Journalist covering labor strike threatened with arrest in Phnom Penh

Cambodia|Freedom of Assembly
Cambodian Centre for Independent Media (CCIM)

20 February 2022

A police officer stands in front of workers from the NagaWorld casino calling for the reinstatement of their colleagues, during a protest outside the National Assembly building in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 4 January 2022, 

TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP via Getty Images

A foreign journalist was harassed by authorities while reporting on the ongoing labor strike at NagaWorld casino in Phnom Penh.

This statement was originally published on ccimcambodia.org on 10 February 2022.

The Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM) and the Overseas Press Club of Cambodia (OPCC) condemn the recent harassment, intimidation and threat of arrest of a foreign journalist while they were reporting on labor strike activities in Phnom Penh. The incident marks the latest documented violation of press freedom in Cambodia.

On the afternoon of February 5, 2022, the journalist was photographing and filming interactions between authorities and NagaWorld casino strikers in a public space in the capital when a man in plainclothes, who identified himself as an immigration officer, stopped the journalist, demanded their passport and work permit, and declined to show his own credentials.

The journalist, who is employed by CCIM’s news outlet VOD and is a member of the OPCC, showed their CCIM-issued ID card and offered to show a copy of their passport. The officer, however, demanded to see original documents and threatened the journalist with arrest if they continued taking photos and video, and did not leave the area, compelling the journalist to stop reporting and leave.

Uniformed officers spoke to the man in plainclothes multiple times while he was questioning the journalist. The man also suggested to the journalist that he stopped them because they were working as a journalist.

While authorities have the right to justly enforce laws, journalists equally have the right to report the news. The 1995 Press Law prohibits pre-publication censorship, like what was exhibited during the incident on February 5.

If a truly free press is to exist in Cambodia, then all journalists must be allowed to work without unjust impediment by authorities. This includes freely interviewing sources, and observing, photographing and filming people, events and actions in the public interest.

When authorities arbitrarily use their power and infringe on the freedom of the press, society suffers from a lack of freely available news and information. We call for an end to any such arbitrary abuse of power, as well as harassment and threats against our colleagues. We call for independent investigations into any such violations.

CCIM and OPCC stand in solidarity with all professional journalists facing harassment and intimidation. We stand for a free press in which journalists can work without fear.

View/download statement in English

What is the nutritional value of yoghurt made in space? A few children STUDENTS are trying to find out

The exercise aims to investigate whether different probiotic strains of bacteria can be used to make yoghurt directly in space.

Sara Webb, The Conversation & Rebecca Allen, The Conversation

NASA    ISS

It is probably no surprise that keeping healthy in space is incredibly important. And without the typical resources found on Earth, creative solutions have to be explored.

Right now, some excited Class 10 and Class 11 students from around Victoria in Australia are waiting with anticipation as their space-made yoghurt – fresh off the International Space Station – heads back to Australia from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration facilities in the United States.

The students worked with researchers at the Swinburne University of Technology to design an experiment investigating the nutritional values of space-made yoghurt. The results could provide insight into how to best help astronauts with vital nutrition during long-haul spaceflight.

Human gut

A critical factor in human health is the overall health of our gut microbiome, which is estimated to host more than 100 trillion bacteria.

Maintaining the health and diversity of these bacteria might be even more important in space than on Earth. In 2019, NASA released groundbreaking results from a year-long study on astronaut twins Mark and Scott Kelly.

In 2016, Scott spent 365 days on the space station, experiencing reduced gravity, while Mark remained on Earth. A fascinating result from the study was that Scott experienced significant changes to his gastrointestinal microbiome when in space – and which did not persist after he returned to Earth.

In 2016, Mark and Scott Kelly were part of a study on how living in space can affect the human body.

 Photo credit: Robert Markowitz/ NASA

It is theorised the changes in microbiome experienced by astronauts are due to the lack of exposure to the “everyday” microbes encountered on Earth. Additionally, astronauts in space are exposed to less gravity, and high levels of radiation, which increase as they travel further away.

Understanding how to supplement astronauts’ gut bacteria and sustain its health is one of NASA’s current research goals. NASA is exploring this through both the use of capsule probiotics and simulated gravity experiments.

