Central Asian horse riders played ball games 3,000 years ago

UNIVERSITY OF ZURICH

Research News

 

IMAGE: THE AREA NEAR THE CITY OF TURFAN IN NORTHWEST CHINA. view more 

CREDIT: (PICTURE: UZH)

Today, ball games are one of the most popular leisure activities in the world, an important form of mass entertainment and big business. But who invented balls, where and when? The oldest balls that are currently known about were made in Egypt about 4,500 years ago using linen. Central Americans have been playing ball games for at least 3,700 years, as evidenced through monumental ball courts made of stone and depictions of ball players. Their oldest balls were made of rubber. Until now, it was believed that ball games in Europe and Asia followed much later: In Greece about 2,500 years ago and in China about 300 years after that.

Eurasia's oldest known balls

Researchers from the University of Zurich, together with German and Chinese researchers, have now examined in more detail three leather balls found in graves in the old Yanghai cemetery near the city of Turfan in northwest China. The balls, measuring between 7.4 and 9.2cm in diameter, have been dated at around 2,900 to 3,200 years old. "This makes these balls about five centuries older than the previously known ancient balls and depictions of ball games in Eurasia," says first author Patrick Wertmann of the Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies of the University of Zurich. "Unfortunately, however, the associated archaeological information is not sufficient to answer the question of exactly how these balls were played."

The earliest illustrations from Greece show ball players running, and depictions from China show riders using sticks. Comparable curved sticks were also found in Yanghai, but there was no apparent direct connection with the balls. Moreover, they are dated to a more recent period. "Therefore, the leather balls from Yanghai are not connected to early forms of field hockey or polo, even though two of the balls were found in the graves of horsemen," says Wertmann.

New era of Central Asian equestrian warfare

In one of the riders' graves, the preserved remains of a composite bow and a pair of trousers (1) were found, which were made in the region at that time and are among the oldest in the world. Both are signs of a new era of horse riding, equestrian warfare and fundamental societal transformations which accompanied increasing environmental changes and a rising mobility in eastern Central Asia. The current study shows that balls and ball games were part of physical exercise and military training from the very beginning. In addition, just like today, sport also played a central role in society and was a widespread leisure activity. The study's findings once again highlight that this region was a center of innovation within Eurasia several millennia ago.

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Literature:

Patrick Wertmann, Xinyong Chen, Xiao Li, Pavel E. Tarasov, Mayke Wagner, New evidence for ball games in Eurasia from ca. 3000-year-old Yanghai tombs in the Turfan depression of Northwest China. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. September 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102576

(1) The invention of trousers and its likely affiliation with horseback riding and mobility: A case study of late 2nd millennium BC finds from Turfan in eastern Central Asia (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1040618214002808

SNSF Research Project Sino-Indo-Iranica rediviva and FMER Research Project Silk Road Fashion

This publication is part of the research project Sino-Indo-Iranica rediviva - Early Eurasian migratory terms in Chinese and their cultural implications of the Institute of Asian and Oriental Studies at the University of Zurich, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), and a contribution to the Silk Road Fashion project run by the Beijing Branch Office of the German Archaeological Institute's Eurasia Department and funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (FMER). The Sino-Indo-Iranica rediviva project uses linguistic, historical and archaeological data to investigate the earliest exchange of material goods between Central Asia and China. The project involves researchers from the University of Zurich, the German Archaeological Institute, the Freie Universität Berlin, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Museum, Academia Turfanica and Renmin University Beijing.

Feline friendly? How to build rap-paw with your cat - new psychology study

UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX

Research News

 

IMAGE: A MAINE COON CAT DEMONSTRATING THE NARROWED-EYE MOVEMENT. view more 

CREDIT: PROF KAREN MCCOMB UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX

A team of psychologists at the Universities of Sussex and Portsmouth have purr-fected the art of building a bond with cats.

The new study 'The role of cat eye narrowing movements in cat-human communication', published online in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, has shown for the first time that it is possible to build rapport with a cat by using an eye narrowing technique with them. This eye narrowing action by humans generates something popularly known as a cat smile - the so called "slow blink" - and seems to make the human more attractive to the cat. Eye narrowing movements in cats have some parallels with the genuine smile in humans (the Duchenne smile), as well as eye narrowing movements given in positive situations in some other species.

The team, led by Dr Tasmin Humphrey and Professor Karen McComb, animal behaviour scientists at the University of Sussex, undertook two experiments. The first revealed that cats are more likely to slow blink at their owners after their owners have slow blinked at them, compared to when they don't interact at all. The second experiment, this time with a researcher from the psychology team, rather than the owner, found that the cats were more likely to approach the experimenter's outstretched hand after they'd slow blinked at the cat, compared to when they had adopted a neutral expression. Taken together, the study shows that this slow blinking technique can provide a form of positive communication between cats and humans.

The study found:

· Cats were more likely to slow blink at their owners if their owners had slowed blinked at them, compared to when the owner was present in the room but not delivering a slow blink stimulus.

· Cats were more likely to slow blink when an unfamiliar experimenter slow blinked at them, compared to when they had maintained a neutral expression.

· Cats preferred to approach an experimenter after they had slow blinked at the cat than if they had maintained a neutral expression.

Professor Karen McComb, from the School of Psychology at the University of Sussex, who supervised the work, said: "As someone who has both studied animal behaviour and is a cat owner, it's great to be able to show that cats and humans can communicate in this way. It's something that many cat owners had already suspected, so it's exciting to have found evidence for it.

"This study is the first to experimentally investigate the role of slow blinking in cat-human communication. And it is something you can try yourself with your own cat at home, or with cats you meet in the street. It's a great way of enhancing the bond you have with cats. Try narrowing your eyes at them as you would in a relaxed smile, followed by closing your eyes for a couple of seconds. You'll find they respond in the same way themselves and you can start a sort of conversation."

