HIP HOP CULTURE IN PARIS

Break-dancers seek to elevate sport at Paris Olympics


 Breaker Victor "B-Boy Victor" Montalvo will represent Team USA at Paris 2024.

 Photo by Jeon Heon-Kyun/EPA-EFE

June 28 (UPI) -- Team USA's first Olympic breaking team is gratified to be a part of the sport's Olympic debut at Paris 2024, but pioneers and officials from the American-birthed dance form remain vexed about its snub from LA 2028.

Sunny "B-Girl Sunny" Choi and Victor "B-Boy Victor" Montalvo were the first Americans to qualify for the historic U.S. breaking team. Jeffrey "B-Boy Jeffro" Louis and Logan "B-Girl Logistx" Edra earned Team USA's remaining spots last weekend in Budapest.

"It's interesting," Louis recently told the Team USA website. "A lot of breakers feel we've got to keep the hip-hop, keep it underground.

"The problem with doing that," he said, "is that you can't shine a lot on the sport by keeping it in the dark."

The young dancers are eager to bring breaking to new heights, but those who built it, starting from Bronx neighborhood parties in the 1970s, feel discouraged about its future after it was left off the program for 2028.

"For me, it's like a slap in the face to the art form and to a hip-hop culture, when you look at the French picking breaking [for Paris 2024], but the country where breaking originated turned its back on it," breaking legend Richard "Crazy Legs" Colón told UPI.

Colón, 58, is widely recognized as one of the best breakers ever. The Bronx native is an original member of the Rock Steady Crew -- a dance group that toured the world -- and has consistently been profiled by media outlets and even performed in movies, including Flashdance. He also mentors, teaches and facilitates events to further promote young breakers.




Although Colón said that he would "be gutted" to perform at the Olympics while knowing that the United States rejected breaking's placement in the 2028 Summer Games, he also said legendary breakers shouldn't "trample on the futures" of younger Olympians.

Tony "Mr. Wave" Wesley, another pioneer of the dance form, said breaking's inclusion in Paris is "unimaginable."

"It was unimaginable that it would go this far," Wesley told Good Morning America. "It helped us clear our minds. It helped us gain positive thoughts and work real hard at something that we weren't used to working hard at.

"So, for it to move all the way until the Olympics, all the way into this platform, to be recognized globally, it is a feat."

Dance federations from around the world expressed disappointment when breaking was snubbed from the 2028 Summer Games, and they are focused having it included in 2032 in Brisbane, Australia.

In October, World DanceSport Federation president Shawn Tay cited anticipated success in Paris as part of that effort.




"We worked relentlessly over many months to present a powerful and passionate proposal that detailed all the many advantages breaking as a dance sport discipline brings to the Olympic Movement and Olympic Games," Tay said.

"Ensuring the success of breaking's Olympic debut at Paris 2024 is therefore on the forefront of the WDSF agenda."

Thirty-two dancers will compete -- 16 men and 16 women -- at the Summer Games. Team USA, Japan, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy and several South American countries are expected to be top contenders for Olympic glory.

Who to watch

B-Boy Phil Wizard of Canada, B-Boy Shigekix of Japan and B-Boy Dany of France join B-Boy Victor and B-Boy Jeffro among the top expected men's contenders in Paris.

B-Girl Ami of Japan, B-Girl 671 of China, B-Girl Nicka of Lithuania and B-Girl Anti of Italy are among the top women's breakers headed to Paris.

Excitement and spontaneity are intrinsic in breaking, as dancers aren't told the music to which they will perform. They frequently use top rock -- stand-up moves -- and freeze -- when they pause in positions like on their heads and hands -- amid acrobatic routines.

Olympic judges will calculate 60% of the dancers' scores based on performativity and creativity. The other 40% will be based on technique, personality, variety and musicality.

Showstoppers often flow from down rock -- floor moves -- which include spins, footwork, power moves, and transitions. Breakers will spin their bodies while on their hands, elbows, back, shoulders and heads.

Breaking power moves include the Colón-created windmill, head spins and the air flare, which involves circular body rotations while upside down and shifting balance on either arm.

