Brazil’s Congress overrides president's veto to reinstate legislation threatening Indigenous rights

MAURICIO SAVARESE
Updated Thu, December 14, 2023 

Indigenous leader Cacique Raoni and incoming President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stand side by side at the Planalto Palace after Lula's swearing-in ceremony, in Brasilia, Brazil, Jan. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)


SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil's Congress on Thursday overturned a veto by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva so it can reinstate legislation that undoes protections of Indigenous peoples’ land rights. The decision sets up a new battle between lawmakers and the country's top court on the matter.

Both federal deputies and senators voted by a wide margin to support a bill that argues the date Brazil’s Constitution was promulgated — Oct. 5, 1988 — is the deadline by which Indigenous peoples had to be physically occupying or fighting legally to reoccupy territory in order to claim land allotments.

In September, Brazil’s Supreme Court decided on a 9-2 vote that such a theory was unconstitutional. Brazilian lawmakers reacted by using a fast-track process to pass a bill that addressed that part of the original legislation, and it will be valid until the court examines the issue again.

The override of Lula's veto was a victory for congressional supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro — who joined several members of Lula’s coalition in voting to reverse the president's action -- and his allies in agribusiness.

Supporters of the bill argued it was needed to provide legal security to landowners and accused Indigenous leaders of pushing for an unlimited expansion of their territories.

Indigenous rights groups say the concept of the deadline is unfair because it does not account for expulsions and forced displacements of Indigenous populations, particularly during Brazil’s 1964-1985 military dictatorship.

Rights group Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, known by the Portuguese acronym Apib, said in its social medial channels that it would take the case back to Brazil's Supreme Court. Leftist lawmakers said the same.

“The defeated are those who are not fighting. Congress approved the deadline bill and other crimes against Indigenous peoples,” Apib said. “We will continue to challenge this."

Shortly after the vote in Congress, about 300 people protested in front of the Supreme Court building.

Brazil Congress overturns Lula veto on limit to Indigenous land claims

Updated Thu, December 14, 2023 

Brazil's Supreme Court votes regarding the limit to Indigenous land claims, amid protests

By Anthony Boadle

BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil's Congress on Thursday overturned a presidential veto that had struck down the core of a bill to limit Indigenous land claims, setting up a likely clash at the Supreme Court.

Indigenous groups had supported President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's veto, while the bill had the backing of the powerful farm lobby.

In a joint session of both chambers, lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to annul Lula's veto of a policy limiting claims to ancestral lands where Indigenous people lived in 1988.

The issue is expected to be decided by the Supreme Court, which ruled in September that the deadline was unconstitutional.

Lula created the first Ministry of Indigenous Peoples when he took office in January and has vowed to recognize pending land claims. In October he vetoed the core of the bill, a move seen as a major victory for the country's 1.6 million Indigenous people. Many of them have struggled to defend land rights threatened by the advance of Brazil's agricultural frontier into the Amazon region.

The number of land conflicts has increased as Brazil's farm sector has boomed in recent decades into a global powerhouse. Indigenous communities across the country claim land that farmers have settled and developed, in some cases for decades.

The core of the bill that Lula had vetoed sought to establish in law a cut-off date for new reservations on lands where Indigenous people did not live on Oct. 5, 1988, when Brazil's Constitution was enacted.

Brazil's congressional farm caucus argued that greater legal security would curtail often deadly land conflicts.

"There is no lack of land for Indigenous people in Brazil. What is missing is support so that they can develop and enjoy the land they already own," said opposition lawmaker Ciro Nogueira on social media.

Indigenous leaders and advocates say protecting their lands is the best way to preserve the Amazon rainforest, which scientists say is crucial to curbing climate change.

Celia Xakriabá, one of only two Indigenous members of Brazil's Congress, called Thursday's vote "a defeat for the climate agenda."

Groups of protesters from some of Brazil's 305 tribes, wearing feathered headdresses with painted faces, danced and chanted outside Congress in support of the presidential veto. Leaders warned that the legislation backed by the farm lobby would lead to more violent conflicts.

Among the protesters, Indigenous Peoples Minister Sonia Guajajara told Reuters she was hoping Lula's veto would stand because the deadline threatened claims to ancestral lands that are vital for the survival of Indigenous culture in Brazil.

(Reporting by Anthony Boadle, Isadora Machado and Maria Carolina Marcello; editing by Jonathan Oatis and David Gregorio)

Hungry, thirsty and humiliated: Israel's mass arrest campaign sows fear in northern Gaza

ISABEL DEBRE and WAFAA SHURAFA
Thu, December 14, 2023






 Israeli soldiers stand on Salah al-Din road in central Gaza Strip on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, as the temporary ceasefire went into effect. The Israeli military has rounded up hundreds of Palestinians across the northern Gaza Strip, separating families and forcing men to strip to their underwear before trucking some to an undisclosed location. The roundups have laid bare an emerging tactic in Israel's ground offensive in Gaza, experts say, as the military seeks to solidify control in evacuated areas in the north and collect intelligence about Hamas operations nearly 10 weeks after the group's deadly Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. 

(AP Photo/Hatem Moussa, File)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military has rounded up hundreds of Palestinians across the northern Gaza Strip, separating families and forcing men to strip to their underwear before trucking some to a detention camp on the beach, where they spent hours, in some cases days, subjected to hunger and cold, according to human rights activists, distraught relatives and released detainees themselves.

Palestinians detained in the shattered town of Beit Lahiya, the urban refugee camp of Jabaliya and neighborhoods of Gaza City said they were bound, blindfolded and bundled into the backs of trucks. Some said they were taken to the camp at an undisclosed location, nearly naked and with little water.

“We were treated like cattle, they even wrote numbers on our hands," said Ibrahim Lubbad, a 30-year-old computer engineer arrested in Beit Lahiya on Dec. 7 with a dozen other family members and held overnight. “We could feel their hatred.”

