LEAVE THE WOLVES ALONE

Swiss canton gives green light to shoot wolves attacking cows
Reuters

A wolf is seen in a near-natural enclosure at the Langenberg Wildlife Park in Langnau am Albis, Switzerland June 9, 2020. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

ZURICH, July 15 (Reuters) - The eastern Swiss canton of the Grisons gave the green light on Friday to shoot two young wolves whose pack has begun attacking cows in addition to traditional prey of sheep and goats.

The move highlights a national debate over how to handle the more than 100 wolves in Switzerland whose protected status is a thorn in the side of farmers keen to protect their flocks from the predators.

Cantonal authorities said they had to act after the so-called Beverin wolfpack mauled a grown cow so badly on Wednesday that it had to be euthanised, just days after the pack killed another mother cow in the area.

Federal authorities had approved the decision, they added.

"The canton's goal remains the removal of the entire pack and the shooting of the particularly conspicuous sire M92 within the framework of the Swiss legal system," they said.

Swiss voters in 2020 decided not to relax curbs on shooting wolves deemed a threat to livestock in a referendum that exposed divergent attitudes held by urban voters keen on protecting wildlife and rural voters who have to put up with wolves. read more

Swiss federal law holds that wolves may be shot only after they have attacked a certain number of livestock and their pack has had offspring, which applied in this case.

Hungarians Rally Against Orban's Reforms, Skeptical of Change

July 16, 2022 
Reuters

Leader of Everybody for Hungary party Peter Marki-Zay speaks during 

a rally against the new taxation rules in Budapest, Hungary, July 16, 2022.

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY —

Around 1,000 Hungarians demonstrated against Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government Saturday in the latest of a series of smaller demonstrations this week since his right-wing Fidesz party passed legislation sharply raising taxes on small firms.

Nationalist Orban is facing his toughest challenge yet since taking power in a 2010 landslide, with inflation at its highest in two decades, the country’s currency, the forint, plunging to record lows and European Union funds in limbo amid a dispute over democratic standards.

The blockade of a bridge in Budapest Tuesday failed to derail the approval of a government motion to increase the tax rate for hundreds of thousands of small firms, defying criticism from some business groups and opposition parties.

People take part in a rally under the motto "Stand for Victims of Orban's Government" against the new taxation rules in Budapest, Hungary, July 16, 2022.

On Wednesday, Orban's government also curtailed a cap on utility prices for higher-usage households, rolling back one of the 59-year-old premier's signature policies in recent years because of a surge in electricity and gas prices amid the war in Ukraine.

"I have an acquaintance who only heats with electricity. His monthly power bill has been 30,000 forints ($75) so far, which is not a lot, but from now on he will be paying 153,000," said Miklos Nyiri, a 70-year-old pensioner at the rally.

"He is a pensioner, so the pension will be eaten up by the power bill, and they will be left grazing in the field," he said, adding however that the small-scale protest was unlikely to force Orban to change tack.

Saturday's rally was called by small-town mayor Peter Marki-Zay, Orban's independent challenger, whose opposition alliance suffered a crushing defeat in an April parliamentary election.

The low number of participants at the rally indicated that despite lurking discontent with Orban's latest reforms to shore up Hungary's state finances, anti-government sentiment was struggling to gain traction even in Budapest, where the opposition had its strongest showing in April.

Ildiko Hende, 52, who works as a cleaner in a bank, also lamented the low turnout at the rally.

"I have been working for more than 30 years, but what is going on in this country right now is hell incarnate," she said.

People take part in a rally under the motto "Stand for victims of Orban's government" against the new taxation rules near the Margaret Bridge in Budapest, July 16, 2022.

Despite Orban capping the prices of fuel and some basic foods, inflation has surged to its highest in two decades, at 11.7% year-on-year in June, forcing the central bank into its steepest rate tightening cycle since the collapse of Communist rule.

Even so, the forint is skirting record lows versus the euro, feeding into inflationary pressures.

"I just want to be able to live a normal life, not having to pinch pennies at the end of every month," Hende said. "Prices are just so high that it makes you go crazy. This is really not sustainable."

SAS and striking pilots closer to deal but issues remain, mediator tells E24


STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Crisis-hit airline SAS and unions have made progress on a new savings deal to end a 13-day pilots' strike, but significant issues have yet to be resolved, a mediator told news agency E24 on Saturday

© Reuters/ANDREW KELLYFILE PHOTO: The tail fin of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) airplane parked on the tarmac at Copenhagen Airport Kastrup in Copenhagen

A majority of SAS pilots in Sweden, Denmark and Norway walked out on July 4 after negotiations over conditions related to the Scandinavian carrier's rescue plan collapsed. The parties returned to the negotiating table in the Swedish capital on Wednesday.

National Mediator of Norway Mats Wilhelm Ruland said the parties had come closer during the day.

"Yes, we are, but there are still many and big questions that need to be solved," he told E24 on during a break in negotiations on Saturday. "The development in the first hours has been good."