Breakers train for competition in a variety of ways, based on performance strengths, using yoga, weight lifting, and more to maximize power, explosion and flexibility, and to avoid injuries.

Dr. Anatolia Vick-Kregel, the assistant director of fitness and wellness at Rice University, said a good core foundation and strength training routine, conditioning and mobility are vital to avoid injuries.

"That should be across the board, but especially for all breakers, it is vital to have a strong core, which is more than just your abs," Vick-Kregel said.

Breakers should be "doing exercises that that train each aspect of the core, and then given how much they're also on their on their wrists, and doing so much with their upper body, doing a lot of shoulder stability things," she said.

"Really, you want to train those stabilizer muscles, as well, to make sure they are extremely strong and can hold you through these explosive movements."

Vick-Kregel said wrist injuries are the most common ones for breakers, but any moves that put a lot of weight on the head likely involve the most potential for danger.




Breaking battles generally include two or three throw downs -- one-on-one matchups -- leading to the final. The final often features three or five throw downs.

While style and rhythm are uber prevalent during breaking performances, the risk and raw athleticism it takes to compete should keep eyes glued to Olympic coverage.

"You feel our energy," Choi told TIME. "You feel the excitement, you feel the happiness or the anger or whatever emotion that the dancer is expressing in that moment. It's so visceral and raw. I don't think you get that anywhere else."

Diet that limits ultra-processed foods isn't automatically healthy, study shows

By Susan Kreimer


 Dr. Zhaoping Li, a professor of medicine and director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California-Los Angeles, advises consuming various fresh and nutrient-dense foods whenever possible. 

Photo by Klaus Nielsen/Pexels

NEW YORK, June 30 (UPI) -- A diet that limits ultra-processed foods isn't automatically healthy, and the types of foods people eat may matter more than the level of processing used to make them. a new study suggests.

The findings were presented Sunday at the American Society for Nutrition's annual meeting in Chicago.

Researchers compared two menus that reflect a typical Western diet -- one that emphasizes minimally processed foods and the other that focuses on the ultra-processed variety, according to the NOVA Food Classification System.

This system categorizes foods into one of four groups based on processing-related criteria. It was designed by Center for Epidemiological Studies in Health and Nutrition in the School of Public Health at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

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The less-processed menu was more than double in price and reached its expiration date more than three times more quickly without providing any additional nutritional value.

This outcome demonstrated that "both ultra-processed and less processed foods can have a low healthy eating score," Allen Levine, a professor emeritus in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul, told UPI via email.

Levine classified the various foods in the NOVA system for the study.

"Also, ultra-processed foods with a healthy eating score similar to the less-processed foods have a longer shelf life and are less costly," Levine said.

Based on these findings, it's possible to consume a low-quality diet even when selecting mostly minimally processed foods, the researchers noted.

"The results of this study indicate that building a nutritious diet involves more than a consideration of food processing as defined by NOVA," the study's principal investigator, Julie Hess, said in a news release.

"The concepts of 'ultra-processed' foods and 'less-processed' foods need to be better characterized by the nutrition research community," said Hass, a research nutritionist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Agriculture Research Service Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center.

Last year, the team published a study showing that one could assemble a high-quality menu that aligns with dietary guidelines while deriving most of its calories from foods classified as ultra-processed.

For the new study, the researchers posed the opposite question: Can you build a low-quality menu that obtain most of its calories from "simple" foods?

To answer that question, they constructed a less-processed menu, which sourced 20% of calories from ultra-processed foods, and a more-processed menu, which derived 67% of calories from ultra-processed foods. The NOVA system determined the level of processing involved in each menu.

Researchers calculated the menus to have a Healthy Eating Index score of about 43 to 44 out of 100, a relatively low number that reflects poor adherence to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

They estimated that the less-processed menu would cost $34.87 daily per person, compared with $13.53 per day for the more-processed menu. They also calculated that the median time to expiration of the less-processed menu items was 35 days compared to 120 days for the more-processed menu items.

The study casts a spotlight on the disconnects between food processing and nutritional value, the researchers said. Some nutrient-dense packaged foods can be classified as ultra-processed - for instance, unsweetened applesauce, ultrafiltered milk, liquid egg whites, and some brands of raisins and canned tomatoes.