The roundups have laid bare an emerging tactic in Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza, experts say, as the military seeks to solidify control in evacuated areas in the north and collect intelligence about Hamas operations nearly 10 weeks after the group’s deadly Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. Militants killed about 1,200 people and abducted over 240 that day.

In response to questions about alleged mistreatment, the Israeli military said that detainees were “treated according to protocol” and were given enough food and water. The army spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said the men are questioned and then told to dress, and that in cases where this didn't happen, the military would ensure it doesn't occur again. Those believed to have ties to Hamas are taken away for further interrogation, and dozens of Hamas members have been arrested so far, he said.

Photos and video showing Palestinian men kneeling in the streets, heads bowed and hands bound behind their backs, sparked outrage after spreading on social media.

To Palestinians, it is a stinging indignity. Among those rounded up were boys as young as 12 and men as old as 70, and they included civilians who lived ordinary lives before the war, according to interviews with 15 families of detainees.

“My only crime is not having enough money to flee to the south,” said Abu Adnan al-Kahlout, an unemployed 45-year-old with diabetes and high blood pressure in Beit Lahiya. He was detained Dec. 8 and released after several hours when soldiers saw he was too faint and nauseated to be interrogated.

Israeli forces have detained at least 900 Palestinians in northern Gaza, estimated Ramy Abdu, founder of the Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, which has worked to document the arrests. Based on testimony it collected, the group presumes Israel is holding most detainees from Gaza at the Zikim military base just north of the enclave.

The Israeli military declined comment on where the detainees were taken.

Palestinians cowered with their families for days as Israel poured heavy machine-gun fire into Beit Lahiya and Jabaliya, the firefights with Hamas militants stranding families in their homes without electricity, running water, fuel or communications and internet service.

“There are corpses all over the place, left out for three, four weeks because no one can reach them to bury them before the dogs eat them,” said Raji Sourani, a lawyer with the Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza. He said he saw dozens of dead bodies as he made his way from Gaza City to the southern border with Egypt last week.

Palestinians recounted soldiers going door to door with dogs, using loudspeakers to call on families to come outside. In most cases, women and children are told to walk away to find shelter.

Some released detainees described enduring humiliating stretches of near-nudity as Israeli troops took the photos that later went viral. Some guessed they were driven several kilometers (miles) before being dumped in cold sand.

Released detainees said they were exposed to the chill of night and repeatedly questioned about Hamas activities that most couldn't answer. Soldiers kicked sand in their faces and beat those who spoke out of turn.

Several Palestinians held for 24 hours or less said they had no food and were forced to share three 1.5-liter bottles with some 300 fellow detainees.

Darwish al-Ghabrawi, a 58-year-old principal at a U.N. school, fainted from dehydration. Mahmoud al-Madhoun, a 33-year-old shopkeeper, said the only moment that gave him hope was when soldiers released his son, realizing he was just 12.

Returning home brought its own horrors. Israeli soldiers dropped detainees off after midnight without their clothes, phones or IDs near what appeared to be Gaza's northern border with Israel, those released said, ordering them to walk through a landscape of destruction, tanks stationed along the road and snipers perched on roofs.

“It was a death sentence,” said Hassan Abu Shadkh, whose brothers, 43-year-old Ramadan and 18-year-old Bashar, and his 38-year-old cousin, Naseem Abu Shadkh, walked shoeless over jagged mounds of debris until their feet bled.

Naseem, a farmer in Beit Lahiya, was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper as they made their way to a U.N. school in Beit Lahiya, Abu Shadkh said. His brothers were forced to leave their cousin’s body in the middle of the road.

Israeli officials say they have reason to be suspicious of Palestinians remaining in northern Gaza, given that places like Jabaliya and Shijaiyah, in eastern Gaza City, are well-known Hamas bastions.

Human rights groups say mass arrests should be investigated.

“Civilians must only be arrested for absolutely necessary and imperative reasons for security. It's a very high threshold," said Omar Shakir, Human Rights Watch’s regional director.

—-

This story has been updated to correct the name of the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor. It is Ramy Abdu, not Rami Abdo.

—-

DeBre reported from Jerusalem.

—-

Full AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war



What do we know about the shocking videos of Palestinian prisoners stripped to their underwear?
Sophia Khatsenkova
Wed, December 13, 2023 

What do we know about the shocking videos of Palestinian prisoners stripped to their underwear?

Several pictures and videos that have emerged online in recent days show dozens of Palestinian men being arrested, some stripped down to their underwear and forced to sit or kneel on the ground.

Some people have pointed to the shocking video as evidence of Israel’s human rights violations and humiliating treatment of prisoners.

But this video also raised questions about its authenticity. "It looks fake... Nobody is restrained and Israel blindfolds all prisoners," one Twitter user commented.

The Cube decided to take a closer look.

Where did these arrests take place?

There have been multiple reports. An Israeli government spokesperson claimed it was taken in the Hamas stronghold of Jabaliya.

Meanwhile, according to Palestinians, the images were filmed in the northern town of Beit Lahiya.

The Geolocation sleuths, Geoconfirmed also found the video was taken in the southern part of the town Beit Lahiya.


We found these images first appeared online on 7 December. However, it is difficult to confirm the circumstances in which these arrests took place, their exact date, or the person behind the video.

Who are some of the prisoners seen in the video?

The international NGO Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor indicated that it had recognised several civilians, including a school director and doctors.

They were taken from two schools, both of which are affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the rights group said in a statement.

According to his employer, at least one journalist from The New Arab, a media outlet based in London, is among the prisoners seen in the video.

Other members of the journalists' family were also arrested according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The Committee to Protect Journalists reminded that the New Arab is one of the few media outlets still present in the north of the Gaza Strip.

