RIP

World's oldest sloth dies in German zoo

Jan, the world’s oldest sloth, passed away at 54 in Germany’s Krefeld Zoo. He lived in the zoo for 38 years and fathered 22 pups.

The sloth named Jan was entered into the Guinness World Records as the 'oldest sloth in human care' in 2021, soon after he turned 50Image: Zoo Krefeld/dpa/picture alliance

A sloth in the German city of Krefeld, who was considered to be the oldest sloth in the world, has died at the age of 54.

The two-toed sloth was named Jan and lived at the zoo in the western city of Krefeld, near Düsseldorf. In a statement on Tuesday, the Krefeld zoo announced that he had passed last week.

"It was very difficult for his keepers to say goodbye to him, as some of them had known and cared for him for over 25 years," the statement read.

The sloth was born in the wild in 1969. He had spent time in Hamburg's Hagenbeck Zoo in 1986 and spent the rest of his life, 38 years, in Krefeld.
22 pups with 2 zoo paramores

In 2021, Jan gained notoriety when he was entered into the Guinness World Records in as the "Oldest sloth in human care."

The title was previously held by another sloth in Germany, Paula,who lived in the zoo of the eastern city of Halle.

"He had the nickname 'record sloth' not only because of his age, but also because of his high number of offspring," the zoo said.

Jan is said to have fathered 22 sloth pups in Krefeld with females Lolita and Trine. Despite his old age, Jan fathered his last baby, a girl, with Trine in March of this year.

jcg/msh (AP, dpa)

Pakistan: What's behind the armed insurgency in Balochistan?

Haroon Janjua in Islamabad

DW

Baloch separatists in Pakistan's Balochistan province carried out a series of deadly attacks against security forces and civilians earlier this week. Who are these rebels and what is the conflict about?

BLA militants killed at least 38 civilians in "coordinated" attacks in southwestern Pakistan on Monday, according to government officials

Image: Banaras Khan/AFP

The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for a series of deadly attacks in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province on Monday, resulting in at least 70 deaths, including 14 soldiers. The coordinated assaults targeted police stations, railway lines and highways.

In the deadliest incident, BLA militants took control of a highway and shot dead at least 23 people, mostly laborers from the neighboring Punjab province, in what the province's chief minister described as "execution-style shootings."

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that the separatists wanted to disrupt China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) development projects that aim to expand Beijing's presence in Pakistan and across Central and South Asia in order to counter influence from the United States and India in the region.

Sharif vowed retaliation for the violence, which coincided with a visit from a top Chinese general to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

Beijing has heavily invested in the region through the CPEC, part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to reach markets in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and beyond.

Who are the Baloch?

The Baloch are a Sunni Muslim ethnic group who live on both sides of the Iran-Pakistan border, and also in parts of southern Afghanistan. Balochistan forms the largest part of this region, followed by the province of Sistan and Balochistan on the Iranian side.

The area, which is roughly the size of France, is sparsely populated by around 9 million Balochs who are organized into tribes rather than feeling that they belong to a state.

Analysts view the latest coordinated attacks as alarming due to their unprecedented scale and intensity

Image: ReutersTV

For decades, efforts for autonomy or independence have been met with violent suppression on both sides of the border. In Pakistan, such efforts are viewed as attempts to fragment the nation — while in Iran, the situation is further complicated by the Baloch being a Sunni Muslim minority in a predominantly Shiite country.

In Pakistan, over 10,000 Baloch have disappeared since 2011, according to Amnesty International.

Balochistan is rich in natural resources such as gold, diamonds, silver, and copper — yet the local population remains among the poorest in Iran and Pakistan.

What is the Balochistan Liberation Army?

The BLA is the largest Baloch militant group and has been fighting an insurgency against the Pakistani government for decades, seeking independence for Balochistan and the expulsion of China.

BLA militants have carried out attacks, particularly targeting Pakistani security forces and Beijing's CPEC project.

The ethnic Baloch, who constitute a majority in Balochistan, are angry with the Pakistani government for what they perceive as unfair exploitation of their region's resources.

The BLA and other separatist groups argue that the local population does not receive a fair share of the profits from the resources in a province where poverty is rife. They also accuse Beijing of exploiting their resources and land, and fear that the influx of Chinese investments and workers might further marginalize the Baloch people.

