It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Friday, June 21, 2024
Antibiotic-resistance in sub-Saharan Africa 'alarming': studies
The World Health Organization has declared antimicrobial resistance a global health crisis
Superbug infections are taking a disproportionate toll in sub-Saharan Africa where there are "extremely concerning" levels of multi-resistant bacterial strains among young children, two studies warned on Thursday.
The World Health Organization has declared antimicrobial resistance, which occurs when bacteria become immune to antibiotics, a global health crisis.
Analyses carried out by Geneva University Hospital (HUG) and the University of Geneva (UNIGE) concluded that the situation in sub-Saharan Africa was particularly "alarming".
"We observed a strong proportion of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, in particular those found in the blood of young patients," explained Noemie Wagner, at HUG's paediatric infectiology unit.
Both analyses focused on Enterobacteria, which are found in the digestive tract and are known for their ability to develop antibiotic resistance.
They are responsible for the most invasive infections in newborns in the region, researchers said.
The first analysis evaluated antibiotic-resistant bacteria found in the blood of young children in the region during infections.
The results suggested "a very high level of resistance to first-line and second-line antibiotics recommended for treating child sepsis", the researchers said in a statement.
The most commons strains identified were E.coli and Klebsiella spp, which showed considerable resistance to the first-line antibiotics recommended for sepsis - ampicillin and gentamicin. 'Very high'
The analysis reviewed over 1,000 studies published since 2005 and conducted an in-depth meta-analysis on 122 of them.
It found that 92.5 per cent of E.coli found in the blood of children with infection were resistant to ampicillin and 42.7 per cent to gentamicin.
The Klebsiella spp strain is always resistant to ampicillin, and the study showed 77.6 per cent were also resistant to gentamicin.
The analysis indicated very high proportions of resistance to cephalosporin, a third-generation antibiotic considered a second-line treatment for sepsis in children.
The second study aimed to estimate the prevalence of children "colonised" by cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacteria - meaning the bacteria is present in their stool when there is no infection.
Following an analysis of 40 studies, representing more than 9,400 children, the researchers determined that nearly a third were carriers of Enterobacteria resistant to wide-spectrum cephalosporins.
"These proportions are very high and concerning," said Annick Galetto-Lacour, at HUG's paediatric admissions and emergency division.
If first and second-line treatments fail, "treatment options are often not available in this region", she pointed out. 'Vicious circle'
The study revealed that more than half of children who were not carrying resistant Enterobacteria when they were admitted to the hospital tested positive for these bacteria when discharged.
It also showed that the risk of becoming a carrier of resistant Enterobacteria ballooned three-fold for those who had received antibiotic treatment in the previous three months.
This worries specialists as basically all hospitalised children in sub-Saharan Africa are systematically treated with antibiotics.
"As bacterial infections are the main cause of death in this region, children are very often treated with antibiotics when they are admitted to hospital, even if there is no strong argument for a bacterial infection," Wagner said.
Most medical facilities have no access to tests needed to distinguish a bacterial infection, which requires antibiotics, from a viral infection, which does not.
ADVERTISING
"It's a vicious circle," Wagner said.
"Improper use of antibiotics increases the proportion of resistant bacteria, which then will be more difficult to treat."
How many are in need in the US? The poverty rate is the tip of the iceberg.
June 20, 2024The poverty level—and the corresponding poverty rate—is a woefully incomplete measure of economic need. A much more relevant benchmark is the cost of a basket of basic necessities.
Across all family structures, 59% and 66% of Black and Hispanic families, respectively, have resources that fall short of basic family budgets, versus 37% of white families.
Single-parent families are disproportionately Black and Hispanic—they account for 55% and 33% of families with children under age 18, respectively, compared to 24% of white families.
Volunteers place potatoes into small bags at a food distribution event for the needy sponsored by the Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida and Orange County at St. John Vianney Church in Orlando, Florida. High food and gas prices are squeezing working families, sending some to food pantries for the first time, but providers are struggling with inflation costs as demand spikes. Paul Hennessy /SOPA Images/Sipa USA
How many families struggle to meet daily needs? It is common for popular media to report on the official poverty rate—the fraction of households whose resources fall below the official poverty line. In 2022, the official poverty rate was 11.5%.1 And yet the official poverty lines, which vary by family size and structure, are pitifully low. Note that poverty levels do not vary by location: The federal poverty level for New York City, NY is the same as that for Biloxi, MS. For example, a household with two adults and two children is considered below the poverty level if it earned less than $30,900 in 2023. It is hard to imagine a family of four with two children living anywhere in the U.S. for this amount.2
The premise of this blog is that the poverty level—and the corresponding poverty rate—is a woefully incomplete measure of economic need. A much more relevant benchmark is the cost of a basket of basic necessities. That benchmark, unlike the poverty threshold, varies dramatically by geography, as housing and other costs vary substantially from county to county.3 The cost of necessities far exceeds the poverty level for every family category in every county in the country.4 Family budgets
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) has assembled family budgets that cover basic necessities for different family structures in every county in the U.S.5 These budgets comprise expenditures on food, housing, health care, childcare, transportation, taxes, and other necessities.6 The full definition of these categories may be found here. The family budgets are constructed to measure the income “…a family needs in order to attain a modest yet adequate standard of living.” For example, budgets for two-parent, two-child families range from below $60,000 in Orangeburg County, SC to well over $100,000 in San Francisco, CA.
