FAST FASCIST FREINDS

Italy grants citizenship to Argentine President Javier Milei

Italy has bestowed Italian citizenship on Argentine President Javier Milei. The procedure was reportedly initiated and fast-tracked by the government of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Rome faced criticism on Saturday after it awarded naturalization to the ultra-libertarian Argentine president Javier Milei on an official visit to the Italian capital.

Milei is eligible for citizenship because of his Italian ancestors, but the news sparked a furor among opposition politicians campaigning for the process to be eased for children born in Italy to migrant parents.
What we know about the move

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni received the Argentine president in Rome's Palazzo Chigi on Friday when the Italian news agency ANSA said he received news that the citizenship applications had been granted.

Milei, with his trademark disheveled hair, was in Rome to meet Meloni and take part in a festival on Saturday organized by her far-right Brothers of Italy party.

The two have established a close relationship, with Milei last month giving Meloni a statuette of himself brandishing a chainsaw — a reference to his political campaign rally posturing on public spending cuts.

Milei's Italian grandparents emigrated to Argentina in the early 20th century, and a few months ago, Milei stated that he was "75% Italian."

ANSA said the applications had been initiated by the Italian government in recent weeks with an exclusive fast-track procedure.

The agency said Milei's sister Karina, who was designated General Secretary of the Argentine Presidency by her brother, had also received Italian citizenship too.

Meloni slammed over 'discrimination'

A lawmaker from the +Europa opposition party, Riccardo Magi, said the granting of citizenship to Milei was an "insult" and an act of "intolerable discrimination against so many young people who will only get it after many years."

To apply for citizenship by naturalization, foreigners currently need to live in Italy for 10 years. Children who are born to foreigners in Italy are not eligible to apply for citizenship until they turn 18.

Opposition parties and pro-migrant NGOs are campaigning to cut the period to five years, but Meloni's governing coalition is against any relaxation of the rules.

In a video posted on social media, Magi said that for "millions of Italians without citizenship who were born in Italy, who grew up in our country, who studied here, who work here, who pay taxes in our country — unlike President Milei — having Italian citizenship will remain an ordeal."

rc/zc (AFP, dpa)

Mozambique violence fuelled by historical grievances and civil war politics

Ongoing protests in Mozambique have highlighted deep-rooted political discontent following October's controversial elections and a long history of grievances since the country gained independence in 1975.


Issued on: 10/12/2024 - RFI

A protester throws a stone towards an armoured vehicle as protesters clash with Mozambican riot police in Maputo on 27 November, 2024. 

© ALFREDO ZUNIGA / AFP

Mozambique is currently embroiled in a wave of violence that has resulted in upto 90 deaths and thousands more injured during protests that have sewpt across the nation.

The riots erupted in major cities – such as Maputo, Nampula, and Zambezia – amid allegations of electoral fraud after the 9 October presidential election, in which the ruling Frelimo party's candidate, Daniel Chapo, was declared the winner.

Frustration boiled over into street violence, reportedly incited by opposition Renamo leader Venancio Mondlane, who was defeated in the elections and is now calling for the continued mobilisation of national protests until at least Wednesday 11 December.

In the Matola suburb of the capital Maputo, protests intensified after a 13-year-old boy was shot dead by a plainclothes police officer, further escalating the violence.

According to police spokesperson Orlando Mudumane, the unrest reached new heights when demonstrators – armed with stones, knives, and machetes – clashed violently with law enforcement officers.

"The violent and tumultuous demonstrations have contributed to the vandalising of 22 secondary schools, arson at five police stations ... Unfortunately, five people died and three were seriously injured," Mudumane explained in a report from RFI's Portuguese language service.

Election fraud allegations

The latest incidents of violence mark some of the most severe demonstrations since Mozambique adopted multiparty democracy in 1990.

The protests are rooted in deep-seated political discontent within the country.

The October elections, which saw the Frelimo party – who have been in government since independence from Portugal in 1975 – claim a sweeping victory with 70 percent of the vote, have been widely criticised.

A recent report from the minority opposition Optimistic Party for the Development of Mozambique, maintains that the recent electoral process was rife with irregularities.

Civil society groups reported significant instances of voter intimidation, ballot-box stuffing and fraudulent vote counts, which sparked outrage and led to widespread protests demanding accountability from the government.Mozambique forces face UN scrutiny after military vehicle strikes protester

History of civil conflict

The current crisis in Mozambique did not occur in a vacuum but is intertwined with historical grievances stemming from the country’s violent past.

Since gaining independence following a decade-long revolutionary war, Mozambique has struggled with instability.

Initially, it became a one-party Marxist-Leninist state under the Frelimo government, which then faced an insurgent civil war from the Renamo party beginning in 1977.

The brutal conflict lasted 15 years, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and extensive destruction until a peace accord was reached in 1992, leading to the country's first multiparty elections in 1994.

Despite an apparent transition towards democracy, the political landscape in Mozambique has remained fraught with tension and oppression.

Frelimo – while publicly adopting democratic ideals – has maintained tight control over state institutions.

The party diverged from its Marxist roots in 1989 but continued operating within a “hybrid governance model” that has seen regular elections often marred by accusations of fraud and corruption.Mozambique's ruling party hangs on to power in contested election

Power and corruption

Over the years, Frelimo's grip on power, coupled with rampant corruption –most notably illustrated by the 2016 “tuna bond scandal” – has deepened public dissatisfaction with the government.

Despite the country's mineral wealth and natural resources, significant portions of the population live in poverty, and infrastructure remains drastically underdeveloped.

This, in turn, has exacerbated frustration among many Mozambicans, particularly the youth who have increasingly sought to bring about change by mobilising though social media.

Amid the rising violence, Mozambique also faces significant challenges, including an ongoing insurgency in the northern province of Cabo Delgado linked to the Islamic State.

The government's inability to effectively confront the islamists has led to further public discontent and underscores a demand for political accountability.

As the Mozambican government's approach to curtailing unrest and addressing public grievances comes under the spotlight, protests are expected to continue, driven by calls for reform from Mondlane and other opposition leaders.

