Climate change worsening Australia's extreme weather: scientists

Issued on: 13/11/2020 - 

Australia's extreme weather stands to get even worse over the coming decades, the country's top scientists warned this week SAEED KHAN AFP/File



Sydney (AFP)

Climate change is already buffeting Australia with extreme bushfires, droughts and cyclones, and the fossil-fuel reliant country should brace for worse to come, according to the country's top science and weather agencies.

The government's top science body, CSIRO, and its Bureau of Meteorology released a report Friday outlining a sobering future for the vast continent nation that was devastated by bushfires in 2019-2020 after its hottest and driest year on record.

The blazes burned an area roughly the size of the United Kingdom, leaving 33 people dead, killing or displacing nearly three billion animals and costing the economy an estimated US$7 billion.

"Ten or 20 years from now, we won't be saying 2019 was really hot -- 2019 will just be usual. There will be nothing exceptional about 2019," CSIRO Climate Science Centre director Jaci Brown told public broadcaster ABC.

"In fact, in the next century, this decade will seem cool."

The State of the Climate report, which comes out every two years, found less rain is falling in Australia's southwest and bushfire-ravaged southeast, even as it increased in the north -- hit by major flooding and destructive tropical cyclones in recent years.

Australia has warmed on average by 1.44 degrees Celsius (2.59 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1910, the scientists said, nudging the ultimate Paris Agreement target of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Oceans have warmed by around one degree Celsius over the same period, causing acidification and more frequent marine heatwaves, the report continued.

Australia's Great Barrier Reef has suffered three mass coral bleaching events in five years, losing half its corals since 1995 as ocean temperatures have climbed.

The report predicted sea levels will continue to rise in line with global trends while tropical cyclones become less frequent but more intense.

"Climate change is happening now and it will continue to happen," Brown told the ABC.

The CSIRO has previously called for Australia to tap "abundant natural resources and extensive know-how" to become "a world-class clean energy and technology provider", putting it at odds with the conservative government, which has slow-pedalled measures to tackle climate change.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has repeatedly played down the link between climate and the bushfires, and has committed to keeping Australia as one of the world's leading fossil fuel exporters.

But Australians are increasingly concerned about climate change, with a recent poll by Sydney's Lowy Institute showing almost 90 percent believing it is a critical or important threat.

Survey respondents placed drought and water shortages exacerbated by climate change above even the coronavirus pandemic and the global economic crisis as the top threat facing the country.

Iraq shuts last 'safe haven' camps for vulnerable families


Issued on: 13/11/2020 -

Iraqi soldiers secure buses transporting displaced families out of the shuttered camp in Habbaniyah in Iraq's Anbar province AHMAD AL-RUBAYE AFP


Habbaniyah Tourist Camp (Iraq) (AFP)

Shredded tarp flutters from the metal frames of what were once thousands of tent homes. After five years hosting displaced Iraqis, the vast camp was emptied in under 48 hours.

The Habbaniyah Tourist Camp, a former luxury resort used to house Iraqis fleeing the Islamic State group, closed this week as part of a sudden government push to shutter dozens of displacement camps by the end of the year.

Iraqi authorities say the campaign will ensure people finally go back home -- but non-governmental groups and the displaced themselves fear the hasty returns will expose families to danger.

"I'm scared for my children and husband," said mother-of-six Zainab, who was among dozens aboard one of a convoy of buses ferrying them away from the site, known as the HTC, 80 kilometres (50 miles) west of Baghdad.

Zainab said her family would have to move to another camp because her tribe in western Anbar province had accused her family, falsely, of allegiance to IS.

"We can't go back home," she said. "I'm afraid they'll detain and massacre us."

Three years after Iraq declared IS defeated by a gruelling military campaign, nearly 1.3 million people remain displaced, one-fifth of them in camps.

Rapid camp closures could leave 100,000 Iraqis in limbo, just ahead of winter and amid the coronavirus pandemic, warned the Norwegian Refugee Council aid group.

The migration ministry's top Anbar province official, Mustafa Serhan, told AFP that authorities had coordinated with the military and tribes to ensure HTC's residents could return home safely.

"There is no speedy or forced return for these families," he insisted. "Anbar's camps are five, six or seven years old. What's fast about that?"

But Iraqis leaving HTC this week contradicted this.

One of them, who gave his name as Ali, told AFP he would be forced to rent an apartment in his hometown of Qaim because his house was destroyed years ago.