FIGURE 1
Figure 1
Figure 1 displays the full range of budgets for this family structure. As the figure suggests, most family budgets for two-adult, two-child families range between $60,000 and $90,000. Budgets decline significantly for families with fewer adults and/or children, (not shown) and rise significantly for families with more children (not shown). Calculating the gap between family resources and family budgets
So how many families can afford basic necessities in the U.S.? The sad answer is that for a shockingly high proportion of families, total family resources do not cover the expenses for these necessities. And that proportion rises significantly for families of color.7
Many low-income families (fortunately!) receive some support from federal and state governments in the form of food, housing, utilities, and health care assistance, as well as a boost from the Earned Income Tax Credit.8 For this reason, in calculating the gaps between resources and budgets, I use a measure of family resources compiled for the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) of the Census Bureau that includes families’ earned income, along with the value of most all government supports, including in-kind and cash benefits.9
Matching family resources by family structure and county of residence to the budget measures above yields gaps between resources and needs. Table 1 summarizes the results across the U.S. by race, ethnicity, gender, and family structure.10
TABLE 1
Forty-three percent of all families in the U.S. fall short of meeting basic needs. And the legacy of institutional racism jumps out of these statistics: Across all family structures, 59% and 66% of Black and Hispanic families, respectively, have resources that fall short of basic family budgets, versus 37% of white families.11
The numbers are worse for single-parent families and for families with more than two children. One-parent families are particularly stressed, with more than 75% of families with two or more children falling short. Two-parent families fare better, as Melissa Kearney has stressed.12 But even there, about 40% of two-parent, two-child families fall short, and more than half of two-parent families with three or more children fall short.13
Single-parent families are disproportionately Black and Hispanic—they account for 55% and 33% of families with children under age 18, respectively, compared to 24% of white families. As the last four rows of Table 1 show, these families are overwhelmingly struggling, with 80% to 90% falling short.14
Rather than the 11% to 12% of families who fall short according to the official poverty rate, more than two in five families are struggling, with the numbers much more distressing for families of color. In this sense, the true “poverty” rate is much higher than is typically reported. These are staggering numbers for an economy as affluent as the United States.15 How do families cope?
If families don’t have enough to pay for necessities, how do they cope?
As the interviewees in my recent book, (“The Myth That Made Us,” MIT Press 2023) attest, they use a variety of tactics to cope with life on or near the edge. To be sure, they scrimp on some necessities. Families can avoid spending on preventative health care, home maintenance (for the minority who own homes), auto maintenance and other necessary expenditures that can be deferred. They go into debt. And they juggle bills. Several of my interviewees reported making the hard decision about which bills to pay month by month—rent or heat? Food or medical?
Of course, all of these decisions bear important longer-term consequences. As a leading example, non-payment of rent often leads to eviction and the endless trauma that accompanies it, as documented in Matthew Desmond’s seminal work on the subject (“Evicted,” 2016). Equally chilling are the resulting disparities in health outcomes by race and ethnicity.16 And the generational effects of these persistent deficits explain part of the huge wealth gaps that have been the focus of numerous studies and reports.17 Robustness
The Economic Policy Institute budget data reflects a reasonable estimate of the basic cost of living, as the sources for each key component typically err on the low side of expenditure estimates. Still, recognizing the difficulties in arriving at a cost of living that all will agree upon, I present below results using budgets that are significantly trimmed relative to those published by the EPI. Specifically, I consider two sets of adjustments.
In the first set, I lower the rents in each budget to an estimate of the 20th percentile of rents by county, as compared to the 40th percentile embodied in the HUD fair-market rents used by the EPI measure. In addition, I alter USDA food budgets from the “low-cost” to the “thrifty” budget (the lowest budget category).18 These cuts reduce the fraction of families in need by six percent to 10%, as shown in Table 2 below.
In the second set, I somewhat arbitrarily slash other categories of spending as follows:Health care spending is reduced by one-third, to reflect economizing on out-of-pocket expenses.19 Child care spending is reduced by one-third, reflecting the use of non-market and potentially lower-quality providers of child care by many lower-income families.20 Transportation is reduced by one-half, reflecting the possibility of stretching automobile lifetimes, economizing on maintenance and needed repairs, or walking instead of using public transit where that is feasible. The “other necessities” category, which includes apparel, household supplies, and furnishings, is arbitrarily reduced by one-half.
Altogether, these cuts reduce family budgets on average by about 30%—most budgets now fall in the $40,000 to $60,000 range. These budgets should be considered extremely conservative estimates of the true cost of living in these counties.