Dozens killed in spate of militant attacks in Pakistan  01:22

These accusations of exploitation have fueled the BLA's insurgency and led to increased militant activities, which have escalated over recent days, highlighting the growing discontent among the Baloch population.

Monday's attacks coincided with the 18th anniversary of the death of Nawab Akbar Bugti, a former Baloch nationalist leader.

Alarming escalation

Analysts view the latest coordinated attacks as alarming due to their unprecedented scale and intensity, raising serious concerns about the security impacts.

"These are extremely significant attacks because of their scale — in terms of number of fatalities, the geographic scope of the attacks, and the wide range of targets, both civilian and security," Michael Kugelman, a South Asia expert at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, told DW.

Kiyya Baloch, a journalist and commentator who has extensively covered Balochistan, said that Monday's attacks marked a new level of seriousness due to their meticulous planning and coordination.

"This indicates that the use of force by the state in Balochistan in the last two decades is not effective. It is backfiring and worsening the situation," Baloch told DW.

For nearly two decades, Baloch armed groups have engaged in a prolonged conflict against Pakistani security forces.
Attacks tarnish image of protest movements

During this time, various peaceful rights movement in Balochistan have gained mass support. They campaign for the civil, political and socioeconomic rights of the Baloch, and have galvanized massive protests across the province through rallies.

"We fear that in countering the new wave of violence, the state will also target our peaceful movement," Hidayat ur Rehman Baloch, an activist from Gwadar, a port city in Balochistan with massive Chinese investment, told DW.

"The attack on dissent will further deteriorate the situation. The military attacks should be on the terrorists who are operating in the organized attacks and spreading violence," he added.

Pakistan: What's behind the protests in Balochistan? 03:05

Analysts fear that peaceful activists will bear the brunt of these attacks and any retribution from the Pakistani government.

"I fear that if Islamabad initiates a major crackdown in Balochistan, and it likely will, then peaceful activists and any peaceful government critics could get caught up in it," Kugelman underlined, adding that there's a risk of Islamabad using counterterrorism imperatives as a pretext to crack down on peaceful dissent.

"It wouldn't be the first time this has happened, but it would add to an especially tense situation in Balochistan given both the threat of militancy and growing anti-government sentiment resulting in large public peaceful protests in recent months," Kugelman stressed.

"I think the government has been attempting to link peaceful Baloch activists with militants for quite some time now, so I understand that such attacks will definitely be used by the government," Baloch said.

Edited by: Keith Walker

Haroon Janjua Journalist based in Islamabad, focusing on Pakistani politics and societyJanjuaHaroon

East Germany: 

Will a right-wing shift hit businesses and jobs?

As voters in Saxony go to the polls in state elections, some fear a sharper political turn could hurt business investments in the region and worsen a lack of qualified workers.

Saxony Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer from the conservative CDU is fighting for his political survival

Timothy Rooks in Dresden

DW

Dresden prides itself on its rich history, a huge baroque palace, spectacular views and a singular art collection. But something else is on the horizon around the capital of Saxony and it is not so pretty in the eyes of some investors.

Saxony, along with Thuringia, are two regional states in former communist East German, and will hold state assembly elections on September 1. Three weeks later Brandenburg — another state in the ex-communist East — will head to the polls. The region is at an important crossroad and businesses are holding their breath waiting to see what happens.

The elephant in the room is the rise of right-wing parties, especially the Alternative for Germany (AfD). In European Parliament elections in June the far-right populist party came in second in Germany, ahead of all three of the governing coalition parties.

The AfD has found its calling as an anti-immigrant, inward-looking group that would leave the euro and has called for the European Union to be broken up. Their election posters promise, among other things, free school lunches and reduced nursing care costs. As for immigrants the plan is "deportations, deportations, deportations," though it is not exactly clear who is meant, just refugees or anyone newly arrived. The party is likely to see gains on election day — some polls suggest as much as 30% of votes.
Fear around Dresden and beyond

Ask people on the street if they are worried about a rightward turn at the upcoming election and you are bound to get a few seconds of silence before they figure out what to say. Ask employers or labor unions if they are worried and you get a quicker answer.

"We have a growing problem with right-wing extremism," said Markus Schlimbach, head of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) in Saxony. The union represents around 250,000 people, or roughly 16% of the state's workforce.

