Korean Shipyard Workers Stage First Coordinated Warning Strike

Union members staged a coordinated walkout for several hours to demonstrate solidary in the current contract talks (DSME file photo)

Published Aug 28, 2024 2:09 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

In a first for the South Korean shipbuilding industry, union members staged their first coordinated work stoppage today, August 28, to place additional pressure on the industry during ongoing contract negotiations. The brief actions were due to stop work Wednesday afternoon for between three and five hours and were reaching not only the three major shipbuilders but also the yards of several midsized builders.

The unions representing the individual yards formed the Shipbuilding Industry Union Solidarity (KTCU) to coordinate the 2024 contract negotiations. Many of them are affiliates of the Korean Metal Workers’ Union, one of the largest in the country. 

KMU officials said there have been five rounds of negotiations without an acceptable proposal from the shipbuilders. They are demanding increases in basic salaries, a wage peak system, changes to the bonus system, and raising the retirement age from 60 to 65. Critically, they are also demanding more new hires to address the current shortage of workers and difficult working conditions.

The strike comes they point out as the industry has been averaging a utilization rate in 2024 of over 105 percent, the highest in the last five years. The shipbuilders returned to profitability in 2023 and have multi-year backlogs. Reports put the current value of the orderbook for the three largest builders at over $140 billion, with calls from the union to share the profits with members.

Union leaders served notice of the plan to stage the first warning strike during the negotiations in July. Today they reported that the effort was expanded at the largest HD Hyundai Heavy Industries yard in Ulsan to include all workers versus an original plan of just union leaders. Work also stopped at the HD Hyundai Samho yard and Hanwha Ocean. HD Hyundai Mipo members had not yet obtained authorization to strike so only the strike committee participated at the yard while at Samsung Heavy Industry the union set up tent protests. 

Similar actions were planned for the midsized builders. Members at both HSG Seongdong Shipbuilding and K Shipbuilding participated in the work stoppage. The efforts ranged from Ulsan to Geoje, Tongyeong, Yeongam, and Busan in a unified show of solidarity among the union branches.

Despite having conducted 20 negotiating sessions union leaders said they are committed to continuing the negotiations while demanding concessions from the companies. The union reports members will rally in Ulsan on September 4 and in Geoje on September 9. They said if there was no progress before the Chuseok holiday (September 16 to 18, 2024) they would launch a plan for a “stronger struggle” after the holiday.

The shipbuilders have cautioned that any extended work stoppages would risk this year’s scheduled ship deliveries. The union rejects the assertion by the shipbuilders that the actions are potentially harmful to the industry’s reputation and could lower the competitiveness and international credibility of Korean shipbuilding.

An extended strike at the then Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering shipyard in 2022 contributed to the worsening financial condition of the company. Workers were off the job for 51 days and it participated the sale of the company to Hanwha in 2023.

Harris on pancakes -- and the call that changed US history

Savannah (United States) (AFP) – Kamala Harris was flipping pancakes and frying bacon with her family when the phone rang. It was President Joe Biden -- telling her he was ending his reelection bid and backing her to take his place.

Issued on: 30/08/2024 -

US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally in Savannah, Georgia on August 29, 2024 

© SAUL LOEB / AFP

"My family was staying with us, and including my baby nieces, and we had just had pancakes," Harris recalled Thursday in an interview with CNN about the July 21 afternoon when Biden suddenly turned the November presidential election on its head.

Harris and the children were chatting -- "Auntie, can I have more bacon?' 'Yes, I'll make you more bacon'" -- she said.

"And the phone rang, and it was Joe Biden."

Biden had been under growing pressure for weeks to drop out amid fears that at 81 and visibly frail, he was going to lose the race and allow Donald Trump easily to win a second term.

Biden announced his shock decision in writing to the nation and soon after endorsed Harris, who has since surged in popularity, reinvigorating her downbeat Democratic Party.

"He told me what he had decided to do. And I asked him, 'Are you sure?' And he said, 'Yes.' And that's how I learned about it," she said.

