END THE EMBARGO

Why did the US open up banking to Cuba's private sector?

Andreas Knobloch

DW

June 3, 2024

As Cuba faces a social and economic crisis, the United States has enabled more financial support for private businesses in the country in a boost to Internet-based services and financial services.

Private enterprise in sectors such as retail and transportation has improved the sanctions-hit Cuban economy

Image: Ismael Francisco/AP Photo/picture alliance


The US Treasury's regulatory amendment to the so-called Cuban Assets Control Regulations, announced on May 28, has caused quite a stir in Washington and beyond. For the first time since the revolution in the 1950s, Cuban entrepreneurs can open a bank account in the United States and access it from Cuba.

The changes are intended "to promote internet freedom in Cuba, support independent Cuban entrepreneurs in the private sector, and expand access to certain financial services for the Cuban population," the Treasury Department said in a statement.

Cuba's private sector has grown significantly since the government in Havana established a legal form for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 2021. Over 11,000 private companies, ranging from mom-and-pop shops to transportation and construction firms, have been founded since then. These newly established SMEs have notably improved the island's supply of goods through their imports.

Despite a policy of economic opening, Cubans are still suffering from food shortages and electricity cuts

Measure to stem Cuban migration?

The Biden administration's new measures will allow Cuban entrepreneurs to open bank accounts in the US and use US-based social media platforms, online payment sites, video conferencing, and cloud-based services. This means they can conduct money transactions through online payment platforms, removing a significant hurdle.

Additionally, the new regulation enables Cuban software developers to offer their apps for download in Apple or Google app stores, which was previously impossible due to the decades-long US blockade of the Communist-ruled country.

Cuba ends subsidies amid lack of foreign currency  01:56

The Treasury Department is also reversing a Donald Trump-era measure that prohibited US banks from processing transactions between Cuba and banks in third countries, known as U-turn transactions in the banking industry. This change will facilitate money transfers for Cuban nationals as long as neither the sender nor the recipient is subject to US law.

However, direct banking with the US remains prohibited, meaning that financing, investments, and payments must continue to be routed through third countries.

"Providing support for Cuba's private sector will help to stem irregular migration from the island by creating more economic opportunity," the US daily Miami Herald quoted an unidentified US government official.

US businesses with links to the Cuban government or military entities remain restricted, and Cuban companies with ties to the government will also not benefit from the new rules, the source said.

Resistance building in the US

According to US media reports, the Treasury Department's measures were ready as early as September but faced resistance in Congress. Republican lawmakers expressed concerns that there is no free enterprise on the island, as the government still controls the private sector.

Cuban-American Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar immediately criticized the measures, saying on X (formerly Twitter) that the Biden administration's decision would "make a mockery of American law, considering no progress has been made toward freedom on the Island and repression has intensified."

In Cuba, meanwhile, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said on the same social media platform that the US measures were "limited" and did not reverse the impact of the economic blockade imposed by that country on the island."

"These measures aim to divide Cuban society," he added.

Skepticism prevails

Cuban economist Ricardo Torres from the American University in Washington, D.C. described the measures as "positive steps" that align with "the changing reality in Cuba." He told DW that sectors like software development would benefit and that easing financial transactions was also a positive move.

"But there's a difference between intention and practice," Torres cautioned, pointing out that US banks and businesses might want to protect themselves against potential future legal claims since there is "no certainty that a future US administration will maintain the measures."

A young entrepreneur from Havana, who wished to remain anonymous, expressed cautious optimism.

"It would be a significant step," she told DW, referring to the possibility of opening a US bank account and using online payment services. "But we will see how it works in practice. Let's wait and see how it develops."

This article was originally written in German.

Grayson Murray's death poses golf mental health questions

Jonathan Harding

DW

June 3, 2024

The tragic death by suicide of professional golfer Grayson Murray has started a conversation around the mental health provisions of individual sports like golf.

Four months after winning on the PGA Tour, Grayson Murray died by suicide

Image: Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Network/IMAGO

In January 2024, Grayson Murray won the Sony Open in Hawaii after a birdie on the first playoff hole.

"My life is so good right now," said Murray, who has openly discussed his struggles with depression and alcohol addiction. "I wouldn't trade anything. I have a beautiful fiancee. I have beautiful parents. I have beautiful nephews, siblings. Everyone in my life right now who is close to me who has been through the struggles with me, it's all a team effort."

