Friday, December 02, 2022

Neuralink's AI brain chip could be in humans within six months claims Elon Musk

This is a Musk prediction, so don't get your hopes up

Katyanna Quach
Fri 2 Dec 2022

After testing on monkeys and pigs, Neuralink may be able to plant its first chip into a human brain in six months, its founder and CEO Elon Musk claimed on Wednesday.

Neuralink, founded in 2016, is working to build an implantable device that can stimulate different areas of the brain allowing those that are paralysed or blind to walk, see, and communicate. The company has only tested its brain-computer interface in animals so far, and is set on trialling the device in humans soon.

"We have submitted most of our paperwork to the FDA, and probably in about six months we should be able to have our first neuralink in a human," Musk said in a company's show and tell presentation.

Like all of Musk's proclamations, they should be taken with a grain of salt. The world's richest man often makes outlandish claims and sets overly ambitious deadlines that aren't met. He has previously said he hoped Neuralink would start human trials in 2020, 2021, again in 2022, and now it's 2023.

So what's different this time? Not much, really. The latest device, dubbed N1, is the size of a quarter with 1,024 channels to probe the brain with and uses Bluetooth to charge wirelessly and transmit data. The wearer has to drill a hole into their skull, where the chip can be connected to their brain via 64 threads pierced into their grey matter. The operation is performed by a robot and the insertion takes just 15 minutes, according to DJ Seo, Neuralink's VP of Implant.

A Hole in the Head: A History of Trepanation | The MIT Press Reader


Musk made similar remarks about a 1,024-channel-chip and a surgical robot too in 2020. The latest demonstration, however, did feature monkeys trained to perform more tasks than just playing Pong. Neuralink showed the animals could now use their brain implants to move a cursor around, type into a keyboard, and handwrite numbers on screens.

In one clip, a monkey named Sake, is said to be moving a cursor to type out the short sentence "welcome to show and tell" with just his mind. Obviously, Sake can't actually spell words and is, instead, trained to recognise and select keywords in the right order to string together the phrase. Musk, however, said one day humans could use the device to communicate with one another. 

Neuralink is currently working to stimulate the brain's motor and visual cortex in the hope that it can help restore a patient's ability to move or see. Musk also teased out the next upgraded version of the implant, which will apparently feature 4,096 channels and run off Arm's Cortex M-23 processor.

"The first production device will be like an iPhone 1, but you don't want an iPhone 1 in your head if the iPhone 14 is available," he said.

The long-term goal of the company, however, isn't just to help restore brain function in patients but to help humanity co-evolve with AI. "What do we do if we have a digital superintelligence that is much smarter than any human?," he asked.

Musk believes humans will need brain-computer devices to expand their technical abilities as machines become more powerful. "We are already cyborgs in a way that your phone and your computer are extensions of yourself," he said.

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KEEP ON TRUCKIN' —

Tesla finally delivers first electric Semi to Pepsi after years of delay

Most recently, Tesla promised to produce 50,000 Semis in 2024.

😄😄😄 ONE IS THE LONELIEST NUMBER

ASHLEY BELANGER
- 12/2/2022
ARS TECHNICA


Yesterday, Elon Musk appeared at his first Tesla unveiling since he took the helm at Twitter. At a Tesla plant in Nevada, the billionaire announced that after five long years, Tesla’s first heavy-duty Semi had been delivered to PepsiCo.

The Semi, Tesla announced, would go into production in 2023 and feature an updated version of Tesla’s Supercharger, which uses liquid-cooling technology in its charging cable and is capable of charging the large electric vehicle at 1 megawatt.

“If you're a trucker and you want the most badass rig on the road, this is it,” Musk told those gathered for the reveal, according to a Reuters report.

However, Musk failed to clarify key details like how much the Semis can haul, how much they will cost, and when Tesla will start producing hundreds of Semis for companies that pre-ordered them as early as 2017. Analysts told Reuters that they were especially disappointed that Tesla did not disclose the weight of an unloaded Semi, which would have helped them calculate efficiency on the road.

Instead, Musk touted truck features, painting a future of fleets of Tesla long haulers helping to reduce highway emissions while outperforming today’s diesel trucks. Musk seemed most excited about the Semi’s powertrain technology, which relies on three motors to generate “crazy power,” Musk said, by engaging one at highway speed and reserving two for acceleration. He likened the Tesla Semi to “an elephant moving like a cheetah."Advertisement

Tesla did not immediately respond to Ars’ request for comment.