- 'Safe haven is gone' -

While HTC residents had one month's notice the camp would be shuttered, those living in Hammam al-Alil, the largest camp in Iraq's northern province of Nineweh, had even less.

"First they said there was no way the camp would close. Then they said 2021. Then they said one week!" said Saada, a 36-year-old mother of seven living there.

Al-Qahera, her home village in the mountainous enclave of Sinjar, remains heavily damaged and lacks public services.

"After all this, I'll kill myself -- I'm tired of life, of this cold, rainy world," she said. "This camp was a safe haven for us, and now that safe haven is gone."

Starting November 5, more than 7,000 of Hammam al-Alil's 8,000 residents had been bussed out, either to ruined homes or other camps yet to be shut, said camp officials.

Iraq has been open about its intention to close the camps for years but went into overdrive last month, NGO workers told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Between October 18 and 30, Iraq shut three camps around Baghdad, one in Karbala further south and one in Diyala to the east.

Nearly half of the residents have not returned to their areas of origin and are now registered as out-of-camp internally displaced persons, according to the International Organisation for Migration.

One aid worker warned that while Iraq had adopted the principles of "informed, dignified and sustainable" IDP returns, "all those conditions are being violated by what's happening now".

- 'Pressure and intimidation' -

Humanitarian workers point to a worrying precedent: last year, hundreds who were relocated from camps in a similar process faced threats and even grenade attacks.

New research on those returnees found nearly 60 percent described their departure as involuntary, and 44 percent were subsequently displaced again.

One government official told AFP the return effort was sped up on a direct order from Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi, echoing what several NGO workers suspected.

Authorities hope the returns would encourage aid groups and donor countries to redirect funding from camps to areas still needing reconstruction, a humanitarian worker and two officials said.

Belkis Wille of Human Rights Watch said that while she understood the desire to reintegrate citizens into society, "the way to do that is not to force people to return home against their will, where they will be made more vulnerable".

Several non-government organisations based in Iraq told AFP they feared public criticism of the repatriation effort would affect their access to camps or work visas for foreign staff.

"There is a significant increase in pressure and intimidation, and a risk of punitive actions taken by the government," the senior NGO worker said.

When the returns campaign began, the United Nations' top humanitarian officer in Iraq, Irena Vojackova-Sollorano, said the move was "taken independently of the UN."

Her office later cancelled a scheduled interview with AFP, declaring the "UN have no further comment on this topic at this time, and there are no additional details to share".

Arnab Goswami — Why press freedom in India transcends ideological barriers

The recent arrest of a pro-government TV anchor has sparked a debate in India about press freedom and the journalists' ability to maintain neutrality and objective reporting. Murali Krishnan reports from New Delhi.



Police in Mumbai last week arrested Arnab Goswami, the owner and editor of Republic TV, amid growing concerns about the muzzling of press and free speech in India.

Goswami, a firebrand TV anchor who supports the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is being investigated for his alleged role in the death of Anvay Naik, an architect who designed his studio.

In 2018, Naik and his mother took their lives, with his wife accusing Goswami of not paying Naik's fee. She said her husband had left a suicide note in which he blamed Goswami for his death.

Read more: What's wrong with Indian media?

Goswami and Republic TV deny allegations that they owed money to Naik.

On Wednesday, India's Supreme Court granted him bail after hearing his petition via video conference.

Goswami's supporters say there are political motives behind the arrest. They claim that Goswami was arrested because he accused Mumbai's police commissioner and Maharashtra's state government of covering up Bollywood star Sushant Singh Rajput's apparent suicide in June. In his shows, Goswami often criticized them for being lenient in their investigation into the actor's death.
Mixed reactions

India's ruling BJP condemned Goswami's arrest, with senior Cabinet ministers dubbing it a crackdown on the freedom of press in Maharashtra state, which is run by a coalition headed by the Shiv Sena party, a former regional ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP.

Read more: Aroon Purie: 'Fake news is a scourge' in India

Journalists, on the other hand, are divided over the issue. Many of them are critical of Goswami's right-wing views and his insulting behavior toward ideological opponents.

Arfa Khanum Sherwani, a journalist working for The Wire news portal, says that Goswami's case shouldn't be treated as a freedom of speech issue. "We need to put it outside the purview of free speech and freedom of expression because Goswami functions as a political player and not as an impartial journalist," she told DW.

But others believe that press freedom must be upheld irrespective of the journalist's ideological leanings.

