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)
Wednesday, August 21, 2024
Estidamah, Saudi Coffee Company Join Forces to Boost Kingdom’s Coffee Industry
UNSUSTAINABLE
The partnership is part of national efforts to boost local coffee production, which will support the economy and help achieve the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030. (SPA)
-20 August 2024 AD ـ 15 Safar 1446 AH
The National Research and Development Center for Sustainable Agriculture (Estidamah) and the Saudi Coffee Company signed a strategic memorandum of cooperation aimed at boosting the coffee sector in the Kingdom, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday.
The partnership is part of national efforts to boost local coffee production, which will support the economy and help achieve the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030.
It focuses on various key areas, including localizing modern technologies for coffee cultivation and production, implementing findings from research and applied studies, and boosting the skills of local farmers through training in best agricultural practices in order to improve crop quality and maximize economic returns.
The joint research team will focus on technological innovation and prioritize the use of nanotechnologies and biocatalysts to improve coffee plant growth.
Furthermore, artificial intelligence will be utilized to manage coffee farms more efficiently, ultimately leading to greater productivity and improved quality.
The partnership will explore the possibility of using alternative water sources, including rainwater harvesting, to ensure the long-term sustainability of production and open up new possibilities for expanding coffee cultivation in different regions of the Kingdom.
Estidamah board member Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Saghir said this partnership marks a significant advancement for the Saudi coffee industry by leveraging Estidamah's research expertise with the Saudi Coffee Company's marketing capabilities.
The ultimate objective, he explained, is to position the Kingdom prominently on the global map of coffee production.
Sustainability Director at the Saudi Coffee Company Dr. Abdullah Bokhari said the collaboration marks an important stride toward empowering local farmers and boosting the global competitiveness of local coffee.
The collaboration is anticipated to generate new job opportunities and bolster rural development in coffee-producing areas, thus enhancing the quality of life for local communities.
CEO interview: “Onshore oil industry must generate cash for well decommissioning”
The UK onshore industry needs to raise money to plug and abandon hundreds of redundant oil wells as part of the energy transition, Angus Energy’s chief executive told DrillOrDrop.
Richard Herbert, chief executive of Angus Energy. Photo: Angus Energy
In an extended interview, Richard Herbert said the onshore industry had to follow the North Sea’s example and invest to decommission old wells.
He said:
“It’s not on the same scale as the North Sea was but the [onshore] industry has hundreds and hundreds of wells to abandon safely, so that they don’t pollute future water courses.
Official data analysed by DrillOrDrop shows there are nearly 500 UK onshore wells that are not classed as operating but have not been fully decommissioned. More detailed article coming soon.
Mr Herbert said:
“[site operators] have sites to demolish and return to open fields and someone has to pay for that. And the government won’t pay for it and nobody else is going to pay for it.
“So the industry has to generate some wealth that can be used to reward its shareholders but also can be used responsibly to end the oil era in onshore UK.”
Mr Herbert, who runs the UK’s biggest onshore gas field at Saltfleetby in Lincolnshire, said the onshore industry was playing “a very important role” in the energy transition “that maybe people don’t’ understand when they look at our business model.”
He said:
“the energy transition doesn’t just involve building a lot of windmills and solar farms and everyone buying electric cars and cooking on those electric things, that I can’t cook on.
“It also involves cleaning up more than 100 years of industrial activity and if you look at all these producing fields in the Weald and in the east midlands, it’s a bit like the North Sea.
“the big [offshore] companies are investing billions of pounds now in taking out the platforms and plugging the wells and making it look like it did before we ever went there. We have to do the same onshore.”
He said the investment tax breaks in the energy profits levy – described by fossil fuel opponents as a loophole – were “critical capital allowances that allow the industry to invest and replenish our domestic production”.
Last month, the new Labour government extended the energy profits levy, also known as windfall tax, by another year. It also increased the rate of tax and removed the investment allowances.
Other key points
Mr Herbert has been Angus Energy’s chief executive since 2023 and was a senior executive at BP. As well as Saltfleetby, his company operates onshore oil sites at Balcombe and Lidsey in West Sussex and Brockham in Surrey.
In his DrillOrDrop interview, he also said:
The oil and gas industry had to lower its climate impact but developing domestic oil and gas fields was in the best interests of the country
“We all recognise that we have to continue to lower the impact of oil and gas because of the climate impacts of it.
“But at the same time, it has to be done in the right way.”
He said:
“we are in the very early days of the energy transition. We still rely significantly on oil and gas for our energy, for transportation, for home heating, for electricity generation, for industry, and importing oil and gas when we have domestic resources does not make any sense.
“I think the whole industry recognises that if we are given a chance to produce and develop domestic oil and gas fields it is in the best interests of the country as we manage our way through what’s going to be a complex energy transition.”
Campaigner Sarah Finch who brought the successful legal challenge at the Supreme Court on downstream carbon emissions. Photo: DrillOrDrop
“The reaction I’ve heard since this case was that people are confused about how this is this is going to be interpreted and what does it really mean.”
The court ‘s majority judgement said Surrey County Council should have taken into account downstream emissions from burning oil produced at UKOG’s Horse Hill site when deciding planning permission.
