Future socialisms

Dr Niaz Murtaza

 November 26, 2024

DAWN

“SOCIALISM is dead; Long Live Socialism,” wrote fellow Berkeley scholar Roger Burbach in 1997, bravely predicting socialism’s rise in new forms even as older ones were falling. As capitalism’s damaging toll on humans expands hugely, the search for alternatives to the beast assumes urgency. Many think this means ending wage labour, profits and private capital, which they wrongly see as capitalism’s core.

But sociologist Karl Polyani argued that these had existed even before capitalism for long. Capitalism rose only in the 17th century when capital’s interests became society’s dominant logic to replace other human concerns, with a false promise that its sway ensures common welfare.

Capitalism expands its profits by penetrating all human spheres and coaxing humans to satisfy all their needs via markets that they are satisfying via family, community, state or nature for free, arguing that market solutions better cater to all human needs. But the ills of this idea, spread cunningly by owners of big capital, are visible now in high inequity, environmental loss, resource wars and irrelevance of millions of workers as AI spreads fast, as capital’s dehumanising interests hold sway even over human realms that transcend commercial logics. Thus, ending capital’s corrupting sway over all other human concerns is imperative.

Socialism is usually seen as a system with state-owned production assets. But Polyani’s insights about capitalism’s core inspire a new vision of socialism as a system with common welfare as its dominant logic/ aim (rather than an uncertain derived one as in capitalism) that allows all ownership forms that don’t nix common welfare. This vision can spawn many forms of socialism, as the plural in the title suggests. The Nordic model is a form built on private capital, with common welfare ensured via provision of public social services, big state investment in education, health, and other human capital services and strong labour-force protection via unions and safety nets.


Ending capital’s corrupting sway is imperative.

But poor states lack the globally competitive economies to generate enough taxes to fund a generous welfare state. They need a conjoint twin: a developmental-cum-welfare state where the first twin spawns an inclusive economy that gives income options to all able beings and the welfare twin that gives safety nets to the few labour-deficit beings. But new forms must avoid the ills of failed forms: over-centralised political and economic power that disempowers and disincentivises masses, kills energies and creativity and causes political autocracy and economic unproductivity.

Oddly, huge oligopolies are producing some such results even in capitalism that aged oligarchs did in former USSR. Donald Trump wants to keep afloat US oligarchies that can’t compete with efficient Chinese units, just as Soviet oligarchs tried against efficient US ones 50 years ago.

Politically, new forms must embrace multiparty democracy over a one-party system and disperse power horizontally and vertically. Empowered local bodies must empower community organisations to help gain market power, protection, assets, skills and social services. The economic system must be similarly devolved and encourage a wide range of ownership forms, ie, employee-owned, non-profit, producer cooperatives, dispersed ownership by different state levels and bodies and private companies, with a bias for micro, small and medium units.

The state must review the cause of poverty among small producers and labourers in rural and urban areas in different regions. Such bottom-up analysis will reveal not only the lack of economic and social investment by the state for such groups as key factors but also their exploitation and marginalisation by markets and local elites. This will give a wide, structural agenda that covers legislation, policies, strategies, projects, services and institutional reform at federal, provincial and local levels.

This major investment in poor regions will drive national progress as reduced poverty ignites win-win growth that benefits society. Our internal market is small, despite our large population, given low incomes. Increasing incomes will expand the national market size and profits for producers. This in turn will expand incomes for the poor and hence national market size and ignite a virtuous progress cycle. Local initiatives will tap local savings digitally to plough them into local investments. Smart regulation will replace deregulation and broader state units restructuring will replace only privatisation.

Such devolved and empowering socialisms will use the political and economic mobilisation of masses as the key force driving both a state and economy of the people, by the people and for the people.

The writer is a political economist with a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.
murtazaniaz@yahoo.com
X: @NiazMurtaza2

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2024

Pakistan web controls quash dissent and potential


By AFP
November 27, 2024


Copyright AFP Aamir QURESHI

Shrouq TARIQ, Juliette MANSOUR

Besieged by political turmoil, Pakistan’s government is turning to draconian internet censorship which threatens to cut the country off from a promising future, experts and citizens say.

Social media site X has been down since February, internet outages are becoming more common and severe, and web tools used to evade state censorship will soon be banned for personal use.

Analysts say the measures are ramping up as Islamabad is being challenged by supporters of jailed ex-prime minister Imran Khan, who commands the loyalty of legions of young and web-savvy Pakistanis.

Khan was barred from standing in February polls which his followers say were rigged, and they have defied a crackdown both online and offline to stage unruly protests calling for his release.

During clashes in the capital this week between security forces and over 10,000 Khan supporters, authorities blocked mobile data in much of the city and also severed home internet in some areas, citing security fears.

“Censorship and surveillance we are seeing right now in Pakistan is unprecedented and very sophisticated,” said Pakistani digital rights activist Usama Khilji.

“It’s creating frustration in society,” he told AFP

– ‘Wasting time’ –

Mobile internet outages have become common fixtures during protests by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party since he was ousted in 2022, but a home internet cut off is far more unusual.

The Interior Ministry said the measure was taken in the capital “only in areas with security concerns”.

Shahzad Arshad, head of the Wireless and Internet Service Providers Association of Pakistan, told AFP the measure was taken because “residents had opened their wifi” to demonstrators on previous marches.

But without a connection, Muhammad Fahim Khan, an assistant professor, said he suffered a double lockdown — unable either to reach his university in person or to teach remotely.

“Ongoing projects come to a halt due to internet outages,” the 37-year-old said. “Productivity and the quality of life have been quite ruined.”

Last year Pakistan was on the brink of default, saved only by bailouts from abroad, and the new government has touted tech as a potential economic lifeline for its recovery.

But student and blogger Khadija Rizvi said internet cuts “undeniably worse than ever before” have left her disillusioned about her prospects.

“The persistent internet outages have rendered it impossible to make any meaningful progress,” the 25-year-old said. “This internet shutdown feels like a complete waste of valuable time and potential.”

Thousands of food delivery drivers who scrape a living using online apps were also left without work during the capital protests, which subsided early on Wednesday.

– ‘Assistance in sin’ –

Islamabad is a city of just one million, but the other 240 million people in Pakistan have also suffered a grinding internet slowdown since August.

Digital analysts say the government has been testing a “firewall” that monitors some platforms and gives the power to block content, like photos or videos of rallies shared on WhatsApp.

Social media site X went dark after allegations of vote tampering circulated following elections, but government officials including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif continue to post there.

Many Pakistanis used Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) — tools masking the location where they are logging on — in order to circumvent restrictions.

VPNs are also vital for many online freelancers signing in to client networks abroad to earn a living virtually in professions like tech support or software development.

Nearly 2.4 million people work this way, according to the Pakistan Freelancers Association.

But this month the government’s Council of Islamic Ideology, which checks whether laws comply with religious teachings, declared them non-halal.

The chief cleric said they could be used as an “assistance in sin” to access sites with pornography or blasphemous content, both banned in Pakistan.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has said starting from December 1 all VPNs must be registered or blocked, and that only commercial use will be allowed.

Freelancers have been cleared to apply, but they must have the backing of an employer and provide their personal data to the state, increasing the potential for surveillance according to experts.

“Pakistan is working to strengthen its digital economy while simultaneously taking draconian steps to police online content,” said Michael Kugelman, South Asia Institute director at The Wilson Center.

“This is a textbook case of shooting yourself in the foot. Both feet in fact.”

Policing the internet

DAWN
Editorial 

November 27, 2024 

IT is chilling to witness how Pakistan — a nation that embraced the freedoms of modern democracy, and the tech that came with it — has descended into echoing the darkest chapters of authoritarian history. The escalating digital clampdown, including the planned blocking of non-commercial VPNs by Nov 30 and the deployment of a China-inspired ‘national firewall’, signals this disturbing descent. Of late, WhatsApp outages preventing messages, images, and videos from being sent have added to the chaos, affecting millions of users. X, Instagram and TikTok were affected long before. The government claims these measures will combat illegal content, obscenity, and ‘digital terrorism’, but its underlying motivations appear far more politically charged. The timing of these moves usually coincides with heightened political tensions, particularly protests by supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan. The ‘firewall’ — or the Web Management System — reportedly equipped with intrusive Deep Packet Inspection technology, enables granular monitoring of internet activity and selective blocking of content. While officials frame this as a tool to safeguard national security, critics argue it is aimed at silencing dissent and controlling narratives. In a political climate where mainstream media is far from free, social media has become a critical outlet for public expression.