Why yoghurt?

Yoghurt is made by the bacterial fermentation of milk. The lactic acid produced in this process acts on the milk’s proteins to create yoghurt’s signature tart taste and thick texture. We wanted to see how this process is affected in the space environment.

Our student-led experiment is investigating whether different probiotic strains of bacteria can be used to make yoghurt directly in space. The ideal outcome would be to show that healthy, living bacteria cultures can be generated from frozen bacteria and milk products sent to space. This has not yet been achieved, although yoghurt has been made using bacteria returned from space previously.

This would be hugely beneficial during long space flights, where fresh food is limited and typical probiotic capsules would lose potency. Yoghurt also offers the nutritional benefits of the milk the bacteria are feeding off.


Road to space

Our brilliant students began this journey via two paths. Through the ongoing Swinburne Haileybury International Space Station Experiment program, six exceptional STEM students from Victoria’s Haileybury school worked with Swinburne staff and student mentors to develop, prototype and produce an experiment for the space station.

In the past, this program has sent human teeth, chia seeds and magnetorheological fluid to the International Space Station. For the 2021-’22 experiment, the students had 24 five-millilitre vials (things have to be tiny in space) in which to build their detailed experiment.

The second path was via the inaugural Swinburne Youth Space Innovation Challenge, which provides the opportunity to send an experiment to space as part of the Swinburne/Rhodium Scientific payload.

Teams from four Victorian schools undertook an 11-week crash course in space applications before pitching their dream experiment. The winning team from Viewbank College was assigned six dedicated experimental vials, with all other teams also awarded a vial – all working towards the goal of investigating probiotics, bacteria and yoghurt in space.

The 2021 Swinburne Youth Space Innovation Challenge winning team from Viewbank College blew the judges away with their insightful idea of investigating magnetic fields on plant growth in space. 

Pictured (L-R): Tarnie Jones, Belle Shi, Madeline Luvaul and Paisley Noble. Photo credit: Author provided

Aboard the ISS

Once ready for flight, the final bacteria samples were prepared and put into deep freeze by our Rhodium Scientific partners at the Kennedy Space Centre in the United States.

The experiment samples were prepared at the Kennedy Space Centre (left), which involved putting them through a rapid-spinning vortex procedure (right). 

Photo credit: Rhodium Scientific

All 33 vials boarded their rideshare to the International Space Station via the SpaceX Crew Dragon 24 and were launched on December 24. Once onboard, the samples were removed from the deep freeze by Astronaut Mark Vande Hei and set aside in a room-temperature experiment chamber in the Japanese Experiment Module, named Kibo.

After the allotted 48- and 72-hour timestamps (the time it takes to typically make yoghurt on Earth) the samples were placed back in deep freeze to preserve the progress. It is expected they would have become yoghurt during this time.

The samples returned to Earth in late January and will be investigated by staff and students in the coming months, once they return to Australia.

The Rhodium Probiotic Challenge samples were boarded on the SpaceX Crew Dragon 24 spacecraft.

Likely findings

The students chose to explore six different bacteria strains mixed together in various combinations, as well as certain strains isolated. With both the space-based experiment and control experiments conducted on Earth, we will be able to determine whether the bacteria sent to the International Space Station were significantly affected by reduced gravity.

Working from the lab at Swinburne, we will use methods such as DNA sequencing to isolate any variations in the genetic makeup of the bacteria, and investigate how many generations (or cell divisions) have occurred in the samples.

The students also purposely designed the experiment to test both dairy and non-dairy milk options, to see the potential differences in nutritional output. But perhaps the most exciting part for all involved will be the final taste test – and finding out if space yoghurt really is out of this world.

Sara Webb is Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing and Rebecca Allen is Coordinator, Swinburne Astronomy Online, Program Lead of Microgravity Experimentation, Space Technology and Industry Institute at Swinburne University of Technology.

This article first appeared on The Conversation.

Pink Floyd musician joined by Noel Gallagher and others demanding release of Kurdish singer Nudem Durak


Pink Floyd musician Roger Waters has demanded the release of Kurdish singer Nudem Durak

PINK Floyd musician Roger Waters has demanded the release of Kurdish singer Nudem Durak, who has been jailed for 19 years in Turkey for performing songs in her native language.

