Nigeria extremists still ‘very dangerous,’ says UN official


FILE- Martin Griffiths, the United Nations humanitarian chief, speaks during an interview at the U.N. headquarters in New York, Sept. 28, 2021. A top U.N. official says that the Islamic extremist insurgency in northeast Nigeria is a “very, very dangerous (and) very threatening” crisis that needs more than $1 billion in aid in 2022 to assist those hit by the decade-long conflict. 

(AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

CHINEDU ASADU
Fri, January 21, 2022,

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The Islamic extremist insurgency in northeast Nigeria is a “very, very dangerous (and) very threatening” crisis that needs more than $1 billion in aid in 2022 to assist those hit by the decade-long conflict, United Nations humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Griffiths, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, urged the world not to forget the continuing devastation caused by Boko Haram and its offshoot, the Islamic State West Africa Province, together blamed for killing tens of thousands of residents and displacing millions.

“This is a very different kind of operation and very difficult also to deter ... a grave and clear and present danger, obviously, to the people and a priority for the government,” Griffiths said in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. “The world needs to remember this is a tragedy that needs to be sorted out.”


Boko Haram, Nigeria's homegrown Islamic extremist rebels, launched an insurgency in the country's northeast in 2009, to fight against western education and to establish Islamic Shariah law in Nigeria. Their rebellion has spread over the years to the neighboring West African countries of Cameroon, Niger and Chad. Boko Haram drew international condemnation in 2014 when they abducted 276 schoolgirls in Chibok village, prompting the #BringBackOurGirls campaign. More than 100 of those abducted students are still missing.

The conflict has resulted in approximately 35,000 deaths, according to the U.N. Development Program. For each casualty, "an additional nine people, primarily children, have lost their lives due to lack of food and resources,” the U.N. agency estimated in a report in June last year.

Nigeria's military continues to try to quell the violence especially in northeastern Borno state and the Lake Chad region, but the conflict has continued year after year.

The faction allied with the Islamic State group this week released a video showing dozens of child fighters training in open fields and being taught in classrooms. The video is a “clear” message that the extremists “are here to stay” and “a new generation is coming,” according to Vincent Foucher of the International Crisis Group.

Nigeria's security forces have also beefed up their air capacity “which means it is difficult for (the Islamic State offshoot) to get away with the large attacks it carried out two or three years ago,” Foucher added.

The U.N. humanitarian chief said it's not clear when displaced populations will be able to return to their homes, although it is a crucial goal so that people are given hope "that maybe it’s not an indefinite exile from their villages.”

For 2022, the U.N. estimates Nigeria's northeast will need development assistance of more than $1 billion in addition to government spending, he said. The funds are needed to provide food and healthcare to the millions of people displaced and to those who remain at their homes but are vulnerable to attacks. Nigerian officials “understand this is not a quick fix," said Griffiths after meetings with government authorities.

Beyond the northeast, the northwest and central parts of Nigeria are experiencing violent attacks carried out by armed groups who had traditionally worked as nomadic cattle herders and are caught up in a decades-long conflict with Hausa farming communities over access to water and grazing land.

Nigeria's fight against extremists "can’t be won on the battlefield,” said the U.N. official, who urged more community development efforts.

“You win civil wars in the minds of the people who live there," said Griffiths. "If you don’t have the communities on your side, it doesn’t really matter how much else you’ve got on your side. You won’t make peace.”

HANDS OFF VENEZUELA & IRAN
With help from Iran, Venezuela doubles oil production despite U.S. sanctions



Antonio Maria Delgado
Thu, January 20, 2022

Venezuela has doubled its oil production in recent months thanks to Iran and other players that are helping it evade U.S. sanctions, but the country’s industry is now running near the top of its capacity and it is unlikely it could go much higher than current output levels, according to industry analysts.

Oil industry sources confirmed to the Miami Herald that Venezuelan oil production reached an estimated average of 900,000 barrels per day, or bpd, in December and could reach 850,000 bpd in January, thanks mainly to regular shipments of thinners from Iran that have allowed the country to make up for the decline in domestic production.

Those thinners, usually the petroleum derivative known as naphtha, are essential to reducing the viscosity of the super-heavy Venezuelan crude oil.

The new production figures, which contrast with the 450,000 bpd that were being produced at the beginning of last year, dispel lingering doubts surrounding the announcement made by President Nicolás Maduro weeks ago that Venezuela’s production was already at one million barrels per day.

Although that level still constitutes a slight exaggeration over the real numbers, the fact is the Caracas regime is currently enjoying a significant improvement in oil revenues, experts said.

“Indeed, they have increased production and there are several elements that indicate this,” said Juan Fernández, former Executive Director of Planning for the state-owned Petróleos de Venezuela, PDVSA. “A lot of it is because they have been receiving the Iranian thinner and that goes directly to production in the Orinoco heavy-oil belt.”

This increase, together with the sharp rise in oil prices, is providing significant additional income to the Maduro regime and it is helping fuel forecasts that Venezuela will notch in 2022 its first GDP increase in six years, Fernández added.