Four months later, one day after Murray had walked off the green of a PGA event in Texas, Murray died by suicide. He was 30 years old.

PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan confirmed grief counselors would be available at the upcoming PGA Tour, and Korn Ferry Tour events, but the tragic news has also started a conversation around the mental health provisions of individual sports like golf.

Proactive approach required

Back in 2021, Murray slammed the PGA Tour in a since-deleted tweet that criticized the competition for not giving him the right resources to address his anxiety, depression and trouble with alcohol.

"The PGA Tour didn't force me to drink, but the PGA Tour never gave me help," he posted. Murray added that in his five years on the tour, he had only ever received the following response from the Player Advisory Council: "We will get back to you."

Monahan said he had called Murray right away to try and improve the Tour's mental health services.

The PGA Tour declined to comment on DW's request about what plans it has to update its mental health services to players. In 2021, it provided details of the mental health services offered to its players in Golf Digest, citing the provision of "mental well-being benefits" for players and their families as well as having an assistance program that introduced mental health specialists to those who needed it.

In the context of modern sports, particularly in the US, where both the NFL and the NBA have mandated hours for mental health and well-being for their players and staff, this tragic situation might force sports like golf to take a more proactive step.

Renowned sports psychologist and former professional golfer Dan Abrahams says part of the problem is golf's history with psychology largely connected to performance. Now, as a result of a generational shift, greater access to information and recognition of what other sports are doing, the focus is shifting to mental health and well-being.

"[Golf] tends to be performance psychology," Abrahams tells DW. "And yet the world is now honing in on mental health and well-being. And I think both are very, very relevant, especially in professional sport."

Landscape changing

In individual sports, it's much harder to mandate mental health than in team sports. Sports like golf, which have seemingly lacked psychological help beyond performance for years, now face the challenge of modernizing support for their employees. The landscape is shifting beyond the need to cater just for the body. Abrahams believes the leading figures in high-pressured, solo sports like golf will now be asking whether now is the time to provide provide practitioners at events that enable players to access professional guidance from a well-being and mental health perspective.

"I think these tours have a responsibility to create what we might call a psychologically informed environment where all of the employees, from tournament officers or players themselves, all have the opportunity to seek a counselor who will be onsite. That can make a difference," Abrahams says. "This is the evolution of how we treat sports, how we treat people. This is a more sophisticated approach to human involvement in sports."

Mental health every day

Whether for a week or the entire month, May has long been the time of the year in which awareness around mental health is raised through education, workshops and local events. Abrahams is a big fan of these days and weeks and months because they provide a platform for conversation and intervention, but awareness is just the start. Managing mental health is not a linear process, it's a continuum. It is changing every day and so requires management every day.

"We're human beings, and we are complex creatures living in both complex and complicated worlds. We need to understand every single day, in many respects, requires a degree of mental health and well-being. Every day is a well-being day," Abrahams says.

"We need psychologically informed environments incorporated into cultures, and cultures incorporated into coaching practices. It's an everyday thing and it's not just a day, or week, or a month thing. And that requires a really sophisticated, knowledge-driven form of coaching and it involves everybody."

Grayson Murray was a professional athlete who, as was evident in the statement his parents released and the outpouring in the golf community following his death was loved. He himself said he had turned a corner with his depression and addiction, but that still wasn't enough to save him. His legacy to the sporting world might be that athletes are humans first, but also that every day is a mental health day.

*Editor's note: If you are suffering from serious emotional strain or suicidal thoughts, do not hesitate to seek professional help. 

You can find information on where to find such help, no matter where you live in the world, at this website: https://www.befrienders.org

Edited by: Matt Pearson

Jonathan Harding 

Sports reporter and editor

What is Nigeria doing to stop chronic oil theft?

Isaac Kaledzi | Shehu Salmanu

 in northern Nigeria

DW

June 4,2024

Nigeria relies on crude oil for more than two-thirds of its earnings and about 90% of foreign exchange income, but massive theft in the country's oil-rich heartland is draining national revenue.

Crude oil sales that boost Nigeria's foreign exchange earnings have dropped because of oil theft and pipeline vandalism

Image: next24online/NurPhoto/picture alliance

Nigerian authorities have beefed up efforts to thwart the theft of crude products in the West African country's oil-rich Niger Delta region.