SAS had been struggling with increased low-cost competition for years before the COVID-19 pandemic heaped pressure on the airline industry. The governments of Denmark and Sweden, which are the biggest owners, see it as a key part of the region's transport infrastructure.

The airline said on Thursday the strike had caused 2,550 flight cancellations, affecting 270,000 passengers and costing the carrier between $94 million and $123 million.

Pilots employed by SAS Scandinavia, a subsidiary of SAS Group, have said they would agree to limited wage cuts and less favourable terms, but SAS has said that concessions offered so far are not enough for it to carry out a rescue plan announced in February.

Unions are also demanding that pilots who lost their jobs during the pandemic are rehired at SAS Scandinavia, rather than having to compete with external applicants for jobs on less attractive terms at recently created SAS Link and Ireland-based SAS Connect.

(Reporting by Johan Ahlander; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Boeing 'disappointed' union recommending rejection of contract offer

Sat, July 16, 2022 

A Being logo is seen at the company's facility in Everett


(Reuters) - Boeing on Saturday said it is "disappointed" that the union representing nearly 2,500 employees at the U.S. planemaker's facilities in the St. Louis area has recommended rejection of management's contract offer.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the union representing the workers, said in an earlier statement that it recommended rejecting the company's "last, best, and final" contract offer.

The contract is set to expire on Monday, July 25. After a seven-day waiting period, the workers could begin picketing on Aug. 1 if they vote to reject the contract offer and go on strike, the union said.

Boeing said it remains "hopeful that our employees will see the value in this offer and vote yes" to accept its offer, which the company said provides "highly competitive" wage increases and cash and stock immediately and also includes one of the "most lucrative" 401(k) retirement plans in the country.


Tom Boelling, an IAM official, said Boeing had failed to meet members' needs on a number of issues. "We will fight for a contract the membership deserves," he said in the union statement.

(Reporting by Jose Joseph and Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Paul Simao)

ANOTHER FIND FROM THE MUSEUM STORAGE ROOM
Ancient shark skeleton, hidden in Manitoba museum's collection for 40 years, may be 1st of its kind

Ozten Shebahkeget - CBC


The skeleton of an ancient shark that could be the first of its kind is now on display at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre in Morden, Man. — and it was only recently "rediscovered" after sitting in the museum's collection for decades.


© Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre

'Dave,' the nickname given to a shark fossil now on display at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre in the southern Manitoba city of Morden, could be a new species, says executive director Alfonso Cuetara.

"It's a very special shark for many reasons," Adolfo Cuetara, the fossil centre's executive director, told CBC News in an interview. "It's highly possible that we are talking about a new species."

Because of that, the shark has not been given a scientific name yet, said Cuetara. It's unofficially been named "Dave," in honour of the owner of the farm just west of Morden where it was found nearly 50 years ago.

The centre found Dave in its collections room eight years ago, though the shark fossil had been there for much longer.

"It was discovered in 1975, but it was just hidden in the collections room for more than 40 years," said Cuetara.

It was wrapped up in a plaster field jacket in a safe in the museum's collection room, and "nobody was thinking that there was something special in there," Cuetara said.

He explained that museums sometimes don't have the capacity to comb through every piece in their collections — but a few years ago, museum employees decided to open the plaster jacket up to see what was inside, and were surprised to discover it was a shark.

After rediscovering the fossil, Dave was finally put on display in the museum.

Dave is nearly four-and-a-half metres (15 feet) long and is one of the biggest, best-preserved shark skeletons in the world, Cuetara said.

Complete shark skeletons are difficult to find because they are made up of soft cartilage, which does not preserve well, he said.

Dave is a filter-feeder shark with no teeth who got his nutrients by absorbing them out of the water, said Cuetara.

After finding the fossil, the centre dedicated the last few years to preparing a display for Dave, which launched earlier this year.

Cuetara now hopes an upcoming scientific paper will clear the mystery around the species of the shark.

"There's research underway right now," he said. "Probably it's going to be a new species, but we have to wait for the scientific paper."
More changes at Morden museum

The fossil discovery centre in Morden — a city of 10,000 in southern Manitoba — is no stranger to big attractions.

It's long been home to "Bruce," believed to be the world's largest publicly displayed mosasaur — a type of marine reptile dominant during the later age of the dinosaurs, around 80 to 66 million years ago.

The museum also says it has Canada's largest collection of marine reptile fossils.

After more than two years of pandemic disruptions, the fossil centre is once again welcoming visitors, with about 500 students coming through so far this season, Cuetara said.

The return of visitors is coinciding with a few new expansions at the museum, which is currently housed in the basement of the city's Access Event Centre.

The fossil museum is now in the preliminary stages of building a new standalone facility, Cuetara said. The new 40,000-square-foot facility will focus on a more interactive experience for visitors using technology, projections and movement sensors, straying from what many think of as the standard model for a museum.