Dr Tasmin Humphrey, a PhD student in the School of Psychology at the University of Sussex during the work, who was the first author of the study said: "Understanding positive ways in which cats and humans interact can enhance public understanding of cats, improve feline welfare, and tell us more about the socio-cognitive abilities of this under-studied species.

"Our findings could potentially be used to assess the welfare of cats in a variety of settings, including veterinary practices and shelters.

"In terms of why cats behave in this way, it could be argued that cats developed the slow blink behaviours because humans perceived slow blinking as positive. Cats may have learned that humans reward them for responding to slow blinking. It is also possible that slow blinking in cats began as a way to interrupt an unbroken stare, which is potentially threatening in social interaction.

Dr Leanne Proops at University of Portsmouth who co-supervised the work said: "It's definitely not easy to study natural cat behaviour so these results provide a rare insight in to the world of cat-human communication."

How the experiments worked

Two experiments were conducted to explore the significance of the slow blink in cat-human communication. The first experiment included a total of 21 cats from 14 different households. Fourteen different owners participated in experiment 1. Ten of the cats were male and 11 of the cats were female, with cat age ranging from an estimated 0.45-16 years. The experiments took place in each cat's home. The psychologist advised the cat's owner on how to slow blink. Once the cat had settled down in one place, the psychologist asked the owner to either sit approximately 1 m away from the cat.

Experiment 2 included a total of 24 additional cats. Twelve cats were male and 12 cats were female, with cat age ranging from an estimated 1-17 years old. The cats included in the final analyses were from 8 different households. In this experiment, the researcher, who was unfamiliar to the cat, either slow blinked at the cat or adopted a neutral face without direct eye contact. This experiment also tested which context the cats preferred to approach the unfamiliar experimenter, by them offering the cat a flat hand with palm faced upwards whilst sat or crouched directly opposite the cat. Both experiments were video recorded.

Cat psychology - the existing context

In the new paper, the authors provide some context for their findings. The psychology of cats hasn't been studied as extensively as dogs, but what is already known includes:

· That cats have been shown to attract and manipulate human attention effectively through 'solicitation purring'.

· That cats can discriminate their name from other words, even when unfamiliar humans are calling.

· That cats may be sensitive to human emotional cues, and will rub or butt their head against a an owner who feels sad.

'The role of cat eye narrowing movements in cat-human communication' by Tasmin Humphrey, Leanne Proops, Jemma Forman, Rebecca Spooner and Karen McComb published in Scientific Reports is open access, Link to the paper here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73426-0

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Researchers find increases in nitrous oxide emissions, outpacing global predictions

YALE SCHOOL OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Research News

 

The term "greenhouse gas" is often used interchangeably with carbon dioxide, due to its prevalence in our atmosphere - more than 80 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions, estimates the Environmental Protection Agency. But another greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide (N2O), can have effects with far greater impact.

And, according to a recent study, N2O emissions are increasing at a "devastating" rate, faster than predictions introduced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

In a paper published in Nature, a large, multinational team of researchers associated with the Global Carbon Project -- including Peter Raymond, professor of ecosystem ecology at Yale School of the Environment (YSE), and postdoctoral fellow Taylor Maavara -- explains that existing inventories of N2O emissions don't provide a full picture of its prevalence. Using "bottom-up" and "top-down" approaches, the researchers have provided a global look at N2O emissions, accounting for naturally occurring sources of nitrous oxide and attributing anthropogenic sources that had both been omitted in previous inventories.

"Nitrous oxide is often seen as the third most important greenhouse gas" behind carbon dioxide and methane, says Maavara. "Not as much attention is paid to nitrous oxide, but it's extremely important." In addition to being an ozone depleting chemical, nitrous oxide, she explains, can take more than a century to completely break down in the atmosphere and has a climate warming potential nearly 300 times higher than carbon dioxide.

Developing a more comprehensive inventory, the researchers found growing N2O emissions in emerging economies -- particularly Brazil, China and India -- due in large part to agricultural activity, the cause of nearly 70 percent of global human-derived N2O emissions over the past decade. As populations grow and more food is needed, the researchers predict that N2O emissions will continue to grow if not mitigated.

"It's going to be difficult because we need food," says Maavara, who suggests more sustainable practices, such as best management practices for farming that focus on more precise timing and applications of fertilizer.

But, even then, Maavara says positive results could take decades.

"Even if the world is willing, there's not a quick fix. It's going to take a long time to change what's been done to the soil. We want to emphasize that this is a problem now so we can begin developing the incremental solutions."

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Investing in protective gear for health care workers pays off

PLOS

Research News

IMAGE: FIG 5. CUMULATIVE HCW MORTALITY AS A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL WORKFORCE, BY STRATEGY. view more 

CREDIT: RISKO ET AL, PLOS ONE, 2020 (CC BY)

Providing adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) for all health care workers around the world requires an initial investment of billions of dollars, but the returns on that investment could be close to 8000% in productivity gains, according to a new study published this week in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Nicholas Risko of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and colleagues.

As COVID-19 spread around the world in early 2020, even resource-rich health systems experienced supply shortages of PPE to protect frontline health care workers. Over 80% of the world's population lives in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where fragile health systems with few resources make health care workers particularly vulnerable to PPE shortages and COVID-19 infection.

In the new study, researchers calculated the cost of providing PPE to all LMIC health systems and used a model to compare the costs and effects of two PPE use scenarios for all LMICs. Data from the World Health Organization COVID-19 Essential Supplies Forecasting Tool was used, as well as estimates of national mortality and hospitalizations that had been previously calculated and published.

The model predicted that an initial global investment of $9.6 billion U.S. could save the lives of roughly 2.2 million health care workers by providing adequate PPE. This comes out to $59 dollars per case averted and $4,309 per life saved. The benefit to society yields $755.3 billion dollars, or about an 8,000% return. The largest net economic gains would be seen in the East Asia & Pacific region, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, the study shows that scaling up the provision of PPE is a required component of national strategy if the health care workforce is to be protected.

