Waving Israeli flags, tens of thousands rally against  govt


AFP
June 22, 2024

Anti-government protest organisation Hofshi Israel estimated more than 150,000 people attended the latest anti-government rally in Tel Aviv, calling it the biggest since the Gaza war began - Copyright AFP JACK GUEZ

Tens of thousands of protesters waving Israeli flags and chanting slogans against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government rallied in Tel Aviv Saturday, demanding new elections and the return of hostages held in Gaza.

Large protests have occurred in the Israeli city on a weekly basis over Netanyahu’s handling of the nearly nine-month-old war in Gaza started by Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel.

Many protesters held signs reading “Crime Minister” and “Stop the War” as people poured into the biggest Israeli city’s main thoroughfare.

“I am here because I am afraid of the future of my grandchild. There will be no future for them if we don’t go out and get rid of the horrible government,” said 66-year-old contractor Shai Erel.

“All of the rats in the Knesset… I wouldn’t let any one of them be a guard of a kindergarten.”

Anti-government protest organisation Hofshi Israel estimated more than 150,000 people attended the rally, calling it the biggest since the Gaza war began.

Some demonstrators lay on the ground covered in red paint in the city’s Democracy Square to protest what they say is the death of the country’s democracy under Netanyahu.

In an address to the crowd, a former head of Israel’s domestic Shin Bet security agency, Yuval Diskin, condemned Netanyahu as Israel’s “worst prime minister”.

Many are frustrated with the country’s right-wing coalition, which includes Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and other far-right ultra-nationalists, accusing it of prolonging the war in Gaza and putting the country’s security and hostages at risk.

Yoram, a 50-year-old tour guide who declined to give his last name, said he was attending every weekly protest as Israel needed elections “yesterday” because of Netanyahu.

“I really hope that the government collapses,” he said. “If we go to the original date of elections in 2026, it is not going to be a democratic election.”

Hamas militants seized 251 hostages on October 7, of whom Israel believes 116 remain in Gaza, including 41 who the army says are dead.

A separate Tel Aviv rally on Saturday night drew thousands of relatives and supporters of the hostages.

The attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed at least 37,551 people, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory.

Gaza war blocks exams and shatters Palestinian pupils’ dreams


By AFP
June 23, 2024

A Palestinian boy stands by a shattered window at a UN school sheltering displaced people which was damaged during Israeli bombardment in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza - Copyright AFP Eyad BABA

Teenagers across the Gaza Strip should have been taking their final exams this month, a last hurdle before university and lifelong dreams, but the war in the Palestinian territory has crushed those hopes.

According to the education ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, 85 percent of educational facilities in the territory are out of service because of the war.

“I was eagerly awaiting the exams, but the war prevented that and destroyed that joy”, said Baraa al-Farra, an 18-year-old student displaced from Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.

“At first we were waiting in the hope that the war would end and we would catch up,” he said.

But “we don’t know how long it will last or how many years it will deprive us of our educational lives.”

Almost nine months of war in Gaza began with an unprecedented October 7 attack on southern Israel by the Islamist militant group Hamas. The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,194 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 37,598 people, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

The Education Cluster, a UN-backed organisation, estimated in a report this month that more than 75 percent of Gaza’s schools would need full reconstruction or major rehabilitation to reopen.

Many have been turned into shelters for Gaza’s displaced and others have been damaged in bombardment.

– ‘Books not bombs’ –

Liliane Nihad, an 18-year-old displaced to Khan Yunis from Gaza City, in the territory’s north, said she and her fellow students had “been waiting 12 years to take these exams and pass and feel happy and enter university… but we have been deprived of all that by this damned war”.

Nihad said she had been hoping to study English and to get a doctorate, “but all of that has evaporated”.

Displaying their anger at the situation, dozens of students and teachers held a protest in Gaza City’s Al-Rimal neighbourhood on Saturday.

“We demand our right to take high school exams” and “We want books, not bombs” they chanted, while empty chairs were laid out to symbolise those students killed in the war.

Mediation has failed to bring an end to the fighting, leaving Gaza’s young people with deep uncertainty about their futures.

Farra said he wanted to get out of the territory to achieve his dreams.