The ramifications are profound. Pakistan’s thriving IT sector, growing at 30pc annually, is under severe threat. Industry leaders warn that the VPN ban risks alienating Fortune 500 clients, causing massive financial and reputational losses, and forcing companies to relocate. Freelancers and small business owners, who rely on uninterrupted connectivity for global contracts, are already struggling due to frequent internet throttling. This is no way to achieve the ambitious target of raising IT exports to $25bn. Moreover, the deployment of the firewall, lacking transparency and legal safeguards, undermines user privacy and has already slowed internet speeds due to its intrusive ‘in-line’ monitoring. These measures mimic the worst elements of dictatorships, where controlling dissent takes precedence over economic and civil liberties. Instead of emulating restrictive models, the government must focus on addressing public grievances and restoring democratic freedoms. Stakeholder engagement, transparent regulations, and targeted approaches to national security concerns are essential. Suppressing dissent through draconian measures will only deepen public distrust, isolate Pakistan in the global digital economy, and fuel further unrest. Freedom and progress, not fear and control, must guide our digital future.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2024

THE MOST MORAL ARMY IN THE WORLD

Winter rains pile misery on war-torn Gaza’s displaced


By AFP
November 26, 2024

With many residents of Gaza displaced by the war, often living in cramped tent camps, the coming winter is a cause for concern - Copyright AFP/File Isabella BONOTTO

At a crowded camp in Gaza for those displaced by the war between Israel and Hamas, Ayman Siam laid concrete blocks around his tent to keep his family dry as rain threatened more misery.

“I’m trying to protect my tent from the rainwater because we are expecting heavy rain. Three days ago when it rained, we were drenched,” Siam said, seeking to shield his children and grandchildren from more wet weather.

Siam is among thousands sheltering at Gaza City’s Yarmuk sports stadium in the north after being uprooted by the Israel-Hamas war.

He lives in one of many flimsy tents set up at the stadium, where the pitch has become a muddy field dotted with puddles left by rainfall that washed away belongings and shelters.

People in the stadium dug small trenches around their tents, covered them with plastic sheets, and did whatever they could to stop the water from entering their makeshift homes.

Others used spades to direct the water into drains, as grey skies threatened more rain.



– ‘Catastrophic’ –



The majority of Gaza’s 2.4 million people have been displaced, often multiple times, by the war that began with Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

With many displaced living in tent camps, the coming winter is raising serious concerns.

Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza’s civil defence agency, told AFP that “tens of thousands of displaced people, especially in the central and south of Gaza Strip, are suffering from flooded tents due to the rains”, and called on the international community to provide tents and aid.

International aid organisations have sounded the alarm about the deteriorating situation as winter approaches.

“It’s going to be catastrophic,” warned Louise Wateridge, an emergency officer for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees currently in Gaza.

“People don’t have anything that they need,” she said from Gaza City. “They haven’t had basic, basic, basic things for 13 months, not food, not water, not shelter,” she added.

“It’s going to be miserable, it’s going to be very desperate.”

The rainy period in Gaza lasts between late October and April, with January being the wettest month, averaging 30 to 40 millimetres of rain.

Winter temperatures can drop as low as six degrees Celsius (42 Fahrenheit).

Recent rain has flooded hundreds of tents near the coast in Deir el-Balah, in central Gaza, as well as in Khan Yunis and Rafah in the south, according to Gaza’s civil defence.



– ‘Nothing left’ –



Auni al-Sabea, living in a tent in Deir el-Balah, was among those bearing the brunt of the weather without proper accommodation.

“The rain and seawater flooded all the tents. We are helpless. The water took everything from the tent, including the mattresses, blankets and a water jug. We were only able to get a mattress and blankets for the children,” said the displaced man.

“Now, we are in the street and we have nothing left,” said the 40-year-old from Al-Shati Camp.

At the stadium, Umm Ahmed Saliha showed the water that pooled under her tent during morning prayers. “All of this is from this morning’s rain and winter hasn’t even started properly.”

Hamas’s attack on October 7 last year resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed 44,235 people in Gaza, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

bur-az-phy-raz/dcp/dv

Landmine victims gather to protest US decision to supply Ukraine


By AFP
November 26, 2024

Activists and landmine survivors hold placards decrying the US decision to supply anti-personnel landmines to Ukrainian forces - Copyright AFP TANG CHHIN Sothy

Landmine victims from across the world gathered at a conference in Cambodia on Tuesday to protest the United States’ decision to give landmines to Ukraine, with Kyiv’s delegation expected to report at the meet.

More than 100 protesters lined the walkway taken by delegates to the conference venue in Siem Reap where countries are reviewing progress on the the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Treaty.

“Look what antipersonnel landmines will do to your people,” read one placard held by two landmine victims.

Alex Munyambabazi, who lost a leg to a landmine in northern Uganda in 2005, said he “condemned” the decision by the US to supply antipersonnel mines to Kyiv as it battles Russian forces.

“We are tired. We don’t want to see any more victims like me, we don’t want to see any more suffering,” he told AFP.

“Every landmine planted is a child, a civilian, a woman, who is just waiting for their legs to be blown off, for his life to be taken.

“I am here to say we don’t want any more victims. No excuses, no exceptions.”

Washington’s announcement last week that it would send anti-personnel landmines to Kyiv was immediately criticised by human rights campaigners.

Ukraine is a signature to the treaty. The United States and Russia are not.

Ukraine using the US mines would be in “blatant disregard for their obligations under the mine ban treaty,” said Tamar Gabelnick, director of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

“These weapons have no place in today’s warfare,” she told AFP.

“[Ukraine’s] people have suffered long enough from the horrors of these weapons.”

A Ukrainian delegation was present at the conference on Tuesday, and it was expected to present its report on progress in clearing mines on its territory.

Ukraine says cannot meet landmine destruction pledge due to Russia invasion


By AFP
November 26, 2024


Ukraine will not fulfil a commitment to destroy a stockpile of around 6 million landmines left over from the Soviet Union because of Russia’s invasion, a defence official said on Tuesday.

The commitment made in connection with the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention’s Oslo Action Plan is “currently not possible” due to Russia’s invasion, Yevhenii Kivshyk of Ukraine’s defence ministry told a landmine conference in Cambodia.

Arsenals and other sites where anti-personnel mines are stored “have been under constant air and missile strikes by the armed forces of the Russian Federation”, he said.

“In addition, some of them are in the territories that are currently under occupation by the Russian armed forces,” Kivshyk said.

Therefore there was “no possibility whatsoever to conduct audit and verification of the anti-personnel mine stocks”.

Ukraine is a signatory of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention and has committed to destroying its stockpile of landmines.

It has previously missed deadlines to destroy its stockpile.

Last week Washington announced that it would send anti-personnel landmines to Kyiv to help its forces battle Russian troops, a decision immediately criticised by human rights campaigners.

The United States and Russia are not signatories to the anti-landmine convention.

Kivshyk made no mention of the US offer to Ukraine during his speech to the conference in Cambodia’s Siem Reap.



– ‘Look what mines do’ –



Landmine victims from across the world gathered at the meeting to protest the US decision.

More than 100 demonstrators lined the walkway taken by delegates to the conference venue where countries are reviewing progress on the anti-personnel mine ban treaty.

“Look what antipersonnel landmines will do to your people,” read one placard held by two landmine victims.

Alex Munyambabazi, who lost a leg to a landmine in northern Uganda in 2005, said he “condemned” the decision by the United States to supply anti-personnel mines to Kyiv.

“We are tired. We don’t want to see any more victims like me, we don’t want to see any more suffering,” he told AFP.