The decision is expected to have widespread implications for carbon intensive industries, including a new coal mine in Cumbria.
Mr Herbert said it was difficult to know how the judgement would affect Angus Energy and the onshore generally. He said “right now we are waiting to see.
“We have a planning application which has just been submitted to drill additional wells at the Saltfleetby gas field and that approval process could be affected by this. At this stage, we remain optimistic that we will get the right outcome and if this involves more work to be clear about the impact of what we’re trying to do then so be it. We can live with that.”
He described the argument, put forward by the former head of BP, John Browne and others, against issuing new North Sea licences as “an interesting point to debate”.
He said:
“I think in terms of production and opportunities to get as much out of the ground now or in the short term to stop us importing, I find it much harder to find arguments against that because that seems to me to be efficient and logical.
“We still have an electricity system that is very dependent on hydrocarbons. We have home heating that is very largely dependent on hydrocarbons. We don’t have that many electric cars on the road yet and a lot of those that are there the electricity is being generated by gas. So we’ve got a long way to go.”
He said he would be “the first to support” Labour’s plans for investment in alternative energy”.
But he said “it can’t come at the cost of the oil and gas industry”.
The energy transition “has to be done in the right way”, he said.
“What doesn’t work right now is the high levels of taxation that were committed by the last government as a knee-jerk reaction to what happened in Ukraine. And rather than seeing those come down as commodity prices have come down again, we’re actually seeing people trying to push them up.”
Angus Energy in southern England
The Weald – potential in question
Mr Herbert described the Weald oil fields in southern England as “small and complicated”.
Asked whether there was potential for future development of oil and gas in the Weald, he said:
“Probably not.”
He said there was “not much public support from the community” for the industry.
Balcombe – well test, stimulation and wrong location
Balcombe residents challenging the Balcombe well test at the High Court. Photo: DrillOrDrop
At Balcombe, where there were near daily protests during drilling in 2013, local people have delayed a well test by bringing a legal challenge. Angus Energy and the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government will defend the case at the appeal court in January 2025.
Asked whether the Balcombe oil site, in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, was in the wrong place, Mr Herbert said:
“If we were starting from scratch today, we would say ‘shall we go and explore for oil in an area of outstanding beauty? Probably too difficult’.”
He acknowledged local opposition to the plans, but said they were “borne out of the fear of fracking”. He said he thought the site could be “developed responsibly without putting at risk the water course and everything that’s in the AONB”.
The well would have to be flowed even if it was going to be abandoned, he said.
“the only way to deal with this is to allow the well to be flowed and then we either make a commercial decision to abandon it and put it back to what it was like before we drilled, or we have some encouragement that says we have an asset here that could be developed and which could generate production, taxes, jobs and all the things that we do this for.”
Asked if Angus Energy planned any form of stimulation of the Balcombe well, Mr Herbert said:
“Not in terms of hydraulic stimulation, no. We have not applied in our planning permission to do that. And if we were to develop the field, I think it is extremely unlikely that we would be looking to do that. I can’t say impossible because I don’t know what the test might tell us about the best way to encourage production from the wells.”
He said high volume hydraulic fracturing “never got off the ground in the UK. I don’t think it ever will”.
But he said the industry had been stimulating wells to deal with formation damage “for decades” and “no one ever made a fuss about it”.
“If we wanted to clean up a well and do a very small job on it, that is something that we would have to apply for permission for. It’s not something we have currently applied for.”
Mr Herbert said Angus had no recent contact with Frack Free Balcombe Residents’ Association, the group bringing the challenge to the Balcombe well test.
Brockham and Lidsey – water injection plans
At Brockham, near Dorking, Angus said it was seeking permission to import formation water from other sites to inject into the reservoir. It currently has permission to inject just water from Brockham.
The company restarted production at Brockham in June 2024, after a break of 18 months. New production levels were 40-50 barrels of crude oil a day, Mr Herbert said. But 60% of the output from the field was formation water.
Mr Herbert said:
“we’ve argued successfully that to maximise the recovery from Brockham we need to replace the fluids we’re taking out. And therefore we would like the ability to bring additional tanker loads of water in to make sure that we’re doing that. We’re in the process of putting that together.”
He said this permission would allow Angus Energy to restart production at its Lidsey field, near Bognor Regis, which has no water disposal facilities.
Lidsey produced about 15-20 barrels a day in 2020. Mr Herbert said even at this level of production the field “would still be economic”.
“we have licences from the government to maximise production from these fields so we will do what we can to achieve that. But we can’t make a decision on that until we’re able to consider the movement of the fluids, particularly the water, to Brockham.”
Official figures show the field contributes about 80% of UK onshore gas production. But this represents less than 1% of total UK gas production.
Mr Herbert said the field was currently constrained to about 11 or 12 million cubic feet per day. He said he hoped new wells, workovers and a £3m project to install a booster compressor, would increase production at Saltfleetby.
The company was revising its reservoir model for the field, Mr Herbert said, to shape decisions on future wells and workovers.
Angus and its partner, Trafigua, are also looking at potential gas storage at Saltfleetby. Mr Herbert said “there could be a role” for market-driven storage at the field, where a trader buys a cargo of cheap liquefied natural gas (LNG) and stores it until prices rise.