“I hope that the crossing will be opened so that I can travel in order to complete my education and not waste my years because I am young and want to achieve my ambitions.”

For now, he faces the harsh realities of life under siege.

“I wish I could experience the fatigue of staying up late studying now and not the fatigue of queueing for sweet and salty water” in the territory where clean water is scarce, like many other essentials.

– ‘Psychologically exhausted’ –

Pupils in the Israeli-occupied West Bank will take the exams, as will those Gazans who managed to escape to neighbouring Egypt.

Even for these pupils, however, the war has been hugely disruptive.

“We are psychologically exhausted and not well prepared” said Muhammad Osama, a student from Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, after completing his religious studies exam in Cairo.

In the West Bank, violence has further escalated since the start of the Gaza war. According to the Palestinian official news agency Wafa, 20 high school students are among the hundreds of Palestinians killed there.

Wafa reported that 89,000 students from Gaza and the West Bank had been expected to take high school exams this year.

Back in Gaza, however, there will be no exams at all.

The UN, citing the Palestinian ministry of education, said about 39,000 high school students in Gaza are unable to take their tests.

Sulaf Mousa, an 18-year-old from Al-Shati Camp west of Gaza City, hit by a deadly air strike on Saturday, said he had hoped to study medicine and become a doctor.

“Now, we hope we will survive the war and not lose more than we have already lost,” Mousa said.

Dalai Lama arrives in US for knee surgery

CONSIDERED A 'LIVING GOD' BY HIS FOLLOWERS

By AFP
June 23, 2024

The Dalai Lama arrives at a hotel in New York, where he is scheduleld to undergo knee surgery - Copyright AFP Adam GRAY

Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama arrived Sunday in New York to undergo knee surgery, drawing a warm and festive welcome from thousands of followers.

His office in the Indian hill town of Dharamsala, his adopted home, announced early this month that the 88-year-old Buddhist spiritual leader would travel to the United States to undergo “treatment” on his knees.

He is scheduled to have surgery on both knees, but no further details have been released.

Followers, many wearing traditional Tibetan outfits, waited outside the Dalai Lama’s Manhattan hotel in crushing heat hoping to catch a glimpse of the man.

“Once we saw him, it felt really powerful. And everyone was, like, emotional because he’s, like, our leader,” said one of them, 18-year-old US born Tenzin Pasang, who has now seen the Dalai Lama three times.

She welcomed the spiritual leader by joining in a performance of a traditional Tibetan dance.

Last week a group of senior US lawmakers including former House speaker Nancy Pelosi met with the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala, sparking heavy criticism from China.

That visit followed passage of a bill by the US Congress that seeks to encourage Beijing to hold talks with Tibetan leaders — frozen since 2010.

Many exiled Tibetans fear Beijing will name a rival successor to the Dalai Lama, bolstering control over a land it poured troops into in 1950.

The Dalai Lama was just 23 when he escaped the Tibetan capital Lhasa in fear for his life after Chinese soldiers eviscerated an uprising against Beijing’s forces, crossing the snowy Himalayas into India.

He stepped down as his people’s political head in 2011, passing the baton of secular power to a government chosen democratically by some 130,000 Tibetans around the world.

Kenya’s Ruto ready for ‘conversation’ with protesters

The protesters have called for a national strike on Tuesday.

By AFP
June 23, 2024

Kenya's President William Ruto says he is ready for talks with protesters who took to the streets to oppose tax hikes - Copyright AFP Eyad BABA
Ammu KANNAMPILLY, Hillary ORINDE

Kenya’s President William Ruto said Sunday that he was ready for “a conversation” with thousands of “peaceful” young anti-tax protesters, prompting new calls from the movement’s organisers to accept their demand to cancel the levies.

Organised on social media and led largely by Gen-Z Kenyans who have livestreamed the demonstrations, the protests by thousands of people have caught Ruto’s government off guard, as discontent mounts over his economic policies.

“I am very proud of our young people… they have stepped forward peaceful and I want to tell them we are going to engage them,” Ruto said in his first public comments on the protests.

“We are going to have a conversation so that together we can build a greater nation,” Ruto said during a church service in the Rift Valley town of Nyahururu.