"When it comes to consuming an affordable healthy diet, both nutrition quality and price can be packaged together," said registered dietitian Joan Salge Blake, a clinical professor and director and nutrition programs at Boston University. She was not involved in the study.

Blake recommends using the grocery store circular or app to find healthy foods -- whether fresh, frozen, canned or packaged -- that are on sale and plan your weekly meals around these items.

"Use the Nutrition Fact Panel on the label as a guide to help you decipher the nutritional quality of the foods that you choose rather than being frightened by their level of processing," she said.

However, ultra-processed foods can contribute significantly to obesity and related chronic diseases if they contain high added sugars, unhealthy fats and artificial additives and have low nutritional value, said Dr. Zhaoping Li, a professor of medicine and director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California-Los Angeles.

"Ultra-processed foods were initially developed to provide convenient and affordable sources of calories aimed at preventing malnutrition," Li said, adding that they have become increasingly popular because they often appeal to consumers' taste preferences with ready-to-eat or ready-to-prepare formats.

She advises replacing ultra-processed foods with various fresh and nutrient-dense foods whenever possible.

A diet composed of whole grains, lean proteins, healthy fats, fruits and vegetables "ensures the body receives the necessary vitamins, minerals and other beneficial compounds," Li said.

"Prioritizing dietary quality can help prevent chronic diseases, improve energy levels and support overall well-being," she added.

The study sends the overall message that there's more to the health value of food than the level of processing it goes through to reach consumers, said Liz Weinandy, a registered dietitian and instructor of practice at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.

However, "I don't think anyone will disagree that sugary beverages, candy and snack chips are low in nutritional value and should not be consumed regularly," Weinandy said. "We don't want to put lipstick on a pig."

Bird flu virus on cow milking equipment poses infection risk

By Ernie Mundell, HealthDay News

The H5N1 avian flu virus remains infectious on cow milking equipment for at least an hour, according to a new study. Photo by Adobe Stock/HealthDay News

The spread of H5N1 avian flu to dairy cows has health experts and many Americans on edge, and now a new study finds the virus stays viable on milking equipment for at least an hour.

"Dairy cows have to be milked even if they are sick, and it has not been clear for how long the virus contained in residual milk from the milking process remains stable on the equipment," said study lead author Valerie Le Sage. "It is concerning that the virus in unpasteurized milk can remain stable for hours and potentially infect farm workers or spread from animal to animal."

Le Sage is a research assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics at the Center for Vaccine Research at the University of Pittsburgh.

She and her team believe the findings underscore the need for dairy workers to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) at work, to cut down on their odds for infection.

So far, there have been three known cases of human H5N1 infection linked to the current outbreak in dairy cows. All three cases occurred among dairy workers with long and close exposures to infected animals.

The illnesses were mild, but the fear among scientists is that H5N1 will mutate in a human to become easily transmitted between people, raising the specter of a new pandemic.

H5N1 originated in birds but has now spread to many species of mammals, including seals, dolphins and cows. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is watching the situation closely, but says that, for now at least, the risk to people remains low.

In the study, Le Sage's team created a lab environment that mirrored the humidity and temperature of outdoor milking parlors in Texas.

They report that H5N1 virus particles "suspended in milk remained stable on metal and rubber for over one hour," according to a university news release.

They also tested out particles of H1N1 "swine flu," and found those particles remained viable for three hours on rubber and for at least one hour on stainless steel.

The findings were reported in the August issue of the CDC journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

"Our data supports that milking equipment surfaces can stay contaminated for a long time, increasing the potential spread from a sick animal to a person," Le Sage said. "These findings underscore the importance of face shields, masks and eye protection, and enhanced sanitization of equipment between cows, to reduce the risk to workers and to minimize the spread between the animals."

More information

Find out more about bird flu at the CDC.

Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Instability and economic crisis: Bolivia after failed coup


By AFP
June 28, 2024


Bolivian President Luis Arce talks to the media during a press conference in La Paz - Copyright AFP AIZAR RALDES

Bolivia’s President Luis Arce triumphed after a failed coup attempt this week, but the country has entered a new period of instability during a severe economic crisis.