He added:
“I believe we should take a serious look at carbon capture at this site. This government has both committed to net zero emissions and at the same time acknowledged the role of gas in the foreseeable future. Onshore sites will have to be an essential part of the new strategy.”
He also said once Saltfleetby’s gas was worked out, the company would “be looking to see if there is anything else around”, including oil.
Acquisitions and hedging
Angus has previously hinted about new areas of interest and Mr Herbert suggested this could include additional UK onshore fields:
“we recognise that the company has the potential to grow and we can take on more opportunities.”
He said:
“as a UK onshore producer, the first place people would expect us to look at is onshore UK and there’s quite a lot of companies that are, if not distressed, then they are struggling.
“There’s a logic to potentially combining or adding assets in onshore UK. But this comes back to the attitude of the new government to the environment in which we would be investing.
“I think we need to have clearer rules and a clearer understanding of government direction before we commit to that.”
At the time of writing, Angus Energy’s share price was 0.25p. This is down from 1.37p when DrillOrDrop last interviewed an Angus Energy chief executive.
Mr Hebert said:
“I believe we’re significantly undervalued. We’ve had to fight to get through some very difficult situations in the last 12-18 months.”
The company hedged Saltfleetby gas during a period of lower prices and before production from the field got underway.
Mr Herbert said the bubble in the gas price “largely coincided with the period when the field was still being developed”. He said the situation was worsened by the need to honour hedges when there was no production. He said: “there was a bit of a lost opportunity there”.
The hedging commitments will continue until summer 2025 and cash flow would be lower, Mr Herbert said.
“we’ve got another 12 months of dealing with those, where for quite a significant part of our production we receive a price that is significantly below the current price. That’s just a legacy position that we have to deal with.
“The good news is that 12 months from now that will be gone and we’re still hedging a percentage of our production but we’re doing it at prices that are much more aligned to current market prices so they give us price protection.”
The company restructured its debt earlier this year and Mr Herbert appeared optimistic for the future. He said:
“We have a very strong asset that has very strong cash generating potential”.
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Tuesday, August 20, 2024
UFO'S
FAA imposes flight restrictions around US Air Force Plant 42, home to classified aerospace development projects.
Photo: USAF
Summary FAA imposes flight restrictions around US Air Force Plant 42, home to classified aerospace development projects.
Reports of UFO sightings prompt concerns over espionage and drone interference in military installations.
Drones have become an increasing threat to aviation safety in recent years.
A series of unidentified flying object (UFO) reports around a highly classified US Air Force base in California have coincided with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposing temporary flight restrictions in the area. United States Air Force Plant 42 - home to advanced military aerospace development projects - has experienced a surge in suspected drone incursions within the past few months.
FAA flight restrictions around Plant 42
Residents of Palmdale, California have reported seeing several unidentified objects in the skies over the past few days, prompting action by the FAA. However, the larger story is that Plant 42 - an offshoot of Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) housing top-secret defense projects from the likes of Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrup Grumman - has reportedly seen an uptick in "uncrewed aerial systems" (UAS) activities in recent months.
Photo: TipTopMap | Shutterstock
As detailed in a report by The War Zone, Mary Kozaitis, Chief of Media Operations for the 412th Test Wing at Edwards Air Force Base, said the FAA restrictions were put in place "because of the increase in UAS activity." Other US bases have experienced suspected drone activity too, including a notable situation at Langley AFB in December, raising concerns over espionage.
According to Kozaitis,
"We have observed multiple UAS [uncrewed aerial systems] activities over Plant 42 during the last few months. The number of UASs fluctuated and they ranged in size and configuration."
The facility is home to Lockheed Martin's 'Skunk Works', or Advanced Development Programs (ADP) division, as well as other highly advanced aerospace projects, including the B-21 Raider stealth bomber program.
The sixth-generation bomber could be operational within four years.
Videos of alleged UFO sightings in Palmdale began showing up on social media on August 17th, although some clips have since been revealed as hoaxes. Nonetheless, the number of unexplained drone incidents that have been occurring around US military installations is a cause for concern.
US Navy ships have also reportedly experienced drone swarms, raising the likelihood that all of this is state espionage activity. The government has generally sought to downplay any incidents and has remained predictably quiet about the recent Palmdale sightings.
Drone challenges
Drones have become something of a nuisance for airports since affordable commercial drones hit the market. There have been several instances of drone interference at major global airports, including a notable situation over the 2018 Christmas holidays at London Gatwick (LGW) that forced hundreds of flight cancelations. Dublin Airport has also suffered from repeated drone incursions, eventually looking to specialist anti-drone technology as a solution.
Photo: S.Galindo | Shutterstock
Wayward drones pose a threat to aircraft as they are landing or attempting to take-off, and there have been many near misses over the years. In one particularly close call, an Emirates Airbus A380 suffered damage to its right wing after striking a suspected drone while landing in Nice.
Rare sighting of red squirrel in Scotland's central belt
Lanette Perry The red squirrel was spotted on a fence in a Bishopbriggs garden
A red squirrel has been spotted in the central belt of Scotland in a rare sighting.
The squirrel was seen darting along a fence in Lanette Perry's garden in Bishopbriggs, East Dunbartonshire.
Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels (SSRS), a project led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, said it was one of the most southerly red squirrel sightings in Scotland's central belt in decades.
It said the emergence of the species in the area could be due to conservation efforts.
Lanette Perry
SSRS spokeswoman Katie Berry said: "We cannot say exactly why this pioneering red has turned up in this location - it is perhaps testament to the grey control efforts in areas to the north in recent years, and possibly also as a result of increasing pine marten populations in the Central Lowlands."
More than 75% of the UK’s remaining red squirrels are found in Scotland, however there are only about 120,000 remaining in Scotland.
Their numbers have fallen drastically in recent decades.
This is largely due the spread of the invasive non-native grey squirrel, which was first introduced from North America in the late 1800s to decorate the gardens of stately homes.
No false hopes on Tata jobs, says Starmer
David Deans Political reporter, BBC Wales News
PA Media Sir Keir Starmer was on a two-day trip to Wales
Sir Keir Starmer has said he cannot give "false hope" to Port Talbot steel workers ahead of the planned closure of the town's last blast furnace next month.
The Labour UK government is in discussions to save jobs at Tata Steel, where thousands face redundancy.
The prime minister said his ministers will do "everything we can" but added: "I'm not going to pretend it's [anything] other than tough."
Welsh Conservative Senedd leader Andrew RT Davies claimed Labour ministers had led Port Talbot "up the garden path".
Plaid Cymru said Labour was on the "backfoot" in responding to Tata.
The UK Labour leader was speaking to journalists at the 57.4-megawatt Brechfa Forest West windfarm in Carmarthenshire, as part of a two day trip to Wales.
Sir Keir met Eluned Morgan in Cathays Park, in Cardiff, on Monday for his first meeting with her since she became first minister.
The Labour leader claimed to have "turbocharged" the party's action on steel since he has been in power.
Asked if he was risking giving false hope to Port Talbot steel workers, he said: "No.
"We're working really hard on this, both the first minister and myself jointly on this, because it's so important we do everything we can to preserve those jobs."
He later added: "I don't want to give anybody false hope. I'm not going to give up on trying to preserve as many jobs as we can.
"I'm not going to give up on making sure that those in the supply chains have the money they need to diversify, where they need to diversify, which is why we put money behind this just seven days ago.
"It is very important that we have steel production here in south Wales, very important that the government is committed to that.
"This is a tough time, there's no doubt about that but we will do everything we can to preserve those jobs."
Analysis
By Huw Thomas, BBC Wales business correspondent
In opposition Labour had been accused by the Conservative government of giving false hope to Tata Steel workers, and it’s a charge Sir Keir Starmer continues to resist as Prime Minister.
While it is true that the new Labour government has announced funding for supply chain businesses, this was formed at the cross-party transition board whose remit and budget was set by the previous Westminster administration.
Tata Steel, meanwhile, is pressing ahead with its plans.
It has already invited workers to volunteer for redundancy, and will close the second of two blast furnaces in September.
Since the steelmaker announced its original proposals at the beginning of this year, barely any changes have been made to the overall plan to cut 2,800 jobs and shut the heavy end of Port Talbot’s operation by the autumn.
That’s despite industrial action and political pressure.
With just weeks remaining, the blueprint for Tata Steel’s restructure seems unlikely to change. Any additional investment or job creation is likely to be secondary, and small in scale, compared with what’s being lost.
The remaining blast furnace in Port Talbot is due to close in September.
Eluned Morgan told BBC Wales: "We're all very aware that there's a Damocles sword hanging over the Tata situation."
"The situation is difficult, and you know, we have to be prepared for all options."
The first tranche of cash from a £100m fund to help workers and firms affected by restructuring plans was announced last week.
The £13.5m announced was to support local firms whose main customer is Tata Steel find new markets and to help workers find new jobs, access training and gain skills and qualifications in areas where there are vacancies.
No.10 has promised to reset the relationship between the Welsh and UK governments, with the same party now running both.
Asked whether there will be extra cash for the Welsh government to bring down waiting lists, Ms Morgan said: "There's a whole array of issues that we discussed yesterday.
"Because they will be putting some money on the table in England to bring those waiting lists down, we will get some money as a result of that, we'll decide to spend that how we want.
"I'm very keen to make sure that we use that money to bring waiting lists down."
She said the UK government can learn things from the Welsh government. "We've changed the rules, for example, around around GPs and how they should see patients. We've changed their contracts. They haven't done that in England yet," she said.
Ms Morgan added: "We will work together on things that we agree on, but they need to understand that there some things are devolved."
'Huge opportunity'
On the visit to the hillside windfarm seven miles north of Carmarthen on Tuesday, Sir Keir said renewable energy was a "massive opportunity" for the country.
"There's a huge opportunity here for Wales, which has got the resources, it's got the natural resources, it's got the shallow seas, and it's got the skilled people here in Wales that can operate this," he said.
He and Eluned Morgan saw inside one of the turbines, which are up to 100m tall, after a technician stopped it for safety reasons.
PA Media Sir Keir Starmer said renewable energy presented Wales with a "huge opportunity"
Andrew RT Davies criticised Sir Keir's comments on Tata. He said: "Clearly now the realisation is coming that what the Conservatives did in government offered real hope to maintain steel production in Port Talbot with arc furnaces."