Harris defended Biden, saying his presidency would be appreciated more in hindsight. "I think history is going to show... in so many ways it was transformative."

© 2024 AFP

'Quite punitive': Harris donors reportedly balk at plan to hike taxes on wealthy Americans

Daniel Hampton
August 29, 2024 

Some former U.S. Capitol Police officers have offered vocal support for Vice President Kamala Harris' 2024 presidential campaign. (Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images)

Donors of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris are reportedly pushing her to give up her support of a plan that would tax wealthy Americans and increase federal revenue by $5 trillion over 10 years

Last week, the vice president quietly unveiled her proposal to increase taxes. Notably, no one earning less than $400,000 would see their taxes increase, according to The New York Times.

President Joe Biden proposed — and Harris supported — a plan that would tax investment gains on Americans worth $100 million or more if they haven't sold the stocks, bonds or other assets that have appreciated. Those ultra-wealthy would see a 25 percent tax on a combination of income and unrealized gains, according to the Times.

The plan would raise the top marginal income tax rate from 37 percent to 39.6 percent, while also increasing Medicare surtax rates from 3.8 percent to 5 percent for wealthy Americans. Gains on investments would be taxed at the same rate as regular income for people earning at least $1 million a year.

That proposal "hit a nerve" with some donors, according to the Times, which cited seven people familiar with the conversations. Those donors have passed their grievances up the chain to campaign advisers and key business allies. One reportedly brought up the issue to Harris in a private conversation, and pressed her to tweak the plan to instead tax the ultra-rich who borrow against their wealth.

A spokesman for the campaign told the Times that she believes the mega-wealthy should pay a minimum tax rate "because it’s not right that they pay a lower income tax rate than a teacher or firefighter." But at least one donor told the newspaper he and other leaders in Silicon Valley feel the plan is "quite punitive."

“There’s optimism that this can’t possibly be real,” tech CEO Aaron Levie said. He asked, "Is this a real proposal that is actually being pushed for — or was this something that was inherited from Biden?”

The pushback from wealthy donors comes as progressive advocates support the tax hike proposals.

"The superrich don't make their money the way most people do. Their money comes from owning businesses, property, financial assets, and inheritances," economist Michael Linden explained in a Wednesday social media post. "These types of income all enjoy special tax advantages, and that's why they end up paying less than middle-income Americans."

Africa's nuclear dreams a fusion of high hopes and high hurdles

Africa’s nuclear energy ambitions face significant challenges as experts question whether the continent’s infrastructure can support such a leap. Industry leaders from the US and Africa's nuclear energy sector are meeting in Nairobi this week to discuss how to move forward.


Issued on: 29/08/2024 

The Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, on the outskirts of Cape Town, 

in South Africa, on 6 February 2024. 

AFP - RODGER BOSCH

By:  Melissa Chemam

The four-day conference aims to address the obstacles hindering the adoption of nuclear energy on the continent.

While South Africa remains the only African nation with nuclear power plants, Kenya and Rwanda are eager to follow.

This summit is the second major convention on the issue, following a similar event in Accra, Ghana, in October-November 2023. That event was organised by the US Department of Energy in collaboration with the Nuclear Power Institute of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission.

Feasibility in question

Experts are questioning the feasibility of building nuclear power plants in Africa.

“There is a lot of talk about nuclear programmes in Africa, but these ideas are closer to fantasy than industrial reality,” said Mycle Schneider, project coordinator at the World Nuclear Industry Status Report (WNISR).

The first major obstacle, he told RFI, is the size of grids.

The International Atomic Energy Agency states that an average large nuclear reactor is around 1,000 megawatts (MW) or one gigawatt (GW). However, only four African countries have a grid larger than 10,000MW or 10GW – Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Nigeria. Most other African nations have much smaller grids.

“Kenya’s grid is about 3.3GW, so the largest unit should be around 300MW, which is much less than a large nuclear reactor,” Schneider said.

