Everest claims fourth climber this week during busy ascent season


Four climbers have died on Everest this week, including a Kenyan man, who was trying to be the first African to summit the mountain with no supplemental oxygen. 

Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA-EFE

May 24 (UPI) -- A Kenyan mountain climber who had been missing near the summit of Mount Everest was found dead, fellow climbers reported Thursday.

Joshua Cheruiyot Kirui, 44, and his Nepali guide Nawang Sherpa, also 44, disappeared on Wednesday during Kirui's attempt to become the first African to summit Mt. Everest without supplemental oxygen.

Sherpa told people at base camp that Kirui had been showing signs of altitude sickness and other "abnormal behavior" and "refused to return and even consume bottled oxygen," the BBC reported.

Kirui, a banker with one of Kenya's biggest lenders, said on social media posts and in a message to the BBC that he had undergone extensive physical preparations for the Everest climb.

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"The major/specific preparation was climbing Manaslu, the eighth highest mountain in the world in 2023 September," he wrote in an email to the BBC.

"However, I've been climbing locally in Kenya, many stair climbs, gym workouts and running as specific preparation. Also for 10 years I've climbed, ran marathons and ultra marathons which adds to the general preparations".

Kirui said he had planned to descend on Wednesday and had expressed confidence that he could achieve the summit of the world's tallest peak and descend it without bottled oxygen. Doing so is very uncommon among climbers, even experienced ones, but Kiriu said Sherpa would have supplemental oxygen and emergency supplies on hand in case he needed them. Kiriu was trying to be the first African to summit Everest without aid of additional oxygen.

Sherpa's body still has not been located.

While it has become commercialized and littered in recent years, Everest, the world's tallest peak at 29,040 feet, remains among the most sought after by both high-profile mountaineers with experience and some climbers with little to no idea about the sport and who rely on professional guides to help them reach the summit using courses fixed with ropes, but which require crossing huge crevasses on metal ladders strung together to create a makeshift bridge.

Nepalese newspaper the Himalayan Times quoted Mr Sherpa informing the base camp that Kirui had shown "abnormal behavior" and "refused to return and even consume bottled oxygen".

Contact with the duo was lost shortly after the message, base camp officials told the newspaper.

Kirui's close friend and fellow climber, Kipkemoi Limo, told the BBC that he died from a fall.

Kirui's family and friends are enquiring whether he gave consent to be buried on Everest, or whether he would have wanted his body to be returned to Kenya, which will cost $190,000.

Fellow Everest climbers are in dismay and shock about the death, although it is not the first of the season and may not be the last. May is the busiest month of the year for attempted ascents.

"Our brother now rests on the mountain. It's been a long night," fellow Kenyan mountaineer James Muhia, who had been sharing regular updates about Kirui's attempt, said on X.

Kirui's death was the fourth reported on Everest this week. A Romanian climber and a British climber and his Nepalese guide were also found dead on Tuesday, the Himalayan Times reported.

Iran’s hardline Paydari Front eyes a political vacuum after Raisi’s death

As Iran heads for a snap presidential poll following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, the Paydari Front, a little-known but influential ultra-conservative party, is seeking to extend its hold on state institutions. That could spell bad news for Iranians who want more liberties and for a region roiled by the fallout of the Israel-Hamas war.


Issued on: 21/05/2024 -

A portrait of the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is placed on his seat at the Assembly of Experts in Tehran, Iran, May 21, 2024. © Vahid Salemi, AP

By: Leela JACINTO

The sudden death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has plunged the Islamic Republic into a political fog as thick as that enveloping the mountainous Varzeqan region of northern Iran, where Raisi’s helicopter went down on Sunday.

The crash came a week after the country held run-off parliamentary elections, with the influential position of speaker in the unicameral Majlis still to be decided. While the executive and legislative branches of the government are currently leaderless, the most powerful man in the land, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, turned 85 in April and is believed to be in frail health.

In accordance with the Iranian constitution, the country’s first vice president, Mohammad Mokhber, was appointed transitional president on Monday and called for a presidential election in 50 days.

The focus now shifts to the June 28 election, with Iran monitors both inside and outside the country keeping an eye on the presidential hopefuls who get the green light from the Guardians Council, the constitutional watchdog charged with approving candidates.

The next few weeks are likely to see a period of intense political jockeying, much of it behind closed doors. Backroom politics has characterised Iran’s nezam, or political system, since the 1979 revolution, with factionalism and informal decision-making filling the gap created by the absence of transparent political institutions.

During his 35 years as supreme leader, Khamenei has overseen a rise in factionalism with competing camps sometimes splintering and bickering for power.