He added: "The steel workers and communities in Port Talbot have been misled by Labour and led up the garden path".
Ann Davies, Plaid Cymru MP for Caerfyrddin, said: "Labour has known about Tata's plans and associated job losses in Port Talbot for months. But it has constantly found itself on the back foot in responding to them.
‘We were told by Labour Welsh government to wait for a UK Labour government - with its £3bn plan for steel - to deliver new hope and a new plan for primary steel-making in Wales. It is clearer now than ever that there was no plan."
Robert F Kennedy Jr's running mate says the independent presidential candidate is considering joining forces with Donald Trump's campaign or staying in and forming a third party.
On a podcast released on Tuesday, Nicole Shanahan indicated the campaign may have reached a political crossroads and is debating next steps.
She said they are currently considering the two options to avoid the "risk" of a Kamala Harris presidency.
The Kennedy family heir, a longshot third-party candidate, has faced a number of hurdles in his campaign, from legal challenges over getting his name on state ballots to funding his run.
“There’s two options that we’re looking at and one is staying in, forming that new party, but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and [Tim] Walz presidency because we draw votes from Trump, or we draw somehow more votes from Trump,” Ms Shanahan, 38, said on the Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu podcast.
“Or we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump and you know, we walk away from that and we explain to our base why we’re making this decision.”
She said it was "not an easy decision".
BBC News has reached out to the Kennedy campaign for clarity on Ms Shanahan's comments.
In a post on Twitter/X on Tuesday, Mr Kennedy said: "As always, I am willing to talk with leaders of any political party to further the goals I have served for 40 years in my career and in this campaign."
Mr Kennedy's running mate said she trusts the future of the country more under the leadership of Trump, a Republican, than under the Democratic nominee, Vice-President Kamala Harris.
Ms Shanahan rejected recent reports that the Kennedy campaign had been in talks with the Harris team about a potential endorsement or cabinet position.
"That said, we have offered to talk to everybody about what your policies are, who's going to be in your cabinet, do you want to hear any of our takes on policy and what might work," she said.
She noted that former President Trump has taken a keen interest in some of their campaign's policies around chronic disease.
"For that reason, it behooves us to sit and see if we can actually make some real change and if that is a unity party, I think that it is something that we absolutely owe to the American public to explore," said Ms Shanahan.
Media reports over the last few months have indicated that Mr Kennedy, 70, has offered to endorse the former president in exchange for a role in his next administration.
A leaked phone call in July between the two candidates had Trump saying he would “love" Mr Kennedy "to do something” to support him.
A rocky path for the Kennedy campaign
The last several months have not been easy for the Kennedy campaign.
He has struggled to get his name on the ballot in all 50 states ahead of November's election.
Most recently a New York state judge ruled that he does not meet the legal requirement of a state resident and therefore cannot be on the state's election ballot.
He has vowed to appeal against the decision that could prompt legal challenges in other states as well.
Other third-party candidates still campaigning have faced similar ballot access issues.
Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver, independent Marianne Williamson, Green Party candidate Jill Stein and independent Cornell West are all still running in the 2024 presidential election.
Mr Kennedy is the most well-known independent candidate but his popularity appears to have plummeted since Ms Harris entered the race.
His campaign is facing a fundraising crunch, with recent finance filings showing it is spending more than it is raising and running short on cash.
He has also faced a number of controversies in recent weeks, including an allegation that he sexually assaulted a former family babysitter.
He responded to that report by calling it a "lot of garbage" and saying that he was "not a church boy".
He also made headlines for his recent confession about dumping a dead bear in Central Park in 2014.
Mr Kennedy is currently polling at about 5% in national opinion surveys.
He narrowly missed qualifying for the first presidential debate in June between President Joe Biden and Trump.
Rise in number of firms going bust, Insolvency Service says
Sky News Updated Tue, 20 August 2024
The number of firms in England and Wales going bust last month rose by 16% year-on-year, according to official figures.
Commentators said the 2,191 company insolvencies in July showed how many businesses were still recovering from the impact of high inflation and borrowing costs despite growing optimism about the UK's economic outlook.
The figure was 7% down on June's total, but insolvency levels remain much higher than those seen during both the COVID-19 pandemic and in the years following the 2008/09 financial crisis, officials said.
Rebecca Dacre, a partner at advisory firm Forvis Mazars, said the data was "a strong reminder that many businesses are still a long way off from recovery".
She added: "Despite initial signs of improvement in the economy, some sectors are still experiencing severe difficulty as interest rates remain high.
"Falling consumer spending during the cost of living crisis has also made it incredibly difficult for some businesses to survive. The retail and hospitality sectors have borne much of the brunt... unless we see a stronger economic recovery, it is likely we will see more companies pushed towards insolvency."
Sarah Rayment, head of global restructuring at finance firm Kroll, said there was no need for "alarm" because "looking at the big picture there are reasons to be cheerful".
She added: "However, green shoots do not immediately translate into good news for all companies. Borrowing costs are still high and many companies are looking to refinance in the coming months.
"The question is whether they will have enough financial headroom with higher borrowing costs or whether their lenders will give them enough leeway. It is perhaps more likely that we will see more restructuring activity."
