Is Argentina’s Milei on brink of leaving Paris climate accord?


By AFP
November 15, 2024

A CONFEDERACY OF DUNCES

Argentine President Javier Milei (C) attended a gala put on by US President-elect Donald Trump (2nd from right), alongside Elon Musk (2nd from left) - Copyright Argentinian Presidency/AFP Handout

Sonia AVALOS

Argentina’s abrupt snub of COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan has raised alarm that President Javier Milei — an ally to US President-elect Donald Trump — could be looking at pulling out of the Paris accord.

Such a move would align Milei’s climate change skepticism with the position held by Trump — and deal a blow to the 2015 international agreement that aims to curb global warming.

“If Milei’s government decides to exit the Paris Agreement, we would be faced with huge legal and constitutional implications,” said Maximiliano Ferraro, an Argentine lawmaker with the opposition Civic Coalition.

Already, Milei — a populist who has taken radical measures to cut inflation at home — has downgraded his environment ministry to a sub-secretariat and eliminated a fund for the protection of native forests.

Argentina’s delegation expected at the COP29, the UN climate talks happening in Azerbaijan this week, suddenly pulled out, an environment ministry source confirmed, without giving details behind the decision.

Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein told The Washington Post that “we are reevaluating our strategy on all climate-change-related issues” but added that Buenos Aires had not made a decision at this time to leave the Paris accord.

On Thursday, Milei attended a gala at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, alongside the world’s richest man Elon Musk. At the event, Milei hailed Trump’s “greatest political comeback in history.”

Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris Agreement in 2017, during his first time as president.

Current US President Joe Biden brought his country back into it in 2021, but Trump has vowed to reverse that order when he takes over the White House in January.

On Monday and Tuesday, Biden and Milei will attend a G20 summit in Brazil that will discuss international efforts to limit climate change, but the US leader is seen as a lame duck leader at the gathering.



– ‘Bad signal’ –



Greenpeace Argentina said the country’s withdrawal from the Azerbaijan talks was a “bad signal.”

Ferraro, the opposition lawmaker, said if an exit from the Paris Agreement followed, “we would be entering a foggy path of isolation.”

Milei has a record of putting environmental considerations well below economic ones.

In June, he stated: “Nature must serve humans and their wellbeing, not the other way around.”

He added that “the main environmental problem we have is extreme poverty, and that is only solved if we use our resources.”

Oscar Soria, head of The Common Initiative, a New York-based group campaigning for financial reform to promote biodiversity, told AFP “there is a growing concern about the possibility that Argentina exits the Paris Agreement.”

But he pointed out that such a move “cannot be done by a simple decree” — it would require approval by the Argentine Congress.

Argentina ratified the Paris accord in 2016, meaning any change would enter constitutional territory.

It would also run counter to “solid legislation on climate action” in the country, Soria said.

“If he goes there, we are ready for a legal battle.”

Soria added that “with or without Argentina, global climate action will continue. That was shown in the United States when Donald Trump took the decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement in 2017. A lot of extreme-right leaders have underestimated the Paris Agreement.”

Guillermo Folguera, a biologist at Argentina’s National Scientific and Technical Research Council, said there was hope that NGOs could curb government policies that look at the environment “only as a way to generate assets and not as a space for life.”

Ferraro suggested that Milei’s moves could be a way to ingratiate himself with Trump.

“I wonder if it’s just a show put on by President Milei to offer this up as a sacrificial ritual in his get-together with US President-elect Donald Trump?”

Trump’s climate impact ‘recoverable’: researchers


By AFP
November 14, 2024

Donald Trump is expected to retreat from international efforts to limit global warming - Copyright AFP/File Brendan Smialowski

Kelly MACNAMARA

US president-elect Donald Trump’s expected climate rollbacks will likely have a “small” impact on global warming, as long as other countries resist the temptation to slacken their own carbon-cutting efforts, new research found Thursday.

Trump, who will return to the White House in January, has pledged to reverse the green policies of President Joe Biden and could pull the United States out of international efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial times.

This year is almost certain to be the hottest on record, with rising temperatures unleashing a deadly torrent of floods, heatwaves and storms across the world.

In a new analysis of countries’ climate plans, the Climate Action Tracker (CAT) project said Trump’s potential retreat from the green transition could increase global temperatures by around 0.04C by the end of the century.

Bill Hare of Climate Analytics, one of the groups behind the tracker, said the effect could be “really quite small”.

“The damage it would do emission-wise to global climate action, if just confined to the United States and over four to five years, is probably recoverable,” he said.

But he said the impact could be significantly greater if other countries use shrinking ambitions from the US, the world’s second biggest emitter, as an excuse to slow walk their own climate actions.

That will become clear in the coming weeks and months, with nations expected to submit new and improved emissions-reduction commitments to the United Nations by February.

Hare said that a “fundamental” question will be the reaction of China, the biggest greenhouse gas emitter.



– ‘Flat-lined’ –



The CAT project calculated that the current crop of climate promises would see the world warm 2.6C by century’s end, with very little change in the outlook in the past three years suggesting that government action has “flat-lined”.

In a separate report released Thursday, CAT looked at the plans of the biggest greenhouse gas polluters.

The US, which accounts for the largest share of historical greenhouse gas pollution, has said it will cut emissions from all sectors in half by 2030 from 2005 levels.

