New constraints on alternative gravity theories that could inform dark matter research

by Ingrid Fadelli , Phys.org

Image produced during a simulation of the evolution of dark matter in the universe. Credit: Milennium-II Simulation.

While particle theories are currently the most favored explanations for dark mater, physicists have still been unable to detect dark matter particles in ways that would confirm or contradict these theories. Some theorists have thus been exploring new theories of gravity that clearly account for and explain the existence of this elusive type of matter. In order to obviate the need for dark matter, however, these theories should be aligned with cosmological observations gathered so far.


Two researchers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Princeton University have recently carried out a study aimed at better understanding what points alternative theories of gravity should address in order to effectively back the existence of dark matter in the universe. Their paper, published in Physical Review Letters, outlines a series of constraints that could help to determine the potential validity of alternative gravity theories.

The standard cosmological paradigm, ΛCDM , explains how the current universe developed from cosmic microwave background (CMB), essentially painting a 'picture' of the universe's development from its early days up until today. The evolution of the CMB's structure into galaxies and the present cosmic web structure could be justified by the existence of cold dark matter (CDM).

"We wanted to see if we could use the CMB data and the galaxy data available today to place some constraints on how an alternative gravity theory would need to behave if it was to explain dark matter," Kris Pardo, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told Phys.org. "Basically, if it is actually some alternative gravity that is responsible for dark matter, then it should be able to explain exactly how normal matter evolves from the CMB to today."

The core idea behind the study carried out by Pardo and his colleague David N. Spergel has already been explored by other researchers, including by Scott Dodelson at the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics in a paper published in 2011. Nonetheless, Pardo and Spergel were the first to actually calculate the function summarizing this idea.

"We showed that any theory that tries to explain dark matter by changing gravity (rather than by having a new particle) would need to have a very unique form," Pardo explained. "In fact, this form would be so unique that it would probably lead to some pretty crazy motions of galaxies near us, which we see no evidence for. So the simplest explanation for dark matter is still that it is some particle."

The recent study by Pardo and Spergel set new constraints on the specific qualities that alternative gravity theories should have in order to support the existence of dark matter. Interestingly, the researchers found that none of the theories of gravity proposed so far satisfy these constraints, which suggests that if dark matter can be explained by such theories, a valid theory has not yet been developed. In the future, their work could inform the development of alternative gravity theories that are more aligned with cosmological observations.

"In our study, we assumed that the alternative gravity theory had to be 'linear,'" Pardo said. "We're now looking at how to expand this to nonlinear theories."


Explore further   Study sets the first germanium-based constraints on dark matter

More information: What is the price of abandoning dark matter? Cosmological constraints on alternative gravity theories. Physical Review Letters(2020). 

DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.125.211101.

Journal information: Physical Review Letters

© 2020 Science X Networ

Restoring wetlands near farms would dramatically reduce water pollution

by Brian Flood, University of Illinois Chicago
Researchers at UIC and the University of Waterloo examined detailed data on wetland locations and nitrogen loads from fertilizer on farm fields throughout the U.S.

Credit: Dave Hoefler via Unsplash

Runoff from fertilizer and manure application in agricultural regions has led to high levels of nitrate in groundwater, rivers, and coastal areas. These high nitrate levels can threaten drinking water safety and also lead to problems with algal blooms and degradation of aquatic ecosystems.

Previous research has shown that wetlands improve water quality, but how much of an impact are wetlands having on nitrate removal now, and what improvements could wetland restoration deliver in the future?

Researchers from the University of Illinois Chicago and the University of Waterloo sought to evaluate these details at the U.S. scale and publish their findings in a new paper featured in the journal Nature.

Their study examines the positive effects of wetlands on water quality and the potential for using wetland restoration as a key strategy for improving water quality, particularly in the Mississippi River Basin and Gulf of Mexico regions.

The wetland essentially has a purifying effect when nitrate-laden water enters its boundaries. Chemical reactions take place that removes the harmful nitrate from the water, allowing for harmless nitrogen gas to be released into the atmosphere and cleaner water to flow downstream.

"Unfortunately, most wetlands that originally existed in the U.S. have been drained or destroyed to make way for agriculture or urban development. Ironically, areas with the biggest nitrate problems, due to agriculture and intensive use of nitrogen fertilizers, are also usually areas with the fewest numbers of remaining wetlands," said Kimberly Van Meter, UIC assistant professor of earth and environmental sciences and co-lead author of the paper.