"People don't maybe learn in that classical way anymore," said Cuetara. "Or maybe there's just more ways of learning."

The centre is also building a 45-hectare (110-acre) field station in the Manitoba escarpment around the Morden area, where the centre conducts its excavation work during the May to October field season.

The new field station will offer day camps for kids ages five to 12, Cuetara said. Construction of the field station will finish at the end of this summer in preparation for centre's popular dig tours in 2023.

The centre has also developed an interactive collection management system that will let the public virtually explore 20,000 fossils from over 1,500 different species.

"We are uploading thousands of photos, thousands of papers," said Cuetara. "You can go through the collections room virtually."

New Orleans struggles to secure an abandoned Navy base that's become a source of community danger

Kelly McClure - 

© Provided by SalonNew Orleans struggles to secure an abandoned Navy base that's become a source of community danger

Workers watch while rebuilding a home damaged by Hurricane Katrina during an unofficial parade dubbed Krewe de Screwe in the Bywater neighborhood February 22, 2006 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mario Tama / Getty Images

On Monday, New Orleans began its latest attempt to clear and secure the massive blighted Navy base that's stood vacant in the Bywater area of the city for over a decade.

The base dates back to 1919 and was, at one time, used as a supply depot for the U.S. Army, according to Nola.com. In 1966 it took on new use by the Navy and then fell under ownership of the city in 2013. Up until this week, the 25-acre property was home to hundreds of unhoused people, who city officials and volunteers are attempting to clear out, with varying results and no provided alternative as to where they should relocate to.

On Monday morning, Andrés Fuentes, a journalist for FOX 8 New Orleans, shared video footage of a SWAT team assisting with the first sweep of the base, with a parade of unhoused people carrying whatever they could as they left the area in search of their next home.

"Dozens of people have left the abandoned Navy base in the Bywater as a SWAT truck loads up to sweep more of the property," Fuentes tweeted. "New Orleans leaders say they want to secure the area in order to make way for redevelopment."

Officials from the Office of Economic Development are working with NOPD alongside Mayor LaToya Cantrell to clear and secure the base to make way for developer Joe Jaeger's plan to renovate and repurpose the base into affordable housing apartments with attached retail properties, but locals have been hearing similar plans for years now, as the base falls further into blight.

On Friday, days after the first big sweep of the base, a fire broke out on one of the upper levels. It's presumed that the fire was caused by someone trespassing on the property, but the NOLA fire department has not yet released details, according to Nola.com.

"Wow, four days after the city of New Orleans declared the abandoned Navy base in the Bywater closed, firefighters battle a one-alarm fire at the complex. The base was supposed to be emptied and secured by 3 guards 24/7," Paul Murphy, an eyewitness reporter for WWLTV tweeted along with NOFD photos of the interior of the Navy base after the fire was extinguished.

The abandoned Navy base has, for years, been a none-too-proud tourist attraction for explorers, documentarians and brave lookie-loos. In 2018, the popular YouTube exploration channel called The Proper People posted a nearly 20-minute video of their tour of the base, which is something you'd have to see to believe. The hulk of the structure, in the state that it's in, is nothing short of haunting.

Although locals are eager for the base to be secured in some way, and even more eager for it to be put to some good use, the fact that there is little to no assistance available for houseless, drug-addicted, or mentally ill inhabitants of the base, or the city in general, leaves the situation with more problems than solutions.

"There's been dead bodies, there've been raves at the site," Bywater Neighborhood Association President John Guarnieri said in a quote to WWLTV. "There's no security. There are drug users there. There's been drug paraphernalia all over the site."

"So where are they providing 100 free or affordable housing units to house the people who live here once they are displaced?" The Anti-Racist South Twitter account wrote after Monday's first sweep of the base. "What's the plan? Just take people away from their only shelter and then… what?"

Federal officials detain dozens of foreign workers at mountain hotels

Bill Kaufmann -

Dozens of foreign workers at Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and other Rocky Mountain hotels have been detained and deported by federal border officials who are investigating how they illegally came to the iconic resorts.


© Peter Brosseauofficials with CBSA found dozens of foreign workers without the proper paperwork working at the Chateau Lake Louise, pictured here.

Last Tuesday, Canada Border Services Agency personnel rounded up more than 30 staffers at the iconic Lake Louise hotel, who one of their co-workers said hail from Mexico, working under potentially improper immigration documentation.

“We can confirm that CBSA officers were in Lake Louise on July 12 as part of an ongoing Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Criminal Code of Canada investigation,” border services spokeswoman Rebecca Purdy said in an email.

“If an individual is found to be working in Canada without a valid work permit, the CBSA will consider appropriate enforcement action, which may include issuance of a removal order. The Agency has a legal obligation to remove all foreign nationals found to be inadmissible to Canada under the IRPA.”

One of their co-workers at Chateau Lake Louise said the CBSA operation came as a shock to both the detained staff members and their colleagues.