Large-scale oil theft from pipelines and wells has been one of Nigerian President Bola Tinubu's biggest challenges, damaging government finances and limiting Nigeria's output and exports.

Nigeria, Africa's top economy and major oil producer, lost about 620 million barrels of crude oil — valued at $46 billion (€42 billion) — between 2009 and 2020 alone, according to the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, an organization that promotes accountability in the management of the nations's oil, gas and mining revenue.

Is Nigeria doing enough?

Nigeria's oil workers union in April asked Nigerian President Bola Tinubu to deploy more troops to combat the widespread theft from oil pipelines, which, along with the sabotage of onshore pipelines, has forced oil majors like Shell and Exxon to sell onshore assets.

In the same month, Nigeria's Navy recruited 1,486 personnel to boost internal security operations in the country's crude production heartland, according to local media sources.

Why oil-rich Nigeria can still not fuel its economy 26:05

Nigeria's Chief of Naval Staff, Emmanuel Ogalla, told DW that the Niger Delta operation aims to reduce oil theft and increase crude output in order to improve the country's economy.

"Mr. President has given us a matching order to conduct our operation to eradicate this menace of oil theft and without any restrictions," he said, adding the eradicating oil theft was non-negotiable.

"With the recovery of massive quantities of stolen crude oil products, dismantling of illegal refining sites, arrest of suspects, all [of] which has underscored the resolve of the Nigerian Navy to stamp out crude oil theft," Ogalla told DW.

Nigerian oil and gas management analyst Aminu Ghandi told DW that oil theft is becoming very lucrative for perpetrators.

"So, you see there is serious revenue leakage, oil theft is having a multiplier effect on the Nigerian economy and thus, the value of Nigerian currency is always going down because of the high demand of dollar by these criminals that takes our oil illegally," said Ghandi.

Who is stealing the oil?

Most of those involved in carrying out the oil theft are young people, many of whom are unemployed and looking to improve their livelihoods.

But commanding officer of the anti-oil theft operation, Captain Maksum Muhammed, told DW that these young people risk being arrested and prosecuted.

"To those that engaged in this illegal activity, we will not relent in our effort to hunt you down, discover you, find you wherever you are and continue to disrupt your activities and dislocate you to a point where we can deny you total freedom of action in carrying out these activities of economic sabotage against the country," Muhammed said, urging "those involved in this activity to consider another line of occupation."

Vandals damage oil pipelines to allow crude pour into makeshift holes

Image: Pius Utomi Ekpei//AFP/Getty Images

Incentivizing the thieves

Some of the oil thieves are suspected members of militant groups.

The Nigerian government in 2022 awarded a pipeline protection contract to Tompoloa former miltant — a controversial move, according to DW correspondent Mohammed Bello, who reports about the Niger Delta region.

Bello said that to end the menace, Nigerian authorities should consider engaging a broad section of militant groups across communities where the thefts take place.

"The best thing is for government to look at the entire region, look at the various communities there and the youth, bring them together so that there would be a kind of collaborative work," he said, suggesting that authorities could perhaps incentivize the groups by offering them a share of the oil they helped recover.

With the total value of crude oil lost in the Nigeria reportedly higher than the size of the country's foreign reserves, in it is inevitable that tackling the phenomenon is crucial.

Edited by: Keith Walker

The oligarch behind Georgia's pivot to Russia

Maria Katamadze

DW

05/27/2024

Bidzina Ivanishvili, an oligarch and Georgia's former prime minister, is thought to have masterminded the "foreign influence" bill, which critics see as a sign of Georgia's shift toward Russia. But who is he?

Bidzina Ivanisvhili, Georgia's informal and shadow ruler, is believed to be behind the controversial 'foreign influence' billImage: David Mdzinarishvil/TASS/picture alliance

Despite mass pro-EU rallies and pressure from the West, Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream party has shown no sign of repealing the "foreign influence" bill.

Critics of the bill, who have dubbed it the "Russian law," have said the Georgian government intends to implement similar tactics to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on opposition, civil society and independent media.

If signed into law, it would require nongovernmental organizations and individuals receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as entities "bearing the interests of a foreign power."

The government has claimed the bill is aimed at transparency. But opponents have said its goal is to steer the country away from Europe and closer to Russia.