Despite these sizable reductions in budgets, the percentages of families that fall below sustainable budget levels remain alarmingly high. As table 2 indicates, under both alternative budget assumptions, about one-third of all families still fall below sustainable budgets—more than double the poverty rate—and between 44% and 57% of Black and Hispanic families still fall short. Single-parent Black and Hispanic families continue to fare incredibly poorly.
TABLE 2
These facts are sobering. For an economy as affluent as ours is in the aggregate, the share of families who are not making it is unacceptably high. Conclusion
In the aggregate, we remain the most affluent and wealthy country in the world. But the shortfall of millions of U.S. families’ total resources relative to the cost of basic necessities is an embarrassment. The huge numbers of families with low incomes, measured not relative to the poverty line but to quite conservative budgets, is staggering.
Key narratives in wide circulation would suggest that the families are to blame. They don’t work hard enough. They have made bad decisions (see again “The Myth”).
Tens of millions of families can’t make it because they’re lazy? That claim is absurd on its face. We have consciously chosen to structure our economy so that it provides extremely well for the already affluent, wealthy, and (mostly) white. We have become a country that hesitates at every turn to distribute resources according to need, pointing instead to the virtues of self-reliance.
What to do to address these distressing shortfalls? First, I would suggest that we more routinely use budget shortfalls, rather than poverty rates, as our leading indicator of economic need. The measure I have developed is a first pass and could no doubt be refined. But in my view, it provides a much more accurate picture of the number of families struggling in the U.S.
Second, the size of the gaps suggests that modest policy measures are unlikely to be effective. Millions of households are tens of thousands of dollars shy of affording basic necessities. A tweak to the EITC would be helpful, but moving the average benefit from $3,100 to $3,700 will not make the difference.21 Instead, targeted income supports that pay $1,000 per month or more will more likely put families on a solid economic footing.22
Some would say we can’t afford to do anything different. And yet private corporations earned over $2.6 trillion in profits in 2022. Of that, more than $1.1 trillion was used to repurchase shares, so as to artificially boost their stock prices.23 While some economists will argue, I believe that is a totally non-productive use of income generated by the economy. In addition, the IRS reports that in the 2021 tax year, about $688 billion in taxes remained non-filed, underpaid, or underreported.24
So we can afford it, without doing serious damage to the rest of the economy. To date, we have chosen not to. As the election season gears up, we need to make this a top priority.
Families Of Boeing 737 Max Crash Victims Seek $24.8Bn Fine, Criminal Charges
Relatives of the victims of two Boeing 737 Max crashes are urging the U.S. government to impose a $24.8 billion fine on Boeing and reinstate a criminal charge that was dropped three years ago.
According to the Associated Press, the families' attorney, Paul Cassell, argues that the significant penalty is warranted due to what he calls the "deadliest corporate crime in U.S. history." Cassell outlined these demands in a letter to the Justice Department on Wednesday.
The crashes in question claimed 346 lives. The first incident involved a Lion Air Boeing 737 Max 8 that crashed into the Java Sea in October 2018. The second crash, in March 2019, involved an Ethiopian Airlines Max 8 that crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa. According to Sky News, these accidents were linked to flaws in the flight control software, leading to a 20-month grounding of the Max fleet.
The families' push comes as the Justice Department considers whether to revive a dormant fraud charge against Boeing. The Associated Press reports that last month, prosecutors found Boeing had violated a 2021 settlement, which had protected the company from prosecution for allegedly misleading regulators during the Max's certification. This settlement, including a $2.5 billion payment, came into question after a panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 in January 2024.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun, who is set to leave at the end of the year, defended the company's safety practices during a Senate hearing. He denied allegations that Boeing prioritized profits over safety and apologized to the families of the victims, according to Sky News. The Justice Department has until July 7 to decide whether to proceed with the case against Boeing, reports the Associated Press.
Additionally, a whistleblower report has surfaced alleging that defective parts might have been installed in various 737 models. Sky News reports that Boeing allegedly attempted to hide these parts from Federal Aviation Administration inspectors, further complicating the company's efforts to address safety and regulatory issues.
Aer Lingus to cancel 10-20% of flights during pilots' action
Aer Lingus said it would communicate with customers affected by cancellations
BBC
June 20,2024
Aer Lingus has said it will cancel between 10% and 20% of its flights over the first five days of planned industrial action by pilots.
On Tuesday the Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA) served notice of an indefinite work-to-rule from Wednesday 26 June as part of an ongoing pay dispute.
Aer Lingus said the cancellations would enable it to "protect as many services as possible for as many of our customers as possible".
In a statement issued on Thursday it said details would be communicated to those customers affected "over the next couple of days".
The airline said customers will be offered a number of choices, with those scheduled to travel between 26 June and 2 July given the option to change flights for free.
"They will also be able to cancel their flight and claim a refund or voucher," the company said.
"These options will be communicated directly to impacted customers as well as travel agents, while the Aer Lingus 'Travel Advisory' page will also have up-to-the-minute information on all the options." 'Wholly unnecessary'
Pilots who are members of the IALPA voted 99% in support of action, up to and including a strike.
Aer Lingus said that: "IALPA's industrial action will have a wholly unnecessary impact on customers who are travelling in the coming weeks, at what is peak holiday season for families.