"This rejection of everything foreign is a problem that has been building up in Saxony in recent years," he told DW, pointing out the irony that Saxony itself is very dependent on selling its products globally.

The German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) in Saxony confronts problems of extremism and racism head-on

Image: DGB Sachsen/Rietschel

Schlimbach comes from Saxony and has been a member of the union since 1991 and its boss since 2017. He takes a strong stance against hostility, extremism and racism. He says companies need to do the same and protect all their workers.

Not only is this an obvious idea for many people, it also has a practical application when it comes to a shortage of skilled workers. In the next 10 years, 300,000 workers in Saxony will retire and need to be replaced, he said. This number doesn't even take further growth into account.

Some of this work can be managed with automation and digitalization, but not all of it. For the other jobs "we are reliant on skilled workers from abroad," Schlimbach said in his office near the center of Dresden. Since Saxony borders Poland and the Czech Republic some workers are quite close. Others will need to come from farther away.

Looking far and wide for investors

Another problem for companies in the former East Germany is the fact that there are not enough big or medium-sized businesses compared to the western part of the country. Looking back on its Communist past, there are obvious historical reasons for this. Yet, it doesn't change the fact that 90% of companies in Saxony have under 20 workers, said Schlimbach.

For the region this means research and development is often done elsewhere, making the region a "workbench" for others rather than an innovator. This has led to a revolving door of managers and makes finding deep-pocketed investors difficult.

On top of that, international investors see Germany as just one country among many, says Olaf Zachert, an investor who specializes in rescuing business others write off. Recently he has been inundated with sale offers — from founders who are giving up or companies that want to leave Germany or Europe altogether. Keeping local production know-how intact is one of his founding principles.

"Foreign capital is like a shy deer. It's on the move," he told DW. "People don't invest where they're not welcome, people don't invest where they see big problems." If the AfD becomes more powerful, investors are likely to question investing here and think twice before making an offer, he thinks.

Why invest in eastern Germany when eastern Europe is close?

One major strength of Saxony is its pool of qualified workers. Overall, they have lots of experience, many having worked for the same place for decades. They know their businesses inside out.

"Eastern Germany has immense potential precisely because there are so many skilled workers here," Zachert said. Yet that alone is not enough, and the total pool of workers is shrinking.

"We are only competitive if we welcome foreign know-how from foreign skilled workers," he noted, pointing out that jobs won't be any safer with the AfD in charge. Eastern Europe is very close, full of people willing to work for less and moving production across the EU border is not difficult.

Many fear the idea that a far-right party could soon have an influence on politics and business in Saxony and beyond

Jens Schlueter/AFP/Getty Images

Still, Olaf Zachert hopes voters will think about the consequences before stepping into the voting booth. For Saxony — as a place to do business or work — some reputational damage is already done, but he is cautiously optimistic about the election outcome.

Markus Schlimbach, too, believes in the future of Saxony and is encouraged because the public is taking this election so seriously.

"Made in Saxony" is "a sign of quality, specialist knowledge, well-trained people and innovative strength," he said. He just hopes the election brings about a stable democratic majority so people can get back to business. After all, Saxony cannot survive by just reveling in its rich past.

Edited by: Uwe Hessler

Germany: Fear of the AfD  05:01

Timothy Rooks One of DW's team of business reporters, Timothy Rooks is based in Berlin.

Mexico freezes relations with US, Canadian embassies

Mexico's president has put relations with the United States and Canadian embassies "on pause" after they voiced concerns over a proposed judicial overhaul plan.

Lopez Obrador said the freeze was with the US and Canadian embassies and not with the countries

mage: Luis Barron/Eyepix Group/NurPhoto/picture alliance

The Mexican government has paused its engagement with the ambassadors of the United States and Canada, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Tuesday.

The decision comes in the wake of criticism over a sweeping judicial reform proposal in Mexico.

"There is a pause," Lopez Obrador said in a press conference, clarifying that the freeze was with the embassies, from where the criticism came, and not with the countries.

The judicial overhaul plan, suggested by the Mexican president during his final weeks in office, has sparked protests and strikes, and criticism from investors and financial institutions.

What prompted the Mexican 'pause'?