The recent, deadly protests are not merely a response to electoral irregularities in October but a culmination of historical grievances and systemic issues that have persisted for almost 50 years.

Leading French internet operator cops hefty fine for unsolicited ads

France's largest internet operator Orange was on Tuesday slapped with a fine of €50 million ($53-million) fine for sending unsolicited adverts resembling emails to customers. The company says it will appeal what it calls a "disproportionate" amount.

Issued on: 10/12/2024 - 

FILES) The logo of French telecoms group Orange is pictured at the International Cybersecurity Forum (FIC) in Lille, northern France, on 8 June, 2022. 

AFP - DENIS CHARLET

By:RFI

Orange is France's leading telecommunications firm, with a popular email service.

"Internet access and email service provider Orange used its email service to introduce advertisements" that resembled emails in customers' message feeds, said Louis Dutheillet de Lamothe, deputy head of France's privacy watchdog CNIL.

Advertisers in France are required to obtain permission before sending material to a person's email address, and CNIL considered Orange's actions were equivalent to that even if users' addresses were not used to display the ads between their emails.

CNIL said more than 7.8 million users received the unsolicited ads.

CNIL "took into account the fact it was a breach that generated money" for Orange, Dutheillet de Lamothe told French news agency AFP.

Orange said in a statement to AFP that it would appeal against the fine to the top administrative court, branding the amount "totally disproportionate".

EU strikes deal giving users greater control over their data
A warning to operators

The advertisements represented "neither a breach nor a lapse in security but common market practice that did not involve any use of customers' personal data", it said.

The company also said it had not received any warning about the matter before being fined.

The fine was unusually high for such a penalty – outside of those that have been imposed on major tech giants.

Health website Doctissimo fined €380,000 by French privacy watchdog

Dutheillet de Lamothe said it should serve as a warning for other operators.

CNIL also said the fine took into account that in November 2023 Orange changed its email interface to make ads clear to users.

It also found that Orange users who asked to stop receiving cookies – code that allows advertisers to track users' activities on the internet – continued to receive them anyway.

Orange was given three months to correct that problem or face additional fines.

(with AFP)

Tamil migrants  REFUGEES  reach UK after 'darkest' time in Chagos camp

London (AFP) – For three years, Kala and her family were stranded on a remote British-US military base in the middle of the Indian Ocean, trapped in horrific conditions after fleeing persecution at home.


Issued on: 11/12/2024 - 

A group of 60 Tamil migrants have reached the UK, the first to win approval to leave the remote Chagos islands after a protracted legal battle 

© BENJAMIN CREMEL / AFP
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They are among more than 60 people, including 12 children, mostly Tamils from Sri Lanka and India, who were brought to Britain last week after years stuck in a legal limbo.

The migrants, who had been rescued after getting into trouble in the waters off the Chagos Archipelago, became the first people to ever file asylum claims with London from Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain.

Kala, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, was initially told when she arrived on the base in October 2021 that she would stay there for just two days. That turned into more than three years.

She and her two children were housed with other migrants in a camp the size of a football pitch.

The accommodation was controversial from the start, with the migrants staging multiple hunger strikes to denounce poor conditions, amid reports of sexual assault and harassment.

"We suffered a lot in this camp. Our living places lacked basic facilities," Kala told AFP through an interpreter.

"We had to risk our lives to come here in boats. When we were told that we were going to stay in the tents, it was even worse than that."
Legal challenges

Their claims were caught up in a complex legal dispute as the islands, renamed the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), are "constitutionally distinct and separate from the UK", according to the government in London.

Successive British foreign ministers remained reluctant to bring them to the UK, fearing it would open a new immigration route.

"It was an unprecedented and exceptional situation," said Maria Petrova-Collins, a lawyer at Duncan Lewis Solicitors and part of a UK-based team representing some of the migrants.

Conditions in the camp were "inhumane", she told AFP.

The lawyers faced several challenges, including a legal hearing being cancelled "at the last minute" when the lawyers and a British judge were denied access to the US-run military base, she said.

Another of the new arrivals, Nishanth, whose name has also been changed, said the camp was "rat-infested".

He showed AFP videos of cramped tarpaulin tents with water seeping through holes, bedsheets hung for privacy between rows of makeshift beds, as well as rats, rodent droppings and insects.
Self-harm

Kala said her children's feet became infected as they did not have proper shoes and they found it hard to sleep at night.

"During their sleep, rats used to go over there, here and there. And when they felt them, they woke up and cried."

The camp's inhabitants accused the security guards of not listening to their complaints. "We informed the authorities. But they did not do anything. They said they would do it. But they don't care," Nishanth said.

Petrova-Collins said many of the migrants were victims of "ill-treatment and torture" in their home countries.

"Unfortunately, the conditions in Diego Garcia and the three years they lived in uncertainty about what was going to happen to them contributed to that trauma," Petrova-Collins said.

"Some of our clients tried to commit suicide, some of them self-harmed," she said.

In 2023, around five migrants had to be transferred to Rwanda for emergency medical treatment after suicide attempts, and a 2024 safeguarding report from a medical team said the camp was in "complete crisis".
'Darkest period'

"It was the darkest period of our life," said Nishanth, showing scars on his forearm from where he had self-harmed.

"We were separated from this world during our stay there. We knew we were in a different world."

In October, Britain said it would hand over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after a decades-long dispute, but would continue to maintain the Diego Garcia military base that plays a key role for US operations.

The military facility, which is part of the British overseas territories and leased to the United States, was used by US long-range bombers during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

As part of the agreement, Mauritius will take responsibility for any future migrants arriving on the territory, from which Chagos islanders were expelled by the UK in the 1970s as the military base was developed.

The Tamil migrants have been granted six months to remain in the UK and file asylum claims. Some of them were already granted international protection while on Diego Garcia.

In a statement, the Foreign Office said the decision was a "one-off measure".

"We have always been clear that Diego Garcia was not a suitable long-term location for migrants which is why we've taken steps to bring them to the UK as a one-off measure to ensure their continued welfare and safety", it said.