Reuters reported that Tesla would use the Semi to transport parts between its Nevada and California plants. In test runs, Tesla completed a 500-mile haul of 81,000 pounds (a total that includes the truck's weight and cargo), but that didn’t impress everyone gathered. Oliver Dixon, a senior analyst at the consultancy firm Guidehouse, told Reuters the truck is “not very impressive” and still could not be considered a “definitive proof of concept" without key details that Tesla failed to share during its event.

Five years ago, when Tesla offered the world its first look at the Semi in 2017, Pepsi promptly ordered 100 trucks. It was expected that the trucks would be hauling loads for companies like Pepsi, United Parcel Service, and Walmart by 2019. But production of the heavy-duty truck became stalled while competitors beat Tesla to market with rival fully electric Class 8 vehicles. Before this week, the only glimpse that the public got suggesting that the Semi could soon be hitting roads was a prototype spotted in 2018.

Now, with the Tesla trucks already significantly delayed, Pepsi got the first one. But companies still aren’t sure when Tesla will be prepared to ship more trucks. Musk had previously promised to produce 50,000 Semis in North America in 2024.

Pepsi got a chance to test the truck and finally did a cargo run this week, though. A driver for the company rolled up in the Semi to bring snacks to attendees of Musk’s reveal.

At the reveal, Musk also teased a new “robotaxi” in development at Tesla and suggested that the fast-charging technology propelling the updated Supercharger would also be used to power the Tesla pickup truck.

All these announcements came after Musk discussed drops in Tesla stock by 45 percent. Last month, Reuters reported that Tesla investors were concerned by how much time and money—including selling billions in Tesla stock—Musk was devoting to Twitter, potentially distracting him from completing Tesla projects.


ASHLEY BELANGER is the senior tech policy reporter at Ars Technica, writing news and feature stories on tech policy and innovation. She is based in Chicago.

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NO GREENWASHING
Chevron will still be drilling in 2050: CEO Mike Wirth

By:
Wajeeh Khan
on Dec 2, 2022

Mike Wirth says Chevron is growing production to meet demand.

He sees future in the blend of clean energy and hydrocarbons.

Chevron shares are up more than 50% versus the start of 2022.

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) will most certainly be drilling about thirty years from now, says CEO Mike Wirth – in contrast with President Biden who recently reiterated that the U.S. will pull out of drilling.

Chevron is continuing to invest

The oil and gas behemoth plans on spending $15 billion to $17 billion a year to meet the growing demand. Speaking with folks at CNBC’s “Squawk Box”, the chief executive noted:

We’re growing production because world’s growing in terms of demand. We have to look well into the future and invest to meet that demand. We’re up this year 15% in Permian versus same period last year and continuing to invest.

While that’s well-below what the multinational was spending before the COVID pandemic, the output, CEO Wirth added, remains the same as Chevron is now more capital-efficient.

For the year, Chevron shares are up more than 50% at writing.

CEO Wirth’s view of the future

It is noteworthy here that Chevron refused to cave in the face of pressure in recent years to lower production and that’s contributing to the ability of the U.S. today to help its allies fight the Russia-driven energy crisis.

Moving forward as well, CEO Mike Wirth sees future in a blend of clean energy and hydrocarbons.

Affordable energy is essential for economic prosperity, reliable energy for national security, and environmental protection is essential for a sustainable planet. We have to balance all three. If you over index one, you can create vulnerabilities.

In related oil news, OPEC+ is expected to reveal plans of further cutting production on Sunday.

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BOSTON; 

MORE IRISH THAN IRELAND

Prince William and Biden’s Boston meeting encounters rail worker protests

Their meeting took place at the John F Kennedy Presidential Library before Earthshot Awards
Graeme Massie

Prince William’s meeting in Boston with US president Joe Biden saw around 100 protesters hurl abuse at the two men.

The protesters could be heard shouting abusive slogans such as “F*** the royal family” and “Joe Biden is a scab” as the men met at the John F Kennedy Presidential Library in the city.

The meeting took place hours before the Earthshot Awards, the final event on the Prince and Princess of Wales’s three-day tour to the Massachusetts city.

The protest came after a vote in the US Senate that forced rail unions to take a new labour deal, which rejected giving workers seven days of sick leave.

Mr Biden signed the legislation on Thursday, citing the economic harm a rail strike would do to the country at this time of year.

“In relation to the royal family, the joke answer would be we kicked you guys out in 1776,” Nick Wurst, an organiser from Railroad Workers United told MailOnline. “I would say to Joe Biden and Prince William watch yourselves. Workers everywhere are getting the short stick and are looking to fight back in the US and in the UK as well. The fight is not over.”