In an interview with CNN, Hani Almadhoun, director of philanthropy for the US arm of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA USA) said he knew a dozen people pictured in circulating images, including his brother. He claimed his brother is a shopkeeper and is not affiliated with Hamas.

What does Israel say?

During a press conference on Sunday, the spokesperson for Israel Defense Forces acknowledged that mass arrests have taken place but assured the detainees were “treated in accordance with international law”, justifying stripping them down to by saying they were searching for explosive devices.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said the men were “arbitrarily arrested” after Israeli forces surrounded two shelters inside the schools in Beit Lahiya.

Asked about the video, a spokesman for the Israeli government told the BBC the men detained were all of military age and had been "discovered in areas that civilians were supposed to have evacuated weeks ago".

A senior Israeli official told the Times of Israel that the photos of Palestinian men being stripped to their underwear after their arrest by the IDF in Gaza might be “uncomfortable.”

Under international humanitarian law, all prisoners of war need to be treated humanely.

The act of publishing these humiliating images could be a violation of the Geneva Convention, especially considering the presence of civilians.

EU Agrees to Open Membership Talks With Kyiv in Historic Win

Natalia Drozdiak, Maria Tadeo and Alberto Nardelli
Thu, December 14, 2023 


(Bloomberg) -- European Union leaders agreed to open membership talks with Ukraine in a historic political win for Kyiv as it grapples with uncertainty over future financial aid from the US and Europe.

“A clear signal of hope for their people and for our continent,” European Council President Charles Michel wrote in a post on X. He said that EU leaders meeting in Brussels also agreed to open accession talks with Moldova, granted candidate status to Georgia and said negotiations could begin with Bosnia once it meets the criteria.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had opposed opening membership talks, saying Ukraine wasn’t ready and the topic should be removed from the summit agenda, prompting frustration in other European capitals.

Read more: What Ukraine’s EU Candidacy Means, and What’s Ahead: QuickTake

Orban wasn’t in the room for the final vote, according to two people familiar with the matter. The decision requires unanimous approval of EU member states, and nobody objected to the decision, the people said. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suggested Orban leave the room to allow the bloc to move forward for now, one person added.

“Hungary didn’t want to take part in this wrong decision and therefore decided to stay away” from the vote, Orban said in a Facebook video Thursday, calling it a “senseless, irrational, wrong decision” to start EU accession talks.

EU nations also reached agreement on a 12th package of sanctions against Russia, including a ban on Russian diamonds and measures to better enforce the price cap on Russian oil, according to people familiar with matter. The sanctions deal will become official Friday after clearing procedural steps.

While Kyiv still faces hurdles in clinching funding from both the EU and the US, the country’s progress on joining the bloc will at least boost morale as it seeks to fight off Russia’s invasion.

The decision, however, is a somewhat symbolic one. The bloc won’t launch the more formal negotiating framework before March, when Ukraine has been asked to meet several additional conditions related to its membership bid.

Even with a green light from member states, the negotiations would still take years as the path to membership is lengthy and complicated. Croatia was the last country to join the bloc and its application lasted 10 years before it was formally accepted in 2013.

“Membership won’t happen overnight or even in a few years time,” Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar told reporters. “But we look forward to welcoming new members in the years ahead.”

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed the decision, saying he wants to thank everyone who worked to make it happen. “I congratulate every Ukrainian on this day,” he wrote on X.

Failing to open accession talks would have been a severe blow for Ukraine, after it invested so much time, energy and reforms in the process. It also could have damaged the EU’s reputation in the country, as the bloc falls short on a key plank of its support.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said earlier this week that of all the issues on the table at the summit, opening accession talks was “the mother of all decisions, the most important decision.”

The European Commission, the bloc’s executive, formally recommended in November starting the talks with Ukraine, as well as Moldova. At the time, the commission said it would monitor Ukraine and Moldova’s progress with the aim of reporting back to member states by March.

The commission said that before negotiations could start, Kyiv would need to enact legislation on minorities and corruption, and to regulate lobbying to bring it in line with European standards, among other steps. Kuleba said of the four laws the EU demanded it introduce by March, Ukraine has already signed three of them into law and the fourth would soon be adopted.

--With assistance from Andra Timu, Zoltan Simon, Kateryna Chursina, Katharina Rosskopf, Stephanie Bodoni, Natalia Ojewska, Slav Okov, Michael Nienaber and Jorge Valero.

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.

es to open membership talks with Ukraine

Joe Barnes
Thu, December 14, 2023

'This day will go down in our history', said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky - CORNELIUS POPPE/AFP

The EU offered Ukraine the chance to start talks to join the bloc on Thursday after Volodymyr Zelensky warned them that failing to grant Kyiv accession talks would go down in history.

Charles Michel, the European Council’s president, said it was a “clear signal of hope for their people and for our people”.

Speaking ahead of the summit, Mr Zelensky told EU leaders by video link: “Today is a special day. And this day will go down in our history. Whether it’s good or bad for us, history will capture everything. Every word, every step, every action and inaction. Who fought for what.

“Today is the day when determination will either be in Brussels or Moscow. People in Europe won’t understand if Putin’s satisfied smile becomes the reward for a meeting in Brussels.”

The EU’s continued support for Ukraine has become even more vital for the war-torn crisis after the US failed to agree on a $60 billion (£52.7 billion) aid package.
Opposition from Hungary

Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, arrived at the summit in Brussels on Thursday as the chief opponent to opening talks for Kyiv to join the bloc and a €50 billion financial lifeline.

He argued Ukraine did not deserve to start the negotiations or receive money from the EU’s joint budget.

Hungary has repeatedly delayed the EU’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, opposing moves such as sanctions against Moscow and donations of weapons to Kyiv.

Mr Orban is the only EU leader to meet Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, and to continue to do business with Moscow, despite its invasion of Ukraine.

“There is no reason to discuss anything [on membership talks] because the preconditions are not met,” Mr Orban said.