The opposition Congress party, which is a coalition partner in Maharashtra state, has accused the BJP of "selective outrage," saying its ministers are silent when secular journalists are harassed and arrested by their own state governments.

Republic

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#ArnabIsBack | Amid unprecedented support, Republic Media Network's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami out of Taloja jail; Tune in to watch #LIVE here - https://republicworld.com/livetv.html

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Looted artifacts on show in Russia highlight research

A research and exhibition collaboration between Germany and Russia brings together artifacts from the Iron Age that were separated after WWII.



Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused many museums to shut their doors, on November 10, the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia opened a unique exhibition.

The show "Iron Age. Europe without Borders" is the third installment in a series of large-scale joint German-Russian research and exhibition projects that fall under the title "Europe without Borders."

The 2007 show, "The Merovingian Period," exploring the 5th to 8th centuries B.C., was first presented in St. Petersburg and then in Moscow, followed by "The Bronze Age." The latter was even attended by Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who were guests of honor at the opening.

"This project has two special features: One is its cultural-political relevance, the other is its scientific dimension, the historical narrative," Hermann Parzinger, president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, told DW in an interview. The foundation was one of the project's initiators 15 years ago.


Manfred Nawroth, chief curator of the Berlin Museum of Prehistory and Early History, packs the objects for the exhibition in Russia

An exhibition despite conflict

The wide-scaled research and exhibition series is considered a breakthrough in the looted art and artifacts conflict between Germany and Russia. After the Second World War, the Russianstook many cultural treasures from German museums, libraries and archives to the Soviet Union. Although Germany still does not recognize the Russian state's claim to the "war-related cultural assets," which Russian lawmakers declared to be the national property of Russia in 1998, international projects make it possible to bring these cultural treasures back into the research realm — and to restore, study and exhibit them after more than 80 years.


This belt plate from Stična is a looted artifact

The exhibition fosters the relationship between researchers from both countries. "With this exhibition format, Germany and Russia have written a new chapter in cultural cooperation, giving a free hand to those working on the specialist level and putting political questions about repatriation into the background," says Parzinger. Mikhail Piotrowski, director of the Hermitage Museum, also praised the project as an "outstanding joint achievement by German and Russian colleagues.”

"Europe Without Borders" is also part of the program of events in Russia celebrating the Year of Germany in 2020.

Russian Mikhail Piotrowski and German Hermann Parzinger worked together on the project

The project has considerable scientific significance, too. In researching the works, experts look back on the historical development of the vast area between the Mediterranean and Ural mountains in Russia. It's a review of thousands of years of shared history that goes beyond the wars and conflicts of the past century.

The Iron Age — an era of emerging Europe

The Iron Age was the historical period in the first pre-Christian millennium, during which Europeans discovered iron as a material that could be turned into weapons and tools, in addition to bronze. Above all, it meant a cultural emergence from prehistoric times. Scythians and Greeks, Etruscans and Celts met and shared influences, which had an impact far beyond the Mediterranean region. Trade, migration, and cultural fusions were "processes that changed societies and are highly modern from today's point of view," says Parzinger, a historian who specializes in the Scythians. "The Iron Age was an incredibly exciting time full of vitality," he adds.

Part animal, part human: anthropomorphic and zoomorphic elements unite in the face of the Iron Age creature depicted on a belt hook found in Bavaria

A total of 1,600 objects, including jewelry, weapons, pottery and other unique offerings from both royal graves and everyday life are now on display. Approximately half of the items come from the looted art context where they were hidden in bunkers, castle cellars or tunnels in Germany in 1939 after the start of World War Two. They were then collected by the Russians and taken as treasures of the Soviet Union in 1945.

Reuniting items

The Russian museums have contributed almost 600 exhibition objects to the exhibition, some of them recent finds from current excavations, including Scythian finds from the Black Sea region. Another 250 objects are on loan from Berlin, mainly from the Museum of Prehistory and Early History.

Five pairs of animals are shown on this artistic vessel

Researchers involved with the exhibition are pleased about bringing together different items from finds that were separated from one another. "For us archaeologists, however, it's the objects, above all, that are most interesting," says Manfred Nawroth, exhibition organizer and chief curator at the Berlin Museum of Prehistory and Early History. "Only in this way can objects be used to tell a vibrant and coherent story.”