The seasonally adjusted figures, from the Insolvency Service and Companies House, include 320 compulsory liquidations, the highest monthly total since before the pandemic.
Meanwhile, individual insolvencies rose by 24% year-on-year in July, separate official figures showed on Tuesday.
The total of 10,524 was similar to June's figure, and included 634 bankruptcies, 4,163 debt relief orders and 5,727 individual voluntary arrangements. However, levels remain below those seen during the pandemic.
Body of man who died in Florida jail to return to UK
BBC Kris Maharaj died aged 85 after spending 38 years in a Florida jail
The body of a British businessman who spent 38 years in a Florida jail for a double murder he always denied is being flown back to the UK.
Kris Maharaj was declared innocent by a judge in 2019 but was never released and died in prison earlier this month, aged 85.
His lawyer, Clive Stafford Smith, continues to support Mr Maharaj's wife, Marita, who now lives in his home town of Bridport, Dorset.
Mr Maharaj's funeral is due to take place in West Bay on Tuesday.
The self-made millionaire was convicted of murdering his former business partner, Derrick Moo Young, and his son at a hotel in Miami in October 1986.
He spent 15 years on death row before his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.
Mr Stafford Smith, who took on the case in 1993, said alibi witnesses, including Mr Maharaj's wife, were never called to testify at the original trial.
He said members of the Colombian Medellín Cartel, founded by notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar, also confessed to the killings.
According to Reprieve, the human rights group set up by Mr Stafford Smith, federal magistrate Judge Alicia M Otazo-Reyes made a legal finding in 2019 that Mr Maharaj had proven his innocence by "clear and convincing evidence" and "no reasonable juror could convict him".
But the judge also ruled this was not sufficient for Mr Maharaj to be set free - and he had to continue his legal fight to be released.
Mr Maharaj's wife, Marita, stayed in Florida to be close to her husband
Mr Stafford Smith said: "I went down to Medellín a couple of times and six members of the cartel said 'we're the ones who did this.'
"We gradually exposed everyone in the case as being involved in drugs, except for Kris.
"Even the first judge was taken away in handcuffs because he had tried to take a bribe from an officer posing as a cartel [member].
"I've done 400 or so death penalty cases over the years and, of all the cases, this is the most unjust.
"He was in a cell with 80 other men - it was an octogenarian retirement home, effectively, of a really horrible sort.
"He had a 3ft-wide (91cm) bed and another 3ft before the next bed.
"He couldn't read any more, he was blind. The only joy he had left in life was to get on the phone with Marita for five minutes each day. It was so, so sad."
Mrs Maharaj came to live in Bridport in March after spending decades in the US to be near her husband.
She said, in all that time, she always laid a place for him at the dinner table.
"Maybe it was silly of me but I always hoped he will come through the door," she said.
"I never thought that Kris would die. I always thought that, for at least even a short time, we would be together before we both die.
"I didn't know he was very sick. When Clive told me that he was dead I went completely crazy, because that was a shock."
Reuters Lawyer Clive Stafford Smith said it was the most unjust case he had seen
Mr Maharaj died on 5 August. His body will be flown into Heathrow at 07:30 BST on Wednesday before being transported to Bridport.
He was an avid cricket fan so, on Monday, a cricket match will be held at Broadwindsor from 13:00, followed by a barbecue and fireworks.
On Tuesday at 10:00, a memorial walk will take place from West Bay pier where participants will walk 13,808 paces to mark the number of days Mr Maharaj spent in prison.
This will be followed by the funeral service at Bridport Catholic Church at 15:30.
"The more people who come along, the better. Marita deserves that support for her incredible loyalty.
"The number one thing Marita wants is to clear his name.
"As far as I'm concerned, we did it 10 years ago, but now we can't do it in courts any more - we can only do it in the court of public opinion."
Perspective: Colombia's Security Crisis – An Emerging Dilemma for US Foreign Policy
César Niño
Tue, 08/20/2024 -
Colombia is currently experiencing a significant national security crisis, hindering territorial consolidation and strategic advancements against both internal and external threats. The “Total Peace” (“Paz total”) policy implemented by the administration of President Gustavo Petro has encountered critical shortcomings, jeopardizing both Colombian security and regional stability. Key issues include the paralysis of the military forces amidst negotiations with armed groups, the proliferation and expansion of criminal organizations that threaten national stability, and a diminished deterrence capacity against external threats.
Colombian Military Police Welcome US Army Chief of Staff, Bogotá 2012.
Bogotá has long been a key ally of the United States in combating drug trafficking, terrorism, and organized crime. For decades, successive Colombian governments have maintained a strong diplomatic relationship with the US, facilitating the exchange of intelligence, strategies, and doctrines to achieve shared goals. One notable collaboration is the various phases of Plan Colombia, which significantly advanced the professionalization of Colombian security forces. It also enhanced their strategic capabilities to conduct combat operations under asymmetric conditions and to effectively counter threats from armed groups, particularly the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC), the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Naciona – ELN), and paramilitary organizations.
