Climate damage caused by growing space tourism needs urgent mitigation

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON

Published today in the journal Earth’s Future, researchers from UCL, the University of Cambridge and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) used a 3D model to explore the impact of rocket launches and re-entry in 2019, and the impact of projected space tourism scenarios based on the recent billionaire space race.

The team found that black carbon (soot) particles emitted by rockets are almost 500 times more efficient at holding heat in the atmosphere than all other sources of soot combined (surface and aircraft) – resulting in an enhanced climate effect.

Furthermore, while the study revealed that the current loss of total ozone due to rockets is small, current growth trends around space tourism indicate potential for future depletion of the upper stratospheric ozone layer in the Arctic in spring. This is because pollutants from solid-fuel rockets and re-entry heating of returning spacecraft and debris are particularly harmful to stratospheric ozone.

Study co-author Dr Eloise Marais (UCL Geography) said: “Rocket launches are routinely compared to greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions from the aircraft industry, which we demonstrate in our work is erroneous.

“Soot particles from rocket launches have a much larger climate effect than aircraft and other Earth-bound sources, so there doesn’t need to be as many rocket launches as international flights to have a similar impact. What we really need now is a discussion amongst experts on the best strategy for regulating this rapidly growing industry.”

To calculate the findings, the researchers collected information on the chemicals from all 103 rocket launches in 2019 from across the world, as well as data on reusable rocket and space junk re-entry. They also used the recent demonstrations by space tourism entrepreneurs Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin and SpaceX and proposed yearly offerings of at least daily launches by Virgin Galactic to construct a scenario of a future formidable space tourism industry.

These data were then incorporated into a 3D atmospheric chemistry model to explore the impact on climate and the ozone layer.

The team show that warming due to soot is 3.9 mW m-2 from a decade of contemporary rockets, dominated by emissions from kerosene-fuelled rockets. However, this more than doubles (7.9 mW m-2) after just three years of additional emissions from space tourism launches, due to the use of kerosene by SpaceX and hybrid synthetic rubber fuels by Virgin Galactic.

The researchers say this is of particular concern, as when the soot particles are directly injected into the upper atmosphere, they have a much greater effect on climate than other soot sources - with the particles 500 times more efficient at retaining heat.

The team found that, under a scenario of daily or weekly space tourism rocket launches, the impact on the stratospheric ozone layer threatens to undermine the recovery experienced after the successful implementation of the Montreal Protocol.

Adopted in 1987, the Montreal Protocol global ban on substances that deplete the ozone layer is considered one of the most successful international environmental policy interventions.

Study co-author Dr Robert Ryan said: “The only part of the atmosphere showing strong ozone recovery post-Montreal Protocol is the upper stratosphere, and that is exactly where the impact of rocket emissions will hit hardest. We weren’t expecting to see ozone changes of this magnitude, threatening the progress of ozone recovery.

“There is still a lot we need to find out about the influence of rocket launch and re-entry emissions on the atmosphere - in particular, the future size of the industry and the types and by-products of new fuels like liquid methane and bio-derived fuels.

“This study allows us to enter the new era of space tourism with our eyes wide open to the potential impacts. The conversation about regulating the environmental impact of the space launch industry needs to start now so we can minimise harm to the stratospheric ozone layer and climate.”

 

Notes to Editors

For more information or to speak to the researchers involved, please contact Evie Calder, UCL Media Relations. T: +447858 152143 E: e.calder@ucl.ac.uk

Robert G. Ryan, Eloise A. Marais, Chloe J. Balhatchet, Sebastian D. Eastham, (2022) Impact of Rocket Launch and Space Debris Air Pollutant Emissions on Stratospheric Ozone and Global Climate will be published in Earth’s Future on Saturday 25 June 14:00 UK time / 09:00 US Eastern time and is under a strict embargo until this time.

The DOI for this paper will be 10.1029/2021EF002612

 

About UCL – London’s Global University

UCL is a diverse global community of world-class academics, students, industry links, external partners, and alumni. Our powerful collective of individuals and institutions work together to explore new possibilities.

Since 1826, we have championed independent thought by attracting and nurturing the world's best minds. Our community of more than 43,800 students from 150 countries and over 14,300 staff pursues academic excellence, breaks boundaries and makes a positive impact on real world problems.

We are consistently ranked among the top 10 universities in the world and are one of only a handful of institutions rated as having the strongest academic reputation and the broadest research impact.

We have a progressive and integrated approach to our teaching and research – championing innovation, creativity and cross-disciplinary working. We teach our students how to think, not what to think, and see them as partners, collaborators and contributors.  

For almost 200 years, we are proud to have opened higher education to students from a wide range of backgrounds and to change the way we create and share knowledge.

We were the first in England to welcome women to university education and that courageous attitude and disruptive spirit is still alive today. We are UCL.

www.ucl.ac.uk | Follow @uclnews on Twitter | Read news at www.ucl.ac.uk/news/ | Listen to UCL podcasts on SoundCloud | Find out what’s on at UCL Minds

 

Links to online profiles and social media accounts:

Eloise Marais UCL profile: https://www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/people/academic-staff/academic-staff/eloise-marais

Marais Research Lab: https://maraisresearchgroup.co.uk/people.html

Rob Ryan UCL profile: https://www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/people/research-staff/robert-ryan

Rob Ryan Twitter handle: @rsquared_aus

UCL Geography Twitter handle: @UCLgeography

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JOURNAL

Earth s Future

DOI

10.1029/2021EF002612 

ARTICLE TITLE

Impact of Rocket Launch and Space Debris Air Pollutant Emissions on Stratospheric Ozone and Global Climate

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

25-Jun-2022

‘Total bloodbath’: Witnesses describe Ethiopia ethnic attack


Hundreds of people were slaughtered in a village and its surroundings this month in the latest explosion of ethnic violence in Ethiopia. (AP Graphic)

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The heavily armed men appeared around the small farming village in Ethiopia’s Oromia region, frightening residents already on edge after recent clashes between government troops and rebels.

“The militants assured us that they will not touch us. They said they are not after us,” resident Nur Hussein Abdi told The Associated Press. “But in reality, they were surrounding our whole village for a deadly massacre. What happened the next day was a total bloodbath.”

Abdi escaped by hiding on a rooftop, a horrified witness to one of the worst mass killings in Ethiopia in recent years. Hundreds of people, mostly ethnic Amhara, were slaughtered in Tole village and the surroundings on June 18 in the latest explosion of ethnic violence in Africa’s second most populous nation.

Multiple witnesses told the AP they are still discovering bodies, with some put in mass graves containing scores of people. The Amhara Association of America said it has confirmed 503 civilians killed. Ethiopian authorities have not released figures. One witness, Mohammed Kemal, said he has witnessed 430 bodies buried, and others are still exposed and decomposing.

Kemal begged Ethiopia’s government to relocate the survivors, saying the armed men had threatened to return.

“They killed infants, children, women and the elderly,” resident Ahmed Kasim said. The Amhara Association of America said the dead include a 100-year-old and a one-month-old baby, and some people were killed in a mosque where they had tried to hide.