A prime example are the finds from the Celtic princely tomb of Besseringen in Saarland, Germany. The archaeological treasures discovered there in the 19th century were first brought to the Royal Museums in Berlin and eventually ended up in Russia. The magnificent golden choker of the Celtic aristocrat came to Moscow's Pushkin Museum in 1945, while a bronze jug went to the Hermitage. The bronze pieces from a ceremonial carriage are kept in Berlin. The new exhibition finally reunites all objects.
Corona vs. archaeology

Both of the previous exhibitions in the series proved not only to be scientific milestones, but also international crowd-pleasers. The new exhibition would certainly have this potential were it not for the coronavirus pandemic. The German exhibition organizers were not even able to travel to Russia due to the outbreak. "That is a bitter thing," admits Nawroth. "This is the first time that we cannot be present at the opening of such an important exhibition of our objects.” Although they receive free admission, even Russian visitors are unlikely to flock to the Hermitage due to the coronavirus. The virtual tour in German and Russian, which is currently in the works, can provide a solution. 

"Iron Age. Europe Without Borders" is on display at the Hermitage until February 28, 2021. From April 15 to July 15, 2021, it will be shown at the State Historical Museum in Moscow's iconic Red Square. Like all exhibitions featuring looted art objects, it cannot be shown in Germany.

This article was translated from German by Sarah Hucal.

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Vattenfall wins case against German nuclear phaseout

Germany must completely rework its nuclear power phaseout compensation system, the country's top court has ruled. A 2018 change to the nuclear act was deemed to be "unreasonable."


Germany must completely rework its system of financial compensation for energy firms hit by the nuclear power phase out, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday.

The court ruled in favor of Swedish energy firm Vattenfall in its case against the German government relating to the nuclear power plants Brunsbüttel, Krümmel and Mülheim-Kärlich.

The court found that the conditions for compensation payments were unclearly regulated and that previous amendments to the law could lead to a double reduction of claims.

Read more: Germany's nuclear phaseout explained

A 2016 ruling forced the government to amend the Atomic Energy Act in 2018, however, the court found the changes were insufficient and had not come into force yet due to a lack of approval by the European Commission.

Germany reversed its position on nuclear power after Japan's 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. Just a few months after extending approvals for 17 German nuclear power plants it withdrew them. By the end of 2022 at the latest, all nuclear power plants must be taken off the grid.

The 2018 legislation, which hinged on Commission approval, meant the power companies would only find the exact amount of compensation in 2023. The Karlsruhe court found this "unreasonable."

A lawsuit by Vattenfall is also still pending before the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington, concerning several billion euros for the permanent closure of Krümmel and Brunsbüttel.

aw/rt (dpa, AFP, Reuters)

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Germany’s Struggling Energy Transition - The Broken Promise of Wind Power

European Commission presents strategy on LGBT+ rights

The European Commission has put forward a five-year plan to address challenges facing the LGBTQI community. The EU executive has long been at odds with right-wing governments in the bloc over LGBT+ rights.


The European Commission on Thursday unveiled its strategy aimed at improving the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, non-binary, intersex and queer people

The five-year plan includes legislative and financial support for LGBT+ people. It aims to add hate crimes towards the LGBT+ community to the EU crimes list, as well as institute measures to support parental rights for rainbow families.

"Everyone should feel free to be who they are – without fear or persecution. This is what Europe is about and this is what we stand for," Vera Jourova, the commission's Vice President for Values and Transparency, said as part of a statement.

The commission acknowledged that some progress has been made regarding LGBT+ rights. But a European Fundamental Rights survey from 2019 found that 43% of people still feel discriminated against based on their sexual orientations or gender identities.

The commission said discrimination towards the LGBT+ community has worsened during the coronavirus pandemic.


Watch video 04:27
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Russia: The drag queen of Moscow

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen mentioned the LGBT+ strategy in her State of the European Union speech in September.

The EU's executive branch has long been at odds with member states governed by right-wing parties. In Poland, the Law and Justice party ran on a homophobic platform, and President Andrzej Duda has said the LGBT+ community threatens the country's Roman Catholic values.

Von der Leyen had spoken out in support of parental rights for same-sex families, and described the so-called "LGBT-free zones" set up in Poland as "humanity-free zones."