Claire Bayler, from the Independent Socialist Group, added: “Our message to Joe Biden and Prince William would be workers will defend our rights that we’re not willing to back down in this fight against massive corporations.”

And she added that Prince William and the royal family were “complicit in the exploitation of workers in the UK and the US.”

Recommended

Prince William and Kate Middleton booed while attending Boston Celtics game

By Michelle Butterfield  Global News
Posted December 1, 2022 

Kate Middleton and Prince William say they’re “delighted to be back in the U.S.,” but the U.S. may not be as delighted to receive them.


The Prince and Princess of Wales arrived in Boston Wednesday to celebrate several days of public events leading up to William’s Earthshot Prize gala, but received a slightly frosty reception from the city’s basketball fans.

The royal couple sat courtside during the Boston Celtics game Wednesday evening at TD Garden and when their images were projected onto the Jumbotron they were met with a chorus of cheers — as well as audible boos.

READ MORE: ‘Harry & Meghan’ trailer: Netflix shares 1st look at dramatic documentary

ITV News royal correspondent Chris Ship shared video to Twitter documenting the lukewarm crowd response.

“So both times William and Kate appeared on the @tdgardenbig screen there were cheers but also some boos. Along with chants of ‘USA, USA’,” wrote Ship.

“Some say it was expected at the Boston team @celtics with such strong Irish roots,” he noted. “But, still, not something the Royals get very often.”

And it’s true. It’s not often that members of the royal family are openly mocked or ridiculed in public, especially at home in the U.K. In the U.S., it appears to be a different story.

Other media were on-hand at the game, including sports reporter and anchor Avi Carr-Gloth, who also captured the smattering of boos and chants.

Still, William and Kate played it cool, never showing any reaction that might sully their royal patina. Instead, they smiled for the camera while chatting with each other.

They also shared to their official Twitter account what a “fantastic” time they had at the game.

This trip marks the first stateside tour since 2014 for the Prince and Princess of Wales. They have travelled to Boston on a three-day visit leading up to the Earthshot Prize gala on Friday, which is William’s environmental awards ceremony.

Their trip, however, has been partly overshadowed by the racist behaviour of a royal aide back home.

On Wednesday, William’s godmother and the late queen’s lady-in-waiting, Lady Susan Hussey, resigned from her role as an honorary aide to King Charles after it came to light that she had repeatedly questioned a Black, British-born charity worker about where she was “from” at a reception hosted by Queen Consort Camilla earlier in the week.

READ MORE: Prince William’s godmother and royal aide resigns after racist comments

Buckingham Palace called Lady Hussey’s comments “unacceptable and deeply regrettable” while announcing that she had stepped down from the role.

William and Kate’s spokesperson also addressed the racist exchange in front of reporters Wednesday at Buckingham Palace, as the royal couple made their way to the United States.

“This is a matter for Buckingham Palace but as the Prince of Wales’ spokesperson I appreciate you’re all here and understand you’ll want to ask about it,” the spokesperson told reporters.

“So let me address it head-on. I was really disappointed to hear about the guest’s experience at Buckingham Palace last night. Obviously, I wasn’t there, but racism has no place in our society. The comments were unacceptable, and it is right that the individual has stepped aside with immediate effect.”

Netflix also played a hand in making William and Kate’s return and reception to the U.S. slightly more rocky. On Thursday morning they dropped the first trailer for their much-anticipated but never-previously-acknowledged documentary, Harry & Meghan, which will offer a behind-the-scenes look into the life of William’s younger brother Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle.

Click to play video: '‘Harry & Meghan’ trailer'
‘Harry & Meghan’ trailer

Harry and Markle famously quit their jobs as working royals in January 2020 and moved to California to live a more private life. Their decision to step back from royal duties — and speak openly about racism and dysfuction in the British Royal Family — has caused much tension and it’s widely understood to have damaged the brothers’ relationship to a degree.

While the brothers and their wives are all currently in the same country, the couples likely have no plans to meet up before William and Kate head home.

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Macron hits New Orleans' French Quarter to boost U.S. ties, meets with Musk
French President Emmanuel Macron attends a luncheon Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022, at the State Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Sara Cline and Sylvie Corbet
The Associated Press
Updated Dec. 2, 2022 

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived Friday in Louisiana, the American state most closely aligned historically with his country, to celebrate their longstanding cultural ties and discuss energy policy and climate change.