The authors add: "This study predicts the impact of supplying front-line health care workers in low and middle-income countries with protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our central finding is that a small upfront investment will save many lives and provide a substantial economic return, whereas neglecting to protect health care workers risks heavy losses due to illness and death."

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Citation: Risko N, Werner K, Offorjebe OA, Vecino-Ortiz AI, Wallis LA, Razzak J (2020) Cost-effectiveness and return on investment of protecting health workers in low- and middle-income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. PLoS ONE 15(10): e0240503. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240503

Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form at http://www.icmje.org/coi_disclosure.pdf and declare: no support from any organization for the submitted work; no financial relationships with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous three years; no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS ONE: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0240503

Canadian detained in China 'relieved' by virtual visit



Issued on: 12/10/2020 - 

A protest in Vancouver calling for the release of Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who are being detained by China JASON REDMOND AFP/File


Montreal (AFP)

One of the two Canadians that Ottawa says are held arbitrarily in China was "relieved" to get outside news via a virtual diplomatic visit and remains determined to come home, his wife said Sunday.

Canada announced Saturday its first contact since January with Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who have been imprisoned in China for nearly two years.

After months of "extreme isolation, Michael was greatly relieved to receive news from the outside world" and of his family, Kovrig's wife Vina Nadjibulla told the CBC.

"We are extremely proud that despite his long confinement, Michael's spirit, determination and even his sense of humor remain unbroken," she said, adding that her husband was shocked to learn about the scale of the coronavirus pandemic.

Canada's ambassador to China Dominic Barton obtained "virtual consular access" to Spavor on Friday and Kovrig on Saturday, the Canadian Foreign Affairs ministry said in a statement.

Former diplomat Kovrig and consultant Spavor have been imprisoned in China since December 10, 2018. They were charged with espionage last June.

Their detention is seen by Western governments as retaliation for the arrest in Canada of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei and daughter of its founder.

Meng was arrested on a US warrant in December 2018 during a stopover in Vancouver.

She is charged with bank fraud related to violations of US sanctions against Iran, and has been fighting extradition ever since.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday he had spoken with Donald Trump and thanked the US president for Washington's continued support of efforts to free the two Canadians.

When announcing the consular visit on Saturday, the Canadian government reiterated its deep concern over the "arbitrary detention" of the two men and called for their immediate release.

The purpose of consular visits is generally to assess the condition of a detainee, clarify the nature of his detention, provide advice, seek access to medical care if necessary, and serve as a channel of communication between the detainee and his relatives.

© 2020 AFP

Hong Kong scientists say anti-microbe drug successful against coronavirus



Issued on: 12/10/2020 -

Scientists in Hong Kong have said an affordable anti-microbial drug has shown promise in combatting the coronavirus in animals ANTHONY WALLACE AFP/File



Hong Kong (AFP)

An affordable anti-microbial drug used to treat stomach ulcers and bacterial infections has shown promise in combatting the coronavirus in animals, scientists in Hong Kong announced Monday.

Researchers set out to explore whether metallodrugs -- compounds containing metal that are more commonly used against bacteria -- might also have anti-viral properties that could fight the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

Using Syrian hamsters as tests subjects, they found that one of the drugs, ranitidine bismuth citrate (RBC), was "a potent anti-SARS-CoV-2 agent".

"RBC is able to lower the viral load in the lung of the infected hamster by tenfold," Hong Kong University researcher Runming Wang told reporters on Monday as the team presented their study.

"Our findings demonstrate that RBC is a potential anti-viral agent for Covid-19."

The coronavirus has killed more than a million people since it first emerged in China last December and then spread across the globe.

As scientists scramble to find a vaccine, they have also been scouring readily available drugs that might alleviate symptoms caused by the Covid-19 disease or help the body fight infection.

Remdesivir, a broad-spectrum antiviral drug, and dexamethasone, a type of corticosteroid, have both been identified as having some success against the virus. Both were used by doctors to treat US President Donald Trump after he contracted Covid-19.

But they have drawbacks.

Remdesivir is expensive and there is a global shortage while dexamethasone has immunosuppression effects that are risky for all but the most ill patients. Other drug cocktails have shown liver damage can be a risk.

The Hong Kong scientists said RBC was a commonly available drug used against stomach ulcers with a safe and comprehensive pharmacological profile.

"It's been used for decades so it's pretty safe," Wang said.

They added that their research, which has been published in the journal Nature Microbiology, suggested other metallodrugs might also have success against the virus and should be further explored.

© 2020 AFP

A year on, Syria Kurds displaced by Turkey long for home

ABANDONED BY TRUMP, EXCEPT FOR THE OIL WELL THEY PROTECT

Issued on: 12/10/2020 - 

Tens of thousands were forced into informal settlements in Kurdish-controlled regions of Syria since the Turkish offensive in October 2019 to capture a 120-kilometre (70-mile) long strip along its southern border Delil SOULEIMAN AFP

Hasakeh (Syria) (AFP)

The five-month-old baby girl of Wadha Sharmoukh has only lived in a tent because Turkish troops and their Syrian proxies captured her family's hometown in northern Syria from Kurdish forces a year ago.

She was a born in a dusty camp crowded with Kurdish civilians who fled their towns and villages when Ankara's October 2019 offensive seized a 120-kilometre (70-mile) long strip of land on the Syrian side of its southern border.

"My five-month-old daughter Berivan was born in the camps. She has never seen a home. She has just been squeezed into a tent," the 29-year-old mother told AFP in the settlement in the northeastern province of Hasakeh.

"What kind of life is that, of a child born and raised in a tent?" asked the woman from the town of Ras al-Ain.