On Thursday, Hungary's right-wing government drafted legislation to partially ban adoption by same-sex couples. Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government also proposed a constitutional amendment that would require children to be raised based on what his government described as a Christian interpretation of gender roles.

dv/msh (AP, dpa, Reuters)

Paris Peace Forum to raise more than $500 million for global coronavirus vaccine access

The multi-million dollar fundraiser is aimed at ensuring poorer countries gain access to COVID-19 treatment. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told an online audience "vaccine nationalism will prolong the pandemic."




An international peace summit in Paris is expected to raise more than €425 million ($500 million) towards ensuring a fair distribution of coronavirus vaccines, organizers said Thursday.

As World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned of "vaccine nationalism" prolonging the pandemic, equitable worldwide access to COVID-19 medication was the key objective at the Paris Peace Forum.

And Tedros said that if people in poorer countries can't get vaccinated, "the virus will continue to spread and the economic recovery globally will be delayed."

European donations

France is set to offer €100 million, Spain €50 million and the European Commission €100 million, specifically towards the so-called ACT-Accelerator, a WHO-led initiative to enable widespread availability of tests, treatments and vaccines.

The UK is expected to pledge £1 for every $4 raised by other participants, organizers of the event, launched in 2018 by French President Emmanuel Macron, said.

A substantial contribution was also anticipated by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

WHO: People must stay vigilant

The WHO's Tedros, who spoke at the forum which was conducted online, also warned that people needed to remain on their guard as the world awaits a coronavirus vaccine.

WHO chief said social distancing and mask-wearing rules must be adhered to in order to help bring about an end to the pandemic.

"We may be tired of COVID-19, but it is not tired of us. European countries are struggling but the virus has not changed significantly, nor the measures to stop it," Tedros said.

"A vaccine is needed urgently, but we cannot wait for a vaccine and put all our eggs in one basket," he added.

Watch video 01:12
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BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine trial participant speaks to DW

Leaders taking part include French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva.

The conference comes just days after Germany's BioNTech and American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced highly promising results for their vaccine candidate, raising hopes globally. The two companies said on Monday that the potential vaccine was 90% effective against COVID-19, based on the initial results of its trials.

Russia issued similar preliminary results soon after for its Sputnik V vaccine candidate, with many more potential vaccines in testing phases around the world.

The coronavirus has killed more than 1.2 million people worldwide, while measures to try to contain it have upended economies across the globe. A spike in infections has seen fresh lockdown measures adopted by several governments in recent weeks, particularly in Europe, in a bid to stop the spread of the virus and protect healthcare systems.

jf, jsi/msh (AFP, dpa, Reuters)

COVID-19 pandemic hampers work in clearing landmines

Civilians accounted for most of the more than 5,000 landmine deaths and injures recorded last year, according to the 2020 Landmine Monitor report. 

Myanmar, says the report, is the only state actor actively planting them.



The Land Mine and Cluster Munitions Monitor — the research arm of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and the Cluster Munition Coalition (ICBL-CMC), two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) — released its 2020 Landmine Monitor report in Geneva on Thursday. The report's release comes days before the upcoming global meeting of states parties to the Ottawa Treaty, better known as the Mine Ban Treaty, from November 16 to 20, 2020.

"A total of 164 countries are bound by the Mine Ban Treaty, 23 years after being adopted. That is more than 80% of the world, with most of the 33 countries remaining outside acting in de facto compliance. This is a humanitarian success story," says Human Rights Watch's Steve Goose, who contributed to the report.

Of the signatories to the landmark 1997 treaty, 10, including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Thailand, Turkey and Ukraine, are thought to have "massive anti-personnel mine contamination." Chile became the most recent state party to declare completion of clearance of all mined areas in early 2020, joining 31 states and one other area that have completed clearance of all mined areas on their territories since 1999.

Mass civilian casualties, half of them children

Numbers of recorded casualties from landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW) have been rising for the past five years according to the report, largely as a result of intense armed conflict and the large-scale impact of improvised mines.

Read more: Land mines still a global threat, despite fewer deaths

At least 5,554 casualties from mines/ERW were recorded in 2019, with more than half (2,949) caused by improvised devices. Civilians accounted for 80% of casualties and children made up almost half (43%) of those.

That number was down from 6,897 in 2018 and the 2016 peak of 9,439, nevertheless, it remains far higher than the historic low of 3,457 recorded in 2013.



THE LONG LEGACY OF LAND MINES
No safety in numbers

There is no exact information on how many land mines contaminate the ground, but the number is estimated to be in the tens of millions. Lingering long after the guns of war fall silent, they hold hostage life and land. There are currently 162 parties to the 1997 Ottawa Treaty, which aims to prohibit the "use, stockpiling, production and transfer" of anti-personnel mines.