“The workers were given a knock-on-the-door notice, lined up, and prepared to be deported,” said the employee, who wished to remain anonymous.

“It’s obviously pretty traumatic for them.”

It comes at a time when the Bow Valley hospitality industry and those who help hire staff have said there’s an especially acute labour shortage to handle this year’s busy summer season.

A spokesperson with the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts said their hiring was done as a result of those pressures and could affect a total of 105 of its staffers at Lake Louise, as well as the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel and Jasper Park Lodge.

“Hotels use third-party staffing agencies to assist with challenges related to labour shortages,” said Anastasia Martin-Stilwell.

In this case, the third-party staffing provider had facilitated the workers’ arrival and pay at all three hotels, she said, adding the resort chain has severed its partnership with the firm.

“(The third-party company) was contracted to be responsible for guaranteeing all appropriate documentation for individuals, complying with all applicable laws and representing that all workers provided to the hotels would be properly hired and have the ability to legally work in Canada,” she said in an email.

“We are very disappointed in (their) operations and their negligence in their hiring practices. The decisions made by (the contractor) have real, consequential effects on their contract workers.”

The 31 contract employees who worked in the stewarding, culinary, housekeeping and residence divisions at Lake Louise have been deported, she added.

Fairmont Hotel and Resorts has offered free accommodation and food for up to 10 days and transportation to Calgary and Edmonton for other affected contract workers and is also seeking ways of employing those whose documentation is in order, said Martin-Stilwell.

“We are working diligently to identify opportunities to support the impacted contract workers to the best of our ability,” she said, adding that assistance has its limits.

“Upon guidance provided by CBSA, the RCMP, and our internal counsel, we have learned that we are not legally allowed to provide financial compensation to (these) contract workers.”

The foreign employees’ co-worker said the loss of so many staff members at the Chateau Lake Louise has negatively impacted a range of services there.

“The hotel already had staffing issues so it’s had an immediate impact on the hotel and its ability to attract tourists,” said the worker.

For instance, restaurants at the hotel are only able to accommodate diners with prior reservations and not walk-ins, said the employee.

Hotel chain spokesperson Martin-Stilwell said they’re “working diligently to minimize any impact to the guest experience and will continue to provide high-quality hospitality offerings to our guests and maintain regular operations.”

The issue facing Fairmont Hotels and Resorts is a “one-off situation” in a hospitality sector that’s serious about observing ethical hiring practices, said Wanda Bogdane, executive director of the Banff & Lake Louise Hospitality Association.

“While it is incredibly rare to encounter a circumstance like the one that recently unfolded, organizations contracting services in good faith can also be a casualty within a negligent process,” she said in an email.

“Employers remain vigilant in meeting and exceeding labour standards identified by the provincial and federal government.”

Late last month, a recruiting agency operating in Banff-Canmore said the area, significantly dependent on foreign workers, was short between 1,000 and 2,000 employees due to pandemic travel uncertainties and other employment options.

Bogdane said the hospitality sector in the region is “adequately staffed and will be delivering the same great experience that Banff National Park is known for. They will continue managing customer intake against their staffing levels to ensure that standards remain high.”

BKaufmann@postmedia.com
Twitter: @BillKaufmannjrn

Alberta's human rights commission chief under fire for Islamophobic book review

Mrinali Anchan - 

Community groups are condemning the appointment of the new chief of the Alberta Human Rights Commission and Tribunals, following the resurfacing of a 2009 academic book in which he made Islamophobic comments.

Calgary lawyer Collin May began his new five-year role as chief this week after serving on the commission since 2019.

"It was very shocking and hurtful and just troubling to see some of the statements Collin May expressed," said Said Omar, Alberta advocacy officer for the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM).

Collin May's review of Israeli-British historian Efraim Karsh's Islamic Imperialism: A History came to light again earlier this month in an article published by The Progress Report, an Alberta news outlet.

May's commentary highlighted Karsh's racist assertion that Islam is inherently militaristic in nature, under the guise of analysis.

"[Karsh] defies the multicultural illusion regarding pacific Islam and goes to the heart of the matter. Islam is not a peaceful religion misused by radicals. Rather, it is one of the most militaristic religions known to man, and it is precisely this militaristic heritage that informs the actions of radicals throughout the Muslim world," May wrote in his 2009 review.

C2C Journal is mainly an online publication, whose "unabashed bias is in favour of free markets, democratic governance and individual liberty," according to its website.

C2C USED TO BE THE WORK RESEARCH FOUNDATION; A FRONT FOR THE SOUTH AFRICAN ORIGINATED REFORM CHURCH OF CANADA AND IT POLITICAL ARM THE CHRISTIAN LABOUR ASSOCIATION OF CANADA (CLAC) WHOSE LEADERSHIP HATES THE SOCIAL DEMORCATIC CLC AND THE NDP AND ARE TRYING TO BE A RIGHT WING ALTERNATIVE

It is the same outlet in which Paul Bunner, Premier Jason Kenney's former speech writer, wrote an article that dismissed the "bogus genocide story" of Canada's residential school system, and said Indigenous youth could be "ripe recruits" for violent insurgencies.