Residents and Oromia regional officials have blamed the Oromo Liberation Army, an armed group that Ethiopia’s government has declared a terrorist organization. An OLA spokesman denied it, alleging that federal troops and regional militia attacked the villagers for their perceived support of the OLA as they retreated from an OLA offensive.

Again, Ethiopians are left wondering why the federal government failed to protect them from the violent side of the country’s ethnic tensions — and why ethnic minorities in a federal system based on identity are left so vulnerable.

Teddy Afro, Ethiopia’s much celebrated pop star, released two songs this week highlighting the crisis that has worsened in the past four years and dedicating his songs to civilians who have lost their lives.

“It’s never an option to keep quiet when a mountain of death comes in front of me,” one of his lyrics says.

On Friday, thousands of students at Gondar University in the neighboring Amhara region protested the killings and demanded justice.

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, has said security forces have launched a military operation against the OLA, but many Ethiopians appear skeptical after seeing the deadly cycle play out in the past.

The president of the Oromia region, Shimelis Abdisa, on Thursday acknowledged that it will be difficult to arrange security in every location, but said the current operation “will cripple the enemy’s ability to move from place to place.”

Ethnic Amhara are Ethiopia’s second-largest ethnic group but have found themselves under attack in some areas where they are in the minority. Several dozen were killed in attacks in the Benishangul Gumuz and Oromia regions over the past three years alone.

“Ethnic Amharas who live outside of their region do not have legal and political representation, which results in no protection,” said Muluken Tesfaw, a community activist who tracks abuses against the Amhara. “There were even speeches by Oromia region government officials that seek to reduce Amharic-speaking people.”

“An anti-Amhara narrative has been spreading for over 50 years now,” said Belete Molla, chairman of the opposition NaMA party. “The Amhara living in Oromia and Benishangul are hence being targeted.” He also accused some members of the Oromia region’s ruling party of “working for or sympathizing with the Oromo Liberation Army.”

The latest mass killings brought international alarm. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, has urged Ethiopian authorities to hold “prompt, impartial and through” investigations. The U.S. State Department called on Ethiopians to “reject violence and pursue peace.”

Ethiopia continues to struggle with ethnic tensions in several parts of the country and a deadly conflict in the northern Tigray region that has severely affected the once rapidly growing economy, but the prime minister is adamant that better days are ahead.

“There is no doubt that Ethiopia is on the path of prosperity,” he declared in a parliament address this month.

But Ethiopians who escaped the latest attack seek answers.

Nur Hussein said he and other Tole villagers had called nearby officials about the appearance of the armed men shortly before the violence exploded. “Their response was muted. They said there were no specific threats to respond to. But look at what unfolded,” he said. “God willing, we will get past this, but it is a scar that will live with us forever.”

ANTI IMPERIALIST COLLECTIVE
"We apologize": artist collective Taring Padi regrets documenta "mistake"

Following the scandal over an antisemitic artwork at documenta fifteen in Kassel, the curatorial team has now been joined by the artist collective Taring Padi in apologizing.



The vast 'People's Justice' mural created a furore over antisemitic depictions before it was dismantled


For three days, the installation 'People's Justice' by the Indonesian artist collective Taring Padi hung on a scaffold in the center of Kassel, before it was taken down after accusations of antisemitism. It showed a kind of doomsday illustration featuring, among many figures, a soldier with a pig's face and a Star of David, as well as a man with sidecurls, sharp teeth and SS runes on his hat.
"Our imagery has taken on a specific meaning in the historic context of Germany"

"We deeply regret the extent to which the imagery of our work People’s Justice has offended so many people," Taring Padi wrote in a statement on the documenta website. "We apologize to all viewers and the team of documenta fifteen, the public in Germany and especially the Jewish community. We have learned from our mistake, and recognize now that our imagery has taken on a specific meaning in the historic context of Germany. Therefore, we removed the banner from our exhibition, together with documenta fifteen."

This last statement, however, has come under criticism. Antisemitic motifs have no place at documenta or anywhere else, said Meron Mendel, director of the Anne Frank Educational Center in Frankfurt am Main: "Depicting Jews as bloodsuckers should not only be a problem in the German context, but everywhere in the world."


Dismantled: Taring Padi's "People's Justice" banner.

However, Taring Padi clearly counter the accusation that they are antisemitic: "As a collective of artists who denounce racism in all its forms, we are shocked and saddened by the media furor that has labelled us as anti-semitic. Through this statement, we want to reaffirm our respect for all human beings, regardless of their ethnicity, race, religion, gender or sexuality."
"Anti-semitism does not have a place in our hearts and minds."

The eight-by-twelve-meter banner was created collaboratively in 2002 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia by several members of the artists' collective, wrote Taring Padi: "The banner was born out of our struggles of living under Suharto’s military dictatorship, where violence, exploitation and censorship were a daily reality. Like all of our artwork, the banner attempts to expose the complex power relationships that are at play behind these injustices and the erasure of public memory surrounding the Indonesian genocide in 1965, where more than 500,000 people were murdered."

The artwork "presents these internal and external powers in a pictorial scene and tries to capture the complex historical circumstances through a visual language that is at once as disturbing as the reality of the violence itself," the collective said. However, it was "never intended as hatred directed at a particular ethnic or religious group, but as a critique of militarism and state violence. We depicted the involvement of the government of the state of Israel in the wrong way – and we apologize. Anti-semitism does not have a place in our hearts and minds."


The Indonesian artist collective Ruangrupa, the curators of documenta fifteen

In response to the controversy, documenta, together with the Anne Frank Educational Center, is organizing a panel on "Anti-Semitism in Art" on June 29 in Kassel. Among others, Mendel and Hortensia Völckers, artistic director and member of the board of the German Federal Cultural Foundation, will discuss the issue.

"We apologize for the disappointment, shame, frustration, betrayal, and shock this stereotype has caused the viewers and the whole team," wrote Indonesian art collective and documenta fifteen curators, Ruangrupa, in a statement on Thursday.

The curators acknowledged that the imagery contained in a mural banner that on Tuesday was removed from a public square in Kassel — where documenta has been staged every five years since 1955 — "connects seamlessly to the most horrific episode of German history in which Jewish people were targeted and murdered on an unprecedented scale."

The group called the Jewish community in Kassel and Germany "our allies," adding that they continue to "live under the trauma of the past and the continued presence of discrimination, prejudice and marginalization."

Jewish groups demand resignations

But for Jewish groups like the Central Council of Jews in Germany, the apology has come too late as calls grow for documenta general director Sabine Schormann to resign.

She remains in the job, however, and is determined to move forward with the event, saying her priority is "getting the ship back on course." Speaking Thursday in Kassel to German press agency, dpa, she said that "in rough seas, a captain does not jump ship."

In an interview with Spiegel magazine, she also stated that she has "organizational responsibility" for documenta 15 and is "not responsible for the artistic processes" in which the mural was hung.