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"Seven years ago, we reached an all-time low in new landmine casualties. But this achievement has overturned, and we are seeing heightened numbers of civilians killed and wounded. Appallingly, nearly half of all these casualties are children."

"We need to act now to reverse this trend, to save lives, and to address the trauma and suffering with much needed assistance," says Loren Persi, one of the report's editors.

The report says Myanmar — not a signatory to the 1997 treaty — is the only country whose state forces used anti-personnel mines between mid-2019 and October 2020. The report also noted increasing mine use among armed non-state actors in countries including Afghanistan, Colombia, India, Libya, Myanmar and Pakistan.

Destroying stockpiles

To date, states parties have destroyed more than 55 million stockpiled anti-personnel mines, including more than 269,000 in 2019. Beyond stockpiles, at least 156 square kilometers (60 square miles) of land was also reported cleared of mines in 2019 — with more than 123,000 landmines (mainly in Afghanistan, Cambodia,Croatia and Iraq) and more than 123,000 anti-personnel mines being cleared and destroyed, representing increases over 2018.

Read more: US lifts restrictions on 'smart' landmines

"Every mine left in the ground, represents a human toll in lives and limbs lost," says the ICBL's Margaret Arach Orech.

The report says 2019 saw a 7% reduction in global funding from 2018, with 45 donors and affected states contributing approximately $651 million (€551 million) to the cause. The pandemic, according to the report, forced the temporary suspension of mine clearing in 12 states and territories.

Risk education hampered by the coronavirus pandemic

Despite improvements in the accessibility, quality, or quantity of services for victims, the report says grave challenges and accessibility gaps remain in all countries. In 2020, COVID-19 related restrictions prevented survivors and other disabled persons from accessing services. The report also points out that the impact of the coronavirus pandemic was compounded by years of underfunding in many countries.

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Yazidi women risk their lives to clear landmines in areas once held by 'Islamic State'

Despite global interest in prioritizing risk education — which the report looked for the first time since 2008 — the coronavirus pandemic hampered most in-person activities. Still, the report says progress is being made through innovation, with online outreach programs and combined landmine and COVID-19 messaging making advances.

The ICBL was awarded the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to bring about the Ottawa Treaty and the eradication of landmines. The 2020 Landmine Monitor is the group's 22nd annual report.

US: Trump fans choose Parler over Twitter

Since the social platforms Twitter and Facebook started warning users that information might be untrue, millions of right-wing Trump fans have flocked to Parler. The app claims to allow free speech.

HATE SPEECH IS NOT FREE SPEECH



"Welcome patriots to the last beacon of freedom on the web! Glad to have you," is how Republican congressman Devin Nunes greets his new followers on Parler.

What's that, you say? Well, it's a bit like Twitter, a bit like Facebook, a bit like Reddit. Users have a timeline on which they can post pictures, videos and up to 1,000 characters. And there is no censorship. They can post whatever they like, whether it is true or false, whether or not it incites hate.

There are no warning labels, such as those recently used by Twitter to caution that US President Donald Trump's tweets regarding the election results might be misleading. Parler founder and CEO John Matze told US TV channel Fox News in the summer that his app would not fact-check and this week he said that Twitter's use of warning labels on Trump's tweets were "pretty ludicrous."

Read more: Facebook, Twitter block links to controversial article critical of Biden

Parler's guidelines state: "We prefer to leave decisions about what is seen and who is heard to each individual. In no case will Parler decide what content will be removed or filtered, or whose account will be removed, on the basis of the opinion expressed within the content at issue."

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Trump targets social media after Twitter fact check

Top of the app charts

This approach has attracted a significant number of radical right supporters. And the number of users has rocketed since TV networks announced that Joe Biden had won the US election. Matze told the Parler community that the app had acquired 4.5 million new users in just five days. On Wednesday in the US, Parler was the most downloaded free app on Google Play and the Mac App Store.

Nunes, one of Trump's most loyal supporters in Congress, now has 1.7 million followers, whereas on Twitter, he only has 1.2 million. He used both platforms to suggest that US postal service managers in Erie, Pennsylvania had instructed their staff to backdate ballots. Twitter warned that this information was controversial, but Parler let it be.