CAT said US emissions would need to drop 65 percent this decade and 80 percent by 2035 to align with the 1.5C limit.

China, which has yet to outline a pledge covering emissions from all sectors, would need to slash carbon pollution 66 percent by 2030 from 2023 levels and 78 percent by 2035.

“If one looks at the rapid drop in emissions needed, it is reasonable to ask: How could this be possible?” Hare said of the China projections.

“The short answer is it’s mainly because we can decarbonise the power sector nearly everywhere, quite quickly. And the first thing to do is to get out of coal.”

The report comes after research published on Wednesday found that carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels rose again this year to a new record, meaning the cuts needed in the future are even sharper if the world is to meet its warming target.

Emissions of CO2 from coal, which account for 41 percent of the global total from fossil fuels, ticked up 0.2 percent this year, according to the projections by the Global Carbon Project, with decreases in the US and European Union and increases in China, India and the rest of the world.

Revolution over but more protests than ever in Bangladesh

By AFP
November 15, 2024

More protests are being held in Bangladesh after restrictions on public assembly fell away with the ouster of Sheikh Hasina - Copyright AFP Abdul Goni

Sheikh Sabiha ALAM

The solo protest of Bangladeshi hunger striker Mahbubul Haque Shipon is hard to spot among the six other demonstrations under way on the same busy thoroughfare.

Shipon’s country is emerging from a summer of upheaval after student protests sparked a revolution, culminating in autocratic premier Sheikh Hasina’s August ouster.

Hasina’s government imposed draconian restrictions on public assembly until it was no longer able to contain anger over rights abuses and widening inequality after 15 years of rule.

While many are hopeful that Hasina’s overthrow heralds a brighter future, the end of those restrictions has led to more protests in the capital Dhaka since her departure than during the uprising against her.

“I am here for the sake of the nation and for a great cause,” Shipon told AFP, four days after he dragged a mattress onto the kerb to begin his one-man campout.

The 47-year-old is calling for the ouster of Bangladesh’s president — still in office, but suspect as a Hasina appointee — and the scrapping of the constitution he blames for the country’s past woes.

As he vowed not to eat again until his demands were met, his words were drowned out by the clamour of numerous other protests being staged around him.

Government land office employees nearby chanted demands for higher pay and benefits, next to another man waging his own solitary protest urging protections for Sufi religious shrines.

Further down was a group forming a human chain to highlight the case of a university official subjected to anonymous death threats. They left, and another group took their place to condemn a vandal attack on a nearby mosque.

Non-stop demonstrations near the Secretariat building — the administrative nerve centre of Bangladesh’s government — have been gratefully catered to by the area’s street vendors.

“Since the protests began, demand has skyrocketed,” Arup Sarkar, who makes a living selling an assortment of red and green Bangladesh flags, told AFP.

“Protesters need flags of various shapes and sizes.”



– ‘A standstill’ –



But police are less enthused about the sheer number of protests across the sprawling megacity, home to more than 21 million people.

Many rallies are staged on Dhaka’s arterial roads, already notorious for their near-constant gridlock.

On a day in November, garment workers protesting over unpaid wages held sit-ins on highways that halted transport into the city’s industrial fringes.

At the same time, an unrelated student procession blocked the road outside the Secretariat for hours.

Determining the precise number of protests held in Dhaka in a given week is impossible, because rules requiring prior permission from police are routinely disregarded.

“Some follow the rules, while many don’t, so we do not really know the actual number of demonstrations,” police officer Muhammad Talebur Rahman told AFP.

“We encourage people to speak up, but at the same time, we would ask that they avoid inconveniencing Dhaka’s residents.”



– ‘Fascist party’ –



The interim government that replaced Hasina, led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, has been largely tolerant of protests since it came to office.

One notable exception is on demonstrations called by the remnants of Hasina’s Awami League party, which it fears is attempting to regroup after many of its top leaders were arrested following her downfall.

The party’s attempts to stage a rally this month were quickly thwarted by police and student demonstrators, who occupied the site of the planned mobilisation to drive off supporters.

“The Awami League, in its current form, is a fascist party,” Yunus’ press secretary Shafiqul Alam told AFP.

“This fascist party will not be allowed to hold protest rallies in Bangladesh.”



– ‘Fundamental rights’ –



Other signs suggest growing concern within the government over the constant disruptions caused by protests.

Last month, it urged Bangladeshis to stop staging rallies that blocked traffic and instead hold them in parks — a directive that has been largely ignored.

Yunus’s administration had already banned rallies outside his official residence weeks after he took power, evidently out of frustration that constant crowds were impeding its work.

On some occasions, the protests have also threatened to provoke disorder and violence.

Islamist groups last month announced plans to besiege the offices of two newspapers after accusing them of disrespecting their faith, prompting the government to deploy soldiers to protect staff inside.

And earlier this month, a crowd attempted to storm Dhaka’s most prestigious theatre to stop the staging of a popular play.

A member of the production had allegedly posted a Facebook comment criticising the protesters that ousted Hasina, and authorities had to halt the play to ensure the safety of performers.

“Freedom of speech and assembly are fundamental rights,” Abu Ahmed Faizul Kabir of legal rights group Ain O Salish Kendra told AFP.

“But they should not infringe upon the rights of others.”