"The nature of this industrial action will cause a significant impact on our flight schedules."
The airline said it would communicate directly with third-party agents including travel agents and online agents.
"Passengers who booked through a third-party should contact their sales agents for any updates," it said
'Back from the brink'
Earlier, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Simon Harris said it was "utterly reprehensible" that children and families "could be used as pawns in an industrial relations dispute" at Aer Lingus.
Mr Harris said both sides involved in the Aer Lingus pay dispute need to "step back from the brink".
The Irish government has made the industrial relations facilities of the state available to help to resolve the dispute, he said.
How the UK’s social security system stopped tackling poverty
THE CONVERSATION Published: June 20, 2024
The cost of living is the most important issue for many voters this election. It’s no surprise why. In 2022, nearly 4 million people in the UK experienced destitution, meaning they could not meet their basic physical needs such as having enough to eat and staying warm.
The UK’s social security system is failing in its core purpose to prevent poverty. And yet the Conservatives have promised more crackdowns on welfare, with the prime minister linking this with his pledge to lower taxes.
When the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government came to power in 2010, they inherited a social security system in radically better shape than it is now. What happened?
Want more election coverage from The Conversation’s academic experts? Over the coming weeks, we’ll bring you informed analysis of developments in the campaign and we’ll fact check the claims being made. Sign up for our new, weekly election newsletter, delivered every Friday throughout the campaign and beyond.
People received working-age benefit payments for different needs: jobseeker’s allowance, income support for single parents and incapacity benefit for long-term illness and disability. Housing benefit went directly to landlords to cover claimants’ rent.
Enter the global financial crisis. The Conservative-led government’s response was austerity cuts: cutting back on welfare to tackle the budget deficit.
Lowering the value of benefits is the biggest austerity cut to have affected incomes. In 2010, the government switched from uprating the value of benefits each year in line with the retail price index to using a different measure of inflation, the consumer price index, instead. This is usually lower and effectively makes payments worth less.
In 2012, the government introduced a new system of tougher rules and sanctions on people receiving benefits. Conservative politicians said this would end “the ‘something for nothing’ culture”, but the change has had lasting negative effects.
Benefit sanctions were always part of the system, but became extreme in 2012. If, for example, someone misses one Jobcentre appointment their benefit could be reduced or removed for 28 days.
Many people receiving benefits have been penalised with sanctions. Bricolage/Shutterstock
Other cuts to incomes followed the Welfare Reform Act 2012. The “bedroom tax” penalised social housing tenants who had “extra” bedrooms. The idea was to reduce renters’ housing benefit so they would downsize to a smaller home. However long-term housing shortages mean that smaller properties are rarely available.
In 2013, the household benefit cap was introduced to limit the maximum amount a family could receive in benefits payments. It had the most impact on families with children and those with high rents. Universal credit
Universal credit, introduced in 2013, was billed as the biggest shake-up of benefits in 70 years. It promised to make work pay and simplify the system. It replaced separate tax credit, unemployment, lone parent, disability and housing payments with a single payment.
Research from think tank the Resolution Foundation suggests that universal credit provides more support for working people who rent their homes than the previous system. But disabled people who cannot work are likely to be much worse off than under the old system.
There are other problems with universal credit. Unlike under the previous system that gave housing benefit straight to landlords, claimants have to pay their rent from a pot of money provided by the government that is almost certainly too small to cover all their costs.
The first universal credit payment takes around five weeks to arrive, meaning people may fall into rent arrears. A result is that some landlords take legal action to evict those receiving universal credit. Further cuts
The two-child limit was applied to tax credits and universal credit in 2017 to remove income for third or subsequent children. Large families faced increased poverty as a result.
In 2020, the pandemic hit. Universal credit and tax credits were raised by £20 per week, but this ended in late 2021. The cost of living crisis has since widened the gap between benefits and prices.
Today, the value of universal credit falls £890 per month short of the cost of living for single people over 25. This is because of the changes to uprating and the benefit freeze.
In Feburary 2024, charity the Trussell Trust published research showing that over half of people on universal credit had run out of money for food in the previous month. What can the next government do?
The next UK government must make emergency repairs to social security to halt harrowing declines in health and lifeexpectancy. This should ensure a minimum acceptable standard of living, including restoring the value of benefits such as universal credit to cover the costs of living.
Since 71% of children living in poverty are in working families, employers should be required to pay the real living wage. In-work universal credit also needs to top up wages enough to make work pay.
Repairing the social safety net is an enormous challenge, but public support for it has been on the rise for years. In 2010, many people thought benefit claimants didn’t deserve any help. But from 2015 there has been a growing preference to help people receiving benefits.
Author
Sharon Wright Professor of Social Policy, University of Glasgow
Disclosure statement Sharon Wright has previously received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council, Joseph Rowntree Foundation and the Health Foundation.
UK
Nigel Farage’s Reform is in line for hundreds of thousands in public funding if it wins seats in the election
THE CONVERSATION Published: June 20, 2024
Nigel Farage’s party, Reform UK, has a reputation for being chaotic and even unprofessional. But winning seats in the House of Commons would be a significant step on the road to becoming a political party akin to all the others.
