.

"We’re in a little bit in a bubble in the sense that making this commitment to build this capacity is not realistic. It’s aspirational, but not everybody who signs up to this agreement is well situated to make this happen," said Irina Tsukerman, president of market research and geopolitical risk advisory Scarab Rising.

"It’s possible that there could be disruptions to this process of nuclearization in the future. All it takes is one government changing its position and pulling out, and that’s it," she said.

Colorado site of Thor Energy mining project. (Thor Energy)

Bubble or no bubble, the US and other countries are going full force into nuclear. Uranium is expected to stay in high demand, at least until supply catches up.

"We’ve got 60 reactors being built around the world. A hundred more being permitted," Dave Nadig, VettaFi financial futurist, recently told Yahoo Finance. "It’s really going to be a boom era."

Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre.

Mexico confirms some Mayan ruin sites are unreachable because of gang violence and land conflicts

MARK STEVENSON
Updated Sat, January 27, 2024 

A view of the archaeological site Yaxchilan in Chiapas state, Saturday, July 9, 2022.

 (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s government has acknowledged that at least two well-known Mayan ruin sites are unreachable by visitors because of a toxic mix of cartel violence and land disputes.

But two tourist guides in the southern state of Chiapas, near the border with Guatemala, say two other sites that the government claims are still open to visitors can only be reached by passing though drug gang checkpoints.

The explosion of drug cartel violence in Chiapas since last year has left the Yaxchilán ruin site completely cut off, the government conceded Friday.

The tour guides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they must still work in the area, said that gunmen and checkpoints are often seen on the road to another site, Bonampak, famous for its murals.

They say that to get to yet another archaeological site, Lagartero, travelers are forced to hand over identification and cellphones at cartel checkpoints.

Meanwhile, officials concede that visitors also can't go to the imposing, towering pyramids at Tonina, because a landowner has shut off across his land while seeking payment from the government for granting the right of way.

The cartel-related dangers are the most problematic. The two cartels warring over the area's lucrative drug and migrant smuggling routes set up the checkpoints to detect any movement by their rivals.

Though no tourist has been harmed so far, and the government claims the sites are safe, many guides no longer take tour groups there.

“It’s as if you told me to go to the Gaza Strip, right?” said one of the guides.

“They demand your identification, to see if you're a local resident,” he said, describing an almost permanent gang checkpoint on the road to Lagartero, a Mayan pyramid complex that is surrounded by pristine, turquoise jungle lagoons.

“They take your cellphone and demand your sign-in code, and then they look through your conversations to see if you belong to some other gang,” he said. “At any given time, a rival group could show up and start a gunbattle.”

The government seems unconcerned, and there is even anger that anyone would suggest there is a problem, in line with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's policy of playing down gang violence — even as the cartels take over more territory in Mexico.

“Bonampak and Lagartero are open to the public,” the National Institute of Anthropology and History said in a statement Friday.

“It is false, biased and irresponsible to say that these archaeological sites are in danger from drug traffickers,” added the agency, known as the INAH, which claimed it “retains control of the sites.”

Both guides stressed that the best-known Mayan ruin site in Chiapas, the imposing temple complex at Palenque, is open and perfectly safe for visitors. But starting around December, tourists have canceled about 5% of trips booked to the area, and there are fears that could grow.

Things that some tourists once enjoyed — like the more adventurous trip to ruins buried deep in the jungle, like Yaxchilán, on the banks of the Usumacinta river and reachable only by boat — are either no longer possible, or so risky that several guides have publicly announced they won't take tourists there.

Residents of the town of Frontera Comalapa, where the boats once picked up tourists to take them to Yaxchilan, closed the road in October because of constant incursions by gunmen.

Even the INAH admits there is no access to Yaxchilan, noting that “the institute itself has recommended at certain points that tourists not go to the archaeological site, because they could have an unsuccessful visit.” But it said that the problems there are “of a social nature” and are beyond its control.

Cartel battles started to get really bad in Chiapas in 2023, which coincides with the uptick in the number of migrants — now about a half-million annually — moving through the Darien Gap jungle from South America, through Central America and Mexico to the U.S. border.

Because many of the new wave of migrants are from Cuba, Asia and Africa, they can pay more than Central Americans, making the smuggling routes through Chiapas more valuable. The problem now seems to be beyond anyone's control.