Georgia has been rocked by clashes with riot police during mass protests over the 'foreign influence' billImage: Irakli Gedenidze/REUTERS

Critics claim Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the ruling party and now considered its informal leader, is the mastermind behind the bill.

In his capacity as honorary chairman of the Georgian Dream party, he has the informal power to appoint prime ministers, approve judges in courts and rubber-stamp laws in parliament.

How did Ivanishvili rise to power?

"He leads a sterile and ascetic lifestyle," Gia Khukhashvili, a former adviser and friend of Ivanishvili's, told DW. "He is a hermit."

Ivanishvili was born in 1956 in the village of Chorvila in western Georgia. He attended university in the capital, Tbilisi, before going to Moscow to pursue a doctorate in economics. It was from the ruins of the Soviet Union that he paved his way to becoming a billionaire.

During the privatization phase that followed the collapse of communism, Ivanishvili became a banking and metal tycoon. He also acquired 1% of shares in Russia's state-owned gas giant Gazprom, which he later claimed to have sold before entering Georgian politics.

Critics have accused Bidzina Ivanishvvili of turning Georgia toward Moscow

Image: Maria Katamadze/DW

Ivanishvili left Russia in 2002, first moving to France before returning to Georgia in 2003. There is speculation that he left because he feared the crackdown on oligarchs launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"When he saw [Putin] on TV marching down the Kremlin aisle, he understood that Putin wouldn't let him manage his business peacefully," said Khukhashvili.

He added that Ivanishvili had once told him "very proudly that it was his idea to ask the Russian secret service to protect the oligarchs. Other than that, we did not talk about his life in Russia, and he did not mention any friends there."

After returning to Georgia, Ivanishvili continued his business activity and led a low-profile life away from the public eye.

He returned to the spotlight when he founded Georgian Dream party and ran for the 2012 parliamentary election. He beat his rival, Mikheil Saakashvili, but his tenure as prime minister only lasted a year before he announced his retirement from politics.

However, observers have said he left only to continue pulling the strings in the background.

Ivanishvili behind Georgia's pro-Western facade

Opinion polls suggest more than 80% of Georgians support the country's further integration with the European Union. Anti-Kremlin sentiments run high in Georgia, especially since Russia invaded Georgia in 2008.

Since coming to power in 2012, the Georgian Dream government has always been officially committed to joining the EU and NATO. The opposition, however, have accused it of hiding a pro-Russian stance.

Ivanishvili was able to attract allies who believed in a pro-Western course for Georgia and thought he had broken his links with Russia.

"He said he sold his assets in Russia and was free of the Russian grip," former Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili told DW. "We were always talking about Euro-Atlantic integration. At some point, I stopped believing in it. I saw that we were moving elsewhere. But the voters believed that they were still going to Europe."

What's behind Georgia's divisive 'foreign agents' law?  05:18

After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Georgian Dream officials started accusing Western officials of wanting to drag Georgia into the Ukraine war as "a second front."

In April, in a rare speech, Ivanishvili accused what he refers to as a Western-backed "global war party" of interfering in Georgian affairs and causing conflict with its neighbor Russia.

"Despite the promise made at the Bucharest Summit in 2008, Georgia and Ukraine were not allowed to join NATO and were left outside. All such decisions are made by the 'global war party,' which has a decisive influence on NATO and the European Union and only sees Georgia and Ukraine as cannon fodder," he said in his speech.

Margvelashvili believes the "foreign influence" bill, which targets Western-funded civil society and pro-EU movements in Georgia, plays right into Putin's hands.

"Russia will be able to say, 'Look at Georgia; they've been struggling to break away from us, and they still come back to Russia. No matter what you do today, you will come back to Russia,'" Margvelashvili said. "This will also echo with Ukrainians."

Sanctions, conspiracy theories and disputes with Credit Suisse

Since parliament passed the "foreign influence" bill, which critics say would put Georgia's Western trajectory at risk, the European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling for sanctions against Ivanishvili. The US, traditionally one of Georgia's main strategic partners,has introduced a visa ban for Georgian Dream officials for "undermining democracy" in the country.

Georgia's foreign agents law 'not good for democracy' 12:40


Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze recently claimed that "informal sanctions" against Ivanishvili were already in place as a result of Ivanishvili's ongoing legal war with the Swiss bank Credit Suisse over freezing his assets believed to total $2 billion (€1.85 billion).