Stirring ‘haka’ dance disrupts New Zealand’s parliament


By AFP
November 15, 2024

Maori lawmakers leave their seats to perform a traditional haka dance in protest against a bill that aims to reinterpret a document seen as New Zealand's founding treaty with its Indigenous people - Copyright AFP New Zealand Parliament

Indigenous Maori lawmakers disrupted New Zealand’s parliament with a stirring “haka” dance, voicing opposition to a race relations bill that has ignited protests across the country.

A contentious bid to reinterpret a centuries-old treaty between New Zealand’s Maori and European settlers was set to be debated in parliament on Thursday.

But proceedings were derailed when 22-year-old Maori Party MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke took to her feet, ripped the bill in half, and launched into the haka.

The rest of her party strode onto the floor of parliament to join her in the Ka Mate haka, a fierce ceremonial challenge popularised by the country’s All Blacks rugby side.

Speaker of Parliament Gerry Brownlee cleared onlookers from the public gallery and briefly shut down proceedings, condemning the “grossly disorderly” interruption.

Tensions have started to fray in New Zealand after a minor party in the coalition government introduced a bill to reframe the Treaty of Waitangi.

Seen as the country’s founding document, the text was signed in 1840 to bring peace between 540 Maori chiefs and colonising British forces.

Critics say the bill would unravel education and other programmes for Maori citizens.

Although it is unlikely to pass — it lacks support from the government’s two other coalition partners — critics say it still risks seriously hampering race relations.

Thousands have joined a “hikoi” protest march travelling the country to drum up opposition, shutting down major highways as they inch their way towards the capital Wellington.

The movement, which has now swollen to an estimated 10,000 demonstrators, is due to arrive on the lawns of parliament early next week.

Maori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi has accused the government of “waging war on our existence as Maori and on the fabric of this nation”.

German Greens’ Robert Habeck to lead bruised party into elections

By AFP
November 16, 2024

Habeck championed Germany's move to reduce dependence on fossil fuels - Copyright AFP -

Frank Zeller and Sophie Makris

Germany’s Greens have been environmental trailblazers but their top candidate, Robert Habeck, goes into snap national elections bruised by three stormy years in government that ended in a political crisis.

Habeck’s party is set on Sunday to nominate the 55-year-old as their lead candidate in February’s federal polls — at a time when the Greens are limping along with approval ratings of around 11 percent, down from the 20.5 percent score they won in the 2019 European Parliament elections.

Habeck, a father-of-four and a children’s book author with a PhD in literature and philosophy, hails from the windswept coastal state of Schleswig-Holstein near the Danish border.

He entered Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition as vice chancellor in 2021, when the Greens were riding high and the Fridays for Future movement started by Greta Thunberg made the climate crisis a top political issue.

Habeck also assumed the post of minister for the economy and climate action, with ambitious plans to decarbonise Europe’s biggest economy.

He achieved some notable successes.

A steady increase in wind and solar power raised the share of renewables to more than half of Germany’s electricity production in 2023, and above 60 percent in the first half of this year.

But the ruling coalition soon faced multiple crises — from the Covid pandemic to responding to Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which ended the flow of cheap Russian gas to Germany.

Habeck was forced to quickly shop around for alternative energy sources, asking Gulf suppliers for gas, slowing Germany’s nuclear phase-out and extending the life span of coal-fired power plants.



– ‘Prohibition party’ –



For the Greens, this was a radical departure from their clean energy goals.

Berlin’s commitment to build up its armed forces also spelled a reversal of the party’s long-standing pacifist tradition.

German military aid for Kyiv, second only to US backing for Ukraine, was forcefully defended by Habeck and Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.

Habeck, a latecomer to politics from the party’s “realist” wing, has pushed back against “fundamentalists” who have criticised what they see as betrayals of the Greens’ orthodoxy since its beginnings in the protest movements of the 1970s and 80s.

But the most damaging attacks have come from conservative quarters, which have hammered home the accusation that the Greens are an elitist party of moralising ecological do-gooders.

If the Greens had their way, the right-wing narrative goes, Germans would have to swap their beloved petrol and diesel cars for cargo bicycles, and their bratwurst for planet-friendly vegetarian meals.

“The Greens were very quickly labelled the ‘prohibition party’ by their detractors,” said Marie Krpata of the French Institute of International Relations.

In particular, the conservative CDU, current frontrunners in the polls, have painted them as “the embodiment of regulation and bureaucracy that impacts citizens and businesses”, she said.



– ‘Time for Change’ –



Habeck suffered his most damaging attacks in 2023 when the tabloid press savaged his plan to ban new gas and oil boilers for domestic use, labelling it a costly “heating hammer” for household incomes.

The proposal was scrapped and Habeck admitted he had “gone too far”, but the damage was done.

In state elections in ex-Communist eastern states in September this year, the Greens scored in the single digits while the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) booked strong gains.

The AfD’s key demand is to dramatically cut immigration.

But it also questions climate change and rails against wind farms, electric vehicles and the closure of coal mines.

Poor election results for all three coalition partners deepened a sense of foreboding and fuelled the warring between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP).

When it all ended in tears last week, with the SPD and FDP leaders trading bitter recriminations for the break-up, Habeck said more sombrely that, although the end was inevitable, “it feels wrong”.

Ever the optimist, he also sought to label the collapse as a new beginning.