Last week, US ambassador Ken Salazar called the judicial overhaul proposal a "risk" to democracy that would endanger Mexico's commercial relationship with Washington. Lopez Obrador chided the ambassador, saying he violated Mexican sovereignty.

Salazar has since softened his tone, writing on X that he was open to dialogue. He added on Tuesday that "we always work with the utmost respect for Mexico's sovereignty."

Lopez Obrador pointed the finger at the US State Department, which the Mexican president believed was behind Salazar's criticism.

"We're not going to tell him (Salazar) to leave the country," he said. "I hope that they promise to be respectful of Mexican's independence, of our country's sovereignty. But until that happens, and they continue these policies, it's on pause."

Lopez Obrador also accused Canada's ambassador of interfering in Mexico's internal affairs for expressing apprehension about the judicial proposal.

Mexico, the United States and Canada share a commercial relationship that reached an estimated $1.8 trillion (€1.61 trillion) in trade in 2022, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

Sudan dam bursts in heavy rains; 30 dead, thousands impacted

Heavy rains and floods caused the Arbaat Dam near Port Sudan to burst, affecting about 50,000 people. Authorities say the death toll is likely to rise.

Floodwaters released by the breach of the Arbaat Dam to the north of Port Sudan are still causing damage downstream

A dam that burst in eastern Sudan amid heavy rains led to the destruction of about 20 villages and at least 30 deaths, local authorities said on Monday.

The Arbaat Dam, which lies 40 kilometers (roughly 25 miles) north of Port Sudan, suffered severe damage during torrential rains. It was the main source of water for the city, which has a port and airport. Aid deliveries to Sudan are for the most part sent there.

"The area is unrecognizable. The electricity and water pipes are destroyed," Omar Eissa Haroun, head of the water authority for Red Sea state, said in a message to his staff.

Floodwaters caused damage to bridges and other infrastructure

Image: Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council/Xinhua/picture alliance

Hundreds in need of aid

A UN report released early Tuesday said a government delegation at the site reported the homes of about 50,000 people had been affected by the incident, and they were in need of water, food and shelter.

"The city is threatened with thirst in the coming days," the Sudanese Environmentalists Association said in a statement.

An emergency worker said around 150-200 people were missing, comparing it to the disaster in Libya's Derna city last year where storms had caused several dams to burst, killing thousands.

A reporter from Reuters news agency saw the burial of a man, with people covering his grave with driftwood to prevent it from being washed away.

Sudan's dams help it manage heavy seasonal precipitation in a largely

desert climate

The dam had been affected due to earlier than usual rains, with silt building for the past few days, said officials. It burst on Sunday.

Rains and subsequent flooding have killed at least 132 this year, Sudan's health ministry said Monday.

Sudan crisis

Infrastructure across Sudan has also been facing neglect and deterioration due to the ongoing fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Forces paramilitary which began in April 2023.

According to the UN, both parties to the conflict are obstructing access for aid convoys.

The UN estimates that at least 100 people die of hunger every day in Sudan, with at least 30% of children acutely malnourished.

The fighting has displaced more than 10 million people in the country and others have fled across the borders.

The UN describes the situation as the world's largest refugee crisis.

The devastation wreaked by the war has now been compounded by heavy rains and flooding that have destroyed houses and roads, forcing additional tens of thousands to flee.

Three missing as 'extremely strong' typhoon nears Japan

Tokyo (AFP) – Japan warned Wednesday that an "extremely strong" typhoon bearing down on the main southern island of Kyushu would bring unusually violent storms, as three people remained missing after a landslide.

Issued on: 28/08/2024 -

Two people were rescued from this landslide-hit house in Gamagori, Aichi prefecture in Japan, but three others are missing © STR / JIJI Press/AFP

Shanshan was 120 kilometres (75 miles) off Yakushima island, packing gusts of up to 252 kilometres (157 miles) per hour and inching towards Kyushu, home to 12.5 million people.

"Typhoon Shanshan is expected to approach southern Kyushu with extremely strong force through Thursday and it may make landfall," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters.

"It is expected that violent winds, high waves, and storm surge at levels that many people have never experienced before may occur," said Hayashi, the top government spokesman.

The system has already brought heavy rains to wide areas of Japan, and late Tuesday a wall of mud, rocks and other debris swept away a house in Gamagori, a city in central Aichi prefecture, with five family members inside.