"When you don't believe in democracy, you don't believe in the independence of institutions and the checks-and-balances system, [then] conspiracy theory is the easy way," explained former Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia, speaking with DW.
Ivanishvili's strategy to stay in power

Some of Ivanishvili’s critics believe the current illiberal turn is part of his political survival strategy. If the pro-Western opposition wins parliamentary elections in October, Ivanishvili's standing and wealth could be at risk.

"He is sacrificing his country's democracy and EU integration for his wealth, and he will put all his resources into maintaining power. Because only staying in power can guarantee his well-being," said Gakharia.

He added that for Ivanishvili, the "foreign influence" bill was also a tool to suppress election watchdogs in order to rig the parliamentary elections.

"The problem now is how to conduct fair elections. Ivanishvili is afraid of two things: Not getting legitimacy from Georgians if they do not recognize the elections, and international legitimacy. If these two overlap in October, he is done," said Gakharia.

Edited by: Rob Mudge

Why Nazi slogans and xenophobia appeal to rich kids

Jens Thurau

DW

05/27/2024

A video from the posh holiday island of Sylt shows wealthy young people shouting Nazi slogans and singing xenophobic chants. Are the children of the rich particularly likely to be anti-democratic?

'Sylter against the right' — protesters stand outside the Pony Club where a video portraying racists gestures was filmed

 Lea Sarah Albert/dpa/picture alliance

The uproar in Germany over a 15-second video Chancellor Olaf Scholz called "disgusting" and Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser a "disgrace for Germany" has continued into a second week.

The video shows half a dozen young people in smart-casual clothes dancing and singing: "Germany for the Germans, foreigners out," to the tune of a 20-year-old party hit named "L'amour toujours." One of them does a Hitler salute while holding two fingers between his upper lip and nose as if to imitate the Nazi dictator's mustache.

The video was recorded last week in the Pony Club on Sylt, a North Sea island much frequented by wealthy holidaymakers.

VIDEO:   When the celebrities discovered Sylt  02:31

Since the video emerged, more right-wing incidents have come to light on the island: Police are investigating the verbal and physical attack on a 29-year-old Black woman.

Those shown in the video also now face criminal investigations. "Incitement to hatred" carries a minimum prison sentence of three months and a maximum of five years, while the use of symbols and gestures of unconstitutional organizations, such as a Hitler salute, can lead to a prison sentence of up to three years.

In an attempt to explain the events, Faeser and other politicians were quick to suggest the perpetrators may be wealthy individuals who experienced neglect as children and now "trample on the values in our Basic Law."



The term "Wohlstandsverwahrlosung" has been bandied around: The term refers to rich children who grow up in a world full of material abundance, have unlimited options, never experience pressure to secure their own livelihood and end up being neglected by their parents. As adults, they display a sense of entitlement to a higher social standing, their wealth allowing them to follow their every whim without having to fear consequences or take responsibility.

Social psychologist Pia Lamberty of CeMAS, a non-profit that monitors the spread of conspiracy ideologies, said the Sylt incident is proof that there are right-wing extremist and xenophobic attitudes in all sections of society.

"The media attention has to do with the fact that this did not take place somewhere deep in Saxony [a far-right stronghold], in a pub or nightclub, but rather where the rich and famous are," she told the German news agency dpa.

The island of Sylt, especially the small town of Kampen with its 500 inhabitants, has been a vacation destination for party-loving young people from wealthy families for many years. Business leaders and celebrities have bought vacation homes all over the island, where hotel and real estate prices are exorbitant, as are the prices for food and drink.

The inhabitants of Kampen are in a state of shock. The managers of the Pony Club are said to have received death threats. The island's local politicians fear for its good reputation: Mayor Stefanie Böhm said, "Kampen is a cosmopolitan village. these people represent neither the village nor the island."

Festival organizers across Germany have said they are banning the "L'amour toujours" tune from their events.



This article was originally written in German.