Crude production had been gradually declining over the years from the 3.2 million barrels per day that Venezuela was generating when the late President Hugo Chávez came to power in 1999. By the time Maduro took office in 2013, production stood at 2.5 million bpd, and lack of investment in the industry had reduced the level to an average of 1.34 million bpd by 2018. Production fell below one million bpd after the United States sanctioned PDVSA in January 2019.

The Iranian naphtha, which is shipped through obscure routes to avoid the consequences of evading U.S. sanctions, is essential to be able to sell crude from the Orinoco Oil Belt, which needs to be diluted to be sold on world markets.

The U.S. government began to level sanctions during the Donald Trump administration to penalize the Maduro regime and high-ranking officials involved in corruption, drug trafficking and the dismantling of the democratic system.

The hardest blow came in 2019, when the U.S. Treasury Department banned business with PDVSA, in essence prohibiting the purchase of Venezuelan crude in the United States and threatening to punish any U.S. or foreign company dealing with or even discussing business with state-owned companies.

Companies from third countries run a great risk when dealing with Venezuela because they could also be sanctioned for doing so, which can end their access to the international financial system, which mostly operates in U.S. dollars. Fearing this, Russian oil company Rosneft divested its Venezuelan interests in March 2020.

Iran, which has already been sanctioned, apparently does not share Rosneft’s fears and has continued to provide the needed thinners. Fernández said the Venezuelan industry estimates that each barrel of thinner allows Venezuela to produce three of Orinoco Belt oil. “Oil production estimates for the belt currently add up to 450,000 to 500,000 barrels a day and that is due mainly to Iran’s help,” he said.

Experts said that of the nearly 900,000 bpd currently being produced, some 600,000 could be destined for export despite the U.S. ban, which has already led to the application of sanctions to companies from other countries that have helped Venezuela export crude.

Most oil sales are currently being shipped to Malaysian and Singaporean buyers via tankers that turn off their satellite tracking devices to avoid detection. From there the oil is sold to China, which remains the largest customer of Venezuelan crude.

Due to the risk of buying from the Caracas regime, Venezuelan crude is normally sold for $25 less per barrel than the benchmark Brent crude, said an industry source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

But given that the Brent crude is now at around $90 a barrel, the sale of 600,000 bpd could be generating a monthly revenue of about $1.1 billion a month, experts said. And the flow of oil income could go even further in the near future, given that analysts believe that the price of the Brent crude could exceed $100 a barrel in coming weeks.

Yet, there is doubt that Venezuela could increase its revenue by boosting production from its current levels barring a decision from Washington to end the sanctions.

The industry source that spoke on condition of anonymity said PDVSA still faces a number of problems that make it difficult even to maintain the current output levels.

“They are still facing equipment and facility maintenance problems; they still have personnel problems, given that many professionals have left, and they still suffer from shortages even though they now have a little more money to purchase some of the supplies that they lacked,” the source said.

Among the largest obstacles to increasing production is the lack of oil drills in the country, which are essential to tap new wells to replace those that stop producing due to natural decline. Experts said that in order to produce more than a million barrels per day, Venezuela must first make large investments to acquire new drills and other key equipment.

Despite the rebound in production, internal fuel shortages continue to be a problem in Venezuela, particularly in the country’s interior, where millions of drivers are often forced to spend hours waiting in line outside gas stations hoping to reach the pump before the fuel runs out.

Despite the internal shortages, the regular supply of fuel to Cuba has not been interrupted. Venezuela sent at least three shipments of gasoline to Cuba this month with about 170,000 barrels of gasoline and other refined products, according to Venezuelan press reports.

Venezuela, which maintains an agreement to exchange oil for medical services with Cuba, does not receive cash payments for these shipments.

Cuban protesters await sentencing, facing long prison terms









1 / 9 APTOPIX Cuba Protesters Trials
Relatives show photos of the three Roman siblings who are in prison accused of participating in anti-government protests, at their home in the La Guinera neighborhood of Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Jan. 19,2022. Six months after surprising protests against the Cuban government, more than 50 protesters charged with sedition are headed to trial and could face prison sentences up to 30 years. 

(AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)More

ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ
Thu, January 20, 2022, 12:32 PM·3 min read

HAVANA (AP) — Cuban courts have wrapped up the hearing phase of six mass trials for people accused of involvement in the largest and most unruly protests on the island in decades, leaving more than 100 defendants awaiting potentially heavy sentences.

Relatives of defendants and activists following the trials in several cities across the island — the last of which concluded this week — said prosecutors were seeking sentences of up to 30 years in prison for crimes including sedition, public disorder and attacks. No date has been announced for sentencing.

Thousands of Cubans took to the street in several cities on July 11 and 12 to protest shortages of goods, power blackouts and economic hardship — with some also calling for a change in government.

At least one person died and several shops and vehicles were vandalized or burned. Officials have not said how many people were detained, but the organization Justice 11J, created to track the cases, has registered 1,300 arrests and said more than 400 so far have been tried.