Their arrival marks a "big week for the world of human rights and justice" said Petrova-Collins, who hopes the legal battle "sets a precedent" that future crises should be handled "with more compassion, with more efficiency".

© 2024 AFP

TotalEnergies accused of abuses linked to €10bn East African oil pipeline

Rights groups have accused France's TotalEnergies and Chinese oil company CNOOC of human rights violations and environmental damage linked to a €10 billion oil project in Uganda and Tanzania.

Issued on: 13/12/2024 - 

Police apprehend a Ugandan activist during a protest against the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) plans in Kampala, Uganda, on 15 September, 2023. © Abubaker Lubowa/Reuters

By: RFI

The project includes drilling for oil in Lake Albert in northwestern Uganda and constructing a 1,443-kilometre heated pipeline to transport crude oil to the Tanzanian port of Tanga.

The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), championed by Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, has faced years of opposition from environmentalists who warn it threatens fragile ecosystems and local communities.

A report released Thursday by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Civic Response on Environment and Development, and Lawyers Without Borders alleges "disproportionate security measures, repression, land rights violations, forced evictions and corruption" during the project.

It accuses Ugandan troops of beating and harassing fishing communities near the oil sites, with cases of sexual and gender-based violence reportedly committed by soldiers and company personnel.

The most serious abuses occurred around the Kingfisher oil fields, where the report described a "high level of fear".

"There has been an acceleration in construction at the oil sites over the last two years, bringing a new wave of human rights abuses," Sacha Feierabend, a senior researcher with FIDH, told RFI.

The report also highlights violations of workers' rights and specific challenges faced by women in affected communities.

"There is intensifying repression of human rights defenders, climate and environmental activists, who are trying to make their voices heard regarding this project," Feierabend added.

Since May, at least 96 activists have been arrested, with additional reports of break-ins, beatings, unlawful detentions and torture.

NGOs seek climate trial of French oil giant TotalEnergies

Environmental groups sue TotalEnergies over 'devastating' East Africa oil pipeline
'Violation of international law'

The report claims some 12,000 families around the pipeline have been displaced, as have hundreds of households around Lake Albert.

The most serious case dates back to May 2020 during the Covid pandemic when 769 people from the villages of Kiina and Kyabasambu "were driven out at gunpoint and never returned".

The NGOs condemned the evictions and said that without prior notice or compensation they constituted a "violation of international and constitutional law".

There are also fears of inflation due to land speculation, as well as concerns over working conditions on the sites, where at least two people have died in labour-related incidents.

Those who still live in the immediate vicinity of the oil sites also complain "regularly of dust, noise, light pollution and vibrations".

Oil spills are "a serious threat to the environment and public health", the report said, while "the catchment areas of the two lakes [Albert and Victortia] are vital to tens of thousands of people across East Africa".
'Smear campaign'

Ugandan government spokesman Chris Baryomunsi dismissed the report as "ridiculous and unfounded," describing it as a "smear campaign" against the project.

Baryomunsi urged anyone with evidence of human rights abuses to report it to the authorities.

TotalEnergies also rejected the claims, stating it "strongly disagrees" with the allegations.

"In Uganda, as elsewhere, TotalEnergies is transparent about its human rights commitments and their implementation," the company said.

No, Masonic symbols were not added to Notre-Dame during its restoration

THE WERE ALREADY THERE 

Paris's Notre-Dame Cathedral will soon reopen its doors to the public, five years after a devastating fire nearly destroyed it. Ahead of the opening, a number of social media accounts with links to the far right or to Russia began posting claims on November 29 that satanic and Masonic symbols were secretly added to the cathedral during the renovations. However, the features that they have pointed to are all exact restorations of the originals.


Issued on: 05/12/2024 - 
FRANCE24/OBSERVERS

Social media users with links to Russia or the far right have been claiming since November 29, 2024 that Masonic and satanic symbols were added to Notre-Dame Cathedral during its renovations. But the architectural features that they have pointed to are all exact restorations of originals. © X

By:Quang Pham

"Notre-Dame or the triumph of Freemasonry!” reads one of the many posts that have been circulating widely on X in recent days. In short, a number of accounts with ties to Russia or the far right have been claiming that satanic and Masonic symbols were added to Paris’s Notre-Dame Cathedral during the five years of restoration work that followed a devastating fire.

These posts have garnered nearly two million views on X in the lead-up to the cathedral reopening its doors on December 7. However, there is no basis to these claims, according to Alexandre Gady, an art historian and expert in French cultural heritage.

Here’s a look at the most viral fake news stories about secret symbols being added to the cathedral.

Was the floor of Notre-Dame replaced by a Masonic checkerboard?

One social media user – who has shared conspiracy theories in the past – claimed that Notre-Dame’s original flooring had been replaced by a black-and-white checkerboard pattern, which, in their opinion, proved Masonic involvement in the renovations.

The term Freemason (in French, "franc-maçons") refers to a series of fraternal orders that began centuries ago. There are persistent suspicions and many conspiracy theories that Freemasons exert powerful, hidden influence on society.

To illustrate their claims, this social media user shared a screenshot of footage recorded by French media outlet LCI during French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the cathedral on November 29.
This social media user claimed that the flooring of Notre-Dame Cathedral has been replaced by a checkerboard pattern common in Masonic lodges. In fact, this flooring is the same as the original. © X © X

Many Masonic lodges do feature checkered tile flooring, known as “mosaic pavement”. This pattern has special moral significance for the community, with black and white representing good and evil. However, Notre-Dame’s floor wasn’t replaced with new Masonic tiling. Instead, the floor was restored to its original appearance.

"The [black and white] pattern on the floor tiles in the nave are from 1769–1774, during the reign of King Louis XV,” says Gady. This flooring was placed “at the clergy’s request”, Gady says, during work carried out by Jacques-Germain Soufflot, the cathedral’s chief architect.

As shown in this photo of the cathedral taken after the fire in 2019 and before its restoration, the black and white tiling was already present before the renovation.