Read more: DW Fact Check: Debunking election misinformation online

Like Twitter and Facebook, Parler also suggests friends for its users. At the moment, this reads a little like a "Who's Who" of the radical right in the US. "They don't see a future for themselves on the major platforms where they believe that they are censored," explained Miro Dittrich, an expert on far-right extremism at the Amadeu Antonio Foundation in Berlin.

However, he explained that Facebook remained the platform with the most radical right content. "Of course, since 2016 we have seen that platforms have become more aware of their responsibility and are now enforcing stricter community standards," he told DW. "That means that incitement to violence and racism are deleted because they clearly violate community standards. They don't like that of course."

Parler has attracted racists, Holocaust-deniers and QAnon believers, who think that Satanist pedophiles have infiltrated the media and politics. "Misinformation has given rise to another view of the world," explained Dittrich. "So, people are living in alternative realities, in which political foes are demonized as much as possible," and where people speak of the coming apocalypse. "This creates a pressure to act. And unfortunately, we're seeing that this pressure sometimes transforms into violence in the offline world," Dittrich says.
Technical glitches

In technical terms, Parler seems to still have a few glitches but CEO Matze warned new users that the problems were temporary.

Parler aims to program as much of its own code as possible in order to be independent of Silicon Valley. But the code is flawed: Whatever users search for, whether QAnon or Trump2020, they are currently flooded with links to nude pictures.

Watch video 26:06
https://www.dw.com/en/donald-trump-twitter-parler-free-speech/a-55582802
QAnon: How dangerous are conspiracy theories?

Read more: EU takes action against fake news

The algorithms apparently cannot filter commercials for pornography, which is banned on Parler, freedom of speech or not. Advertising for the consumption of marijuana, slander and death threats are also banned, according to the community standards. Matze has also told users that pictures of "fecal matter" will not be tolerated. The platform has already deleted a number of satirical accounts.

Miro Dittrich doubted that Parler would enjoy long-term success and predicted that it would likely go the same route as Gab, another social network that attracts far-right users but whose influence has waned.

He said that platforms that speak to a specific, homogeneous audience were rarely successful. "The idea is to harass people and get at your opponents. That's a large part of what motivates this faction to be active on social media." He thinks that eventually most Parler users will return to Twitter.

German US vote observer calls Trump's allegations 'baseless'

A member of parliament sent to Washington by Europe’s security agency has said there is no evidence to support claims of voter fraud. He warned Europe should be concerned about the US transition process involving Trump.




Unrecognized election results being counted by individual states are the "biggest danger" to US democracy, German parliament member Michael Link said on Thursday evening.

The Free Democratic Party (FDP) politician recently returned from Washington, where he led a team of election observers sent by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The Vienna-based OSCE is the world's largest security-focused intergovernmental organization.

According to Link, the allegations of US President Donald Trump and of his legal team are "baseless." Link said that there is no evidence to support claims of voter fraud in the US election.

"We are increasingly worried that the transition is being put in danger by what is happening right now with the latest acts and with the latest comportment of the president," Link said in an interview with DW.

"The biggest danger is that election results being counted by the states are not being recognized... The president elect will not get the necessary resources or intelligence that he needs in order to prepare for his taking of office," he added.

Watch video04:25
https://www.dw.com/en/german-us-vote-observer-calls-trumps-allegations-baseless/a-55583774
US presidential election: DW fact checker Joscha Weber analyzes claims of fraud and manipulation

Read more: US election fact check: The voting dead?

The president 'has no competence'

The German politician said that another major cause for concern is that Trump's post-election behaviour may "motivate his militant partisans to take to the streets and not accept the orderly election results."

The OSCE stipulates that the laws of the election administration have to be respected and that the election results must be counted right to the end.

"When we see that somebody is not following the rules — which have been agreed to both in US legislation and in international standards at the OSCE — then we have to speak out," Link said.

"The president has no competence whatsoever on the elections administration. That is the exclusive realm of the US states — and they diligently follow the process," he added.

Civilians at risk in Ethiopia's Tigray war

Federal forces now control the northwestern part of Tigray. As the government mobilizes resources to step up the fighting, humanitarian organizations are increasingly worried about civilians trapped in the conflict.



Music is blaring from speakers and Ethiopian flags are waving in the wind in Addis Ababa's old stadium. Hundreds of residents came to a blood-donation event organized by the city administration "Everyone here came to donate blood for the military," Abebe Sisay says as he waits with a group of friends next to the white tents set up for the occasion.