“Every landmine planted is a child, a civilian, a woman, who is just waiting for their legs to be blown off, for his life to be taken.

“I am here to say we don’t want any more victims. No excuses, no exceptions.”

Ukraine using the US mines would be in “blatant disregard for their obligations under the mine ban treaty”, said Tamar Gabelnick, director of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines.

“These weapons have no place in today’s warfare,” she told AFP.

Ukrainians “have suffered long enough from the horrors of these weapons”.

Fewest new HIV cases since late 1980s: UNAIDS report


By AFP
November 26, 2024

Around 1.3 million people acquired the disease in 2023, according to the new report

 - Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File CHIP SOMODEVILLA

Daniel Lawler and Julien Dury

Fewer people contracted HIV last year than at any point since the rise of the disease in the late 1980s, the United Nations said Tuesday, warning that this decline was still far too slow.

Around 1.3 million people contracted the disease in 2023, according to the new report from the UNAIDS agency.

That is still more than three times higher than needed to reach the UN’s goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

Around 630,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses last year, the lowest level since a peak of 2.1 million in 2004, the report said ahead of World AIDS Day on Sunday.

Much of the progress was attributed to antiretroviral treatments that can reduce the amount of the virus in the blood of patients.

Out of the nearly 40 million people living with HIV around the world, some 9.3 million are not receiving treatment, the report warned.

And despite the global progress, 28 countries recorded an increase in HIV infections last year.

Efforts to make preventative treatment called Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) available in these countries has seen “very slow progress”, the report pointed out.

“Only 15 percent of people who need PrEP were receiving it in 2023,” the report said.

UNAIDS deputy director Christine Stegling said that “progress has been driven by biomedical advances, advances in the protection of human rights and by community activism”.

“But big gaps in the protection of human rights remain, and these gaps are keeping the world from getting on the path that ends AIDS,” she told an online press conference.

She warned that if current trends continue, “we will end up with a much, much higher number of people living with HIV, long after 2030”.

UNAIDS emphasised how laws and practices that “discriminate against or stigmatise” people with HIV were hindering the fight against the disease.

It pointed to how Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, one of the harshest anti-gay laws in the world, led to sharp drop in PrEP access since coming into force last year.

Axel Bautista, a gay rights activist from Mexico City, pointed out that same-sex relations are banned in 63 countries.

“Criminalisation exacerbates fear, persecution, hate, violence and discrimination and has a negative impact on public health,” he told the press conference.

– ‘Game-changer’ new drug –

A new drug called lenacapavir, which early trials have found is 100 percent effective in preventing HIV infection, has been hailed as a potential game-changer in the battle against the disease.

But concerns have been raised over its high price — US pharmaceutical giant Gilead has been charging around $40,000 per person per a year for the drug in some countries.

Last month Gilead announced deals with generic drugmakers to make and sell the drug at lower costs in some lower-income countries. However activists have warned that millions of people with HIV will not be covered by the deals.

Stegling said that such “game-changers will really only get us to the right reduction in new infections when we make sure that everybody will have access to them”.

UNAIDS executive director Winnie Byanyima did not attend the press conference.

Byanyima revealed last week that her husband, veteran Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye, was “kidnapped” in neighbouring Kenya earlier this month.

UN rights chief Volker Turk has been among those calling for the Ugandan government to release Besigye, who appeared in a military court in the capital Kampala last week.

CAPPLETALI$M

Indonesia rejects Apple’s $100 million investment offer


By AFP
November 26, 2024

Apple's new iPhone 16 is not available in Indonesian stores, despite the tech giant's offer of $100 million in investments - Copyright AFP Frederic J. BROWN

Indonesia has rejected an Apple $100 million investment proposal aimed at lifting a ban on iPhone 16 sales, saying it lacks the “fairness” required by the government.

Indonesia last month prohibited the marketing and sale of the iPhone 16 model over Apple’s failure to meet local investment regulations requiring that 40 percent of phones be made from local parts as the country seeks to boost investments from giant tech companies.

Following the ban, Apple offered to increase its investments in Indonesia by $100 million to allow the new phone to be sold domestically.

But Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita said Apple had not met the government’s requirements, especially when compared with the tech giant’s investments in other countries.

“Currently, Apple still has not invested in production facilities or factories in Indonesia,” he said in a statement released late Monday.

He said the ministry urged Apple to immediately set up a production facility or factory in Indonesia “based on the fairness principles” so the company does not have to file an investment scheme proposal every three years.

Despite the sales ban, the Indonesian government still allows iPhone 16 to be carried into Indonesia if they are not being traded commercially.

The government estimates about 9,000 units of the new model have entered the country that way.

Indonesia also banned the sale of Google Pixel phones for failing to meet the 40 percent parts requirement.

About 22,000 Google Pixel phones entered the country this year despite the ban.

IMPERIALISM

Bolivia announces $1 bn deal with China to build lithium plants

By AFP
November 26, 2024

The plants are to be situated in Bolivia's vast Uyuni salt flats

 - Copyright AFP/File Aizar RALDES

Bolivia said Tuesday it had signed a $1 billion deal with China’s CBC, a subsidiary of the world’s largest lithium battery producer CATL, to build two lithium carbonate production plants in the country’s southwest.

Bolivia’s state-owned Bolivia Lithium Deposits (YLB) said the plants — one with an annual capacity of 10,000 tons of lithium carbonate and the other of 25,000 – would be situated in the vast Uyuni salt flats.

Lithium, nicknamed “white gold,” is a key component in the production of batteries for electric vehicles and mobile phones.

Bolivia claims to have the world’s largest lithium deposits.

President Luis Arce, who presided over Tuesday’s signing ceremony, said it paved the way for Bolivia to become “a very important player in determining the international price of lithium.”

The deal follows an earlier agreement reached last year between Russia’s Uranium One Group and YLB to build a $970 million lithium extraction facility, also in Uyuni.

Both deals have yet to be approved by Bolivia’s parliament.

Arce announced that negotiations were underway with China’s Citic Guoan Group for a third contract.

“We hope to close that deal as soon as possible,” he said.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Adani Group says it lost nearly $55 bn as US charges sparked rout


By AFP
November 26, 2024

Adani denies the allegations made by US prosecutors - Copyright AFP Sam PANTHAKY

India’s Adani Group conglomerate said Wednesday it had lost almost $55 billion in a stock market rout since US prosecutors last week accused its founder and other officials of fraud.

The November 20 bombshell indictment in New York accused billionaire industrialist founder Gautam Adani and multiple subordinates of deliberately misleading international investors as part of a bribery scheme.

It said they had “devised a scheme to offer, authorise, make and promise to make bribes payments to Indian government officials”.

The firm, which denies the charges, said in a statement on Wednesday: “Since the intimation of the US DoJ (Department of Justice) indictment, the group has suffered a loss of near $55 billion in its market capitalisation across its 11 listed companies.”

Gautam Adani, 62, is suspected of having participated in the $250 million scheme in bribes to secure lucrative government contracts.

Adani Group issued a stiff denial, describing the charges as “baseless”, but it triggered a heavy sell-off of Adani stocks in Mumbai last week, with multiple trading halts.

Stocks in Adani Enterprises rose 1.8 percent on Wednesday, but the group’s key firm has lost more than 20 percent of its market capitalisation since the indictment was released.

A statement on Wednesday said Adani officials are “only charged” with securities fraud, wire fraud conspiracy and securities fraud. It denies all the charges.

It said it was “incorrect” to say that either Gautam Adani or his nephew Sagar Adani had been charged with bribery or corruption.

Adani is a close ally of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was at one point the world’s second-richest man, and critics have long accused him of improperly benefitting from their relationship.

– ‘Significant repercussions’ –

The group said the action had led to “significant repercussions”, including “international project cancellations, financial market impact and sudden examination from strategic partners, investors and the public”.

That included in Kenya, where President William Ruto said the Adani Group would no longer be involved in plans to expand the East African country’s electricity network and its main airport.

The Adani Group was to invest $1.85 billion in Jomo Kenyatta airport and $736 million in state-owned utility KETRACO.

