Five Situationist Books


Ken Knabb <knabb@bopsecrets.org>
Tue, Oct 1, 4:31 PM 

PM Press has just republished two of my books:

Situationist International Anthology: Revised and Expanded Edition
Edited and translated by Ken Knabb
This is the most comprehensive collection of texts in English by the notorious group that helped inspire the May 1968 revolt in France and the international Occupy movement of 2011. For this new edition I fine-tuned all the translations and updated the bibliography to include comments on dozens of newer books by and about the situationists.




Guy Debord: The Society of the Spectacle
Translated and annotated by Ken Knabb
This pithy analysis of the fundamental structure of our society is arguably the most important radical book of the past hundred years, but it is also very challenging. This is the first edition in any language that includes extensive annotations, making it much more accessible.





PM Press now also distributes my other book:

Public Secrets: Collected Skirmishes of Ken Knabb
Along with a variety of shorter articles and leaflets, this book includes “The Joy of Revolution,” in which I examine the pros and cons of a wide range of radical tactics and then offer some speculations on what life might be like after a situationist-type revolution.





PM Press has published many other books of related interest. I particularly recommend Raoul Vaneigem's The Revolution of Everyday Life and Anselm Jappe's Guy Debord, both translated by my friend Donald Nicholson-Smith.

These five books bring our real options into the open, helping us to better understand and undermine the absurd social system in which we find ourselves. If you aren't already familiar with them, I encourage you to check them out!

P.S. During October you can order any of these books from PM Press for 20% off (coupon code: OCTOBER).

____________________

Study: Cord blood therapy benefits patients of all races equally

By Carole Tanzer Miller, HealthDay News
Oct. 1, 2024 

In a new study, Black, Asian, Hispanic and White patients who received cord blood transplants survived equally well. Photo by Adobe Stock/HealthDay News

Blood cancer patients of all races who receive cord blood transplants are now living longer.

The finding, reported by a team led by oncologist Dr. Karen Ballen, of UVA (University of Virginia) Health, shows that a previously identified survival gap for transplant recipients has been eliminated.

"Outcomes for cord blood transplants are improving for patients of all racial and ethnic backgrounds," Ballen said in a UVA news release.

The new study looked at more than 2,600 patients with blood cancer who received umbilical cord blood transplants between 2007 and 2017.

Black, Asian, Hispanic and White recipients survived equally well, the study found.

Still, cases of "graft-versus-host" disease -- a complication of cord blood transplantation that can lead to organ damage and severe infections -- was more common in Black children.

Cord blood cells restore the patient's ability to make blood cells after such cancer treatments as high-dose chemotherapy.

Though cord blood transplants are becoming less common in the United States, researchers said cord blood remains a vital lifeline for many patients. Because it needs not be precisely matched to the recipient, it is especially helpful for patients from racial or ethnic minority groups who often struggle to find a fully matched unrelated donor.

Researchers found that matching race was less important than the total number of cord blood cells transplanted.

"The more, the better," they said.

They cited several contributors to improved survival rates. Those included improved identification of appropriate patients, newer techniques for matching patients and donors, and better antibiotics and other care.

The findings are published in the October issue of the journal Transplantation and Cellular Therapy.

More information

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has more about cord blood stem cell transplantation.

Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

CVS Health to lay off almost 3K, mainly in corporate ranks

Oct. 1, 2024 / 

On Tuesday, CVS Health announced the pharmacy chain will lay off nearly 3,000 workers. “We’ve embarked on a multi-year initiative to deliver $2 billion in cost savings by reducing expenses and investing in technologies to enhance how we work,” a CVS spokesperson said Tuesday. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo


Oct. 1 (UPI) -- CVS Health announced Tuesday the pharmacy chain will lay off nearly 3,000 workers as part of cost-saving efforts, but the job cuts primarily will be in "corporate" positions, the company said.

"We've embarked on a multiyear initiative to deliver $2 billion in cost savings by reducing expenses and investing in technologies to enhance how we work," a company spokesperson wrote in a statement to multiple newsrooms.

The company said the affected positions are "primarily corporate roles," Mike DeAngelis, CVS' executive director of corporate communications, said.

These "reductions," as he called them, will "not impact front-line jobs" in CVS stores, pharmacies or distribution centers," stated DeAngelis.

The 2,900 CVS layoffs represent less than 1% of the chain's workforce.

"Our industry faces continued disruption, regulatory pressures, and evolving customer needs and expectations," DeAngelis said.