According to a press release from authorities in Addis Ababa these blood and cash donations will support federal troops, but also militia groups who fight alongside Prime Minister Ahmed Abiy's forces in Tigray.


People in Addis Ababa were asked to donate blood for the military on Thursday

Meanwhile, in the Tigray region, the war between Ahmed and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) continues, leaving millions of civilians without connection or incoming supplies. According to the government, the northwestern part of the region, including the city of Humera, is now controlled by federal troops.

Watch video01:51
https://www.dw.com/en/ethiopia-tigray-war-civilians/a-55583111
Ethiopia PM defends air strikes in Tigray region

Read more: African Union urges ceasefire in Tigray region

Civilians caught in the cross-fire

Like much of the information shared since the beginning of the war, this has been impossible to independently verify. Phone lines and internet connnections are still down in Tigray, with very little information trickling out.

"The people of Tigray don't want war," Mihreteab Meuz, from Tigray's capital city Mekele, told DW. "When a fighter jet flies over you, it is a concern not only for me, but also for elderly people and children. I believe it is better to create a situation propitious to negotiation."

A note issued on Thursday by the prime minister aimed at calming fears of civilian casualties. It stated that "modern airplanes and drones will hit targets with precision. This will greatly contribute towards protecting our civilian citizens in Tigray."

But even if airstrikes didn't hit civilians – which is impossible to verify at this stage – the humanitarian consequences of the conflict are already starting to be felt.

Watch video02:15
https://www.dw.com/en/ethiopia-tigray-war-civilians/a-55583111
Ethiopia’s stability at stake

Population displacement

Over 11,000 Ethiopians, mostly civilians but also soldiers, have already found refuge in neighboring Sudan.

Humanitarian workers said they heard horrific testimonies from the conflict. Some of the refugees had to walk for four days to reach Sudan.

Most of them crossed through Hamadayet and are now living in informal settlements close to the border. But Sudan has limited means to deal with this growing flow of refugees. Over 100,000 people could cross the border in the coming weeks, if the war continues.


"The situation in Sudan is very complicated at the moment, they need to find the money to implement the peace agreement, and then on the top of all that there is hyperinflation now reaching more than 220%," explained a humanitarian source in Sudan who wished to remain anonymous. "And there are fuel shortages all over the country, there is also shortage of bread and essential commodities."

Humanitarian workers in charge of nutrition screenings at the border are already overworked.

Now, internal displacement within Tigray is also being reported, with a few thousand people having arrived in the town of Shire, which is known for hosting many Eritrean refugee communities.

"What our teams are telling us is that we should expect any internal displacement within Ethiopia to be 10 times greater than any refugee movements into Sudan," said George Readings, Global Crisis Analyst at the International Rescue Committee (IRC).

Read more: Abiy Ahmed: Ethiopia's first Nobel laureate

"We are preparing for a situation where 2 million people could be affected. In the worst-case scenario, those people are facing prolonged displacement. They would be at risk of disease outbreaks and have very little access to any kind of social services," he explained.

The African Union, but also Sudan and the UN have called for a ceasefire and urged parties to negotiate and avoid a humanitarian crisis.

But Abiy Ahmed doesn't seem to intend caving in to international pressure and made clear that this war will be played by his own rules, which appears to include controlling the narrative on the conflict and all the information that comes out of it.

Abiy Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019

Press freedom going backward

Six journalists were recently arrested, and others prevented from covering the conflict. Journalists were also forbidden to communicate statements from the TPLF.

In Gondar, in the North of the Amhara region, it was impossible to film food collections or interview officials, let alone report near the border. Journalists were told to leave the city, and some were threatened with arrest.

The government even set up a fact-checking account for journalists to refer to for their reporting.

Read more: Eritrea: 25 years of independence but still not free

"It seems like Ethiopia is going backward in terms of press freedom," Arnaud Froger, Head of the Africa desk at Reporters Without Borders, said. "When there is a conflict, it's absolutely key that independent journalists can do their job (…) or you will just have the version of the stakeholders involved in the conflict."

The information battle this has resulted in between the government and the TPLF only contributed to the confusion regarding important elements of the conflict.

It is, for instance, unclear to what extent neighboring Eritrea has entered the war, or what the number of casualties are on both sides.

Abiy Ahmed promised Ethiopians a quick end to the war, stating that "we shall soon return back to our normal daily life." A daily life families in Tigray must be desperately longing for.