The NCCM is now working with May to see that he better serves Muslim communities.

May's review is problematic because it's based on stereotypes of Islam that most — if not all — Muslims do not hold, and it is based on an understanding of Islam that is incorrect, Omar said.

The council approached May and members of the Alberta government, and work is ongoing to rectify the situation with community members, he said.

"A true apology must be a commitment to ongoing action and a true commitment to making amends," Omar said. "We will let the community be the arbitrator of his good faith efforts and sincerity."

CBC News requested an interview with May. The commission responded, saying its policy mandate prevents a chief from giving media interviews in order to maintain neutrality, given the nature of the position, but passed along a statement from May issued last week.

"I do not believe or accept the characterization of Islam as a militant religion or movement, especially in light of important recent and diverse scholarship that is working to overcome misconceptions regarding Muslim history and philosophy," May said in the statement.

"I specifically want to affirm that Muslim Albertans are entitled to the full and equal respect accorded all our communities."

The commission, in a separate statement, said it is independent from the provincial government and commits to upholding the Alberta Human Rights Act.

"We have a long history working with Islamic organizations and the Muslim community, and will continue our efforts to enhance those relationships going forward," the commission said.


© Gareth Hampshire/CBCOpposition NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir has called for May to resign from his position as chief of the Alberta Human Rights Commission and Tribunals.
'Not a position to get on-job training'

Opposition NDP justice critic Irfan Sabir has called for May's resignation, saying Albertans would be better served by someone who is educated and connected with Muslim communities.

"The Alberta Human Rights Commission should not be a position for him to get on-job training," Sabir said.

"That position should be filled by a person who understands the diversity of this province, who understands what challenges BIPOC communities, Indigenous communities face."

Sabir is also calling out May for only addressing the review now, 13 years after he wrote it — and just as he takes up his role as chief.

"He'd been on this commission for a while ... had he evolved his views, he should have come forward," he said.

He added that this situation casts further doubt on the the provincial government's vetting process, as well as the United Conservative Party's commitment to tackling racism, particularly because of the lack of major action regarding 48 recommendations from the Alberta anti-racism advisory council released last year.

The Alberta government is scheduled to share details of an action plan to combat racism in the province next week.

The office of the Minister of Justice and Solicitor General handled the vetting process for May.

CBC News requested an interview with Tyler Shandro, Alberta's justice minister and solicitor general. Shandro's press secretary provided a statement.

"Alberta's government does not agree with the characterization of Islam or the position expressed in the book review written in 2009," the statement said.

The justice ministry accepted May's statement, and the government "will continue to hold the commission to their mandate of fostering equality and reducing discrimination in our province," it added.

 

Why This Controversial Jet May Cost $1.7 Trillion | True Cost

 

The US military designed the F-35 to fill roles for the Air Force, Marines, and Navy. US taxpayers could be on the hook for $1.7 trillion over the lifetime of the ambitious and versatile F-35 fleet. We went to Hill Air Force Base in Utah to get an up-close look at the F-35 and why it's part of the most expensive weapons program in US history.

SEE LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY 

Afghan girls suffer under school closures

Despite repeated calls on the Taliban to allow girls to attend classes again, the group still has yet to answer. Netizens have taken to the web under the #LetAfghanGirlsLearn campaign to demand back the right to study.

Advocates say the school closures are taking a psychological toll on girls and their families

Since the hardline Taliban took over Afghanistan, the group has imposed numerous limitations on girls and women, one of the most detrimental of which is the ban on education for girls.

Human rights agencies continue to warn of the consequences of school closures in the country. The US-based Human Rights Watch said the ban has created "devastating consequences for them [girls], their families, and the country's future."

During the Taliban's last reign of power, from 1996 to 2001, the Islamic fundamentalist group imposed an array of restrictions on women, requiring them to wear the all-encompassing burqa, and barring them from public life and education.

After they seized power again last August, the hardline government's previous stance appeared to have softened after they announced that there wouldn't be a dress code for women. But the Taliban has so far forced women out of public life and has imposed various limitations on Afghan women and girls.
Hashtag sweeps Twitter

In response, the social media campaign #LetAfghanGirlsLearn is calling on the Taliban to reopen schools for girls.

The Taliban have repeatedly said that they are working on a mechanism to reopen girls' schools, but despite numerous promises, girls above the sixth grade have yet to enter a classroom again. Experts say there is division among top Taliban leadership regarding the issue.

Shahrzad Akbar, the former head of Afghanistan's independent human rights commission, said that she will celebrate when Afghan girls get their rights back. "Every day, I am devastated that girls are kept out of school for one more day in Afghanistan. The stories of these incredible women is a reminder of the potential of Afghan women, what they could do for their country and for the world, if they are given the opportunity," Akbar tweeted.