At left is a photo of Notre-Dame after the fire in 2019. The flooring pattern is visible. At right is a photo of the renovated cathedral from 2024. Our team added the red outline. © Alexis Lamenda, compte YouTube de l'Élysée

You can see more about the restoration work carried on the liturgical platform, where the altar is located, on the website of the stone-cutting company who carried out the renovations.
Is a painting on one of Notre-Dame’s vaults actually a Masonic symbol?

The starry blue background of a painting on the cathedral is actually a “symbol of [Masonic] lodges” – or so says pro-Russian influencer Camille Moscow. Their post features a video of the oculus, a circular form located at the apex of one of Notre-Dame’s vaults that is painted with an image of a starry blue background and a figure on it.

Social media user Camille Moscow claims that the starry painting at the apex of one of Notre-Dame’s vaults is a symbol of Freemasonry. It is actually a common symbol in Parisian religious structures. © X

In reality, the figure on the oculus isn’t a Masonic symbol at all, it is a Virgin Mary and her child surrounded by cherubs. The image was painted around 1728-1729. This photo of the vault taken before the fire proves that the oculus wasn’t added during renovations.

"The starry sky is a common symbol and decoration,” Gady added. “We see it in a number of religious buildings in Paris.”

For example, the same starry sky appears on the vaults of Sainte-Chapelle as well as the church in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, in Paris's 6th arrondissement.

Cyclone Chido inflicts 'catastrophic' damage on French island territory Mayotte

Mayotte is France's poorest territory


Cyclone Chido caused devastating damage to the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte on Saturday, a senior local official said. The archipelago was hit in some places by powerful winds of at least 226 kilometers per hour, resulting in the deaths of at least two people.


Issued on: 14/12/2024 -
By: NEWS WIRES

The island of Grande Terre in February 2024. © Julien de Rosa, AFP

At least two people were killed Saturday as fierce winds from Cyclone Chido lashed French Indian Ocean territory Mayotte, with authorities warning of severe damage and residents fearing the worst.

The two confirmed deaths came on Petite-Terre, the smaller of Mayotte's two major islands, a security source told AFP.

Also on Petite-Terre, the Pamandzi airport "suffered major damage, especially to the control tower," acting Transport Minister Francois Durovray said on X.

Air traffic "will be restored initially with military aid planes. Ships are on the way to ensure resupply," he added.

Across Mayotte, France's poorest department 500 kilometres (310 miles) east of Mozambique, "many of us have lost everything," said prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville.

Chido had proved to be "the most violent and destructive cyclone we've seen since 1934," he added.

France's newly-installed Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, who has yet to name his cabinet, will hold a crisis meeting in Paris on Saturday evening, his office said.

Mayotte is France's poorest territory. © Julien de Rosa, AFP

Mayotte's alert level has been lowered from violet -- the highest -- to red to allow emergency responders to leave their bases.

But "the cyclone is not over," prefect Bieuville warned, urging Mayotte's roughly 320,000 people to remain "locked down".

Communications with Mayotte are largely interrupted.

A resident on the main island of Grande Terre, Ibrahim Mcolo, had earlier described fallen electricity masts, roofs ripped off homes and trees uprooted as the first gusts struck.

"There is no more electricity," he told AFP from his home, where he had barricaded himself in.

"Even in our house, which is well protected, the water is getting in. I can feel it trembling."

"It is a time of emergency," President Emmanuel Macron wrote on X, telling Mayotte residents that "the whole country is by your side" and thanking emergency responders.

Acting Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau posted that 140 fresh troops and firefighters would be sent to the scene on Sunday to help with recovery, more than doubling the deployment sent earlier in the week.
Clearing the roads

Retailleau's office said he had spoken to the prefect by phone and ordered "full mobilisation" of police and security services to help residents and "prevent any possible looting".

Around 1,600 police are on the ground in Mayotte, they added.

"Technical services are clearing the roads so that emergency responders can get through," said Ambdilwahedou Soumaila, mayor of Mayotte's capital Mamoudzou in the north-east of major island Grande-Terre.

"We have enormous material damage," he told the BFM news channel.

Authorities had turned more than 70 schools and gyms into shelters, urging the 100,000 residents assessed as living in the most vulnerable homes to use them.

Locals have been stocking up on bottled drinking water. © Julien de Rosa, AFP

Mayotte's many shanty towns, built on exposed slopes, were especially vulnerable to the high winds, fire union chief Abdoul Karim Ahmed Allaoui told BFM.

The eye of Cyclone Chido swept across the north of the archipelago from east to west on its way towards Mozambique on the African mainland.

It brought gusts of at least 226 kilometres per hour to some places, although weather conditions have "improved rapidly" since the cyclone moved away in late afternoon, weather authority Meteo France said.

Chido remains "extremely dangerous for the coming 18 to 24 hours" and could threaten Mozambique, it added.

More than 15,000 homes in Mayotte were without electricity, acting Environment Minister Agnes-Pannier-Runacher posted on X.

The violet alert posted on X by the local prefecture had ordered "strict lockdown for the whole population, including emergency services" from 7:00 am (0400 GMT), with road traffic also banned and the archipelago's main airport Dzaoudzi closed.

(AFP)

UPDATED

Unidentified drones seen over US military base, industrial site in Germany

NOT JUST IN NJ

Unidentified drones have been sighted flying over the US military's Ramstein Air Base in Germany and facilities belonging to German arms maker Rheinmetall, German magazine Der Speigel reported on Friday, citing security services.


Issued on: 13/12/2024 - 
By: NEWS WIRES

The entrance to the US military's Ramstein Air Base in Germany. © Jean-Christophe Verhaegen, AFP


German authorities said Friday that unidentified drones had been spotted flying over sensitive military and industrial sites including the US Ramstein airbase.

The reports come after German officials have repeatedly voiced alarm about the threat of Russian spying as the Ukraine war heightens tensions between Moscow and NATO.

However, police did not say who they thought had launched the unmanned aerial vehicles.