As the Islamic Republic heads for its 14th presidential election, supporters and students of a hardline cleric dubbed “Ayatollah Crocodile” threaten to turn the Iranian political parlour game into a blood sport.

The Paydari Front, called the Jebhe Paydari in Iran and sometimes translated as the “Steadfastness” or “Endurance” Front, are a faction of ideological diehards who consider the late Ayatollah Mohammad Mesbah-Yazdi – the crocodile ayatollah – as their spiritual mentor.

Controversial and reviled by Iranian moderates and reformists, the Paydari Front rose in prominence during Raisi’s term. Since the late president was a Khamenei loyalist, experts say the Paydari’s ascendance could not have happened without the consent or acquiescence of Iran’s supreme leader.

But as an ageing Khamenei leads a country plagued with high levels of domestic discontent and confronting serious international challenges to a snap poll, many analysts are wary of the Paydari Front’s stranglehold on power and what that could mean for Iran’s future.

‘Pumping ideology into the veins of the regime’

The Paydari Front in its current form was founded as a political party in 2011 under hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It was not a coincidence. The party’s ideology of strictly following the principles of the Islamic Revolution matched Ahmadinejad’s hardline conservatism.

The ideology was shaped by Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi, a deeply conservative cleric who taught most of the party’s founding members in Iranian seminaries and religious institutions.

“He argued against elections in Iran, which he believed should simply be a religious dictatorship. He had extremely anti-American, very conservative, social values – women must wear the hijab, a very repressive, heavy use of the death penalty, that sort of thing,” explained Barbara Slavin, distinguished fellow at the Washington, DC-based Stimson Center and director of the Middle East Perspective project. “He died in 2021, but his ideas live on.”

But Mesbah-Yazdi’s ideas did not always find favour with Iran’s presidents. When moderate Hassan Rouhani came to power in 2013, he tried to marginalise the party, according to Saeid Golkar, an expert on Iran at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. “But around 2019, 2020, they came out again. They took the parliament in the 2020 legislative elections and supported Raisi in the 2021 presidential election. Raisi was not an official member of the party, but he was strongly supported by the Paydari. They were very close allies. Under Raisi, the Paydari expanded its influence in the state bureaucracy,” explained Golkar.

Over the years, the Paydari Front infiltrated Iran’s state institutions, including the military and the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in what experts liken to state capture, in which a faction takes control of state institutions. “These people usually go to the military or the IRGC or the state bureaucracy as ideological indoctrinators. They go in and they teach. They have a very strong influence over the IRGC in indoctrination and political training,” said Golkar, explaining the workings of the Paydari as an “ideological pump to raise the level of ideology in the state, the military and the administration. They are pumping ideology into the veins of the regime.”

This state capture was on display during the crackdown on the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian-Kurdish woman, in September 2022. As anti-veil protests spread across the country, the regime doubled down, with Paydari parliamentarians playing a critical role in pushing through a draconian “Hijab and Chastity” law. The 2023 law increased prison sentences for “inappropriately” dressed women and introduced punishments for employers, as well as cinema and shopping mall owners, who did not enforce the dress codes on their premises.

Read moreIran’s regime crushes protests ahead of Mahsa Amini's death anniversary

Conservative pragmatists give way to diehard ideologues

The Iranian political landscape has been marked by a binary Reformist-Conservative configuration for decades. But the US pullout from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal effectively crushed the reformist camp, as the conservatives opposed to any deals with the “Great Satan” emerged to put a stranglehold on power. Under the hardline Raisi, Iran’s conservatives moved further right.

Within the conservative camp, the ascendance of the ultra-conservative Paydari Front caught the attention of British weekly The Economist after the first round of the parliamentary election in March, which the party swept.

Differentiating between the old school “gruff conservative pragmatists” and a rising “group of ideological diehards”, The Economist noted that Paydari Front members “are to Iran what the religious hard right are to Israel”.

Traditional conservatives are keenly aware of Iran’s military weaknesses compared to arch foes Israel and the United States. In the past, IRGC commanders were “ready to work with the West if they thought that doing so bolstered the regime”, The Economist noted.

“But the Paydari Front sees their earthly battle in divine terms,” the weekly observed. A messianic Shiite vision of a fight against an anti-Muslim tyrant increases the security risks in a tinderbox region reeling from the fallout of the Israel-Hamas war.

As supreme leader, Khamenei has the ultimate say in major military decisions. His inherent caution was evident on April 13, when Iran retaliated for the April 1 Israeli bombing of its embassy compound in Damascus. Iran's missile and drone attack came after Tehran gave Israel and its allies three days of notice to protect their airspace, resulting in relatively minor injuries and damage to infrastructure.