Women's rights activists, meanwhile, say that school closures have further exacerbated forced marriages and family violence.

Closures take psychological toll

Before the Taliban entered Kabul last year, Sharifa, (name changed) was a ninth grade student in a Kabul school. She was top in her class from third through ninth grade, and had been a role model for other girls in her school.

During the last 300 days of school closures, her daily routine changed and she has turned to drawing and painting. In her pictures, she draws memories of school, her teachers and her classroom.

"When I see my school books, notes and meet my classmates, we all remember the good days. But when I see that we are not allowed to enter school, it breaks my heart. With this situation we have lost hope and our future is dark and very painful," Sharifa told DW.

Despite the situation, Sharifa still holds out hope that girls' schools will reopen their doors. "After every sundown there is a hope for a new tomorrow, and that means that we shouldn’t lose hope," she said.

However, this is the second time that history has repeated itself for this Afghan family. Farzana, Sharifa's mother, said she was a sixth grade student when the Taliban first came to power years prior. "This time, the school closure reminded me of our student life when the Taliban shut down girls' schools," she told DW.

Karima (name changed) meanwhile is an Afghan mother of two girls and a boy in Kabul. She said she is worried about the health and psychological effects of the school closures on her children.

"The school closure has not only affected my children, but me as well. I am not able to attend ceremonies or go out for a break, instead I have to stay home and look after my children. I fear that they will think of harming themselves," she told DW.

LIFE IN AFGHANISTAN UNDER THE TALIBAN
New but old dress code
Although it is not yet mandatory for women to wear a burqa, many do so out of fear of reprisals. This Afghan woman is visiting a local market with her children. There is a large supply of second-hand clothes as many refugees have left their clothes behind.
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Agencies call for action

Ahead of the UN General Assembly this September, activists in an open letter called on relevant parties to take bold and coordinated actions for women's rights in Afghanistan. In the letter, they called on the international community to "increase pressure on the de-facto authorities in Afghanistan to lift the ban on girls' rights to secondary education and women's right to work." They also called on the world to "demonstrate solidarity through action."

The German embassy in Kabul has also joined the call. In an Eid message to Afghans, the German embassy tweeted: "Germany and its international partners will continue to support the Afghan people and speak out for their rights, especially for the rights of girls and women in Afghanistan."

Rina Amiri, the US special envoy for Afghan women, girls and human rights, issued calls to stand with the Afghan people and women: "I ask that men & women, leaders & scholars, clerics & activists in the Muslim world stand with the Afghan people, particularly women & girls who are facing some of the most extreme restrictions in the world," Amiri tweeted.

Edited by: Leah Carter

Where is Italy's populist Five Star Movement headed?

Prime Minister Draghi's unity government is on the brink of collapse because an important coalition partner, the populist Five Star Movement, has pulled its support. What's the current state of the once-popular party?

Once allies: Foreign Minister di Maio (left) and Conte as prime minister in 2019

The background to the latest government crisis in Italy is a power struggle within the Five Star Movement (M5S), led by former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte. The movement boycotted a parliamentary vote on a €26 billion ($26 billion) relief package, thereby refusing to support current Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Despite winning a vote of confidence, Draghi offered his resignation, which was then rejected by Italy's president, Sergio Mattarella.

The populist M5S, which saw itself as a counterweight to established political parties, won the largest percentage of votes in the 2018 parliamentary elections. Initially, it shared government duties with the right-euroskeptic Lega Nord (LN) party and right-wing extremists.

Street art left- and right-wing populists mocks Luigi di Maio and Matteo Salvini

This coalition broke up in 2019, when LN leader Matteo Salvini saw a chance of becoming head of government himself. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, then not yet formally a member of the movement, surprisingly managed to forge a new coalition with the center-left Democratic Party (PD). This new alliance, however, broke up as well.

In January 2021, Conte stepped down and was replaced as prime minister by the independent "technocrat" Mario Draghi, who led a "coalition of national unity" that included almost all parties, except the right-nationalist Brothers of Italy (FdI). Conte became leader of the M5S, which then split in June, when Foreign Minister Luigi di Maio — who had led the party till 2020 — and about 60 allies, left the party's parliamentary groups in Italy's bicameral Parliament after Conte took a critical stance toward arms deliveries to Ukraine.

Currently, there are two M5S groups in Parliament as di Maio also claims to represent the legitimate part of the movement. In addition to the split on Ukraine, the groups are at loggerheads when it comes to social policy issues. Conte supports more radical positions, whereas di Maio supports Draghi's policies.

In 2021, Mario Draghi took over government duties from his predecessor Conte

Legacy of dissent

M5S was founded in 2009 by the TV comedian Beppe Grillo, who had become a popular figure through his satiric attacks against Italy's established political parties. Grillo was supported by internet entrepreneur Gianroberto Casaleggio.