"So it is critical," he continued, "that we remain competitive and operate at peak performance."

Laid-off CVS employees, he said, will receive severance pay and benefits.

This new round of jobs cuts at CVS Health, which operate a network of pharmacies across the U.S. among other businesses, adds to the roughly 5,000 other layoffs announced last year in August.

In 2021, CVS Health closed roughly 900 stores between 2022 through this year. At the time, the closures represented nearly 10% of the company's then-10,000 locations.

CVS joins the likes of the another pharmacy chain, Walgreens, which announced plans in June to close a "significant portion" of its "underperforming" 8,500 U.S. stores at the time.

ABOLISH CT
'Conversion therapy' increases risk of mental illness in LGBT people

By Ernie Mundell,

 HealthDay News
Oct. 1, 2024 

So-called "conversion therapy" or "conversion practice" can greatly raise the odds that an LGBT person experiences mental health issues, new research finds. Photo by Adobe Stock/HealthDay News

Besides being useless in altering a person's sexuality or gender identity, so-called "conversion therapy" or "conversion practice" can greatly raise the odds that an LGBT person experiences mental health issues, new research finds.

Questionnaires completed by over 4,400 LGBTQ+ Americans found that having undergone these bogus interventions was linked to higher rates of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and suicidal thoughts or attempts.

"Our findings add to a body of evidence that shows conversion practice is unethical and linked with poor mental health," said study lead author Dr. Nguyen Tran, of Stanford University School of Medicine.

"Protecting LGBTQ+ people from the impacts of these harmful practices will require multi-pronged legislation, including state and federal bans," Tran added. "Additional measures 

The findings were published Monday in The Lancet Psychiatry journal.

Conversion therapy is any kind of formal, structured effort to alter a person's sexuality or gender identification, often employing psychological, behavioral, physical and faith-based practices.

Most respected professional medical and mental health organizations are opposed to the practice, although it's still offered at sites throughout the United States.

Anywhere from 4% to 34% of LGBTQ+ American children and adults may have been subjected to conversion practices, according to a Lancet news release.

The data used in the new study came from the ongoing PRIDE study, which has been tracking the health of LGBTQ+ people across America. About 57% identified as cisgender and 43% identified as transgender. Ages ranged from 18 to 34, with the average age being 31.

In total, 149 (3.4%) of those questioned had experienced conversion therapy focused on altering their sexual orientation, 43 (1%) had undergone practices targeting gender identity, and 42 (1%) reported both, the researchers reported.

Risk factors for having undergone conversion practices included having a religious upbringing and/or being brought up in a community that didn't support issues around gender identity, being from a minority group and having a lower level of education.

Conversion therapy aimed at changing a person's sexual orientation was most often delivered by a religious leader or group (52% of the time) or a mental health provider or organization (29%). Similar trends were seen for conversion practices aimed at gender identity.


"The highest levels of anxiety, depressive and PTSD symptoms were reported by participants who recalled conversion practice for gender identity alone," the researchers said.

However, folks who'd undergone conversion practices for both their sexuality and gender identity had the highest levels of suicidality, the team reported.

Conversion practices are definitely not in the mainstream of medical practice, said Dr. Jack Drescher, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center, in New York City.

Writing in an accompanying commentary, he said that "mainstream mental health organizations need to do a better job of regulating the activities of those outlier, licensed clinicians who engage in conversion practices."

Drescher added that, "professional organizations' ethical guidelines should mirror and integrate the wider world's changing cultural beliefs and values regarding the growing acceptance of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities."

More information

Find out more about the pitfalls of conversion therapies at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

U.S. targets Israeli-occupied West Bank settler violence with sanctions

U.S. Treasury officials on Tuesday announced sanctions against Hilltop Youth, an extremist group of West Bank settlers accused of attacking Palestinian and destroying their homes and property.


Oct. 1 (UPI) -- The United States on Tuesday sanctioned one informal organization and two people as the Biden administration continues to tighten its financial grip on those it accuses of perpetrating violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The U.S. Treasury designated Hilltop Youth, an extremist group of West Bank settlers accused of attacking Palestinians and destroying their homes and property.
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Hilltop Youth is generally regarded as an informal organization that the U.S. government has listed as a "criminal organization."

The Treasury said the group of settlers has "conducted a campaign of violence against Palestinians," which includes killings, arson, assaults and intimidation, with the goal of driving Palestinians out of the West Bank. It conducts what are called "price tag" assaults, which are revenge attacks conducted in reprisal for actions carried out against settlers.