“In Rwanda, the total national grid is 300MW. So we’re in a situation where an ordinary nuclear power plant would absolutely not have the grid size needed in most African countries.”

Schneider argues that African countries need decentralised energy production systems, a mix of renewable energy and power systems that can be built quickly, unlike nuclear power plants.

“The wonderful opportunity on a continent like Africa is that in many places everything has to be done from the beginning," he said.

"The fact that there are no grids or very small grids can be an opportunity to implement advanced, highly flexible grids designed for the future, with decentralised production of solar, wind or other energies, and biomass."

A US agenda

The US has sent top nuclear energy officials to the summit to offer Africans insights on nuclear technology. The US is also keen to strengthen its ties with Kenya through this summit and to support other African economies.

“By emphasising international cooperation, sharing innovative solutions and shaping policies, the summit aims to drive positive change and serve as a platform to strengthen existing relationships and forge new ones to enhance cooperation in the nuclear energy sector,” the Atlantic Council, a major participant, said in a statement.

Kenya is promoting the construction of a 1,000MW plant starting in 2027, which is expected to cost around 500 billion Kenyan shillings (about €3.5 billion).

The country hopes to raise investments during the summit to be able to complete it by 2032.

Kenya to build first nuclear power plant by 2034 amid local opposition

But for Schneider, nuclear energy is expensive, and demands time and highly skilled workers that very few countries have.

Therefore is also no economic, industrial or practical drivers to make the nuclear option viable in Africa.

"Russia and China are dominating the nuclear power sector and so it seems like this stems from US geopolitical interest to counter their role on the continent more than anything else," he said.

Kenya signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Russia in 2016, but no progress has been made since then.

“The key term is feasibility – this debate is curious because building costly plants like nuclear reactors is challenging anywhere in the world, even in France, and in Africa, it’s simply not feasible,” Schneider said.

He also pointed out that investing in nuclear power exacerbates climate change.

“It’s not fast enough. Choosing a more expensive and slower option is misguided. The 2030s won’t even see a new plant in South Africa. If substantial resources are spent on technology that isn’t viable, how can Africa achieve energy efficiency?”

Despite these concerns, summit participants argue that nuclear power remains crucial for reaching net zero by 2050.

More than 2,000 children in France still sleeping rough: UNICEF

More than 2,000 children are forced to sleep outside each night in France, according to an annual survey whose authors blame poor housing policies for a situation that gets worse each year.


Issued on: 29/08/2024 - 

A person in a tent set up at the Place de la Bastille square as part of a campaign to highlight homelessness during the Olympic Games in Paris, 6 august 2024. Housing advocates have found that over 2,000 children are sleeping rough in France each night

. © Abdul Saboor/Reuters

By:RFI

In their annual survey, Unicef France and the Federation of solidarity actors (FAS) on Thursday found that at least 2,043 children, including 467 under the age of 4 years old, spent the night outside on the night of 19 August of this year.

They were without a housing solution, even after their families called the 115 emergency housing number – a situation the associations say is “unacceptable” in a country like France.

A representative for the UN children’s agency, Adeline Hazan, said that the number of children sleeping rough is a “flagrant violation of the principles of the International convention on the rights of children”, which France has ratified.

“We are very, very worried to see that, far from getting better, the situation gets worse from year to year,” Hazan told the AFP news agency.

The number of children sleeping rough this year is up 3 percent compared to August 2023, 27 percent compared to 2022 and 120 percent from 2020.

And the survey most certainly undercounted the actual number, as it does not count those families who did not call the emergency housing number, those who live in squatter camps or unaccompanied minors.

“It is a tragedy when you know the disastrous consequences, from mental health to education,” Hazan said, days before the start of the 2024/2025 school year.

The associations say the situation is a result of housing policies that only look at short-term results, focus on getting rid of squatters and cut housing aid to the most vulnerable.

(with AFP)

Left-wing alliance calls for street protests after Macron rules out leftist PM

President Emmanuel Macron’s decision not to accept the left-wing New Popular Front’s candidate as prime minister has been met with anger and the promise of street protests.