Sharmoukh and her family are among tens of thousands who have been forced out of their homes and into tented settlements in areas still controlled by the Kurds.

Their homes and belongings have been seized or looted in the year since Turkey's operation ended, human rights groups say, leaving them with little to return to -- if they are able to return at all.

"The future is bleak and we feel hopeless," Sharmoukh said.

"I try to forget sometimes, but how can someone forget their home and the things they have worked their entire lives to build?"

- 'Like a grave' -

The hardest part for Sharmoukh is watching her three daughters grow up in the camps.

"I wonder about my daughters' future if things stay this way," she said inside their emergency shelter, her children gathered around her on a mat.

"When they grow up, how will they feel when they leave the camp and see how other people are living?"

She is most worried about her five-year-old daughter Roslyn, who is paralysed in the legs and uses a wheelchair, from which other children sometimes push her to the ground.

"I try to keep her close to me, but she doesn't like to stay in the tent," Sharmoukh said.

In a nearby tent, Shams Abdulkader, a 40-year-old mother of seven, said she cannot imagine living out the rest of her days in the camp.

"We think of returning to our homes in Ras al-Ain day and night," she told AFP.

"I would have preferred to have died in my town than live in this camp, which feels like a grave."

But her hometown is not what it used to be.

Ankara's Syrian proxies -- who have become bitter rivals of Syria's Kurds after successive Turkey-led operations against them -- have made life intolerable for residents in Ras al-Ain and the nearby town of Tal Abyad, she said.

"They are our enemies," she said. "They kill people, kidnap women, steal our homes and cars, and no one stops them."

- 'I brought my house key' -

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet warned last month of growing violence and criminality in areas captured by Turkey and its Syrian proxies, including Ras al-Ain and Tal Abyad.

Her office has reported a pattern of violations in recent months, including increased killings, kidnappings, and seizures of land and properties.

Those who are critical of Turkey and its armed groups bear the brunt of these violations, the UN said.

The Syrian opposition has rejected any allegations the abuses were "systematic", and said it has referred the matter to its judicial authorities.

But this new reality has caused Salima Mohammad to give up almost entirely on the idea of returning to her village.

The 42-year-old brought stones and mud to build a kitchen near her tent to cook for her 14-member family.

"Our village was torched," she said, her eyes welling up. "Even if we had hopes of returning, where would we go if there aren't any houses, or walls, or doors, or windows?"

Mohammad said she has not yet adapted to life in the camp.

"What meaning does the future have if we are not beside our families on our own land?" she asked.

The sentiment is shared by 65-year-old Qamra Ali, who was displaced with her family from the countryside of Ras al-Ain last year.

Her grandchildren sitting around her, the elderly woman rummaged inside a small bag and pulled out a key on a thick black shoelace.

"I brought my house key with me," she said. "If I die before I return, I want to be buried with it."

© 2020 AFP

No leniency for Greek neo-Nazi leaders in sentencing

Issued on: 12/10/2020 - 

Independent Eurodeputy Ioannis Lagos (C) asked for the panel of three judges to be replaced Louisa GOULIAMAKI AFP

Athens (AFP)

A Greek court Monday rejected a request for leniency for the leader of notorious Greek neo-Nazi party Golden Dawn and his top aides, who were convicted last week at the end of a landmark five-year trial.

The court refused to consider mitigating factors when sentencing party founder and long-term leader Nikos Michaloliakos and six other former party lawmakers for crimes that include running a criminal organisation.

However, the announcement of the sentencing that had been expected Tuesday will be delayed after one of the defendants -- independent Eurodeputy Ioannis Lagos -- asked for the panel of three judges to be replaced.


Dozens of Communist protesters gathered outside the court near central Athens on Monday, demanding harsh sentences for the "Nazi criminals".

After over five years of hearings, the panel of three judges on Wednesday unanimously labelled the paramilitary party a criminal organisation in the trial described as one of the most important in Greece's political history.

More than 50 defendants were convicted of crimes ranging from running a criminal organisation, murder and assault to illegal weapons possession.

As a result, Michaloliakos and six others including Lagos, deputy leader Christos Pappas and former party spokesman Ilias Kassidiaris will receive sentences of up to 15 years, a court source said.

Key crimes carried out by Golden Dawn are the 2013 murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas and the beating of Egyptian fishermen in 2012 and communist trade unionists in 2013, the court established on Wednesday.

The announcement was greeted with elation by some 20,000 anti-fascist protesters gathered outside.

Some of them later briefly clashed with riot police.

Police over the weekend blocked plans by Lagos to hold a demonstration outside the tribunal on Monday.

\

- 'Scared little people' -

Lagos, a top Golden Dawn organiser who defected from the party last year after his election to the European parliament, last week said he was convicted by a "scared team of little people carrying out orders and trampling on every sense of law."

Appearing in court on Monday, Lagos said the court was "biased" against him and said he would seek to have the panel of three judges replaced.

Lagos caused controversy in January by ripping up a printout of the Turkish flag in the European parliament, arguing that Turkey was to blame for illegal migration flows into Greece.

Michaloliakos has rejected his conviction as a political witchhunt.

"We were condemned over our ideas," he tweeted last week. "When illegal immigrants are the majority in Greece, when (the government) hands over everything to Turkey, when millions of Greeks are unemployed on the street, they will remember Golden Dawn."

Twitter later suspended his account.

During the investigation, prosecutors said Michaloliakos ran his party under a military-style hierarchy modelled on Hitler's Nazi party, with himself as the undisputed leader for over three decades.

A search of party members' homes in 2013 uncovered firearms and other weapons, as well as Nazi and fascist memorabilia.

Tapping into anti-austerity and anti-migrant anger during the decade-long Greek debt crisis, Golden Dawn for a time was the third most popular party in the country.

At the height of its power, the party topped 10 percent in surveys, and its popularity remained high even after the criminal investigation into Fyssas' murder began in 2013.