However, this close relationship has led to tensions with neighboring countries, particularly Venezuela and Ecuador. Under the administrations of Hugo Chávez, Nicolás Maduro, and Rafael Correa, these nations viewed the Colombian governments of Álvaro Uribe, Juan Manuel Santos, and Iván Duque as adversaries representing US interests in the region. The 2016 Peace Agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrillas offered hope for resolving issues related to security, crime, and terrorism. Nonetheless, even during the peace negotiations, dissident factions emerged, leading to the resurgence and revitalization of armed groups. These factions forged criminal alliances with former rival organizations and contributed to new forms of violence and criminality.
The state of Colombian national security
Under Gustavo Petro’s presidency (2022–2026), the government designed a security policy focused on the human security dimension. This policy argues that meeting the population's basic needs positively impacts national security and reduces violence. However, official government documents fail to clarify the national security concept it aims to achieve. Paradoxically, security remains an unresolved issue in Colombia because decision-makers developed a Total Peace policy without a thorough understanding of national security. This oversight has created strategic uncertainty for the security forces and decision-makers, as they have set up simultaneous negotiation tables with FARC dissidents, the ELN, criminal gangs, and other groups. Meanwhile, the groups negotiating with the government continue their involvement in drug trafficking, human trafficking, illegal mining, and terrorism. For instance, the ELN and dissidents led by alias “Iván Mordisco” control over half of the cocaine trafficking routes out of Colombia, particularly to the United States and Europe.
Despite the FARC's demobilization, peace in Colombia remains an elusive goal while insecurity grows. The ambitious “Total Peace” project aims to achieve sustainable peace in the country. However, the current security situation and rising violence reflect a crisis in implementing this project. New criminal actors have emerged, the number of massacres has increased, marginalized communities face heightened confinement, and ambushes against security forces continue. One major challenge is the disconnect between the Total Peace policy and the security and defense strategies. This lack of coordination has allowed armed groups to strengthen and led to non-compliance with some agreements by criminal actors in the negotiation processes. While violence directed at the state has decreased, criminal violence against civilians has increased, suggesting an armed peace rather than true Total Peace.
Various regions of Colombia have experienced an increased presence of illegal armed groups, including the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia – AGC or Clan del Golfo), the ELN, FARC dissidents, and both domestic and foreign organized crime structures. Among these groups, the AGC have shown the greatest expansion, increasing their influence from 253 municipalities in 2022 to 392 in the past year. FARC dissidents (Estado Mayor Central and Segunda Marquetalia) follow, expanding from 230 localities to 299 in the same period. This expansion indicates a displacement of the state in its own territory and suggests that state security capacities have been insufficient to prevent the criminal recycling and geographic expansion of these groups, which control strategic areas.
The state of the Colombian military forces
So far this century, Colombia has allocated an average of 3.2% of its gross domestic product to security and defense, a figure comparable to the 3.8% spent by the United States. This allocation is the highest in Latin America and reflects a long history of armed conflict that has driven military investment, along with the US alliance to combat transnational threats. This partnership has secured Colombia a priority position as a global NATO partner. The Colombian military’s experience in irregular warfare, asymmetric conflicts, and complex operations such as humanitarian demining has made it a reference in contemporary hybrid warfare and military diplomacy cooperation projects. However, defense spending has substantially decreased over the past two years. Under President Petro’s administration, it has dropped to 2.8%, despite the country’s continued conflict and growing security challenges. The proliferation of armed groups in various regions of Colombia, along with the involvement of international criminal actors, means that, despite having robust military forces (456,000 troops, the second largest in Latin America after Brazil), security remains paralyzed and in crisis. While Colombia does not face existential threats from abroad, such as a hypothetical invasion or nuclear tension, its military capacity has not significantly reduced internal threats. Although armed groups are negotiating with the government and some cease-fires have been agreed upon, it appears that the security and defense system has suspended its offensive capabilities to confront these groups.
In recent months, the ELN, FARC dissidents, and other organizations have started using drones to launch explosives at the army and civilian population. This method has enabled precise and lethal attacks on specific targets, including strategic infrastructure. Modified drones carrying explosive charges have become tools of war, complicating national security due to their low cost and the difficulty in detecting their use. These attacks pose a significant challenge to the state's defensive capabilities and raise concerns about escalating violence and the increasing sophistication of tactics used by non-state actors. While Petro's government has introduced a new project called the Sistema Integral de Defensa Nacional (SIDEN), or Integrated National Defense System, aimed at renewing military equipment for defensive and offensive purposes to protect the country’s energy, industrial, and strategic assets in a conflict scenario, the project does not seem to address the dynamics of national crime effectively.
Why should the next U.S. government care?
The insecurity sweeping Colombia is a US national security issue. Drug trafficking and organized crime in Colombia should be a central focus of the next US administration's foreign policy. For example, events in the Cauca department of Colombia significantly affect the geopolitical dynamics of crime in the hemisphere. The interactions among armed groups surpass the deterrent and strategic capabilities of states, making it crucial for Washington to prioritize understanding the regional criminal order, which has a key starting point in Colombia. Additionally, Colombian armed groups are developing dangerous networked relationships with extra-continental terrorist organizations, such as the ELN’s interactions with Hezbollah in the Arauca region, near Venezuela. Furthermore, Colombia serves as a corridor for transnational crime, exemplified by the Tren de Aragua (Aragua Train), which has established criminal franchises throughout South and Central America, posing significant risks to the United States.