She explained that the work went up a day before the art show opening due to some last-minute repairs, and that there was no time to properly inspect the large banner.

Claudia Roth, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Sabine Schormann at the opening of documenta fifteen

The curators acknowledged that they had "collectively failed to spot the figure in the work, which is a character that evokes classical stereotypes of antisemitism.''

"It clearly contains antisemitic imagery" that "crosses borders and hurts feelings," said Schormann. "We all regret this from the bottom of our hearts."

Taring Padi, the Indonesia artist collective who produced the offending work, "People's Justice," have also apologized.

Meanwhile, Jörg Sperling, the chairman of a supporting body for the event, documenta Forum, has resigned after criticizing the removal of the Taring Padi work.
Putting artwork in historical context

Despite the wave of apologies in the wake of the antisemitism scandal, Schormann also noted that Taring Padi created the mural twenty years ago "in a completely different context."

She said it was important to take into account that "the disputed motifs are frequently used in the visual language in Indonesia," mentioning, for example, "satirically exaggerated" figures in local puppet theater.

The members of the Finding Committee for the Artistic Direction of documenta fifteen also backed Taring Padi, expressing "respect for … their long struggle against the oppression and dictatorship of the Suharto years in Indonesia."

In a statement, the committee also said that "we stand fully behind our selection of ruangrupa to curate this year's edition of the historic exhibition in Kassel."

The mural is gone but debate rages on

Documenta to have more federal influence?

Meanwhile, German State Minister for Culture and the Media, Claudia Roth, has called for potential restructuring of the global art exhibition so that the federal government oversees the event to ensure that no further antisemitic works appear.

She said the federal government's withdrawal from documenta's supervisory board in 2018 was a "serious mistake."

The federal government has otherwise distanced itself from the current scandal, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirming on Wednesday evening that he will not attend the global art show.

"Chancellor Olaf Scholz finds the said image in Kassel disgusting," said a spokesperson.

Edited by: Dagmar Breitenbach

Norway shaken by attack that kills 2 during Pride festival

By MARIA SANMINIATELLI and KARL RITTER

1 of 19

People react as they lay flowers at the scene of a shooting in central Oslo, Norway, Saturday, June 25, 2022. A gunman opened fire in Oslo’s night-life district early Saturday, killing two people and leaving more than 20 wounded in what Norwegian security service called an "Islamist terror act" during the capital’s annual Pride festival. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)


OSLO, Norway (AP) — A gunman opened fire in Oslo’s nightlife district early Saturday, killing two people and leaving more than 20 wounded in what the Norwegian security service called an “Islamist terror act” during the capital’s annual LGBTQ Pride festival.

Investigators said the suspect, identified as a 42-year-old Norwegian citizen originally from Iran, was arrested after opening fire at three locations in downtown Oslo.

Police said two men, one in his 50s and and the other his 60s, died in the shootings. Ten people were treated for serious injuries, but none of them was believed to be in life-threatening condition. Eleven others had minor injuries.

The Norwegian Police Security Service raised its terror alert level from “moderate” to “extraordinary” — the highest level — after the attack, which sent panicked revelers fleeing into the streets or trying to hide from the gunman.

The service’s acting chief, Roger Berg, called the attack an “extreme Islamist terror act” and said the suspect had a “long history of violence and threats,” as well as mental health issues.

He said the agency, known by its Norwegian acronym PST, first became aware of the suspect in 2015 and later grew concerned he had become radicalized and was part of an unspecified Islamist network.

Norwegian media named the suspect as Zaniar Matapour, an Oslo resident who arrived in Norway with his family from a Kurdish part of Iran in the 1990s.

The suspect’s defense lawyer, John Christian Elden, said his client “hasn’t denied” carrying out the attack, but he cautioned against speculation on the motive.

“He has not given any reason. It is too early to conclude whether this is hate crime or terrorism,” Elden said in an email to The Associated Press.

Upon the advice of police, organizers canceled a Pride parade that was set for Saturday as the highlight of a weeklong festival. Scores of people marched through the capital anyway, waving rainbow flags.

Police attorney Christian Hatlo said it was too early to say whether the gunman specifically targeted members of the LGBTQ community.

“We have to look closer at that, we don’t know yet,” he said.

Police said civilians assisted them in detaining the man in custody, who was being held on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and terrorism, based on the number of people targeted at multiple locations.

Investigators seized two weapons after the attack: a handgun and an automatic weapon. Hatlo described both as “not modern” but did not give details.

Not far from Oslo’s cathedral, crime scene tape cordoned off the bars where the shootings took place, including the London Pub, which is popular with the city’s LGBTQ community.

Crowds gathered outside and dropped off cards and flowers at impromptu memorials.

Martin Ebbestad, 29, had walked by earlier, seen the memorials and returned with flowers.

London Pub “is our go-to place. My boyfriend left 20 minutes before (it happened). He was sitting outside in the smoking area,” Ebbestad said. “We know this place so well. It doesn’t feel unsafe, but it does feel very close.”




Norwegian television channel TV2 showed footage of people running down Oslo streets in panic as shots rang out in the background. Olav Roenneberg, a journalist from Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, said he witnessed the shooting.

“I saw a man arrive at the site with a bag. He picked up a weapon and started shooting,” Roenneberg told NRK. “First I thought it was an air gun. Then the glass of the bar next door was shattered and I understood I had to run for cover.”

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere called the shooting a “cruel and deeply shocking attack on innocent people.”

He said that while the motive was unclear, the shooting had caused fear and grief in the LGBTQ community.

“We all stand by you,” Gahr Stoere wrote on Facebook.

Christian Bredeli, who was at the London Pub, told Norwegian newspaper VG that he hid on the fourth floor with a group of about 10 people until he was told it was safe to come out.

“Many were fearing for their lives,” he said. “On our way out we saw several injured people, so we understood that something serious had happened.”

Desta G. Selassie, a co-owner of the London Pub, told AP that employees who witnessed the  had a criminal record that included a narcotics offense and a weapons offense for carrying a knife.

PST said it spoke to him in May this year “because he had shown a certain interest in statements that were interpreted as insults to Isla
“In these conversations, it was assessed that he had no intention of violence, but PST is aware that he has had challenges related to mental health,” the agency said in a statement.

Organizers of Oslo Pride canceled the parade and other scheduled events, and encouraged “people all over Norway to show solidarity” in their homes, neighborhoods and on social media instead.

“We’ll be back later, proud, visible, but right now it’s not the time for that,” Inge Alexander Gjestvang, leader of FRI, a Norwegian organization for sexual and gender diversity, told TV2.

Like its Scandinavian neighbors, Norway is considered progressive on LGBTQ rights. There is widespread support for same-sex marriage, which was legalized in 2009. In 2016, Norway became one of the world’s first countries to allow transgender people to legally change their gender without a doctor’s agreement or intervention.

Norway’s King Harald V offered condolences to the relatives of victims and said the royal family was “horrified” by the attack.

“We must stand together to defend our values: freedom, diversity and respect for each other. We must continue to stand up for all people to feel safe,” the monarch said.