‘The catfights at the top’

But Khamenei is ageing, and the hardline takeover effort that began more than a decade ago could upset the fine balance that has kept Iran and Israel from waging a major, conventional war.

While Khamenei might be cautious on the regional front, his support for domestic hardliners have seen hawkish factions such as the Paydari Front gain disproportionate power in the nezum.

“They're kind of the last man standing. The system has gotten nasty and all the other factions, the pragmatists, even some of the traditional conservative factions, have been sidelined,” said Slavin. “They appear to be the last survivors of the long political game in Iran, particularly under Khamenei.”

Golkar believes it’s all gone according to plan. “Ayatollah Khamenei put a plan in action in order to have a smooth succession. And the plan he put in action since 2019 was to make sure the state, the government, the administration is aligned ideologically with Ayatollah Khamenei. He wants his ideas, his regime to outlive himself,” he explained.

For Khamenei, Iran’s late president was the ideal successor to take on the supreme leader position, according to Golkar. “Khamenei wants to have somebody with the same mentality, the same ideology, the same political view,” he said. Raisi’s sudden death in a helicopter crash on Sunday was “a hiccup in the Ayatollah Khamenei plan. But he will find somebody that has the same political view and ideology as Raisi.”

As the country gears up for a presidential election and the appointment of a parliamentary speaker, experts believe the Paydari Front is particularly well placed to handle the backroom machinations between the political factions. “Think about the Islamic Republic as a patron-client network system. There are a lot of patrons. The Paydari is one patron with its own clients,” explained Golkar. “They are the most cohesive group and the most ideological. Because of the ideology and because of the cohesiveness, they are much more difficult to defeat compared to the other groups that are much more opportunistic.”

For most Iranians chafing under a system that has ignored their aspirations, suppressed their demand for civil liberties, and failed to provide economic prosperity or development, the political wranglings hardly matter.

“I think the young people of Iran, in particular, couldn’t care less about the political machinations at the top. They've rejected the whole system. Anyone who's ever pledged loyalty to the Islamic Republic is largely alien now to a lot of Iran's younger population. So this is an inside game, it’s played by insiders. Most young Iranians are just trying to make a living, in many cases, to leave the country if they have the requisite credentials. They will ignore the catfights at the top,” said Slavin.

But as the ideological gap between the rulers and the people widens, experts warn that a Paydari domination is unlikely to benefit the country or its long-suffering populace. “I guess the most ruthless win out, particularly in a system like Iran’s,” said Slavin. “They just managed to climb the greasy pole and that's where they are. But of course, this makes the whole system even more fragile. So while they may have a triumph now, you have to question the legitimate longevity of the system when its base is so narrow.”

Cannes relives infamous rape in 'Last Tango in Paris'

Cannes (France) (AFP) – As France reels from a renewed #MeToo reckoning, a new film transports audiences back to the early 1970s when directors were all-powerful and the consent of their actresses was the last thing on their mind.


Issued on: 22/05/2024 

Matt Dillon stars as Marlon Brando in 'Being Maria' © Valery HACHE / AFP

"Being Maria", which premiered out of competition in Cannes, revisits one of the most infamous rape scenes in cinema -- Marlon Brando's butter-based sexual assault in the 1972 film "Last Tango in Paris".

French director Jessica Palud said her own experience decades later inspired her to make the film.

"I worked as an assistant on several films, I saw things on sets -- humiliated actors, ways of working that struck me," Palud, 42, told AFP.

"Being Maria" follows Maria Schneider's rise to fame after Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci cast her in "Last Tango in Paris", and its impact on her life and career.

In the notorious "butter scene", Schneider, who was 19 at the start of shooting, is depicted as being anally raped by the middle-aged Brando on a Paris apartment floor with the aid of a lump of butter.

"Being Maria" stars Matt Dillon as Brando, while Anamaria Vartolomei -- who broke out in the abortion drama "Happening" -- plays Schneider as an aspiring actress not fully briefed about how the scene will play out.

'Humiliated'

"What I wanted to understand was what she felt," said Palud, who herself started out as a 19-year-old crew member on the set of another racy Bertolucci film, "The Dreamers", in 2003.

She said she tracked down the original script for "Last Tango in Paris", which was banned in several countries and sparked a popular myth that the scene was real.

"The scene wasn't written," said Palud.

While the sex was simulated, it later emerged that Schneider had been kept in the dark about what was to happen by Brando and Bertolucci, who were both nominated for Oscars.

"Even though what Marlon was doing wasn't real, I was crying real tears," Schneider later said.