Issued on: 27/08/2024

What's the problem?

 NFP members Manuel Bompard (C), Lucie Castets (L) and Marine Tondelier (R) attended a first round of cross-party discussions at the Elysée, but say they won't be going back. © AFP - DIMITAR DILKOFF

By:RFI

For the last six weeks France has been run by a caretaker administration that cannot make any new policy.

By holding consultations with all the heads of France’s political parties, Macron hoped to break that political deadlock – the result of snap parliamentary elections in July that put the left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) out in front, but failed to give any one party or coalition a working majority.

But after two days of talks, a statement issued Monday has caused further political chaos in France and prompted fury on the left.

In the announcement, Macron ruled out an NFP-led government, along with its pick for premier Lucie Castets, saying France needed institutional stability – which a left-wing government would not provide as it couldn't win a confidence vote in parliament.

“Such a government would immediately have a majority of more than 350 MPs against it, effectively preventing it from acting,” Macron said. “In view of the opinions expressed by the political leaders consulted, the institutional stability of our country means that this option should not be pursued.”

'Anti-democratic coup'

Macron called on the Socialists, Communists and Greens to “cooperate with other political parties” to try and find a PM who could command cross-party support.

The largest party in the alliance, the hard-left LFI, was not mentioned, in what appeared to be an attempt to split off more moderate members.

After the announcement, LFI’s national coordinator Manuel Bompard described Macron’s stance as an “unacceptable anti-democratic coup” while its president, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, accused Macron of creating an “exceptionally serious situation”.

“The popular and political response must be swift and firm,” Mélenchon said.

LFI has called for marches and protests to force the president to recognise the results of the election.

Paris politics heats up as left pushes for power and impeachment

Unified bloc

The NFP – a coalition of the LFI, Socialists, Communists and Greens – was formed to block the far-right’s accession to power.

It worked. NFP won 190 of the 577 seats in the lower chamber and Macron’s centrist Ensemble alliance 160, with the far-right RN on 140.

While such a diverse alliance has struggled to speak with one voice, on Tuesday it did just that.

Socialist party boss Olivier Faure refused Macron’s invitation to new talks, saying he would “not be an accomplice to a parody of democracy”, accusing the president of seeking to “prolong Macronism” despite losing the legislative election.

“French people will start to get annoyed, to say the least,” Faure warned, vowing to join the call for a “big popular mobilisation” by Communist party leader Fabien Roussel.

Roussel told BFM TV that Macron was going to trigger a “serious crisis in our country”.

Marine Tondelier, secretary general of the Greens, said the left was being robbed of this election.

“Macron talks of stability but three-quarters of the French want change, they need it,” she wrote on a social media post, calling the president’s action “a disgrace” and “dangerous democratic irresponsibility”.

Macron urges mainstream coalition after election, angering leftist alliance

Castets, the relatively unknown senior civil servant and economist proposed by NFP as premier, also hit out at Macron.

“Democracy means nothing to the president,” she said in an interview with France Inter public radio on Tuesday.

“We are faced with a president who wants to be president of the Republic, prime minister and party leader at the same time... He cannot compose the government of his dreams.”

Castets also highlighted the crucial role LFI had played in blocking the far right. In the snap polls, 38 LFI candidates pulled out of three-way races after the first round on 30 June, allowing 35 MPs from Macron's Ensemble coalition to win seats.
Blocking the left

NFP accuses Macron of denying democracy in the name of preserving his pro-business agenda.

The left-wing alliance's programme includes scrapping his contested pension reform and putting the retirement age back to 60; raising the minimum wage and public sector pay; linking salaries to inflation; cutting income tax and social security for lower earners; and freezing the prices of essentials such as food and fuel.

While a new wealth tax and other fiscal reforms would offset the extra expense, Macron's Renaissance party insists it will not put up income tax. On the contrary, it has promised to reign in France's large public deficit in line with EU norms.

While those two very different visions of France's future battle it out, the clock is ticking.