After all-night recovery efforts, a second woman in her 40s was rescued but a couple in their 70s and a man in his 30s remained unaccounted for, a Gamagori official told AFP.

Southern Kyushu is expected to see 500 millimetres (20 inches) of rain in the 24 hours to Thursday morning, and 600 millimetres in the 24 hours to Friday morning, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

Local governments issued evacuation advisories to 810,000 people in the central Shizuoka prefecture on Honshu because of the rain and to 56,000 others in Kagoshima in Kyushu, the fire and disaster management agency said.

The weather agency may also issue a special heavy rain alert for Kagoshima prefecture later Wednesday, an agency official said in a morning news conference.

"It's necessary for us to be on the highest alert," he said, calling for people to evacuate before any violent storm emerges.

Japan Airlines cancelled 112 domestic flights and six international fights on Wednesday, while ANA Holdings cancelled 112 domestic flights on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Kyushu Railway said it would suspend some Shinkansen bullet train services between Kumamoto and Kagoshima Chuo from Wednesday night and warned of further possible disruption.

Trains between Tokyo and Fukuoka, the most populous city on Kyushu, may also be cancelled depending on weather conditions this week, other operators said.

Shanshan comes in the wake of Typhoon Ampil, which disrupted hundreds of flights and trains this month.

Despite dumping heavy rain, it caused only minor injuries and damage.

A Japan Meteorological Agency satellite photo shows typhoon Shanshan moving closer to Kyushu island © Handout / Japan Meteorological Agency/AFP

Ampil came days after Tropical Storm Maria brought record rains to northern areas.

Typhoons in the region have been forming closer to coastlines, intensifying more rapidly and lasting longer over land due to climate change, according to a study released last month.

© 2024 AFP

US backs UN bid to resolve dispute over Libya central bank

Tripoli (AFP) – The United States gave its backing Tuesday to UN efforts to resolve differences between Libya's rival administrations over the management of the central bank without cutting off vital oil income.

Issued on: 27/08/2024 - 

Police officers stand guard outside Libya's central bank headquarters in Tripoli © - / AFP

The US embassy said the move by the UN Support Mission in Libya "offers a path forward to resolve the crisis" following the eastern administration's announcement on Monday that it was suspending operations at all oil fields and export terminals under its control.

That move came amid a deepening rift between Libya's rival governments after a series of events which the eastern administration said were attempts by the Tripoli-based, UN-backed government to seize control of the central bank.

In a statement late Monday, UNSMIL said it was "convening an emergency meeting for all parties involved" in the crisis.

It also called for "immediately lifting force majeure on oil fields and refraining from using the country's primary revenue source for political ends".

Libya is struggling to recover from years of conflict after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.

It remains divided between the government in Tripoli led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, and the rival administration in the east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

Most of its oil fields are located in regions controlled by Haftar, but oil revenues and the state budget are managed by the central bank based in Tripoli.
'Threats and arbitrary arrests'

On Monday, footage and photos broadcast by local media showed a group of people breaking into the central bank's headquarters.

Reports later said they were members of a commission tasked by the Presidential Council, which is close to Dbeibah, to take charge of the bank.

Libya's eastern-based administration responded by shutting down oil fields and terminals it controls.

The locations affected constitute around 90 percent of the country's oil fields and terminals.

It came after Libyan media reported on August 11 that armed men had besieged the bank in a bid to force the resignation of central bank governor Seddik al-Kabir.

A week later, the bank's head of information technology was kidnapped, and the bank said it was suspending its operations until his release later the same day.

The eastern-based parliament speaker, Aguila Saleh, said Tuesday the "oil blockade will be maintained until the governor of the central bank resumes his functions," referring to Kabir, who has reportedly left Libya.

In office since 2012, Kabir has faced mounting criticism from people close to Dbeibah over the bank's management of oil resources and the state budget.

UNSMIL said Monday "resolving this emerging crisis is an urgent necessity" and called for measures to protect the central bank's employees from "threats and arbitrary arrests".

But on Tuesday, Abdel Fattah Ghaffar, appointed by the Presidential Council as interim governor of the bank, said "operations will be restored in the upcoming days" after what he described as a smooth transition.