He called on authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to release Ms Durak, who has been held in Bayburt prison since 2015.

“She’s our sister,” Mr Waters said. “Whatever you think of the Kurds’ desire for recognition, it is unacceptable for a country with a great historical art heritage like Turkey to treat artists like this.”

Ms Durak was jailed for “membership of a terrorist organisation” and “spreading terrorist propaganda” after singing at an event to mark Newroz, the Kurdish new year.

A global campaign for her release is supported by Mr Waters and others, including fellow musicians and veteran US communist Angela Davis.

Ms Durak’s acoustic guitar was broken by guards during a cell inspection in 2017.

Mr Waters has sent his black Martin acoustic guitar, signed by rock legends including Peter Gabriel, Robert Plant, Pete Townsend, Noel Gallagher and Mark Knopfler, to Ms Durak to highlight her plight.

“We have an absolute responsibility to support her and the hundreds of thousands of others who continue to suffer her fate with false imprisonment all over the world, not least in the United States and the United Kingdom,” he said.

The Free Nudem Durak campaign can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

US businessman faces jail after torturing Kurd who raised concerns over illegal weapons project

by Steve Sweeney
International editor

US businessman Ross Roggio has been charged with torturing a worker in Iraqi Kurdistan while he was managing the construction of a weapons factory in the semi-autonomous region in 2015.

The Pennsylvania man arranged for Kurdish peshmerga forces to abduct the employee for more than a month after he raised concerns over the project, a US Justice Department statement said on Friday.

“The grand jury charges that the defendant directed and participated in the systematic torture of an employee over the course of 39 days by Kurdish soldiers in Iraq,” US Attorney John C Gurganus said.

According to the indictment, Mr Roggio led multiple interrogation sessions during which he directed Kurdish soldiers to suffocate the victim with a bag, tasering him in the groin and other areas of his body.

They are alleged to have beaten him with fists and rubber hoses, jumped violently on his chest while wearing military boots, and threatened to cut off one of the victim’s fingers under the instructions of the US citizen.

On at least one occasion, the indictment said, Mr Roggio wrapped his belt around the victim’s neck, yanked him off the ground, and suspended him in the air, causing him to lose consciousness.

“The heinous acts of violence that Ross Roggio directed and inflicted upon the victim were blatant human rights violations that will not be tolerated,” FBI assistant director Luis Quesada said.

Mr Roggio and the Roggio Consulting Company LLC were charged in 2018 with illegally exporting firearms parts and tools from the US to Iraq and part of the weapons project in Kurdistan.

He faces a maximum 20 years in jail for each of the torture charges and a maximum statutory penalty of 705 years’ imprisonment for the remaining 37 counts.

Turkish politics will never be free of Kurdish presence, says HDP chair

Feb 20 2022 

The government will not be able to purge the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) from Turkish politics, the party’s co-chair Pervin Buldan said on Sunday, as she dismissed the closure case against the group.

Previous governments have tried, but none have been successful in eliminating Kurdish representation from Turkey’s political sphere, T24 cited the HDP co-chair as saying in a party congress in southern Mersin province.

The HDP, Turkey’s third largest party in parliament, is faced with a closure case over terror links, a claim the party denies. The case against the HDP follows a years-long crackdown on the opposition party, in which thousands of its members have been tried on mainly terrorism-related charges linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), an armed group that has been at war for Kurdish self-rule in Turkey for 40 years.

“We grow larger as they attack us,” Buldan said, noting that the case filed by the Court of Cassation’s Chief Public Prosecutor was the only way the government believed it could tackle the HDP.

“Because we do not allow for them to defeat or stand before us politically. Because they have witnessed and understood that they cannot defeat us in the ballot boxes,” the HDP chairwoman added.

Several of its senior leaders have been arrested and imprisoned for years, including former leaders Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ. Since 2019, the government has also seized nearly all the local administrations the HDP controls in the predominantly Kurdish eastern region of Turkey.

“Your Kenan Evren failed, your Tansu Çiller failed and you will, too,’’ Buldan said, referring to the late Turkish president and former prime minister of Turkey. “Your dream of a HDP free politics will never become reality.”