“In the long term, and the bigger sum of money, my decision is we should give it outside [the budget],” he added on the four-year financial package.

EU leaders arriving at the planned two-day European Council summit said they were ready for lengthy discussions to overcome Mr Orban’s opposition.

Finland’s prime minister Petteri Orpo said: “I’m ready to negotiate. I have packed many shirts if it takes us long.”

He said support for Ukraine was crucial to “our security and existence as a credible union”, adding: “We need strong resistance here. We have to show our unity.”
‘Endangering Europe’s future’

Evika Siliņa, the Latvian prime minister, suggested the bloc could not rely on “someone who is endangering Europe’s future” in a veiled dig at Hungary.

“Maybe there is a moment we have to negotiate – not anymore about Ukraine, but someone else who is not going forward,” she added.

Leaders of the 26 other EU countries were largely supportive of starting membership negotiations with Ukraine and the financial package.

On Wednesday, the European Commission released €10 billion to Hungary that had been withheld over the state’s alleged erosion of democracy, despite opposition from EU figures.

It was hoped the money, about a third of frozen EU funding to Budapest, would have helped ease Mr Orban’s opposition to Ukrainian aid.
Hungary did not meet preconditions

The Hungarian prime minister’s political director earlier this week suggested it would take €30 billion to change his mind on the financial package proposed for Ukraine.

“I always have some difficulty with such a summit where one person thinks we can offer all kinds of things,” Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, told reporters.

“We set up seven preconditions, and in the evaluation of the Commission, three out of seven were not fulfilled, so there is no reason to discuss anything because preconditions were not met. So we have to come back later on, revert to that issue again when it is fulfilled by the Ukrainians,” he said.

In its recommendation to EU leaders, the Commission proposed officially adopting a negotiating framework in March next year, potentially giving time for Ukraine to meet the remaining demands for reforms.

Meanwhile, Austria also appeared as a potential roadblock on Ukraine’s EU membership, demanding Brussels does not fast-track Kyiv’s negotiations at the expense of six Western Balkan states hoping to join the bloc.

Diplomatic sources said Italy had also tied demands for more spending on migration to cash for Ukraine.

Hungary against EU talks with Ukraine, open to financial aid for Kyiv

Reuters
Thu, December 14, 2023 

European Union leaders' summit in Brussels


BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Hungary could back granting long-term financial aid to Ukraine outside of the European Union budget, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Thursday, while reiterating his opposition to start accession talks with Kyiv.

Orban spoke on arriving to a summit of EU leaders, where all other EU countries want to provide Ukraine with 50 billion euros ($54.50 bln) in budget support through 2027, and advance Kyiv's membership bid as the country's war with Russia drags on.

Those decisions require unanimity among the bloc's 27 member states, something Orban has ruled out.

Orban said there was no time pressure to decide on more financial aid to Ukraine because short-term support was already secured. For longer-term backing, he said it needed to be fixed outside of the bloc's joint coffers.

"We have to manage this outside of the budget. And we support it," said Orban.

He also said Ukraine had not met all of the 7 conditions the EU had set to launch accession negotiations.

"There is no reason to discuss anything because preconditions were not met. So we have to come back later on, revert to that issue again when it is fulfilled by the Ukrainians," Orban said, adding that "we are not in a position to start to negotiate".

Speaking on Wednesday, the EU's chief executive said reforms passed in Ukraine last week meant Kyiv now met 6 out of those 7 conditions, with the only outstanding requirement being a new law on lobbying to limit oligarchs' influence in the country.

EU officials and diplomats suspect he is using the issue of support to Ukraine as a bargaining chip, hoping to obtain funds frozen by the bloc over concerns about the rule of law in Hungary. Orban said on Thursday there was no link.

He also mentioned a continent-wide European Parliament election next June, saying the bloc should "behave democratically" and await a new political consensus that would emerge, potentially signaling a months-long delay to any start of talks to Ukraine.

($1 = 0.9175 euros)

(Reporting by Krisztina Than, Bart Meijer, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska, Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout)

Politico: Zelensky not invited to EU summit to avoid antagonizing Orban

Elsa Court, The Kyiv Independent news desk
Thu, December 14, 2023

President Volodymyr Zelensky has not been invited to the EU Council Summit in Brussels due to fears that his presence "could antagonize" Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Politico reported on Dec. 14, citing unnamed EU diplomats.

Orban openly opposes the launch of Ukraine's EU accession negotiations, claiming that Ukraine is "light years" away from joining the block. The European Commission announced on Nov. 8 that Ukraine had made progress in its reforms and was ready for talks to begin.

Member states will vote on whether to officially begin negotiations during the Dec. 14-15 summit. Ukrainian and Western leaders and officials are seeking to sway Budapest away from blocking the start of Ukraine's membership talks.

Zelensky was in Oslo on Dec. 13, a few hours away by plane, and was "keen" to come to Brussels, Politico's sources said. EU leaders were also reportedly "willing to invite him."

The president did not receive an invitation since "several ambassadors expressed reservations," fearing that his presence would cause Orban "to dig his heels in even further," Politico said.

The Hungarian prime minister said on Dec. 14 that there is "no reason to negotiate the (EU) membership of Ukraine now," signaling no change in his position.

European Council President Charles Michel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and French President Emmanuel Macron were set to meet with Orban ahead of the summit in what appeared to be a last-ditch attempt to persuade Orban to change course.

Ukraine's Zelenskiy hails 'victory' after EU decision to open accession talks

Updated Thu, December 14, 2023 


By Tom Balmforth and Yuliia Dysa

(Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy hailed a "victory" for Ukraine and the European continent on Thursday after European Union leaders agreed to open membership talks for Ukraine and Moldova despite months of opposition from Hungary about Kyiv joining.

The decision announced by European Council President Charles Michel on the first day of a summit in Brussels is a much-needed morale boost for Kyiv, which fears vital Western support has been waning as its war with Russia rages on with no end in sight.