World leaders condemned the attack on their way to a Group of Seven summit in Germany. The summit’s host, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, tweeted, “The Norwegian people can be sure of our sympathy. The fight against terror unites us.” French President Emmanuel Macron offered his condolences in a tweet in Norwegian.

John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, told reporters while flying with U.S. President Joe Biden to the G-7 summit, “Our hearts obviously go out to all the families there of the victims, the people of Norway, which is a tremendous ally, and of course the LGBTQI+ community, there and around the world, quite frankly.”

Norway has a relatively low crime rate but has experienced a series of so-called lone wolf attacks in recent decades, including one of the worst mass shootings in Europe. In 2011, a right-wing extremist killed 69 people on the island of Utoya after setting off a bomb in Oslo that left eight dead.

In 2019, another right-wing extremist killed his stepsister and then opened fire in a mosque but was overpowered before anyone there was injured.

Last year, a Norwegian man armed with knives and a bow and arrow killed five people in a town in southern Norway. The attacker, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, was sentenced Friday to compulsory psychiatric care.

___

Ritter reported from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Jari Tanner in Helsinki and Sarah Hambro in Oslo contributed to this report.

Gunman kills two during Oslo Pride festival

25 June 2022

The Norwegian Police Security Service raised its terror alert level from ‘moderate’ to ‘extraordinary’ – the highest level – after the attack.

A gunman opened fire in Oslo’s nightlife district early on Saturday, killing two people and leaving more than 20 wounded in what the Norwegian security service called an “Islamist terror act” during the capital’s annual LGBTQ Pride festival.

Investigators said the suspect, identified as a 42-year-old Norwegian citizen originally from Iran, was arrested after opening fire at three locations in central Oslo.

Police said two men, one in his 50s and the other in his 60s, died in the shootings.

Ten people were treated for serious injuries, but none of them was believed to be in life-threatening condition.

Eleven others had minor injuries.

The Norwegian Police Security Service raised its terror alert level from “moderate” to “extraordinary” – the highest level – after the attack, which sent panicked revellers fleeing into the streets or trying to hide from the gunman.

The service’s acting chief Roger Berg called the attack an “extreme Islamist terror act” and said the suspect had a “long history of violence and threats”, as well as mental health issues.

He said the agency, known by its Norwegian acronym PST, first became aware of the suspect in 2015 and later grew concerned he had become radicalised and was part of an unspecified Islamist network.

Norwegian media named the suspect as Zaniar Matapour, an Oslo resident who arrived in Norway with his family from a Kurdish part of Iran in the 1990s.

The suspect’s defence lawyer, John Christian Elden, said his client had not talked to investigators, and he cautioned against speculation on the motive.

“He has not given any reason. It is too early to conclude whether this is hate crime or terrorism,” Mr Elden said in an email to the Associated Press.

Women comfort each other as they come to lay flowers at the scene of the shooting in central Oslo, Norway (Sergei Grits/AP)

Upon the advice of police, organisers cancelled a Pride parade that was set for Saturday as the highlight of a week-long festival.

Scores of people marched through the capital anyway, waving rainbow flags.

Police lawyer Christian Hatlo said it was too early to say whether the gunman specifically targeted members of the LGBTQ community.

“We have to look closer at that, we don’t know yet,” he said.

Mr Hatlo said the suspect was being held on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and terrorism, based on the number of people targeted at multiple locations.

Police said civilians assisted them in detaining the man in custody.

“Our overall assessment is that there are grounds to believe that he wanted to cause grave fear in the population,” Mr Hatlo said.

One of the shootings happened outside the London Pub, a bar popular with the city’s LGBTQ community, just hours before the parade was set to begin.

Police at the scene of the shooting in central Oslo (Javad Parsa/NTB Scanpix via AP)

Benjamin Lau-Henriksen, 15, and his friend Li-Sullivan Koker Bolstad, 16, walked past the London Pub on their way home from a nearby Pride party for young people about two hours before the shooting.

Had they been of drinking age, they would have been at the bar, they said.

“Had we been over 18 yesterday, we would have been there and we could have died,” Li-Sullivan said.

Olav Roenneberg, a journalist from Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, said he witnessed the shooting.

“I saw a man arrive at the site with a bag. He picked up a weapon and started shooting,” Mr Roenneberg told NRK.

“First I thought it was an air gun. Then the glass of the bar next door was shattered and I understood I had to run for cover.”

Another witness, Marcus Nybakken, 46, said he saw a lot of people running and screaming and thought it was a fistfight.

“But then I heard that it was a shooting and that there was someone shooting with a submachine gun,” Mr Nybakken told Norwegian broadcaster TV2.

Flowers are left at the scene (Hakon Mosvold Larsen/NTB Scanpix via AP)

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said in a Facebook post that “the shooting outside London Pub in Oslo tonight was a cruel and deeply shocking attack on innocent people”.

He said that while the motive was unclear, the shooting had caused fear and grief in the LGBTQ community.

“We all stand by you,” Mr Gahr Stoere wrote.

Christian Bredeli, who was at the London Pub, told Norwegian newspaper VG that he hid on the fourth floor with a group of about 10 people until he was told it was safe to come out.

“Many were fearing for their lives,” he said.

“On our way out we saw several injured people, so we understood that something serious had happened.”

Norwegian television channel TV2 showed footage of people running down Oslo streets in panic as shots rang out in the background.

People react laying flowers at the scene of the shooting (Sergei Grits/AP)

Investigators said the suspect was known to police, as well as to PST, but not for any major violent crimes.

His criminal record included a narcotics offence and a weapons offence for carrying a knife, Mr Hatlo said.

Mr Hatlo said police seized two weapons after the attack: a handgun and an automatic weapon, both of which he described as “not modern” without giving details.

Police advised organisers of the Pride festival to cancel a parade scheduled for Saturday.

“Oslo Pride therefore urges everyone who planned to participate or watch the parade to not show up. All events in connection with Oslo Pride are cancelled,” organisers said on the official Facebook page of the event.

Inge Alexander Gjestvang, leader of FRI, a Norwegian organisation for sexual and gender diversity, said the shooting shook the Nordic country’s LGBTQ community.

“We’ll be back later, proud, visible, but right now it’s not the time for that,” he told TV2.

Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon, centre left, and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere, centre right, visit the scene of the shooting in central Oslo (Javad Parsa/NTB via AP)

King Harald V offered condolences to the relatives of victims and said the royal family was “horrified” by the attack.

“We must stand together to defend our values: freedom, diversity and respect for each other. We must continue to stand up for all people to feel safe,” the monarch said.

Norway has a relatively low crime rate but has experienced a series of so-called lone wolf attacks in recent decades, including one of the worst mass shootings in Europe.

In 2011, a right-wing extremist killed 69 people on the island of Utoya after setting off a bomb in Oslo that left eight dead.

In 2019, another right-wing extremist killed his stepsister and then opened fire in a mosque but was overpowered before anyone there was injured.