Officials said in August that there had been 23 summary trials of 67 defendants on lesser charges.

Groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International accused the government of responding to mostly peaceful protests with arbitrary arrests and crackdowns meant to silence dissent, which the government disputes.

The extended Román family accounted for at least six of the arrested following the July 12 protests in Havana's La Guinera neighborhood in which one demonstrator died. All were detained at the same home two days after the protests.

None of them had previous problems with authorities, according to María Carla Milán, the wife of Yosney Román, who faces a possible 20-year sentence.

Yosney, a 25-year-old laborer, and his 18-year-old brother Emiyoslán were defendants in one of the Havana trials, while their sister Mackyanis, 24, has not yet been given a court date.

Three cousins also were detained, one of them among the current defendants. Another of the cousins, Odlanier Rodríguez, was freed after 22 days in prison after being fined the equivalent of $83.

During the most recent trial, the defendants “recognized that it was a mistake to have thrown rocks at the police,” said Milán, who attended the hearing. “They repented what they had done. They got caught up in the excitement. They don't have any criminal record and they aren't criminals. They had never had problems before.”

“But they are very young," she added. “This number of years (sought by prosecutors) is an abuse.”

Many of the protesters had no previous record of political activism and there appeared to be no clear leadership of the protests, though the government has accused U.S.-based opposition groups of trying to organize demonstrations with a social media campaign.

The father of the Román siblings, Emilio Román, said none of the six members of the family had any political involvement.

“I had never seen anything like that (demonstration)," said Rodríguez, the cousin. “I stopped on the corner to watch,.”

He said it seemed to him that people joined in because they were tired of long lines and shortages of food.

Cuban authorities acknowledged that some complaints were justified and President Miguel Díaz-Canel visited La Guinera, where officials promised additional social programs in the wake of the protests.

Salomé García. an activist with Justice 11J, said the trials were meant to be “exemplary" since only a small percentage of the protesters face severe charges.

He said that charges of sedition were applied in La Güinera, where there were no cases of looting, while no such charges were lodged in the central province of Matanzas, where there were cases of patrol cars overturned.

Breastfeeding study finds that mothers with COVID-19 didn't pass infection to babies through breast milk

Dr. Catherine Schuster-Bruce

Wed, January 19, 2022,

Mother breastfeeding her son at home.Getty

• Women with COVID-19 didn't pass the virus to newborns through breast milk, a small study suggests.

• "Breastfeeding is not likely to be a hazard," Paul Krogstad, the lead study author from UCLA, said.

• The study, published in Pediatric Research, a peer-reviewed journal, bolsters existing CDC guidance.

Breastfeeding while infected with COVID-19, or just after an infection, is unlikely to spread the virus from mother to child, scientists have said.

A small study from researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, found the breast milk of mothers with COVID-19 didn't contain infectious virus particles and there was no "clinical evidence" of babies contracting the virus due to breastfeeding.

Paul Krogstad, study lead author and a professor of pediatrics at University of California, Los Angeles said in a statement that breastfeeding with COVID-19 was "not likely to be a hazard." He added: "Breastmilk is an invaluable source of nutrition to infants."

Other early research has found breastfeeding mothers that have had COVID-19 can pass antibodies to newborns, but it's not yet clear if they give the baby any protection.

The latest study, published in the Pediatric Research medical journal Tuesday, is the largest of its kind, according to the study authors, and bolsters existing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance.

Establishing the risk of infection transmission for COVID-19 could help allay concerns over breastfeeding as some viruses – such as HIV – can be passed on through breast milk.

Health officials in the US and UK have previously said that there was no evidence that COVID-19 can spread through breast milk, but – while the benefits of breastfeeding outweigh the risk of transmission of COVID-19 through breast milk or, more likely, close contact – it was ultimately an "individual decision".

Dr. Victoria Male, a researcher in reproductive immunology at Imperial College London, told Insider that the study meant people can be more confident in the message: "Milk does not seem to be a route of infection and you can continue to breastfeed."

Male, who wasn't involved in the study, cautioned that it didn't look at whether the baby can breathe in virus particles during breastfeeding.

The CDC recommends women with COVID-19 that "choose to breastfeed" wear a mask and wash hands beforehand in order to prevent passing on infection via other means.

To reach their findings, the study's researchers analyzed the breast milk of 65 COVID-19-positive women. The breast milk of seven of them contained "genetic" material for a short period of time that wasn't infectious, the study authors said.

The researchers cautioned that the small sample size may not capture all the factors that mean there was genetic material in breast milk.

The UCLA study took place between March to September 2020 before the Omicron variant was circulating.

ANOTHER Y2K HOAX
5G launches in US without huge impact on flights


By AFP
Published  January 20, 2022

Telecom giants AT&T and Verizon began 5G service in the United States Wednesday without major disruptions to flights after the launch of the new wireless technology was scaled back.