“In recent days, several drone flights have been detected over critical infrastructure in Rhineland-Palatinate state,” a regional police spokesman told AFP.


The UAVs were first sighted at German company BASF’s plant in Ludwigshafen, known as the world’s biggest chemicals complex, the spokesman said.

“This was followed in the course of this week by drone overflights over the US airbase in Ramstein,” he added.

The drones were detected at dusk and were “larger than the usual commercial hobby drones”, the spokesman said.

05:39© FRANCE 24

Police in Rhineland-Palatinate have set up a special investigative unit to look into the incidents.

There is “no concrete danger to the facilities concerned”, the spokesman said.

The sightings in Ramstein were on December 3 and 4, according to Der Spiegel magazine.

Unidentified drones have also been sighted over facilities belonging to German arms maker Rheinmetall, Der Spiegel reported, citing security services.

A source with knowledge of the matter confirmed to AFP that suspicious drones had been spotted near Rheinmetall’s largest ammunition production site at Unterluess, Lower Saxony.

Unidentified drones were also reported in August over the Bruensbuettel industrial area in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the time said the devices were surely “not there to observe the beautiful local landscape, but because there is a chemical park there and a... storage facility for nuclear waste nearby”.

Media reports said officials believed those drones were Russian reconnaissance devices.

However, investigations into the Bruensbuettel sightings have so far shown no indications of espionage, according to a report from the ARD broadcaster on Friday.

German officials have repeatedly raised the alarm in recent months about Russian spying and “hybrid warfare”, including acts of sabotage and disinformation in the campaign towards February general elections.

(AFP)

Drones Follow U.S. Coast Guard Boat Off New Jersey

 IT USED TO BE UFO'S

File image (iStock / George Almanza)

Published Dec 11, 2024 3:36 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

Police in Asbury Park, New Jersey have reported a huge cluster of drones arriving from offshore, including more than a dozen that appear to have tracked a Coast Guard motor lifeboat.

Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) reported Tuesday that about 50 drones arrived from seaward over Asbury Park on Sunday night. As many as 30 additional drones followed a 47-foot USCG fast response boat as it operated just off the coast, he said. 

Gov. Phil Murphy has assured the public that the drones pose no threat, but in questioning before a congressional panel on Tuesday, a top FBI official said that law enforcement has no knowledge of who the operator of the drone swarm might be. "We just don't know, and that's the concerning part," assistant FBI director Robert Wheeler told the panel. 

Large-scale drone sightings have been reported all over New Jersey in recent weeks, including some at sensitive military sites and near critical infrastructure. Bystanders have reported flying unmanned craft of unusually large size, exceeding the scale of normal commercial UAVs. 

The drones do not come from any nearby military base, officials at Naval Weapons Station Earle and the Picatinny Arsenal have confirmed. The Pentagon has not announced plans to shoot down any of the flying objects, and is presently watching and waiting. 

"At this time we have no evidence that these drones are coming from a foreign entity or the work of an adversary. We will continue to monitor what is happening, but at no point were our installations threatening," said Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh.  

U.S. Northern Command - responsible for air defense for the U.S. mainland - also indicated that it has no plans to intervene. "USNORTHCOM conducted a deliberate analysis of the events, in consultation with other military organizations and interagency partners . . . at this time we have not been requested to assist with these events," the command said. 

Open-source intelligence analysts have noted that some of the largest reported "drones" display marking lights that are identical to those on known aircraft, like the F-35B and the AgustaWestland AW-139 helicopter - both capable of hovering in midflight and maneuvering like a quadcopter. 

In an interview on Fox, Congressman Jeff Van Drew claimed to have knowledge that the drones were Iranian, and that they came from a "mothership" located off the East Coast. Iran does possess an array of drone systems, and it has created two dedicated drone motherships - but both of these vessels are visible on satellite imaging in the anchorage at Bandar Abbas, 6,000 nautical miles east of Asbury Park (and much further by navigable routes). 

 

‘Alarming’ US mystery drones confound officials, scare locals

By AFP
December 12, 2024

Drones, like the one pictured in this file image from 2015, are permitted for both business applications and recreational use, but are regulated Federal Aviation Administration rules - Copyright AFP FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI

Gregory Walton, with W.G. Dunlop at the Pentagon

A rash of unexplained drone sightings in the skies above New Jersey has left locals rattled and sent US officials scrambling for answers.

Breathless local news reports have amplified the anxious sky-gazing and wild speculation — interspersing blurry, dark clips from social media with irate locals calling for action.

For weeks now, the distinctive blinking lights and whirling rotors of large unmanned aerial vehicles have been spotted across the state west of New York.

But military brass, elected representatives and investigators have been unable to explain the recurring UFO phenomenon.

Sam Lugo, 23, who works in the Club Studio gym in New Jersey’s Bergen county, one of the corners of the state that has seen several drone sightings, called the reports “crazy”.

“It’s pretty concerning they were sighted… without explanation. It can be alarming,” he said.

Officials including the governor have called on people not to be alarmed but have not yet offered an explanation for the aerial activity.

“I’ve seen them every night since Thanksgiving, they’re smaller than my Jeep,” wrote X user Gus Seretis.

“They hover just about tree height or a little higher,” he added, describing them as like aircraft too small for a pilot and vowing to “shoot at one if it comes low enough”.

New Jersey congressman Chris Smith wrote to the Pentagon on Tuesday demanding answers.

“There have been numerous instances of unmanned aerial systems flying over New Jersey, including in close proximity to sensitive sites and critical infrastructure, to include military installations located in my district,” he wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

– ‘Get abducted’ –

Smith said he had been told that more than a dozen drones pursued a coastguard lifeboat over the weekend.

The lawmaker then spent “hours” monitoring the night sky with the sheriff of Ocean County, the location of a number of sightings, according to his office.

The Pentagon, the nerve center of the US military, insists the objects are not “US military drones”.

“Our initial assessment is that this is not the work of a foreign adversary or a foreign entity,” said deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh.

Singh also rejected claims by Republican lawmaker Jeff Van Drew on Fox News that Washington’s foe Tehran was behind the spate of sightings.