The National Guard — the quasi-military force that López Obrador has made the centerpiece of law enforcement in Mexico — has been pelted with stones and sticks by local residents in several towns in that region of Chiapas in recent weeks.

The other tour guide said that was because the two warring drug cartels, Sinaloa and Jalisco, often recruit or force local people to act as foot soldiers and prevent National Guard troopers from entering their towns.

In Chiapas, residents are often members of Indigenous groups like the Choles or Lacandones, both descendants of the ancient Maya. The potential damage of using them as foot soldiers in cartel fights is grim, given that some groups have either very few remaining members or are already locked in land disputes.

The guide said the ruin sites have the added disadvantage of being in jungle areas where the cartels have carved out at least four clandestine landing strips to fly drugs in from South America.

But the damages are mounting for the Indigenous residents who have come to depend on tourism.

“There are communities that sell handicrafts, that provide places to stay, boat trips, craftspeople. It affects the economy a lot,” said the first guide. “You have to remember that this is an agricultural state that has no industry, no factories, so tourism has become an economic lever, one of the few sources of work."

Greta Thunberg joins hundreds marching in England to protest airport's expansion for private planes

Associated Press
Sat, January 27, 2024 


In this photo issued by Extinction Rebellion UK, climate activist Greta Thunberg takes part in a march to Farnborough Airport in southern England, Saturday Jan. 27, 2024. Greta Thunberg joined the march to protest the use of private jets and the expansion of an airport. Hundreds of local residents and activists holding banners and placards took part. 

(Jonathon Vines/Extinction Rebellion UK via AP)

LONDON (AP) — Climate activist Greta Thunberg joined a march in southern England on Saturday to protest the use of private jets and the expansion of an airport.

Hundreds of local residents and activists holding banners and placards that read “Ban Private Jets" marched to Farnborough Airport, which mostly serves private aircraft. Some beat drums while others lit pink smoke flares.

The airport, located in Hampshire County about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of London, applied last year to increase its maximum number of flights from 50,000 to 70,000 a year.

Groups working to fight climate change, including the organizer of Saturday's protest, Extinction Rebellion, say private jets are much more polluting than commercial passenger airliners. Flights to and from Farnborough Airport carried an average of 2½ passengers per flight in 2022, the group said.

“It is clear that private jets are incompatible with ensuring present and future living conditions on this planet," Thunberg said in a video that Extinction Rebellion posted on social media.

“We’re not going to let this continue. We're not going to let the rich few who are responsible for the majority of aviation emissions get away with sacrificing people and the planet,” she added.

Farnborough Airport said that it was an important hub for business and corporate travel, and that it recognized the importance of reducing its environmental impact.

“The airport’s environmental footprint is a fraction that of a traditional commercial airport, yet it serves as one of the largest employment sites in the region," it said in a statement.

Thunberg, 21, a Swedish environmental campaigner who inspired a global youth movement against climate change, is expected to appear at a court in London next week to face a public order offense charge. She was arrested in October during a demonstration against a major oil and gas industry conference.

Thunberg was among the activists who were charged for seeking to block access to the Energy Intelligence Forum. She denied the charge.

Plymouth: Medics lead die-in protest over fossil fuels

Jonathan Morris - BBC News
Sat, January 27, 2024 

Doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and psychologists took part in the performance in which they tended to the shrouded "dead" and laid flowers


Health professionals led a die-in protest in a call for an end to investment in fossil fuels.

Medics from the South West took their campaign to Plymouth city centre "to highlight the terrible impact of the climate emergency on people's health".

Doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and psychologists took part in the protest in which they tended to the shrouded "dead" and laid flowers.

A mock inquest then heard how climate change had contributed to these.

The action included climate campaigners Extinction Rebellion,

The action by an estimated 60 people including climate campaigners Extinction Rebellion, follows a report in a leading medical publication about how climate change is severely impacting people's health around the world.

Physiotherapist Alice Clevely, from Bristol, said: "We're telling people about how people are dying when they don't need to because of the way fossil fuels are warming the planet.

"Because we are there to look after people for their health and their wellbeing, we feel we have a duty of care to our patients and to the general public to warn about how the climate crisis is interacting and affecting people's health at a population level as well as an individual level."

Medics said they have a "duty of care" to warn about the climate crisis and its effects on health