The firms spent tens of billions of dollars to obtain 5G licenses last year, but aviation industry groups have raised concerns about possible interference with airplanes’ radio altimeters, which can operate at the same frequencies and are vital for landing at night or in bad weather.

Both AT&T and Verizon this week agreed to scale back the launch of 5G near airports following an outcry from US airlines, who had warned the roll-out would cause mass disruptions.

Despite the scaling back, a handful of international carriers cut flights to the United States from their schedules Wednesday, but there were no mass cancelations and some companies planned to resume service the following day.

By early morning local time Thursday, 473 flights through US airports had been cancelled, according to tracking website FlightAware, down from last week when there were no major dispruptions.

Airlines that cut Wednesday flights included Air India, ANA and Japan Airlines, though all three said they would restore routes the following day.

“Our Delhi to JFK flight left this morning at 7 AM (0130 GMT),” Air India’s spokesman said, adding it would also be operating flights to San Franscisco and Chicago.

ANA and Japan Airlines also said they were restoring service on Thursday after assurances from regulators at Washington’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

“As the launch of the 5G service in the US has now been partially postponed, operation of ANA flights from January 20 will follow the normal schedule,” ANA President Yuji Hirako said in a statement.

The FAA said Wednesday that it has now approved 62 percent of the US commercial fleet to perform low-visibility landings at airports with 5G — up from the 45 percent on Sunday.

“Even with these approvals, flights at some airports may still be affected,” the agency said.

“The FAA also continues to work with manufacturers to understand how radar altimeter data is used in other flight control systems. Passengers should check with their airlines for latest flight schedules.”

AT&T said Wednesday its high-speed service was available in “limited parts” of eight major metropolitan areas across the United States, while Verizon said it now provides 5G coverage to 90 million Americans.

Read more: https://www.digitaljournal.com/tech-science/5g-launches-in-us-without-huge-impact-on-flights-2/article#ixzz7Ikq4o8A8

French court says Twitter must reveal measures on online hate


By AFP
Published January 20, 2022

French anti-discrimination groups brought a case against Twitter over what they see as a longstanding failure to properly moderate posts 

 Copyright AFP/File Charly TRIBALLEAU

A Paris court on Thursday ruled that Twitter must reveal its measures for fighting hate speech, in one of several cases thrashing out whether the French justice system has jurisdiction over the US social media giant.

Ireland-based Twitter International had appealed a July decision ordering it to share documents and details about its French moderation team and data on their activities against hate speech.

That case had been brought by several anti-discrimination groups over what they said was the company’s longstanding failure to properly moderate posts.

The appeals court on Thursday confirmed the first judgement and further ordered Twitter to pay 1,500 euros ($1,700) to the groups, including SOS Racisme, SOS Homophobie and the International League against racism and anti-Semitism (Licra).

In another Paris case, three victims of terrorist attacks who have suffered online harassment are suing Twitter France.

They argue it was the company’s fault that their cases against their harassers failed, as it did not provide identifying information that investigators had asked for.

In that case, Twitter France chief Damien Viel told a court last week that “I’m in charge of Twitter’s business development and nothing more”.

Providing data to the authorities was “up to the good will of Twitter International, which is outside French jurisdiction and can decide whether to cooperate or not,” his lawyer Karim Beylouni added.

In still another case in Versailles, just outside Paris, Twitter France has said it is unable to comply with a police request for information on people who sent insults and threats to a public official.

The local office says it does not store any information, with all data handled by the group’s European mothership based in Ireland.

But prosecutors have asked for fines as high as 75,000 euros against both Twitter France and manager Viel personally.

Sudan protesters: Ready to die for freedom

Mohanad Hashim - BBC News
Sat, January 22, 2022

Anti-coup demonstrators reflected in the glasses of a protester in Khartoum, Sudan - Thursday 20 January 2022

"Did I just survive a massacre?" asked a young Sudanese man when he answered my call not long after security forces had opened fire on protesters in downtown Khartoum.

Known by his Twitter name Bashy, he told how one of seven people had died last Monday afternoon in the capital.

"I was filming the protesters and walking when a bullet penetrated his chest; he died in front of me. That could have been me!"


In his mid-twenties, and usually with a smile on his face, Bashy has been protesting on the streets for the past three months.

Like many of his contemporaries, he is furious that the military seized power last October, just over two years into an agreement between the generals and a civilian coalition to share power.

Life had been improving and the economic crisis easing as civilian Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok brought Sudan in from the cold following sanctions imposed on the country during the long rule of Omar al-Bashir, accused of using the country to sponsor terrorism.

The economic gains of the two-year power-sharing transition have been forfeited by the coup

The former president's military allies ousted him in April 2019 in the wake of mass protests, but they then showed their reluctance to share power with those on the streets when they turned their guns on them in a devastating massacre two months later.

The outcry that followed forced the generals to agree to the transition - but as many suspected, the military was never happy with the arrangement, and the latest coup, they say, has proved them right.
'Vicious cycle'

Bashy, who has been on the front lines of the recent demonstrations documenting the rallies and marches on his social media feeds, says those on the neighbourhood committees co-ordinating the fightback on the streets are mainly young.