Gaining even a small foothold in the House of Commons in the forthcoming election could give Reform the resources to transform into a serious contender – one able to mount an organised, professional campaign in 2029.
Reform has experienced an increase in support in the first weeks of the election campaign. A recent poll has shown that Reform could realistically win in seven constituencies.
And its vote share is almost certain to be far higher than the number of seats it wins. Even if it doesn’t make it to seven MPs, any presence in the House of Commons would unlock a stream of public funding for Reform of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Reform is not the same slick machine as the more established parties competing in this election. It was still looking for candidates for many of the seats it wanted to contest when this election was called.
Many of those who did make the cut have turned out to be poor choices. One candidate had to stand down from the Reform ticket halfway through the election campaign after it emerged he had previously encouraged people to vote for the extreme-right British National Party. Another remains in the race despite calling Hitler “brilliant”. These are just two of the many people standing for Reform who are involved in one controversy or another.
Farage outsourced candidate vetting and is now seeking to blame the company in charge of the process for the state of his lineup. He is even threatening to sue.
Want more election coverage from The Conversation’s academic experts? Over the coming weeks, we’ll bring you informed analysis of developments in the campaign and we’ll fact check the claims being made. Sign up for our new, weekly election newsletter, delivered every Friday throughout the campaign and beyond.
A lack of professionalism is also demonstrated through some of the wild claims made in the party’s election manifesto, with economists questioning the maths on their £140 billion of election pledges. Farage’s disastrous interview on Good Morning Britain on June 18 showed that he perhaps does not have the staff needed to help him prepare for media appearances where he will be expected to defend his policy proposals. Short money and the long road to viability
It’s no surprise that Reform UK is lacking in a professional staff support structure to underpin its election campaign. After all, as a relatively new party with only one MP (who defected from the Tories rather than being elected on a Reform ticket), it is dwarfed financially by the larger parties.
Donations registered with the Electoral Commission show that Reform has received only seven donations of more than £500 since the start of 2023. This compares with over 1,400 such donations made to the Conservative party and 854 to Labour.
Reform is in many ways more of a limited company than a party. Its most recent annual accounts show an income of £692,000 – a figure that pales in comparison to the £30 million brought in by the Conservative party and the £47 million by Labour.
Reform has had to rely on donations from former leader Richard Tice in order to make ends meet over the past few years. It is, in many ways, an amateur operation, regardless of Farage’s experience in forming and leading parties.
One of the most important ways small parties such as Reform UK can professionalise is to gain a foothold in the House of Commons. Once a party crosses this electoral threshold it is forced to think about how to put itself forward as an opposition party.
Crucially, Reform UK has not had access to any public funding to support its role as an opposition party. Assuming that it does return at least one MP at this election, however, it will become eligible for public funding.
Lee Anderson, who defected from the Conservatives to Reform UK in March 2024, speaking for the party at a press conference on April 8 2024. Tolga Akmen/EPA
If Reform returns between one and five MPs the overall payment of this funding (known as short money) ranges between £118,000 and £354,000. However, if a party returns six or more MPs this potential maximum disappears and parties receive just over £21,000 for each seat they won, plus another £42 for every 200 votes gained.
It is this latter calculation that could lead to Reform UK suddenly having the funds to professionalise itself quite rapidly. The Green party, with just one MP, has used its short money to contribute to the salaries of six staff while the SNP has employed 18.
These are the staff who will work hard to prepare the party’s MPs for big events in the House of Commons such as prime minister’s questions and responses to statements such as the budget, and ensure that they are well equipped to hold the new government to account. It’s this sort of activity that helps voters see small parties as ones which have the potential to govern.
This is why Farage will be looking at the 2029 election to make a bigger impact. His claim that he will be the real “leader of the opposition” next month suggests Reform UK will be pushing for greater recognition in light of its expected electoral performance, even if it does return only a handful of MPs.
Should the party gain more votes than the Conservatives, who are expected to go into the role of official opposition, there will certainly be pressure on the House of Commons Speaker – and others – to accede to Reform’s demands for time to speak and ask questions on the floor of the House. This, too, will help to give the impression that it is a potential party of government, rather than a minor party on the fringes
Senior Lecturer in Politics, University of Manchester
Indigenous women in Ecuador take on soccer by inventing a sport: handball in traditional skirts
Referee Diana Guandinango, left, explains the rules ahead of a “handball with anaco” match in the Indigenous community of Turucu, Ecuador, Friday, June 14, 2024. One year ago, a group of women decided to create a new version of soccer: handball with anaco, an ancient skirt worn by Indigenous women . (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
BY GONZALO SOLANO June 20, 2024
TURUCU, Ecuador (AP) — In the Indigenous community of Turucu, near the active Cotacachi volcano in northern Ecuador, soccer had always been a man’s thing.
The only gleaming green field belongs to them, especially on weekends. But things changed a year ago when a group of women decided to create a new version of the sport: handball with anaco, an ancient skirt worn by Indigenous women. It is a game only for women.