"I thank everyone who worked for this to happen and everyone who helped. I congratulate every Ukrainian on this day... History is made by those who don't get tired of fighting for freedom," Zelenskiy wrote in a post on social media platform X.

In a separate post on X, the president added: "This is a victory for Ukraine. A victory for all of Europe. A victory that motivates, inspires, and strengthens."

Zelenskiy later issued a series of messages on Telegram, thanking Council President Michel for communicating the result personally and expressing gratitude to European leaders.

These included French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban before the result was announced.

He congratulated Moldovan President Maia Sandu on her country winning the right to launch talks and President Salome Zourabichvili on Georgia becoming a candidate for EU membership.

Kyiv residents were delighted at the EU summit outcome.

"Ukraine showed that it has qualities that make it different from our enemy," said Volodymyr, 63.

"When people don't like something, they express their will and change presidents. This movement is ceaseless since 2004, Ukraine was and is heading towards Europe."

It was not immediately clear what the fate was of a four-year 50 billion euro aid package that Kyiv hopes will also be agreed by EU leaders at the summit this week.

WARTIME MEMBERSHIP BID

Ukraine announced its wartime bid to join the EU days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

"This is an extremely important milestone on our common path to the unification of Europe... When we started it, no one believed we'd succeed. But we didn't care," Zelenskiy's chief of staff Andriy Yermak said.

Kyiv has been racing to adopt legislative reforms in recent weeks to meet the criteria for launching talks, but had faced staunch opposition from Hungary's Orban.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said: "What a historic day! One emotion dominates: everything was not in vain."

Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna said: "(This) became possible only thanks to the strong will of all Ukrainians, our soldiers standing on the frontline."

Russia, which has occupied more than a sixth of Ukraine's territory, is a fierce opponent of Ukraine's push to join Western institutions like the NATO military alliance.

Moscow's troops seized and annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014 following mass protests in Kyiv that toppled a Russian-backed leader who had abandoned a push to sign an association agreement with the European Union.

Moldova, which lies between Ukraine and Romania, hailed the EU decision to open formal accession talks with it. Pro-Western President Sandu said Moldova would rise to the challenge and was committed to the "hard work" that lay ahead.

"Moldova turns a new page today with the EU's go-ahead for accession talks. We're feeling Europe's warm embrace today. Thank you for your support and faith in our journey," Sandu wrote on X.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa and Anna Voitenko; writing by Tom Balmforth; editing by Mark Heinrich and Rosalba O'Brien)

Zelensky addresses EU summit, warns against 'indecision'

Martin Fornusek
Thu, December 14, 2023 at 6:06 AM MST·2 min read

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on EU leaders to act decisively for Ukraine in a video address to the European Council summit. The Dec. 14-15 meeting is expected to bring about decisions on $54 billion in the bloc's funding for Kyiv and Ukraine's accession negotiations.

The results of the upcoming talks remain uncertain as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is considered close to Moscow, said he would block the start of the negotiations and has long opposed military support for Ukraine.

"This day will go down in our history. Whether it's good or bad for us, history will capture everything. Every word, every step, every action and inaction. Who fought for what," Zelensky said, according to the Guardian.

"It's very important that Europe doesn't fall back into indecision today. Nobody wants Europe to be seen as untrustworthy. Or as unable to take decisions it prepared itself."

Zelensky stressed that Ukraine passed key reforms necessary on the country's path toward EU integration.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen praised Ukraine's reform efforts in a speech on Dec. 12, saying that the country is well on its way to fulfilling the remaining recommendations listed during the November assessment.

Orban was more skeptical about Ukraine's progress, noting that the country has not completed three of the seven criteria set by the EU and that any further decisions should wait until all conditions are met.

"I ask you one thing today – do not betray the people and their faith in Europe," Zelensky told EU leaders.

"​If no one believes in Europe, what will keep the European Union alive?"

According to European Pravda, the possibility of Zelensky's personal visit to the summit was discussed as the president toured several partner countries in recent days.

His participation has not been officially confirmed.

Corby company helps with the laundry in poorer countries

Martin Heath - BBC News, Northampton
Tue, December 12, 2023 

Navjot Sawhney created the hand-cranked washing machine

Hand-cranked washing machines for people in poorer countries are being built at a company in Northamptonshire.

RS Components, based in Corby, is working with the Washing Machine Project, set up by an engineer who saw a neighbour in India struggling to do the washing.

The machines are designed to be quicker and easier than washing by hand.

They are being used by communities in countries like Iraq, Lebanon and Uganda.

When Navjot Sawhney saw what washing clothes was like in India, he decided to use his engineering skills to make it easier for people by offering a machine that is operated by hand, rather than electricity.

He said: "They wash with cold water in buckets, on the floor, causing back pain, joint pain and skin irritation.

"With our machine, it saves 75% of time and 50% of water compared to handwashing clothes, and they can use that time to work, study or rest."

He set up the Washing Machine Project (WMP) which has sent 180 machines to 15 countries so far.

Staff have volunteered to work with the Washing Machine Project to construct 60 machines

Staff at RS Components have been working with WMP volunteers to make the components of the machine, including the drum and the crank handle, which are then sent as flat-packs to their destination.

James Tucker from RS Components said that staff who volunteer on the project "feel a real connection" with people in poorer countries who use them

James Tucker, from RS Components, said: "We can offer some of the parts that help to build the machines and then we'll also help to ship them to the end beneficiaries so it really feels full cycle.

"Our staff that have been involved really feel that connection with the people that are receiving the machines.

The hand-cranked machine, known as the Divya, is designed be simple and economical to use and does not need electricity

For Navjot Sawhney, the project fulfils a promise he made to a woman in India who he saw spending hours washing clothes by hand every day.

He said: "I promised her a manual washing machine - her name was Divya and we've actually named our washing machine after her."