"I felt humiliated and to be honest I felt a little raped, both by Marlon and by Bertolucci. After the scene, Marlon didn't console me or apologise. Thankfully, there was just one take."

Despite a career of some 50 films, she remained traumatised by "Last Tango in Paris", and attempted suicide.

'Men my age'

In 2016, Bertolucci told Elle magazine he did not tell Schneider about the infamous scene because he "wanted her reaction as a girl not as an actress", sparking outrage.

"To all the people that love this film -- you're watching a 19yr old get raped by a 48yr old man," Jessica Chastain wrote on Twitter.

In a 1976 documentary titled "Be Pretty and Shut Up", 23-year-old Schneider recounted working in a male-dominated industry.

"The producers are men, the technicians are men, the directors are men... The agents are men and I feel they have subjects for men," she said.

The actor, who had just filmed "The Passenger" with Jack Nicholson, said she wanted to avoid playing "crazy women, lesbians or murderers", and it would be nice to play opposite men "my age".

"I mean even Nicholson is better than Brando. But it's not great. He's 40, or almost," she said.

Palud said she had been struck by the footage.

"What moved me was this woman in the 1970s who was talking, saying things that no one seemed to be hearing, whereas... what she was saying was very modern," the director said.

© 2024 AFP

Embryo activist: baby's lawsuit takes on S. Korea climate inaction

Seoul (AFP) – When he was a 20-week-old embryo -- before he even had a real name -- Choi Hee-woo became one of the world's youngest-ever plaintiffs by joining a groundbreaking climate lawsuit against South Korea.

Issued on: 22/05/2024 - 

Choi Hee-woo (L) became one the world's youngest plaintiffs when his mother Lee Dong-hyun (R) signed him up to a climate lawsuit while he was still in utero 

© Jung Yeon-je / AFP


His case, known as "Woodpecker et al. v. South Korea" after Choi's in utero nickname, seeks to prove Seoul's modest climate goals -- reducing carbon emissions by 40 percent of 2018 levels by 2030 -- are a violation of their constitutionally guaranteed human rights.

In Asia's first such climate case -- a similar youth-led effort recently succeeded in the US state of Montana, another is ongoing at the European Higher Court -- the plaintiffs claim South Korea's legally binding climate commitments are insufficient and unmet.

"I had no idea an embryo could participate," Choi's mother, Lee Dong-hyun, told AFP, adding that she'd been planning to sign up Choi's older sibling before realising her unborn child could also become a plaintiff.

Choi or "Woodpecker" -- his parents heard the bird's call after learning they were pregnant, Lee said -- is the youngest of the 62 children involved, although most were under five when the suit was first filed in 2022.

Lee is confident the court will rule with the children -- which could force revisions to Seoul's climate laws, although the scale of any potential changes is not clear.

"Considering the future of humanity, it's obvious the government should make more active efforts to ensure our survival amid the climate crisis," she said.

"I would be so sorry if my children never experienced a beautiful spring day," she said ahead of the final hearing this week of four climate cases, which for procedural reasons were merged into one, at South Korea's Constitutional Court.
'Climate crisis'

Youth climate activist Kim Seo-gyeong, 21, was part of the group that filed the first of the cases in 2020. She said it was taking too long for the government to address young people's demands, as their legal challenge makes its way through the courts.

Kim Seo-gyeong, now 21, was part of the first case filed against the government in 2020 © Anthony WALLACE / AFP

"Four years might not seem too long for a constitutional appeal, but it is too significant for a climate crisis," she said.

"For the decision makers, it still isn't enough of a crisis to compel action."

In 2021, South Korea made a legally binding commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 290 million tons by 2030 -- and to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

In order to meet this goal, the country needs to reduce emissions by 5.4 percent every year from 2023 -- a target they have so far failed to meet.

It's highly unlikely Seoul will meet its official climate goals, said Noh Dong-woon, a professor at Hanyang University in Seoul.

"With the current administration's industrial-friendly policies and South Korea's heavy industry structure, we should have done something much sooner," he told AFP.

Climate activists gather outside the Constitutional Court in Seoul ahead of Tuesday's final hearing © Anthony WALLACE / AFP

In 2022, South Korea generated just 5.4 percent of its energy from wind and solar, less than half the global average of 12 percent, and far behind neighbouring Japan and China, energy think tank Ember said, adding the country is also the G20's second-highest carbon emitter per capita.