His characterisation of the protests as “peaceful” came after rights campaigners reported two deaths following Thursday’s demonstrations in Nairobi.

A protest organiser, Hanifa Adan, who told AFP that she was in hiding to avoid arrest, said Ruto needed to “respond publicly” to demands that the proposed hikes be cancelled.

“President Ruto can’t claim to support us while his police brutalise peaceful protesters,” she said.

“We’re past the talking stage and won’t be silenced. We demand an end to police violence, respect for our constitutional rights, and the freedom to speak up without fear of arrest or harm.”

Amnesty International Kenya said Sunday that “in the last 72 hours, protest organisers, content creators, medics and protesters have been profiled, abducted and detained in violation of our laws”.

The rights watchdog did not elaborate on the number of detainees, and there was no immediate comment by the police.

– Two dead –

Thursday’s demonstrations were mostly peaceful, but officers fired tear gas and water cannon throughout the day to disperse protesters near parliament.

A Kenya Human Rights Commission official told AFP on Saturday that 21-year-old Evans Kiratu was “hit by a tear gas canister” during the protests and died in hospital.

On Friday, a police watchdog said it was investigating allegations that a 29-year-old man was shot by officers in Nairobi after the demonstrations.

The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) said it had “documented the death… allegedly as a result of police shooting” on Thursday.

Several organisations, including Amnesty International Kenya, said that at least 200 people were injured in the protests in Nairobi, as thousands of people took to the streets across the country.

The protesters have called for a national strike on Tuesday.

– Cash-strapped government –

After smaller demonstrations in Nairobi last Tuesday, the cash-strapped government agreed to roll back several tax increases laid out in a new bill.

But Ruto’s administration still intends to raise some taxes, saying they are necessary for filling the state coffers and cutting reliance on external borrowing.

Kenya has a huge debt mountain whose servicing costs have ballooned because of a fall in the value of the local currency over the last two years, making interest payments on foreign-currency loans more expensive.

The tax hikes will pile further pressure on Kenyans struggling with cost of living surges, with well-paid jobs remaining out of reach for young people.

Ruto said Sunday that the annual budget included measures to tackle youth unemployment and improve access to higher education.

After the government agreed to scrap levies on bread purchases, car ownership and financial and mobile services, the treasury warned of a budget shortfall of 200 billion shillings ($1.56 billion).

The government now targets an increase in fuel prices and export taxes to fill the void left by the changes, a move critics say will make life more expensive in a country already saddled with high inflation.

Kenya has one of the most dynamic economies in East Africa but a third of its 51.5 million people live in poverty.

Taking the leap: How to quit your job


By Dr. Tim Sandle
June 21, 2024

Working people. — Image by © Tim Sandle

There are over 3,300 searches per month in the UK for variations of ‘how to quit my job’? This statistic highlights a growing trend of individuals seeking guidance on making a significant career change.

Quitting a job is not just about leaving a role; it is often a transformative step towards unlocking one’s true potential, according to James Dooley, founder of FatRank.

Dooley provides advice to Digital Journal about quitting your job and pursuing your dreams.

Before making any decision, it is essential to plan your exit strategy carefully, says Dooley, who recommends conducting a thorough self-assessment to identify your strengths, weaknesses, and career goals.

Dooley advises:Determine your financial needs and create a budget to support yourself during the transition period.
Set specific milestones and timelines to keep yourself accountable.

Handle the resignation

When resigning from your job, Dooley recommends: “Resigning from a job can be emotional, but it’s essential to remain professional. Maintain open lines of communication and leave on good terms to preserve your reputation.”

Utilise the notice period

During your notice period, use your time wisely to tie up loose ends and hand over responsibilities smoothly. Dooley says: “The notice period is your chance to leave a positive lasting impression. Use this time to demonstrate your professionalism and dedication to your work.”

Explore New Opportunities

While job searching, be proactive in exploring new opportunities that align with your skills, interests, and career aspirations.

Dooley recommends:Update your resume and LinkedIn profile, and reach out to your network for job leads and referrals.
Attend industry events, job fairs, and networking meetings to expand your professional connections and uncover hidden job opportunities.