The match, consisting of two 25-minute halves, begins when the ball is thrown into the air. Screams and laughter erupt almost immediately, even more so when one of the players takes possession of the ball and begins to run to the opposite side of the field to score in a small arc
The women run behind whomever is carrying the ball, some of them are trying to defend the attack, and others asking for a pass that allows them to continue advancing. If someone stumbles and falls, the laughter almost makes it impossible to continue the game. This variant of soccer is the simplest and most playful version of what a real game is, the perfect synonym for fun.
Handball with anaco was created by a group of entrepreneurial women from Turucu, located 67 kilometers (41.63 miles) north of the capital, a picturesque indigenous Quichua community surrounded by small agricultural plots and humble houses, near Cotacachi, one of the great attractions of northern Ecuador.
The rules are few and very simple: the uniform is the same traditional Indigenous clothing, blue or black anaco, and impeccable white blouses embroidered with brightly colored flowers, emulating those that grow freely in the nearby fields, the playing field is almost half of the regulations of a regular soccer pitch.
You cannot push rivals or take them by the arms and you cannot kick the ball, which will always be moved with both hands. If there is a strong foul, it is sanctioned with a penalty kick that is taken 10 meters away from the goal, which is 90 centimeters wide and 80 high, propelling the ball with the hands. Anyone can be a forward or a defender. There are no goalkeepers. Sissa de la Cruz sets the limits of the field ahead of a “handball with anaco” match in the Indigenous community of Turucu, Ecuador, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa) Indigenous women fight for the ball during a “handball with anaco” match in the Indigenous community of Turucu, Ecuador, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
“Since we were kids they have told us that soccer is a man’s thing,” Zoila Quinchiguango, one of the members of the Women Entrepreneurs team, told The Associated Press.
By going out to play with the anaco, she added, “we wanted to show that women are not only made for staying in the house raising children or taking care of the animals because we can also have fun on the field.”
The women are far from the only ones who enjoy handball with anaco. Their families watch the games and shout instructions that no one seems to hear.
Sissa de la Cruz, left, and Sisa Guandinango, fight for the ball during a “handball with anaco” match in the Indigenous community of Turucu, Ecuador, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
Caroly Blanco, left, misses an opportunity on goal during a “handball with anaco” match in the Indigenous community of Turucu, Ecuador, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
“This sport is about uniting us as women, uniting the older generations and the younger ones, who only want to go out to the big cities, where we are discriminated against. It is something that we enjoy among women, purely for fun,” said the 33-year-old Sissa de la Cruz.
The oldest one is 58-year-old Dolores Guandinango, who plays often but prefers to stay back and defend near the goal. A year ago her husband was hit by a bus and she is struggling to pay her bills.
“When I play soccer with anaco I forget about the sorrows, even if it’s just for a little while and I laugh with my teammates, it’s only for a little while that the sorrows go away, while we’re on the field,” she added.
Indigenous women do fieldwork before playing a “handball with anaco” match in the Indigenous community of Turucu, Ecuador, Friday, June 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
Malaysia’s tech sector soars in face of potential clash with US
China, meanwhile, has invested in the Southeast Asian nation as its own domestic market slows.
Commentary by Zachary Abuza 2024.06.20
A worker inspects semiconductor chips at the Unisem (M) Berhad manufacturing plant in Ipoh, Malaysia, Oct. 15, 2021.
Lim Huey Teng/Reuters
Diversifying supply chains away from China is a boon for Southeast Asia and a priority for the U.S. government. But it can create potential new tensions when those supply chains go toward supporting Washington’s adversaries.
This is especially true with Malaysia.
With the exception of the Philippines, Southeast Asia countries are reluctant to be pulled into a competition between great powers and they have asserted their neutrality.
For the United States, however, there is nothing neutral about supplying semiconductors and other high-tech, dual-use equipment to its rival nations, including those under United Nations sanctions.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Malaysian, Indonesian and Vietnamese firms supplying products to Russian or Iranian companies.
Such scrutiny is only going to intensify.
The U.S. intelligence community makes extensive efforts to investigate how Russia, Iran and North Korea evade international sanctions and procure dual-use technology. This includes forensic analysis of battlefield weapons and munitions.
For the governments of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam, fostering economic growth is their top priority but so is maintaining strategic autonomy.
No country has benefited more from the U.S.-China chip war than Malaysia.
Malaysia’s economy is growing, but it has not fully recovered from the coronavirus pandemic. Kuala Lumpur received U.S. $40 billion in foreign direct investment pledges in 2023, finally reeling in some rewards during a respite from its political instability, when it had five different prime ministers from 2018 to 2022.
Malaysia’s semiconductor industry has always been large. About 13% of global chip testing and packaging takes place there. Globally, it is the sixth largest exporter of semiconductors. The Financial Times estimates that 20% of U.S. chip imports come from Malaysia.
Semiconductor exports in 2023 were valued at $81.4 billion.