As the February election campaign kicks off, Habeck has published a video on social media site X showing him at home, humming the tune of a German pop song called “Time for Something to Change”.

Eagle-eyed observers spotted a tiny inscription on the bracelet he was wearing that reflected Habeck’s belief in a brighter future for his party — the tiny letters spell out the German words for “Chancellor Era”.

Protesters hold pro-Palestinian march in Rio ahead of G20


By AFP
November 16, 2024

The pro-Palestinian protest in Rio aims to send a message to G20 leaders gathering for a summit on Monday - Copyright AFP/File Alexander NEMENOV, Ting Shen

Hundreds of protesters marched in support of Palestinians in Rio on Saturday, in a demonstration aimed at world leaders about to converge on the city for a G20 summit.

The march, held peacefully under constant rain along Copacabana Beach, was watched by dozens of police and soldiers deployed as security for the summit to be held Monday and Tuesday.

The meeting will see heads of state and government, including US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, discuss coordination on international issues.

The Rio protesters, a few wearing Arabic keffiyeh scarves, held aloft the Palestinian flag and banners, including one reading “Break Brazil-Israel Relations” and demands that Israel’s allies stop financing its military offensives in Gaza and in Lebanon.

“We’re here to make a contrast with the G20 summit,” said Tania Arantes, 60, from one of the Brazilian unions organizing the protest.

The march, she said, embraced a number of other leftist issues too, such as climate change, the fight against poverty and a demand to tax the super-rich, because the leaders at the summit “have economic control over nations they believe are subordinate in this globalized world.”

One marcher, Giancarlo Pereira, a 43-year-old veterinarian, said the multiple leftist issues converged with the Palestinian cause “because the big companies fueling the war (being conducted by Israel in Gaza) are the billionaires of the world.”

A short distance along Copacabana Beach, another protest was being staged with activists placing rows of plates with red crosses on them in the sand.

The 733 plates laid out represented the 733 million people in the world the UN says suffered from hunger last year.

Another demonstration took place in Rio later Saturday organized by a Brazilian Indigenous umbrella group, the Articulation of Indigenous People of Brazil, to underline a perceived lack of effort by rich countries to combat climate change.


– South Africa’s stand –


The various protests happened as activists, NGOs and civil society bodies took part in the final day of a pre-summit G20 Social event in Rio promoted by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

At that event, South Africa’s foreign minister, Ronald Lamola, called “for accountability for the state of Israel and for the de-escalation of the conflict that is continuing in the Middle East.”

He added: “We stand with the people of Palestine and we call on all members of society to do the same.”

South Africa has brought a case to the International Court of Justice arguing that Israel is carrying out “genocide” in Gaza, an accusation that Israel denies.

Several nations have added their weight to South Africa’s proceedings, including Spain, Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, Turkey, Chile and Libya.

At the G20 Social event, Lula received a list of action points drawn up by the civil society groups to help inform summit discussions on Monday and Tuesday. The issue of the Palestinians was not among them.

Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip has killed 43,799 people, the majority of them civilians, according to the territory’s health ministry.

Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Of 251 hostages seized by Palestinian militants during attack, 97 remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Most visited websites in U.S. and Europe are not compliant with privacy regulations


By Dr. Tim Sandle
November 15, 2024

DIGITAL JOURNAL

Computers and offices. — Image by © Tim Sandle.

The company Privado has issued its 2024 State of Website Privacy Report. The report finds high rates of non-compliance with privacy regulations and identifies controls needed to avoid privacy fines.

The report also reveals that 75 percent of the 100 most visited websites in the U.S. and Europe are not compliant with current privacy regulations.

Despite stricter privacy enforcement in Europe, Privado found many top websites in Europe do not honour opt-in consent as required by Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

To comply with GDPR, websites in Europe must block personal data collection and sharing with third parties unless the user provides opt-in consent.

Although top websites in the U.S. had a similar non-compliance rate for not honouring opt-out consent as required by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), Privado found the median volume of compliance risks to be three-times higher in the U.S.

To comply with the CPRA amendment to CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act), websites in the US must block personal data sharing with advertising third parties if the user opts out of data sharing.

Six of the 20 largest GDPR fines since 2018 are due to consent compliance violations on websites, with Amazon receiving the second-largest GDPR fine to date, $888 million, for targeting users with ads without proper consent in 2021.

In the US, at least 10 companies since 2022 have been fined for violating consent compliance on websites as regulated by CPRA, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission), or HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act).

With consumers demanding greater privacy, personal data sharing from websites has become a major legal risk for companies worldwide.

Privado CEO Vaibhav Antil explains: “With modern privacy laws now in place, websites have added cookie banners in an attempt to comply, but the banners are usually misconfigured. Especially as marketing technology constantly changes on websites, privacy teams need continuous consent testing on websites to ensure compliance.”

One challenge within the firm that arises is because privacy teams typically lack the visibility and controls to track what third parties are integrated with on their websites and whether they are honouring consent requirements.

With teams using so many third parties to optimize marketing and website performance, privacy teams need comprehensive solutions to continuously monitor consent and data flows.

In terms of a solution, privacy code scanning should be used in conjunction with a consent management platform to implement best-in-class digital tracking governance for websites and mobile apps.