Kobanê, the film of a victory

The film of the Kobanê resistance will be ready in 6 months.

 Like happened in the Kobanê resistance, filmmakers and people from four parts of Kurdistan took part in the shooting of the film.

GÜNAY AKSOY
KOBANÊ
Sunday, 20 Feb 2022

Özlem Yaşar is the screenwriter and director of the film about the Kobanê resistance which will be ready in 6 months. She said that they shot the film thanks to the solidarity of the people of Kobanê and from abroad. "The main theme of the movie is the victory of Kurdish women fighters against darkness."

Medya Doz and Özlem Yaşar co-wrote the script of the movie Kobanê, produced by the Rojava Film Commune. Doz and Yaşar interviewed hundreds of witnesses and fighters to write the script and took the real heroes as the basis. The film was shot in the city of Kobanê, where the resistance took place, in Tabqa and other places where the resistance took place.

Özlem Yaşar, who is also the director of the movie, told ANF about the preparation, shooting and post-production process of the Kobanê film.

She said that the cultural and historical heritage and the great values ​​created by the resistance definitely deserved to be made more visible also through art, and added that they also try to reflect the emerging values ​​through cinema.

Yaşar said: “When we look at the last 40 years of Kurdish women, we see a struggle for self-existence. Women try to overcome the established gender roles. There is a great resistance against the masculine mentality that permeates society down to its smallest cell. An alternative life is being built against the masculine system. And this requires a long-term struggle. Kurdish women in the spotlight have a historical past of struggle. We have handled this reality in the film. We are not outside of this women's struggle; we are a part of it. As women, we are individuals who are affected by all these processes and become a part of the struggle within it. Fighting female characters are the focus of our film.”

This film is a first

Yaşar said that the long struggle for freedom in Kurdistan is fed by the gains and the price paid.

She added that the traces of the Kobanê war are still alive. “The war and resistance in Kobanê cost the whole world. Kobanê moved to the international arena. The history of Kurdistan is the history of resistance. There is enormous resistance in the four parts [of Kurdistan]. Kobanê is such a process for us. Not many years have passed since the Kobanê war. It is a subject that concerns our recent history. The traces of war and resistance are still very vivid. It was a process that we followed very closely. Our friends participated in this war and fell as martyrs. A great price was paid. A tremendous resistance ensued. All these elements actually developed the determination and idea of turning that process into a film. It will certainly be the subject of novels. Maybe it will try to find its counterpart in many more movies. Our movie is one of the first. Definitely more are to come. We set out by thinking about how we can transfer this to the cinema.”

We interviewed hundreds of witnesses

Yaşar said: “Kobanê was the people's hope for freedom. People have jumped into this hope of freedom. The hearts of millions who followed this resistance on a daily basis beat in Kobanê. The reflection of this resistance was great. For this reason, the movie Kobanê is not a chronological movie. Reality and fiction are intertwined in the film. We interviewed hundreds of witnesses before starting to shoot. We talked to the witnesses of the war, the fighters and the people, and we listened to hundreds of people who personally experienced the war at that time. We registered all this. While writing the script of the movie, we stayed true to the real stories. We portrayed martyr Gelhat, who can be called one of the indispensable war characters of that process. We portrayed Martyr Zehra (YPJ commander) and we have many more characters. In particular, Gelhat, Zehra, Abu Leyla and Masiro are our leading characters. Especially the relationship between female fighters, the comradeship is some of the impressive shots.”

We learned a lot from the places

Yaşar said that they shot the movie in Kobanê and added: “We did not spoil any of the textures of the place where the story evolves. We did not put up a set for the movie. This was important to us. But there was a drastically changed texture. There was neither pre-war Kobanê nor post-war Kobanê. A very partial region bears traces of that process. We especially tried to evaluate the places where the story takes place. Those places taught us a lot.”

The people of Kobanê supported us

Yaşar continued: “We couldn't have made this movie without the people of Kobanê. When they learned that in their own city a war movie would be shot, no one stayed away. The supporting actors, the people who have been there and fought, and many people who have worked for this film took part in the film. In fact, we got our biggest support from the people. There is no professional actor in the movie. They are all amateur players. Two of our main characters had experience in films before. But all the players except two came to the set for the first time. They tried to find out what was wanted from a character. They tried to adapt to it. It was a fruitful process. It was pretty tough for people who had never been on a movie set before. It was also difficult for us. They were motivated by their hard work. It was the spirit and effort they put into the set that made the film.”