More than half of Sudan's population have largely only known life under Omar al-Bashir

In fact it is estimated that 61% of Sudan's population is under the age of 25 and they are fed up with what Bashy terms "strong-man rule".

It is a generational conflict with the young wanting a more equitable, peaceful, and democratic future.

"We are different to previous generations," says Bashy.

"We want to stop the cycle, this vicious cycle of military coups and authoritarianism. That is why we protest - because we wish to see the end of this cycle."
Loyalists reinstated

The protesters feel they have legitimacy on their side - and the junta has indeed been dealt a blow by the resignation earlier this month of Mr Hamdok.

In the aftermath of the coup he was put under house arrest - but then signed a new deal with the generals - something his civilian coalition, the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), rejected.

Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan's attempt to bring the civilian PM on board has backfired

He only lasted six weeks before realising he could not work without the political backing of the FFC.

Some of the economic reforms he brought in - applauded by the international community - were painful for everyone, but his attempts to dismantle the old guard's hold on the economy also ruffled feathers.

Indeed, this week, Sudan's military ruler Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan finally appointed a caretaker administration, which includes some of those Bashir loyalists, to steer the country to elections.

Nidal, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, is a seasoned protester - first taking to the streets during the Arab spring when people began to brave the streets.

More than 70 people have died and thousands have been injured since October

She believes the military's harsh treatment of the protesters - more than 70 have died so far - is forcing those organising the demonstrations to become more tactical - or more cohesive.

"You can sense the military is doing us a favour - the more of us they kill, helps us the people to come together, reshape our nationalist sentiment and foster a new patriotism for building a new country."

Since independence the armed forces have monopolised any sense of patriotism.

But their actions - in particular those of the former paramilitary unit, the Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan "Hemeti" Dagolo - and their role in the massacre of June 2019 means much of the respect they were once afforded has been lost by young Sudanese.

For Nidal, the demonstrations have had a devastating effect on her family: one of her 18-year-old cousins was shot dead by soldiers in December.

When I spoke to her late one evening this week she had just been to various barricades in Khartoum to round up her many other cousins to check they were all safe.

Yet the situation has just made them all the more determined - because they feel they can really make a difference.

"I am ready to die," she told me.
Trust broken

In mid-January, the junta announced that it was setting up a counter-terrorism force to deal with the security challenges posed by the protests - which are also hitting the economy.

Viewing peaceful protesters as terrorists is seen by many as taking a leaf out of the Bashir-era rule book.

The barricades are organised by neighbourhood committees - and some are blocking key roads

In their statements, the authorities note how many policemen are injured on duty during the nationwide protests - with little regard to the death of demonstrators.

This week, the death of a police brigadier general has been blamed on the protesters, but activists dispute this and say it is being used as an excuse to unleash yet more force.

And this week's violence came after an Al Jazeera channel that had been carrying live feeds of the demonstrations and rallies was banned.

The crackdown on media freedoms has become unrelenting: journalists have been beaten and assaulted, media offices attacked and international media barred.

There has been a flurry of diplomatic activity to break the stalemate, including a consultation process launched by the UN.

But many Sudanese have little faith in the UN, given it backed the failed November pact entered into by Mr Hamdok.

And the protesters just want the military out of any government as they feel the generals are not to be trusted.

"No negotiations, no partnership, no legitimacy" is the rallying cry of the current pro-democracy movement.

Against this backdrop, the Friends of Sudan met this week to try and hammer out a solution.

This group includes the US, the UK, European states and junta allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Yet both Bashy and Nidal sound unimpressed by such efforts - and they agree the counter-terror force will not cow them.

"We are world class in peaceful resistance, Monday's massacre will not deter us," Bashy said.

"We are not letting them take our blood, sweat and tears and use it for their own gains."

More on Sudan's coup crisis:


ANALYSIS: Why the army is gambling with Sudan's future


VOICES: Defying Sudan's generals: 'They cannot kill us all'

Tear gas fired at Sudan protesters rallying against post-coup killings


By AFP
Published  January 20, 2022

A young boy waves a Sudanese national flag as protesters block a street in the capital Khartoum, during a demonstration against the killing of dozens in a crackdown since last year's military coup, on January 20, 2022 

- Copyright POOL/AFP ANDY BUCHANAN

Sudanese security forces fired tear gas on Thursday at protesters rallying against the killing of dozens in a post-coup crackdown, as US diplomats pressed for an end to the violence.

The demonstrations were the latest since the October 25 coup led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, which derailed a civilian-military power-sharing deal painstakingly negotiated after the 2019 ouster of autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

In a tactic used repeatedly, security forces fired tear gas at protesters who rallied in the capital’s twin city of Omdurman, according to witnesses.

At least 72 people have been killed — including many by live rounds — during the crackdown against the regular anti-coup protests, according to a count by a pro-democracy group of medics.

The latest rallies came with US diplomats in a bid to bolster UN-led efforts to cajole the military into restoring a transition to full civilian rule.