CLIMATE CRISIS

Super Typhoon Man-yi slams into Philippines – the sixth major storm in a month


Super Typhoon Man-yi made landfall in the Philippines on Saturday after the disaster-hit nation evacuated hundreds of thousands of people. It was the sixth major storm to hit the country in the past month, and authorities warned of a "potentially catastrophic" impact.


Issued on: 16/11/2024 -
By: FRANCE 24

People react as large waves break along a seawall ahead of the expected landfall of Super Typhoon Man-yi, Legaspi City, Albay province, Philippines, November 16, 2024. 

© Charism Sayat, AFP

Super Typhoon Man-yi battered the Philippines on Saturday, with the national weather forecaster warning of a "potentially catastrophic and life-threatening" impact as huge waves pounded the archipelago's coastline.

More than 650,000 people fled their homes ahead of Man-yi, which is the sixth major storm to hit the disaster-weary country in the past month.

Man-yi brought maximum wind speeds of 195 kilometres (121 miles) per hour as it made landfall on the sparsely populated island province of Catanduanes as a super typhoon, the weather service said, adding gusts were reaching 325 kilometres an hour.

"Potentially catastrophic and life-threatening situation looms for northeastern Bicol region as Super Typhoon 'Pepito' further intensifies," the forecaster said hours before it made landfall, using the local name for the storm and referring to the southern part of the main island of Luzon.

Waves up to 14 metres (46 feet) high pummelled the shore of Catanduanes, while Manila and other vulnerable coastal regions were at risk from storm surges reaching up to more than three metres over the next 48 hours, the forecaster said.

The weather forecaster said winds walloping Catanduanes and northeastern Camarines Sur province -- both in the typhoon-prone Bicol region -- posed an "extreme threat to life and property".

Power was shut down on Catanduanes ahead of the storm, with shelters and the command centre using generators for electricity.

Read more Disaster-weary Philippines hit by Typhoon Toraji

"We're hearing sounds of things falling and things breaking while here at the evacuation centre," Catanduanes provincial disaster operations chief Roberto Monterola told AFP after Man-yi made landfall.

"We are unable to check what they are as the winds are too strong. They could be tree branches breaking off and falling on rooftops," Monterola said, adding there had been no reports of casualties.

At least 163 people died in the five storms that pounded the Philippines in recent weeks, leaving thousands homeless and wiping out crops and livestock.

Climate change is increasing the intensity of storms, leading to heavier rains, flash floods and stronger gusts.

About 20 big storms and typhoons hit the Southeast Asian nation or its surrounding waters each year, killing scores of people, but it is rare for multiple such weather events to take place in a small window.
Evacuations

Man-yi could hit Luzon -- the country's most populous island and economic engine -- as a super typhoon or typhoon on Sunday afternoon, crossing north of Manila and sweeping over the South China Sea on Monday.

The government urged people on Saturday to heed warnings to flee to safety.

"If preemptive evacuation is required, let us do so and not wait for the hour of peril before evacuating or seeking help, because if we did that we will be putting in danger not only our lives but also those of our rescuers," Interior Undersecretary Marlo Iringan said.

In Albay province, Legazpi City grocer Myrna Perea sheltered with her husband and their three children in a school classroom alongside nine other families after they were ordered to leave their shanty.

Conditions were hot and cramped -- the family spent Friday night sleeping together on a mat under the classroom's single ceiling fan -- but Perea said it was better to be safe.

"I think our house will be wrecked when we get back because it's made of light materials -- just two gusts are required to knock it down," Perea, 44, told AFP.

"Even if the house is destroyed, the important thing is we do not lose a family member."
A handout photo from the Office of Ubaliw Village Polangui Facebook page shows evacuated residents sheltering inside a shopping mall. © Handout / Office of Ubaliw Village Polangui Facebook page/AFP

Back 'to square one'

In Northern Samar province, disaster officer Rei Josiah Echano lamented that damage caused by typhoons was the root cause of poverty in the region.

"Whenever there's a typhoon like this, it brings us back to the medieval era, we go (back) to square one," Echano told AFP, as the province prepared for the onslaught of Man-yi.

The mayor of Naga city in Camarines Sur province imposed a curfew from midday on Saturday in a bid to force residents indoors.

A man puts sandbags on the roof of his house in Legazpi ahead of the anticipated landfall of Typhoon Man-Yi. © Charism Sayat, AFP

All vessels -- from fishing boats to oil tankers -- were ordered to stay in port or return to shore.

The volcanology agency also warned heavy rain dumped by Man-yi could trigger flows of volcanic sediment, or lahars, from three volcanos, including Taal, south of Manila.

Man-yi hit the Philippines late in the typhoon season -- most cyclones develop between July and October.

Earlier this month, four storms were clustered simultaneously in the Pacific basin, which the Japan Meteorological Agency told AFP on Saturday was the first time such an occurrence had been observed in November since its records began in 1951.

(AFP)

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M 

Sotheby’s to pay $6.25 mln in tax fraud case


By AFP
November 14, 2024

The headquarters of the auction house Sotheby's in New York as seen on June 17, 2019 - Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP Joe Buglewicz

The auction house Sotheby’s will pay $6.25 million to settle charges that it helped art buyers avoid paying taxes.

The office of New York state attorney general Letitia James said Sotheby’s, whose headquarters is in New York, helped collectors dodge taxes of tens of millions of dollars in art from 2010 to 2020.