Last year, a Norwegian man armed with knives and a bow and arrow killed five people in a town in southern Norway.

The attacker, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, was sentenced on Friday to compulsory psychiatric care.

By Press Association

In Lebanon, how to say ‘I do’ sparks fierce debate

By MARIAM FAM and BASSEM MROUE

1 of 6

Mazen Jaber and Dona-Maria Nammour, who had a civil marriage in Cyprus earlier this year, laugh as they speak during an interview with The Associated Press at their home in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, June 3, 2022. In Lebanon, the question of civil marriage is a contentious issue mired in fierce religious and political debates.

 (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

BEIRUT (AP) — Dona-Maria Nammour was looking for a love story. The night she met Mazen Jaber for the first time, they ended up dancing for hours.

But their tale is about more than a meet-cute to happily-ever-after romance. It is also about frictions in their native Lebanon over sectarian politics and civil rights, the role of religion and rival visions for how the crisis-ridden country moves forward.

When the couple decided to get married, they wanted a civil ceremony, not a religious one — and not only because on paper she’s Catholic and he’s Druze; they also wanted to leave religious authorities out of their nuptials. “It is the best option for equality between us,” Nammour said.

So they traveled to Cyprus to tie the knot.

In Lebanon, an on-again, off-again debate over whether such civil marriages may be held inside the country, and for whom, is contentious and mired in religious and political entanglements.

The issue has flared up anew after a few recently elected lawmakers raised their hands in approval when asked on television whether they would support “optional” civil marriage. That infuriated those insisting marriages must remain under religious authorities’ purview.

Civil marriage proponents argue that the cultural battle over how to say “I do” is part of a larger fight about increasing civil and personal rights, eroding the religious power within the country’s sectarian system and, ultimately, chipping away at the sectarian divides ingrained in politics and beyond.

“Resentment of the sectarian system has increased demands for a civil one because the sectarian system has been negatively affecting our economic life and leading to covering up of corruption,” said Leila Awada, a lawyer and co-founder of KAFA, a secular, feminist organization lobbying for a personal status law that would include civil marriages for all.

Opponents decry civil marriage as an affront to faith and say it would open the door to legalizing a myriad of practices that violate religious rulings and teachings. Backlash against the new lawmakers’ stance came swiftly: One Muslim cleric called it a war on God.

The parliamentarians are part of a small group — informally dubbed the “change seekers,” in Arabic — that won election in May, building on a protest movement that challenged traditional parties. They are up against an entrenched sectarian system and a political elite blamed by many for Lebanon’s crises.

One’s faith can open and close doors in Lebanon, home to multiple officially recognized religious faiths. The presidency is given to a Maronite Christian, the parliament speaker post to a Shiite and premiership to a Sunni, and parliamentary seats are divided based on religious affiliation.

With memories still fresh for many of a 15-year civil war that ended in 1990, some fear that disrupting the delicate power-sharing formula could cause chaos. Others accuse political leaders of fueling such worries to maintain power and cementing sectarian loyalties by passing out jobs and favors to members of their faith communities, weakening the state in the process.

When it comes to marriage, divorce and child custody, Lebanon’s faith groups legally govern their own communities’ affairs. Supporters say this protects religious freedom and diversity.

Civil rights activists, however, accuse religious courts of discriminating against women and say that on these key family issues, Lebanese are treated differently depending on their religious affiliation.

Those seeking civil marriages generally travel abroad — Cyprus is a favorite spot.

Nader Fawz, 37, also chose a civil marriage even though he and his wife share a religious affiliation.

They opted against leaving the country for their 2020 wedding and instead challenged the status quo by marrying in Lebanon. After striking religious references from their state records, the couple married under an old decree cited to argue for a civil ceremony loophole for religiously unaffiliated people.

“We wanted to say that this right exists in Lebanon ... but that the political authorities are stopping it and that the religious authorities are exerting pressure to prevent it so they can maintain their interests,” Fawz said.

Based on some other couples’ experiences, they didn’t expect Lebanese authorities to fully register their marriage and issue them the customary family ID. So they didn’t bother seeking one.

“It’s not this grand revolutionary act,” Fawz said. “But it’s a document of protest in the face of the ruling system.”

Later, they got a civil marriage in Cyprus and eventually relocated there.

Joseph Bechara, the notary who officiated their marriage in Lebanon, said he has conducted dozens of similar ceremonies since 2012. Some got fully registered, but many others were blocked by “executive obstacles.”

Supporters of keeping marriage in the hands of spiritual authorities defend the current personal status system.

“We have an Islamic Shariah that we abide by, and this Shariah is not in any way an obstacle against societal unity,” said Khaldoun Oraymet, a Sunni religious judge.

With the country struggling amid an economic meltdown that has led to shortages of necessities like electricity and prompted many to leave and seek opportunity elsewhere, Oraymet and others have argued that raising the civil marriage issue now is a distraction from more important problems.

“People now need power, water, fuel and a solution for unemployment,” he said.

The Rev. Abdo Abou Kassm, director of the Catholic Center for Information, agreed, saying, “Does Lebanon’s salvation come through a civil marriage law? Shouldn’t we dig ourselves out of the hole we’re in?”

Awada, the lawyer, said it was exactly because of such crises that change was needed.

Abou Kassm said his church does not accept civil marriages as a replacement for the sacramental Catholic ceremony and would oppose an optional civil marriage law because “we shouldn’t confuse people or put them in a position that could shake their faith.”

If the state were to mandate civil marriages the church would comply with the law, he said, but still urge its followers to have Catholic weddings too.

For Nammour and Jaber, a civil marriage was a no-brainer. On paper they belong to different faith groups, and in reality, she identifies as an atheist and he doesn’t like to put a label on his beliefs. But it’s also about rights “in a patriarchal society that gives men the upper hand,” Nammour said, adding they would have opted for a civil marriage regardless of faith backgrounds.

Just before the latest controversy erupted, Nammour and Jaber exchanged vows in Cyprus. A cousin of hers doubled as both guest and witness since the trip proved too costly for other family members. Nammour held Jaber’s hand, stared into his eyes and promised to share his joys and sorrows for eternity.

“Mabrouk,” the wedding officiant said, congratulating the newlyweds in Arabic as they kissed and embraced.

Now back in Beirut, Nammour believes the struggle to gain civil marriage rights will be a long one.

“Maybe not in our generation’s lifetime,” said Nammour, who is pregnant with the couple’s first child together. “But it will happen.”

___

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Study finds THC in 60% of CBD products tested

By Dennis Thompson, HealthDay News

Most products contained just trace amounts of THC, but those are enough to accumulate in your body and cause you to fail a drug test. Photo by Julia Teichmann/Pixabay

You might be getting a little unwanted something extra when you buy a CBD product at your local grocers or supplements store, a new study warns.

About 60% of CBD products tested in the lab also contain THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the chemical in pot that causes intoxication, researchers report in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Most products contained just trace amounts of THC, but those are enough to accumulate in your body and cause you to fail a drug test, said senior researcher Shanna Babalonis, an assistant professor of behavioral science at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine.