'System collapsed': Haiti in dire need of both 'emergency' humanitarian aid, long-term 'development'

Issued on: 27/05/2024 

Haiti is waiting desperately for the first members of a Kenyan-led multinational force tasked with ending the stranglehold of powerful and ultra-violent gangs, but their hoped-for arrival this week was delayed. There had been speculation that a first contingent of the Kenyan-led force might arrive in the destitute Caribbean nation this week, to coincide with Kenyan President William Ruto's state visit to Washington. The deployment gained new urgency with the announcement Friday that gang members killed three missionaries, a Haitian and an American couple, leading to renewed calls for the force to get up and running. Gangs control much of the capital, Port-au-Prince, as well as swathes of the country, and have long terrorized people with random shootings, kidnappings and sexual violence. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective on violent upheaval and the harrowing plight of civilians in the impoverished gang-ravaged Caribbean nation, FRANCE 24's Genie Godula is joined by our Senior Reporter Catherine Norris Trent and Dr. Christian MOUALA, UNAIDS Country Director and Representative in Haiti.

18:40 Video by: Catherine NORRIS TRENT| Genie GODULA

DECREE 54

Tunisian journalists demand arrested colleagues' release

Tunis (AFP) – Several dozen journalists demonstrated in Tunis  against what they called the "repression" of freedoms and called for the release of two convicted colleagues, an AFP journalist said.


Issued on: 27/05/2024 - 

Tunisian journalists protesting outside their union headquarters 

© Sofiene HAMDAOUI / AFP

Around 60 protesters chanted "Freedom for the Tunisian press", "The police state is old news" and "The judiciary is under orders" outside the headquarters of the national journalists' union (SNJT).

The day of solidarity was organised after two well-known journalists were sentenced on Wednesday to a year in prison over social and news media posts about Tunisia's socio-economic situation and President Kais Saied, who seized sweeping powers in 2021.

The demonstrators, who included relatives of the imprisoned journalists, held placards reading "No to liquidating the media", "Journalism is not a crime" and "There is no free and professional press under threat and intimidation".

Broadcaster Borhan Bssais and political commentator Mourad Zeghidi were arrested on May 11 and found guilty of spreading "false information" and having "defamed others or damaged their reputation".

Their lawyers are appealing the ruling, the journalists' families told AFP.

Bssais and Zeghidi were convicted under Decree 54, enacted in 2022 by Saied officially in the name of fighting "false news" but widely criticised for its broad interpretation.

"Freedoms are beginning to lose their value in Tunisia and the colleagues being prosecuted are prisoners of conscience," SNJT president Zied Dabbar said before the protest.

Calling for Bssais and Zeghidi to be freed, he demanded a stop to "instrumentalising Decree 54" and "repressing freedoms".

A dozen lawyers, journalists, and civil society activists have been arrested under Decree 54 and other laws in recent weeks, drawing the "concern" of international NGOs, the European Union, the United States and France.

Over the past year and a half, more than 60 critical voices have been prosecuted under Decree 54.

Meeting the justice minister on Friday, Saied said the Tunisian constitution guaranteed freedom of expression.

"No one has yet been prosecuted for their opinions," he said.

© 2024 AFP

US Democrats call for criminal probe into Big Oil price-fixing

Washington (AFP) – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and nearly two dozen Democrats called on the Justice Department to investigate the oil and gas industry over allegations of price-fixing.


Issued on: 30/05/2024

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged the Justice Department to "use every tool" to prevent and prosecute price-fixing

 © Samuel Corum / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File

The senators pointed to an investigation by US antitrust authorities into a high-profile merger that concluded there was evidence of anticompetitive practice by oil executives to boost fuel costs for Americans.

"These reports are alarming and lend credence to the fear that corporate avarice is keeping prices artificially high," Democrats wrote in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Schumer and his colleagues urged Garland to "use every tool" to prevent and prosecute price-fixing, which they said may have increased gasoline, diesel, heating oil and jet fuel costs "in a way that has materially harmed virtually every American household and business."

The letter came with Democrats escalating a confrontation with so-called "Big Oil" over high prices and greenhouse gas emissions as the presidential election looms in November.

ADVERTISING


The Federal Trade Commission earlier in May approved ExxonMobil's $60 billion acquisition of leading Texas oil producer Pioneer Natural Resources -- but accused Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield of colluding with the OPEC+ group of countries to boost prices.

Regulators pointed to multiple private conversations and hundreds of text messages between Sheffield and OPEC officials in which the CEO discussed pricing and production, and assured them that Pioneer as working to keep supply low.