© 2020 AFP

Turkey restarts hunt for Mediterranean gas, reigniting Greek row



Issued on: 12/10/2020 - 

Activities of the Oruc Reis has been central to a dispute between Greece and Turkey 

Ozan KOSE AFP/File

Ankara (Turkey) (AFP)

Turkey will redeploy the research ship at the centre of an energy row with Greece to the eastern Mediterranean on Monday, a decision slammed by Athens as a "direct threat to peace".

The row over gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean saw the two NATO countries stage rival military drills in August in strategic waters between Cyprus and the Greek island of Crete.

Greece claims rights over the waters around its island of Kastellorizo but Turkey says its longer coastline makes the territory a legitimate area for its vessels to explore.

The Turkish navy said the Oruc Reis ship will carry out activities in the region, including the south of Kastellorizo, until October 22 in a message sent to the maritime alert system NAVTEX late on Sunday.

The vessel will be joined in the latest "seismic survey" mission by two other ships called Ataman and Cengiz Han, the message said.

Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez delivered a defiant message via Twitter on Monday that Turkey "will continue to search, dig and protect our rights".

"If there is (natural gas), we will absolutely find it," he said.

But Greece's foreign ministry on Monday lambasted the move as a "direct threat to regional peace and security" and accused Turkey of being unreliable.

The ministry added in a statement that Ankara did not "sincerely desire dialogue".

Ankara first deployed the Oruc Reis and warships to disputed waters on August 10 and extended the mission, ignoring repeated calls to stop by Greece and the European Union.

- Sanctions threat -

The Oruc Reis was pulled back to shore last month in what many hoped was a sign the two sides could resolve the issue through dialogue.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the time that the withdrawal was designed to give diplomacy a chance.

But Turkish officials also insisted the ship was in port for planned maintenance and would return to the eastern Mediterranean to continue its work.

In his tweet on Monday, Donmez said maintenance work was finished and the ship could now restart its scan of the Mediterranean.

The announcement dashed hopes raised when Turkey and Greece agreed to exploratory talks last month after diplomatic efforts led by Germany to defuse the crisis.

The talks had been stalled since 2016 and the expectation was for their resumption in Istanbul but no exact date was given.

The Turkish and Greek foreign ministers also met last week on the sidelines of a security forum in Slovakia's capital Bratislava in the highest-level talks since tensions began.

The ministers had agreed that a date should be set for the start of exploratory talks, according to a Greek foreign ministry source.

At a summit earlier this month, the European Union threatened sanctions if Turkey failed to stop what the bloc says is illegal drilling and energy exploration activities in waters claimed by Cyprus and Greece.

Turkey described the threat as "unconstructive" but its latest move will cause further strains in Ankara's already tense relationship with Brussels.

The German foreign minister is expected to visit Ankara on Wednesday, according to Turkish state broadcaster TRT, where the eastern Mediterranean will be high on the agenda.

© 2020

From the streets to the ballot box, America’s youngest voters are ready to be heard

Issued on: 12/10/2020 - 

Demonstrators at the Cleveland presidential debate protest for Black lives and climate justice, on September 29, 2020. © Colin Kinniburgh, France 24

Text by:  Colin KINNIBURGH

In key battleground states, Gen Z is ready to make its voice heard. And for many among America’s most progressive generation, that means setting aside their misgivings about establishment politics to vote for the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden.

On a crisp Thursday in Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan’s flagship campus is unusually quiet. The university is one of many across the United States that has welcomed students back to campus amid the Covid-19 pandemic; but with many activities and some courses shifting online, the fall semester is off to a somewhat muted start.

One corner of campus, though, is bustling. Tucked in the lobby of the university’s Museum of Art (UMMA) is a voter registration office operated by the Ann Arbor City Clerk. The temporary office has been open since September 24, when early voting began in the state, and staff said interest among students has been overwhelming.

“‘Surge’ is an understatement,” said Candice Price, 34, a poll worker and Ann Arbor native.

“After the debate, it was crazy,” Price told FRANCE 24, referring to the first presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Biden on September 29, in which Trump repeatedly interrupted his opponent, to the dismay of both Biden and the moderator.

“It was like zombies on the windows, trying to get in here. It was insane. There were kids waiting in line for like 45 minutes to vote.”

Price said many students who came to the office that day were quick to say why: They wanted to vote Trump out.

“They were very clear why they came in,” Price said. “[Their] words were, ‘I’m tired of this foolishness, this can’t happen anymore ... you need my vote, this is a swing state.’”

Michigan, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, is one of the three states that delivered Trump’s electoral college victory with a razor-thin margin in 2016.

“‘Surge’ is an understatement,” said poll worker Candice Price (center) of students registering to vote. © Colin Kinniburgh

The temporary election office, which will close on Election Day, is one of hundreds of sites where Michigan residents can cast their votes early under sweeping election reforms approved by voters in a 2018 ballot initiative. Michiganders can now register and vote on the same day – up to and including Election Day – as well as obtain an absentee ballot without providing a reason.

Price has seen the results first hand.

“Typically, Ann Arbor City has about 15,000 people that request absentee ballots. We’ve had over 40,000,” she told FRANCE 24. “At the headquarters, people are stuffing envelopes over and over and over … I’ve probably done about 1,000 myself.”

UMMA has given similar numbers, reporting in a tweet that the office “registered more than 1,000 new voters” in its first week and that “more than 800 absentee ballots (were) returned”.

Logan Woods, a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at the University of Michigan and secretary of the campus voter registration drive Turn Up Turnout, told FRANCE 24 by email that he has “heard no indication that number is dropping” as voting continues.

Across Michigan, youth voter registration is up since 2016, according to researchers at the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning & Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University in Massachusetts.