It said the auction house encouraged buyers to state fraudulently that they were acquiring works for resale later. Such acquisitions can be tax-exempt whereas works bought for private use are in fact subject to tax.

Sotheby’s defended itself saying these transactions happened “many years ago” and the auction house actually provided evidence that James used to obtain the settlement now being announced.

“Sotheby’s admitted no wrongdoing in connection with today’s settlement,” it said in a statement seen by AFP.

James, who brought the case in 2020, said the tax-dodging clients included one identified as the “Collector” who bought $27 million of artwork from Sotheby’s between 2010 and 2015 using tax exemption forms known as resale certificates.

These papers certify that a buyer is exempt from paying sales tax because the purchase is only for resale, not for private enjoyment.

Sotheby’s accepted resale certificates from this person even though it knew the works were for private use and in some cases Sotheby’s staff even helped this collector display the works in their home, James said in a statement.

“Sotheby’s intentionally broke the law to help its clients dodge millions of dollars in taxes, and now they are going to pay for it,” James said.

EU fines Meta $840 million for ‘abusive’ Facebook ad practices


By AFP
November 14, 2024


The fine is the latest in a string of hefty penalties the European Commission, the regulator for the 27-nation European Union, has imposed against Big Tech companies over their practices in recent years -- and ranks among the 10 largest antitrust fines - Copyright AFP/File Fabrice COFFRINI

Daniel ARONSSOHN, Umberto BACCHI

The EU fined online giant Meta almost 800 million euros on Thursday for breaching antitrust rules by giving users of its Facebook social network automatic access to classified ads service Facebook Marketplace.

The European Commission said the US tech titan also abused its dominant position by imposing unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads service providers that advertise on its platforms.

“This is illegal under EU antitrust rules. Meta must now stop this behaviour,” the bloc’s competition chief, Margrethe Vestager, said in a statement.

Meta said it would appeal, alleging the decision ignored “the realities of the thriving European market for online classified listing services.

“Facebook users can choose whether or not to engage with Marketplace, and many don’t. The reality is that people use Facebook Marketplace because they want to, not because they have to,” the firm said in a statement.

Among the 10 largest antitrust fines ever imposed by the 27-nation European Union, it is the latest in a string of hefty penalties slapped on Big Tech companies in recent years by the commission, the regulator for the bloc.

– ‘Abusive practices’ –

Detailing what it termed “abusive practices” by Meta, the commission said that because Facebook Marketplace was tied to Facebook, the former enjoyed a “substantial distribution advantage which competitors cannot match.”

“All Facebook users automatically have access and get regularly exposed to Facebook Marketplace whether they want it or not,” it said.

Additionally Meta imposed unfair conditions on competitors in the classified ads service who advertised on Facebook and Instagram, the commission said.

This allowed it to “use ads-related data generated by other advertisers for the sole benefit of Facebook Marketplace”, it said.

Meta, which also owns WhatsApp and Instagram, contended it did not “use advertisers’ data for this purpose” and has “built systems and controls to ensure that”.

“It is disappointing that the Commission has chosen to take regulatory action against a free and innovative service built to meet consumer demand,” the company said.

Meta’s dominant position in the market for personal social networks comes with a special responsibility not to abuse it by restricting competition, according to the EU.

– ‘Duration and gravity’ –

The commission opened formal proceedings into possible anticompetitive conduct by Facebook in June 2021, communicating its concerns to Meta in December 2022 — and receiving the firm’s response in June 2023.

The EU fined the company 797.72 million euros ($840 million), a sum the commission said took into account the “duration and gravity of the infringement”, as well as the turnover of Meta and Facebook Marketplace.

Meta’s total revenue last year stood at around $135 billion.

The European commissions has had several run-ins with Meta as part of a broader clampdown on abusive Big Tech practices.

Its policy arsenal has been beefed up over the past two years with major twin laws, the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, that carry massive financial penalties in the event of infringements.

In July the EU accused Meta of breaching the digital rules with its new “pay or consent” system. It meant users had to pay to avoid data collection, or agree to share their data with Facebook and Instagram to keep using the platforms for free.

Bowing to pressure from EU regulators, Meta announced this week it was offering non-paying users in the bloc the option of receiving less targeted ads, as well as cutting subscription rates for entirely ad-free services.

Corruption overshadows Ukraine’s multi-billion reconstruction program


By AFP
November 14, 2024

War reconstruction in Ukraine has provided new opportunities for corruption and personal enrichment - Copyright AFP DALE DE LA REY

Léa DAUPLE

When Bart Gruyaert agreed to help rebuild destroyed apartment blocks outside Kyiv, he hoped to be one cog in Ukraine’s vast reconstruction programme, repairing just some of the damage wrought by Russia’s invasion.

But when the French company he works for, Neo-Eco, applied for building permits in the town of Gostomel, the local military administration asked the company to transfer the funds for the multimillion-dollar project to its bank account, under the pretence that it would run the project directly.

Officials told Gruyaert, “it’s better if you transfer the money you received to our account,” he recalled.

“But it doesn’t work like that,” he told AFP.

The company refused, and progress on the initiative, which had secured 20 million euros in private funding, immediately slowed.