The researchers used maps of remaining wetlands across the U.S. to quantify the amount of nitrate that is currently being removed by wetlands. Despite the high levels of wetland loss, their results suggest that nitrate loads in the Mississippi River might be approximately 50% higher than they are currently without the presence of wetlands.

The wetlands' significant contribution to current nitrate removal is important for two key reasons, according to UIC's Van Meter and her colleagues Frederick Cheng, Danyka Byrnes and Nandita Basu, all from the University of Waterloo.

"First, the Mississippi River is the largest source of nitrogen to the Gulf of Mexico and a major cause of the large dead zone that appears in the Gulf every summer. Second, protections for current wetlands have been eroded in recent years, especially with revisions of the Clean Water Rule under the Trump administration, which eliminated protections for approximately half of all U.S. wetlands," Van Meter said.

The researchers also carried out computer model simulations to better understand how wetland restoration might benefit water quality.

"We found that by targeting wetland restoration to areas in the U.S. with the highest levels of nitrate pollution, even a 10% increase in current wetland area could cut nitrate levels in rivers and streams by half," Van Meter said.

The cost of a wetlands initiative is estimated at $3.3 billion a year, an amount researchers described as feasible given current government spending levels. While that is twice the estimated cost of a non-targeted approach, the model showed it would remove 40 times more nitrogen.

"You get much more bang for your buck if wetland preservation and restoration are targeted," said Nandita Basu, professor of civil and environmental engineering, and earth and environmental sciences at the University of Waterloo and corresponding author of the paper. "From a policy perspective, it is dramatically more effective and efficient."

The authors also point out that various negative socio-economic outcomes stem from nitrate pollution in lakes and coastal areas. When algal blooms, which are generally considered to be unsightly and often release an unpleasant sulfur-like smell, take over a water body it usually limits recreational access for swimming, boating, and fishing and, thus, negatively affects tourism. Toxins associated with algal blooms also restrict fishing, resulting in financial problems for coastal fisheries. When cities rely on impacted water bodies for drinking water, the costs of water treatment also rise.


Explore further

Study shows wetlands provide landscape-scale reduction in nitrogen pollution

More information: F. Y. Cheng et al. Maximizing US nitrate removal through wetland protection and restoration, Nature (2020). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-03042-5

Journal information: Nature

Provided by University of Illinois Chicago

River sediment history suggests it was climate change, not Mongol invasion that doomed Transoxania

by Bob Yirka , Phys.org

Trenching of an ancient irrigation canal north of the fortified settlement of Kuik Mardan (in the background) in Otrar Oasis. Credit: Willem Toonen.

An international team of researchers has found evidence in ancient river sediments that suggest climate change, not a Mongol invasion, ultimately doomed the ancient Transoxania civilization. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes how they analyzed sediment samples from rivers and abandoned canals in the area and what they learned by doing so.

Transoxiana is the ancient name of a civilization that once lived in what is now part of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan—it was situated around the Otrar oasis in Central Asia. Prior research has suggested that the civilization was never able to recover from Mongol invasions in the early part of the 13th century. In this new effort, the researchers suggest the fall of the Transoxania civilization was much more complicated than that, and that there were likely a variety of factors involved.

Suspecting that climate change may have played a role, the researchers collected sediment samples from dry canals that had been used by the people of Transoxania. The canals had been built to corral floodwater from the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya rivers and to use it for irrigation. The researchers tested the samples using optically stimulated luminescence and radiometric dating to determine the time period during which the canals had been abandoned. They then conducted the same kinds of tests on river sediments in the area which gave them a history of river flow.

The researchers were able to see changing river flows exerted a negative impact on irrigation efforts, which would have made it difficult for the Transoxania people to feed themselves. Sadly, the drought came before and during the time when the Mongols arrived, making it almost impossible for the people in the area to defend themselves and survive—at least in the near term. The researchers found that after the Mongols had moved on, the rains returned for a period of time. The researchers believe that the people who lived there before the invasion recovered to some extent. But another drought ultimately led to migration to more hospitable locations.

The lush green corridor of the current Arys river in Kazakhstan; the high left bank was used for medieval floodwater farming . Credit: Willem Toonen.