France’s budget, a draft version of which was prepared by outgoing PM Gabriel Attal, has to be presented before the National Assembly by 1 October at the latest.

Macron opens the Paralympic Games on Wednesday as the world watches, and then leaves for a two-day visit to Serbia on Thursday.

Push for gender equality stalls as men dominate nominations for EU commission

Hopes that the next European Commission would be equally made up of women and men are floundering after member states put forward an overwhelmingly male list of candidates – defying EU chief Ursula von der Leyen's instructions to submit balanced picks.

Issued on: 30/08/2024 -

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, attends a meeting in Stansstad near Lucerne, Switzerland, on 16 June 2024. 

© Alessandro Della Valle / Reuters

By: RFI

With Friday's deadline approaching for European Union members to offer nominees for von der Leyen's 26-person team, 16 of the 21 names known so far are men.

After her re-election in July, the European Commission president had asked states specifically to give her a choice of one male and one female candidate.

Not a single country has done so. As it stands, as few as six women may hold posts in the next EU executive, including von der Leyen herself and the nominee for foreign policy chief, Estonia's outgoing prime minister Kaja Kallas.

The European Women's Lobby, an umbrella group working toward gender equality in the bloc, said the situation was indicative of an "old boys' club" mindset, calling it "beyond embarrassing"

"If member states truly believe only men are fit for these roles or that there are no qualified women in their countries, they're not just out of touch – they're delusional," the group's spokesperson Mirta Baselovic told French news agency AFP.

Equality ambitions

Lina Galvez, chair of the European Parliament's committee on gender equality, said the numbers suggested a clear lack of "political will" from member states that sent a "very bad signal, especially to younger women and girls".

At the root of the situation is a power play between von der Leyen and European capitals that may well back goals like gender parity on paper, but in practice resist having their hands tied in any way.EU adopts laws to ensure more women are appointed to company boards

Von der Leyen made gender equality a priority of her first term, and between them she, Kallas and European Parliament president Roberta Metsola clinched an unprecedented three of four top EU jobs following the bloc's latest parliamentary elections.

But short of a radical shake-up, her ambition for a gender-balanced commission – which steers EU policy on issues of trade to climate and migration – already looks dead in the water.

Standoff looms

Von der Leyen now faces a choice, according to EU law professor Alberto Alemanno: accept the list and put the nominations to parliamentary hearings planned for September and October, or send states back to the drawing board.

Members of the European Parliament won't pull any punches, Alemanno told AFP: "There's a risk that instead of voting down four or five commissioners, they might vote against half of them."

If von der Leyen instead puts her foot down, "she avoids finding herself in a position of weakness," he said. "And it's a chance to assert her independence."

The commission president has the authority to make a stand, according to Alemanno. "The question is more a political one – whether she will choose to exercise that prerogative."

Alternatively, von der Leyen could turn down some of the male candidates presented to her one by one, using the promise of choice portfolios as leverage with individual member states.

'Bare minimum'

The European Women's Lobby said it was counting on the commission chief to "stand firm", calling it her "prerogative and responsibility to ensure that the EU leadership reflects the diversity of its population".

"This isn't a radical ask – it's the bare minimum," spokesperson Baselovic said. Gender gap at work far wider than expected, UN says

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the European Commission insisted that Von der Leyen "stands by her conviction that in the modern world, we need to have as many women as possible in positions of responsibility".

"She is doing everything in her power in order to ensure that we have a well-balanced college with people who are competent for the role of commissioner, and a college that will include as many women as possible," chief spokesman Eric Mamer told reporters earlier this week.

(with AFP)

In war-fatigued east Ukraine, Zelensky loses his shine

Kleban-Byk (Ukraine) (AFP) – Olena Semykina, the owner of a village shop in east Ukraine, voted for President Volodymyr Zelensky five and a half years ago, hoping the fresh-faced political newcomer would end the fighting unleashed by Russian proxy forces in 2014.