Chinese chip-related companies shutting down with record speed — 10,900, or around 30 per day, shut down in 2023

Anton Shilov
Wed, December 13, 2023 

SMIC.

The number of chip companies in China has been declining ever since the U.S. started imposing sanctions against the semiconductor sector in 2019 - 2020. The situation got worse in 2022 - 2023 as demand for chips slowed. More than 22,000 chip-related firms have disappeared since 2019, but 2023 saw record-setting extinction according to DigiTimes (citing TMTPost).

A record 10,900 chip-related companies have lost their registration in 2023 so far — a big jump from the 5,746 companies that folded in 2022, according to the report. That means an average of 30 Chinese chip-related companies closed their doors each day in 2023. This is part of the five-year trend, which saw over 10,000 Chinese chip-related companies close in 2021 - 2022. The spike in 2023 highlights the growing struggles in chip design, semiconductor manufacturing, and wafer fab equipment sectors.

Out of 3,243 chip design companies in China in 2023 (many of which emerged, at least partly, thanks to incentives from federal and local governments), more than half were making less than 10 million CNY (about $1.4 million USD) a year, according to Wei Shaojun, IC design lead at the China Semiconductor Industry Association and professor at Tsinghua University. Shaojun is not particularly fond of how the Chinese industry is developing.

These firms are not just struggling with sales. Most are losing money from unsold stock, due to market oversupply and a general downturn in the semiconductor industry from wider economic circumstances. A big part of the problem comes from a misstep in planning: In 2021 and 2022, many companies produced tons of chips, expecting high sales from the Covid-induced work-from-home trend. But as the pandemic waned, demand took a downturn and the market slumped in the end of 2022 / beginning of 2023, leaving companies with a lot of inventory they couldn't sell. And, of course, these products are losing value as time passes.

Another problem, for smaller companies especially, is lack of investments. The U.S. has restricted investments in the Chinese semiconductor industry (as well as AI and quantum computing technologies), and European investors are not inclined to invest in Chinese chip companies with U.S. sanctions in place.

Larger companies like YMTC have spent billions finding alternative suppliers and procuring third-party tools to stay in business, while Huawei built a secret fab network; smaller companies don't have the resources to keep up. And while the Chinese government is investing in the chip industry — the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund dropped $1 billion in HLMC a week ago — it can't pour money into every chip startup out there.

It's been a tough year for China's chip industry — especially for the smaller players. The record number of companies shutting down reflects the hard times they're facing: low demand, overstock, and difficulty in obtaining funding. This has forced many out of the game and has shifted China's semiconductor industry into mostly big companies instead of smaller startups.

Filipino American nurse wins $41 million retaliation lawsuit against Kaiser

Michelle De Pacina
Thu, December 14, 2023 



[Source]

Filipino American nurse Maria Gatchalian has won a $41.49 million lawsuit against her former employer, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc.

The court’s rule: On Monday, the Los Angeles Superior Court panel ruled in favor of Gatchalian and awarded her $11.49 million in compensatory damages, including $9 million for emotional distress and $30 million in punitive damages.

What happened: After three decades of service as a registered and charge nurse for the Woodland Hills Kaiser Permanente Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Los Angeles, Gatchalian was terminated in 2019 over a minor policy violation.

Gatchalian filed a lawsuit in April 2021, asserting that her termination was in retaliation for raising concerns about the quality of care and patient safety, primarily due to alleged understaffing at Kaiser.

Kaiser’s claim: Kaiser maintained that Gatchalian allegedly placed her bare feet on a medical device for sick or premature newborns. The defense argued that her conduct was unacceptable, especially as she was a charge nurse. Kaiser claimed to have lost confidence in her and made the decision to terminate her.

The trial: During the trial, witnesses supported claims of understaffing at the facility. Gatchalian’s lawyer, David deRubertis, argued that staffing issues in healthcare are linked to care quality. The lawsuit alleged Kaiser discouraged formal complaints using the standard procedure about patient safety and quality, aiming to avoid investigation.

“Maria had the courage to speak up about patient safety but Kaiser tried to silence her,” deRubertis told Inquirer.net. “This diligent jury spoke in a loud and clear voice telling Kaiser that it needs to put patients over profits.”

Fired Kaiser nurse spoke up for patient safety, lawsuit says. Now she’s awarded $41M

Julia Marnin
Thu, December 14, 2023
1

A nurse’s 30-year career at a Los Angeles Kaiser Permanente hospital ended when she was fired after speaking up about patient safety and quality of care concerns, according to a lawsuit.

Nearly two years after her firing in June 2019, Maria Gatchalian sued Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. for wrongful termination.

Now, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury has sided with Gatchalian — finding Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Medical Center fired her in retaliation, the deRubertis Law Firm, which represents Gatachlian, announced in a Dec. 12 news release.

A jury has awarded Gatchalian $11.49 million in compensatory damages, including $9 million for emotional distress, and $30 million in punitive damages — totaling more than $41 million, according to the jurors’ verdict forms.

“Maria had the courage to speak up about patient safety but Kaiser tried to silence her,” David deRubertis, Gatchalian’s lead trial attorney based in Beverly Hills, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Kaiser Permanente plans to appeal the jury’s decision, Murtaza Sanwari, the senior vice president and area manager of Kaiser Permanente in Woodland Hills/West Ventura County, told McClatchy News in a statement on Dec. 14.

“The allegations in this lawsuit are at odds with the facts we showed in the courtroom,” Sanwari said.

Concerns about safety, harassment and understaffing

Kaiser hired Gatchalian, who was 63 when she filed her lawsuit, as a neonatal intensive care unit nurse in February 1989, according to her lawsuit.

At the time of her firing, she was the NICU charge nurse after her promotion to the position in February 2006, a complaint says.