Sri Lanka has opened an investigation into the local investments of the group, including a $442 million wind power deal and an Adani-led deep-sea port terminal in Colombo, which is estimated to cost more than $700 million.

With a business empire spanning coal, airports, cement and media, Adani Group has weathered previous corporate fraud allegations and suffered a similar stock rout last year.

The conglomerate saw $150 billion wiped from its market value in 2023 after a report by short-seller Hindenburg Research accused it of “brazen” corporate fraud.

Adani denied Hindenburg’s allegations and called its report a “deliberate attempt” to damage its image for the benefit of short-sellers.

Adani Group’s rapid expansion into capital-intensive businesses has raised alarms in the past, with Fitch subsidiary and market researcher CreditSights in 2022 warning it was “deeply over-leveraged”.

Adani, who was born to a middle-class family in Ahmedabad, Gujarat state, dropped out of school at 16 and moved to Mumbai to find work in the financial capital’s lucrative gem trade.

After a short stint in his brother’s plastics business, he launched the flagship family conglomerate that bears his name in 1988 by branching out into the export trade.

Five forgotten conflicts of 2024

 
By AFP
November 26, 2024

The UN has repeatedly warned that Sudan is facing the world's worst displacement crisis, as the war shows no signs of abating and the spectre of famine haunts the country - Copyright AFP/File GUY PETERSON

Emilie BICKERTON

The wars in the Mideast and Ukraine-Russia have dominated world headlines in 2024 but several other conflicts are ravaging countries and regions.

Here we turn the spotlight on five of those:



– Sudan –



War has raged in Sudan since April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The conflict has left tens of thousands dead and some 26 million people — around half of Sudan’s population — facing severe food insecurity.

Both sides have been accused of war crimes, including targeting civilians and blocking humanitarian aid. The RSF specifically have been accused of ethnic cleansing, rampant looting and systematic sexual violence.

In October the UN alerted the “staggering scale” of sexual violence rampant since the start of the conflict.



– Haiti –



The situation in Haiti, already dire after decades of chronic political instability, escalated further at the end of February when armed groups launched coordinated attacks in the capital, saying they wanted to overthrow then-prime minister Ariel Henry.

Since then, gangs now control 80 percent of the capital Port-au-Prince and despite a Kenyan-led police support mission, backed by the US and UN, violence has continued to soar.

In November the UN said the verified casualty toll of the gang violence so far this year was 4,544 dead and the real toll, it stressed, “is likely higher still”.

Particularly violent acts target women and girls, and victims have been mutilated with machetes, stoned, decapitated, burned or buried alive.

More than 700,000 people have fled the horror, half of them children, according to the International Organization for Migration.



– Democratic Republic of Congo –



The mineral-rich region of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, home to a string of rival rebel groups, has endured internal and cross-border violence for over 30 years.

Since launching an offensive in 2021, a largely Tutsi militia known as the March 23 movement or M23 — named after a previous peace agreement — has seized large swathes of territory.

The resurgence of M23 has intensified a decades-long humanitarian disaster in the region caused by conflicts, epidemics and poverty, notably in the province of North Kivu.

Over half a million people have fled to camps surrounding the regional capital, Goma, pushing the total number of displaced in North Kivu to about 2.4 million, according to Human Rights Watch in September.

M23 is backed by the Rwandan government which believes the presence in eastern DRC of a Hutu extremist group constitutes a threat to its borders.



– Sahel –



In Africa’s volatile Sahel region, Islamist groups, rebel outfits and armed gangs rule the roost.

In Nigeria in 2009 Boko Haram, one of the main jihadist organisations in the Sahel region, launched an insurgency that left more than 40,000 people dead and displaced two million.

Boko Haram has since spread to neighbouring countries in West Africa.

For example, the vast expanse of water and swamps in the Lake Chad region’s countless islets serve as hideouts for Boko Haram and its offshoot Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), who carry out regular attacks on the country’s army and civilians.

Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger also face persistent jihadist attacks, while any opposition to the military-led governments is repressed.

Since January, jihadist attacks have caused nearly 7,000 civilian and military deaths in Burkina Faso, more than 1,500 in Niger and more than 3,600 in Mali, according to Acled — an NGO which collects data on violent conflict.

And in a further sign of the region’s chronic instability, in July the West African bloc ECOWAS warned the Sahel faced “disintegration” after the military rulers of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso cemented a breakaway union.



– Myanmar –



The Southeast Asian nation has been gripped in a bloody conflict since 2021 when the military ousted the democratically elected government led by Nobel laureate Aung Sang Suu Kyi, who has been detained by the junta since the coup.

A bitter civil war has followed causing the death of more than 5,300 people and the displacement of some 3.3 million, according to the UN.

The military have faced growing resistance from rebel groups across the country.

In recent months rebels attacked Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, and took control of the key road linking Myanmar with China — its main trading partner — and in doing so deprived the junta of a key source of revenue.

ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrant for Myanmar junta chief


By AFP
November 27, 2024

The International Criminal Court tries suspected war criminals

 - Copyright ANP/AFP Laurens van PUTTEN
Jan HENNOP

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor on Wednesday asked judges to grant an arrest warrant for Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing over alleged crimes against humanity committed against Rohingya Muslims.

Karim Khan’s request to the court’s Hague-based judges is the first application for an arrest warrant against a high-level Myanmar government official in connection with abuses against the Rohingya people.

“After an extensive, independent and impartial investigation, my office has concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Senior General and Acting President Min Aung Hlaing… bears criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity,” Khan said in a statement.

This included crimes of deportation and persecution, allegedly committed between 25 August and 31 December 2017, Khan said.

A junta spokesman did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The ICC prosecutor in 2019 opened a probe into suspected crimes committed against the Rohingya in Myanmar’s restive Rakhine state in 2016 and 2017, that prompted the exodus of 750,000 of the Muslim minority in the southeast Asian country to neighbouring Bangladesh.

About one million Rohingya now live in sprawling camps near the Bangladesh border city of Cox’s Bazaar. Many of those who left accuse the Myanmar military of mass killings and rapes.

– ‘More will follow’ –

Khan said the alleged crimes were committed by Myanmar’s armed forces, the Tatmadaw, supported by the national and border police “as well as non-Rohingya citizens.”

“This is the first application for an arrest warrant against a high-level Myanmar government official,” Khan said.

“More will follow,” warned the prosecutor.

Myanmar has been racked by conflict between the military and various armed groups opposed to its rule since the army ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in February 2021.

The junta is reeling from a major rebel offensive last year that seized a large area of territory, much of it near the border with China.

Earlier this month, Min Aung Hlaing told China’s Premier Li Qiang that the military was ready for peace if armed groups would engage, according to an account of the meeting in the Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).

– ‘Cycle of abuses’ –

A military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017 sent hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fleeing into neighbouring Bangladesh, many with harrowing stories of murder, rape and arson.

Rohingya who remain in Myanmar are denied citizenship and access to healthcare and require permission to travel outside their townships.

Min Aung Hlaing — who was head of the army during the crackdown — has dismissed the term Rohingya as “imaginary”.

ICC judges must now decide whether to grant the arrest warrants. If granted, the 124 members of the ICC would theoretically be obliged to arrest the junta chief if he travelled to their country.

China, a major ally and arms supplier of Myanmar’s ruling junta, is not an ICC member.

Khan’s request comes just days after the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his ex defence minister and a top Hamas leader over the war in Gaza.

Rights groups applauded Khan’s Myanmar move, saying it was “an important step toward breaking the cycle of abuses and impunity that has long been a key factor in fuelling the military’s mass violations.”

“The judges will rule on the prosecutor’s request, but ICC member countries should recognise this action as a reminder of the court’s critical role when other doors to justice are closed,” said Maria Elena Vignoli, a senior international lawyer Human Rights Watch.

Opening its doors in 2002, the Hague-based ICC is an independent court, set up to investigate and prosecute those accused of the world’s worst crimes.