Children preserve memory

Yaşar said that children also contributed to the filming process and added: “Children in Kobanê have guided us. Children were telling us which fighter fought in which place, how he resisted and where he died. Children keep their war memories alive. The efforts of the children to help with the film were unforgettable."

When the film was made, Turkey was attacking

Yaşar said that they shot the film under Turkey's attacks, and added: “Rojava is constantly threatened by Turkey. Unfortunately, these attacks never stopped. Civil areas and places were constantly hit. We shot the movie under these conditions. While we were making preparations to start shooting, the occupation of Serêkaniyê took place. We had to postpone the shooting of the movie because of the war. We had to disband the teams created to shoot the movie. We started preparations again a year ago. At that time, there were serious invasion threats against Kobanê. There were attacks on the places where we were shot. A place we built was hit a week later. The bombed places in the area near the border were fired upon by Turkey while we were filming. Those same places where the scars of the war are still alive. In addition to war and threats, the coronavirus epidemic started. All these obstacles were overcome and the filming process was completed. It took us 7 months to shoot the film because of all these problems.”

The fate of the film is like that of the resistance

The fate of the movie is similar to the resistance, said Yaşar, adding: “The fate of our movie was not so different from the fate of the Kobanê resistance. Just as Arabs, Turkmens, Kurds, Turks and internationals came and participated in the Kobanê war, filmmakers from many nations came and participated in the shooting of our film. Filmmakers from Kurdistan, international filmmakers, Arabs and Turkmen contributed to our film. There was a strong solidarity for the Kobanê movie. Everyone wanted to give something of themselves to the film. Everyone worked for the successful shooting of the film, which was completed thanks to the determination of solidarity.”

Darkness ended

Yaşar said that ISIS not only occupied a large territory, but also attacked the people's hope that 'another world is possible'. She added that the women's liberation struggle put an end to this darkness and said: “It was an attack on the system created here, on the women's system. It was an attack on women's liberation gains and history created here. What drew people to resistance here was the hope and belief that another world was possible. ISIS attacked this hope the most. The YPJ (Women’s Defense Units) resistance was attacked. It was an attack on the people's belief in self-government. In the movie, commander Zehra's killing of the ISIS amir was a symbol of the struggle and resistance against the dark mentality of ISIS. We wanted to show the women commanders who led the war in Kobanê through commander Zehra.”

A contribution to the Kurdish cinema tradition

Yaşar said that she has learned and she has been inspired by the cinema of Yılmaz Güney and Halil Dağ. “With our work we want to continue the cinema tradition of Yılmaz Güney and Halil Dağ. With our film, we aim to take this tradition to another level. If we can achieve this, we will be happy.”

Our debt to Mazdek Ararat

Özlem Yaşar commemorated filmmaker Mazdek Ararat, who contributed greatly to the scriptwriting and shooting process of the Kobanê movie and who died in a traffic accident during the film preparations in Kobanê in 2020. “Our friend Mazdek worked a lot for this movie. With his belief and determination, we shot the film and finalized it. We owe it to him.”

Who is Özlem Yaşar

She was born in Sason district of Batman in 1981. She completed her primary and secondary education there. Her interest in art began in high school. She took part in theater groups. She wrote and directed scripts for theater plays. She closely followed Kurdish music, literature, theater and cinema. She has always lived intertwined with art. She wrote poems, stories and screenplays. She acted in the movie "Dema Jin Hezbike" directed by Halil Dağ, one of the leading directors in the mountains of Kurdistan. She wrote and directed a short film script. She also directed the movie Berfîn, shot by Sine Çiya in 2017.

Swiss MP Prezioso and activist Bucher: The PKK must be removed from list of terrorist organisations

EAG parliamentarian Stefanie Prezioso and activist Flurin Bucher said that the PKK's inclusion on the EU list of terrorist organisations is a wrong and unfair decision, and drew attention to the struggle of the PKK and the Kurdish people against ISIS.