The government anticipates investments totaling over $100 billion in its semiconductor industry. Last year, pledged investment totaled $12.8 billion, more than the total investment between 2013 and 2020.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim speaks to attendees at the Semicon Southeast Asia 2024 conference at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Center in Kuala Lumpur, May 28, 2024. [S. Mahfuz/BenarNews]
Recent investment pledges have been breathtaking.
Intel announced a $7 billion chip packaging facility. Germany’s Infineon announced a $5.4 billion expansion and a third facility. Austria’s AT&S also plans to invest. The leading semiconductor equipment maker, the Dutch firm ASML, announced that it would build a manufacturing facility in Port Klang.
Develop homegrown talent
Malaysia, aware that one of the limiting factors will be human capital, has allocated $5.3 billion to train 60,000 chip designers and engineers over the next five years.
Along with developing its own homegrown talent, Malaysia seeks to strengthen local capacity for all phases of design and production.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said the government hoped to have at least 10 companies with revenue of between $210 million and $1 billion. The government announced that it and Khazanah Nasional, a sovereign wealth fund, would invest in the region’s largest integrated circuit design park in Selangor.
But all of that is increasingly putting Malaysia in U.S. crosshairs.
Before the Ukraine war, Malaysia supplied Russia with one-third of its semiconductors. At the onset of the war, Malaysia’s ambassador to Russia announced that Kuala Lumpur would continue to supply Moscow. That prompted a rebuke from Washington.
This past May 1, the U.S. government sanctioned a Malaysian firm, Jatronics, for supplying semiconductors to Russia.
Officials in Kuala Lumpur were quick to point out that Jatronics is not a manufacturer, but a trading company operating without an export license.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s foreign ministry pledged to uphold the country’s international obligations and cooperate with the U.S. Embassy.
Nonetheless, Anwar shot back against U.S. sanctions.
“I offer our nation as the most neutral and non-aligned location for semiconductor production, to help build a more secure and resilient global semiconductor supply chain,” he told attendees at the Semicon Southeast Asia 2024 trade show in Kuala Lumpur last month.
Links to Iran drone programs
Malaysian firms have also been under U.S. scrutiny for supplying Iran’s drone program, itself a key supplier to Russia.
In April 2023, the Treasury Department sanctioned one firm.
In December 2023, it sanctioned four others for selling engines, circuitry, electronics, and other components, formally known as “Common High Priority List items.”
Two Indonesian firms were sanctioned at the same time.
In addition to semi-conductors, there has been a spate of proposed investment in cloud computing and artificial intelligence from Nvidia ($4.3 billion), Google ($2 billion), Amazon Web Service ($6 billion) and Microsoft ($2.2 billion).
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (right) attends a video conference with business leaders including Ruth Porat, Alphabet Inc.’s president and chief financial officer (left on screen), in Putrajaya, Malaysia, May 30, 2024. [Malaysian Prime Minister’s Office via AP]
The U.S. government is determining how to ensure that these technologies are not used by adversaries. Malaysia is among countries trying to prevent what is considered the extension of U.S. law.
Another area of potential conflict could be Chinese investment in Malaysia’s high-tech sector. In part, this is just sound business, especially as China’s domestic market slows.
But there is ample concern in Washington that Chinese firms in Malaysia, Vietnam and elsewhere are setting up shop either to purchase sanctioned manufacturing equipment or to mask exports to sanctioned countries, including Russia, Iran and North Korea. Malaysia has relations with all three.
The Dutch government, for example, bowed to U.S. pressure and denied ASML an export license to China. The U.S. government has imposed a sweeping ban on the export of certain semiconductors.
Recent investments by Chinese firms include Star Five, which is building a design center, and Tong Fu Microelectronics.
Technology is not the only point of friction. In early May, two senior U.S. Treasury Department officials traveled to Kuala Lumpur as there had “been an uptick in money moving to Iran and its proxies, including Hamas, through the Malaysian financial system.”
Diplomatic and material support for Hamas is unlikely to stop. The war in Gaza has been a bilateral irritant and Washington seems unaware of how deep anti-Americanism is running, both within the government and the opposition. Anwar made a point of meeting with Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Hamas militants, in Qatar in May.
U.S. Treasury Department officials have wanted to discuss ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian crude oil in Malaysian waters.
While Indonesia’s small and underfunded Coast Guard has on two publicly announced occasions interdicted ship-to-ship transfers from Iranian tankers, Malaysia seems to have turned a blind eye, despite U.N. sanctions. Indeed, Malaysia exports more oil than it produces.
Governments in Southeast Asia have largely bristled at unilateral U.S. sanctions and the threat of secondary sanctions, including the loss of access to the American and other Western markets. But for the United States, while diversifying supply chains away from China is the goal, there needs to be controls to prevent technology making its way into the hands of adversaries.
Zachary Abuza is a professor at the National War College in Washington and an adjunct at Georgetown University. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of the U.S. Department of Defense, the National War College, Georgetown University or BenarNews.
U.S.