Issued on: 30/08/2024

Across the industrial Donetsk region some war-fatigued residents, have lost faith in the 46-year-old Zelensky

 © Roman PILIPEY / AFP

The screech of an artillery shell over her leafy village in the war-battered Donetsk region and the plumes of dark smoke billowing on the horizon suggested that her hopes for his first term had fallen short.

"We expected the war to end, like he promised. But the war hasn't ended. There's even more fighting. It seems to me that it's become even more intense," the 43-year-old told AFP in the village of Kleban-Byk, where invading Russian forces are fast approaching.

Across the industrial Donetsk region some war-fatigued residents, like Olena who voted for Zelensky in 2019, have lost faith in the 46-year-old leader as Russia's invasion grinds through its third year.
Olena Semykina voted for President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2019 but is disappointed he has been unable to end the war © Roman PILIPEY / AFP

The former comedian won respect internationally and drew comparisons with Winston Churchill when he stayed in Kyiv in February 2022 to lead his country in a David-versus-Goliath battle against Russian forces.

But in interviews with AFP, Donetsk residents blamed him for failing to prevent the full-scale invasion in the first place, for daily speeches that felt empty or for being out of touch with Ukrainians living near the front lines.
'I don't listen to him anymore'

Donetsk has been partially controlled by Russian proxy forces since they wrested control over swathes of the industrial territory in 2014.

Zelensky swept to victory five years later, promising to end the bitter fighting and stamp out systemic corruption among Soviet-style political elites.

Polling in September 2019 -- just months after his inauguration -- showed the former TV star was riding high with around 80 percent approval ratings.

Those figures plummeted before Russia invaded in 2022, but skyrocketed to around 90 percent as Russian missiles began raining down on Ukrainians.
Zelensky's popularity rating has fallen sharply, polling indicates © Roman PILIPEY / AFP

Now his ratings are falling precipitously again, standing at 55 percent, according to polling by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).

"To be honest, I don't listen to him at all anymore. It's pointless. I don't believe in anything he says. He talks a lot but does little," said Vadim, a miner in Selydove, another Donetsk-region town in Russia's sights.

"You have to be here to understand what's going on here and how people live," added the 42-year-old, who earlier sent his family to Kyiv for safety from Russian bombardments.

Zelensky's first five-year term officially ended earlier this year. Under martial law, Kyiv cannot host elections, which would anyway face myriad obstacles with millions of Ukrainians abroad, living under Russian occupation or near active hostilities.
Zelensky 'deserves respect'

KIIS polling suggested that least 70 percent of Ukrainians oppose holding any ballot with the war raging -- but there is still a clear appetite for change, said the institute's Executive Director Anton Grushetsky.

"It is obvious that the request from ordinary Ukrainians is for more and more competent, decent people to hold the most important government positions," he wrote in an analytical note alongside the poll findings.

Some in Donetsk were more sympathetic to Zelensky and his bid to unite Ukrainians and Kyiv's allies abroad to end the largest war in Europe since World War II.

A Ukrainian wounded serviceman brought from frontline positions is treated by Ukrainian military medics © Roman PILIPEY / AFP

Zelensky has persuaded sceptical Western leaders to send advanced battle tanks and F-16 fighter jets for his military, put Ukraine on the path to European Union membership and rallied dozens of countries behind his vision for ending the war.

At a military field hospital near Pokrovsk, an army doctor who identified himself as Lyubystok praised Zelensky for having remained at the helm as Russian forces were gunning for the capital in February 2022.

"This is very strong, very right and deserves respect," the 26-year-old told AFP before rushing to aid bloodied servicemen brought from the nearby front.

In Novogrodivka, a mining town that is falling under Russian control, businesswoman Iryna Cherednychenko, said Zelensky was a "good man" and admired him for making several visits to her frontline region.
'Save the country'

The 62-year-old also voted for Zelensky but said she was disappointed that corruption remained a problem and that the cabinet and parliament should step up to strengthen the rule of law.

"We expected him to have a very professional team but our expectations were not met," Cherednychenko said, the sounds of distant shelling echoing out.