"If South Korea doesn't look to renewable electricity to power manufacturing, it risks losing market share" as more blocs like the European Union move to penalise imports from heavy polluters, Helen Clarkson, CEO of Climate Group, told AFP.
'Desperation for change'

Similar climate litigations globally have found success, for example, in Germany in 2021, where climate targets were ruled insufficient and unconstitutional.

But a child-led suit in California over alleged government failures to curb pollution was thrown out earlier this month.

For 12-year-old plaintiff Han Jeah, who loves K-pop idols, dancing and climate activism, adults are not taking the climate crisis seriously enough, because it won't ultimately affect them.

Han Jeah, 12, believes adults aren't taking climate change seriously enough 

© Anthony WALLACE / AFP

"When the Earth's temperature rises two degrees Celsius more, none of the adults who are talking about this right now will still be around -- even President (Yoon Suk Yeol)," she told AFP.

"The children left behind will be responsible for reducing carbon emissions and suffer the consequences."

Jeah, who said she would like to be a professional gamer, soldier or a farmer when she grows up, delivered a statement during the final hearing Tuesday.

"It is absolutely not fair to ask us to solve the problem. If the future is worse than it is now, we may have to give up everything we dream of," she told the court.

Her lawyer Youn Se-jong told AFP the youthful nature of the plaintiffs helped hammer home people's "desperation for change".

"And I am hopeful we will win," he added.

© 2024 AFP

Louisiana poised to reclassify abortion pills as controlled substances

Republican lawmakers in the southern US state of Louisiana gave final approval Thursday to a bill that would criminalise possession of abortion pills without a prescription.


Issued on: 23/05/2024 

Packages of mifepristone on display at a family planning clinic in Rockville, Maryland. 

© Anna Moneymaker, Getty Images, AFP

The legislation, passed 29-7 by the state senate and 64-29 in the state house, is the first in the country to classify the drugs as controlled and dangerous substances.

It is expected to be signed by Republican Governor Jeff Landry.

The bill, which comes as abortion rights are being hotly debated ahead of November's presidential election, reclassifies mifepristone and misoprostol, commonly used for abortions, as Schedule IV drugs – putting them on a par with Valium and Xanax.

Possession of the medication without a prescription would be punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Read moreUS abortion rights: New laws highlight election battleground

Authorised medical practitioners would be exempt from prosecution, as would pregnant women if they had the medication for their own use.

Medication abortion accounted for 63 percent of the abortions in the United States last year, up from 53 percent in 2020, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

Vice President Kamala Harris criticised the Louisiana law in a post on X on Tuesday after it was passed by the state House, calling it "absolutely unconscionable."


"Let's be clear: Donald Trump did this," added Harris, who has previously criticised Trump for boasting of his role in appointing the Supreme Court justices who reversed Roe v Wade, the landmark ruling that enshrined the constitutional right to abortion for half a century.

Some 20 states have banned or restricted abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.

Abortion is banned in conservative Louisiana with only very limited exceptions in cases of risk to the mother's life or fetuses with fatal abnormalities.

Democrats believe abortion rights could be a key campaign issue in November's election, which is expected to pit President Joe Biden against Trump.

Trump told Time magazine in April he had "pretty strong views" on women's access to mifepristone and would share his opinions within a week of the interview, but never did so.

The conservative-majority Supreme Court heard an abortion pill case in March and appeared poised to reject restrictions imposed by a lower court on the drug.

A ruling in the case is expected by the end of June.

(AFP)

Top UN court to rule on S. Africa Gaza ceasefire bid

The Hague (AFP) – The top United Nations court on Friday will rule on a plea by South Africa to order a halt to the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, with Pretoria accusing Israel of "genocide".


Issued on: 24/05/2024 

The ICJ's rulings are binding but it has no way to enforce them 

© Nick Gammon / AFP

Pretoria has urged the International Court of Justice to order an "immediate" stop to Israel's campaign, including in the southern area of Rafah, and facilitate access of humanitarian aid.

Israel wants the court to toss out the request, arguing an enforced ceasefire would allow Hamas fighters to regroup and make it impossible to recover hostages taken in their October 7 assault.

In a highly-charged ruling in January, the court ordered Israel to do everything in its power to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza but stopped short of ordering a ceasefire.

South Africa argues that the recent Israeli operation in Rafah changed the situation on the ground and should compel the court to issue fresh emergency orders.

The ICJ rules in disputes between countries. Its orders are legally binding but it has no means to enforce them directly. The court has, for example, ordered Russia to halt its invasion of Ukraine to no avail.

South Africa has accused Israel of Genocide

 © Nick Gammon / AFP

Judges could agree to South Africa's request, reject it out of hand or even issue a completely separate set of orders.