Rohingya ‘happy’ at ICC request for Myanmar junta chief warrant


By AFP
November 27, 2024

Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing. - Copyright AFP/File STR
Tanbirul Miraj RIPON

For Rohingya refugees who fled brutal violence in Myanmar, the announcement Wednesday that the International Criminal Court prosecutor was seeking an arrest warrant for the junta chief sparked celebrations.

“We are happy to hear about ICC issuing an arrest warrant against the Myanmar military commander Min Aung Hlaing,” said Rohingya civil society leader Sayod Alam, living in the cramped refugee camps across the border in Bangladesh.

“It’s a success for us.”

Around a million members of the stateless and persecuted Muslim minority live in a sprawling patchwork of Bangladeshi relief camps of Cox’s Bazar, after fleeing killings in their homeland next door in Myanmar.

Min Aung Hlaing — who was head of the army during the 2017 crackdown, now the subject of a UN genocide investigation — has dismissed the term Rohingya as “imaginary”.

The Rohingya endured decades of discrimination in Myanmar, where successive governments classified them as illegal immigrants despite their long history in the country.

ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan on Wednesday requested the court’s Hague-based judges to grant an arrest warrant for Min Aung Hlaing for alleged crimes against humanity committed against Rohingya.

Rohingya community school teacher Senoara Khatun said she was “happy”.

“The Rohingya were waiting for this,” she said. “I hope every criminal will be brought to justice by the ICC under the law… to take more steps to make them accountable and punish them.”

It is the first application for an arrest warrant against a high-level Myanmar government official in connection with abuses against the Rohingya people.

– ‘Still not safe’ –

“Issuing an arrest warrant is good news for us,” said Maung Sayodullah, leader of a civil rights organisation in Cox’s Bazar. “He is the key perpetrator of the 2017 genocide against the Rohingya people.”

But Sayodullah said the violence continued in his original home of Rakhine state, riven by war between Arakan Army (AA) forces and the junta troops.

The region is spiralling towards famine, according to the United Nations.

“We are still not safe in our homeland, Rakhine,” he said, calling for action to stop fighting.

ICC judges must now decide whether to grant the arrest warrants.

If granted, the 124 members of the ICC would theoretically be obliged to arrest the junta chief if he travelled to their country.

Alam, the civil society activist has more immediate concerns than the slow grinding cogs of international justice.

“We want to go back home,” he said. “The international community should work to return us to our home country, Myanmar… for our repatriation, security, and dignity.”

Spain govt defends flood response and offers new aid

By AFP
November 27, 2024


Flood-damaged homes line the river in Chiva in Spain's eastern region of Valencia - Copyright AFP JOSE JORDAN

Daniel SILVA

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday announced almost 2.3 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in new aid for Spain’s flood-stricken region and defended his government’s handling of the deadly disaster last month.

The European country is still reeling from the October 29 floods which killed at least 230 people according to the latest official toll, washing away roads and destroying homes and businesses.

The disaster prompted widespread fury at elected leaders over their handling of the crisis which mainly affected the eastern region of Valencia.

Under Spain’s decentralised state, regions are in charge of disaster management, but the events have triggered a blame game between Sanchez’s leftist administration and the conservative regional government of Valencia.

“The question is whether the Spanish government has fulfilled its responsibilities and the answer is that it has done so,” Sanchez told parliament.

“It has done so from the outset and continues to do so and will continue to do so for as long as necessary.”

The central government has said the regional authorities took too long to convene an emergency coordination meeting on the storm and to send out a mass alert.

The regional government sent emergency alerts to mobile phones when water was already gushing through some towns.

But regional government head Carlos Mazon, of the main opposition Popular Party, has said he received “insufficient, inaccurate and late” information from the state weather agency and a central government authority responsible for monitoring flood risks.

Sanchez denied state bodies did not provide enough information, saying the state weather office AEMET had warned for days of the risk of heavy rain.

He also denied that Spain’s decentralised system of government “has failed”.

“I think that some of its parts have failed and above all some people in very high positions who have not lived up to their responsibilities,” he said in what was seen as a reference to Mazon.



– ‘Not admit mistakes’ –



Sanchez announced a fresh package of 60 measures for stricken citizens worth nearly 2.3 billion euros that brought the total aid provided in the wake of the disaster to 16.6 billion euros.

It includes 465 million euros to help people replace damaged cars and 19 million euros to replace textbooks and other school materials.

Outrage over the flood action triggered mass protests on November 9, the largest in Valencia city which drew 130,000 people.

Fresh demonstrations are called for this weekend.

Sanchez said he was “absolutely open” to the creation of a parliamentary commission of inquiry to look into the state response to the floods but that it was “not yet the right time”.

Mazon hit back at Sanchez, saying it was “surprising” that the central government “does not admit any mistakes”, and complained that part of the aid the premier announced is in the form of interest-bearing loans.

Mazon has also come under fire for attending a three-hour lunch with a journalist on the day of the disaster.

Sanchez added that the disaster showed “climate change kills” and lashed out at the scepticism expressed by part of the Spanish right which he said “must be rejected”.

Because a warmer atmosphere holds more water, sci

RIP

Spain factory explosion kills three, injures seven


By AFP
November 27, 2024


A firefighter stands next to a partially collapsed factory after an explosion killed three people in the town of Ibi

 - Copyright AFP Manuel Lorenzo

An explosion in a plastics factory near the southeastern Spanish city of Alicante killed three people and injured seven on Wednesday, emergency services said.

A boiler exploded in an industrial estate in the town of Ibi, triggering “a shockwave” that affected the factory and an adjacent firm, said Alberto Martin, director general of the eastern Valencia region’s emergency service.

One of the victims was from the neighbouring company and three people were in a serious condition, he told reporters at the scene.

Valencia emergency services had written on X that seven people were injured overall.

Firefighters, ambulances and forensics experts were deployed around the partially collapsed factory from which rescue workers carried a body covered with a white sheet, an AFP journalist saw.

A gigantic heap of plastic and wooden pallets had spilled out of gaping holes in the walls of warped metal.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed the government’s “full support” to the victims, workers and rescuers during an address to parliament.

Ibi town council announced three days of mourning.

The company using the factory, Industrias Climber, produces expanded polystyrene, a foam that protects packaged goods.

Hand-built fantasy tower brings value to Tokyo, creator says


By AFP
November 26, 2024

Pedestrians walk past the four-storey Arimaston Building created by Japanese architect Keisuke Oka in Tokyo

 - Copyright AFP Richard A. Brooks

Andrew MCKIRDY

Passers-by stop and stare at the ramshackle, hand-built concrete tower that looks like it has been lifted right out of a Japanese animation and dropped onto a real-life Tokyo street.

Its creator, who spent almost 20 years making the distinctive four-storey Arimaston Building, thinks his slow approach to construction can be an example to the world.

“It used to be that there weren’t enough things in the world, but now there are too many,” 59-year-old Keisuke Oka told AFP inside the building’s curved grey walls.

“We need to stop mass-producing things and find another way, otherwise we’ll be in trouble.”

With its wobbly lines and weird, wonderful ornamentation, Oka’s building has been compared to the animated Studio Ghibli movie “Howl’s Moving Castle”.

The architect himself has been dubbed the Gaudi of Mita, referencing the famed Spanish architect and the Tokyo area where Arimaston Building is located.

Inspired by Japan’s avant-garde butoh dance, Oka made up the design as he went along.

Growing up, he felt buildings in Japan’s towns and cities looked “very sad and devoid of life”, as if they were “all designed on a computer”.

“The person who constructs a building and the person who designs a building are very far apart,” he said.

“In order to give the building some life, I thought I would try to think and build together at the same time.”



– High-rise contrast –



Oka started construction in 2005. Apart from the help of a few friends, he made the entire building himself by hand.

He claims the concrete — which he mixed himself — is of such high quality that it will last for over 200 years.

Oka says the structure is basically finished. He plans to live in the top three storeys and use the ground and basement floors as a studio and exhibition space.

When he started, he had no idea the project would take almost two decades.

“I thought with the ability I had, I could do it in three years,” he said, explaining that the improvised nature of his design brought constant challenges.