Consider entrepreneurship

If you are considering starting your own business, take the time to research and plan your venture carefully, notes Dooley.

He recommends:Identify a niche market or industry where you can offer unique value and differentiate yourself from competitors.
Develop a comprehensive business plan outlining your mission, target market, revenue projections, and marketing strategies.
Seek guidance from mentors, industry experts, and business advisors to refine your business concept and set yourself up for success.

Dooley states: “Entrepreneurship offers unparalleled freedom and opportunity for those willing to take the leap. Take the time to develop a solid business plan and surround yourself with a supportive network of mentors and advisors.”

A 2000 year-old vintage: The world’s oldest wine discovered

By Dr. Tim Sandle
June 22, 2024
DIGITAL JOURNAL

French wine consumption has been on the decline for decades - Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File JUSTIN SULLIVAN

A white wine dated to over 2,000 years old, of Andalusian origin, has been declared the oldest wine ever discovered. The discovery comes from University of Córdoba researchers.

The discovery comes from a Roman tomb in Carmona. Here the skeletal remains of a man were immersed in a liquid inside a glass funerary urn. This liquid, which over time has acquired a reddish hue, has been preserved since the first century AD.

This enabled researchers from the Department of Organic Chemistry to identify the liquid as the oldest wine yet discovered.

The previous record for the oldest wine was held by the Speyer wine bottle, which was discovered in 1867 and which dates to the fourth century CE. This wine is preserved in the Historical Museum of Pfalz (Germany).

With the discovery a Carmora the main reason why the wine has lasted relates to the tomb remaining fully intact and well-sealed. Particular environmental conditions within the tomb allowed the wine to maintain its natural state.

One of the few visitors to the ancient Roman city of Leptis Magna in Libya looks at the Arch of Septimius Severus – Copyright AFP Mahmud TURKIA

To show that the liquid was wine, the chemists studied the liquid’s pH, absence of organic matter, mineral salts, the presence of certain chemical compounds that could be related to the glass of the urn, or the bones of the deceased; and compared the data to current Montilla-Moriles, Jerez and Sanlúcar wines. These are the wines associated with Carmona and this region produces mainly sweet dessert wines using similar techniques to those used for the production of sherry.

The most important part of the analysis related to assessing for polyphenols, biomarkers present in all wines. These were found to be present although the absence of a specific polyphenol, syringic acid, served to identify the wine as white.

Furthermore, the mineral salts present in the tomb’s liquid were determined to be consistent with the white wines currently produced in the territory – including the Montilla-Moriles wines of today.

It is thought the wine, together as other items such as the rings and perfume, were part of a funerary trousseau intended to accompany the deceased in their voyage into the afterlife.

The chemical analysis confirmed the liquid was, in fact, wine. The research appears in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, with the paper titled “New archaeochemical insights into Roman wine from Baetica.”

S.Africa to dish up more zebra to boost jobs and conservation


AFP
June 22, 2024

South Africa currently produces around 60,000 tonnes of game meat a year

 - Copyright AFP MARCO LONGARI

Umberto BACCHI

Carcasses of impala, kudu and wildebeest hang from a slaughterhouse rail, ready to be turned into steaks, sausages and burger patties of the kind South Africa wants to see more of on the dinner table.

The abattoir in Bela Bela, north of Johannesburg, is among only a handful in the country dedicated to game meat.

Authorities say the untapped sector could create jobs and help preserve wildlife — while pleasing the palates of climate- and health-conscious meat eaters.

“We want to add a dimension into your dinner plate by giving you an organic game meat from the wild,” Khorommbi Matibe, the environment ministry’s biodiversity economy chief, told AFP.

A top wildlife tourism destination, South Africa produces around 60,000 tonnes of game meat a year — equivalent in weight to roughly 60,000 giraffes.

But only a fraction ends up in butcheries and supermarkets. Ninety percent is hunted and consumed informally, according to the government.

Even less is exported.

In 2019, just over 3,000 tonnes of ostrich, crocodile and zebra were shipped to the European Union, China and the UAE, it said.

Authorities would like to serve up much more.

In March, they said they want to grow the sector from 4.6 billion rand ($250 million) in 2020 to 27.6 billion rand by 2036, adopting a strategy published late last year.