Military personnel, professional and amateur athletes, and people in legal disputes like child custody cases could wind up in trouble through no fault of their own, just by using an over-the-counter CBD product, she said.

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"THC is not allowed at the Olympics. It's not allowed in many sports organizations. But athletes use CBD because it helps them recover, and it helps them with different facets of their training," Babalonis said. "So I think that one of the key takeaways from this work is to say that the public needs to question whether there's THC in their CBD products."

Cannabidiol, or CBD, is a chemical compound in marijuana that does not get you high, but has been touted as having a number of potential health benefits.

For this study, Babalonis and her colleagues bought 80 different CBD products from online shops or stores in Kentucky. They subjected each product to nine analyses to determine accurately whether they contained any THC.

RELATED Nearly two-thirds of Americans use sleep aids, survey finds

They also tested Epidiolex, the only CBD product on the market that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Epidiolex is prescribed to help control epileptic seizures, and its manufacture is rigorously regulated.

The researchers found that Epidiolex contained a barely detectible amount of THC, just 0.022 milligrams per milliliter.

"So we compared all the other CBD products in that context," Babalonis said. "This is what we found in the FDA-approved product that went through really stringent controls."

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They found that 52 of the 80 CBD products contained some amount of THC, and that all of those but five contained THC levels higher than that in Epidiolex.

"If a person does not have a tolerance for THC, these trace amounts -- which can accumulate in one's fat cells as the product is used over time -- can have an effect on a person," said Pat Aussem, associate vice president of consumer clinical content development at the Partnership to End Addiction in New York City. She was not part of the study.

Some of the CBD products contained enough THC to potentially cause intoxication in some people, particularly if they had no prior experience with pot, Babalonis said.

Eleven products had THC concentrations of greater than 1 milligram per milliliter, and one contained more than 2 milligrams per milliliter.

"That's worrisome because a lot of elderly people do take CBD and are taking a lot of other medications, and they could have high levels of THC in their product," Babalonis said.

She couldn't say why so many CBD products contain THC.

"It's definitely possible to remove all the THC," Babalonis said. "About 30% of the products we tested didn't have any THC in them."

Sloppy manufacturing and poor quality testing could be at fault, she said, but Babalonis suspects some cases might involve consumer manipulation.

"If we're being a little bit cynical, we could think that if people feel an effect from something -- if they feel a subjective effect -- they might think that the product is working," Babalonis said. "Whereas if you don't necessarily feel any effects from something, you may tend to think it doesn't work."

These results show that stiffer regulation is needed for CBD products, Babalonis and Aussem said

"Consumers deserve accurate marketing claims and if they choose to buy CBD, to know exactly what's in the product," Aussem said. "It's been like the Wild West for quite some time as CBD products proliferate, advertised for numerous maladies without research to substantiate it and without oversight on quality control."

Of the products tested, 21 were labeled "THC Free." Five of these contained detectable levels of THC, according to the study.

"If you're buying a drink at the grocery store, you would expect when it says there's no alcohol in it, that there's no alcohol in it," Babalonis said. "You wouldn't drink it expecting to feel some alcohol effects or maybe blow positive on a Breathalyzer. This is the same thing."

More information

The U.S. National Institutes of Health has more about cannabidiol.

Copyright © 2022 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

AMERIKAN THEOKRACY
Abortion Pills To Become Next Battleground In US Reproductive Fight

By Maria DANILOVA
06/26/22 

As conservative US states rush to enact abortion bans following the Supreme Court's bombshell decision, the fight over reproductive rights in America is poised to shift to a new battleground: abortion-inducing pills.

With little other means at its disposal, the Biden administration will focus on expanding access to abortion pills for women living in states where the procedure is banned or restricted -- while those states and powerful conservative groups are sure to mount legal challenges to prohibit their use.

Hours after the high court shredded 50 years of constitutional protections for abortion rights on Friday, President Joe Biden ordered health officials to make sure abortion pills were available to American women.

"I will do all in my power to protect a woman's right in states where they will face the consequences of today's decision," he said in televised address to the nation.

An abortion rights demonstrator holds a sign during a rally in front of the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on June 25, 2022 Photo: AFP / ROBERTO SCHMIDT


The pills, which can be used without significant risk to terminate a pregnancy up to 10 weeks' gestation, already account for half of all abortions carried out in the United States.

Demand is set to soar further after 11 states mostly in the Republican-led conservative South moved to severely restrict or fully ban abortion, with others set to follow suit.

Already Saturday, some activists rallying outside the Supreme Court in the US capital Washington held up posters with instructions on where women can get abortion pills, while others chanted "My body, my choice."

Rebecca Gomperts, a Dutch physician who runs Aid Access, an Austria-based organization that provides abortion pills over the internet, is confident that the situation now faced by American women is not as tragic as it was 50 years ago, before the landmark Roe vs. Wade ruling of 1973 that enshrined abortion rights in America.

Mifepristone (Mifeprex), one of the two drugs used in a medication abortion, is displayed at a clinic in New Mexico 

Photo: AFP / Robyn Beck

"The abortion pills cannot be stopped," Gomperts told AFP in a phone interview. "So there is always access to a safe abortion if a woman has an unwanted pregnancy."

But after Friday's ruling, that may be easier said than done.

The Food and Drug Administration, America's health regulator, approved the use of abortion pills two decades ago and last year allowed for them to be prescribed via telemedicine and delivered by mail.

But their use in anti-abortion states remains a legal grey area and will likely become a front line in future court battles over reproductive rights.

The use of abortion pills to terminate a pregnancy is set to become the next battleground in America's firght over reproductive rights 

Photo: AFP / ROBERTO SCHMIDT

According to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports access to abortion, 19 US states require that abortion pills be physically administered by a clinician, thus prohibiting their delivery by mail.

And in states that ban all methods of abortion, women may be prohibited from seeking tele-health appointments with out-of-state doctors or foreign clinicians, like Gomperts' group.

In this case, they may have to travel to a state where reproductive tele-health appointments are allowed and get the medication delivered to an out-of-state address.

But there is another complication.

A medication abortion requires two drugs: first, a dose of mifepristone is taken to block the hormones that support a pregnancy; then, 24 to 48 hours later, misoprostol is taken to induce contractions.

That raises a question: can a woman from an anti-abortion state be prosecuted if she receives the first dose elsewhere, but takes the second dose after returning home?

As liberal states take action to facilitate abortions for women from other parts of the country, there are fears that conservative states may seek to prosecute health workers and advocacy groups involved in those efforts -- and even the patients themselves.

Anticipating such plans, Biden's Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday warned that states cannot ban abortion pills, authorized by the federal regulator, "based on disagreement with the FDA's expert judgment about its safety and efficacy" since federal law preempts state law.

As these legal battles prepare to play out, anti-abortion advocate Savannah Craven said she and her colleagues will work on getting all methods of abortion, including with pills, banned across the United States.

"I believe in the sanctity and dignity of human life. Life begins in the womb, life begins at conception," she said.