The State Department said it sanctioned Eitan Yardeni on accusations of being connected to violence and threats in the West bank, and Avichai Suissa, who leads Hashomer Yosh, an Israeli non-government organization the United States sanctioned in late August.

"The worsening violence and instability in the West Bank are detrimental to the long-term interests of Israelis and Palestinians, and the actions of violent organizations like Hilltop Youth only exacerbate the crisis," Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley Smith said in a statement.

"The United States will continue to hold accountable the individuals, groups and organizations that facilitate these hateful and destabilizing acts."

Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territory and the establishment of settlements there are widely viewed as illegal under international law and have attracted the repeated criticism and condemnation of the United Nations and the wider international community.

Amid Israel's nearly year-long war against Hamas in Gaza, greater attention and criticism have been directed at Israel over its occupation of the West Bank as it is a growing flashpoint of violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

The United States has been a critic of Israel's occupation and has said it represents an obstacle to a two-state solution. The Biden administration has sanctioned 27 individuals and entities accused of perpetuating violence there under an executive order that President Joe Biden signed in February.

The Biden administration has used the sanctions to criticize Israel for not doing more to curb violence in the West Bank, while critics have called on the administration to use its sanctioning power against those in the Israeli government who enable the violence against Palestinians.

"The Biden administration imposes more sanctions on settlers for violence against West Bank Palestinians but still hasn't imposed sanctions on any of the Israeli officials who are encouraging the settler violence," Kenneth Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch and current visiting professor at Princeton, said on X.

According to an update from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, there have been some 1,390 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians between the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7 and Sept. 23.

Of those attacks, 135 involved the killing and wounding of Palestinians, 1,110 saw Palestinian property damaged and about 150 cause both casualties and property damage. The report added that some 1,628 Palestinians, including 794 children, have been displaced by the settler violence.

Calls grow in Germany to ban far-right AfD

Marcel Fürstenau

DW

01/10/24

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has gained ground in three recent state elections, caused an uproar in the Thuringian parliament and triggering another debate on whether to ban the party outright.

AfD leaders Timo Chrupalla and Alice Weidel have celebrated a string of good results in recent state elections

There was chaos last week in the parliament in Erfurt, in the eastern German state of Thuringia, where the Alternative for Germany (AfD) became the biggest group in the state parliament following its election victory in early September.

Last Thursday, AfD politician Jürgen Treutler, by virtue of being the parliament's oldest member at 73, was entitled to chair the first session of the new legislative period. Treutler performed this duty by refusing to allow motions to be passed and votes to be taken, essentially blocking the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) and other parties from nominating a candidate for the speaker's job.

The CDU objected to this performance at the Thuringian Constitutional Court and was successful. When the session resumed two days later, CDU politician Thadäus König was elected as the new state parliament president.

Now that parliament is able to function once again, it is debating how to deal with the AfD in the coming term. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Thuringia, which tracks domestic extremist movements in Germany, classified the party as "right-wing extremist" in 2021.
The AfD's Jürgen Treutler blocked proceedings in the Thuringian state parliamentImage: Jens Schlueter /AFP/Getty Images

Georg Maier, leader of the Thuringian Social Democrats and still acting interior minister, spoke out on Thursday in favor of proceedings before the Federal Constitutional Court to ban the AfD.

"Today's events in the Thuringian state parliament have shown that the AfD is aggressively and combatively taking action against parliamentarism," he said on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter. "I think that this means the preconditions for a ban have been met."

Article 21 of the German constitution, the Basic Law, states: "Parties that, by reason of their aims or the behavior of their adherents, seek to undermine or abolish the free democratic basic order or to endanger the existence of the Federal Republic of Germany shall be unconstitutional."
Earlier attempt to ban far-right NPD failed

It's up to the Federal Constitutional Court to decide whether a political party can be banned. The federal government, the Bundestag, and the chamber of the 16 federal states, the Bundesrat, are entitled to file a petition.

But the bar is high, and the precedents do not augur well for such a move. The last attempt to ban the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), which has since renamed itself Die Heimat, failed in 2017.

In the verdict on that case, the court ruled that the former NPD was indeed unconstitutional, but also politically insignificant. "In the more than five decades of its existence, the NPD has not managed to be permanently represented in a state parliament," it said.