This is what you need to know about the fallout of the botched uprising in the small Andean nation, rich in natural gas and lithium reserves:

– The army –

It was a brief but dramatic series of events: Soldiers and tanks deployed to a historic plaza in central La Paz, taking up position in front of the presidency and other government buildings.

They tried to break through a door of the presidency, and rebel army chief Juan Jose Zuniga declared his aim to “restructure democracy.”

Not long after, he was captured and bundled into a police car and the troops pulled back.

Fourteen civilians were injured with lead pellets and authorities arrested 21 military and civilian suspects, including Zuniga and the naval and air force chiefs.

Bolivia and alarmed foreign allies hailed a victory for democracy, but much about the plans remain murky.

Zuniga has alleged Arce was in on the plans and wanted the coup staged to boost his popularity, which the president has firmly denied.

What is clear, analysts say, is that something is rotten within the armed forces. Just how big the problem is, remains to be seen.

“I think there is a problem within the armed forces, but the fact that the coup d’etat was contained quickly says that, for now, civilian power prevails” over the military, said Gustavo Flores-Macias, an analyst at Cornell University.

– The president –

Analysts agree that Arce has emerged stronger after the botched uprising — for now.

“In the short term this supports his government. But this will be brief,” said Pablo Calderon, from London’s Northeastern University.

With just over a year left to finish his term which began in 2020, Arce is facing discontent from powerful businesses and freight transporters over the country’s economic decline.

He is also battling a faction within his party, the Movement Towards Socialism, which is backing former President Evo Morales as candidate in the 2025 presidential election.

The fleeting uprising “will give a boost” to Arce’s likely candidacy for reelection and was “a show of force” against Morales, said analyst Carlos Cordero, from the Bolivian Catholic University.

– The ex-president –

Morales, Bolivia’s first Indigenous president, was extremely popular until he tried to bypass the constitution and seek a fourth term in office in 2019.

The leftist won that vote but was forced to resign amid deadly protests over alleged election fraud, and fled the country.

He returned after his former ally Arce won the presidency in October 2020, but since then a power struggle has grown between the two men.

Morales has increasingly criticized the government and is trying to get back into power, despite being disqualified by the Constitutional Court.

Arce may now be the center of attention, but Morales continues to “be the moral leader of the Bolivian left,” said Calderon, adding, “I think it will be very difficult for Arce to put him in a box or exclude him” from any political negotiation process.

– The economy –

Bolivia, home to 12 million people and an Indigenous majority, has in recent weeks been rocked by an economic crisis due to a drop in gas production, a crucial source of foreign currency.

The country has had to reduce fuel imports and there is a shortage of dollars, which has triggered protests. The cost of living has also increased.

Rich in natural gas reserves, Bolivia’s sharp decline in production is attributed by experts to a lack of investment and exploration.

Bolivia has some of the world’s largest deposits of lithium and has turned its focus to the crucial metal, signing contracts with Russian and Chinese companies to develop the industry.

However, these lithium projects are still in their infancy.

Calderon said the coup bid will only make the economic situation more difficult.

“Uncertainty tends to be bad for business,” he said.

EU further scrutinises Microsoft, OpenAI tie-up


By AFP
June 28, 2024


The EU concluded Microsoft's tie-up with OpenAI does not mean the US tech giant has control of the ChatGPT maker

 - Copyright AFP/File 

Charly TRIBALLEAU

The EU will examine the impact of Microsoft’s multi-billion-dollar partnership with ChatGPT developer OpenAI on competition in the fast-growing AI market, the bloc’s antitrust chief said Friday.

But the European Commission concluded after a preliminary examination that the $13 billion tie-up did not mean the US tech giant had taken control of OpenAI.

“The key question was whether Microsoft had acquired control on a long-lasting basis over OpenAI. After a thorough review… we concluded that as such, it was not the case,” said EU competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager.

“So we are closing this chapter. But the thing is that the story is not over,” she said during a speech in Brussels.