On Wednesday, US Assistant Secretary of State Molly Phee and special envoy for the Horn of Africa, David Satterfield, held meetings in Khartoum with the bereaved families of those killed during the protests.

The US officials “strongly condemned the use of disproportionate force against protesters, especially the use of live ammunition and sexual violence and the practice of arbitrary detention,” Washington’s embassy in Khartoum said in a statement on Thursday.

They also warned that the US “will not resume paused assistance to the Sudanese government absent an end to the violence and a restoration of a civilian-led government that reflects the will” of Sudan’s citizens.

The US suspended $700 million in assistance to Sudan after the coup, as part of wider international punitive measures.

– ‘Back to the barracks’ –

Thursday’s protests came following calls by Sudan’s main civilian bloc — the Forces for Freedom and Change — for demonstrations “in tribute to the martyrs”.

Protesters converged from several parts of the capital onto a main artery in east Khartoum, according to an AFP correspondent.

In Wad Madani city to the south, protesters chanted “blood for blood, we will not accept compensations,” according Adel Ahmed, a witness.

“The military should go back to the barracks,” protesters hollered at one Khartoum rally.

Others gathered outside the United Nations headquarters in Khartoum with banners reading: “No to external solutions.”

They also called on the UN special representative to Sudan, Volker Perthes, “to leave.”

Last week, Perthes launched consultations with Sudanese factions in a bid to resolve Sudan’s political crisis .

The ruling Sovereign Council — formed by Burhan following the coup with himself as chairman — has welcomed the UN-led dialogue, as have the United States, Britain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

The FFC also joined consultations “to restore the democratic transition”.

Pro-democracy activists on Tuesday began a civil disobedience campaign that has seen many shops closed, streets barricaded and people rallying across the oountry, which is among the world’s least developed.

That came after at least seven people were killed during violence against protesters on Monday, one of the deadliest days since the coup.

On Wednesday, the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, said it had verified more than 120 violations against children in the coup violence.

“Nine children were killed during demonstrations mainly in Khartoum while another 13 were injured,” it said in a statement.

“Boys and girls as young as 12 were detained. Children were impacted as a result of frequent attacks on medical facilities.”

Sudan’s authorities have repeatedly denied using live ammunition against demonstrators, and insist scores of security personnel have been wounded during protests.

A police general was stabbed to death a week ago.

On Wednesday, players of the Sudanese national football team knelt to the ground in prayer for those killed, ahead their last match in the African Cup of Nations in the Cameroon.

Phee and Satterfield met with members of the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), an umbrella of unions which were instrumental in the protests leading to the ouster of Bashir in April 2019.

They also met with members of the FFC as well as the military leaders.

New way to detect dangerous pesticides with a novel nanozyme

By Dr. Tim Sandle
Published January 20, 2022

Blood specimen tubes are seen in the laboratory of Bellville Medical Center in the state of Texas where hospitals are overwhelmed due to record Covid-19 hospitalizations. — © AFP

Propagating the growth of crops using pesticides have become common in modern agriculture. While this process can address certain diseases, the side effects can pose risks and there is evidence that a lack of controls around pesticide use is affecting human health and the ecosystem’s balance.

Such pesticides like organophosphorus (organic compounds containing phosphorus) pose risks to the food chain and to the whole eco-system. In more concentrated forms this class of pesticides can be used as nerve agents.

To address this, assessing pesticide concentrations requires constant monitoring. To help advance this process a recently published a study on Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis highlights the development of a sensitive electrochemical detection method.

This Chinese-developed method is based on bifunctional cerium oxide nanozyme to identify organophosphate pesticides in plants in the near future. The research study has focused on the detection of methyl-paraoxon (a class of organophosphate insecticides) in plant extracts. These chemicals are commonly used as pest repellents for crops like cotton and legumes.

According to lead researcher Dr. Li: “Under the optimized conditions, we achieved desirable recoveries for different herbal samples using cerium oxide nanozyme. We believe that our electrochemical method can be practically applied in the rapid detection of pesticide residues.”

Through an iterative research process, the cerium oxide nanozyme modified glassy carbon electrode was prepared to improve the sensitivity. The developed method was applied in three herbal plant samples (the herbs were: Coix lacryma-jobi (common name Job’s tears); Adenophora stricta (known as ladybells) and Semen nelumbinis (used in treatment of depression in many Asian countries)).

These studies showed that under the optimum conditions, the method could provide a linear range from 0.1 to 100 μmol/L for methyl-paraoxon with a detection limit of 0.06 μmol/L. This is of sufficient sensitivity to detect levels of the pesticide that would pose a risk to human health.

The research, once commercialized, should add to the pool of pesticide detection methods. The research has been published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis. The research paper is titled “Electrochemical detection of methyl-paraoxon based on bifunctional cerium oxide nanozyme with catalytic activity and signal amplification effect.”