The ICJ's ruling comes hot on the heels of a landmark request by the International Criminal Court's lead prosecutor to seek arrest warrants for top Israeli and Hamas leaders.

Prosecutor Karim Khan alleges that senior Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, plus top Hamas officials, are guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the October 7 attack and the war in Gaza.
'Limited and localised'

In public hearings at the ICJ last week, South Africa's ambassador Vusimuzi Madonsela alleged that "Israel's genocide has continued apace and has just reached a new and horrific stage".

"Although the present application was triggered by the unfolding situation in Rafah, Israel's genocidal onslaught across Gaza has intensified over the past few days, also warranting the attention of this Court," he said.

South Africa charges the only way to enable humanitarian aid in to ease the crisis in Gaza is a full halt to Israel's military operations.

It wants the court to issue emergency orders -- "provisional measures" in court jargon -- while it weighs the broader South African case that Israel is breaching the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.

Israel counters that South Africa's case is an "obscene exploitation of the most sacred convention" and the picture Pretoria paints to the court is "completely divorced from the facts and circumstances".

Israel says the case makes a 'mockery' of the UN Genocide Convention 

© Nick Gammon / AFP

"It makes a mockery of the heinous charge of genocide," said top Israel lawyer Gilam Noam at hearings.

"Calling something a genocide, again and again, does not make it genocide. Repeating a lie does not make it true," he added.

Noam described Rafah as a "focal point for ongoing terrorist activity" and said that operations there were "limited and localised", with no harm meant to civilians.
Bloodiest ever Gaza war

Israel pressed ahead with the assault on Rafah, the last city in Gaza to be entered by its ground troops, in defiance of global opposition, including from top ally the United States.

Washington voiced concerns that about 1.4 million Palestinians trapped in the city would be caught in the line of fire.

Israel has since ordered mass evacuations from the city, and the UN says more than 800,000 people have fled.

The bloodiest ever Gaza war broke out after Hamas's unprecedented attack on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

The devastation in Rafah has been widespread © Eyad BABA / AFP

Militants also took 252 hostages, 124 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the army says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 35,800 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.

Israel has also imposed a siege that has deprived Gaza's 2.4 million people of most clean water, food, medicines and fuel.

© 2024 AFP

Mines, unexploded ordnance a daily menace for Afghanistan's children

Ghazni (Afghanistan) (AFP) – The black mushroom cloud had barely faded in Ghazni province before kids clustered around the edge of the crater created by the mine, one of the devices that kills a child every other day in Afghanistan.


Issued on: 24/05/2024 -

Children gather around a crater after Afghan deminers from the Halo Trust detonated an anti-tank mine in Ghazni province © Wakil KOHSAR / AFP
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Afghans have been able to return to fields, schools and roads since the Taliban authorities ended their insurgency and ousted the Western-backed government in 2021.

But with new freedom of movement comes the danger of remnants left behind after 40 years of successive conflicts.

Nearly 900 people were killed or wounded by leftover munitions from January 2023 to April this year alone, most of them children, according to UN figures.

The anti-tank mine had been 100 metres from Qach Qala village, south of the provincial capital Ghazni, since the Soviet invasion from 1979 to 1989.

Deminers from the British organisation Halo Trust cautiously unearthed then detonated it, the explosion echoing three kilometres (nearly two miles) around.

But before it was set off, a Taliban member roared up to the deminers on his motorcycle.

"Give me that mine!" he demanded. "I'll keep it safe at home. We can use it later when Afghanistan is occupied again."

Afghan deminers from the Halo Trust clear anti-tank mines in Qala Khail village, Ghazni province © Wakil KOHSAR / AFP

The mine couldn't be "so dangerous since it hadn't exploded all these years", he insisted, before being pushed back by the deminers.

The Taliban government "is very supportive of demining in this country and wants to conduct clearance as far as it possibly can", said Nick Pond, head of the Mine Action Section of UNAMA, the United Nations mission in Afghanistan.

Demining began in Afghanistan as early as 1988 but, over decades of wars, the country has been re-infested with mines and ordnance.

"It is almost impossible at the moment to predict what the scale of current contamination is," Pond told AFP.

Eighty-two percent of those killed or wounded by the remnant weapons since January 2023 were children, with half of cases involving children playing.

The village of Nokordak, nestled in a bucolic valley, lost two children in late April.

Surrounded by her small children, Shawoo told of how her 14-year-old son Javid was killed by unexploded ordnance.

An Afghan teacher from the Halo Trust educates children about the risks of unexploded ordnance © Wakil KOHSAR / AFP

"He threw a stone at it. He hit it once, then a second time. The third time, the device exploded."