Instead, the EU has now demanded more information from Microsoft about the agreement between the two companies, Vestager said, “to understand whether certain exclusivity clauses could have a negative effect on competition”.

She also said the EU has sought more information about Google’s arrangement with Samsung to pre-install its small version of the AI system, Gemini, on some devices made by the South Korean giant.

And Brussels wanted to understand the impact of so-called “acqui-hires”, Vestager added, which is when a company acquires another firm mainly to grab the key talent.

Microsoft earlier this year announced a deal to hire senior figures from OpenAI rival Inflection, including its boss, to head up a newly created consumer AI unit. But unlike a merger, Inflection still operates as an independent company.

This means it does not face a traditional merger probe, which would have given regulators the right to block an acquisition.

The EU’s study of Microsoft and OpenAI came after an abortive boardroom coup last year against the ChatGPT maker’s CEO Sam Altman, whom Microsoft supported and even briefly hired.

American and British regulators are also looking at the partnership.

Microsoft welcomed the conclusion of the EU’s examination.

“We appreciate the European Commission’s thorough review and its conclusion that Microsoft’s investment and partnership with OpenAI does not give Microsoft control over the company,” a Microsoft spokesperson said.

“We stand ready to respond to any additional questions the European Commission may have.”


EU questions Shein, Temu over consumer protection

By AFP
June 28, 2024


The EU wants Shein and Temu to provide information by July 12

 - Copyright AFP/File

 Charly TRIBALLEAU

The EU on Friday demanded wildly popular shopping platforms Shein and Temu explain what action they are taking to protect consumers, including children.

The query was made under the EU’s breakthrough law known as the Digital Services Act (DSA) that forces platforms to do more to tackle the sale of illegal and harmful goods.

The European Commission said it wants to know what action the Chinese-founded platforms have taken to make sure users can notify them about illegal products.

It also wants to know how Shein and Temu are complying with rules regarding online interfaces to avoid “dark patterns”, the practice of tricking users into making unwanted purchases or opting-in to certain settings without their knowledge.

The commission added it wants more information about how they are guaranteeing the transparency of their recommender systems — algorithms used by platforms to push more personalised content — and the ease with which sellers can be traced.

Both companies must provide the information by July 12.

Shein said it was “working to promptly address” the demand for information.

“We share the commission’s goal of ensuring that consumers in the EU can shop online with peace of mind, and we will continue working closely with the commission,” a Shein spokesperson said.

Temu said it was “cooperating fully” with the EU. “We’d also like to reiterate that we are fully committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations in the markets where we operate,” a Temu spokesperson said.

The commission said its request for information was also based on a complaint submitted by consumer organisations.

In May, Europe’s BEUC umbrella consumer rights group filed a complaint against Temu with the European Commission, accusing the app of using “manipulative techniques”.

Both platforms have a sizeable European user base.

Shein, a Chinese-founded company which is headquartered in Singapore, has said it has around 108 million monthly active users in the 27-nation EU.

Temu only arrived in Europe last year and has said it has on average around 75 million monthly active users in the bloc.

Shein and Temu also recently joined fellow marketplaces AliExpress, Amazon and Zalando on a list of 24 “very large online platforms” facing stricter safety rules under the DSA, which have more than 45 million monthly active users in the European Union.

Aid groups press to stop Sudan ‘man-made’ famine as 755,000 projected to starve

By AFP
June 28, 2024


People line up to register for potential food aid delivery at a camp for internally displaced persons in Agari, South Kordofan, on June 17, 2024 

- Copyright AFP Yuki IWAMURA

Shaun TANDON

Aid groups are warning that Sudan’s “man-made famine” could be even worse than feared, with the most catastrophic death toll the world has seen in decades, without more global pressure on warring generals.

A UN-backed study said Thursday that 755,000 people are on the brink of starvation in Sudan, a death toll not seen since the 1980s when famine in Ethiopia shocked the world.

Barrett Alexander, the director of programs in Sudan for Mercy Corps, said even that figure could be an underestimate as the conflict has displaced farmers in the country’s agricultural areas, raising fears for the next harvest.

“Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if it were a little bit higher than that number,” he said of the projection by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification initiative, or IPC.