In the course of the financial crisis and protests against austerity measures in Italy, Grillo — himself barred from adopting a political post due to a previous conviction  — managed to considerably increase M5S's popularity. In the 2018 parliamentary elections, M5S won the largest share of the vote in both the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.

Beppe Grillo speaking to an audience on a square in Turin (2013)

Dozens of MPs have since left the party and joined other parliamentary groups.  Recently, personnel and party manifesto votes conducted via the Rousseau online platform were seen as intransparent by many lawmakers and party members. M5S is currently polling at about 11%; it had garnered nearly 33% of the vote in 2018.

Grillo has withdrawn from the active leadership circle; he remains, however, head consultant and mentor. Roberto Casaleggio, the son of the now-deceased Gianroberto, continues to be involved with the M5S.

Political analysts view Conte's refusal to support Draghi as an attempt to position himself as a left-wing alternative prior to the upcoming parliamentary elections in 2023 — a risky undertaking in Italy's fragmented party landscape.

This article was originally written in German

Russia's Gazprom says no sign of Nord Steam 1 turbine

Russian energy giant Gazprom says it has asked German engineering firm Siemens for the return of a turbine that was being fixed in Canada. There are fears state-owned Gazprom could use the opportunity to cut off gas.

    

The powerful Portovaya compressor station pressurizes gas to the required level 

for transport through Nord Stream 1

The Russian gas supplier Gazprom said Saturday it had asked German engineering company Siemens for details about the return of a turbine — under maintenance in Canada — to ensure the delivery of gas from the Nord Stream pipeline to Europe.

Gazprom is conducting maintenance on the pipeline over a 10-day period and has stopped delivering gas through the conduit, which runs beneath the Baltic Sea.

What's the problem?

European countries, particularly Germany — to which the pipeline runs from Russia — are anxious to see if gas supplies are resumed.

There are fears that Moscow could use the annual work on the pipeline — which was scheduled well in advance — to shut down gas deliveries in response to Western sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Gas supplies via the pipeline had already dwindled by about 60%, even before the switch-off, with officials blaming problems with the gas pumping turbine.

Moscow has already said the restart of supplies depends upon actions taken by the West, and that it depends on preventing negative effects of unlawful restrictive measures."

Canada has issued a "time-limited and revocable permit" last week that would exempt the turbine from sanctions imposed on Russia by Western nations, but Gazprom says it has seen no evidence that the turbine will be sent.

What is Gazprom saying?

Despite the waiver, Gazprom has said it does not know if the turbine — which is used at a compressor station for Nord Stream 1 — will be returned.

"On July 15, Gazprom submitted an official request to Siemens to obtain the documents... to allow the export of the gas turbine engine of the Portovaya station, a critical facility for the Nord Stream gas pipeline," the firm said in a statement.

"Gazprom is counting on the Siemens Group to unconditionally fulfill its obligations with regard to servicing gas turbine engines on which depend the reliable operation of the Nord Stream pipeline and natural gas supply to European consumers," the company said on Saturday.

What's happening with the turbine?

The turbine is believed to still be in Canada, with a spokesman for Siemens saying company experts were "working intensively on all other formal approvals and logistics."

Ukraine summoned Canada's ambassador on Monday and described the decision to return the repaired turbine as "unacceptable." The World Ukrainian Congress filed a lawsuit asking the Canadian federal court to review the decision in the hope of having it overturned.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to the criticism, saying the sanctions "are aimed at Putin and his enablers, and aren't designed to harm our allies and their populations."

Trudeau said the "difficult decision" to allow these parts to be shipped to Germany was taken to avoid a possible major energy crisis in Europe, and to prevent popular support for the West's backing of Ukraine from ebbing away.

Germany, the digital desert

The crash of Germany's online tax filing system left some 36 million property owners in the lurch. It is the latest embarrassment for a country that is routinely mocked for the woeful state of its digitalization.

The crash of Germany's online tax filing system has put Germany's digital dilemma in the spotlight yet again

Germany's only free, government-approved tax preparation software, Elster, crashed earlier this week. It was simply not able to handle hundreds of thousands of property tax returns filed in response to a government call for a reassessment.

Whether it's a lack of cell service even in the middle of cities, fax machines in doctors' offices, or a dearth of official services available online, there is near universal acceptance that Germany is stuck in the technological past.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz is seemingly unphased. At the re:publica conference in Berlin, he laughed at the fact that Germans are having to wait for hours at city hall just to renew their ID cards. "I can't say exactly when that will change because I know how things go in Germany," he said.

In many countries most things can be done easily online — not so in Germany

FDP promises to bring government services online

A 2021 survey by the internet industry association Eco found that 71% of Germans are dissatisfied with the state of digital infrastructure across the country.

On the campaign trail last year, the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) promised to finally get serious about implementing a 2020 law called the Online Access Act (OZG), which stipulates that all administrative services must be fully online by the end of 2022.