India bids farewell to ‘supermum’ tiger Collarwali


By AFP
Published January 20, 2022

Of the 29 cubs Collarwali gave birth to over her lifetime, 25 survived to adulthood - 

Copyright Bright Tiger Films/Madhya Pradesh Forest Department/AFP Pench Tiger Reserve

Indian animal lovers are in mourning over the sudden passing of a nationally famous tigress credited with repopulating a forest redoubt for her endangered kin.

Collarwali, dubbed “supermum” by local press for giving birth to nearly 30 cubs, died peacefully at the weekend after an intestinal problem.

Sombre conservation officers gently carried Collarwali’s body onto a funeral pyre garlanded with flowers for her ritual cremation.

“The tigress was very popular at the reserve and with the local community,” Alok Mishra, field director of the Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh state, told AFP.

“Everyone knew about her.”

Collarwali earned her celebrity following for rejuvenating the local tiger population, and drew visitors from across India to the reserve, in an area purported to be the inspiration for Rudyard Kipling’s famed “Jungle Book” anthology.

Of the 29 cubs she gave birth to over her lifetime, 25 survived to adulthood.

Her peculiar name — “With Collar” in English — came from a research project conducted in the nature park in her infancy.

“She was the first tiger to get a collar at the reserve,” Mishra said.

“That was the reason she became very famous… the collar ensured that she was very well documented and well known.”

India is home to around 75 percent of the world’s remaining tigers, but hunting and habitat loss have slashed the population to dangerously low levels.

Footage of Collarwali prowling her habitat was shared on social media after news of her death, along with an outpouring of heartfelt tributes.

“Wildlife lovers and enthusiasts will understand how heartbreaking it is, when a majestic tigress goes into silence forever,” one user wrote on Twitter.

“RIP, Queen of Pench. You lived long and majestically,” said another. “You ruled the food chain and because of you an entire forest was alive.”

Bot revolution is reforming business procurement activities

By Dr. Tim Sandle
Published January 19, 2022

Xiaoice was designed to hook users through lifelike, empathetic conversations, satisfying emotional needs where real-life communication too often falls short. — © AFP

Companies are using bots to cut costs, save time, make their processes more efficient and enable a faster and more accurate response to customer and employee queries. The use of bots cuts across organizations in a variety of industries, such as retail, travel, healthcare, and finance.

The main advantage is that through the use of bots, firms are able to provide a 24/7 service to customers. This is especially so in larger enterprises. According to a recent report by Fortune Business Insights, the global chatbot market size is expected to grow from $396.2 million in 2019 to USD $1,953.3 million in 2027.

According to analysts at apsolut, from a report shared with Digital Journal, due to advancements in AI and RPA (Robotic Process Automation) and the increasing affordability of intelligent technologies, more midsize and smaller organizations are seeking to use bots. The driver is with providing a round-the-clock service to customers.

Freeing up procurement in SMEs for value-add tasks

Small and medium-sized enterprises are also becoming more aware of the benefits they can gain by using intelligent bots outside of customer communications. For example, to streamline business processes and to answer employee queries, according to the apsolut data. Bots are a great way to automate repetitive tasks and can act as digital assistants, making employees far more effective at their jobs.

Procurement specialists deal with a lot of data and can waste time looking for information, such as documents and company policies related to contracts management. Procurement also deals with a lot of repetitive tasks like processing purchase requisitions or invoices which bots can do more efficiently, freeing up procurement for more value-add projects.

The different types of bots

The apsolut data finds that two different types of bots are deployed. The first one is conversational AI (CAI), which is commonly known as a chatbot. The key feature of chatbots is they allow you to communicate with your system in your natural language, either by voice or typing.

The second type is the RPA bot which is designed to execute specific tasks. These tend to be simple and repetitive tasks, like going to a mailbox, extracting a PDF invoice, and moving that document into the procurement system. RPA automates predefined workflows but when we combine it with machine learning, the bot can understand the likely outcomes of choices and make its own decisions.

How SME procurement departments are using bots

As an example of application, apsolut have found that firms are starting to use chatbots to automate simple FAQ tasks in procurement. For example, answering a question like “How do I need to create my purchase requisition and who still needs to approve it?”. To address this, some mature, midmarket companies are using bots to automate up to 80-90 percent of their processes, especially in procure-to-pay (p2p).

There is a growing awareness that bots can also handle more complex tasks within the source-to-contract area. For example, sending out RFPs, and doing the negotiation for small volume contracts.

Interconnected bots

Many midsized organizations tend to build more intelligent RPA/ML bots to perform specific tasks. If there’s a second task they want to automate, they build a second bot and there’s rarely much communication between the bots. This is starting to change. Bots are becoming more interconnected and evolving into comprehensive digital assistants. apsolut have designed a bot called ProBo, which is an RPA chatbot that sits in Microsoft Teams. The bot makes it quicker and easier for users to create and complete purchase requisitions in SAP Ariba and to approve work items.

'Always there': the AI chatbot comforting China's lonely millions

by Laurie Chen

XiaoIce has pioneered a cutting-edge artificial intelligence system designed to 

create emotional bonds with its 660 million users worldwide.