– Less methane –

With unemployment sitting at 32.9 percent nationally, this could create jobs in rural, economically deprived areas.

Matibe said there are good reasons for barbecuing more springboks.

Game animals release less methane — a greenhouse gas — than cattle, whose burps are a top source of global warming emissions from agriculture.

Foraging in the wild, their meat is by definition free-range and lean.

A 2023 study by researchers at Stellenbosch University, found that zebra meat in particular was highly nutritious and very low in fat.

Eating more of it could also help conservation efforts, the government argues.

South Africa has long adopted a market-oriented approach to conservation, based on the belief that farmers have a better incentive to look after wildlife if they can profit from it.

Critics say the model exploits and commoditises animals. But it has proved largely successful.

The country’s wildlife population has grown from about 500,000 in the 1960s to more than 20 million today. About 80 percent is in private game reserves that attract tourists and hunters.

Some meat could come from the hundreds of herbivores that are culled every year to keep numbers within sustainable levels, the government says.

And it wants to convert one million hectares of communal land to game meat production, which could boost black ownership in a sector where, 30 years after the end of apartheid, more than 94 percent of operators are white males, said Matibe.

Requiring little equipment, game has “really low” input costs — an advantage for newcomers, added Darren Horner, owner of producer Aloes Meat.

– Meaty problems –

Yet, in a country mad for barbecue, locally known as braai, little currently ends on the grill.

This is partially due to the belief that game is less tender than beef and tastes unusual, according to the strategy, which envisages marketing campaigns to boost consumption.

“Our grandmothers used to stuff it with bacon and leave it in red wine for three days to get rid of that wild taste. To me it only needs a bit of olive oil and salt,” said Charl de Villiers, head of Game SA, an industry group.

There are other hurdles.

Authorities plan to draw up quality standards so that all meat can be traced to the source and trusted by supermarkets and restaurants.

But these can’t be too stringent or risk scaring away informal producers, said Horner.

Meanwhile, exports of cloven-hoofed animals to Europe have been banned for years as South Africa struggles to contain outbreaks of the foot and mouth disease that farmers blame on inadequate border controls.

State laboratories to test meat are small and outdated, which further limits export potential, producers say.

De Villiers currently has to ship his ostrich meat to Britain for testing, which ups costs.

– Big disappointment –


Stephen Nel, owner of the Camo Meat abattoir in Bela Bela, said he applied for an export licence in 2017 but has since given up on it.

“It was a very big disappointment for me. The government failed us,” Nel said, wearing khaki shorts and a matching shirt inside his refrigerated facility.

About 4,000 animals a year are skinned, weighed, deboned, processed and packaged there.

Almost all are brought in by hunters keen on eating some of their prey.

Expanding production to supply supermarkets would require investments, but these are hard to come by, amid scepticism around the sector’s potential, he said.

The government has been talking about growth for over a decade, but “nothing gets laid down”, said Nel.

Yet, Matibe is confident the strategy will soon start to bring results and will remain on track even after elections in May that forced the ruling African National Congress to form a coalition government.

“In the next three years, we should be able to see a ramp up of this product coming to the market,” he said.

Dutch app supermarket boss eyes tech boom in online delivery


AFP
June 22, 2024

Online deliveries will see a 'massive' boost from AI, says Picnic boss Michiel Muller - Copyright AFP Nick Gammon

Richard CARTER

Advances in artificial intelligence are poised to drive a “massive” boom in online grocery deliveries, according to the head of Picnic, a Dutch app-only supermarket rapidly expanding into Germany and France.

Picnic has disrupted the Dutch supermarket landscape with its offer of free delivery in a time window of 20 minutes — made possible by squeezing efficiency out of huge amounts of data.

The firm already uses AI for a vast range of operations, explained CEO Michiel Muller, 59, at the firm’s 43,000-square-metre distribution hub in Utrecht, central Netherlands.

“For instance, predicting how many bananas we will sell in three weeks’ time. Or what happens when the weather is good or bad. Or doing our whole route planning,” he told AFP.

As technology improves and datasets grow, predictions will become more accurate, further reducing food waste and offering even more precise time slots for customers, he forecast.