Macron met with political leaders and strolled through New Orleans' historic French Quarter, the heart of the city, stopping to talk and shake hands with bystanders. He paused next to a street brass band and nodded and clapped as they played "When the Saints Go Marching In."

Macron also said he met with billionaire Elon Musk for what he called a "clear and honest discussion" about Twitter, days after a top European Union official warned the social media platform's new owner that the company must do more to protect users from harmful content.

The visit is the first by a French president since Valery Giscard d'Estaing traveled to Lafayette and New Orleans in 1976. The only other French president to visit Louisiana was Charles de Gaulle in 1960.

Macron's itinerary started at Jackson Square. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell walked him to the Historic New Orleans Collection where Macron discussed climate change impacts with Gov. John Bel Edwards. The French president also met with energy company representatives.

"This state visit enables us to put France, and with France Europe, at the heart of the American agenda. That's a good thing," Macron told journalists in French, according to a translation from pool reporters.

Macron told Edwards he was overcome by the reception in the city.

"What I think this signifies is a special relationship we have with France. It is historical and cultural," Edwards said.

Edwards, a Democrat, has been outspoken about the perils of climate change in a state where tens of thousands of jobs are tied to the oil and gas industry. This makes the stop to New Orleans "very emblematic" of climate-related efforts, French officials said.

During a brief meeting in the presence of Macron, the governor and the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, signed a memorandum of understanding "to further expand and enhance the strong cultural connections between France and Louisiana in the areas of the economy, clean energy and the environment," Edwards' office said.

"Like me, President Macron believes that climate change is real," Edwards said.

The governor's office said the agreement formally creates a Louisiana-based position for a French technical expert on the transition to clean energy.

During Macron's visit to Washington on Thursday, he and President Joe Biden released a joint statement expressing "their deep concern regarding the growing impact of climate change and nature loss" and said they "intend to continue to galvanize domestic and global action to address it."

On Friday evening Macron posted a photo on Twitter of his encounter with Musk, the two men sitting across from each other at a table in an empty room. He said he and the Tesla CEO discussed "future green industrial projects," and also the social media platform.

"Transparent user policies, significant reinforcement of content moderation and protection of freedom of speech: efforts have to be made by Twitter to comply with European regulations," the president said in one of a series of tweets.

Earlier this week Thierry Breton, the EU's commissioner for digital policy, told Musk that Twitter will have to significantly increase efforts to comply with new rules known as the Digital Services Act that take effect next year, or potentially face hefty fines or even a ban in the continental bloc.

Louisiana is named for Louis XIV, the famous Sun King who ruled France for 72 years starting in 1643. New Orleans is where the Louisiana Purchase was finalized. The deal transferred the Louisiana Territory, which encompassed much of what is today the central United States, from France to the U.S. in 1803.

Macron's New Orleans visit included a stop with first lady Brigitte Macron at the Cabildo, where ceremonies marking the land transfer were held.

Macron was also scheduled to visit the New Orleans Museum of Art and dine downtown before departing.



Holding the U.S. and French flags, Christiane Geisler, who was born in France and moved to Louisiana six years ago, was one of the spectators who stood in the streets hoping to see the president Friday. She was thrilled that she got to shake Macron's hand and have a brief conversation with him in French.

"For me, when I moved here, it had a good feeling of French," Geisler said.

The French Quarter, 13 blocks long and roughly six wide, was first settled in the 1700s and was later ravaged twice by fire. It best known as a tourist spot and commercial district where a reimagined French Market, fine restaurants, antique shops and art galleries coexist alongside T-shirt shops, strip joints and bars blasting live music by cover bands.

------

Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.



DRIVE-IN CLASSIC: 'NEW ORLEANS UNCENSORED' (1955)

 Arthur Franz, Beverly Garland



ANGEL HEART (1987) - WTF Happened to this Horror Movie?


ONE OF MY FAVORITES

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Magnus Carlsen and Chess.com urge court to dismiss Hans Niemann's lawsuit over cheating claims

Magnus Carlsen (right) accused Hans Niemann of cheating at an event in September.(Supplied: Saint Louis Chess Club/AP)

Norwegian chess world champion Magnus Carlsen and online platform Chess.com have urged a US federal court to toss out a libel suit brought against them by US teenage grandmaster Hans Niemann, who Carlsen has accused of cheating.

Key points:Chess.com and Carlsen claim Niemann is an "admitted" cheat
They claim Niemann failed to identify defamatory statements in his lawsuit
Niemann's lawsuit claims the defendants are colluding to blacklist him from professional chess

Chess.com executive Daniel Rensch and Carlsen said in their filings that Niemann was an "admitted" cheat who failed to identify any defamatory statements by them in his lawsuit in US District Court in Missouri.