As of September, the number of 18- to 24-year-olds registered to vote in the state was 12 percent higher than in November 2016, with some six weeks to go before Election Day. That was before National Voter Registration Day (September 24), the debate and the rush of voters seen by the Ann Arbor campus office.

Students voting in the lobby of the University of Michigan Museum of Art. 

© Colin Kinniburgh

Still, CIRCLE’s findings suggest that the “surge” Price describes may not be reflected nationwide. In six of the 27 states the researchers surveyed, youth registration at last count was actually down from November 2016.

Reports have pointed to several possible factors. In Ohio, where youth registration has dropped the most, voting rights advocates have blamed voter ID laws and other technicalities for making it harder for students to vote.

Then, of course, there’s Covid-19, which has collided with a maze of state laws to turn voting into a logistical, legal and political battle not seen in decades. Many states have made it easier to vote by mail, but that is not an intuitive solution for a generation raised with smartphones.

Even in states like Michigan, which have made it relatively easy to vote, the pandemic has exacerbated longstanding logistical hurdles to getting to the polls. Price said social media has played a role in counterbalancing that.

“First-time voters come in and say, I saw it on Instagram… I saw it on Twitter... that’s a big deal,” she said. If you don’t connect with them online, she added, young people are not going to show up.

Diverse, progressive – and elusive

The biggest obstacle of all, though, may be convincing young voters that the candidates can actually make a difference in their lives.

It’s not that they’re apathetic. On the contrary, members of Generation Z – generally defined as those born after 1996 – have been at the forefront of the defining social movements of the last several years, from the climate strikes to March for Our Lives to Black Lives Matter.

That’s no great surprise: polling from Pew Research has found Gen Z to be the most diverse and progressive generation of Americans yet. Just a slim majority (52 percent) are white. Of the 13- to 23-year-olds surveyed by Pew, 35 percent said they knew someone who used gender-neutral pronouns, compared to just 16 percent of Gen Xers and 12 percent of baby boomers.

On the economic front, about half of those polled this year reported that their household had faced a loss of income due to Covid-19 and a whopping 70 percent said the government should do more to address social problems – nearly double the rate among the oldest Americans.

The open question is how much of Gen Z’s political energy will translate to the ballot box in what, for millions, will be their first-ever presidential election.

The generation’s older members make up some 24 million eligible voters this year, but only 4 percent of likely voters. That’s because, historically, most young Americans do not vote. And while they bucked that trend in 2018, helping Democrats reclaim the House of Representatives in the midterm elections, there is no guarantee the pattern will hold.

“Zoomers” may lean heavily Democratic, but polling shows them to be increasingly distrustful of established institutions. As many as half of those who identify as Democrats are also wary of “party elites”, according to CIRCLE polling from 2018.

“I don’t think [Biden is] a long-term plan,” said Madison Horton, a 20-year-old student in nursing and anthropology at Ann Arbor. She backed Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary, and like many of Sanders's young supporters, lost enthusiasm after he conceded defeat. Still, since Biden clinched the nomination, she “never really doubted” she would vote for him.

Some of Trump’s more extremist positions might also help galvanize young voters. Horton said that when Trump couldn’t do “something as simple as condemning white supremacy” on the debate stage, that sealed her decision.

“I think to continue the support for Bernie, people are deciding to vote for Biden,” said third-year student Madison Horton. © Colin Kinniburgh

Horton, who works in the art museum café adjacent to the city clerk’s office, is confident that many of her peers will vote the same way – even those who still support Sanders.

“I think to continue the support for Bernie, people are deciding to vote for Biden,” she said.

Despite their reservations, nearly two-thirds of likely Gen Z voters polled by Morning Consult in September plan to vote for Biden, compared to just 27 percent for Trump.

‘Someone has to step up’

Horton joins a wide swath of young voters who feel disillusioned with the political options available at the national level but who plan to cast what they see as a necessary vote for Biden. In FRANCE 24’s reporting across the Rust Belt in late September and early October, we encountered versions of this sentiment among a range of young social movement activists in key swing states spanning from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin.

In Cleveland, Ohio, on the night of Trump and Biden’s rancorous debate, several hundred demonstrators gathered a few blocks from the venue for the Cleveland presidential debate protest for Black lives and climate justice. The protest was organized by about a dozen racial justice, environmental and left-wing groups, including the Sunrise Movement, Black Spring CLE and the Democratic Socialists of America.

Jonathan Roy heard about the protest online from Black Lives Matter Cleveland. The 24-year-old, who plays drums for a church full time and moonlights at local breweries, said that growing up biracial in East Cleveland, he had himself experienced police abuse.

“I got pulled over in a suburban area,” he said. Police cursed at him, and “made me do a sobriety test for no reason, in the cold, while it was snowing.”

“I almost got six months in jail and a $1000 fine for nothing,” he said. The charges against him were eventually dropped.

Personally, I’m not into government. But someone has to step up and do something,” said 24-year-old Jonathan Roy of Cleveland. © Colin Kinniburgh

Roy said he was also jolted by the 2014 killing of Tamir Rice, a Black 12-year-old who was shot by Cleveland police while playing with a toy gun. Rice’s killing was among those that spurred the first wave of the Black Lives Matter movement that year, and it continues to be a driving force for organizers in the city to this day.

When it comes to the election, Roy said he plans to vote for Biden.

“Personally, I’m not into government. But someone has to step up and do something,” he told FRANCE 24.

‘Issues-first voters’

Among those Gen Z voters who support Trump, many are just as mobilized as their left-wing counterparts and have garnered a dedicated following online. On the social media platform TikTok, Trump fans rally around hashtags like #SocialismSucks, bashing progressive icons like Sanders and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

YouTube, the most widely used social media app among teens, has served as a recruiting ground for the far right. And across various channels, well-funded youth groups like Talking Points USA use aggressive new tactics to champion longstanding conservative causes.