In 2017, Gatchalian learned a patient’s father had a knife with him when he visited the hospital’s NICU and that her supervisor was aware of it but didn’t alert staff, according to the complaint.

After Gatchalian brought this to the attention of the NICU director and the hospital’s union president, her supervisor began to “routinely harass, micro-manage, retaliate, and intimidate” her, the complaint says.

Gatchalian also became concerned about the NICU’s lack of staffing “in addition to (her supervisor’s) harassment,” according to the complaint.

As she repeatedly spoke out about patient safety and care concerns, particularly due to understaffing, the hospital’s management “discouraged” her from making formal complaints, the news release said.

At trial, Gatchalian’s lawyers argued Kaiser didn’t want her to make formal complaints because an investigation could follow and potentially highlight understaffing issues, according to the news release.

During court proceedings, different witnesses testified about staffing issues at the Woodland Hills hospital, the news release said.

In October, 75,000 Kaiser Permanente employees nationwide went on strike over understaffing and pay, The Associated Press reported. understaffing is hurting patient care walked off the job in five states and the District of Columbia, kicking off a major health care worker strike.

Kaiser contends nurse fired over policy violation

In 2019, Kaiser used a “false” pretext for firing Gatchalian, according to her lawsuit.

In April of that year, Gatchalian’s feet were seen resting on an isolette, an incubator that protects newborn babies from germs, according to the complaint.

This was the reason given for her firing, the complaint says.

However, Gatchalian maintains her termination was for different reasons, including for “retaliatory purposes,” according to the complaint.

Sanwari told McClatchy News that Gatchalian’s position as charge nurse “was to be a leader for other nurses, ensure the standards of care were followed and to protect the neonatal babies entrusted to our care.”

“She was found sitting in a recliner in the neonatal intensive care unit, on her personal phone and resting her bare feet on an isolette with a neonatal infant inside,” Sanwari said.

This “may have created risk to the infant which could have been life threatening,” Sanwari added. “Her actions were egregious and in violation of our infection control policies and standards.”

“We stand by her termination and are surprised and disappointed in the verdict,” Sanwari said.

According to her attorneys, the isolette incident was Gatchalian’s only violation of hospital policy in her yearslong career.

In regards to the jury’s verdict, deRubertis said “this diligent jury spoke in a loud and clear voice telling Kaiser that it needs to put patients over profits.”

Discovery inside unearthed bottle would’ve shocked the scientist who buried it in 1879

Kylie Martin, 

USA TODAY NETWORK
Thu, December 14, 2023 

MSU plant researchers looking in a hole for the bottle containing seeds buried by William J. Beal in 1879.

In 1879, botanist William J. Beal filled 20 bottles with soil and seeds and buried them on what is now Michigan State University’s campus grounds. In April 2021, the 16th bottle was unearthed, and its seeds were planted. Now, MSU scientists have discovered not all the seeds were quite what they seemed to be.

Despite being one of the oldest scientific experiments in the world, the Beal Seed Experiment continues to surprise researchers. More than two years after the latest dig, plant biologists used molecular genetic testing to find that one of the seeds was unknowingly a viable hybrid between two species — a discovery that would’ve shocked Beal, who buried the bottles decades before the world knew that DNA existed.

Beal intended his experiment to examine seed longevity, how long seeds can remain dormant within soil and still sprout when exposed to favorable conditions. While Beal’s original purpose still holds up, the experiment has become more relevant to ecology and evolutionary biology, particularly in conserving rare species as well as ecosystem restoration by preserving native species and ridding invasive species.
History of the Beal Seed Experiment

In 1879, Beal was a botany professor at Michigan Agricultural College, which later became Michigan State University. Per MSU’s land-grant agreement, Beal was on a mission to help farmers increase their crop production by eliminating weeds. In a time before herbicides and GMOs, Beal decided to conduct an experiment to investigate how long unwanted seeds can remain viable while buried deep within the soil.

Beal filled 20 narrow-necked glass bottles with sandy soil and 50 seeds from 23 common weed species. He buried the 20 bottles in a line, upside down and open to protect the seeds from water while allowing them to experience other natural conditions, like temperature and humidity. Then, he recorded their secret location on a map so that he could return every five years to unearth one bottle and test the seeds’ viability by attempting to grow them.

David Lowry holds the Beal Bottle, to continue the seed germination study, first done over 140 years ago.

He continued the experiment this way until he retired in 1910 and decided to hand the top-secret experiment to another academic, MSU botany professor H.T. Darlington. In 1920, under Darlington’s control, he decided to extend the interval from five years to 10 years between digs to help prolong the study.

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Most seeds lost viability within the first 60 years of the experiment, but others like Verbascum blattaria — more commonly known as moth mullein –— consistently persisted. In the time that the experiment was traded off to three other scientists — G. P. Steinbauer in 1960 and Drs. A. Kivilaan and R.S. Bandurski from 1970 to 1980 — the seeds still persevered. In 1980, the scientists decided to prolong the study once more with 20-year intervals between digs, lengthening the eventual end date when all bottles have been unearthed to 2100.

Associate professor Lars Brudvig digs for the Beal Bottle, to continue the seed germination study, first done by Wiiliam J. Beal, over 140 years ago.

By 2000, the experiment had fallen into the hands of MSU professor Jan Zeevaart and plant biologist and associate professor Frank Telewski. They repeated Beal’s experiment per usual: Dig up the 121-year-old bottle, plant the seeds and see whether they germinate. And germinate they did … except something didn’t look quite right.

Of the 1,150 seeds in the bottle, 25 seedlings of moth mullein germinated, but two of the plants looked a little odd to the scientists. They began to theorize that the plants were hybrids of two different species of mullein plants, but at the time, they didn’t have the technology to confirm or deny it.

The 2021 dig

In 2021, Telewski had become the leader of the experiment and recruited associate professor of plant biology David Lowry. Soon after, their team was joined by assistant professor Marjorie Weber, associate professor Lars Brudvig and molecular biologist Margaret Fleming.