"After years of trying to curate a reputation as the bad boy of chess, plaintiff Hans Niemann wants to cash in by blaming others for the fallout from his own admitted misconduct," Carlsen's filing said.

Niemann's lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Niemann, 19, said in his $US100 million ($147 million) lawsuit that the defendants were "colluding to blacklist" him from professional chess.

No signs of chess cheating

Hans Niemann is accused of cheating by chess world champion Magnus Carlsen after the pair played in round three of the prestigious Sinquefield Cup in early September.


He said he had been shunned by tournament organisers since five-time world champion Carlsen, 32, accused him of cheating at the Sinquefield Cup in St Louis, Missouri in September.

Carlsen's surprise defeat and unusual decision to immediately withdraw from the tournament set off a flurry of speculation in the chess world that Carlsen believed Niemann had cheated.

Rumour erupted into scandal later that month when Carlsen resigned after one move in a match against Niemann during an online tournament.

Carlsen then released a statement saying he believed Niemann had cheated "more — and more recently — than he has publicly admitted".

Chess.com, an internet chess server, banned Niemann after the first match against Carlsen and later published a report saying he had likely cheated more than 100 times in online games.

Niemann has admitted to cheating in online chess matches when he was 12 and 16 years old but has denied ever doing so in during tournaments involving prize money.

Tournament organisers say they have not found any evidence that Niemann cheated.

Reuters/ABC


Related Stories

'The most disrespectful move': How grandmaster Carlsen reignited chess' fieriest feud


Chess drama takes another twist as Niemann sues Carlsen for staggering amount


Chess great Magnus Carlsen alleges foe Hans Niemann has long history of cheating


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Alex Jones’ hoax trials in US spotlight misinformation profiteer

Alex Jones has been ordered to pay nearly S$2 billion in damages for calling a 2012 elementary school mass shooting a “hoax”. 
PHOTO: NYTIMES

WASHINGTON - American radio host Alex Jones reaped millions spouting conspiracy-laden falsehoods that helped drive up sales of products like libido boosters, exploiting an internet ecosystem that experts say makes misinformation a lucrative business.

Jones, a serial provocateur who founded the far-right website InfoWars, has been ordered to pay nearly US$1.5 billion (S$2 billion) in damages for calling a 2012 mass shooting in an elementary school – which left 20 first graders and six adults dead – a “hoax”.

Defamation cases in Texas and Connecticut against Jones have spotlighted the challenge of curbing misinformation on the internet, where false and inflammatory content often spreads faster, generates more engagement – and more revenue – than the truth.



“The modern internet business model consists of building an audience and then monetizing that audience, either through ads, merchandise sales, or direct donation,” Mr Danny Rogers, cofounder of the nonprofit Global Disinformation Index, told AFP.

“Alex Jones perfected that model by peddling the most adversarial narratives in the form of virulent conspiracy theories and unbridled anger, building a receptive audience, and then soaking that audience for profit.”

Jones, who was back in the spotlight this week when rapper Kanye West declared his admiration for Adolf Hitler on his show, has amassed what experts call a fortune by successfully merging the conspiracy theories with merchandise and dietary supplements from his InfoWars store.

Jones has hawked male vitality supplements and testosterone boosters, while claiming the government was feminising men or turning them gay by using chemical pollutants.

He accused the government of deliberately putting fluoride in drinking water, while his store peddled fluoride-free toothpaste.

His audience, he claimed, can survive various doomsday scenarios with other products that his store can supply – storable food, body armor and even components for homemade guns.

The extent of his wealth is opaque but a forensic economist testified during the Texas trial that the combined net worth of Jones and Free Speech Systems – the parent company of Infowars – likely fell between US$135 million and US$270 million.

But while bashing the trials as an assault on free speech, Jones has said he has little money to pay the damages and has repeatedly implored his audience for donations.

As he battled the defamation cases, an anonymous bitcoin donor sent Jones cryptocurrency worth US$8 million, the nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center reported in May.

This week, Jones declared personal bankruptcy in his home state of Texas, saying his liabilities far exceeded his assets that were worth between US$1 million and US$10 million.

InfoWars declared bankruptcy in April and Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy in July.

Last month, the Washington Post reported that Jones had transferred millions of dollars out of Free Speech Systems to firms that he or his family members controlled, citing financial records.

Families of the victims in the 2012 shooting in Sandy Hooks Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, have alleged that Jones was trying to hide his wealth to avoid paying the damages.