Oka grew up in rural Japan and was an exceptional architecture student who was told by his teachers he would go a long way.

He suffered a physical breakdown in his 30s and gave up architecture for a while, before his wife persuaded him to buy a small plot and build a house.

He says making Arimaston Building has restored his confidence, and he enjoys the amazed reaction of people walking past.

“It’s very easy to understand the contrast with the high-rise buildings right behind it,” he said.

“I think there is some value that the city can take from it.”


– Throw-away society –


Arimaston Building stands alone on a sloped street, making it all the more striking.

The area is undergoing large-scale redevelopment, and the apartments that once stood next door have been demolished.

As part of the changes, Oka’s building is scheduled to be moved 10 metres backwards in a process that involves transporting the entire structure on rails.

Once that is complete, he intends to move in and continue working on the finishing touches, alongside his university teaching jobs.

Amid all the upheaval in the area, Oka hopes people will be able to see the value of making something by hand.

He says he was inspired by his upbringing, when his mother made clothes for the family because they couldn’t afford to buy them.

“More than half of the clothes we make now, we throw away, he said, describing a world “overflowing with things”.

“We need to start making things at a slower pace,” Oka said.

COP29 president blames rich countries for ‘imperfect’ deal


By AFP
November 26, 2024

COP29 president Mukhtar Babayev conceded that the deal was insufficient to meet escalating needs - Copyright AFP/File STRINGER

The tough-fought finance deal at UN climate negotiations was “imperfect”, the Azerbaijan COP29 leadership has admitted, seeking to blame richer countries for an outcome slammed by poorer nations as insulting.

The contentious deal agreed on Sunday saw wealthy polluters agree to a $300 billion a year pledge to help developing countries reduce emissions and prepare for the increasingly dangerous impacts of a warming world.

COP29 president Mukhtar Babayev conceded that the deal was insufficient to meet escalating needs and suggested that China would have agreed to stump up more cash had others agreed to budge.

Writing in Britain’s Guardian newspaper on Monday he said wealthy historical emitters had been “immovable” until very late in the negotiating process.

“This deal may be imperfect. It does not keep everyone happy. But it is a major step forward from the $100 billion pledged in Paris back in 2015,” he said.

“It is also the deal that almost didn’t happen.”

Azerbaijan, an authoritarian oil and gas exporter, came under heavy criticism for its handling of COP29, notably France and Germany.

Babayev banged the deal through in the early hours of Sunday after nearly two weeks of fractious negotiations that at one point appeared on the verge of collapse.

As soon as the deal was approved, India, Bolivia, Nigeria and Malawi, speaking on behalf of the 45-strong Least Developed Countries group, took to the floor to denounce it.

Finance was always going to be a thorny issue for the nearly 200 nations that gathered in a sports stadium in Baku to hammer out a new target by 2035.

Wealthy countries failed to meet the previous goal on time, causing cratering trust in the UN climate process.

COP29 did set out a wider target of $1.3 trillion per year by 2035 to help developing nations pay for the energy transition and brace themselves for worsening climate impacts.

The deal envisages that $300 billion mobilised by wealthy nations will be combined with funds from the private sector and financial institutions like the World Bank to reach this larger sum.

But Babayev said he agreed with developing nations that “the industrialised world’s contribution was too low and that the private sector contribution was too theoretical”.

Contrasting China’s involvement in the negotiations with that of wealthy historical emitters like the European Union and United States, he said Beijing was “willing to offer more if others did so too (but the others didn’t)”.

China, the world’s second-biggest economy and top emitter of greenhouse gases, is considered a developing country in the UN process and is therefore not obliged to pay up, although it does already provide climate funding on its own terms.

The new text states that developed nations would be “taking the lead” but implies that others could join.

Babayev said the deal was “not enough”, but would provide a foundation to build on in the lead up to next year’s climate talks in Brazil.

Plastic pollution talks must speed up, chair warns


By AFP
November 27, 2024

Plastic production is expected to triple by 2060 

- Copyright YONHAP/AFP -

Sara Hussein and Roland de Courson

Negotiators must move “significantly” faster to agree on a landmark treaty to curb plastic pollution, the diplomat chairing the talks warned Wednesday, as countries lined up to express frustration about the limited progress.

Nearly 200 countries are gathered in South Korea’s Busan city with the goal of agreeing a deal by the end of the week.

The process caps two years of talks over four previous rounds of negotiations that have been stalled by deep divisions about what the treaty should look like.

Addressing negotiators on the third day of talks, Luis Vayas Valdivieso warned work was not advancing quickly enough.

“I must be honest with you, progress has been too slow. We need to speed up our work significantly,” the Ecuadorian diplomat said.

“We must accelerate our efforts to reach consensus on the binding instrument by December first.”

His call was followed by a string of frustrated speeches from countries including Fiji, Panama, Norway and Colombia.

“While we here sit debating over semantics and procedures, the crisis worsens,” warned Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, Panama’s special representative for climate change.

“We are here because microplastics have been found in the placentas of healthy women… We are literally raising a generation that starts its life polluted, before taking its first breath.”

He accused negotiators of “tiptoeing around the truth, sidestepping ambition and ignoring the urgency that demands action” in remarks that received loud applause.

– ‘We are sincere’ –

Other representatives accused some participants of failing to engage in good faith and actively seeking to drag out the talks.

They did not openly point the finger at any countries, but diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity have repeatedly said Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran are consistently holding up proceedings and showing little willingness to compromise.

All three countries took the floor to hit back.

“We are sincere, we are honest and we are ready to cooperate,” said Iran’s Massoud Rezvanian Rahaghi.

“But we do not want to be blamed for blocking negotiations through dirty tactics.”

Russian representative Dmitry Kornilov meanwhile blasted the “unacceptable” accusations and warned delegates to abandon the most contentious parts of the draft discussions.

“If we are serious about this then we must concentrate on provisions that are acceptable to all delegations,” he said.

In 2019, the world produced around 460 million tonnes of plastic, a figure that has doubled since 2000, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Plastic production is expected to triple by 2060.

But just nine percent of plastic is recycled globally.

– ‘Bold moves’ –

The main faultline in talks lies over whether the treaty should address the full lifecycle of plastic, including potential limits to its production, chemical precursors, and certain products considered unneccessary, including many single-use items.

The UN decision that kicked off the negotiating process explicitly refers both to the full lifecycle of plastic and sustainable consumption, but countries including Russia, Saudi Arabia and Iran have consistently rejected calls to limit supply.

Saudi Arabia has warned supply restrictions “extend beyond” the treaty’s focus on plastic pollution and risk creating “economic disruptions.”

Iran meanwhile has called for an article on supply to be removed entirely from the treaty text.

There are other sticking points, including financial support for developing countries to implement any treaty, and how a decision to adopt a deal should be made.

The UN standard is consensus, but there are fears that a unanimous deal may be out of reach.

A European diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the divisions were such that an agreement would only be possible if “bold moves” were taken in the final stretch to “unblock” things.

The question, he said, was “whether those moves, at that stage, will arrive too late.”

“Four days to get to all that seems to me to be too little,” he warned.

Plastic pollution talks: the key sticking points

By AFP
November 26, 2024


People look through plastic and other debris washed ashore at a beach on Indonesia's resort island of Bali - Copyright AFP SONNY TUMBELAKA

Sara HUSSEIN

Nations gathered in Busan, South Korea have a week to agree the world’s first treaty to curb plastic pollution, a gargantuan challenge given the major divisions that remain.

Here is a look at the key sticking points:

Consensus or majority

Divisions between nations are so deep that they have not yet agreed on how any decision will be adopted — by consensus or majority vote.

Consensus is the standard for many UN agreements, but it has also hamstrung progress on other accords, notably climate.

To avoid gumming up discussions, negotiations are proceeding without resolving this question.

But that creates something of a landmine that could detonate at any point during the talks, particularly if countries feel they are losing ground, warned Bjorn Beeler, executive director of the International Pollutants Elimination Network.

“Because of the consensus decision-making process, the oil states could still blow up the potential final deal,” he told AFP.