It marked the latest example of the endemic corruption that has plagued Ukraine since it became independent after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

After Neo-Eco’s refusal on the bank transfer, the local administration started dragging things out, adding new requirements to the contract and trying to incentivise the company to “give envelopes” to the right people, Gruyaert alleged.

The company reluctantly decided to abandon the project in September 2023, saying it was “impossible” to work under such conditions.

Following the saga, Ukrainian investigators said they had uncovered a system of “embezzlement” in the Gostomel military administration and accused its head Sergiy Borysiuk of appropriating around 21 million hryvnia ($470,000) meant for the reconstruction of houses and apartments.

In June 2023, after the allegations surfaced, Borysiuk was dismissed by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

He had pre-empted his removal with a press conference several days earlier in which he said he had done “everything possible” to ensure reconstruction efforts.

“It seems to me that you are looking for the enemy in the wrong place,” he said.



– Deep corruption –



The case is far from isolated.

Even though Ukraine has stepped up its anti-graft measures over the past decade to advance its ambition of joining the European Union, corruption scandals are still rife.

Transparency International ranked Ukraine 104 out of 180 countries in its “corruption perceptions index,” up from 144 in 2013.

For some officials, Russia’s invasion has provided new opportunities for personal enrichment.

Several high-profile cases of alleged embezzlement of reconstruction funds, as well as the arrest of officials for selling army exemption certificates, have emerged throughout the war.

While a potential embarrassment for Ukraine, which relies on billions of dollars in Western financial support, Transparency International Ukraine’s director Andriy Borovyk said attention to the cases showed the problem was not being “forgotten”.

And authorities also tout the uncovering of such schemes as a sign of “effective” enforcement.

Just 10 years ago, “who could have thought that senior officials could be accused of crimes?” said Viktor Pavlushchyk, head of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention.

“Now we have some very good examples,” he said.

Around 500 corruption cases have been opened this year and 60 convictions secured, according to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.



– Anti-corruption ‘DREAM’ –



But there are lingering fears the persistent problem will hamper Ukraine’s massive reconstruction agenda, deterring international partners from putting up funds.

The total cost of reconstructing Ukraine stands is estimated at $486 billion, according to a joint study by the World Bank, UN, EU and Ukrainian government.

Gruyaert has not been deterred by his experience in Gostomel, which was occupied by Russian forces in the first weeks of the February 2022 invasion.

Ukraine is “making a lot of progress” on corruption, Gruyaert said, adding that Neo-Eco has had to learn how to “zigzag between the various obstacles”.

The company is still working on several other projects and encourages other foreign investors to get involved.

But, bruised by the Gostomel experience, it now prioritises working with cities where it has confidence it will not be asked for kickbacks.

Most concede that much remains to be done in Ukraine’s anti-corruption fight, especially when it comes to reconstruction.

It is still common for local officials to have stakes in construction companies through their relatives, several figures told AFP.

Ukraine is trying to weed out such conflicts of interest and make the whole process more transparent.

Last year, the country launched a platform listing all open projects.

Called “DREAM”, the aim is to enable investors, journalists and Ukrainians to track the progress of construction projects, said its head Viktor Nestulia.

A commitment to such openness will be key to reassuring foreign investors, said Mustafa Nayyem, an activist and journalist who headed the reconstruction agency until earlier this year.

“The war is not an excuse not to fight corruption,” he told AFP.

Corruption, “is not in Ukrainian DNA, it’s simply a question of will.”

Sri Lankan president's leftist coalition sweeps snap parliamentary elections


Barely two months after Sri Lanka’s new Marxist-leaning President Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the presidential election, his National People's Power coalition swept a snap parliamentary vote on Friday, empowering him to implement poverty reduction programmes in the financial crisis-hit island nation.

Issued on: 15/11/2024 - 
By: AFP/NEWS WIRES

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake took power after sweeping presidential elections in September 2024. © Ishara S. Kodikara, AFP

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's leftist coalition won a landslide victory in snap legislative elections, results showed Friday, as voters repudiated establishment parties blamed for triggering an economic crisis.

Dissanayake, a self-avowed Marxist, swept September presidential elections on a promise to combat graft and recover stolen assets, two years after a slow-motion financial crash imposed widespread hardships on the island nation.

His decision to immediately call polls and secure parliamentary backing for his agenda was vindicated on Friday, with his National People's Power (NPP) coalition taking at least 123 seats in the 225-member assembly and on track to win many more.

The coalition had a monumental 62 percent of the vote among the more than three-quarters of ballots counted so far, while opposition leader Sajith Premadasa's party was well behind with only 18 percent.

"People voted to get rid of corruption and a corrupt system," IT professional Chanaka Rajapaksha, who supported the NPP in the polls, told AFP on Friday.

In a sign of the magnitude of support for Dissanayake, his party won the most votes in the northern district of Jaffna, dominated by the island's minority Tamil community, for the first time since independence from Britain in 1948.

A man shows his inked finger after casting his ballot at a polling station in Sri Lanka on November 14, 2024. © Ishara S. Kodikara, AFP

Dissanayake, the 55-year-old son of a labourer, said he expected "a strong majority" in parliament to press ahead with his platform after casting his ballot in Thursday's poll.

"We believe that this is a crucial election that will mark a turning point in Sri Lanka," he said. "At this election, the NPP expects a mandate for a very strong majority in parliament."