Schumer and his colleagues argued that industry collusion may have contributed to sharply lowering US oil production, boosting gas prices by 94 cents a gallon since the pandemic hit.

"That means Pioneer's and its co-conspirators' collusion may have cost the average American household up to $500 per car in increased annual fuel costs -- an unwelcome tax that is particularly burdensome for lower-income families," they said.

The FTC banned Sheffield from serving on Exxon's board following the takeover but the senators said that "only the DOJ can prosecute and fully redress the alleged anticompetitive behavior in the oil sector."

Price fixing findings can carry penalties of up to $1 million and 10 years in prison for individuals and $100 million for companies.

Sheffield's lawyers wrote in a federal filing earlier this week that the FTC's case was built on a "false narrative about these statements and a farfetched interpretation of the applicable statutes."

"This document lays out in detail why the FTC is wrong to imply that I ever engaged in, promoted or even suggested any form of anti-competitive behavior," Sheffield said in a statement.

"It also shows how publicly and unjustifiably vilifying me will have a chilling effect on the ability of business leaders in any sector of our economy to address shareholder demands and to exercise their constitutionally protected right to advocate for their industries."

Pioneer said the FTC's complaint reflected a "fundamental misunderstanding of the US and global oil markets" and that Sheffield was motivated by strengthening the position of domestic energy producers to enhance US energy security.

© 2024 AFP

Danger warnings as heatwave hits western US

Los Angeles (AFP) – A dangerous heatwave was building over parts of the western United States Tuesday, with forecasters warning of rocketing temperatures in an early taste of a possibly brutal summer for the region.


Issued on: 04/06/2024 - 

Death Valley is routinely unpleasantly hot, but is expected to see temperatures as high as 122F

 © MARIO TAMA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File

The merury was expected to top out at well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), with some areas experiencing highs as much as 30 degrees above normal for this time of year.

Southwestern desert areas and California's Central Valley fruit basket were set to be particularly unpleasant, the National Weather Service warned.

"Widespread temperature records are expected to be tied or broken across much of the aforementioned areas," the agency said.

Temperatures in Death Valley were set to hit a deeply uncomfortable 122F on Thursday, while Las Vegas could be baking in 112F heat.

Forecasters issued excessive heat warnings for parts of Nevada, Arizona and California, with the heat expected to spread further inland as the week goes on.

"Little overnight relief will make for dangerous conditions for those without effective cooling and/or adequate hydration," the NWS said.

California's Environmental Protection Agency said certain groups were particularly at risk.

"Extreme heat is an invisible but dangerous consequence of climate change, and California's outdoor workers, seniors and children are particularly vulnerable," it wrote on social media.

Southern Texas was also experiencing sweltering temperatures, with the border city of Rio Grande expected to see highs of 117F later Tuesday.

Forecasters in the United States are watching for the development of a ridge of high pressure that would bring more heat in from Mexico, which has been withering under a punishing heatwave.

Late last month Mexico City -- which sits 7,350 feet (2,240 meters) above sea level and has traditionally enjoyed a temperate climate -- logged its highest ever temperatures.

Officials say dozens of people have died in repeated heatwaves that have scorched the country, with hundreds of others sickened.

Experts say there could be worse to come.

This year is on course to be "the warmest year in history," Francisco Estrada, coordinator of the Climate Change Research Program at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, has warned.

Human-caused climate change is heating up the planet at an alarming rate, the global scientific community agrees.

The world experienced an average of 26 more days of extreme heat over the last 12 months that would probably not have occurred without climate change, a report said last month.

The report, by the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, the World Weather Attribution scientific network and the nonprofit research organization Climate Central, said 6.3 billion people -- roughly 80 percent of the global population -- experienced at least 31 days of extreme heat last year.

The year 2023 was the hottest on record, according to the European Union's climate monitor, Copernicus.

And 2024 is not shaping up to be any better, with Pakistan, India and China already walloped by extreme temperatures.

© 2024 AFP

Exceptionally early heatwave hits Finland

Helsinki (AFP) – Finland has been experiencing unusually warm weather this May, prompting the Meteorological Institute to issue a heat warning on Monday.

Issued on: 27/05/2024 - 

Nordic Finland does not usually experience heatwaves in May 

© Olivier MORIN / AFP/File
ADVERTISING


Temperatures across large parts of the Nordic nation, the north of which lies above the Arctic Circle, are due to surge above 27C (81 F) starting on Tuesday, the institute said.