Production

The resolution that kicked off the talks urged a treaty that would “promote sustainable production and consumption of plastics”.

But what that means is a key point of difference among negotiators.

Some countries want the treaty to mandate a reduction of new plastic production, and the phase-out of “unneccessary” items, such as some single-use plastics.

They note many countries already limit items like plastic bags or cutlery.

But other nations, led by some oil-producing states like Russia and Saudi Arabia, have pushed back against any binding reduction call.

They insist nations should set their own targets.

Saudi Arabia, representing the Arab group of nations, warned in its opening statement against “imposing rigid and exclusionary policies to address complex global issues”.

They urged members to focus on a treaty “that balances environmental protection with economic and social development”.



‘Chemicals of concern’

The alliance of countries called the High Ambition Coalition (HAC), led by Rwanda and Norway, is pushing for specific measures on so-called chemicals of concern.

These are components of plastic that are known or feared to be harmful to human health.

The HAC wants “global criteria and measures” for phasing out or restricting these chemicals.

But some countries also reject that approach.

And lists are also firmly opposed by the chemical and petrochemical industry, which points to an array of existing international agreements and national regulations.

“A new global agreement to address plastic pollution should not duplicate these existing instruments and voluntary efforts,” warned the International Council of Chemical Associations.

The auto industry says any broad-stroke bans could affect its ability to comply with safety regulations.



Finance

Implementing any treaty will cost money that developing countries say they simply do not have.

India insists the treaty should make clear that compliance “shall be linked to provision of the incremental cost” and backs the creation of a dedicated multilateral fund for the purpose.

That position may struggle to gain traction, particularly after the hard-fought battle at COP29 climate talks to extract more finance from developed countries.

But that is unlikely to sway countries advocating for the funds.

Developed countries “have historically benefited from industrial activities related to plastic production”, noted Saudi Arabia, speaking for the Arab group.

They “bear a greater responsibility in providing financial and technical support as well as capacity-building for developing countries”.



Globally binding or nationally determined?

Will the treaty create overarching global rules that bind all nations to the same standards, or allow individual countries to set their own targets and goals?

This is likely to be another key sticking point, with the European Union warning “a treaty in which each party would do only what they consider is necessary is not something we are ready to support”.

On the other side are nations who argue that differing levels of capacity and economic growth make common standards unreasonable.

“There shall not be any compliance regime,” reads language proposed for the treaty by Iran.

Instead, it urges an “assessment committee” that would monitor progress but “in no way” examine compliance or implementation.

To tackle plastic scourge, Philippines makes companies pay

By AFP
November 26, 2024

Long one of the top sources of ocean plastic, the Philippines is hoping new legislation requiring big companies to pay for waste solutions will help clean up its act

 - Copyright AFP/File Jam Sta Rosa

Cecil MORELLA

Long one of the world’s top sources of ocean plastic, the Philippines is hoping new legislation requiring big companies to pay for waste solutions will help clean up its act.

Last year, its “Extended Producer Responsibility” (EPR) statute came into force — the first in Southeast Asia to impose penalties on companies over plastic waste.

The experiment has shown both the promise and the pitfalls of the tool, which could be among the measures in a treaty to tackle plastic pollution that countries hope to agree on by December 1 at talks in South Korea.

The Philippines, with a population of 120 million, generates some 1.7 million metric tons of post-consumer plastic waste a year, according to the World Bank.

Of that, a third goes to landfills and dumpsites, with 35 percent discarded on open land.

The EPR law is intended to achieve “plastic neutrality” by forcing large businesses to reduce plastic pollution through product design and removing waste from the environment.

They are obliged to cover an initial 20 percent of their plastic packaging footprint, calculated based on the weight of plastic packaging they put into the market.

The obligation will rise to a ceiling of 80 percent by 2028.

The law covers a broad range of plastics, including flexible types that are commercially unviable for recycling and thus often go uncollected.

It does not however ban any plastics, including the popular but difficult to recover and recycle single-use sachets common in the Philippines.

So far, around half the eligible companies under the law have launched EPR programmes.

Over a thousand more must do so by end-December or face fines of up to 20 million pesos ($343,000) and even revocation of their operating licences.



– ‘Manna from heaven’ –



The law hit its 2023 target for removal of plastic waste, Environment Undersecretary Jonas Leones told AFP.

It is “part of a broader strategy to reduce the environmental impact of plastic pollution, particularly given the Philippines’ status as one of the largest contributors to marine plastic waste globally.”

The law allows companies to outsource their obligations to “producer responsibility organisations”, many of which use a mechanism called plastic credits.

These allow companies to buy a certificate that a metric tonne of plastic has been removed from the environment and either recycled, upcycled or “co-processed” — burned for energy.

PCX Markets, one of the country’s biggest players, offers local credits priced from around $100 for collection and co-processing of mixed plastics to over $500 for collection and recycling of ocean-bound PET plastic. Most are certified according to a standard administered by sister organisation PCX Solutions.

The model is intended to channel money into the underfunded waste collection sector and encourage collection of plastic that is commercially unviable for recycling.

“It’s manna from heaven,” former street sweeper Marita Blanco told AFP.

A widowed mother-of-five, Blanco lives in Manila’s low-income San Andres district and buys plastic bottles, styrofoam and candy wrappers for two pesos (3.4 US cents) a kilogram (2.2 pounds).

She then sells them at a 25 percent mark-up to charity Friends of Hope, which works with PCX Solutions to process them.

“I didn’t know that there was money in garbage,” she said.

“If I do not look down on the task of picking up garbage, my financial situation will improve.”



– ‘Still linear’ –



Friends of Hope managing director Ilusion Farias said the project was making a visible difference to an area often strewn with discarded plastic.

“Two years ago, I think you would have seen a lot dirtier street,” she told AFP.

“Behavioural change is really slow, and it takes a really long time.”

Among those purchasing credits is snack producer Mondelez, which has opted to jump directly to “offsetting” 100 percent of its plastic footprint.

“It costs company budgets… but that’s really something that we just said we would commit to do for the environment,” Mondelez Philippines corporate and government affairs official Caitlin Punzalan told AFP.

But while companies have lined up to buy plastic credits, there has been less movement on stemming the flow of new plastic, including through redesign.

“Upstream reduction is not really easy,” said PCX Solutions managing director Stefanie Beitien.

“There is no procurement department in the world that accepts a 20 percent higher packaging price just because it’s the right thing to do.”

And while PCX credits cannot be claimed against plastic that is landfilled, they do allow for co-processing, with the ash then used for cement.

“It’s still linear, not circular, because you’re destroying the plastic and you’re still generating virgin plastic,” acknowledged Leones of the environment ministry.

Still, the law remains a “very strong policy”, according to Floradema Eleazar, an official with the UN Development Programme.

But “we will not see immediate impacts right now, or tomorrow,” she said.

“It would require really massive behavioural change for everyone to make sure that this happens.”

The birth of humanoid agents: The convergence of AI, mechanics, and humanity


By Dr. Tim Sandle
DIGITAL JOURNAL
November 27, 2024


A robot bartender developed by Spanish food tech group Macco Robotics serves drinks -- but also speaks a dozen languages and recognises customers by their faces - Copyright AFP Josep LAGO

As 2025 approaches, the landscape of technology is rapidly evolving. This includes a spotlight on humanoid agents. This past year, the development of robots has surged with innovations that once seemed far-off now becoming imminent. The long-anticipated release of fully autonomous humanoids—previously confined to industrial settings—is possibly approaching.

This is the view of deep tech investor Anders Indset, who has told Digital Journal: “We stand on the brink of a new era as these machines become increasingly sophisticated and capable.”

Indset argues: “Humanoid robots like Tesla’s Optimus are designed for industrial applications, capable of performing tasks in manufacturing and logistics. Elon Musk has indicated that Optimus will become a cornerstone of the company, with Optimus Gen 3 likely to debut by the end of 2024. With the integration of advanced software, visuals, and cameras tied to the Tesla ecosystem—similar technologies pushing for autonomous vehicles and robot taxis—the possibilities for these robots in 2025 are limitless.”