ÖNER POLAT
BERN
Sunday, 20 Feb 2022, 11:24

The petition launched to remove the PKK from the EU list of terrorist organisations continues in Switzerland as well as in the rest of Europe. EAG parliamentarian Stefanie Prezioso and activist Flurin Bucher, who were among the signatories of the campaign, told ANF about the importance of the campaign and why they supported it.

Radical Left Coalition EAG parliamentarian Stefanie Prezioso said that "it is a great mistake and injustice that the PKK is included in this list. The main reason for the PKK's inclusion in this list is the PKK's representation and value. I will continue to demand the removal of the PKK from the list and the freedom of Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan, against the wrong and unjust decision of these states that cannot reconcile these values and representation with their so-called criteria."

Bucher: Rojava is an example for everyone

Activist Flurin Bucher spoke of his admiration for ecology, women's liberation and direct democracy in Rojava.

He said that he has supported the Kurdish people's struggle since he became aware of its struggle for existence and the revolution in Rojava. Bucher said that there are enough arguments for the PKK to be removed from the list of terrorist organisations and added that international institutions, non-governmental organizations and political parties should also support the petition.

He said that he met the struggle of the Kurdish people in an action held in Switzerland for the Morio Refugee Camp in 2021, and added that he was amazed by the Kurdish people's struggle against the oppression of the Turkish state and the barbarism of ISIS. "The first thing that caught my attention was the Make Rojava Green Again project. In 2021, we organised a panel on the climate movements in Switzerland and the ecology model created in Rojava.

Ever since I learned that this ecology model was created by Kurdish fighters who resisted the massacre committed by ISIS in Shengal in 2014, my interest and admiration for the Kurdish people has increased. With the struggle of the Kurdish people against ISIS, the European states were able to secure their own peace and tranquillity. All these reasons are sufficient to remove the PKK from the terrorist organisations list."

‘Rojava Alliance’ declared in St. Gallen

Activists declared the ‘Rojava Alliance’ during a protest march in St. Gallen, Switzerland against the Turkish attacks on Kurdistan.


ANF
ST. GALLEN
Sunday, 20 Feb 2022, 17:35

A march was staged in the Swiss city of St. Gallen on Saturday under the motto “The war begins here – Solidarity with Kurdistan” in protest at the Turkish attacks against Maxmur, Shengal and Rojava.

Activists declared the ‘Rojava Alliance’, which is made up of several groups from Switzerland, Austria and Germany. The alliance announced that their goal was to establish a cross-border network.

The voice message sent by an internationalist in Rojava was played during the demonstration where a speech in the name of Young Socialists (JUSO) pointed to the alternative model built in Rojava.

Demonstrators denounced the cooperation of European governments and companies with Turkey, recalling the latest waves of deadly attacks carried out by the Turkish state against Shengal and Maxmur in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq) and Rojava (northern Syria) that directly target civilian settlements in violation of international law.

The alliance noted that three territories in Rojava have been occupied by the Turkish state since 2017, since when atrocities, exploitation and demographic changes have been executed.

Recalling the ISIS attack on al-Sinaa prison in Heseke on 20 January, the alliance said that the Turkish state carried out simultaneous air raids on Maxmur, Shengal and Rojava after this failed attempt. According to the alliance, this was an act of “retaliation” and greatly hampered the fight against ISIS.

The alliance put emphasis on the importance of solidarity with the people and the revolution of Rojava in order to protect the achievements.

The alliance listed their demands as follows:

1- The Turkish army and allies should immediately retreat from Kurdish autonomous regions.

2- Kurdish autonomous regions should be recognized and peace negotiations that include Kurdish representatives should be conducted.

3- Economic and military cooperation with Turkey should be ceased and all kinds of arms exports should be stopped immediately.

4- The criminalization of Kurdish activists in Germany, Switzerland and Austria should be brought to an end.

Luxury sector undaunted by COVID, soaring inflation

February 21, 2022

PARIS (AFP) – The pandemic and soaring inflation have done nothing to take the shine off luxury brands, from Louis Vuitton to Gucci and Cartier, as the sector hiked prices to notch up stellar profits.