Now, the FDP controls the Ministry of Digital and Transport as a member of the coalition government along with Scholz's center-left Social Democrats (SPD) and the Green Party.

Yet despite the party's position of power, a recent report from the German Economic Institute (IW) found that only 80 of 575 services are partially online, and a mere 35 are set to be fully online before January next year. Even that may be counted as a success, however, when one considers that the ratio is much worse when it comes to services offered by regional or local governments.

Moreover, the IW found that while in some places the number of services offered online increased from 2021 to 2022 — such as in the eastern state of Thuringia — in others they actually decreased. For example, in many municipalities in Germany's most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia, local governments dropped online offers that had gone digital in 2020 due to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Germany's Federal Audit Office has also cast doubt on how the rate of digitalization is quantified, accusing the coalition of padding the numbers by including things that are only partly online.

The FDP's Volker Wissing heads the Ministry of Digital and Transport

Overcomplicated and resistant to change

"The federal government is getting bogged down in developing overly complex digital solutions that offer no advantages to simple systems that already exist," the IW says, offering one possible explanation for the digital desert.

For example, their report says, the government insisted on introducing a blockchain-based ID for digital startups that has been plagued by functionality issues, even though the regular digital identification system that already exists would work just fine.

There are also those who blame lawmakers and bureaucrats for simply being too stuck in their ways for too long.

In 2013, former Chancellor Angela Merkel of the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU) was ridiculed both at home and abroad for calling the internet "Neuland" (unchartered territory).  Hartmut Gieselmann, a tech writer for the industry magazine c*t, told broadcaster Deutschlandfunk that the CDU "slept through years, if not decades" of technological progress.

In the same expert roundtable, writer Eva Wolfangel added that there were also the issues of Germans' deep-seated resistance to spending too much money and a longtime obsession with balanced budgets. She said lawmakers and bureaucrats were more afraid of how much it will cost to improve digital infrastructure than they were concerned with how much more it will cost in the long run to postpone it.

Another cultural issue at play is a general distrust of technology, particularly when it comes to Germans' closely guarded privacy. "People in Germany are much more skeptical of technology than people in East Asia," for example, a study by the Otto Beisheim School of Management in Düsseldorf found.

"People from Germany overwhelmingly focus on the risks rather than the advantages," according to the report, which surveyed 700 people from five countries.

Fragmented federalism

For Süddeutsche Zeitung technology editor Helmut Martin-Jung, federalism contributes stumbling blocks as well.

"The responsibility is fragmented between the federal, state and local governments," he wrote, with different organizations either refusing or simply unable to communicate with one another, working with a complex labyrinth of bureaucratic offices and rules that may overlap or contradict each other.

Some progress is, however, on the horizon. The FDP has recently pushed through a new plan to cover Germany in fiber optic cables — long commonplace in other countries — by 2030, which will drastically improve the country's sometimes dismal WiFi.

But again, the new strategy is already the subject of disputes between different levels of government as to who is responsible for which parts of the implementation and when they should be carried out.

While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.

Germany: Neo-Nazi march blocked by opponents

Thousands of anti-racism protesters pushed back a small march by an extreme-right group in the western city of Mainz. Police said clashes broke out between officers and some of the demonstrators.

The neo-Nazi march in Mainz was outnumbered by thousands of counterprotesters

Anti-racism groups and political parties on Saturday broke up a planned gathering of a German neo-Nazi group.

According to police, around 3,000 people — made up of church groups, labor unions and antiglobalization activists — helped to push back the extreme-right march through the western city of Mainz.

About 50 members of the hard-right New Strong Party (NSP) had gathered for a protest, around half of the number the party said would show up.

NSP members shouted slogans like "Nazi city Mainz" and "Revolution now" before being prevented from moving forward, police said.

Clashes then erupted between officers and NSP members, and police said they responded with pepper spray.

The neo-Nazi group then relocated to another part of the city, according to the EPD news agency.

Local media reported other scuffles between police and the counterprotesters.

Mayor warns of dangers from extreme right

Earlier Saturday, Mainz Mayor Michael Ebling led a gathering of some counterprotesters at the city's main railway station and used a speech to denounce the planned Nazi meeting.

"They should take their brown backpacks, pack them up and start their journeys back home," said Ebling.

He also warned against underestimating the danger from the extreme right.

The Interior Ministry of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate said the group was "obviously neo-Nazi."

Authorities clamp down on Neo-Nazi groups

In April, German police raided around 50 premises in a nationwide crackdown on banned neo-Nazi groups.

Four suspected right-wing extremists were arrested.

In February, members of neo-Nazi groups marred the remembrance ceremony of the World War II bombing of the city of Dresden.

The participants of the far-right march walked into the city center to the sound of Richard Wagner's music.

The German composer, whose known antisemitic views have drawn widespread criticism, was Adolf Hitler's favorite composer.

mm/kb (dpa, EPD)