"Corruption, the irresponsibility of the authorities and weak laws are finishing us off. People lost faith," she told AFP, adding that officials in Kyiv were out of touch with soldiers and civilians impacted by fighting.

KIIS polling suggested that least 70 percent of Ukrainians oppose holding any ballot with the war raging © Roman PILIPEY / AFP

Political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko told AFP that Ukrainian presidents generally lose support in their first year and Ukrainians as a whole tend to distrust state and political institutions.

He said that while Zelensky's rating would likely never rebound, there was more the president could do on some domestic issues, particularly corruption.

"Zelensky now needs to think not about ratings, but about how to save the country and get it out of the war with the least losses," Fesenko added.

"In any case, he will remain in Ukrainian history as one of the most striking and unusual political figures."

© 2024 AFP

Australian sauna helps save frogs from flesh-eating fungus

Sydney (AFP) – Hundreds of endangered Australian Green and Golden Bell frogs huddle inside a sauna, shielded from Sydney's winter chill.

Issued on: 30/08/2024

An endangered Australian Green and Golden Bell frog hides between bricks inside a small sauna that protects it from the deadly chytrid fungus

 © Saeed KHAN / AFP


The sauna -– a small greenhouse containing black-painted bricks warmed by the sun -- may be pleasant, but it also protects the frogs from a deadly chytrid fungus that would otherwise drive them to extinction.

Macquarie University biologist Anthony Waddle holds one frog -- no bigger than a credit card -- in his hand as its green and gold colours become more vibrant in the heat.

"Chytrid is the worst pathogen ever", he told AFP.

It is a water-borne disease that burrows into the frogs' skin, attacking their bodies and eventually killing them.

Macquarie University biologist Anthony Waddle holds a tiny Green and Golden Bell frog, its colours becoming more vibrant in the heat 

© Saeed KHAN / AFP

Waddle said that globally, the disease has caused the decline of 500 amphibian species and driven 90 to extinction -– six in Australia.

"Nothing has ever caused this much devastation," he told AFP. "In Australia, we have frogs that only live in glass boxes now. This is a huge, ongoing problem."

But Waddle's dollhouse-sized saunas could change that.

In their warm interiors, the deadly chytrid fungus cannot grow on the frogs, allowing them to fight off the infection and survive.

-'No one solution' -

The dollhouse-sized saunas only cost about $50 to assemble 

© Saeed KHAN / AFP

Frogs play a vital role in the environment and are known as bioindicators, which are used to assess the health of ecosystems.

Without the amphibians, entire ecosystems can collapse.

Globally, 41 percent of frog species are threatened with extinction, making them one of the most vulnerable invertebrate groups, a recent study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature found.

Some of the biggest drivers include loss of habitat, climate change and the chytrid disease.

These drivers are difficult to tackle, but in the absence of a cure, Waddle hopes his frog saunas can help limit the losses.

"This might be the first evidence that we could cheaply and feasibly reduce that nasty yearly die-off of frogs," Waddle said.

More than 40 percent of global frog species are threatened with extinction 

© Saeed KHAN / AFP

"For Green and Golden Bell frogs, that could mean the difference between a population going or persisting."

He said the saunas show that creative solutions ranging from the complex -- such as identifying genes that could make individuals resistant to chytrid -- to more simple are needed if frog populations are to survive.

"Not one solution is going to work for everything. Frogs are so different," Waddle added.

But the beauty of Waddle's saunas is that they cost AUD$70 ($US50) to assemble, and he has helped dozens of citizen scientists build their own backyard versions.

This has not only provided valuable data about endangered frog species but also saved some from the deadly fungus.

Jodi Rowley, an amphibian biologist from the Australian Museum, said the saunas showed how creative solutions could have real-world benefits.

"It's easy to feel helpless in the face of biodiversity declines, but this study gives us a tangible way we may be able to help frogs battling a devastating fungal disease," she told AFP.