“We’re seeing a man-made likely famine happen in front of our eyes that’s primarily conflict-induced,” Alexander, who is based in Port Sudan, told AFP on a visit to Washington.

The IPC said that nearly 26 million people — half of Sudan’s population — were facing acute food insecurity with the 755,000 in catastrophic conditions, including around the capital Khartoum and Darfur, the scene of a scorched-earth military campaign two decades ago.

Fighting erupted in April 2023 between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces after a plan to integrate them failed, with the warring generals seizing territory.

Alexander said that both sides have imposed cumbersome levels of bureaucracy, including requiring permits of aid workers.

“Getting across the frontlines is nearly impossible,” he said.

– Eating grass –

Eatizaz Yousif, Sudan country director for the International Rescue Committee, said there have already been accounts of people resorting to eating grass in South Kordofan state.

“Definitely we will be seeing very soon people dying from a lack of food in different parts of the country,” said Yousif, who was also in Washington.

She said that the belligerents have looted food warehouses and harassed or killed humanitarian workers.

“It’s definitely a man-made hunger crisis because we don’t have a problem with the level of grain at this time,” she said.

The United States has been seeking to bring the warring sides back to the negotiating table but has seen little interest, with diplomats saying both sides believe they can win on the battlefield.

The two sides “must negotiate an immediate ceasefire to facilitate predictable and sustained humanitarian access to all Sudanese and remain at the negotiating table to end this conflict,” Samantha Power, head of the US Agency for International Development, said in a statement.

Regional players have increasingly been involved in Sudan, with the United Arab Emirates accused of funneling military support to the Rapid Support Forces, whose fighters helped the wealthy Gulf country in Yemen.

The paramilitaries have also allegedly received support from Russia’s Wagner mercenaries, while Egypt, Turkey and reportedly Iran have backed the army.

With multiple conflicts in the world, donors have provided only 17 percent of the $2.7 billion sought by the United Nations to help Sudan.

“Compare Sudan with crises like Gaza and Ukraine — maybe they are more important in the geopolitical arena,” Yousif said.

“If you see the number of displaced and the number of humans suffering, Sudan should be on the top of humanitarian attention,” she said.

Mongolia ruling party wins reduced majority in vote dominated by graft

By AFP
June 29, 2024

Millions of Mongolians turned out to elect 126 members of the State Great Khural, the country's unicameral parliament - Copyright AFP Hector RETAMAL

Oliver HOTHAM

Mongolia’s ruling party emerged from this week’s polls with its parliamentary majority significantly diminished Saturday, local media said, after a campaign dominated by graft fears and the state of the economy.

Prime Minister Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene early Saturday morning declared victory in the previous day’s polls, in which millions of Mongolians turned out to elect 126 members of the State Great Khural, the country’s unicameral parliament.

And on Saturday, local media outlet Ikon — collating figures provide by the country’s General Election Commission — reported the ruling Mongolian People’s Party had won 68 seats, giving it a majority of four.

The main opposition Democratic Party won 42, Ikon reported, while the minor anti-corruption HUN party won eight. Smaller parties won eight seats between them.

And at a press conference Saturday afternoon in the capital Ulaanbaatar, the head of the Electoral Commission said there remained some votes to be counted by hand to verify results collated by machines.

“Only six to seven polling station are remaining, but the hand counting matches the machines 100 percent,” he said.

“These polling stations will be finished very soon,” he added.

The results — the first under a new electoral system in which Mongolians vote for both proportional lists and individuals representing large districts — mean the MPP will govern with a greatly reduced majority.

– ‘Rebuke’ –

The new parliament will see the MPP hold 54 percent of the seats, compared to around 80 percent in 2020.

“This election result definitely represents a rebuke to MPP and the entirety of its leadership,” Bayarlkhagva Munkhnaran, an analyst and former official with the National Security Council of Mongolia, told AFP.

Winning 68 seats is “barely a face-saver and any subsequent government will be a weak but much more democratic one,” he said.

“The biggest winners are Mongolian people who resolutely hit the polling stations and confirmed their unequivocal support for democratic path.”