Explore further

Scientists show how Himalayan rivers influenced ancient Indus civilization settlements

More information: A hydromorphic reevaluation of the forgotten river civilizations of Central Asia, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2020). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2009553117

Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

© 2020 Science X Network

Mountain hares in Scotland are failing to adapt to climate change, making them more vulnerable to predators

by Bob Yirka , Phys.org

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

A team of researchers from the U.S. and the U.K. has found that mountain hares in Scotland have not been changing their molt times in response to climate change. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group describes their study of mountain hares in Scotland.


Mountain hares in Scotland typically molt in late October each year. Their brown, warm-weather fur is replaced with snowy white fur that allows them to blend in with a snowy background, making it more difficult for predators to spot them. The reverse happens in late March.

Prior research has shown that many species have been adapting to a warming planet by molting later in the fall and earlier in the spring. In this new effort, the researchers wondered if the snow hares in Scotland were doing likewise. To find out, they conducted multiple field studies around Scotland, recording molt times at different elevations and times of the year. They then obtained weather data describing changes in snow patterns going back a half-century for the same area.

The researchers found that while snow patterns have changed dramatically, molt times for mountain hares have not changed in either the fall or the spring. And because molt times did not change, the number of days that the hares were mismatched with their environment increased by 35 each year. And such mismatches, they note, could place the hares at risk.

In trying to understand why the hares were not changing their molt times, which would be an evolutionary process, the researchers came up with three theories. The first was that the population of mountain hares is too small to allow for changes in the short term. The second was that they are simply a species that takes longer to react to climate changes. And the third possibility was that the hares were not more at risk from predators despite being more exposed because there are too few predators left in the area—humans have reduced their numbers to encourage growth in grouse populations for hunters.


Explore further  Evolutionary clock ticks for snowshoe hares facing climate change

More information: Marketa Zimova et al. Lack of phenological shift leads to increased camouflage mismatch in mountain hares, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2020). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1786

Journal information: Proceedings of the Royal Society B

© 2020 Science X Network

Beirut explosion: Judge suspends blast probe amid political pressure
Two ministers charged in explosion investigation have requested that Judge Fadi Sawwan be removed from proceedings

Helicopter battles fire at scene of explosion at port of Lebanon's capital Beirut on 4 August (AFP/File photo)

By MEE and agencies
Published date: 17 December 2020 

The judge overseeing an investigation into the massive explosion that rocked Beirut in August has suspended the probe after two ministers he charged with negligence requested that he be removed, according to judicial sources.

Beirut explosion: Lebanon's investigation on edge following political backlash

Read More »

Judge Fadi Sawwan on 10 December issued charges against former caretaker prime minister Hassan Diab and high-ranking former ministers Ali Hassan Khalil, Ghazi Zaiter and Youssef Fenianos over the 4 August blast.

The four were charged with "negligence and causing death to hundreds and injuries to thousands more" in one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history.

Lebanon's top Cassation Court is now expected to rule on their request for Sawwan to be removed from his post, AFP reported.

"Until then, all investigation proceedings are suspended," a senior court judicial official told the news agency on condition of anonymity.

'This is a security coup'

Earlier this week, a source close to Judge Sawwan told Middle East Eye that the investigation into the blast has been the target of a scathing "political campaign".

Lebanon's politicians have rallied around the argument that any indictment of a minister should be submitted to a vote in parliament.

The four indicted ministers were the first politicians to be charged since the beginning of the investigation, which opened on 14 August. Other officials, including the country’s justice minister and some predecessors, were interrogated, but as witnesses rather than as defendants. 

Beirut explosion: Judge charges PM, ex-ministers over August port blast

Read More »

Diab, who resigned in the wake of the explosion, already testified before Sawwan in September.

Karim Nammour, a lawyer and board member at rights group Legal Agenda, warned last week that the independence of the legal probe was at risk.

"The judiciary is being directly targeted," he told MEE at the time, adding that Lebanon has become far more militarised in recent months. "When you are discrediting the role of the judiciary … this is a security coup in every sense of the word."

Nammour noted that the judiciary has been "discredited publicly", especially as judges have begun to defy political orders. Last month, Mohammed Fahmi, the caretaker interior minister, claimed that "95 percent of judges are corrupt".