The foreign and security policy approach to Colombia should emphasize increased cooperation to enhance internal and intelligence capabilities. It should also pressure the Petro government to define a national security concept that addresses the territorial and social particularities of each region in Colombia. In the strategic framework between Washington and Bogotá, it is important to recognize the existence of criminal governance and sovereignty. Ultimately, the security risks in Colombia and Latin America stem from crime-related deaths, not nuclear threats, although these crimes are no less lethal.
César Niño Dr. Niño is an Associate Professor of International Relations at the Universidad de La Salle (La Salle University) in Bogotá, Colombia. He is a researcher in national security, international terrorism, organized crime and foreign policy.
Israel aims to isolate Bethlehem, expel Palestinian Christians with new settlement plan
‘Smotrich's decision aims to connect Al-Mahrur, Battir, Velece and Jerusalem and create a continuous residential area. If this happens, Bethlehem will be isolated from other areas,’ says activist
Qais Omar Darwesh Omar, Gülşen Topçu
|21.08.2024 -
BETHLEHEM, Palestine
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has announced plans for the establishment of a new settlement in Bethlehem in the southern part of the occupied West Bank on land seized from Palestinians.
Through this, Tel Aviv aims to geographically connect the illegal Gush Etzion settlement to Jerusalem.
In a statement posted on his X account on Aug. 14, Smotrich claimed that “connecting Gush Etzion to Jerusalem is a national duty.”
He said the new settlement, which will be called “Nahal Heletz,” will be located inside Gush Etzion.
Land outside ‘Blue Line’ likely to be included
In the occupied Palestinian territories, the Israeli army's civil administration also announced that it had unilaterally declared the “Blue Line” – borders that define the boundaries of the settlement area -- as Israeli land.
According to the Israeli NGO Peace Now, the Blue Line must be updated before a construction plan can be approved. Pointing to the fragmented and irregular shape of the Blue Line and the difficulties of building settlements in such an area, the organization said that based on past experiences, it is highly likely that land outside the Blue Line will be included in the settlement and Palestinians will be denied access to it.
Additionally, part of the area in the new settlement plan announced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Smotrich is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the plan advances de facto annexation in defiance of the UNESCO Convention to which Israel is a party.
According to Peace Now, the new settlement in Nahal Heletz will create an isolated area deep inside the Palestinian territories and will inevitably increase frictions and security challenges.
Christian presence in area at risk
“The Israelis are destroying one of the last Christian strongholds in the West Bank, where I have chosen to stay while researching the Palestinian presence in the Holy Land. This is incredible ancient history. The cradle of Christianity and the people here are descendants of Christians from the time of Jesus Christ. Why is no one reporting on this?” said historian William Dalrymple.
Pointing to Smotrich's announcement of a new settlement to be built in the Al-Mahrur Valley on land that will be seized from Palestinians, Dalrymple said that Israeli settlers tried to seize it, but the Palestinians resisted, adding “this is one of the last Christian villages in the region.”
According to data released by the Palestinian Authority's population administration, the Christian population in Palestine declined from 70,000 in 1922 to 47,000 in 2017.
Palestinian family resists Israeli annexation plans
The Christian Kisiyye family, residents of Al-Mahrur Valley near the UNESCO World Heritage site of Nahal Heletz, are fighting against Israel's colonial activities.
In 2019, Israeli authorities demolished the family's homes and businesses in Al-Mahrur Valley. In July, Israelis arrived and built an illegal shack-like structure on the family's land. This raised the threat of land grabbing in the surrounding area.
The Israelis built a fence around the area and tried to build in the area. When the Palestinian family, with the participation of activists, tried to resist the Israelis attempting to seize their land, Israeli soldiers arrived and drove them away.
Alis Kisiyye, who owns land in Al-Mahrur Valley, said that despite a ruling of the Central Court in Jerusalem that the land belongs to them, the Israelis, using their influence in the region and with the support of Smotrich, sent underage Israelis under the protection of the Israeli army to the area and evicted the family.
“We are an ordinary family, and we proved in court that we own this land through the power of faith, but they are trying to displace the people through force and usurpers. But we are determined to protect our land,” she said.
Noting that the land consisting of Battir, Al-Walaja and Al-Mahrur is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and that people have vineyards and gardens there, Kisiyye called on the owners of these lands, which are in danger of being usurped, saying “now is the time to unite against these colonial settlement activities.”
Isolating Bethlehem
Anti-settlement activist Jamil Kassas pointed out that the decision to build a new settlement aims to connect the illegal settlement of Gush Etzion to Jerusalem and seize more Palestinian land.
“Smotrich's decision aims to connect Al-Mahrur, Battir, Velece and Jerusalem and create an uninterrupted settlement in a straight line. If this happens, Bethlehem will be isolated from other areas.”
Emphasizing that the Israeli government is a “usurper and colonialist” government, Kassas said the policy of usurpation works as “first confiscating 1-2 acres, then expanding this area,” and then the lands are fenced off and declared closed military zones and the Palestinians are cut off from their lands.
“Everyone must defend their land. Land means life for Palestinians,” Kassas added.