"The transfer of power took place in a simple and smooth manner," said Ghaffar, who has worked at multiple Libyan banks and was one of the founders of the Libyan Islamic Bank, the country's first private bank.

He said "about 90 percent of the bank's employees will resume work at the bank headquarters starting Wednesday".

"We have reassured the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank of our commitment to respect national and international legislation," he added.

© 2024 AFP

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M 

NFL team owners approve private equity investment plan: league statement

New York (AFP) – National Football League (NFL) owners on Tuesday voted to allow private equity investment in a landmark move that could see billions of dollars in new funding pumped into the sport, the US-based league confirmed.

Issued on: 28/08/2024

NFL team owners have voted to approve private equity investment in teams for the first time

© JAMIE SQUIRE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

At a meeting in Milwaukee, the owners of the NFL's 32 teams gave the green light to a plan that would allow a group of hand-picked private equity firms to purchase up to a 10-percent stake in a team.

Tuesday's vote represents a significant departure for the way NFL teams are funded. Historically, franchises have been run as family businesses or owned by wealthy individuals.

The move to allow private equity investment potentially puts billions of dollars of new cash on the table to help pay for new stadiums and other projects for the most popular sport in the United States.

According to NFL documents setting out the parameters of the new funding deal, private equity firms can now purchase up to a 10-percent stake in a team and must retain that investment for a minimum of six years.

The NFL has approved three private equity firms, Arctos Partners, Ares Management and Sixth Street as well as a consortium consisting of Blackstone, Carlyle, CVC, Dynasty Equity and Ludis, as the companies allowed to invest in the NFL.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told a press conference following Tuesday's vote that the carefully crafted funding measure would barely be noticed by NFL fans.

"From a fan's standpoint, this won't change a thing," Goodell said.

"This is 10 percent of a team. All it is is a silent position that would give access to capital for the teams that wish to offer 10 percent of their teams."

The decision brings the NFL into line with other US professional sports leagues, as well as some of the world's biggest soccer teams.

Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League allow up to 30 percent of teams to be owned by investment firms.

Sixth Street has already invested in Spanish giants Real Madrid's new stadium and also owns a stake in the NBA's San Antonio Spurs.
No decision-making power

Another of the approved NFL investors, Dynasty Equity, owns a stake in English football giants Liverpool.

Goodell emphasized that private equity firms investing in the NFL would have no say in how teams operated or how the league was run.

"They will not be in any kind of decision-making influence in any way," Goodell said.

US reports have said the NFL will not allow sovereign wealth funds -- such as Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund worth around $925 million -- to invest in its teams.

Goodell said allowing private equity investment would positively benefit the league.

"It's an access to capital that I think has been of interest to us for a long time. Other leagues are doing it. And we're doing it with a cap of 10 percent -- so a much less significant position," Goodell said.

"But I think it's an appropriate thing to give the teams that liquidity to reinvest in the game and to their teams. It's a positive development for us."

NFL teams are some of the most valuable sports franchises in the world, with the Dallas Cowboys worth an estimated $10 billion, according to the Sportico sports business news website.

The value of NFL teams reflects the league's dominance of the US sporting landscape, where it remains by far the most watched professional league in the United States.

In 2021, the league signed an astonishing $110 billion media rights deal spanning 11 years -- almost double the value of its previous media deal.

According to Statista, 93 of the top 100 most-watched US television broadcasts in 2023 were NFL games.

© 2024 AFP

3E

US patient dies from rare mosquito-borne disease

Washington (AFP) – A person in the northeastern US state of New Hampshire has died after contracting the rare mosquito-borne eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus, health authorities announced Tuesday.


Issued on: 28/08/2024 - 
Health officials at Sarasota County Mosquito Management Services study specimens of anopheles mosquitoes that cause malaria, in Sarasota, Florida © CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP/File
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The patient, identified only as an adult from the town of Hampstead, was hospitalized with severe central nervous system disease and later succumbed to the illness, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) said in a statement.

"The last reported human EEEV infection in New Hampshire was in 2014, when DHHS identified three human infections, including two fatalities," the department said.

The new infection and death comes amid rising concerns from state officials across New England about the increasing risk of EEE, a threat believed to be exacerbated by climate change.