The world economy began to recover from the pandemic last year but the rebound has been accompanied by rising inflation, with prices for raw materials and energy soaring.

But luxury good makers can respond by hiking their prices and actually look more desirable to their customers.

“Our advantage over many other companies and groups is a certain price flexibility, that is, we have the means to react to inflation,” LVMH Chief Executive Bernard Arnault told reporters.

UBS analysts estimate that top brands such as Louis Vuitton, which is owned by industry leader LVMH, have raised their prices two-and-a-half times higher than the inflation rate over the past 20 years.

Indeed, “pricing power remains one of the key characteristics of the luxury goods industry”, UBS analysts wrote in a research note.

LVMH bagged a record EUR64 billion in sales and EUR12 billion in net profit last year, both exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

The French company also owns a broad range of spirits, perfume, jewellery and cosmetics products.

Kering – which owns Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent – also beat its pre-Covid levels to book a net profit of EUR3.2 billion on sales of EUR17.6 billion, the group reported on Thursday.

Kering CEO Francois-Henri Pinault acknowledged that “for every new season, we create a new collection and we review all the price matrices”.

Hermes chalked up profits of EUR2.4 billion on sales of EUR9 billion.

Hermes chief Axel Dumas said his brand, which is enjoying “very strong demand”, raises its prices once a year.

“Our products have the same margins. We don’t play with our prices. They’re linked to manufacturing costs and not to desirability.”

He argued that the craftsmanship that goes into making Hermes bags means that they are “perhaps less susceptible to rising energy and raw materials prices than others”.

Swiss group Richemont, which owns Cartier and runs its business year from April to March, said it booked sales of EUR5.6 billion in the third quarter alone, an increase of 38 per cent over the corresponding period of 2019.

“In certain cases demand exceeds supply and that means consumers will both trade up and likely accept paying higher prices, which again will cushion the margin,” said analysts
at HSBC.

Rolex, for example, had largely refrained from increasing prices during the last two years.

But at the start of 2022, it raised prices by over three per cent on average “and for some models they soared as high as 12 per cent”.

Chanel “has also been in the news for its aggressive price hikes of iconic bags during the pandemic and more so recently”, the analysts said.

“While not every luxury brand can pull off this double-edged sword, we believe Chanel’s pricing actions have probably created a good space for the likes of Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Gucci to raise their price points further.”

'A truck is not a speech': Canadian official issues epic rant on 'liberty' as blockade is finally cleared

David Edwards
February 20, 2022

Ottawa, ON Canada - 01 29 2022: Freedom Convoy Truckers Protest. 

(Photo: Christopher O'Donnell/Shutterstock)

Bob Rae, Canada's ambassador to the United Nations, lashed out at protesters who have clogged roads and bridges in his country for over three weeks because they object to vaccine mandates.

In a largely peaceful operation on Saturday, Canadian officials took advantage of an emergency powers law to arrest protesters and tow vehicles from the streets of Ottawa.

Rae spokes out about the protesters in a tweet on Sunday.

"A truck is not a speech," he wrote. "A horn is not a voice. An occupation is not a protest. A blockade is not freedom, it blocks the liberty of all. A demand to overthrow a government is not a dialogue. The expression of hatred is not a difference of opinion. A lie is not the truth."

Rae's tweet was shared thousands of times within minutes.

U.S.
Giuliani Claims Most 1/6 Riot Damage Done by People Working for Government

BY JASON LEMON ON 2/20/22

Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City and a former attorney for ex-President Donald Trump, continued to promote discredited conspiracy theories about the January 6, 2021 attack against the U.S. Capitol in a recent interview—claiming Antifa and the government were behind the violence.

Giuliani represented Trump in a slew of failed election challenge lawsuits in the wake of the 2020 presidential election. The former Republican mayor was, and continues to be, a key promoter of the so-called "Big Lie" that President Joe Biden only beat Trump due to widespread voter fraud and rigged voting machines. No evidence has emerged corroborating those claims, and Giuliani's license to practice law has been suspended in New York and Washington, DC.

In a Friday interview with the Joe Pags Show, he also pushed conspiracy theories that Antifa activists and the federal government were the real perpetrators behind the pro-Trump assault targeting the Capitol last year.