© 2024 AFP

Bluetongue anguish for Dutch farmers

Oosterwolde (Netherlands) (AFP) – One sheep dribbles, another limps, a third can barely stand: the bluetongue virus is causing havoc for Dutch farmer Erik van Norel, who thought he had seen the back of it.

Issued on: 30/08/2024 - 

Bluetongue is causing havoc to Dutch farmers 

© Nick Gammon / AFP

Still recovering from the impact of the virus last year, the 41-year-old thought the nightmare was finally over -- then bluetongue staged a comeback on his farm.

Bluetongue is a non-contagious, insect-borne viral disease that affects sheep and cows but not pigs or horses. It is difficult to control once it takes hold.

In September 2023, when the BTV-3 strain of the virus broke out in the Netherlands, Van Norel rounded up his ill animals and transported them on his quad bike to the stable.

Some died within 12 hours. He lost 80 animals in total, roughly three quarters of the sheep that fell sick.

"The situation was desperate. There was nothing I could do," he told AFP, surrounded by his flock in Oosterwolde, in the north of the Netherlands.

Symptoms include excessive salivation, the swelling of lips, tongue, and jaw, and the loss of offspring for pregnant animals, in proportions varying from farm to farm.

Unlike bird flu for example, an animal infected with the virus is not automatically slaughtered.

The virus has had a major impact on farms in the Netherlands 

© Nick Gammon / AFP

Bluetongue is rarely fatal for cows, but leads to a dramatic drop in milk production.

The virus poses no danger to human health.

Dutch authorities have registered outbreaks of the virus in 6,384 places, with the rate steadily rising.

However, farming union LTO says this is hugely underestimated, as farmers are no longer taking blood samples from all infected animals.

The virus has also been recorded in France, Belgium and Germany. Nearly 1,200 Belgian farms are affected, according to figures out Tuesday, a tripling in three weeks.

France is dealing with an "explosion" of cases that have quadrupled in eight days, according to authorities at the agriculture ministry.

And in Germany, officials have detected 3,212 cases by August 22, also a concerning rate of growth.

'She's dribbling a lot'

Van Norel says he is now battling through "season two" of the bluetongue disaster but thanks to vaccination, his animals are less sick than last year.

Nevertheless, the impact on his farm is clearly visible.

Vaccines mean the sheep are less sick but do not prevent them from getting the disease © Nick Gammon / AFP

He approaches one sheep that is staying away from the rest of the flock.

"The mouth is very sensitive, you can see she is hardly eating and she is getting very thin," he said.

"She's dribbling a lot, she's also had diarrhoea. All the symptoms show that she is sick," concluded Van Norel.

But he thinks this particular sheep will survive, but is not so sure for six others taken to the "sick bay" in a meadow behind the stable. They have recovered but are now suffering from complications.

Swollen legs prevent them from walking or even standing upright. Those who don't recover are put down "out of respect for the animals," Van Noren.

Vaccination does not stop the animals contracting the disease but eases the symptoms. Around 10 percent of his sheep are dying from bluetongue, compared to 75 percent last year.
'Bankrupt'

Dutch farmers have three vaccines available. The government sped up approvals before the insects that carry the disease became more active over the summer.

But LTO points out that all the costs, from buying the vaccine to vet fees, are borne by the farmers.

"The government has done its job with the vaccines but, given the current social impact on sheep farmers and milk producers, we want the ministry to do more," said Heleen Prinsen, animal welfare official at LTO.

Some of the sheep can barely stand © Nick Gammon / AFP

"In Germany, France and Denmark, farmers get a payment for the vaccines," Prinsen told AFP, urging the European Union to come up with a joint response to the virus.

It is too early to put a figure on the total damage to the industry, she said. But it is sure that it represents yet another "tough financial hit" for farmers.

A man as gentle as a lamb, Van Norel inherited the farm from his uncle and is passionate about his job.

But he says that bluetongue cost him "ten of thousands of euros" last year, which had a "huge impact" on his business.

He managed to absorb the cost but he is not sure he can take many more episodes of the virus. "That will mean going bankrupt," he said.

© 2024 AFP