“Don’t forget that supermarkets weren’t there 60 years ago. You only had smaller stores. So there’s always a movement around new technology and new ways of delivering goods.”

“The supermarket will remain. That’s for sure. Stores will remain. But the online part will grow massively,” he said.

Picnic has developed its own in-house software to fine-tune every element of the delivery process, from processing and packing stock at the warehouse to the famously complex “last mile” of dropping off the goods.

Delivery times are calculated with extraordinary precision, with reams of information crunched by 300 data analysts and 300 software engineers at Picnic’s headquarters.

“We know exactly how long it takes to walk around the vehicle and when it’s dark outside, we add six seconds to the delivery time,” said Muller.

Unlike a physical supermarket, every order comes through on the app, so the firm knows exactly what it needs to order, deliver, and how long that should take.

The firm estimates this results in seven times less food waste than at regular supermarkets.

“There’s not a single baguette that is ordered and not delivered,” said Gregoire Borgoltz, head of Picnic’s operations in France.

The firm’s drivers in the ubiquitous white Picnic vans receive a rating after every trip based on their driving, even assessing whether they have sped too fast around corners.

– ‘Level of automation’ –

The huge investments required in bespoke software, plus the firm’s distribution hubs with 14 kilometres (nine miles) of conveyor belts, means profits have been hard to come by.

Sales have risen from 10 million euros in 2016 to 1.25 billion in 2023, with staff levels soaring from 100 employees to 17,000 over the same period.

But Muller said the firm suffered losses of “around 200 million euros” last year due to expanding in Germany — opening slots in Berlin, Hamburg and Hannover.

For the first time since its 2015 founding, it finally turned in a gross profit this year in its home market. “It took eight years to be profitable in the Netherlands,” he said.

Earlier this year, the firm raised 355 million euros from investors to fund its push into Germany and France, notably from the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation and German retail giant Edeka.

When it comes to profits, it’s again all down to technology, said Muller.

“Basically, the level of automation determines our level of profitability,” he said.

“Today, we have about 30 percent automated in Holland. We will grow to 100 percent in a couple of years’ time,” with Germany and France following soon behind.

So far, Picnic is mainly operating in the northern French city of Lille and the greater Paris suburbs. Central Paris is a “big opportunity but also has some of the worst traffic jams”, said Borgoltz.

“We will go to Paris but we have to find the right moment.”

Muller has ambitions to spread the company further. “Well, there are 183 countries in the world,” he jokes when asked where Picnic will expand to next.

But for the moment, he said the firm would consolidate its activities in Germany and France before looking further afield — not ruling out a push outside Europe.

Read more: https://www.digitaljournal.com/business/dutch-app-supermarket-boss-eyes-tech-boom-in-online-delivery/article#ixzz8e2TJKPSh

Who profits from the soaring price of cocoa?


By AFP
June 22, 2024

In March, cocoa prices rocketed to more than $10,000 a tonne in New York after a poor harvest in West Africa - Copyright AFP/File Issouf SANOGO
Juliette MICHEL

Though cocoa prices on the financial markets have soared, the rise is benefiting cocoa growers, bean processors, speculators and chocolatiers in unequal measure.

In March, prices rocketed to more than $10,000 a tonne in New York after a poor harvest in West Africa due to a combination of bad weather conditions and disease devastating ageing plantations.

They have since fallen back from the peak, yet are still three times higher than last year.

– Wide gaps between producers –

In Ivory Coast and Ghana, the world’s largest cocoa producers, prices are set by the authorities in October on the basis of the previous months.

But by that point the harvests “have already been largely pre-sold”, said Tancrede Voituriez of the French agricultural research and cooperation organisation CIRAD.

This reduces the impact of cocoa price fluctuations — whether upwards and downwards.

As a result, small-scale producers, who generally earn barely enough to live on, did not immediately benefit from the surge.

That said, the authorities raised the price of the intermediate crop in April by 50 percent to between $2,300 and $2,500 per tonne — a modest rise compared to what the farmers could charge on the international exchanges.

In countries with less regulated systems, such as Cameroon, Nigeria, Ecuador and Brazil, growers managed to pocket more from the trend.