Earlier this month, Massachusetts announced the year's first human case of EEE in the state -- a man in his 80s -- and officials have asked the public to observe voluntary outdoor curfews, closed public parks, and initiated aerial and ground spraying to control the mosquito population.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms of eastern equine encephalitis include fever, headache, vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, behavioral changes and drowsiness.

It can also cause severe neurological disease, such as inflammation of the brain and membranes around the spinal cord, known as encephalitis and meningitis.

Approximately 30 percent of those infected die, and many survivors suffer ongoing physical or mental impacts. Individuals under 15 and over 50 are considered at higher risk.

There are currently no vaccines or treatments available.

Health officials advise using insect repellent, wearing protective clothing outdoors and eliminating standing water around homes to reduce mosquito breeding sites.

A 2023 report by Climate Central highlighted that the number of "mosquito days"—warm, humid conditions ideal for mosquito activity—has increased across much of the U.S. over the past four decades due to human-caused climate change.

© 2024 AFP

Judicial reforms strain Mexican-US ties, spook investors

Mexico City (AFP) – Controversial judicial reforms promoted by Mexico's outgoing president are straining diplomatic relations with the United States, its neighbor and key trading partner, while also rattling financial markets.


Issued on: 28/08/2024 - 

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks during his daily news conference © Yuri CORTEZ / AFP/File


US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar has warned that the changes would "threaten" a trade relationship that "relies on investors' confidence in Mexico's legal framework."

The reforms, under which judges would be elected by popular vote, could pose "a major risk to the functioning of Mexico's democracy," he told journalists last week.

In particular, they could "make it easier for cartels and other bad actors to take advantage of politically motivated and inexperienced judges," Salazar said.

Canada, also a member of the major free trade partnership with the United States and Mexico, has for its part said investors are worried.

"My investors are concerned, they want stability, they want a judicial system that works if there are problems," Canadian Ambassador Graeme Clark said.

Salazar's remarks in particular irked Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who announced Tuesday a "pause" in dialogue with the US diplomat, with whom he usually has close ties.

At the same time, the leftist leader clarified that he did not mean there would be a break in relations with US President Joe Biden's government.

It came days after Lopez Obrador said his government had sent a diplomatic note to Washington to protest its "interventionist" statements on the matter.
Free trade implications

The proposed reforms have the support of Mexico's incoming president, Claudia Sheinbaum, who will take office on October 1.

Sheinbaum, who will be the country's first woman president, won a landslide victory in June 2 elections, but shortly afterward the Mexican stock market and currency saw a sharp decline over investor worries about the reform plans.

In her first press conference after the election, Sheinbaum pledged a "broad consultation" on the proposals, saying it would include bar associations, law schools and judges.

But with Congress due to convene on Sunday, Lopez Obrador has a one-month window to try to push through the reforms before Sheinbaum replaces him.

The bloc led by his ruling Morena party will have more than the two-thirds of votes needed in the lower chamber to amend the constitution.

In the upper house, the Senate, it will be a few seats short of that supermajority, but analysts think it can probably obtain the votes required to make up the difference.

The proposed changes "could result in a politicization of the judiciary" and "have a potentially big negative impact on Mexico's business environment," British consultancy firm Capital Economics wrote in a note to clients.

"The politicization of the justice system could raise concerns about whether disputes between businesses and the government would be resolved in an impartial manner," it added.

The disagreements could complicate a review of the continent's free trade pact, scheduled for 2026, according to experts.

Another proposed reform, seeking the dissolution of autonomous regulatory agencies, "poses a significant risk" to the agreement, political risk analysis firm EMPRA wrote in a briefing note.

The change would breach provisions in the trade deal aimed at safeguarding the autonomy of regulatory agencies to prevent state interference, it said.

The tensions come at a time when Mexico hopes to benefit from the "nearshoring" trend of companies moving manufacturing operations from Asia closer to US markets.

But in reality, Mexico's energy policy, its "lack of will to combat organized crime" and uncertainty around its business climate have "drastically limited the country's nearshoring potential," EMPRA said.

The concerns have contributed to a sharp fall in the value of Mexico's currency, which has lost about a fifth of its value against the dollar since April.

"The movement of the peso is largely due to the news about the harmful effects of the proposed reform of the judicial system," analysts at financial firm Invex said.

© 2024 AFP