As Hurricane Season Ramps Up, Insurance Providers Are Dropping Clients In High-Risk Areas
As the mercury continues to climb and the summer months warm up, Americans living along the Atlantic Ocean and near the Gulf of Mexico are preparing for what is expected to be yet another "extremely active" and potentially destructive hurricane season, with meteorologists at the National Hurricane Center expecting seven major hurricanes to make landfall in the coming months.
Last year, homeowners and residents living in what's considered "high-risk" or "active" hurricane areas witnessed the fourth-most active hurricane season on record. Experts tracked at least 20 named storms, with around seven of them becoming hurricanes while three reaching major hurricane strength.
And with experts warning of the first of several tropical storms already forming over the Gulf of Mexico, only three weeks since the beginning of hurricane season - which usually starts on June 1st - insurance companies stretched to extremes due to rising costs, inflationary pressure, and the surge in new claims are dropping homeowners located in high-risk areas.
While homeowners may be surprised to find that their insurance provider will not be renewing their policies, the news is perhaps nothing new for those working in the insurance industry.
Of the 20 largest homeowners insurance providers in the U.S., only two of them managed to turn a profit last year. In a report from S&P Global, analysts found that last year was one of the worst years in the homeowners insurance industry in more than a decade.
Surging costs on the back of climate change fueling more severe weather patterns are leaving already battered homeowners' insurance companies with limited options as they once again expect another year of eye-watering losses and a record number of claims. What about homeowners?
In mid-June, right on the heels of hurricane season approaching, several Texas homeowners were informed that their providers would not be renewing their policies, leaving many of them scrambling to take out new policies before the first storm made landfall.
Some Texas homeowners and renters are already considered to be paying among the fourth-highest home insurance rates in the country. Data suggests that the average homeowners' insurance rate in Texas was more than $4,437 per year in 2023.
Florida residents currently pay the highest, coughing out an average of $10,996 last year, while Louisiana homeowners pay the second highest insurance rates at $6,354 annually. To put things in perspective, the national average of annual insurance rates was around $2,377 last year, following an increase of 19.8% between 2021 and 2023.
The news of some being dropped by their insurance companies comes on the back of some insurance companies further pushing up rates this year following the surge in homeowners insurance prices last year.
Nationally, homeowners insurance costs rose an average of 11.3% last year, and experts predict that prices are set to increase another 6% this year, pushing the national average rate up to $2,522 by the end of 2024.
This is still relatively small compared to other high-risk states such as Florida and Louisiana which are expected to see insurance providers increase rates by an additional 7% and 23%, respectively.
For instance, in New Jersey, insurance companies have seen the cost of repairs and replacing damaged property skyrocket over recent years, with Hurricane Ida causing more than $2.02 billion in damages alone. Somerset County alone suffered nearly $165 million in losses, seeing 13,228 insurance claims filed, while Middlesex County where damages topped over $155 million, and seeing more than 14,084 claims filed by policyholders.
Just like their providers, homeowners living in high-risk or hurricane-prone areas have a limited number of options to choose from.
Historically, homeowners and residents had opted to move out of state to reduce their insurance costs or to avoid being in the path of destruction. But this isn't going to cut it anymore, as states such as Arizona, Utah, and Illinois have seen a steady rise in severe storm and hurricane damage over recent years, often outpacing the national average.
Experts from the University of Arizona's Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences expect the state to be battered once again with severe hurricanes this season, resulting in damaging winds and heavy rainfall that could lead to severe flooding.
In March, Utah residents were warned of severe hurricane-like winds sweeping across northern parts of the state, including the Davies and Weber counties.
Now with hurricane season still in the early weeks of what is expected to be yet another catastrophic year, homeowners are being forced to make alternative preparations as their insurance providers are hitting them where it hurts the most
. Where to from here?
Although homeowners insurance isn't necessarily mandated by state regulation, many homeowners tend to take up pricey insurance policies to secure mortgage loans. With insurance providers calculating the rates based on the cost of rebuilding a resident's home, not the property value, those homeowners living in high-risk areas will need to find more creative ways to lower their insurance costs.
Homeowners and residents who have been left stranded by their insurance providers need to start looking around for more suitable options. Experts suggest that property owners shop around for homeowners insurance, not only now, when their policy might not be renewed, but at least every several years to see which companies can offer them the best prices.
Another possibility for homeowners could be to make improvements to their homes, either by adding more fortifications or installing flood prevention barriers. Though it's not to say that these measures will counter the destructive nature of severe hurricanes, it's at least a more affordable, and near-term solution for homeowners who feel they have no other choice.
Homeowners can also bundle their policies together, as some providers might offer lower premiums to customers who decide to use one provider for all their insurance needs. Owners are likely to find more affordable premiums if they put their auto, home, and other valuable insurance together as one.
Then, homeowners could raise their deductible or the amount they pay out of pocket before the insurance kicks in. Homeowners who can afford to pay towards damage or loss can potentially lower their premiums, and they must look around for companies that can lower their premiums should they have the cash to pay more out of pocket.
As the dark clouds loom ahead, many homeowners will need to make the necessary preparations, more than usual to ensure they're being covered and that should the storm make landfall within the coming months.