In Cleveland, Lexie Hall, the 19-year-old spokesperson for the anti-abortion group Created Equal, carried a placard displaying a graphic image of an aborted foetus. Gathered with about a dozen other activists, she said their group “seeks to make abortion unthinkable in our culture”.

“If a candidate is pro-abortion, I’m not going to be able to vote for them,” said 19-year-old Lexie Hall. © Colin Kinniburgh

Hall said she was planning to vote for Donald Trump, whom she called “the only pro-life candidate”.

When asked whether there was any contradiction between being pro-life and supporting a candidate who has overseen one of the deadliest years in US history, Hall answered: “Really, for me, abortion is the main thing. If a candidate is pro-abortion, I’m not going to be able to vote for them.”

The sentiment reflects one area where Hall finds common ground with her progressive peers: They’re driven at least as much by issues as by party affiliation.

An open letter to Biden from a coalition of eight progressive, youth-led groups in April spelled it out plainly.

“Young people are issues-first voters,” the groups wrote. “Exclusively anti-Trump messaging won’t be enough to lead any candidate to victory. We need you to champion the bold ideas that have galvanized our generation and given us hope in the political process.”

Critics see gap in BlackRock's climate rhetoric and record

Issued on: 11/10/2020 - 

New York (AFP)

BlackRock, the world's biggest money manager, made headlines early this year when it pledged to prioritize climate change in its investments and pare down its coal holdings.

But environmentalists say the company has failed to make good on this promise in a series of shareholder proposals at annual meetings this year.

Led by influential Wall Street player Larry Fink and overseeing some $7.3 trillion in assets, BlackRock in January vowed to take action to address climate change and sustainable development, raising the hopes of environmentalists.

"We applauded BlackRock for its statement at the beginning of this year.... and we acknowledge that they have taken some steps in that direction," said Ben Cushing, who leads the Sierra Club's financial advocacy campaign.

"But clearly it has not translated into fast-enough, or bold-enough action."

- Need for 'stewardship' -

Part of the skepticism comes from BlackRock's response to shareholder proposals to require companies to take action on the environment.

BlackRock supported only 13 percent of the green-oriented resolutions in 2020, down from 20 percent in 2019, according to Proxy Insight, which tracks global shareholder voting.

A September report from non-governmental organization Majority Action said the New York financial giant backed only three of 36 resolutions on climate change in proxy votes of S&P 500 companies.

And though BlackRock signed on to Climate Action 100+, a global investor engagement initiative, the company supported just two of 12 resolutions presented by the coalition.

BlackRock holds shares in numerous large companies, including Apple, Facebook and Exxon Mobil, as well as ConocoPhillips and Nike.

Cushing said BlackRock could make a big difference if its actions match its rhetoric.

"BlackRock is a huge contributor to the climate crisis through its financing of fossil fuels, deforestation and other climate damaging industries," he said.

"They are one of the world's largest shareholders in almost every publicly traded company," Cushing said. "That gives BlackRock tremendous power and leverage to steer the behavior of corporations in the US and around the world."

The company voted against proposals to require Chevron to develop a report on the risks from petrochemical plants and to make Delta Airlines evaluate how its lobbying strategy conforms with the Paris Climate Accord, saying the firms already had taken steps to address the issue.

But BlackRock has defended its record, saying it had taken other steps, like voting against board nominees who are not committed to environmental issues and prodding action in meetings with company management.

"It's worth noting that not all shareholder proposals are created equal," the company said. "Blindly supporting proposals is not a responsible approach to stewardship."

- 'Discouraging' voting record -

But Giulia Christianson, head of sustainable investment at the World Resources Institute, said other big investors are stepping up on the environment.

According to the report from Majority Action, investment heavyweight Pimco voted in favor of all the resolutions considered essential for the environment.

The same report credited French company Amundi with a 78 percent record and JPMorgan Chase with a 53 percent record. BlackRock backed only eight percent of the resolutions.

"The voting record that we've seen from BlackRock this year is discouraging," Christianson said, noting an apparent "disconnect" between BlackRock's actions and earlier statements that implied it viewed promoting sustainability as part of its fiduciary duty.

And Christianson notes that it makes good business sense: environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) investments have gained more legitimacy in recent years and many green-oriented companies have outperformed amid the tumult of the coronavirus.

"We're seeing ESG funds make it through the current stress test of market volatility pretty well and in many cases better than their traditional index counterparts," she said.

© 2020 AFP

'LGBTQ landmark': Tokyo opens Olympics Pride House


Issued on: 11/10/2020

LGBTQ rights campaigners in Japan are hoping that Pride House Tokyo will help tackle stigma and raise awareness of discrimination Philip FONG AFP

Tokyo (AFP)

Tokyo on Sunday opened its first major community hub for LGBTQ people this month, part of a pre-Olympics project that campaigners hope will tackle stigma and raise awareness of discrimination.

Pride House Tokyo is based on similar inclusive pop-up sites set up at past Olympics, but will offer a permanent meeting space and information centre, seeking to educate the public about sexual diversity and offer refuge to those suffering harassment or discrimination.

While Japan has some protections for sexual minorities, it remains the only G7 country that does not recognise same-sex unions, and many couples say they can struggle to rent apartments together and are even barred from hospital visits

Those challenges mean spaces like Pride House, set up in coordination with Tokyo 2020 Olympic organisers, are sorely needed in Japan, activists say.

"Japan, not just in sporting circles but society as a whole -- including schools and workplaces -- is not friendly to LGBTQ people, and it is hard to come out," Gon Matsunaka, who heads the project behind Pride House, told AFP.

While the centre is being set up under a recent Olympic tradition, the project is officially named "Pride House Tokyo Legacy", and activists hope its influence will extend beyond the Games.

The venue "will be a landmark that could change the landscape for LGBTQ people in Japanese society," Matsunaka said.