In addition, the other parties in the federal and state parliaments have so far been unwilling to form coalitions or even to cooperate with the NPD on specific issues, the court stated at the time.

Rise of Germany's far-right AfD sparks fear among refugees  02:45

Taking this ruling as a yardstick for a potential AfD ban, a new picture emerges: Unlike the old NPD, the AfD is already well-established as a political force both in the Bundestag and in 14 of Germany's 16 state parliaments. But, as with the NPD, no other party has so far been willing to enter into a coalition with the AfD, so it has no realistic prospect of being part of a government.

The debate over a ban has flared up again because of the scandal following the election in Thuringia. CDU Bundestag member Marco Wanderwitz is now campaigning across party lines for a joint motion that the Bundestag vote on a ban. At least 5% of lawmakers would have to support his initiative, or 37 out of 733. Wanderwitz told the daily newspaper taz in June that they had reached that number.

AfD's 'right-wing extremist' classification does not guarantee ban

Wanderwitz said they were still waiting for the written opinion of the Higher Administrative Court in North Rhine-Westphalia, which in May had confirmed the AfD's classification as a suspected right-wing extremist group by the Office of the Protection of the Constitution, the BfV.

"If the reasoning for the judgment is made available, we will take a close look and then submit our updated and well-founded application for a ban," he told taz. In the vote that would then be due in the Bundestag, a majority would have to vote in favor of filing an application to ban the AfD. The Federal Constitutional Court would then have to decide.

Experts have different views on the chances of success. Hendrik Cremer of the German Institute for Human Rights in Berlin believes a ban is urgently needed and could be successful. "If you look at the AfD closely, I think you have to come to the conclusion that the conditions for a ban are met," he told DW in May, adding that he finds it difficult to understand why some still express any doubts.

Azim Semizoglu, a constitutional law expert at the University of Leipzig, is more skeptical. In his view, the classification of the AfD as "definitely right-wing extremist" by the BfV does not automatically guarantee a successful ban, he previously told DW.
'Assessment is not a political one,' but 'a legal one'

That's only one piece of evidence among many, Semizoglu argued. "You can't conclude from it that if a party is classified as definitely right-wing extremist, it is also unconstitutional in the sense of the Basic Law," he said. There are different standards of proof that must be applied, he added.

SPD co-chairman Lars Klingbeil takes a similar view. "The assessment is not a political one, but first of all a legal one," he told the German news agency dpa. Klingbeil pointed out that the BfV is responsible for collecting material on the AfD. If experts come to the conclusion that the AfD endangers the German state and society, "then we have to become politically active."

Germany: Is the rise of far-right AfD to power inevitable?  04:00

Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, has also been taking part in the recurring discussion about banning the AfD. In the run-up to the state election in Brandenburg on September 22, he spoke out against the party in an interview with the daily Tagesspiegel.

"The people who vote for the AfD today are not going to just disappear — nor can we ignore them," he said, adding that he believes a ban isn't a good way to dissuade AfD voters from their ideology.

This article was originally written in German.

Thousands march in India as doctors resume strike

Kolkata (AFP) – Tens of thousands of people packed the streets of one of India's biggest cities after doctors resumed a strike and called fresh rallies over the rape and murder of a colleague.


Issued on: 02/10/2024 - 

Doctors in Kolaka walked off the job again on Tuesday, saying pledges by the West Bengal state government to improve safety and security at hospitals had been unmet © DIBYANGSHU SARKAR / AFP

The discovery of the 31-year-old's bloodied body at a state-run hospital in Kolkata two months ago rekindled nationwide anger at the chronic issue of violence against women.

Doctors in the eastern city went on strike for weeks in response and walked off the job again on Tuesday, saying pledges by the West Bengal state government to improve safety and security at hospitals had been unmet.

They were joined on Tuesday evening by thousands of people from all walks of life for a huge protest march, with many carrying the Indian tricolour flag and some staying out until dawn on Wednesday.

"We want to send out the message that our protests will not end until we get justice," rally organiser Rimjhim Sinha, 29, told AFP at the march.

Kolkata is days away from the start of a festival held in honour of the Hindu warrior goddess Durga, the city's biggest annual religious celebration.

Sinha said that the dozens of civil society groups backing doctors' calls for public protests would use the occasion to demand an end to violence against women.

"The festival of worshipping Goddess Durga epitomises the victory of good over evil," she said. "This year it will turn into the festival of protests."