The explosion that rocked the capital this summer, killing about 200 people and wounding thousands, was caused by almost 3,000 tonnes of explosive ammonium nitrate left unattended at the port for more than half a decade.

The fact that little light has been shed on the circumstances that led to Lebanon's worst peacetime disaster four months after the blast has caused outrage.

It is also fuelling mistrust among international donors whose support is needed if Lebanon is to stand a chance of surviving its worst-ever economic crisis.

The 'banal' trauma of Israel's nightly raids on Palestinian children

Despite cosmetic reforms to Israeli military law in the West Bank, Palestinian children and their families are routinely abused

Israeli soldiers interrogate a Palestinian woman during a night raid in the occupied West Bank refugee camp of Jalazun, north of Ramallah, on 16 June 2014 (AFP)

By Lily Galili in Tel Aviv, Israel

Published date: 26 November 2020 

A sudden noise pierced the silence of a dark night.

The infuriated banging on the gate of the blue-painted house terrified not only the family sleeping behind it but the whole neighbourhood.

The cries of babies alarmed by the shrill noise blended with the ear-splitting sound of fists banging on iron.

This is not the banal opening of a mysterious fictional story. It is the day-to-day life of Palestinian families in hundreds of villages all over the occupied territories: Israeli soldiers appear at the doorsteps of families in deep sleep, between 10pm and 5am, coming to search, arrest or detain a relative. 

Stolen childhood: Life after prison for Palestinian minors Read More »

Sometimes, they come with no particular reason. Too often, they leave accompanied by a blindfolded and handcuffed youngster plucked from his bed, followed from a distance by the receding sounds of crying, painful screaming and muted voices of despair of the family.

Hundreds of Palestinian teenagers are arrested by the Israeli military every year in nightly raids, violating the military’s own regulations with regards to issuing summons for interrogation prior to detention, according to a report issued by the Israeli human rights group HaMoked on Wednesday.

The report said summons would have enabled the boys to attend interrogation without the need for the traumatic experience of the nightly raids.

Its findings are based on 81 testimonies from boys aged 14 to 17, who were arrested at various times in 2018 and 2019. 

'Accumulative trauma'

Last week, the coronavirus-stricken world found alternative ways to mark International Children’s Day.

In Israel, under the title: “At night, while everybody is asleep”, several Israeli human rights organisations, including Breaking the Silence and Parents Against Child Detention, gathered to read testimonies of soldiers who participated in those nightly actions, as well as from Palestinian children and families who suffered from this practice and are victims of its long-lasting consequences.

Parents Against Child Detention is the newest of those organisations, formed just two years ago by two Israeli mothers and activists, Moria Shlomot and Nirith Ben-Horin, who are committed to documenting and raising public awareness to the alarming scope of this undiscussed phenomenon and consistent violation of rights of those children.

Coronavirus: Palestinian children languish in Israeli jails 'not fit for humans' 

Claire Nicol lRead More »

According to Parents Against Child Detention and Military Court Watch, 150 to 200 Palestinian children from the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem are held by Israeli authorities at any given time. Every year, Israel detains about 1,800 minors for varying periods of time.

The fact that Israel has signed international conventions on children’s rights is ignored.

Israeli criminal justice law relating to minors - which mandates that during these sensitive years of childhood and adolescence “use of authority must be carried out while protecting the dignity of the minor” - does not apply to Palestinian children in the West Bank, who are arrested and tried under the military system.

This system is not mandated to consider the mental health and development of children. Many aspects of this practice and routine are plain illegal.

The consequences are unavoidable. According to mental health workers affiliated with Parents Against Child Detention: “Palestinian children in detention experience disorientation, fear, shame and guilt. In many cases, due to serious threats, they also experience fear for the safety of their family.” 

Testimonies

Listening to the testimonies of the children and their families, it seems unavoidable.

Avner Gvaryahu, executive director of Breaking the Silence, calls this repetitive practice “accumulative trauma.” Testimonies of children further confirm this assessment.