Analysts had expected the MPP to retain the majority it has enjoyed since 2016 and govern for another four years.

They say the party can credit much of its success to a boom in coal mining that fuelled double-digit growth and dramatically improved standards of living, as well as to a formidable party machine.

But the campaign was dominated by deep public frustration over endemic corruption, as well as the high cost of living and lack of opportunities for young people who make up almost two-thirds of the population.

There is also a widespread belief that the proceeds of the coal-mining boom are being hoarded by a wealthy elite — a view that has sparked frequent protests.

Planting giant cactus to stave off desertification in Brazil

By AFP
June 28, 2024

Alcides Peixinho Nascimento walks through his plantation of mandacaru

 - Copyright AFP Volker Hartmann
Pablo PORCIUNCULA and Carlos FABAL with Lucia LACURCIA in Rio de Janeiro

Giant spiky cacti tower over farmer Alcides Peixinho Nascimento, 70, one of the residents of Brazil’s unique Caatinga biome who is on a mission to plant native vegetation in a bid to halt desertification.

“In the absence of laws, it is up to us to act,” said Nascimento, who is trying to regenerate his land by planting mandacaru, an emblematic cactus from the region that grows up to six meters tall.

The Caatinga stretches across ten northeastern states, a unique area boasting a tapestry of thorny shrubs, twisty trees and succulents adapted to its semi-arid conditions.

Its plight attracts little interest compared to the lush Amazon, but the vegetation of this dry forest plays a key role in absorbing carbon emissions and is rapidly disappearing.

The MapBiomas NGO reports it has lost 40 percent of its original surface area due to agriculture, mining and the installation of wind farms.

It is in the Caatinga, which has been facing increasingly severe periods of drought, that scientists recently identified the first arid zone in Brazil.

“Preserving the Caatinga means keeping the land alive,” said the farmer Nascimento.

Communities are adopting various sustainable farming methods to ensure their survival.

Nascimento’s drought-resistant cacti grow fruit that can feed both animals and humans, and protect the soil from the extreme climate.

Their thorns repel predators and are often planted around other crops and native species.

Excess mandacaru production is sold to a French cosmetics brand to make creams and soaps.

– ‘Guardians of the Caatinga’ –



Luiz Almeida Santos, of the local agricultural NGO IRPAA said the Caatinga was being preserved in areas where “traditional communities live” who adopt sustainable farming practices.

“They are the guardians of the Caatinga”.

A recent study predicted nine out of 10 species of fauna and flora in the Caatinga could disappear by 2060.

The IRPAA also teaches local communities how to stretch their water to last through severe drought.

On her land in northern Bahia, Maria Goncalves dos Santos, 60, shows how rainwater is collected and stored in a cistern.

“Here, all the water is reused,” she said. Wastewater is filtered and used to water animal pastures.

Goncalves measures the level of the 16,000-liter tank with a ruler and logs her consumption in a notebook.

The government has set up nearly a million tanks like this in the region since 2003.

Installations slowed dramatically under far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, but the program has recently been relaunched under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Another threat to the Caatinga is the rural exodus, and the IRPAA has set up a training center where it has taught some 200 young people about sustainable farming methods.

“In our region, we do not have many opportunities, we have to travel to seek knowledge. I am happy to be able to contribute to the well-being of my community,” said Anderson Santos de Jesus, 20, who traveled 200 kilometers (124 miles) to reach the training center.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M  2 TIERED JUSTICE
Embezzlement-accused French media scion reinstated as CEO

By AFP
June 28, 2024

Arnaud Lagardere's company has eroded since he inherited it from his father - Copyright AFP Greg Baker

French media baron Arnaud Lagardere, who resigned from running the sprawling group of the same name in April over embezzlement charges, was reinstated as chief executive Friday after a favourable court decision, the company said.

Lagardere, who sold the firm built by his father to media giant Vivendi in November, had been temporarily barred from holding management positions over alleged misuse of corporate funds at some of his companies not belonging to Lagardere group.

Now he has secured the “partial lifting of the ban measure” in a court ruling, Largardere SA said in a statement.

A judicial source confirmed to AFP that the 63-year-old is within his rights to return to the top seat, despite being charged with embezzlement.