"This is probably the first time ever we have issued a heatwave warning in May", Iiris Viljamaa from the Finnish Meteorological Institute told AFP, adding that such alerts were normally issued in June at the earliest.

Scientists say that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of global warming and that these heatwaves are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense.

"The Finnish climate has always seen changes in weather but now climate change is enhancing these kinds of weather phenomena," meteorologist Leena Laakso told AFP.

Research shows "extreme weather events will increase due to climate change," she said.

According to Laakso, the current temperatures were around 10C above average temperatures for May.

The Finnish warning is aimed at alerting people about increased health risks associated with daytime temperatures reaching 27C.

Especially the elderly, people with long-term illnesses and disabilities, babies and young children are advised to take shelter from the heat, the Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare said in a statement.

"In Finland we are used to cool weather and people start to have some health issues in this kind of weather already", said Viljamaa.

On Monday, temperatures between 24 and 28C were recorded, due to a high pressure system over the country, combined with a warm, dry air mass flowing from the south.

Twelve days in May had already exceeded 25 degrees, Viljamaa said.

The town of Salo in southwestern Finland on Saturday registered the country's highest temperature of the year so far, at 28.8C.

"Now it seems the really, really hot weather will remain in Finland until the end of the month," Viljamaa said.

After Sunday the weather is expected to start cooling down, bringing much needed rain for nature and fields grappling with drought, Viljamaa added.

© 2024 AFP

Slovenia becomes latest EU country to recognise Palestine as a state

More than 140 countries recognize a Palestinian state — more than two-thirds of the United Nations.

Slovenia recognised a Palestinian state on Tuesday after its parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of the move, following in the recent steps of three other European countries.


Issued on: 04/06/2024 -

A man puts up the flag of Palestine as members of parliament applaud after the Slovenian parliament approved the recognition of an independent Palestinian state, in Lubljana, Slovenia June 4, 2024. © Borut Zivulovic, Reuters

Slovenia’s government endorsed a motion last week to recognize a Palestinian state , and sent the proposal to the parliament for final approval, which was needed for the decision to take effect.

Lawmakers on Tuesday voted with 52 in favor and no one against recognition in the 90-seat parliament. The remaining lawmakers were not present for the vote.

“Dear people of Palestine, today’s final decision of Slovenia is a message of hope and peace," Slovenia's Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said on the social media platform X. "We believe that only a two-state solution can lead to a lasting peace in the #MiddleEast . Slovenia will tirelessly continue to work on the security of both nations, Palestinians and Israelis.”

Slovenia’s decision came days after Spain, Norway and Ireland recognized a Palestinian state, a move that was condemned by Israel.

Previously, only seven members of the 27-nation European Union officially recognized a Palestinian state. Five of them are former East bloc countries that announced recognition in 1988, as did Cyprus, before joining the EU. Sweden’s recognition came in 2014.

“We started talking with our allies about the recognition of Palestine in February this year,” Prime Minister Robert Golob told lawmakers before Tuesday's vote. “At the time, the assessment was — the time is not yet ripe ... we warned that we, Europe, have a ... duty to act.”

The ruling coalition led by Golob holds a comfortable majority in Slovenia’s assembly and the vote was expected to be a formality.

Golob also evoked Slovenia's independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991 in his remarks to parliament.

“We Slovenians have dreamed of this right for 1,000 years. We got it 33 years ago,” Golob said. “Unfortunately, the Palestinian nation has not yet received this right.”

Slovenia's main opposition party, the Slovenian Democratic Party, opposes the recognition. The right-wing party has demanded a referendum on the issue that would delay the vote, but on Tuesday withdrew the bid before again filing another one that was rejected by parliament.

Slovenia first began the recognition process in early May, but said it would wait until the situation in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza improved. Golob has explained he was speeding up the process in reaction to Israel’s latest attacks on the southern Gaza city of Rafah , which have caused more than 1 million Palestinians to flee.

The war was triggered by the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack in which militants stormed across the Gaza border into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage. Israel’s air and land attacks have since killed more than 36,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry , which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians.

More than 140 countries recognize a Palestinian state — more than two-thirds of the United Nations.

(AP)