The boy died almost instantly.

The same explosion killed Javid's friend Sakhi Dad, also 14.

"People said there were explosive ordnances around, but nothing like this had ever happened in the village before," said Sakhi Dad's 18-year-old brother, Mohammad Zakir, a lost look in his eyes.

"No one had come to the village to warn the children of the danger."
'Lack of funds'

In PatanaySayed (2R) was still in bandages as he told AFP about the explosion in April that killed his younger brother © Wakil KOHSAR / AFP

"Three, four times I pulled it from his hands. I was shouting at him but he kicked me and hit it on a rock," Sayed told AFP.

These kinds of accidents are all too common, said their father Siraj Ahmad.

Tomorrow, "someone else's son could be killed or handicapped for the rest of their life", he said.

Zabto Mayar, Halo's explosive ordnance disposal officer, said "lack of funds" was a major challenge their work.

So deminers work painstakingly plot by plot, depending on donations.

"The mine action workforce was once 15,500 people around 2011. It is currently 3,000," said Pond.

Other global conflicts have pulled funding away, while Afghanistan has also seen donors pull back after the Taliban takeover, their government unrecognised by any other country.
Mistaken for gold

But Mohammad Hassan, headmaster of a small school in the Deh Qazi hamlet, is still counting on the deminers.

An anti-tank mine is detonated in Afghanistan, a country infested with mines and unexploded ordnance © Wakil KOHSAR / AFP

"Even the schoolyard is dangerous for the children because it is not cleared of mines," he said.

"We can't even plant trees here. If we dig, if we bring a tractor or machines to work here, it is really dangerous," he said.

Children in a classroom listened to a lesson aimed at preventing such accidents, the wall plastered with charts of mines or ordnance of all shapes and colours.

"Six months ago on a walk with my friends, we saw a rocket and we immediately told the village elders and they informed the deminers," said 12-year-old Jamil Hasan.

Mines and ordnance can look like playthings to children, said Pond.

The Soviet-era butterfly mine (PFM-1), for example, with its winged shape, "is very attractive to pick up", he said.

Children are also drawn to the "beautiful and modern colours" used in munitions, said Halo unit commander Sayed Hassan Mayar.

Shawoo told AFP her son Javid was killed by unexploded ordnance when he threw a stone at it © Wakil KOHSAR / AFP

Some colours are also deceiving, such as golden-topped ammunition that can look like precious metal to people hunting for scrap to sell in the impoverished country.

"The children usually think it might be gold, and they hit it with a stone or a hammer to take the top part," Pond said.

Danger from remnants of war is also omnipresent for deminers. Halo lost two of their number in early May.

"Sometimes when I go defusing mines, I call my family and tell them I love them, just in case anything happens," said Zabto Mayar.

© 2024 AFP

El Nino not responsible for East Africa floods: scientists

Nairobi (AFP) – The El Nino weather pattern did not have "any influence" on widespread flooding that killed hundreds in East Africa this year, an expert group of scientists said Friday.


Issued on: 24/05/2024 -

A woman wades through floodwaters in Garissa, Kenya earlier this month © LUIS TATO / AFP

Torrential rainfall in Kenya, Tanzania and neighbouring nations killed more than 500 people, displacing hundreds of thousands as the deluge swept away homes and swamped roads during the March to May monsoon season.

The region was hit by floods late last year as well, with researchers saying that the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) -- a climate system defined by the difference in sea surface temperature between western and eastern areas of the ocean -- contributed to the heavy rainfall.

This year's rains were believed to have been exacerbated by El Nino -- a climate phenomenon typically associated with increased heat that leads to drought in some parts of the world and heavy downpours elsewhere.

But a study published by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group on Friday found that "researchers did not find any evidence that El Nino or the Indian Ocean Dipole had any influence" on this year's extreme rainfall.

The network of scientists has developed peer-reviewed methods for quickly establishing the potential role of global warming in specific extreme weather events.

Scientists examined weather data and climate models to compare how rainfall patterns have changed between now and the pre-industrial era as they sought to measure the impact of climate change on the monsoon.

"The extreme rainfall that led to destructive floods in Kenya, Tanzania and other parts of East Africa is becoming more intense, with climate change as one of the drivers," researchers said.

"The best estimate is that climate change made the event twice as likely and five percent more intense," they said, adding a caveat that the findings also had to take "a large mathematical uncertainty" into account.

The study covered the "maximum 30-day rainfall" during this year's monsoon season, with researchers pointing out that "heavy rainfall will continue to increase in the region with further warming".