The dig was supposed to have occurred in 2020 but due to complications from the coronavirus pandemic, the scientists chose to push the dig back a year to maintain the integrity of the experiment in being performed in a lab setting.

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Finally, the five scientists and a recent addition, evolutionary biologist Richard Lenski, set out to find Beal’s 16th bottle in April 2021. They worked in the middle of the night, under the shadow of darkness, as to prevent other bottles being prematurely exposed to light and to maintain the secrecy of the bottles’ location. After nearly two hours of complications with the map and digging, the team unearthed one of the 142-year-old bottles and took it back to their “growth chamber,” a climate-controlled laboratory on MSU’s campus.

Frank Telewski, curator of the W. J. Beal Botanical Garden and Campus Arboretum, spread seeds,from the Beal Bottle, in a tray in th growth lab.

The contents of the bottle were spread out on a tray of sterile potting soil, watered and left to grow. Seven days later and much to the pleasant surprise of the scientists, moth mullein sprouts poked their leaves through the soil once again.
Recent discovery

As the 20 viable plants continued to grow, one began to look slightly different from the others, just as the two did during the 2000 dig.

Fleming was already conducting a secondary experiment on the seeds that didn’t sprout to test their DNA and see just “how dead” they actually were, but using the same technology, they were able to sequence the plants’ genomic DNA to finally confirm their species.

They found that their thoughts in the 2000 dig had been right: Each of the odd-looking plants was a hybrid between Verbascum blattaria, or moth mullein, and Verbascum thaspus also called “common mullein.” The team went further to test the two disparate plants that were saved from the 2000 dig and found that those two plants were the same Verbascum hybrids.

Verbascum blattaria seedlings, a weed commonly called moth mullein, germinated from the 140-year-old Beal Seed experiment, in the growth chamber.

“In the 140-plus years since the experiment’s start, the question of seed bank longevity has gained new relevance, including for rare species conservation and ecosystem restoration; for example, prairie plantings on former farmland,” Brudvig said in a news release. “Our findings help to inform which plant species, like Verbascum, might be problematic weeds for a restoration project like this, and which other species may not, depending on how long a field was farmed before being restored.”

The report of their most recent findings with the hybrid seeds was published to the American Journal of Botany on Oct. 9, 2023.

Now, with just four bottles left of the experiment, who knows what new findings and additional discoveries Beal's seeds will bring?

“The Beal experiment will ultimately end when we run out of bottles,” Lowry said in the news release. “If seeds germinate again from our next dig, we may need to consider extending the time between bottle extractions to every 30 years. It’s still a little early to put it on my calendar, but I am looking forward to seeing if we can wake up any more seeds in 2040.”

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Scientists dig up hidden, buried bottles from Beal Seed Experiment

CANADA GROCERY PRICE GOUGING 

'Distressing': Empire facing 'ridiculous' cost increases from major suppliers, says CEO

Alicja Siekierska
Thu, December 14, 2023 

Empire CEO says major suppliers are asking for 'ridiculous' cost increases. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graeme Roy) (The Canadian Press)

Empire's (EMP-A.TO) chief executive says the grocery chain is facing "ridiculous" cost increase requests from some of its largest suppliers, something that could result in "a few holes" on grocery store shelves in the new year.

Michael Medline, chief executive of the parent company of Sobeys, Safeway and Farm Boy and other grocery retailers, said on Thursday that the company has received cost increase requests from "several big multinational (consumer packaged goods)" companies for February. He called the price increase requests "distressing" and "ridiculous."

"They just can't be justified. Inflationary times are not an excuse to pass every single rising cost on to grocers, and more importantly to Canadians," Medline said on a conference call with analysts on Thursday, adding that "this was not the way business was conducted before these inflationary times."

"We have instructed our national sourcing team to be even tougher on this latest round of cost increase requests. We will not take unfair cost increases and pass them on to Canadians. It's not the right thing to do, and if that results in a few holes on our shelves, we believe that Canadians will more than understand."

Medline says Empire may try to keep costs down through the expanded use of its in-house, private label brands, where the company has "greater visibility and control over prices."

Food prices have remained stubbornly high in Canada and above headline inflation, although growth has been gradually slowing in recent months as inflation cools. Canada's annual inflation rate fell to 3.1 per cent in November, with food price growth slipping to an annual rate of 5.4 per cent.

The persistently high prices have led to increased scrutiny and public blame on Canada's grocery chains, including Empire. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne met with the top executives from Canada’s biggest grocery chains earlier this year to discuss efforts to stabilize food prices.
Standing firm

Medline says Empire has submitted a detailed plan to Champagne to stabilize food prices, and the company has taken "further actions" to narrow the gap between the Consumer Price Index and food inflation, although he did not provide additional details.

"As I said to our supplier partners, I've got to emphasize that all key players in the foodsupply chain have a role to play in stabilizing food prices, not only grocery retailers," Medline said.

"I don't know how this is going to end ... we've said all along we'll take fair cost increases. We will not take unfair cost increases and pass them on to Canadians."

Loblaw (L.TO) had said earlier this year that it was facing cost increases from its food suppliers, including multinational consumer packaged goods companies. The grocery retailer says as of May, the cost increases from suppliers totalled nearly $1 billion.

Medline's comments came as the company saw its adjusted profit slip to $178.3 million, or 71 cents per share, in the second quarter of the year, compared to $189.9 million, or 73 cents per share, during the same period last year. Total sales increased to $7.75 billion, up from $7.64 billion last year.

Empire shares fell more than 9 per cent in the wake of the quarterly results. They were trading at $35.31 per share mid-afternoon on Thursday, a drop of more than 9 per cent compared to Wednesday's close.

Alicja Siekierska is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow her on Twitter @alicjawithaj.