But the argument fell flat with Elizabeth Kellogg and her husband Dan Reitz, who showed up to protest outside the Supreme Court with their eight-month-old daughter Lorelei.

"If it were about life, they'd be worried about the life of the birther, they'd be worried about life after birth," Kellogg told AFP.

"Very little is being done to actually hold up the sanctity of life in the way that it is proclaimed."

Ecuadorian government lifts state of emergency after talks with indigenous leaders

NEWS WIRES

Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso on Saturday lifted a state of emergency he'd imposed in six provinces amid an Indigenous-led strike, a surprise move that came as lawmakers in the National Assembly heard an opposition petition to remove him from office.

© REUTERS - KAREN TORO

The decision to end the state of emergency followed an initial meeting between government officials and Ecuador's largest Indigenous organization, which began the strike two weeks ago to demand gasoline prices be cut, price controls be imposed on agricultural products and a larger budget be set for education. Lasso had accused the Indigenous leader heading the at-times violent strike of seeking to stage a coup.

After Saturday's meeting, National Assembly President Virgilio Saquicela said a commission would be formed to facilitate dialogue to end the strike. "The national government ratifies the willingness to guarantee the creation of spaces for peace, in which Ecuadorians can gradually resume their activities,” said a statement announcing the decree to end the state of emergency.

The meeting was held in the Basilica church in the colonial center of Quito and was attended by the president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, Leonidas Iza, other social leaders, Government Minister Francisco Jiménez and Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Holguín, among others. “There has been no commitment, but simply a decision by the (Indigenous confederation) ... to consult its bases on the designation of a commission to start this dialogue,” Saquicela said, adding that “the government has made the corresponding opening.”

Video: Ecuador indigenous protests carry on despite small concession (France 24)

Iza said the strike would not be ended until their demands had been met. "Instead of making us more afraid, they have raised our rebellion, dignity,” he said. Iza said strikers will rest for the weekend and asked that corridors be opened in the interprovincial border areas to allow food to pass through and supply Quito, which faces the shortage of farm products.

Meanwhile, in a virtual legislative session the opposition Union for Hope party, which is linked to former President Rafael Correa, requested the removal of Lasso. The request was based on the state of emergency declared over “grave internal commotions,” which now has been lifted. It would take the votes of at least 92 lawmakers to remove Lasso, while the Union for Hope has only 47 seats.

On Thursday, the Indigenous confederation said a demonstrator died of pellet wounds in the chest and abdomen while protesting near the National Assembly in Quito, where about 100 other people suffered a variety of injuries. Police tweeted that officers were also injured by pellets.

In Quito, protesters blocking roads have brought the city to a near halt and people are experiencing food and fuel shortages. Groups of protesters have roamed the city attacking vehicles and civilians and forcing the closure of businesses, some of which were looted.

(AP)

Ecuador president faces ouster vote as fuel price protests enter 13th day

Lina VANEGAS
Sat, June 25, 2022,


Ecuador's president faced a no-confidence hearing Saturday, nearly two weeks into sometimes violent countrywide protests led by Indigenous groups against rising fuel prices and living costs.

Opposition lawmakers called the parliamentary session over what they say is President Guillermo Lasso's role in "the serious political crisis and internal commotion" that has left six civilians dead and dozens injured on both sides in 13 days of revolt.

An estimated 14,000 protesters are taking part in a nationwide show of discontent against rising hardship in an economy dealt a serious blow by the coronavirus pandemic.

Most of the ire is concentrated in the capital Quito, where some 10,000 people, most from other parts of the country, have gathered for daily protests, marching with sticks and makeshift shields, and chanting "Out Lasso, out!"

On Friday, Lasso accused demonstrators of attempting "a coup" after two straight days of violent clashes with police and soldiers.

Protesters in Quito threw rocks and Molotov cocktails and shot off fireworks near the congress building. The security forces repelled them with tear gas.

- 'Until we have results' -

The protests were called by the powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), credited with bringing down three presidents between 1997 and 2005.

Conaie leader Leonidas Iza told AFP this week demonstrations would continue "until we have results. We can no longer hold back the anger of the people."

The action has been costly, with losses of some $50 million per day to the economy as protesters have blocked key roads with burning tires and tree branches.

Production of fuel -- Ecuador's biggest export -- has been halved, according to the energy ministry.

"Basic necessities are very expensive and our products from the field... are worth nothing," potato farmer Miguel Taday, 39, told AFP of his reason for joining the demonstrations.

Six of the country's 24 provinces are under a state of emergency and a night-time curfew is in place in Quito, where many business owners and workers in the capital are fed up with the disruption to their lives and livelihoods.

Protesters are demanding a cut in already subsidized fuel prices, which have risen sharply in recent months, as well as jobs, food price controls, and more public spending on healthcare and education.

Ecuador's National Assembly will meet from 6:00 pm (2300 GMT) on Saturday to vote on whether or not to oust Lasso, a conservative ex-banker who took power a year ago and who is self-isolating after a Covid-19 diagnosis.

The debate, during which Lasso will be given a chance to state his case, takes place at the request of the 47 lawmakers of the leftist opposition Union for Hope coalition.

Lasso's dismissal would require 92 votes out of 137 in the assembly, in which opposition parties are in the majority.

Once the debate is concluded, lawmakers will have 72 hours to decide on a course of action.

If they vote to unseat Lasso, Vice President Alfredo Borrero will assume interim power and call new presidential and legislative elections.

The government has rejected the protesters' demand for a fuel price cut, saying it would cost an unaffordable $1 billion per year.

The International Monetary Fund on Friday approved the release of $1 billion in funding for Ecuador following two reviews of a $6.5 billion loan deal, of which $4.8 has been disbursed so far.

The payment is meant to bolster Ecuador's economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, restore fiscal sustainability and reduce public debt.

Austerity measures adopted by then-president Lenin Moreno led to a wave of demonstrations in 2019 that left 11 dead and thousands injured, but compelled the government to cancel plans to cut fuel price subsidies.

No negotiations have been programmed to try and bring an end to the latest standoff, in which both sides accuse each other of intransigence.

"We will continue to fight... The rank and file have said that we will not return without results," said Wilmer Umajinga, 35, protesting in Quito since Monday.

lv/vd/dga/mlr/st

Polish, Ukrainian activists march for LGBTQ rights

Sat, June 25, 2022,


Ukrainians were among tens of thousands of LGBTQ activits who took part in the Polish capital's Pride parade Saturday, in a country hosting tens of thousands of Ukrainians who have fled the Russian invasion.

The march however started with a minute of silence for two people killed in a shooting near a gay bar in Norway's capital Oslo in the early hours of Saturday.

Norwegian police have arrested a man suspected of "Islamist terrorism" over the shooting, which also wounded 21 and caused Oslo's Pride to be called off.

But Norway's ambassador to Poland Anders Eide said love and justice would "prevail".

"Our fight for equal rights for all and our support for the LGBTQ+ community is unequivocal and it will remain so," he told AFP at the start of the procession.