The focus on AI agents has attracted significant investment, according to Indset, with record-high “dry powder” of $250 billion in the Bay Area alone directed toward the convergence of AI models and robotics.

Indset explains: “Boston Dynamics is not alone in this race; they have introduced fully autonomous working partners that move beyond pre-programmed functions. The humanoid’s shift from hydraulic systems to electric capabilities indicates a move toward enhanced physical and mental performance, closely mimicking the human musculoskeletal system.”

Notable examples in humanoid robotics include Boston Dynamics’ Atlas, which has demonstrated impressive agility, and Hanson Robotics’ Sophia, known for her advanced conversational abilities and emotional expressions.

These robots, Indset thinks: “showcase the potential for humanoid agents to engage meaningfully with humans, enhancing customer service, healthcare, and education. Similarly, UBTech’s Walker and Agility Robotics’ Digit highlight the industry’s push towards creating robots that can navigate complex environments while performing intricate tasks.”

The cost of employment is likely to be a driver. Indset observes: “Today, human labour accounts for approximately 50% of the global GDP, a staggering $42 trillion. As humanoid robots begin to take on roles in construction, logistics, and manufacturing, they will also address the needs of a growing aging population—estimated at 700 million individuals requiring home care in 2.3 billion households worldwide. The demand for assistive technologies will drive the integration of humanoid agents into daily life, providing support to the elderly and enhancing their quality of life.”

The issue of technological innovation is not without its concerns. Drawing these out, Indset says: “However, the reliance on foundational AI models presents risks for these companies. The integration of self-hosted models and the potential for AI errors remain significant challenges. If AI fails, the humanoids, while designed to replicate human capabilities, may not achieve the desired outcomes. The ethical and social implications of humanoid agents must also be addressed, particularly concerning job displacement, privacy concerns, and the potential misuse of technology.”

So, what does the future hold for humanoid robots? Indset’s view is: “As we approach 2025, we can anticipate the widespread adoption of AI in robotics, enhanced human-robot interactions, and the rise of Robotics as a Service (RaaS) models, making advanced robotic solutions accessible to more industries. These developments indicate a transformative period for the robotics industry, where humanoid agents will reshape our interactions with technology and expand the possibilities for AI applications across different domains.”

Germany's conservatives want to cut benefits for Ukrainians

Ben Knight

November 23, 2024

DW

Germany's CDU party, currently the favorite to win Germany's upcoming election, wants to cut unemployment benefits for Ukrainian war refugees. The conservatives argue that the benefits discourage them from finding work.

Friedrich Merz, CDU chairman and Germany's likely next chancellor, wants to revisit social welfare payments for Ukrainian refugees

Image: Steffen Proessdorf/foto2press/Imago Images

Germany's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU) — currently leading in polls ahead of the election on February 23 next year — want to cut welfare benefits and get more of the country's 5.5 million long-term unemployed into the labor market.

They are also openly questioning whether Ukrainians should receive the standard unemployment benefit, called Bürgergeld ("citizens' income") rather than the lower asylum-seeker benefits. Following Russia's full-fledged invasion of Ukraine, refugees arriving in Germany and were subject to an EU Council Directive for temporary protection in the event of a mass influx of displaced persons for whom the regular asylum procedures do not apply. They were granted temporary residency status and entitled to full social welfare benefits.

The CSU's Stephan Stracke, social policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU's parliamentary group, told DW that while anyone fleeing "war and violence" had a right to protection, "This does not mean, however, that there must be an automatic entitlement to the citizen's income in Germany." Instead, Stracke said, newly arrived Ukrainian war refugees should receive asylum-seeker benefits "at first."

Political row breaks out in Germany over Ukrainian refugees  02:32

Integration into the job market

Germany is currently home to around 1.2 million Ukrainian refugees, around 530,000 of whom are classified by the Federal Employment Agency as eligible to work and entitled to citizens' income (as of May 2024).

That means they receive an unemployment benefit of up to €563 ($596) per month plus their rent and heating costs paid by the state. There is an extra allowance for children, staggered by age, and around 360,000 of the Ukrainian refugees in Germany are children. Stracke's proposal — for Ukrainians to receive the standard asylum seekers' benefit instead — would mean that Ukrainians would receive only €460 per month.

The CDU's move is part of a general planned overhaul of the Bürgergeld system if they get into power, which will include tougher sanctions for refusing work and more mandatory visits to the authorities.

The tougher comments on Ukrainian refugees are not new among German conservatives: Two years ago, CDU leader Friedrich Merz, who is predicted to head Germany's next government questioned the Ukranians' need for protection: "We are now experiencing a form of social tourism among these refugees: to Germany, back to Ukraine, to Germany, back to Ukraine," Merz told the Bild TV outlet in 2022, triggering widespread outrage.
Ukrainians across Europe

In a newly updated study, the German Institute for Employment Research (IAB) found that Germany was struggling to integrate Ukrainians into the job market, at least compared with other countries — but also that the situation was improving: Only 27% of Ukrainians in Germany had found work as of March this year, compared to 57% in Lithuania and 53% in Denmark (though that was still ahead of Ukrainians in Norway, Spain, and Finland, where only around 20% had found work). — and finding childcare and schooling has become increasingly difficult.

According to Germany's right-wing parties, like the CDU and the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), the high number of refugees living off social welfare is partly down to the amount of money they receive. "Germany has obviously not been particularly successful in getting Ukrainian refugees into work so far," said Stracke. "Other European countries are doing much better. That is why we in Germany have to give more weight to the principle of supporting and challenging people to find work."

Getting qualifications recognized

But the IAB study also shows that the proportion of Ukrainians in work is steadily rising in all the European countries — and that there is little evidence to show that there is a correlation with the amount of state help they receive. More significant factors than benefits, the IAB said, were language barriers and demand for labor in the low-wage sector, where it is easier to find work.

Iryna Shulikina, executive director at the Berlin-based NGO Vitsche, which supports Ukrainian refugees in Germany, said Ukrainians encounter several obstacles to finding work in Germany, most notably getting through the bureaucratic process. According to the IAB, some 72% of Ukrainian refugees have either a university degree or a vocational qualification — more than other refugees or the German working population in general.

"When they come here, they face the difficulties of getting their diplomas approved here," Shulikina said.

To name one example: Though Germany faces a shortage of medical workers, Shulikina said she had spoken to Ukrainian medical workers who needed two and a half years to get to the stage where they could work: Applying for work, getting their documents and qualifications approved, doing the necessary tests, learning the language. "It's a real challenge," she said.

Talk about sending Ukrainians back plays into Putin’s hands: Fabian Funke, German MP 04:27

Election puts pressure on refugees

Whether a likely CDU-led government will succeed in changing conditions for Ukrainian refugees will depend also on its coalition partners: The center-left Social Democrats (SPD) are less inclined to crack down on social welfare recipients, while leading members of the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP), have already expressed their support for recategorizing Ukrainian war refugees — even though the party's parliamentary group declined to state an official position to DW for this article.

Shulikina put the current political debate on the issue of Bürgergeld down to election campaigning and did not accept the argument that the citizens' income was keeping Ukrainian refugees at home.

"All the people I know who are refugees and have anything to do with the Job Center are doing everything possible to end this relationship," she said. "It's very humiliating and annoying. You are very dependent, and you are not perceived as an equal part of society — you're asked about every cent you spend and how and when. I don't believe there are a lot of people who enjoy getting Bürgergeld."

Lyudmyla Mlosch, chairperson of the Central Council of Ukrainians in Germany (ZVUD), said many Ukrainians she knows in Germany don't want to be here at all. "I know a lot of people here who are dreaming of going home, but they have no home — they've lost everything," said Mlosch. "Of course they need support."

But Mlosch did admit that some Ukrainians are more desperate than others: Those from the regions in the east that are under almost continual bombardment from Russia are more in need of state help, for example, as are older or sick people, or people who have no savings. "They don't need to all be put in the same bracket. But younger people who can work, they could have their money reduced, I could admit that," she said.

Edited by Rina Goldenberg