Improve infrastructure

The study urged governments in the region to improve infrastructure and protect ecosystems to save lives and help citizens cope with the heightened risk of climate disasters, especially in densely populated urban areas.

East Africa and the Horn of Africa are among the regions most vulnerable to climate change -- even though the continent's contribution to global carbon emissions is a fraction of the total.

Over 300 people died in rains and floods in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia late last year, just as the region was trying to recover from its worst drought in four decades that left millions of people hungry.

A WWA study on last year's floods in East Africa called for the urgent phasing out of fossil fuels and reduction of emissions globally.

© 2024 AFP

Health experts raise concerns over technology related injuries


By Dr. Tim Sandle
May 22, 2024

Image: — © AFP

In the UK, around 63 percent of people aged 75 to 84 had musculoskeletal issues in 2023, the highest rate among different age brackets. As people age, the likelihood of having these conditions increases.

Is this a tendency a reflection of today’s hyper-connected world? The digital age brings unparalleled convenience and connectivity but at a potential cost to physical health.

In the UK, the average person now spends more than 24 hours a week online, with a considerable portion of this time on smartphones and computers. This surge in digital activity is contributing to a host of physical ailments, commonly referred to as “tech-related health issues.”

Common Health Problems Include:Text Neck: Neck pain due to frequent bending over smartphones.
Wrist and Thumb Pain: Often associated with excessive texting or gaming.
Digital Eye Strain: Symptoms include dryness, irritation, and difficulty focusing.
Posture Problems: Long hours in front of a computer can lead to slouching and other posture-related issues, resulting in back and shoulder pain.

Notably, these conditions were less prevalent in previous decades, underscoring digital gadgets’ profound impact on our health.

Josh Gordon, a Geonode technology expert has told Digital Journal: “We’re seeing a marked increase in chronic pain associated with digital device usage. It’s imperative to adapt our habits and environments to mitigate these health risks”.

Gordon recommends the following strategies to reduce health risks:Ergonomic Adjustments: Setting up a workspace that promotes good posture can significantly lower the risk of pain. This includes appropriate chair height, adequate equipment spacing, and proper monitor alignment.
Regular Breaks: Implement the 20-20-20 rule, which suggests taking a 20-second break from the screen every 20 minutes and looking at something 20 feet away.
Physical Activity: Integrating physical exercise into one’s routine helps offset the physical inactivity associated with extended screen time.

The rise in remote working and digital leisure activities means more people than ever are glued to their devices. Recognizing the symptoms of tech-related health issues early can lead to better outcomes.

Gordon suggests: “Regular check-ins on physical health conditions can make a world of difference. Awareness and proactive management are key.”

His ideas for prevention are:Set up a daily routine that includes stretching or yoga exercises specifically targeting the neck, back, and wrists.
Consider the use of ergonomic devices like keyboards, mouse pads with wrist support, and standing desks.
Prioritize eye health by adjusting screen brightness, using blue light filters, and ensuring regular eye examinations.

Colombia declares ‘protected archeological area’ around treasure-laden shipwreck

AFP
May 22, 2024

A screen grab of a video released by the Colombian Presidency of the wrecked Spanish galleon San Jose - Copyright Colombian Presidency/AFP -

Colombia on Wednesday declared a “protected archeological area” around the spot where a Spanish galleon sank off its Caribbean coast more than three centuries ago laden with gold, silver and emeralds.

The designation, said the culture ministry, “guarantees the protection of heritage” through the ship’s “long-term preservation and the development of research, conservation and valuation activities.”

The San Jose was owned by the Spanish crown when it was sunk by the British navy near Cartagena in 1708. Only a handful of its 600-strong crew survived.

The galleon had been heading back from the New World to the court of King Philip V of Spain, bearing chests of emeralds and some 200 tons of gold coins.

Before Colombia announced the discovery in 2015, the ship had long been sought by adventurers.

The value of its bounty has been estimated to run into the billions of dollars.

Culture Minister Juan David Correa insisted Wednesday: “This is not a treasure, we do not treat it as such.”

He announced the area’s new designation at an event launching the first “non-intrusive” phase of a scientific exploration of the wreck.

Spain had laid claim to the ship and its contents under a UN convention Colombia is not party to, while Indigenous Qhara Qhara Bolivians claim the riches were stolen from them.

But the government of President Gustavo Petro has insisted on raising the wreck for purposes of science and culture.

Spanish and Qhara Qhara delegations were present at Wednesday’s event.

The wreck is also claimed by US-based salvage company Sea Search Armada — which insists it found it first more than 40 years ago and has taken Colombia to the UN’s Permanent Court of Arbitration, seeking $10 billion dollars.