After a painful break-up from a cheating ex, Beijing-based human resources manager Melissa was introduced to someone new by a friend late last year.

He replies to her messages at all hours of the day, tells jokes to cheer her up but is never needy, fitting seamlessly into her busy big city lifestyle.

Perfect boyfriend material, maybe—but he's not real.

Instead, Melissa breaks up the isolation of urban life with a virtual chatbot created by XiaoIce, a cutting-edge artificial intelligence system designed to create emotional bonds with its 660 million users worldwide.

"I have friends who've seen therapists before, but I think therapy's expensive and not necessarily effective," said Melissa, 26, giving her English name only for privacy.

"When I unload my troubles on XiaoIce, it relieves a lot of pressure. And he says things that are pretty comforting."

XiaoIce is not an individual persona, but more akin to an AI ecosystem.

It is in the vast majority of Chinese-branded smartphones as a Siri-like virtual assistant, as well as most social media platforms.

On the WeChat super-app, it lets users build a virtual girlfriend or boyfriend and interact with them via texts, voice and photo messages.

Xiaoice was designed to hook users through lifelike, empathetic conversations,

 satisfying emotional needs where real-life communication too often falls short.

It has 150 million users in China alone.

Originally a side project from developing Microsoft's Cortana chatbot, XiaoIce now accounts for 60 percent of global human-AI interactions by volume, according to chief executive Li Di, making it the largest and most advanced system of its kind worldwide.

It was designed to hook users through lifelike, empathetic conversations, satisfying emotional needs where real-life communication too often falls short.

"The average interaction length between users and XiaoIce is 23 exchanges," said Li.

That "is longer than the average interaction between humans," he said, explaining AI's attraction is that "it's better than humans at listening attentively."

The startup spun out from Microsoft last year and is now valued at over $1 billion after venture capital fundraising, Bloomberg reported.

Developers have also made virtual idols, AI news anchors and even China's first virtual university student from XiaoIce. It can compose poems, financial reports and even paintings on demand.

But Li says the platform's peak user hours—11pm to 1am—point to an aching need for companionship.

"No matter what, having XiaoIce is always better than lying in bed staring at the ceiling," he said.

AI-generated faces which can be selected as virtual girlfriends created by XiaoIce.

Urban isolation

The loneliness Melissa experienced as a young professional was a big factor in driving her to the virtual embrace of XiaoIce.

Her context is typical of many Chinese urbanites, worn down by the grind of long working hours in vast and isolating cities.

"You really don't have time to make new friends and your existing friends are all super busy... this city is really big, and it's pretty hard," she said, giving only her English name out of privacy concerns.

She has customised his personality as "mature", and the name she chose for him—Shun—has similarities with a real-life man she secretly liked.

"After all, XiaoIce will never betray me," she added. "He will always be there."

But there are risks to forging emotional bonds with a robot.

"Users 'trick' themselves into thinking their emotions are being reciprocated by systems that are incapable of feelings," says Danit Gal, an expert in AI ethics at the University of Cambridge.

Li Di says the platform's peak user hours—11pm to 1am—point to an aching

 need for companionship.

XiaoIce is also gifting developers "a treasure-trove of personal, intimate, and borderline incriminating data on how humans interact," she added.

So far the platform has not been targeted by government regulators, who have embarked on a swingeing crackdown on China's tech sector in recent months.

China aims to be a world leader in AI by 2030 and views it as a core strategic technology to be developed.

Fact or fiction?

Thousands of young, female fans discuss the virtual boyfriend experience on online forums dedicated to XiaoIce, sharing chat screenshots and tips on how to get to the chatbot's highest "intimacy" level of three hearts.

Users can also collect in-game points the more they interact, unlocking new features such as XiaoIce's WeChat moments—kind of like a Facebook wall—and even going on virtual "holidays", where they can pose for selfies with their virtual partner.

Laura, a 20-year-old user in Zhejiang province, fell in love with XiaoIce over the past year and now struggles to break free of her attachment.

"Occasionally, I would long for him in the middle of the night... I used to fantasise there was a real person on the other end," said the student, who prefers not to use her real name.

Developers have also made virtual idols, AI news anchors and even China's first

 virtual university student from XiaoIce.

But she complained that he would always switch conversation topic when she raised her feelings for him or meeting in real life. It took her months to finally realise that he was indeed virtual.

"We commonly see users who suspect that there's a real person behind every XiaoIce interaction," said Li, the founder.

"It has a very strong ability to mimic a real person."

But providing companionship to vulnerable users does not mean that XiaoIce is a substitute for specialist mental health support—a service that is drastically under-resourced in China.

The system monitors for strong emotions, aiming to guide conversations onto happier topics before users ever reach crisis point, Li explained, adding that depression is the most common extreme emotional state encountered.

Still, Li believes modern China is a happier place with XiaoIce.

"If human interaction is wholly perfect now, there would be no need for AI to exist," he said.

A real conversation piece: Social chatbot in China does phone talk

© 2021 AFP