There, farmers have been allowed to sell their beans to buyers willing to approach the prices paid on the financial markets.

But that deregulated approach comes with risks of its own.

“Soaring prices have made production more attractive,” David Gonzales, coordinator of the Peruvian Chamber of Coffee and Cocoa, told AFP.

The fear is that there will be an excess of cocoa in three to five years’ time — the time needed for farmers hoping to cash in to grow new trees — causing prices to tumble back to earth.

– Middlemen in the hunt –

The major processors who grind the beans into butter, liquor or powder — notably Switzerland’s Barry Callebaut, America’s Cargill, Singapore’s Olam — generally negotiate a large part of their supplies in advance.

But some contracts have not been honoured, forcing them to scour for urgently needed cocoa at high cost and in some cases to slow down production.

Barry Callebaut reported in early April that it had drawn more than usual from its cash reserves to finance bean purchases, but had enough cocoa on hand to meet demand.

Other smaller intermediaries may find it difficult to advance the funds needed to adapt to the higher prices.

Yet there is one group of middlemen who would have been delighted at the price rises.

“The smugglers would have done very nicely there,” Steve Wateridge of commodity firm Tropical Research Services told AFP.

He said black marketeers could have taken advantage of the system in Ivory Coast and Ghana by buying cocoa at slightly above the fixed prices and selling the beans on the open market in Togo, Guinea, Liberia or Sierra Leone.

– Mixed fortunes on the markets –

Cocoa prices have risen because supply has fallen short of demand for the third year running, according to the International Cocoa Organization.

Investment funds that sensed the changing wind bet on higher prices, pocketing a profit in the process.

But from January onwards, prices became very erratic, even beyond the liking of funds with a taste for speculation.

Many investors withdrew from the market altogether: the number of traded contracts fell from 334,000 in mid-January to 146,000 in April, according to Saxo Bank’s Ole Hansen.

“You can’t blame the speculators for artificially inflating the prices,” Wateridge added.

On the other hand, trading houses and chocolate makers tend to guard against price reversals by betting against the financial markets, in this case on falling prices.

After the markets proved right and prices soared, several had to bank more funds to cover their potential losses.

Others short on cash have had to abandon their bets, which technically obliges them to buy back contracts on the market.

This, in turn, automatically pushes up the price of cocoa even further.

– Chocolatiers adapt –

Given the time lag between the cocoa harvest and the production of a finished bar, the cost of chocolate on the supermarket shelves should not in theory have soared for industry giants Mars, Mondelez, Nestle, Hershey’s and Ferrero.

“We are largely covered as part of our forward contracting for the remainder of the year,” Nestle’s chief executive Ulf Schneider confirmed in April.

But as time goes on, rising raw cocoa prices will eventually hit their bottom line.

To avoid passing on the cost to consumers already hit by soaring inflation, manufacturers could alter their recipes — increasing the proportion of hazelnuts in Nutella, for example — or reduce portion size.

Even for artisan chocolate makers, the cost of the raw cocoa represents only a small part of the finished product.

“There’s a big margin” on chocolate bars, Sebastien Langlois, the co-founder of French Cocoa Company, told AFP, dampening the impact of soaring bean costs.

His company, which sells organic and fair-trade products, has not yet raised its prices, he added.

'Flat as a pancake': Trump supporters claim Earth isn't round in viral video

David Edwards
June 13, 2024 

The Good Liars/screen grab

A new viral video showed supporters of Donald Trump arguing that the Earth is flat.

According to The Good Liars, a comedy duo, the video was filmed at a rally for Trump. It had over a million views by Thursday.

"Is the Earth round or flat?" Jason Selvig of The Good Liars asked one Trump supporter.

"It's flat," the supporter stated.

Another Trump fan insisted the U.S. "didn't go to the moon" because "you can't get out of the atmosphere."

One supporter claimed NASA used computer graphics to trick the public into believing the Earth was a sphere.

"From NASA's pictures, right? And you know of CGI, right?" he said. "So I believe in the Bible, in Genesis, under the dome. It plainly tells you there, a firmament, dome."

"So it's as flat as a pancake."

Watch the video below from The Good Liars.