“There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there’s no so-called mothership launching drones towards the United States,” she said.

New Jersey native Joseph Boutros, 21, said he had seen the reports of drone activity on social media. “But I’ve not seen them myself,” he said.

“It’s not something that worries me as long as they aren’t carrying weapons,” said the suited local as he collected takeout from a Bergen county strip mall as night fell.

In the cloudy skies above, the only aerial vehicles with flashing lights were passenger jets on approach to New Jersey’s Newark airport.

The FBI told AFP it was aware of the sightings “in multiple locations over the past several weeks” and said it was working with other agencies on the issue.

But the agency would not confirm reports of a crisis meeting between various government departments over the mounting concern.

Drones are permitted for both business applications and recreational use but are regulated by Federal Aviation Administration rules.

Witnesses stress that the unexplained aerial objects are larger than those commonly used by drone enthusiasts.

“I don’t want to get abducted or anything like that,” said Lugo with a smile.

'We're all in danger!' Marjorie Taylor Greene unloads profane freak out over N.J. drones

David Edwards
December 12, 2024 

X/screen grab

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) warned that everyone in the United States was "in danger" after unidentified drones were spotted flying over New Jersey.

In an angry rant on Thursday, Greene demanded the resignation of Pentagon officials for not revealing the source of drones that were recently seen in the Garden State.

"I'm going to call it total bulls--- that no one knows what these are," Greene said. "They can track down a guy that just killed a CEO, but they can't identify what nightly drones are and where they're coming from."

"Secondly, if they're telling the truth, then this country is in horrible shape," she continued. "We're all in danger!"

"I mean, seriously, if our great government can't identify what these drones are, they're flying every single night, the people are sitting out there videoing with their cell phones, then no American is safe."

Greene insisted that Pentagon officials were "a bunch of liars."

"And I think they're full of s---," she asserted. "If they don't know, they need to resign in shame."

On Wednesday, Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey claimed that an Iranian "mothership" was launching the drones.

The Pentagon said there was no evidence that a foreign adversary controlled the drones.

"At this time, according to the FBI, there are no known specific or credible threats related to these sightings," the DHS informed lawmakers at a meeting on Wednesday.

Watch the video below or click the link here.

'Shoot them down!' Trump weighs in on mystery drone incidents

Matthew Chapman
December 13, 2024 


Donald Trump. (Photo credit: Gage Skidmore)

President-elect Donald Trump weighed in on the mysterious drone incidents happening in parts of the country in a short post to Truth Social on Friday evening.

"Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country," wrote Trump. "Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge. I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!"

The drones, whose purpose is unknown, were first identified flying around New Jersey, alarming local officials and residents alike. Some witnesses have said the drones are the size of cars and are in prime position to spy on people's property.

Trump is not the first public official to comment on the matter. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has assured people the matter is under investigation, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) burst out in a fury over the incident.

"I'm going to call it total bulls--- that no one knows what these are," she posted. "They can track down a guy that just killed a CEO, but they can't identify what nightly drones are and where they're coming from."

'Shoot. These. Things. Down.' Trump fans seek open season on drones — which may be planes

Sarah K. Burris
December 13, 2024 

A drone flying over a field. (Photo credit: Vaakim / Shutterstock)

President-elect Donald Trump weighed in on the drone sightings Friday — arguing they ought to be shot down — after several days of reporting sightings in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and, as of Thursday night, parts of Maryland.

When writing about them on TruthSocial, however, he seemed to have trouble on his first pass — deleting the first post and reposting a revised version — leading some to ask if something was wrong.

"Was he having a medical event while typing this?" asked independent journalist Aaron Rupar on Blue Sky.

Influencer Harry Sisson told his 131,000 followers on Blue Sky, "Trump just put out this statement on the drone sightings and it’s riddled with spelling errors and mistakes. Is he… ok?"

ALSO READ: Marjorie Taylor Greene questions if UFOs and aliens are really angels: 'Honestly, I've looked into it'

Among Trump's suggestions was to shoot down the drones, which is a federal offense and could land folks in jail, according to USA Today.

"'Shot' down actual airplanes because MAGA doesn't know the difference between them and 'mystery drones?'" commented X Spaces host Art Candee. "Donald Trump is the dumbest man ever elected into the Oval Office."

One of her followers joked, "They’re eating the cats, they’re shooting the drones."

Trump's allies agreed with him. Fox News contributor Joe Concha, for example, posted on X, "Trump is right: Shoot. These. Things. Down."


"President Trump sounds off on the drone sightings off the coast of New Jersey and New York saying he doesn’t believe the government doesn’t know who or what is behind them. “Otherwise, shoot them down now!!!” Agreed," wrote Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on X.

"Shoot the drones down!!!" exclaimed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on X.

Notably, reports have indicated some drones may be as large as a car.

Cape Flats farmers fight to preserve a South African breadbasket eyed by developers

Cape Flats, South Africa – In the middle of Cape Town’s Cape Flats lies the Philippi Horticutural Area, an agricultural zone that produces more than half of the city’s fresh produce. It sits on top of an aquifer that allows for “drought-proof” farming in a region where intensifying droughts have become the norm. But due to rezoning proposals by developers, the land is under threat.


Issued on: 14/12/2024 - 
By: Tom CANETTI

FRANCE 24

Max and Mike, locals from the Cape Flats, working at Sonday's farm.

 © Tom Canetti, FRANCE 24

Achmad Binkhuis’s father was not allowed to buy his own farm under Apartheid rules. After the fall of the regime, Binkhuis turned two chickens into 35,000 and now runs a poultry and vegetable vendor, Chamomile Farm. Now, proposed rezoning threatens his land.

“Before, it was based on the colour of your skin. Now it’s economic,” Binkhuis said.

Chamomile Farm is situated in the Philippi Horticultural Area (PHA) in the heart of Cape Flats, about 20km from Cape Town. Almost five million people live in the Cape Flats, often in densely populated townships plagued by gang violence and unemployment.