With further demonstrations called over the coming days, a senior police official told AFP on condition of anonymity that more than 2,500 extra officers had been put on active duty around Kolkata.

The victim of the August attack is not being identified in keeping with Indian laws on media reporting of sexual violence cases.

Her father attended Tuesday's march and told AFP that his family was still "devastated" two months after her death.

"My daughter's soul will not rest in peace until she gets justice," he said.

Doctors had briefly returned to limited duties in emergency departments last month, only to strike again in defiance of a September order from India's top court to fully return to work.

They say that the state government's promises to upgrade lighting, CCTV cameras and other security measures in hospitals have not been fulfilled.

Tens of thousands of ordinary Indians took part in the protests that followed the August attack.

One man has been detained over the murder but the West Bengal government has faced public criticism for its handling of the investigation.

Authorities sacked the city's police chief and top health ministry officials.

The gruesome nature of the attack drew comparisons with the 2012 gang rape and murder of a young woman on a Delhi bus, which also sparked weeks of nationwide protests.

© 2024 AFP

India: Police detain 600 striking Samsung workers at protest

Thousands of employees of the South Korean company have been on strike since September 9. They are demanding better wages, 8-hour working days, and union recognition.

Strikers have been protesting for the past four weeks in a makeshift tent near the Chennai factory

Mahesh Kumar A./AP Photo/picture alliance


Indian police on Tuesday detained around 600 employees of Samsung Electronics, one of the world's largest semiconductor and computer chip manufacturers, and union members for organizing a street protest.

For the past four weeks, thousands of employees of the South Korean company in India have been on strike over their working conditions near the factory in Chennai and at other locations.

According to senior state police official Charles Sam Rajadurai, the protesters were detained because their march was causing public inconvenience.
What are the protesters demanding?

The workers are asking for a wage increase, working days capped at eight hours, and recognition of the factory's main union, CITU.

The Chennai plant is Samsung's second-largest in the country and generates nearly one-third of Samsung's annual revenue in India, which amounts to $12 billion (€10.8 billion).

According to the union, Samsung workers in Chennai earn an average of 25,000 rupees (roughly $300) per month and want that figure to increase to 36,000 rupees within three years.

When did the protests begin?

The strike began on September 9. Since then, thousands of Samsung workers in India have been demonstrating in a makeshift tent near the factory.

The union claims that police are detaining thousands of workers. "Since September 9, at least 10,000 workers have been detained," said union member S. Kannan to the EFE news agency, albeit adding that most were soon released.

Local media have also reported hundreds of arrests in recent weeks.

So far, negotiation attempts have failed, increasing tension between the company and the strikers.

Why companies harm the planet by hindering phone repair 03:34

How has Samsung reacted?

Samsung has threatened striking workers with dismissal, although it says it is open to negotiating a consensus solution with them.

According to the company, workers at the Chennai factory earn nearly twice as much as similar workers in the same region.

The South Korean company also operates another factory in India, located in Noida, near New Delhi.

Samsung employees at factories in South Korea, the country’s largest company, also went on strike earlier this year.

The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) represents 24% of the company's workforce there, with around 31,000 members.

fmf/msh (Reuters, EFE)

Shrinking lake on Albanian-Greek border struggles to survive

Buzëliqen (AFP) – Plants and reeds have sprouted up as the waters of Little Prespa Lake on the Albanian-Greek border recede, their beauty overshadowing a painful truth: the lake is slowly dying.


Issued on: 02/10/2024 - 

The once crystal-clear Little Prespa Lake has mostly been transformed into a marshy watering hole in this corner of southeastern Albania

 © Adnan Beci / AFP

The once crystal-clear lake has mostly been transformed into a marshy watering hole in this corner of southeastern Albania.

"A few years ago, this was a lake with pure water. Fishing was our life. But today we have nothing left. The lake is dead," said local resident Enver Llomi, 68.

Abandoned boats are now stuck in the mud or rot in the sun on dry land.

Cows have replaced the fish, and wander around without venturing too close to the retreating water.

The majority of Little Prespa Lake, also known as Small Lake Prespa, sits in Greek territory, with just its southern tip crossing into Albania. It is a smaller cousin of the larger Great Prespa Lake to the north.

According to experts, of the 450 hectares (1,100 acres) of Little Prespa Lake in Albania, at least 430 hectares have been transformed into swamps or dried up.

For the inhabitants, the beginning of the misfortune dates back to the 1970s, when communist authorities diverted the Devoll River to irrigate fields around the nearby Albanian city of Korca.

The majority of Little Prespa Lake, also known as Small Lake Prespa, sits in Greek territory, with just its southern tip crossing into Albania © Adnan Beci / AFP

"A few years ago, we could catch up to 10 kilos (22 pounds) of fish per day, we could use the water to irrigate," Llomi told AFP with a bitter smile.

Climate change has exacerbated the problem, experts say. Rising temperatures and increasingly mild winters with little snowfall and a scarcity of precipitation have battered the lake.

"If this year the winter is dry it will be even worse. And if next summer it is also hot and dry – everything would be over," said local park ranger Astrit Kodra.
'Repercussions'

Environmentalists say the fate of the lake should serve as a dire warning for the rest of the Balkans -- a region rich in water but where resource management is largely lacking.

"The death of a lake will have repercussions" on the neighbouring lakes of the larger Prespa and Ohrid, said Kodra.

The water levels at Great Prespa Lake -- one of the oldest in Europe, straddling the borders of Albania, Greece and North Macedonia -- are also in steep decline, reaching their lowest level in decades.

"The water in the lake on the Albanian side is today 10 meters (33 feet) lower than its level at the end of the 1970s," said Vasil Male, a manager of protected areas in Korca.

Male says the main cause is climate change.

"The reduction in precipitation is drying up water resources and has led to a decline in the level of Great Prespa Lake by 54 centimetres (21 inches) in the last four months alone," said environmental expert Llazi Stojan.

On the Greek side, the situation is also critical.

According to data from the National Lake Water Monitoring Network of Greece, "the level of the two lakes, the Small and Large Prespa, last August was at its lowest point since 2021".

Environmentalists say the fate of the lake should serve as a dire warning for the rest of the Balkans -- a region rich in water but where resource management is largely lacking 

© Adnan Beci / AFP

In a 2022 report, NASA said satellite images showed that the larger Lake Prespa had lost seven percent of its surface area and half its volume between 1984 and 2020.

"And if Prespa shrinks further, the no less sublime Lake Ohrid, located just 10 kilometres (six miles) away, could also be affected," warns Stojan.

Experts in the region however say little can be done unless the countries that share the lakes cooperate to save them.

"We must intervene, we must act together as long as it is not too late," said Kodra.

"Humans and science can find solutions to save nature."

© 2024 AFP

Africa roads among world's deadliest despite few cars

Addis Ababa (AFP) – Africa has the fewest roads and cars of any region, and yet the largest ratio of vehicle deaths, caused by the usual suspects -- unsafe habits, speeding and drinking -- but also poor infrastructure, scant rescuers and old cars.


Issued on: 02/10/2024 -

A bus veered off the Queen Elizabeth bridge in Johannesburg in February 2015 © MUJAHID SAFODIEN / AFP

As everywhere, speed, alcohol and not wearing a seat belt or helmet are among the main causes of death and injury, say experts.

But in Africa, where there are 620 traffic deaths every day, these problems are compounded by bad roads, outdated vehicles, minimal prosecutions and a shortage of emergency services.

A recent World Health Organisation report found that Africa surpassed the rest of the world, including Southeast Asia -- which recorded the most road deaths -- with a record ratio of 19.5 people killed per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021.

Home to only around four percent of the world's automobiles, Africa accounted for 19 percent of road deaths last year.

"What is worrying is the upward trend in Africa," said Jean Todt, a former head of the International Automobile Federation and now the United Nations(UN) special envoy for road safety.

Attempts at change failed after a deadly Senegal crash in 2023 © Ousseynou Diop / AFP

The continent is the only region where road deaths increased between 2010 and 2021 -- up 17 percent to 226,100. The spike was seen in more than half of Africa's countries (28 out of 54).

The biggest victims are pedestrians, accounting for a third of fatalities due to a lack of adequate pavements, compared to 21 percent worldwide.

"We need to have better designed streets with sidewalks, adequate signage and pedestrian lanes, particularly around schools," Todt said.

He also bemoaned the shortage of public transport for the rapidly urbanising continent.

Urban planning is also at fault.

"Many African countries continue to design their infrastructure for motor vehicles and not for individuals, and without safety being the main concern," said Haileyesus Adamtei, a transport expert at the World Bank.
'Never been implemented'

One major culprit is the quality of the cars plying Africa's roads, with many more than 15 years old, according to the UN Road Safety Fund.