It was “a very great joy for me to resume as chief executive of the group that bears my name,” Lagardere himself said in the statement.

As well as thanking other company chiefs, he added a special note of gratitude to “our shareholders, and particularly the largest among them, the Bollore family”.

Billionaire Vincent Bollore, owner of a news station dubbed France’s Fox news among other conservative outlets, controls Lagardere SA’s owner Vivendi and is a close friend of Lagardere himself.

The November sale of the company to Vivendi completed the gradual erosion of the group Lagardere inherited from his father Jean-Luc in 2003.

Once a vast empire from publishing to aerospace, Lagardere SA still operates the profitable Relay chain of airport and train station stores, airport duty-free shops and major performance venues.

Its media operations include radio station Europe 1, Sunday paper the Journal du dimanche and France’s top book publisher Hachette.

Experts press Swiss foundation over Nazi-era art collection

By AFP
June 28, 2024

The controversial collection includes works by Renoir and other French Impressionists - Copyright AFP ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS

Christophe VOGT

A Swiss foundation must do more to trace the provenance of works in a vast art collection acquired in questionable circumstances during World War II, a team of experts said Friday.

There has long been suspicion around the Nazi-era origins of one of Europe’s most prestigious private art collections, acquired by arms dealer Emil Buhrle, who made his fortune during the war.

The German-born industrialist became a naturalised Swiss citizen in 1937. By the time he died in 1956, he had amassed around 600 artworks, including masterpieces by Cezanne, Degas, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Rembrandt, Picasso and Van Gogh.

Some had previously been looted from their Jewish owners, or sold cheaply and in haste as their owners fled the Nazis.

The Buhrle Foundation, which owns the collection, has been working to clarify the provenance of the works for years.

Its efforts came into particular focus when Kunsthaus Zurich, one of Switzerland’s most prestigious art museums, agreed to permanently house the collection. Until then, it had been displayed at a private museum on the outskirts of Zurich.

The Kunsthaus has faced especially keen scrutiny since it opened a new building to house a large part of the collection in 2021.

– ‘Insufficient’ –

A team of experts mandated by the Zurich authorities and the museum to evaluate the foundation’s research on provenance on Friday concluded that it had been “insufficient”.

“Provenance research must be continued,” said the team, led by renowned Swiss historian Raphael Gross, president of the German Historical Museum Foundation.

The Buhrle Foundation has confirmed that 13 paintings bought by the German-born industrialist had been stolen by the Nazis from Jewish owners in France.

Following a series of court cases after World War II ended, in the late 1940s Buhrle returned all 13 pieces to their rightful owners then repurchased nine of them, the foundation said.

But the foundation says its research over two decades concluded there were no signs of “problematic provenance” for any of the 203 works in the current collection.

Friday’s expert review examined the foundation’s sources, methodology, accuracy, standards and historical contextualisation.

Voicing particular concern that the foundation had categorised 90 works as unproblematic despite lacking full provenance research, the experts insisted they should all be re-examined.

The research should “concentrate on clarifying the previous Jewish ownership and persecution-related confiscation of the works”, they added.

“Without the Nazi’s persecution of Jews, the Buhrle Collection would never have reached the level it did,” Gross reporters at a new conference, the Swiss news agency Keystone-ATS reported.

– ‘Superficial’ –

The experts conducted an in-depth examination of the provenance investigation conducted on five emblematic works. They research there, they said, was so “superficial that decisive indicators (were) overlooked”.

One of the works, “Madame Cezanne with a Fan” by Paul Cezanne, had belonged to the US writer, poet and art collector Gertrude Stein, who was living in Nazi-occupied France.

“Gertrude Stein sold it to an art dealer who demonstrably exploited the plight of Jewish refugees,” it said. “The provenance of this work has not yet been sufficiently researched”.

The experts urged the Kunsthaus to set up an interdisciplinary panel to create a scheme for examining all art in its own collection and on long-term loan that could potentially be linked to Nazi-related confiscations.

The report also suggested the museum conduct a further debate, if possible a public one, about the Buhrle collection and the museum’s association with his name.