It is home to all of the workers at Binkhuis’s farm, where they are provided food, a salary and a safe place for their kids while they work.

Achmad Brinkhuis at Chamomile Farm with one of the locals he employs. © Tom Canetti, FRANCE 24

“Chamomile means to be strong under adversity,” Binkhuis said, while the young son of a worker plays with an injured bird.

“I always tell my boys not to grow faster than the community you reside in. You must grow with the community.”

The PHA is the most productive region for horticulture on a per-hectare basis in South Africa.

Developers are now trying to rezone what is left of the 3,000-hectare PHA agricultural zone to build houses and mining facilities. But the PHA sits on top of an aquifer, a unique reservoir of underground water conserved by rock formations and sand. Building or mining could destroy the aquifer, which provides fertile land for farmers to grow more than half of Cape Town’s fresh produce.

The young son of one of the local farmers holds an injured bird at Chamomile Farm. © Tom Canetti, FRANCE 24
Grassroots battle

A few minutes' drive down the road, Nazeer Sonday runs a small sustainable farm on one hectare of land. He has banned together with other farmers to form the PHA Food & Farming Campaign, which teaches locals from the townships how to farm and fights against rezoning.

“This area is so important for climate resilience,” Sonday said. “For water and local food production.”

The aquifer allows the PHA to resist against droughts, which have been intensifying in Southern Africa due to climate change.

The 2015-2020 Cape Town water crisis saw Western Cape province implement drastic water restrictions due to drought, with residents forced to halve their consumption. In 2017, Cape Town narrowly avoided “Day Zero”, which would have made it the first major city in the world to run out of water in the municipal supply.

But mobilising to fight against developers is a difficult prospect for the PHA Food & Farming Campaign. Sonday said “landless farmers” do not have a lot of resources and their day-to-day life is “taking care of tomorrow's food”.

Nazeer Sonday, a first-generation sustainable farmer and member of the PHA Food & Farming Campaign. © Tom Canetti, FRANCE 24

Susanna Coleman, a Cape Town optometrist, has been involved in the fight for the last 15 years. She said there are different ways to assess the true value of the land.

“One is, How much can I sell it for? The other is, What can I get from the land?”

Coleman said some farmers sell land zoned for agriculture for “triple its value” to developers who hope to rezone it.

“All of a sudden it becomes an irreversible project," said Coleman, explaining that land that was used to grow food for the city for the last 150 years is now being repurposed.

The PHA Food & Farming Campaign has successfully stopped four developments in the PHA, Coleman said. But there are still some ongoing applications, including a 25,000-unit residential development and an open-cast silica sand mining proposal.
Capitalising on the land

Coleman said the city of Cape Town favours the redevelopment of agricultural zones simply to make more money.

“It’s to make more levy-paying occupants for the city,” she said. “It’s worth much more to them as a piece of land that gives them 25,000 levy-paying houses per month than a piece of open land that feeds half a million people.”

Susanna Coleman, a Cape Town optometrist, with maps of the proposed rezoning that threatens PHA farmers. © Tom Canetti, FRANCE 24

Cape Town's Deputy Mayor Eddie Matthews said that “every development management application is considered on merit”.

“Some development proposals also require other authorisations to be granted in terms of other legislation," he told FRANCE 24. "Therefore, the city of Cape Town might not be the only decision-making authority, depending on the development proposal submitted for consideration.”

He added that residents have the right to object to any proposed redevelopments.

“Applications are advertised to provide the public and interested and affected parties the opportunity to comment, and if there are objections, the application [goes] before the Municipal Planning Tribunal for decision,” he said.

Cape Town is also experiencing a housing crisis, with more than 600,000 on the waiting list for affordable homes. The city of Cape Town has tried to address this, including with a project in Manenberg in the Cape Flats where 42 families who qualified received free title deeds.

But building on top of an aquifer is a complex and expensive process. It requires a geotechnical assessment, specific pile foundations and waterproofing, making it impossible to build affordable housing in the PHA, according to Coleman.

“You can’t do that in the PHA, simply because the water table is too high,” she said. “You can’t put low-cost housing here.”

Due to the expense, houses built on rezoned agricultural land in the PHA would be sold for higher prices – and are thus unlikely to serve those on the waiting list for low-cost homes.

ANOTHER COP OUT

Negotiators fail to secure drought deal at Saudi-hosted UN talks

Parties from 196 countries and the European Union failed on Saturday to reach an agreement on how to respond to drought at UN talks in Saudi Arabia.

Issued on: 14/12/2024 -
By: NEWS WIRES

A COP16 delegate walks past a giant poster of a Saudi archaeological site at the start of the UNCCD talks. © Fayez Nureldine, AFP

Negotiators failed to produce an agreement on how to respond to drought at Saudi-hosted UN talks, participants said on Saturday, falling short of a hoped-for binding protocol addressing the scourge.

The 12-day meeting of parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), known as COP16, concluded early on Saturday morning, a day later than scheduled as parties tried to hammer out a deal.

Prior to the talks, UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw said the world expected negotiators "to adopt a bold decision that can help turn the tide on the most pervasive and the most disruptive environmental disaster: drought".

But addressing the plenary session before dawn, Thiaw acknowledged that "parties need more time to agree on the best way forward".


A press release on Saturday said the parties -- 196 countries and the European Union -- had "made significant progress in laying the groundwork for a future global drought regime, which they intend to complete at COP17 in Mongolia in 2026".

The Riyadh talks came after the partial failure of biodiversity talks in Colombia, the failure to reach a UN deal on plastics pollution in South Korea, and a climate finance deal that disappointed developing nations at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Growing threat

Droughts "fuelled by human destruction of the environment" cost the world more than $300 billion each year, the UN said in a report published on December 3, the second day of the talks in Riyadh.

Droughts are projected to affect 75 percent of the world's population by 2050, it said.

A delegate at COP16 from a country in Africa, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, told AFP that African nations had hoped the talks would produce a binding protocol on drought.

That would ensure "every government will be held responsible" for devising stronger preparation and response plans, the delegate said.