Police said the nine-hour voting period passed without any incidents of violence, unlike most ballots of recent years, but three election workers including a police constable died due to illness while on duty.

Voter turnout was estimated at under 70 percent, less than in September presidential polls that saw nearly 80 percent of Sri Lanka's eligible voters cast a ballot.

Dissanayake had been an MP for nearly 25 years and was briefly an agriculture minister but his NPP coalition held just three seats in the outgoing assembly.

He stormed to the presidency after successfully distancing himself from establishment politicians blamed for steering the country to its 2022 economic crisis.

The financial crash was the worst in Buddhist-majority Sri Lanka's history as an independent nation, sparking months-long shortages of food, fuel and essential medicines.

The resulting public anger culminated in the storming of then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa's compound, prompting his resignation and temporary exile.

Dissanayake's pledge to change a "corrupt" political culture has resonated with millions of Sri Lankans struggling to make ends meet following tax hikes and other austerity measures imposed to repair the nation's finances.

His JVP party, the main constituent in the NPP coalition, led two insurrections in 1971 and 1987 that resulted in at least 80,000 deaths.

But he was sworn in after September's presidential polls, described as one of the island nation's most peaceful elections.

'Investor confidence'

Some 17.1 million people are choosing between 8,800 candidates after a campaign that election monitors say was one of the most peaceful in the country. 

© Ishara S. Kodikara, AFP

Portraits of communist luminaries including Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Friedrich Engels and Fidel Castro hang in Dissanayake's office in the capital.

Since his rise to popularity, however, he has softened some policies, saying he believes in an open economy and is not totally opposed to privatisation.

Dissanayake had campaigned on a pledge to renegotiate a controversial $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout secured by his predecessor.

But since taking office, he has resolved to maintain the existing agreement with the international lender.

The country's main private sector lobby, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, is tacitly supporting Dissanayake and his programme.

Sri Lanka's stock exchange has gained over 16 percent in the eight weeks since Dissanayake won the presidency.

'Opposition is dead'

Sri Lanka GDP © John Saeki, AFP

Poll monitors and analysts said Thursday's election had failed to generate the level of enthusiasm -- or violence -- seen at previous polls.

"The opposition is dead," political analyst Kusal Perera said before the vote. "The result of the election is a foregone conclusion."

The outgoing parliament was dominated by Mahinda and Gotabaya Rajapaksa, two brothers from a powerful political clan who have both served as president, but it has since splintered.

Neither Rajapaksa is contesting, but Mahinda's son Namal, a former sports minister, is seeking re-election.

(AFP)

GLOBALIZATION IS IMPERIALISM

Xi inaugurates South America’s first Chinese-funded port in Peru


By AFP
November 14, 2024

Chancay port is the latest addition to a vast collection of railways, highways and other infrastructure projects built under China's massive Belt and Road Initiative

 - Copyright AFP Cris BOURONCLE

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday inaugurated Latin America’s first Beijing-funded port in Chancay, Peru — a symbol of the Asian superpower’s growing influence on the continent as it prepares to face off with a new Donald Trump administration.

The $3.5-billion complex, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Lima, is meant to serve as a hub for Chinese trade as the country is under threat of major tariff hikes once Trump reenters the White House for a second term.

The port was officially opened in a ceremony overseen virtually by Xi and Peruvian counterpart Dina Boluarte from Lima, where they will attend an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on Friday and Saturday.

“China plays a major role in the growth of our economy,” Boluarte said at the event, even as a US official warned Latin American nations should be vigilant on Chinese investment.

“We believe it is essential that countries across the hemisphere ensure that PRC (People’s Republic of China) economic activities respect local laws as well as safeguard human rights and environmental protections,” Brian Nichols, the top US diplomat for Latin America, said in Lima.

Xi, for his part, said the port would help “promote connectivity” between South America and China.

“We are witnessing… the birth of a new land-sea channel between Asia and Latin America in the new era,” Xi said

US President Joe Biden also arrived Thursday to attend the APEC summit in Peru, which Nichols described as a “crucial ally.”



– Belt and Road –



Peru — one of Latin America’s fastest-growing economies over the past decade — is China’s fourth-largest Latin American trading partner, with bilateral flows of nearly $36 billion in 2023.

Chancay port will also serve Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and other South American countries, allowing them to skirt ports in Mexico and the United States as they trade with Asia.

Chancay is the latest addition to a vast collection of railways, highways and other infrastructure projects built under China’s massive Belt and Road Initiative to stimulate trade and boost Beijing’s political clout.

Hong Kong-listed Cosco Shipping Ports, which owns 60 percent of the port, has a 30-year concession to operate the terminal and has forecast it will handle up to a million containers in its first year of operation.

Cosco Shipping Ports is a subsidiary of China’s COSCO Shipping Corporation.

The port’s maximum depth is 17.8 meters (58.4 feet), allowing it to handle the world’s biggest container ships.

Chancay, a fishing town of some 50,000 inhabitants, was chosen for its strategic location in the heart of South America.

It is now expected to become a major hub for imports of Asian electronics, textiles and other consumer goods and for the export of minerals — including lithium and copper.

Xi described the complex as South America’s “first smart and green port.”

Once completed, he said, it will reduce the transit between China and Peru by more than 10 days, and cut logistics costs by over 20 percent.

burs-mlr/acb