A jury in Connecticut awarded $965 million in October to relatives of eight Sandy Hook victims and an FBI agent. The judge later tacked on an additional $473 million in punitive damages.

In a separate trial, a jury in Texas ordered Jones to pay nearly US$50 million damages to a couple whose six-year-old son was killed in the shooting.

Free Speech Systems and Jones did not respond to a request for comment.

The families of the school shooting victims say they were harassed and threatened for years by Jones’s fans, with strangers showing up at their homes to confront them and hurling abuse online. Some even reported receiving rape and death threats.

“Their children got slaughtered – I saw it myself,” Mr Bill Aldenberg, the FBI agent, said in an emotionally charged testimony during the Connecticut trial in September.

“And these people (Jones and company) made millions upon millions. They’ve destroyed everybody and they don’t give a damn.”

InfoWars sales data presented during the Connecticut trial showed a major spike in revenue after Jones peddled a new lie about the school shooting.

On Sept 25, 2014, when he falsely claimed that an FBI report showed that “no one died in 2012 in Sandy Hook” his site’s daily revenue jumped to more than US$230,000, according to the data published by the Huffington Post.

On the previous day, before he peddled that claim, the site made only US$48,000.

That underscores, what experts say, is the financial incentive of content creators to push out conspiratorial material that has potential to go viral.

“The fundamental problem is larger than Jones and is really the business model itself and its toxic externalities,” said Rogers.

“This creates an entire world of Alex Jones polarizing the global discourse, sowing fear and anger for clicks and cash. Until this changes, we’ll simply go from one Alex Jones to the next and little will change.” 

AFP

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Malawi: Killing of a girl with albinism shows community urgently needs better protection
LAWILINK/Amnesty International
NEWS December 2, 2022

The killing of a three-year-old girl shows the urgent need to better protect people with albinism following a series of attacks over recent weeks.

The horrific nature of the death of Tadala Chirwa is deeply shocking, and a cause of great concern
Vongai Chikwanda, Senior Campaigner for Amnesty International in Southern Africa

Amnesty International calls on the authorities to improve the protection of persons with albinism across the country after the killing of this week of Tadala Chirwa. Before midnight on 30 November, an unidentified man broke into her grandmother’s house where she was sleeping and killed her, before chopping off her left arm and taking it away.

“The horrific nature of the death of Tadala Chirwa is deeply shocking, and a cause of great concern,” said Vongai Chikwanda, Amnesty International’s Campaigner for Southern Africa.

“This killing and the removal of a limb is consistent with past patterns on attacks on persons with albinism, which are driven by the false belief that their body parts bring wealth and good luck.”

“Authorities must promptly and thoroughly investigate the killing of Tadala Chirwa and ensure that those suspected of responsibility are brought to justice in fair trials.”

The authorities must also take urgent steps to guarantee the safety and security of persons with albinism in Malawi
Vongai Chikwanda

“The authorities must also take urgent steps to guarantee the safety and security of persons with albinism in Malawi, including by investigating all past attacks and delivering justice for victims and their families.”

Background

The attack took place in Mawawa village, near the town of Kasungu, in central Malawi before midnight on 30 November. Tadala Chirwa was reportedly sleeping in the same bed with her grandmother when an unidentified man broke into the house, stabbed the child in the neck, chopped off her arm, and fled. The attack follows the attempted abduction of a two-year old boy with albinism in Phalombe district, in the south of the country, on 19 November.

The toddler was asleep with his mother and a sibling when three masked assailants tried to force their way into their home. The mother managed to get her family to safety. In October the body of a person with albinism who had died was illegally exhumed from a grave and their legs and arms were removed.

Albinism is a rare inherited condition. People with albinism have a reduced amount of melanin, or no melanin, affecting their skin colouring and eyesight.

MALAWI




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Israel/OPT: Deporting Salah Hammouri would constitute a war crime

On Sunday 4 December, the Israeli authorities plan to deport French-Palestinian human rights defender Salah Hammouri, who has also had his Jerusalem residency status revoked.


NEWS
December 1, 2022

Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Heba Morayef, said:

“Salah Hammouri has already spent nine months in administrative detention without charge or trial this year, in retaliation for his tireless campaigning for an end to Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians. These latest plans are not only a shameless attempt to hinder Salah’s human rights work, they are also an expression of the Israeli authorities’ chilling long-term policy aim of reducing the number of Palestinians in East Jerusalem.

“Unlawful deportation from the Occupied Palestinian Territories constitutes a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention and a war crime. Deportation carried to maintain a system of apartheid constitutes a crime against humanity. These crimes are all in the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, whose Prosecutor has opened an investigation into the situation in Palestine. We reiterate our call for the crime of apartheid to be included in that investigation; Israeli authorities must be held accountable.

This is an expression of Israeli authorities’ chilling long-term policy aim of reducing the number of Palestinians in East Jerusalem. Heba Morayef, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa

“Over the past two decades, Salah Hammouri has faced many of the inhumane acts which Israeli authorities use to enforce and maintain their system of apartheid. He has been subjected to prolonged administrative detention on various occasions, as well as harassment, family separation, surveillance, and constant threats of residency revocation. This persecution must end now. Israeli authorities must release Salah Hammouri, restore his residency status in Jerusalem, and allow him to continue his human rights work without fear of reprisals.”

Background

Salah Hammouri was notified on 30 November that he will be deported to France on Sunday 4 December 2022 – the date his current administrative detention order expires. Salah has been detained without charge or trial since 7 March, under a three-month administrative detention order that has been repeatedly renewed.

The deportation of Salah Hammouri would set a dangerous precedent. It is based on an amendment to a law which authorizes the Israeli Ministry of the Interior to deport permanent residents (the legal status held by most Palestinian-Jerusalemites) if they are found to have “breached” allegiance to the state of Israel. This is at odds with international law: allegiance to the occupying power is not required from an occupied population.

Under Israeli law, Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem are not Israeli citizens and are not residents of the West Bank. Instead, they are granted fragile “permanent residency status” which allows them to reside and work in the city, and which may be revoked on a number of discriminatory grounds.

 

Israel says it will deport Palestinian lawyer to France

Thu, December 1, 2022 

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Thursday announced it has stripped a Palestinian lawyer of his Jerusalem residency and plans to deport him to France, saying the man is an activist in a banned militant group.

The decision by Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked underscored the fragile status of Jerusalem’s Palestinians, who hold revocable Israeli residency rights but almost universally are not citizens. It also threatened to trigger a diplomatic spat with France, which has argued against the deportation.

Salah Hammouri has been held since March in administrative detention – an Israeli tool that allows authorities to hold suspects without charge for months at a time. Shaked said that after Hammouri’s detention expires this weekend, he would be deported to France as quickly as possible. Hammouri is a lifelong Jerusalem resident but holds French citizenship.

“We must fight terrorism with all the tools at our disposal,” she said. “It is not acceptable for terrorists like Hammouri to gain status in Israel.”

Israel says that Hammouri is a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a group that is considered a terrorist organization by Israel and the United States. He has worked as a lawyer for Adameer, a rights group that assists Palestinian prisoners that Israel has banned for alleged ties to the PFLP.

He spent seven years in prison after being convicted in an alleged plot to kill a prominent rabbi but was released in a 2011 prisoner swap with the Hamas militant group. He has not been convicted in the latest proceedings against him.

Israel, however, said he has used his Jerusalem residency to continue “his hostile, serious and significant activity.” Last year, Shaked revoked his Jerusalem residency rights, claiming a “breach of allegiance,” and early this year he was placed in administrative detention based on secret evidence that he was not allowed to see.

Israel’s Supreme Court this week cleared the way for the deportation after rejecting an appeal from Israeli human rights group HaMoked against the order stripping him of his residency.

HaMoked attorney Dani Shenhar called the revocation of his residency a “drastic measure that violates a person's basic right to live in their homeland.”

“As a member of the indigenous population of Jerusalem, Hammouri owes no allegiance to the state of Israel,” Shenhar said. "The fact that this decision was made largely on the basis of secret evidence only exacerbates the injustice."

It was not immediately clear when Hammouri will be deported. French President Emmanuel Macron has previously raised concerns about the case with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid.

“France follows Salah Hammouri’s situation very closely and at the highest level,” said the French Foreign Ministry in a statement. He "must be able to have a normal life in Jerusalem, where he was born and where he lives, and his wife and children must be able to travel there to get back with him.”

The Associated Press
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West Bank footage throws spotlight on Israel's use of lethal force

Relatives mourn the death of Raed al-Naasan who was killed on Tuesday
By Tom Bateman
BBC Middle East Correspondent

Israeli troops had entered the village warning of plans to demolish a Palestinian home.

Footage shows a group of men and teenagers throwing rocks - then pulling back - as two shots ring out.

Raed al-Naasan runs around a corner and collapses, blood seeping into his top, fatally wounded.

He was killed on Tuesday - one of four Palestinians shot dead by Israeli troops during confrontations in different villages that day in the occupied West Bank.

And now that footage of his killing is throwing a fresh spotlight on Israel's use of lethal force, as violence in the region reaches levels unmatched in years.

In the hours after his death the army said soldiers used live ammunition in response to a suspect "spotted hurling Molotov cocktails [petrol bombs]" at them. 

But video evidence and eyewitnesses suggest this wasn't the case when he was struck.

This year in the West Bank more than 140 Palestinians have been killed, nearly all by Israeli forces. The dead include civilians and armed militants. Meanwhile a series of Palestinian attacks targeting Israelis, as well as militant gunfire at troops during arrest raids, have killed more than 30 people including civilians and troops. 

The United Nations' envoy to the region Tor Wennesland warned this week that the conflict and military occupation was "again reaching a boiling point". 

Campaigners from the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem are currently probing Mr Naasan's death, saying that a significant number of cases of protesters being shot dead this year amount to "excessive use of force".

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it had acted to stop "violent rioters" and the incident was being "examined".   

Troops entered the village of al-Mughayyir on Tuesday to serve demolition orders against "illegal construction" - this happens when Israeli authorities plan to bulldoze Palestinian homes built without permits, even though these are often impossible to obtain. 

Mr Naasan, 21, was shot dead after a group of around 20 young men and teenagers gathered and threw stones towards the jeeps and soldiers.

Raed al-Naasan was one of four Palestinians shot dead on Tuesday

Under international law, the use of firearms by security forces against civilians is defined as a measure of last resort, and can only take place to stop an "imminent threat of death or serious injury". 

Video given to the BBC filmed for nearly a minute before the shooting shows the group, including Mr Naasan, appearing to pick up stones from the street and throw them towards troops who are not visible in the footage. None can be seen throwing petrol bombs. Mr Naasan then stands in front of his family home apparently holding stones, when two gunshots can be heard. The second is thought to be the shot which left him fatally wounded. 

Paramedic Mujahid Abu Aliya rushed to treat him at the scene.

"No-one threw a Molotov cocktail, I was here…. When I picked him up he was screaming: 'I will die, I will die'," he said. 

Mr Naasan's mother Fatma described how she ran after him moments later desperately trying to help.

"[The troops] are the ones who attacked us - they came towards the house in the confrontations and the young people participated," she told the BBC shortly after her son's funeral. 

Raed al-Naasan's mother, Fatma, rushed to him straight after the incident

Another eyewitness, Raghd Jehad, said: "When they started shooting live ammunition, all the men dispersed except him, he was standing there."

"They have been raiding the village for a week now. This is an occupation and they come when they like," he added. 

Mr Naasan had recently finished his studies and was training as an officer in the Palestinian Authority security services, the internationally-backed force that carries out internal policing in parts of the West Bank.

In a statement the IDF said: "Only a portion of the event is depicted in the video. IDF soldiers encountered violent rioters… among them the deceased."

"The man hurled a Molotov cocktail at the forces, who opened fire in response. The circumstances of the event are being examined." 

The village of Al-Mughayyir has witnessed years of confrontations with Israeli troops. It is close to some of the West Bank's most ideologically-driven Israeli settlements from where groups have tried to build outposts on land near the village.

Settlements are seen as illegal under international law, and most outposts are also prohibited under Israeli laws. 

GETTY IMAGES
Israel Defence Forces says the incident is being examined

Residents of Al-Mughayyir said they feared a worsening situation.

Israel's incoming national security minister is set to be the far-right firebrand Itamar Ben-Gvir - a staunch supporter of settlements who calls for stone-throwing Palestinians to be shot. He also wants Israeli soldiers to have immunity from prosecution in cases where Palestinians are killed. 

Dror Sadot from B'Tselem, the human rights group, described 2022 as an "extreme year" in terms of Palestinian fatalities. 

"There are many cases of protests where the Palestinians are using rocks, stones and sometimes other means, and Israel's army almost always uses disproportionate force," she said.

The IDF rejects this, routinely saying it carries out internal investigations into Palestinian fatalities. But human rights groups have described such inquiries as a "whitewash". 

Amid the worsening violence this week, an Israeli soldier was left seriously wounded when a Palestinian man - later shot dead - rammed his car into her near a West Bank settlement. Israeli forces are also still searching for suspects after a twin bomb attack in Jerusalem last week which killed two Israelis. 

Since the spring, Israel has carried out near nightly search and arrest raids in the West Bank, and says it will continue its operations to prevent the threat of further attacks. 

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