A transport ministry spokesperson in Senegal told AFP that faulty brakes and worn tires were common -- and often deadly.

"The dilapidated state of vehicles is a major factor in the lack of safety," the spokesperson said.

The West African country introduced a raft of new rules after a head-on crash between two night buses in January 2023 killed 40 people.

A relative mourns the 45 victims of a bus accident in Botswana in May © Monirul Bhuiyan / AFP

"But most have never been implemented," the ministry spokesperson admitted.

Some rules, such as a ban on loading luggage on the roof of buses, which could unbalance the vehicle, were fiercely opposed by operators.

It does not help that drivers can often get a licence with only perfunctory lessons and testing -- often avoided altogether with a bribe.

Corruption also means that permissive law enforcement often sweeps many road safety violations under the carpet.

The UN has called for a "decade of action" to halve the number of road deaths by 2030.

Todt insists the aim is achievable and should top government agendas.

"Beyond the human tragedy, road crashes are also a major cause of slowdown in the development of a country, costing on average four to five percent of GDP, sometimes much more in Africa," he said.

burs-ayv/er/ju

© 2024 AFP

\

Why are Thailand's roads so deadly?

Bangkok (AFP) – A horrifying fire on a Thai school bus this week that killed at least 23 people, most of them children, underscores how the kingdom's roads are some of the deadliest in the world.


Issued on: 02/10/2024 - 

A fire that ripped through a Thai school bus killing at least 23 people, underscores how deadly the kingdom's roads are © Manan VATSYAYANA / AFP

AFP looks at the poor safety record, why there are so many deaths and what the Thai government is doing about it.

How bad is it?

Around 20,000 people are killed every year on Thailand's roads -- an average of more than 50 a day.

This means Thailand has the second-deadliest roads in Asia after Nepal, and ranks 16th in the world for traffic mortality, alongside Chad and Guinea-Bissau, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

There were 25.7 deaths due to traffic injuries per 100,000 people in 2021 in Thailand, compared with a global average of 15.

Road safety watchdog Thai RSC says that already this year there have been more than 10,000 fatalities and 600,000 injuries on the country's roads.

More than four out of five deaths involve motorbikes, the RSC says, compared with a global average of one out of five.

Accident rates and deaths soar around major celebrations such as New Year and Songkran, the annual Thai water festival.

In 2021, the WHO said traffic-related incidents accounted for nearly a third of all deaths in Thailand. About three-quarters of those killed were male.

The economic losses caused by traffic deaths and injuries amounted to around $15.5 billion in 2022 the WHO says -- equivalent to more than three percent of the country's GDP.

- Why is it so bad? -

Speeding, drink driving, poor road design and unsafe vehicles all contribute to the problem

.

Around 20,000 people are killed every year on Thailand's roads -- an average of more than 50 a day 

© Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP/File

Enforcement of safety rules has long been undermined by a culture of low-ranking traffic cops taking bribes to turn a blind eye to infractions such as speeding or motorcyclists not wearing helmets.

Vehicle safety checks have also been weakened by graft.

Last month, local media reported that two highway officials had been arrested on allegations of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to allow unsafe overloaded trucks to pass checks to use the roads.

In Bangkok and other cities, motorbikes and mopeds weave in and out of heavy traffic, but helmet-wearing is lax.

While hospitals in Thailand are generally good, in rural areas they are spread out and often less well-equipped than city facilities.

Anyone involved in an accident on one of the countless narrow country roads snaking through steep jungle-clad hillsides could find themselves waiting a long time for emergency services to arrive.

- What is being done about it? -

The country has set a five-year National Master Plan on Road Safety which aims to slash the road mortality rate to 12 per 100,000 by 2027 -- which would equate to fewer than 8,500 deaths per year.

In Bangkok and other cities, motorbikes and mopeds weave in and out of heavy traffic, but helmet-wearing is lax

 © MANAN VATSYAYANA / AFP/File

Police regularly mount drives to encourage helmet-wearing and to catch drink drivers, particularly around around major festivals.

Thai RSC oversees road safety and raises public awareness to reduce road accidents, including pushing for helmet use on motorbikes and mopeds.

There have been efforts to tackle poorly lit roads, with Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt last year vowing to make the capital's streets brighter by replacing streetlamp bulbs with newer LEDs.

And there has been some improvement -- Thailand's road mortality rate fell from 39 per 100,000 people in 2000, a relative decline of 17 percent, according to WHO data.

© 2024 AFP