"It's the first time I've seen Africa so united, with a strong united front, with respect to the drought protocol."

Two other COP16 participants, also requesting anonymity, told AFP that developed countries did not want a binding protocol and instead were pushing for a "framework", which African countries deemed inadequate.

Indigenous groups were also pushing for a protocol, said Praveena Sridhar, chief technical officer for Save Soil, a global campaign backed by UN agencies.

This would allow for better monitoring, early warning systems and response plans, she said.

Yet the absence of a protocol from COP16 "shouldn't delay progress", as national governments can still allocate "budgets and subsidies to financially support farmers in adopting sustainable soil and land management".
Funding needs

Ahead of the Riyadh talks, the UNCCD said 1.5 billion hectares (3.7 billion acres) of land must be restored by decade's end and that at least $2.6 trillion in global investments was needed.

The first week saw pledges of more than $12 billion from bodies such as the Arab Coordination Group, a collection of national and regional institutions, and the Riyadh Global Drought Resilience Partnership, which is meant to mobilise public and private money to help at-risk countries.

Activists accused Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, of trying to water down calls to phase out fossil fuels at last month's COP29 UN climate talks in Baku.

However, desertification is a major issue for the Gulf kingdom.

Along with the drought resilience partnership, Saudi Arabia launched initiatives to promote early warning for sand and dust storms and to get the private sector involved in land preservation, Saudi Environment Minister Abdulrahman AlFadley said in his closing remarks.

Saudi Arabia is dedicated "to working with all parties to preserve ecosystems, enhance international cooperation to combat desertification and land degradation, and address drought", he said.

Sridhar of Save Soil said Saudi Arabia had succeeded in raising the profile of land-related issues, which she described as more "unifying" than the climate talks in Baku.

"Attending to land, agriculture lands, farmers, livestock –- it's not a contested subject. Nobody's going to say 'I don’t want food'," she said.

"The use of fossil fuels or not is a very polarising subject. This is not."

(AFP)

UN report warns increase in permanently dry land is 'redefining life on Earth'

Just over 75 percent of the world's land has been left "permanently drier" over the previous three decades, a UN-backed report has found. The data coincides with Cop16 talks on desertification held in Saudi Arabia until Friday.


Issued on: 10/12/2024 - 

Workers look after trees planted in the "green belt" area, trying to prevent worsening desertification and sand storms, on the outskirt of Kerbala, Iraq 12 May, 2022. 

© REUTERS - ALAA AL-MARJANI

By:RFI

Dry land now covers around 40 percent of the Earth's land mass, excluding Antarctica, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) study found, cautioning the shift could affect up to five billion people by 2100.

"Some 77.6 percent of Earth's land experienced drier conditions during the three decades leading up to 2020 compared to the previous 30-year period," the report said.

It indicates an "existential threat" posed by the seemingly irreversible trends and showed that dry land - regions where agriculture is difficult -- increased by 4.3 million square kilometres between 1990 and 2020, an area a third the size of India.

The warning comes during a 12-day meeting in Riyadh, which began last week, for the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (Cop16) under the UNCCD and seeks to protect and restore land and respond to drought amid ongoing climate change

Aridity, a chronic shortage of water, now extends over 40.6 percent of the Earth's land mass, again excluding Antarctica, compared with 37.5 percent 30 years ago, the report warns.

Unrelenting transformation

It also cautions the areas most affected include the nations bordering the Mediterranean, southern Africa, southern Australia and certain regions of Asia and Latin America.

"For the first time, the aridity crisis has been documented with scientific clarity, revealing an existential threat," said Ibrahim Thiaw, UNCCD Executive Secretary.

"Unlike droughts – temporary periods of low rainfall – aridity represents a permanent, unrelenting transformation," he said.

Saudi Arabia hosts Cop16 to combat desertification crisis

"The drier climates now affecting vast lands across the globe will not return to how they were and this change is redefining life on Earth," he added.

The changes are largely attributed to global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions, which alter rainfall and increase evaporation, the report said.

Jean-Luc Chotte, president of the French Scientific Committee on Desertification, told RFI that the UN report will allow countries to anticipate and react to the effects of desertification in the medium and long term.

Chotte says the new data from the report enables a projection of aridity, in the face of global development and "reinforces the need to find solutions and adapt," be it in terms of agricultural practices and the varieties of plants adapted to drought conditions.

France makes declaration

However, he warns that as new land becomes progressively arid, "today's solutions may no longer be effective tomorrow".

France for the first time, officially declared itself "affected by desertification, land degradation and drought", bringing the total number of nations to 170.

For Thani Mohamed-Soilihi, the Secretary of State for Francophone countries and International Partnerships, France's announcement at Cop16 "sends a message of solidarity to the most vulnerable countries", overriding the view that desertification is predominantly an African issue.

Crippling drought forces drastic water cuts in French territory Mayotte

According to the French scientific committee on desertification, around 1 percent of the country's territory is affected, notably the Mediterranean rim and southern Corsica, as well as the overseas territories of Reunion Island, Guadeloupe and Mayotte.

In Mayotte, where drought has been rife for years, water cuts have been extended to cope with an increase in consumption.

Mainland France notably experienced an unprecedented drought in 2022, with a rainfall deficit of 25 percent, making it the second least rainy year since 1959.

Forced migration to increase

"For the first time, a UN scientific body is warning that burning fossil fuels is causing permanent drying across much of the world," lead UNCCD Chief Scientist Barron Orr said.

He added this could have "potentially catastrophic impacts affecting access to water that could push people and nature even closer to disastrous tipping points".

Nearly 68 million suffering from drought in southern Africa, says regional bloc

The effects of the chronic water shortages include soil degradation, ecosystem collapse, food insecurity and forced migration, according to the scientists.

Already, 2.3 billion people live in expanding dry areas, according to the report, with projections showing a "worst-case scenario" of five billion people living in the conditions as the planet continues to warm.

To counter this trend, the scientists urged members to "integrate aridity metrics into existing drought monitoring systems", improve soil and water management, and "build resilience in vulnerable communities".

(with newswires)