"Most of the damage looks like it was done by people that were working for the government," Giuliani said. Prior to that remark, he claimed that he saw John Sullivan, who was indicted by the Justice Department for his participation in the January 6 riot, on the evening of the Capitol attack. Sullivan filmed the shooting of pro-Trump demonstrator Ashli Babbitt in the legislative building that day.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani claimed in a recent interview that the government caused "most" of the damage at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Above, Giuliani leaves the funeral for fallen NYPD officer Wilbert Mora at St. Patrick's Cathedral on February 2 in New York City.

SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES

"The night of January 6 I'm walking to my hotel and the person—the two people with me—who are basically my Antifa experts, said, they point over there, they said, 'There's John Sullivan,'" Giuliani claimed. "I said, 'He got arrested.'"

The Trump ally claimed this was evidence that Sullivan was a "rat" and working for the government. He said that the police arrested Sullivan and then the FBI realized, "'He's working for us,'" saying they then quickly released him.

According to the Justice Department, Sullivan was charged and arrested on January 14. A press release at the time explained that he was "charged by complaint with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, and one count of interfering with law enforcement engaged in the lawful performance of their official duties incident to and during the commission of civil disorder."

While Sullivan has previously been supportive of Black Lives Matter and left-wing causes, he has consistently denied being a member of Antifa. Black Lives Matter activists in Utah—where he resided—disavowed him in the past as well, accusing him of being an "agent provocateur." Sullivan said he does not support Trump, but entered the Capitol with rioters to document history.

Trump supporters and allies have suggested that Sullivan was a member of Antifa and working for the government since the early days after the pro-Trump riot took place. The conspiracy theory circulated widely on social media, despite a lack of corroborating evidence. A number of GOP lawmakers and other Trump supporters still claim that left-wing activists and/or the government coordinated the riot as a "false flag" operation.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, reportedly told GOP representatives to stop spreading misinformation that the attack was perpetrated by left-wing activists. He explained to them that he'd reviewed classified briefings that determined the attackers were right-wing extremists, Trump supporters and QAnon adherents.

More than 770 people have been charged in connection to the January 6 riot. Many have stated in court that they believed they were carrying out the wishes of then President Trump when they attacked the Capitol in an apparent effort to disrupt the formal certification of President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory.

Just ahead of the violence, Trump spoke at a nearby rally by the White House and urged his supporters to walk to the federal legislative building and "fight like hell" to save their country. Hundreds proceeded to do just that, although Trump and his allies have argued the demonstration was intended to be peaceful.

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Brunei source of 3.6pc of global DDoS attacks last year

February 21, 2022

Brunei Darussalam is the third highest source of global Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks in 2021, said United National Networks Sdn Bhd (UNN) in a statement yesterday.

A DDoS attack is when a party with malicious intent remotely controls a network of hijacked computers and devices infected with malware to overwhelm Internet traffic going to servers of a business, said UNN, adding that the cyberattack ultimately denies users from accessing information systems, devices, or other network resources from the targeted server.

UNN said according to a leading cloud-based provider’s DDoS attack metrics report in 2021, 3.6 per cent of global DDoS attack traffic comes from the country. “This makes Brunei the third-highest source of Global DDoS attacks, caused by infected devices located in the country,” said the telecommunications provider.

However, the company said DDoS attacks on businesses in Brunei could be carried out by bot networks originating outside of the country.

“These observations mean that local businesses are susceptible to increased risk of DDoS attacks as long as they are connected to the Internet,” said the company, adding that “DDoS attacks may lead businesses to experience financial losses, damage to their brand reputation, and even loss of business due to the unavailability of their online presence”.

UNN said they have introduced a cybersecurity service called DDoS Defence, aimed at protecting local companies from malicious threats and ensuring the lifeline for online service remains uninterrupted during DDoS attack.

The company said DDoS Defence is the first service from UNN’s curated Cyber Security related product and services portfolio to support the Brunei Government’s initiative to achieve the Digital Economy Masterplan 2025 for Smart Nation.

Those interested can contact the UNN Sales Team at digital.solutions@unn.com.bn or visit www.unn.com.bn/ddos-defence for more information.