The International Olympic Committee echoed hopes for a lasting legacy.

"In sport, we are all equal," IOC President Thomas Bach said in a statement released Sunday.

"We therefore welcome that Tokyo 2020 has embedded diversity and inclusion in the Olympic Games model," he said, wishing "the Pride House Tokyo success".

- 'Unthinkable to come out' -

The first Pride House -- inspired by the tradition of Olympic hospitality centres for national teams -- was launched at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games.

Temporary venues have since appeared at London 2012 and Rio 2016, and at other international sporting events like the Commonwealth Games.

In 2014, Russian authorities denied a request to open a Pride House at the Sochi Winter Games, the organisation said. Instead, remote spaces were set up internationally for LGBTQ fans to gather.

Those involved in setting up the Tokyo Pride House include Fumino Sugiyama, a former athlete who was on the national women's fencing team before coming out as a transgender man.

"When I was fencing, it was unthinkable to come out in the sports community, which was particularly homophobic," said Sugiyama, 39.

"I faced a dilemma between trying to do the sport I love, where I can't be myself, or trying to be myself and having to stop fencing," he said.

While there are now several openly gay top sportspeople worldwide, from US women's soccer star Megan Rapinoe to British Olympic diver Tom Daley, "not a single top athlete has come out" in Japan, he said.

Some local governments, employers and universities in Japan have taken gradual steps in recent years to expand protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens.

In some cities, local districts recognise same-sex partnerships, and some employers and universities have specific protections against discrimination.

- 'Growing number of allies' -

"Society has changed a lot, with a growing number of allies," Sugiyama said.

"But there remains the fundamental issue of the lack of a legal system to ensure LGBTQ rights in Japan, for example, the right to get married."

There is no widespread religious stigma against homosexuality in Japan, and some popular celebrities and TV personalities are openly gay.

And activists have launched several legal challenges recently intended to expand rights for the community, including suits last year accusing the government of discrimination for failing to recognise same-sex unions.

But success is not guaranteed.

In 2019, the Supreme Court upheld strict rules on changing gender on legal documents including a requirement that a transgender person have no reproductive capacity, which can effectively force some to undergo sterilsation to change their documents.

Sugiyama said it would be important for Pride House, in Tokyo's lively Shinjuku area which has a well-known gay district, to stay open beyond the Olympics.

"LGBTQ people face various issues," he said. "Small and big, 24 hours, 365 days a year."

© 2020 AFP

Kenyan filmmaker hopes to follow in Hollywood's LGBTQ footsteps



Issued on: 11/10/2020 -

Murimi is a multiple award-winning director known for tackling complex social issues

 Tolga AKMEN AFP

London (AFP)

The Kenyan director behind a new documentary about a gay couple struggling for acceptance in the east African country hopes its film industry can mirror Hollywood's progressive role in promoting LGBTQ rights.

Peter Murimi, whose documentary "I Am Samuel" screens at the London Film Festival this weekend, is the latest filmmaker to depict a same-sex relationship in sub-Saharan Africa in the face of religious and cultural conservatism.

He believes portraying more gay people on the big screen across the continent, alongside moves to decriminalise homosexuality, can make LGBTQ rights a mainstream issue.

"The role Hollywood played in furthering LBGTQ rights in the United States was really big, it cannot be understated," Murimi told AFP on the sidelines of the festival.

"You could just see gay people on TV and in Hollywood, and slowly and slowly it became much easier (for them).

"They say 'you win the hearts, and once the hearts are won the law is irrelevant'," he said, adding "film can play that role".

Murimi, 42, a multiple award-winning director known for tackling complex social issues, is unsure if he will get permission from Kenyan authorities to show "I Am Samuel".

He is currently screening it internationally, but believes Kenya is becoming more tolerant, despite the protagonists of his documentary having to move home for their own safety.

The filmmaker said they also have a plan ready should the film provoke a backlash inside Kenya.

"In the last 10 years (LGBTQ rights have) really actually been making a lot of strides in a positive way," Murimi insisted.

"So we'll just try our best and hopefully Kenyans will see it and that's what we want."

Murimi is encouraged by the reception of other recent high-profile African films about gay relationships.

The 2018 movie "Rafiki", about a lesbian love affair, was initially banned by Kenya's censors but that was later overturned, and it went on to have some sold-out screenings.

Meanwhile last year's British-Nigerian co-production "Walking With Shadows", chronicling the fallout from a romantic relationship between two Nigerian men, earned critical acclaim after a limited release in Lagos.

- Not 'us against them' -

"I Am Samuel" tells the story of Samuel and Alex, a gay couple from humble backgrounds living in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and part of a community of fellow queer men.

It comes as the country sees legal challenges to a British colonial-era law punishing "carnal knowledge... against the order of nature" by up to 14 years in jail.

Last year, Kenya's High Court upheld the laws but activists are challenging the ruling in appeals courts.

Murimi believes despite the legislation's historical legacy, the fight for greater acceptance of the LGBTQ community is something best left to Kenyans.

He noted homophobic people in the country criticise gay people for adopting "Western behaviour" and said outsiders' calls for more tolerance are typically characterised as "imposing your culture on us".

"So it is counterproductive and it's better if nothing happens and we just try to sort it out," Murimi added.

His documentary ignores the ongoing legal battles and focuses instead on Samuel's struggles to win acceptance of his relationship from his own family, who live on a farm in a rural part of Kenya.

The filmmaker, a heterosexual who sees himself as an ally of the LGBTQ community, said he wanted to create something that "parents can relate to" as well, broadening the number of people who could appreciate it.

"This film I hope can do that because it is not an 'us against them'. It's very nuanced, it's very balanced, it's a story about a family that is struggling with this issue, having a gay son," he explained.

"There are so many fathers whose children are gay that will relate to this film. There are so many people whose brother or sister is gay and will connect with this film."

© 2020 AFP