Lenny Emson, director of the Kyiv Pride, thanked the Warsaw Pride and Polish community for including Ukraine's LGBTQ activists in their parade.

Emson said the Ukrainian LGBTQ community wanted its rights to survive but that, for that to happen, war in Ukraine needed to stop.

Poland has hosted by far the largest number of Ukrainian refugees within the European Union -- more than 1.1 million according to the latest UN figures.

The Warsaw Pride is being held with full backing from the city's liberal mayor Rafal Trzaskowski.

But other parts of the country, which is ruled by a right-wing government, are less welcoming of gender or sexual minorities.

In 2020, international non-governmental organisation ILGA-Europe ranked Poland 44th out of 49 European countries in upholding LGBTQ rights.

Ukraine came 39th.

- Small Kyiv gathering -

In the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, dozens of remaining members of the LGBTQ community held a small gathering at a night club in the centre of town.

Inside, a couple embraced wrapped in a yellow and blue Ukrainian flag as dancers on stage performed to the sound of the Village People's "YMCA".

"What is most important is to accept people as they are," said 28-year-old Victoria Myhoula. People should first and foremost focus on "what we can do today to help our country".

Almost four months after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, the European Union on Thursday granted the war-torn country candidate status.

"If we are inching towards the European Union, we need to show that society is open" in Ukraine, Myhoula added.

Nightclub sponsor Oleksiy Krasnenko, 26, said he was proud to be contributing some of its earnings to the Ukrainian army to help repel the Russian invasion.

"Ukraine is a free, open country," he said, though admitting there was some discrimination.

During the last Kyiv Pride before the coronavirus pandemic in 2019, police deployed en masse because far-right and Orthodox Cristian activists staged counter-protests.

While low-key, Saturday's event did however attract a small group of young men in military-type clothing, who sparked a brief fight outside the venue. Police swiftly broke it up.

With war, Kyiv pride parade becomes a peace march in Warsaw

By VANESSA GERA

1 of 17

Warsaw's mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, second right, and European Commissioner for Equality, Hanna Dalli, right, take part in the 'Warsaw and Kyiv Pride' marching for freedom in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, June 25, 2022. Due to Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine the 10th anniversary of the equality march in Kyiv can't take place in the usual format in the Ukrainian capital. The event joined Warsaw's yearly equality parade, the largest gay pride event in central Europe, using it as a platform to keep international attention focused on the Ukrainian struggle for freedom. 

(AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk)


WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Ukraine’s largest LGBTQ rights event, KyivPride, went ahead Saturday, although not on its native streets or as a celebration.

Due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, the event normally held in Kyiv took place in conjunction with Warsaw’s yearly Equality Parade, the largest gay pride event in Central Europe, with Ukrainian organizers using it as a platform to keep international attention focused on their country’s struggle.

About 300 people traveled from Ukraine to the Polish capital, now home to a quarter million Ukrainians who fled the war. Blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flags fluttered among a sea of rainbow flags, and some participants chanted “Slava Ukraini” — glory to Ukraine.

“Unfortunately, we cannot march in Kyiv,” Maksym Eristavi, a Ukrainian journalist and a KyivPride board member, said, citing the dangers of bombings in Ukraine.

“However, it’s important for us to still march,” said Eristavi, who was draped in both the Ukrainian and European Union flags. “It’s still about pride, but pride in being Ukrainian and surviving through genocide.”

KyivPride’s trucks were given the honor of leading Saturday’s parade, one of many ways that Poland’s people have stepped up to help their embattled Ukrainian neighbors.

“We want to stand together against war, to walk for Ukraine’s freedom, for liberation, for equality, tolerance and acceptance,” Julia Maciocha, chairperson of Warsaw’s Equality Parade, said.

KyivPride director Lenny Emson said this year’s event was aimed at calling for political support for Ukraine and basic human rights.

“It is not a celebration,” Emson said. “We will wait for victory to celebrate.”

The Ukrainian civilians and soldiers killed by Russian forces during the four-month-old war include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Ukraine has seen a push for the country to recognize same-sex partnerships, not least because couples want to know they would have the right to bury each other, if one of them is killed.

Emson said it would be a tragedy for Ukraine as a whole if the country is defeated by Russia, but LGBTQ people would be at risk of getting “erased completely” - meaning killed, forced to flee or to hide their identities.

His organization runs a shelter for LGBTQ people who have fled Ukrainian territory occupied by the Russian forces. One LGBTQ rights activist in occupied Kherson has disappeared.

In a manifesto, KyivPride calls on people to realize that the geographical border between democratic Ukraine on one side and autocratic Russia and Belarus on the other “is not just a separation line between the states, but also a boundary between the territory of freedom and a zone of oppression.”

Russia passed a law in 2013 that bans the depiction of homosexuality to minors, something human rights groups view as a way to demonize LGBTQ people and discriminate against them. Dubbed the “Gay Propaganda” law, it came amid a larger crackdown on civil liberties in Russia and inspired the passage of a similar law in Hungary last year.

Klementyna Suchanow, the author of a book about global efforts to roll back the rights of women and LGBTQ people, argues that if Ukrainians lose the war, it would mark a defeat for a range of progressive causes, including feminism, LGBTQ rights and the efforts to fight climate change.

“This is why the war in Ukraine is about everything,” said Suchanow, a prominent Polish feminist activist and the author of “This is War: Women, Fundamentalists and the new Middle Ages.”

Poland’s conservative government has been a strong ally of Ukraine, sending humanitarian aid and weapons and allowing its territory to be used to for other countries to transfer aid of their own.

But its stance on LGBTQ rights has also made Poland an unlikely host for a gay rights event.

In recent years the government has depicted the LGBTQ rights movement as an attack on the nation’s Catholic traditions and as a force that threatens to corrupt the youth, echoing the rhetoric behind the Russian and Hungarian laws.

But Polish society as a whole has grown more accepting of LGBTQ people.

Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, from a liberal opposition party, joined Saturday’s parade march as he does each year, joined by the European Union’s commissioner for equality, Hanna Dalli.




Emson said the KyivPride organizers had considered holding their event in other European capitals but decided that Warsaw’s young and energetic rights movement was a better fit.

LGBTQ people in Ukraine still face considerable discrimination, but they have made strides in recent years as the country has sought to tie its fate to the West. The evolution of LGBT rights is underlined by KyivPride’s own evolution since it was founded 10 years ago.

In 2012, participants were so heavily outnumbered by angry counter-protesters that they didn’t dare march. Parade-goers have been beaten, and a large police presence is needed to protect them. Yet the event has continued to grow.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose courageous wartime leadership has gained worldwide attention, won the respect of LGBTQ people in Ukraine when a man wearing a cross and spouting homophobic rhetoric heckled him at a news conference in 2019.

Zelenskyy shot back with anger: “Leave those people alone, for God’s sake.”

Since then, however, his party has also taken steps that LGBTQ rights activists view as a threat to their struggle.

—-

Follow AP’s coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine