1 in 2 Italian teenager has been sexually harassed, new poll finds

By Giulia Carbonaro

Published on 25/10/2023 - 

A new poll surveying 400 teenagers across Italy found that nearly 1 in 2 teenagers has been touched by a peer against their will or received unwelcome sexual advances.

Nearly 1 in 2 Italian teenagers aged between 14 and 19 reported having suffered some form of sexual harassment in their lives, whether that’s unwanted touching by a peer (as in the case of 48% of respondents) or an unwelcome sexual advance (43%).

The survey, called “Teen Community”, was conducted by the group Fondazione Libellula (Dragonfly Foundation), which promotes the end of gender violence and discrimination, and presented on Wednesday in Milan. 

It asked about 400 teenagers all across the country to answer questions about sexual harassment, asking them their opinions on issues like violence against women and the interactions between men and women.

The discouraging results of the survey show that teenage girls have a more significant experience of sexual harassment than their male peers, with 55% of girls reported having been the object of someone’s unwanted sexual attention against only 25% of boys.

“The data show the urgent need to intervene to raise awareness among the new generations of the complex dynamics of gender violence”, said Debora Moretti, founder and president of Fondazione Libellula.

“The fact that in the majority of the cases, girls are victims of sexual harassment helps us understand how much this problem is rooted in our culture and how necessary it is to promote a debate among young people,” she added.

According to the same survey, only 33% of boys between the ages of 18 and 19 think it’s unacceptable for a man to become violent after being cheated on, against 79% of girls. Only 29% of teenage boys disagree with a statement saying that “control is a sign of love”, against 48% of girls.

Overall, the study said, girls seem to have a better awareness of what constitutes sexual harassment. But all teenagers seemed to have a flawed idea of how a healthy relationship should work, with many considering it acceptable to prevent their partner from accepting friendship requests on social media or telling their partner what they should or should not wear.

A majority of 53% agreed that kissing someone against their will was a form of violence, while 15% said it wasn’t harassment.

“Normalising these behaviours can only perpetuate and authorise further episodes of gender violence: we should remember that young people will one day be tomorrow’s adults,” Moretti said.

According to a previous survey published months ago by the same association and focused on men, one in two men thought that violence against women wasn’t a problem that concerned them.

The survey comes after a series of rapes of young girls grabbed the attention of the Italian public and raised concerns over the size of the problem among minors in Italy, as well as in countries like Spain.

PUTIN'S THINK TANK; VALDAI CLUB

The Territory of the Former USSR – Lessons from the Past, Contours of the Future

25.10.2023

Rashid Alimov

The crisis in Ukraine has exposed many of the modern world’s problems and underscored the urgent need for dialogue, especially since this crisis is not the only one in our world. About a quarter of the world's population, including the post-Soviet space, is to some extent involved in conflicts or is affected by their severe consequences.

In the context of a crisis in international relations, it is important to return to the ability to respect each other’s reasonable concerns, primarily in the field of security, its indivisibility and resolving controversial issues between the parties through mutually respectful dialogue and political consultation. Unfortunately, this is not happening yet. This was clearly demonstrated by the general political debates within the UN General Assembly. The world has heard who is in favour of resolving the crisis in Ukraine through political and diplomatic methods, and who continues to stubbornly believe that the path to peace lies through keeping the fire under the boiling cauldron of war.

Even the UN Security Council, which has primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, does not demonstrate the ability to negotiate. In these conditions, it is appropriate to recall the proposal of Russian President Vladimir Putin on convening a summit of the G5 to discuss global challenges and find ways to defuse the situation in the world. As you remember, it was made in January 2020, but has not lost its relevance today. I dare to suggest that if the summit, supported by China and France, had taken place three years ago, the situation in the world today might have been different.

Recently, the UN Secretary General proposed a ‘Future Summit’ in September 2024. In my opinion, the goals of this global event can be achieved if a Security Council summit takes place the day before, within the framework of which the issue of UN Security Council reform and other international institutions that were formed after the Second World War could also be discussed. Discussions have been going on for a quarter of a century about how multilateral institutions should respond to the political realities of the 21st century. There are many ideas and schemes for their renewal and reforms, but there is no solution, since there is no consensus among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Disagreements between groups of countries regarding issues related to ensuring global security also remain serious.

The world is becoming more and more aggressive, and the cost of conflicts is growing exponentially, as well as their impact on political stability, security and the economies of countries and regions. An example of this is the Afghan conflict, which has been smouldering for 45 years. In its hasty departure from Afghanistan, the United States left 8 billion dollars’ worth of weapons behind, which came under the control of the Taliban and international terrorist organisations entrenched in that country. The Afghan factor has and will continue to maintain tension among the countries of Central Asia and beyond. In this context, the problem of developing a unified approach to the current authorities of Afghanistan, a country with an unclear future, becomes important.

Over the past 30 years, the Central Asian states have established independent political and economic ties throughout the world. Promising integration processes launched at the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan in 2017 have radically changed the atmosphere in the region. The united voice of Central Asia is increasingly heard on international platforms. At the same time, being the geopolitical core of Eurasia and located between major world civilisational centres, Central Asia is an object of growing attraction for many powers and forces. This, among other things, confirms the growth of the 5+1 formats, which have no analogues in international relations.

The development of events convinces us that the goal of extra-regional players is to penetrate as deeply as possible into the Central Asian countries. Through the “Global Gate”, “Greater Central Asia” or other structures, they draw them into the orbit of Western values and strategic influence in order to use the region as a platform for their games against Russia and China. The countries of Central Asia, pursuing a multi-vector foreign policy, understand this very well and give priority to strengthening ties with Russia and China, which are also key trading partners for them.

Over the past two years, relations between the Central Asian countries and Russia have grown even closer and deeper, bilateral trade has improved significantly, and investment attractiveness has increased sharply. New opportunities for joint growth have opened up. Russia remains a key destination for labour migrants from Central Asian countries, the most attractive country for those seeking a higher education, and the absolute leader in assisting countries in the region in school education. For example, out of 362,000 foreign students obtaining higher education in in Russia the 2023/2024 academic year, 185,000 are students from Central Asian countries. Of this number 68,000 (about 40%) have their tuition covered by the Russian government. There are 25 branches of leading Russian universities operating in the countries of the region and there are plans to open at least ten more. In addition, in 2022, five cities in Tajikistan saw new schools open with teaching in Russian and a Russian curriculum. The construction of similar educational institutions is in full swing in Kyrgyzstan. Russia also plays a significant role in ensuring security in the region.

It is obvious that the centre of Asia will not shift anywhere; the heart of Asia will continue to beat in unison with Russia’s. Over the years of the countries’ independence, the five have determined their true friends. For example, it is quite acceptable to assert that the Russia-Central Asia-China connection is a completely tangible positive phenomenon of modern international life. Here we are witnessing a relationship which can be characterised as a strategic partnership or an alliance. It is important not to miss the strategic initiative, to strengthen all corners of this stable triangle, including within the framework of the SCO, in whose official documents Central Asia is defined as the core of the organisation.

The world is at a dangerous point. The time has come when international organisations, especially the reformed UN, as well as influential regional partnerships and states, must do their utmost to encourage dialogue and promote the peaceful resolution of conflicts. This understanding is growing. The road to sustainable peace is never smooth or straight: it is unpredictable and tortuous, but the prospects are always bright. This prospect is multipolarity, towards which our world is rapidly and inevitably moving. The authors of the Valdai Club report spoke very cogently about how it might appear in the future, and I sincerely congratulate them.

Powerful groups of countries with global influence, such as the expanded BRICS and the SCO, have emerged within the contours of the political landscape of the future world. The geopolitical significance of these two partnerships is manifested in the fact that each of them presents to the international community its own view of the processes taking place in the world. At the same time, the views of BRICS and the SCO on the future of a multipolar world largely overlap, if not coincide. It is important that most countries in the world share these views and strive to become part of these partnerships, in which there is no dictate from one or a group of countries, where every voice matters and in which they know how to hear out and listen to each other. This is confirmed by the growing number of applications to participate in these partnerships, with their creative, future-oriented agenda.

This opens up new opportunities to create a just world and ensure balance in international relations. This means the successful collective resolution of global and regional problems, an expansion of common security, civilised trade and economic exchange, and a mutually respectful dialogue among cultures. To achieve these goals, as the authors of the Valdai Club report rightly noted, tireless work is required to maintain balance, smooth out contradictions and find solutions for each specific issue.

Views expressed are of individual Members and Contributors, rather than the Club's, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

 

Sudanese Health Services Deteriorate As Disease Spreads

UNFPA Sudan

Two midwives work at a UNFPA-supported clinic in Sudan (file photo).

24 OCTOBER 2023

Dabanga (Khartoum)

El Gedaref / Nyala / Sharg El Nil — Cases of dengue fever* and cholera continue to spread across Sudan. The Federal Ministry of Health announced that 3,414 cases of dengue fever were recorded, including 38 deaths, in the period from April 15 to October 20 in nine states. Meanwhile, Nyala's health services have reported a "terrible" decline, as the Emergency Room of Sharg El Nil (East Nile) resumed its operations on Monday after a two-week closure.

In its report, the Health Ministry said that El Gedaref recorded 2,231 cases of dengue fever, along with 145 cases in El Gezira, 490 in North Kordofan 490 cases, and 286 in North Darfur.

The report explained that the state most affected by the disease is El Gedaref, due to the region's high density of mosquitoes and the relative lack of herd immunity. The Ministry reported that the supply of intravenous solutions and pendulum drops for treatment is stable in all states.

As previously reported by Radio Dabanga, the World Health Organisation scaled up its intervention in Sudan at the beginning of October and announced that they are "currently deploying rapid response teams to the affected localities" and "actively supporting the Ministry of Health to transfer samples of suspected cholera cases to the Public Health Laboratory in Port Sudan."

In El Gedaref, committees have been established to combat cholera cases throughout the state.

Cholera and measles

Cholera cases have spread in four states, with the Ministry of Health reporting of 1,617 suspected cases, including 64 deaths. 744 cases were reported from El Gedaref, 256 from Khartoum, 217 from El Gezira, and 400 from South Kordofan.

In El Gezira, the Ministry of Health announced 10 cases of cholera on Saturday. The administration reported that the cumulative number of cases rose to 227 suspected cases of cholera, including 193 positive cases by rapid examination and 5 deaths.

The Ministry onfirmed 4,166 cases of measles, including 101 deaths , in 11 states. El Gedaref recorded 59 cases, Khartoum eight cases, El Gezira 212 cases, and Kassala 290.

Hospitals

In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Mohamed Abdel Aziz, a professor at Nyala University, confirmed a "terrible deterioration" in health services in the city as the Turkish Hospital is short of medical staff, medicines, and equipment.

The Emergency Room of Sharg El Nil announced the reopening of its hospital on Monday after a two-day closure in the wake of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacks on the hospital staff on Saturday.

The emergency room said in a statement that the hospital was opened after consultations with working medical personnel and Médecins sans frontières, and expressed its hope that such attacks would not be repeated. On Saturday, it announced the temporary closure of the hospital after the RSF attacked a female doctor at the hospital in El Darf, and opened fire in the air in front of the hospital gate.

Last week, the Emergency Room of Sharg El Nil called on the Ministry of Health to "contain the spread of cholera before it turns into a humanitarian disaster," and appealed to international medical organisations to intervene. Last week, they reported 14 confirmed cholera cases, resulting in three deaths.

*Dengue (aka break-bone fever) is a viral infection that spreads from mosquitoes to people. It is more common in tropical and subtropical climates. Most people who get dengue will not have symptoms. But for those that do, the most common symptoms are high fever, headache, body aches, nausea, and rash.

Read the original article on Dabanga.

Sustainable Development Goals

Leaders Commit to Mind the Gap – Invest in Water as the Race to Achieve SDG 6 in Africa Accelerates

October 18, 2023



African leaders have pledged to mobilise US$30bn per year by 2030 to achieve water security and sustainable sanitation on the continent through institutional private-public partnerships, sector reform, and higher national budget allocations.

This is the key message from the launch of Mind the Gap – Invest in Water, a campaign championed by the African Union Commission and supported by the International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa, as part of the Continental Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP). Mind the Gap – Invest in Water was launched on 19 September on the side-lines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly and 2023 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Summit in New York.

The 2023 SDG Summit takes place at the midpoint to 2030 SDG deadline, and includes in its Political Declaration a commitment to address water scarcity and stress. Approximately US$50 billion annually is required to achieve water security in Africa by 2030. Currently, US$10-US$19 billion is invested each year. New sources of funding are urgently needed to accelerate implementation of the AIP to achieve water related SDGs on the continent.

Mind the Gap – Invest in Water will raise awareness, influence change, and ultimately – prompt mobilisation of investments across continental institutions and organisations.

African countries are currently losing up to US$200 billion/year due to insufficient investment, coupled with the impacts of climate change and inefficiencies. Over 300 million Africans do not have access to clean drinking water and over 700 million live without access to good sanitation. Without action, climate change will make water shortages worse and lead to more food insecurity, disease burden, human displacement, conflict. 

Mind the Gap – Invest in Water will address systemic challenges, or gaps, that deter investors including:Governance Gap: the need for robust national water policies, effective regulations, and strategies that are multi-sectoral, comprehensive, and gender transformative.
Finance Gap: the need for credit worthy water utilities and service providers; return on investment; risk mitigation strategies and public-private investment modalities.
Capacity: the need for improved implementation capacity and quality of a portfolio of bankable (and less bankable) projects through increased partnerships with regional and national finance institutions

The campaign will speak to the nine potential sources of finance for water investment in Africa, which were outlined by the High-Level Panel’s Pyramid of Water Transformation, which also shows the total estimated value of funding that is available; and the potential funding that could be mobilized or leveraged for Africa by 2030.Sector governance: Efficiency gains and cost savings
Valuing water-related risks and internalising the environmental costs
Institutional investors
Pollution and mineral resource taxes
African Government Budgets
National banks, microfinance institutions, local governments
Multilateral climate funds
Multilateral and Development Finance Institutions
Bilateral ODA and philanthropy

The High-Level Panel is a registered United Nations 2023 Water Action Agenda commitment (view the commitment here), and will mobilise resources to implement the water actions in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Quotes from the International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa

“The campaign we are launching here is the starting point of a race against time. The next step is the finalization of the AIP Water Investment Action Plan, in order to launch it on the sidelines of COP 28 in Dubai. It will then be a matter of implementing it for a first evaluation at the 2026 Water and Sanitation Conference, before the SDG deadline in 2030. The emergency is clear. The needs are known and the roadmap drawn up. Let us act without delay to meet the challenge.” – H.E. Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal

“We have reached a stage where the AU Commission, in collaboration with the International High-Level Panel on Water, is embarking on the Water Investment Action Plan for increased investment in the water sector by the AU Member States. The Mind the Gap campaign will contribute immensely towards mobilising these investments, which are critical for resilient water security and sustainable sanitation in Africa. This move aligns with the outcome of the Africa Climate Summit held recently in Kenya in early September 2023.” – H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson, African Union Commission (AUC).

“We are midway to our Sustainable Development Goals 2030 deadline and it is now clear that without accelerated and urgent action, coupled with high-level political guidance, we will not achieve the SDGs. In Africa, progress on SDG 6 – clean water and sanitation for all – is far too slow. Without SDG 6, Africa cannot achieve its developmental goals on health, food security, economic growth, climate action, and many others. We are offered an opportunity to change course and reconsider the way we are think about investing in water and sanitation.” - H.E. Jakaya Kikwete, former President of United Republic of Tanzania (Alternate Co-Chair). 

Media Contact:

Maryanne Muriuki, Communications Analyst - Disaster Risk Reduction Unit, Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, African Union Commission, MuriukiM@africa-union.org

Svetlana Doneva, Panel Secretariat Communication Advisor, +27827976103, svetlana.doneva@gwpsaf.org

AIP Pyramid of Water Transformation

Editor Note: About the International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa

The Continental Africa Water Investment Programme (AIP) was adopted by the Assembly of the African Union Heads of State and Government as part of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa – Priority Action Plan 2 (PIDA-PAP 2) during the 34th ordinary session of the African Union Summit on 7 February 2021.  

H.E. Macky Sall, President of Senegal and then Chair of the African Union, formally launched the International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa during the 9th World Water Forum in Dakar, Senegal, in March 2022. The Panel is convened by seven agencies who jointly adopted a resolution to convene the Panel in August 2021: the African Ministers Council on Water, African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), African Development Bank, UNDP, UNICEF, Global Centre for Adaptation and Global Water Partnership.

The mandate of the International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa is to drive global political mobilisation and international engagement to meet the socio-economic needs of the continent, achieve SDG 6 and other water-related goals, and address the twin challenge of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.  

More information: https://aipwater.org/high-level-panel/

For further information, please contact:

Mr. Gatkuoth Kai| Technical Coordinator for Disaster Risk Reduction| Directorate of Sustainable Environment and Blue Economy, | E-mail: KaiG@africa-union.org | WhatsApp: +251 909537884

For media enquiry:

Mr. Molalet Tsedeke, Information and Communications Directorate | African Union Commission|+251-911-630 631; Molalett@africa-union.org

Web: au.int | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Follow Us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Thailand to accelerate construction of the China-Thailand railway: PM

(Xinhua) 16:01, October 25, 2023

BANGKOK, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Thailand plans to speed up the construction of the China-Thailand railway, a bilateral flagship project under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has said.

Thailand will create a rail system from Bangkok to Khon Kaen, Nong Khai, and extends all the way to China, aligning with the Belt and Road Initiative, Srettha said during the live dinner talk of Thailand's future 2024 on Tuesday evening.

The two provincial capital cities of Khon Kaen and Nong Khai are both regarded as transport hubs leading up to Thailand's northeastern region.

"Logistics is one of the significant issues for Thailand regarding BRI cooperation and Thailand will enhance the connection between its domestic railways and the China-Laos Railway, a flagship BRI project in the region," Srettha said in an interview with Xinhua before his official visit to China earlier this month, during which he also attended the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

The China-Thailand railway, an important part of the trans-Asian railway network, will be Thailand's first standard-gauge high-speed railway.

When completed, the line will see trains running from Bangkok to the border town of Nong Khai, where a bridge is expected to connect it with the China-Laos Railway, making it possible to travel by train from Bangkok, through Laos, to Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

WAR IS RAPE
Surging conflict in DRC drives sexual assault against displaced women


By Rédaction Africanews

Hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been displaced over the past year in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo amid fighting by more than 130 armed groups.

As drawn-out conflicts continue to spiral, instances of sexual violence by armed men against displaced women, many living in camps, are climbing rapidly, according to French aid group Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, or Doctors without Borders).

MSF says more than twice as many women in recent months have sought treatment for sexual assault in some displacement camps outside the eastern city of Goma, where shelters are little more than plastic sheets.

One survivor of sexual violence is a 42-year-old mother of four, who was abandoned by her husband after she became disabled in a motorcycle accident several years ago.

She recounts how a hooded man burst into her tent while her children were out searching for food, raping her in the displacement camp where she had fled to from the country's east.

Now, she says, she hesitates to let her children leave her side, and lives in fear of the same thing happening again.

The frightening trend underscores the consequences for women and girls of the perpetual state of war in the east of the African nation, where conflict has simmered for nearly three decades.

The United Nations estimates that more than 130 armed groups are active in the country's northeast, each vying for land or resources while some have formed to protect their communities.

More than four million people were displaced within Congo because of conflict in 2022, the most in Africa and second in the world only to Ukraine, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center.

And of the nearly 100,000 people who arrived at displacement sites near the northeastern city of Goma in July, nearly 60% were women and girls, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Sexual violence has long been used as a weapon of war by armed fighters in the region and in Bulengo and nearby displacement sites, an average of 70 sexual assault victims each day visit clinics run by MSF.

MSF treated 1,500 female victims of sexual violence in July across just three displacement camps outside Goma, which is more than double the number in May, the organization said in a report released on September 18.

Survivors and aid workers say displacement rips people from their livelihoods and leaves women and girls susceptible to assault, while conditions at the camps leave them more vulnerable to abuse.

Shelters are little more than plastic sheets, with no way of securing them from intruders, while armed men often lurk outside the camps, where women and girls are forced to venture out to find firewood and other necessities.

Another rape survivor says she worries for the safety of her children and is afraid to see them venture outside the camp, worried that they may become the victims of sexual violence too.

Celine Luanda, a community women's outreach worker, says it is important to raise awareness of the problem and inform people they could seek help at a health centre.

MSF, along with United Nations agencies and other local organizations, help provide medical services, psychological treatment, latrines, and other measures to improve conditions for victims of sexual violence.

But their role as providers of medical assistance and community sensitization is limited.

For hundreds of thousands of other displaced women, the escalating armed conflict stands in the way of a return to normal life.

The two women interviewed by The Associated Press said they thought each day about how they could go back to farming in their village.

And each night they fear for their safety.

'I wanted to scream': Conflict in Congo drives sexual assault against displaced women

Hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been displaced over the past year in eastern Congo amid fighting by more than 130 armed groups

By

JUSTIN KABUMBA

 Associated Press 

and ZANE IRWIN

 Associated Press
October 25, 2023

The 42-year-old mother of four who was raped in the Bulengo displacement camp where she had fled war in eastern Congo poses for a photograph Aug. 23, 2023. Hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been d...Show more
The Associated Press

BULENGO, Congo -- A hooded man burst into the 42-year-old woman's tent while her children were out searching for food, then raped her in the displacement camp where she had fled war in eastern Congo.

“I wanted to scream (but) he took my mouth and he threatened me with death,” said the mother of four, who was abandoned by her husband after she became disabled in a motorcycle accident several years ago.

Now, she says, she lives in fear and hesitates to let her children leave her side.

Sexual violence by armed men against displaced women is increasing rapidly in eastern Congo as yearslong conflicts continue. The trend underscores the disproportionate consequences for women and girls in the region's perpetual state of war. The Associated Press is not identifying survivors who spoke to journalists in the Bulengo displacement camp.

In Bulengo and other displacement sites nearby, an average of 70 sexual assault victims each day visit clinics run by Doctors Without Borders, also known by its French acronym MSF.

Conflict has simmered in eastern Congo for nearly three decades. The United Nations estimates that more than 130 armed groups are active in the country's northeast, vying for land or resources while some have formed to protect their communities. Sexual violence has long been used as a weapon of war by armed fighters in the region.

More than 4 million people were displaced within Congo because of conflict in 2022, the most in Africa and second in the world only to Ukraine, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center. Of nearly 100,000 people who arrived at displacement sites near the eastern city of Goma in July, nearly 60% were women and girls, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Doctors Without Borders treated 1,500 female victims of sexual violence in just three displacement camps outside Goma in July, more than double the number in May, the organization said in a Sept. 18 report.

Survivors and aid workers say displacement rips people from their livelihoods and leaves women and girls vulnerable to assault.

Like many other displaced single mothers, the 42-year-old mother of four is struggling to feed her family and unsure when she might return home.

With the help of her two sons and two daughters, she had cultivated her fields of cassava, potatoes and beans. But in February, armed rebels and Congolese security forces clashed close to her home in the northeastern village of Karenga.

“We were forced to flee, leaving behind all our belongings,” she said. Limping, she walked an entire day to bring her family to one of more than 100 sites where displaced people have gathered around Goma.

One May evening, after three months of struggling to feed her family in a camp with tens of thousands of other displaced people, she sent her children to find food. They hadn’t eaten all day, she said. That’s when a stranger found her alone and raped her.

After the attack, she confided in a friend who directed her to a clinic run by MSF. The charity group along with United Nations agencies and local organizations help provide medical services, psychological treatment, latrines and other measures to improve conditions for survivors of sexual violence.

But their role is limited. Deliveries of food and other basic needs to the camp are infrequent, said Rebecca Kihiu, MSF’s regional sexual violence activity manager.

The camp’s conditions leave women vulnerable to abuse. Shelters are little more than plastic sheets, with no way of securing them from intruders, Kihiu said. Armed men lurk outside the camp, where women and girls are forced to venture to find firewood and other necessities.

“They know that they will go and find these assaults outside the camp. But they have no option,” Kihiu said.

Already scarred by fleeing their homes, survivors of sexual assault in camps like Bulengo live with the experience long afterward. “It’s a trauma that will stay for a lifetime,” said Esmeralda Alabre, coordinator for UNFPA gender-based violence programming in northeast Congo.

A mother of eight in the same displacement camp received some medical help after she was raped. But she is still afraid, especially at night. She now arranges her children around her when they sleep, hoping their presence will deter a future aggressor.

Kihiu says some groups of women band together on trips outside the camp for added security, but this tactic falters if they need to split up to collect resources more efficiently.

For hundreds of thousands of other displaced women in northeast Congo, escalating armed conflict stands in the way of a return to normal life. The two women interviewed by the AP said they think each day about how they can return to farming in their village.

And each night they fear for their safety.

“Let the government do everything to end this war so that we can give up this life of misery,” the mother of four said.

___

Irwin reported from Dakar, Senegal.

Auto strike is now the longest in 25 years

By Chris Isidore, CNN
Wed October 25, 2023

A picket line outside the Stellantis Sterling Heights Assembly Plant on Monday, the day UAW union members at at the plant joined the union's strike. The strike is now the longest US auto strike since 1998.Emily Elconin/Bloomberg/Getty Images
New YorkCNN —

As of Wednesday, the unprecedented strike by the United Auto Workers union against General Motors, Ford and Stellantis is now also the longest American auto strike in 25 years.

The last time the union struck one of the automakers, with its 2019 strike at GM, the strike lasted 40 days. Wednesday is the 41st day of the strike that started on September 15.

It is also likely that the strike would continue at the other two companies while that ratification process takes place at whichever company is first to reach a deal with the union.

This strike is also the first time the union has walked out at all three automakers at the same time. But it didn’t flex its full muscle immediately, instead conducting a targeted strike, picking select factories and facilities for the strike to disrupt company operations and put escalating pressure on the companies.

The strike is likely to go on for at least a few weeks longer. Even if the union settled with one of the companies today, the tentative agreement would need to be ratified by rank-and-file members before it would take effect. In 2019, the ratification process took 10 days to the complete. And in the past, the union has stayed on strike during the ratification process.

It started the strike with one assembly plant at each automaker, but it has expanded the strike five times since then, including the addition of a Stellantis assembly plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan, on Monday and a GM assembly plant in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday.

Those are the largest plants in terms of vehicle output at those companies, respectively, and also among their most profitable. Ford’s largest plant, the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, has been on strike since October 11.

The fact that the union has added those three massive plants to its strike targets means that is has now idled nearly 50% of the combined US output of the three companies, according to industry consultant GlobalData.

The plants shutdown by the strike at GM normally produce about 3,415 vehicles a day, or 51% of its US output, while it has halted production of 3,050 vehicles a day at Ford, and 2,165 vehicles a day at Stellantis, or 56% its output, according to GlobalData’s estimates.

The union has shutdown that much production with only 45,000 members on strike, or about 31% of the 145,000 who work at the three companies. Another 7,000, or about 5% of membership, were temporarily laid off by the companies due to the disruptions caused by the strike.

And the union has threatened to further expand the strike if it doesn’t see the progress it wants at the bargaining table. All three companies have offered pay increases totalling 23% through the end of the contract in 2028, including immediate 10% pay hikes, as well as cost-of-living adjustments to protect workers from rising prices and improved job guarantees and contributions to retirement accounts.

All the companies are on record saying they want to reach a deal to end the strike, as has the union.

Tuesday’s expansion of the strike came hours after GM reported stronger than forecast third quarter earnings, despite a $200 million hit it took from the strike in the last two weeks of the period. The UAW cited the strong earnings in its statement about wanting more from GM that it has thus far offered at the table.

Ford is due to report third quarter results after 4 pm Thursday, and it is expected to report improved earnings as well. The union would not comment on whether it will announce an expansion of the strike there if Ford’s results are strong, but it is on record saying all the companies should be offering more, while company executives are on record saying it has reached the limit of what it can offer.

Australia unveils A$2bn critical minerals boost



Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is visiting the US this week.

25th October 2023
By: Mariaan Webb
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

In a move that underscores Australia’s goal to secure its position as a global leader in critical minerals, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has unveiled a A$2-billion expansion in critical minerals financing.

The financing will effectively double the capacity of the Critical Minerals Facility to $4-billion. With this expansion, the government’s total investment in enhancing the value of Australia’s resources will reach A$6-billion.



The facility is a dedicated financing entity that supports Australian projects involved in the mining and processing of minerals required for the transition towards a greener future.

Albanese said that he was committed to transforming Australia into a renewable energy superpower.


"Australians will benefit through this investment in critical minerals, through technology, skills, jobs and economic gains,” he said.

Albanese, alongside Resources Minister Madeleine King, made the announcement during their trip to the US on Tuesday, surrounded by industry leaders from both countries. This event followed the inaugural meeting of the Australia-US taskforce on critical minerals.

King said that the Australia-US taskforce had agreed on priority areas of work and immediate actions such as joint supply chain mapping and deeper cooperation between the two countries’ science agencies on critical minerals.

"The road to net zero runs through Australia's resources sector.

"The Australian government is providing significant support to de-risk investment in Australia's critical minerals sector. The Critical Minerals Facility is a cornerstone of that support, providing finance to strategically significant projects which can crowd in private investment.

"Coupled with our support for processing, we are well positioned to be a world-leading provider of critical minerals, including rare-earth elements, and to support global efforts on clean energy transformation."

HEAVY LIFTING

Albanese stated that Australia and the US were partners in many fields. “This is the one area where Australia is uniquely positioned to do some heavy lifting.”

“We have the sustainable, reliable supply. Thanks to Western Australia, we are the world’s largest supplier of lithium. We are the fourth largest of cobalt and the third largest of rare earths. We have shovel-ready projects ripe for investment. We are also a stable democracy, with a skilled workforce and strong environmental, social and governance credentials. Our industry has deep expertise at extracting minerals and a proven track record as a reliable producer and exporter of energy and resources. And, above all, we’re ambitious,” the Prime Minister said in an opinion piece published in The West Australia on Wednesday.

Billions for life-saving AIDS program need to continue, George W. Bush Institute tells Congress

Billions of dollars for a global HIV/AIDS program that's saved millions of lives are in limbo


AMANDA SEITZ 

Associated Press
October 25, 2023

WASHINGTON -- As billions of dollars for a global HIV/AIDS program credited with saving millions of lives remains in limbo, the George W. Bush Institute is urging the U.S. Congress to keep money flowing for it.

In a letter sent to Congress on Wednesday, the former Republican president's institute pleaded with Congress to keep funding the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. The program works with nonprofit groups to provide HIV/AIDS medication to millions around the world, fund orphanages and support health systems around the world.

“It is one of the most successful international development programs since World War II,” the institute, along with global leaders and humanitarian groups, wrote in their letter. “Abandoning it abruptly now would send a bleak message, suggesting we are no longer able to set aside our politics for the betterment of democracies and the world."

The program, created 20 years ago, has long enjoyed bipartisan support but recently become the center of a political fight: a few Republicans are leading opposition to PEPFAR over its partnership with organizations that provide abortions.

Earlier this year, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, a New Jersey Republican who has for years supported PEPFAR, said he would not move forward with reauthorization for PEPFAR unless groups that promote or provide abortions were barred from receiving money. Smith chairs the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the program's funding.

Although abortion has become central to the hold up over PEPFAR's funding, the Biden administration's Global Aids Coordinator said he was unaware of any circumstance where money was used to fund abortion services.

PEPFAR is credited with saving 25 million lives in 55 countries, including 5.5 million infants born HIV-free. It was created by then-President George W. Bush and Congress to extend treatment for the AIDS epidemic, which has killed more than 40 million people since 1981, to hard-hit areas of Africa where the cost of treatment put it out of reach.

The number of children in sub-Saharan Africa newly orphaned by AIDS reached a peak of 1.6 million in 2004, the year that PEPFAR began its rollout of HIV drugs, researchers wrote in a defense of the program published by The Lancet medical journal. In 2021, the number of new orphans had dropped to 382,000. Deaths of infants and young children from AIDS in the region have dropped by 80%.

Bush, who firmly opposed abortion and pushed for stricter abortion laws during his time as president, urged Congress to continue funding for the program in an opinion articled published in The Washington Post.

"The reauthorization is stalled because of questions about whether PEPFAR’s implementation under the current administration is sufficiently pro-life," Bush wrote. "But there is no program more pro-life than one that has saved more than 25 million lives."

What are Slovaks expecting from Robert Fico’s new government?

SMILE, DAMN YOU SMILE; YOU WON!

By Kristina Harazim with AP, Reuters

Published on 25/10/2023 

Robert Fico has become Slovakia's new Prime Minister. His left-populist Smer party won against the liberal, Western-oriented Progressive Slovakia by nearly 7 percentage points. Euronews Hungary took to the streets of Bratislava to find out what are Slovaks expecting from his new government.


Robert Fico and his cabinet were appointed by President Zuzana Caputova on Wednesday. His party won 42 seats in the 150-seat Parliament and formed a coalition with the centre-left HLAS and nationalist SNS parties.

Fico formed a parliamentary majority by signing a coalition government deal with the Hlas, or Voice, party and the Slovak National Party.

Fico pledged in his election campaign to end military support for Ukraine and criticised sanctions on Russia.

Newly appointed Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico signs the oath during a swear in ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Bratislava, SlovakiaAP Photo

On the streets of Bratislava, one man told Euronews he supported this policy.

"We have no money after a war in Ukraine and after COVID-19 but maybe we will have a more stable government and maybe less anger I hope so," he said.

Another man said he was less hopeful of his country's future: "What we expect economically from the upcoming years is nothing good, so hopefully it won't be as bad as it seems at the moment.

"Demographically speaking, hopefully, not too many young, educated people will leave this country and hopefully, there will be no backlash in terms of human rights, as well."

Fico stepped down as prime minister in 2018 amid mass protests against corruption after journalist Jan Kuciak and his partner Martina Kusnirova were murdered.

Slovakia: Populist Fico strikes deal with pro-Russia party to form coalition government

Kuciak was targeted for investigating ties between government officials and criminal groups.

This time, Fico campaigned heavily on pledges to end Slovak official military aid to Ukraine, to make foreign policy independent of EU partners and Washington, and to stop migrants seeking to make it to Western Europe.

Bratislava has provided Ukraine with extensive humanitarian and military assistance under previous governments, including artillery and fighter jets.

Fico has also spoken out against political liberalism, the activities of non-governmental organisations, and more rights for transgender people.

He has praised neighbouring Hungary's leader Viktor Orban as a politician for defending his country's interests and could make alliances with him where their interests align.

Even though he has railed against Brussels and the US, Fico has repeatedly said that he has no intention of removing Slovakia from the European Union or the NATO military alliance.

Study focuses on the Bank of England and its environmental mandate in relation to net zero

by University of Manchester

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

James Jackson has published an article with Dan Bailey from Manchester Metropolitan University in Sage Journals focusing on the Bank of England and its environmental mandate in relation to net zero

The role of central banks in perpetuating and tackling the economic patterns associated with climate change has increasingly been subject to academic and political attention. The Bank of England is no exception, having received a new mandate to 'facilitate the transition to net zero' in March 2021. This follows the Bank's utilization of its monetary tools to repeatedly stabilize the economic status quo since 2008, despite its ecological consequences.

This article reveals the perceptions within the British state of the new mandate and the forms of institutional change demanded by it, based on a series of elite interviews with Treasury officials and other UK monetary policy experts, as well as a discourse analysis of Bank publications and speeches.

They find that Bank actors lobbied for the new mandate to legitimize its development of climate risk assessments and license internal dialogue on the implications of its monetary policy. But the mandate is perceived to be in immediate conflict with, and subservient to, the Bank's primary structural objective of maintaining price and financial stability, due to the potentially destabilizing effects of private capital realignment during a net zero transition.

Institutional change within the Bank is thus limited to extending its pre-existing function of mitigating risks to financial stability rather than facilitating decarbonization through market-shaping governance of the financial sector.

More information: James Jackson et al, 'Facilitating the transition to net zero' and institutional change in the Bank of England: Perceptions of the environmental mandate and its policy implications within the British state, The British Journal of Politics and International Relations (2023). DOI: 10.1177/13691481231189382

Provided by University of Manchester The delicate balance of setting central bank interest rates

City of Orlando buys Pulse nightclub property to memorialize victims


Brandon Wolf, a survivor of the Pulse nightclub shooting and an activist, looks at the photos that are a part of the Pulse memorial in Orlando, Fla., on Sept. 9, 2022.
(Cody Jackson / Associated Press)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

OCT. 25, 2023 

ORLANDO, Fla. —

The city of Orlando is moving forward with plans to create a memorial on the property of the Pulse nightclub, where 49 people were massacred seven years ago.

City leaders agreed Monday night to purchase the property for $2 million. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said they plan a collaborative approach, working with families of the victims to create the memorial.

A night of terror: How the Orlando nightclub shooting unfolded
June 13, 2016

On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen opened fire in the gay nightclub, killing 49 and wounding an additional 53 people. At the time, it was the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. But that number was surpassed the following year when 58 people were killed and more than 850 were injured among a crowd of 22,000 at a country music festival in Las Vegas.

A SWAT team killed Mateen, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, following a standoff.

BETTER TO DIE A JIHADI THEN TO LIVE QUEER

Plans to build the memorial had been in the works for years, but the nonprofit onePulse Foundation announced earlier this year that it was scaling back plans for a $100-million memorial following fundraising challenges

The building still stands, surrounded by a temporary display that honors the victims.

“We look forward to being a part of the discussion with the City of Orlando as this moves forward,” a statement from the onePulse Foundation said.