A 14-year-old boy from al-Arroub refugee camp in the southern West Bank recounted the night of his arrest:

“I woke up at 2.30 am, when 15 Israeli soldiers broke into our house… Some were masked... The commander told me I am under arrest. They handcuffed me tightly, my hands behind my back... It was painful. I complained, but they just told me to keep quiet... I was detained. Then came the interrogation... They said I threw a Molotov bottle on a settlers’ bus... I did not. They were very aggressive… After a few hours I chose to admit to it, just to get it over. Deep into the night, a member of the family was waiting for me at every possible checkpoint since they could not know when and from where I would be allowed to enter…”

Another minor whose testimony was shared on International Children's Day recounted a very similar story with slight variations.

“My interrogator made me sign some document... I do not read or write Hebrew but he insisted, so I did. I was released late at night. It was freezing cold and rainy... I was afraid.”

Screams, threats and beatings: Palestinian children abused in detention

Read More »

Here’s another testimony of a 40-year-old mother of three from a village in the southern West Bank, Beit Ummar:

“Loud screaming in Hebrew and banging on the door woke us up at 5am. I opened the door. Six soldiers accompanied by dogs entered the house. I told the soldier my husband just underwent open-heart surgery. It made no difference. My 10-year-old reacted with a severe asthma attack; the eight-year-old has been wetting his bed since the soldiers first came to the house two years ago. Now, he did it again… The soldiers pushed us all into one room. I tried to find a blanket to cover the children but the soldiers threatened me and would not let me... They left about three hours later, said nothing, explained nothing.”

All stories sound similar, but each encapsulates different trauma. 

Proximity to settlements

Still, they share one surprising common denominator: according to a Military Court Watch report, “evidence suggests a strong geographic link between West Bank settlements (and their associated road network) and the military detention of children nearby. In 2019, the children who were detained lived on average within 900 metres of a West Bank settlement.”

As Hercule Poirot, the famous detective would say: “It’s too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence”.

Shlomot, the executive director of Parents Against Child Detention, couldn’t agree more.

'Due to the proximity of the settlements to Palestinian villages, the military imposes extra protection measures, including intimidation and spreading fear among Palestinians as deterrence'
- Moria Shlomot, Parents against Child Detention

“Authorities claim the proximity causes friction and enhances violence of the Palestinians against the settlers,” she told Middle East Eye.

“We want to offer an alternative explanation: due to the proximity of the settlements to Palestinian villages, the military imposes extra protection measures, including intimidation and spreading fear among Palestinians as deterrence. Hence the number of minors detained within this geographic circle.”

Former Israeli MP and activist Mossi Raz was one of the many who volunteered to read the testimonies on International Children’s Day. Nothing outstanding in the story he presented. Nobody died.

“This is exactly what struck me,” said Raz, talking to MEE, “the banality of it all. The coming and going of the soldiers whenever they want, the total distortion that became banal routine. This is the very essence of occupation - the every day and night intimidation and humiliation.

"There must be a total distinction between detention of adults and detention of minors. Unfortunately, these practices are deeply rooted and they will change only when occupation ends.”

“Our immediate aim is to make sure that detention of minors comes as a last resort only and for the shortest time,” says Shlomot. “Even this minor expectation does not materialise. The brutality of detention of minors does not end with the night invasion into their family home. It continues with the minor being driven to a military base, blindfolded and humiliated by the soldiers in the vehicle; it continues with the wait for an Arabic-speaking interrogator to come, sometimes with no food and no access to the toilet.

"Some children report manipulative pressure imposed on them using their families - like threatening to revoke their father’s working permit or their aunt’s permit to get medical treatment in Israel," she added.

"On top of everything else, the children are obsessed with guilt and tend to admit even when not guilty at all. Most of the time, they are detained for stone throwing, which is considered a security offence even when no damage is caused.”

Despite some cosmetic reforms to the military law in the West Bank, there remains an abundant number of child arrests and detentions.

“A child’s best interest,” as a guiding principle in international children’s conventions, certainly does not apply here.

ISRAEL'S CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
'Intentional lethal force': UN experts slam Israel for killing Palestinian child
Fatal shooting of 15-year-old Ali Abu Aliya a 'grave violation of international law', says UN Human Rights Office

Experts call for transparent investigation into killing of Ali Abu Aliya

 (Photo supplied)

By MEE staff
Published date: 17 December 2020 


United Nations experts condemned the Israeli military for killing a Palestinian child during a protest in the occupied West Bank earlier this month, calling the shooting of 15-year-old Ali Abu Aliya a "grave violation of international law."

In a statement released on Thursday by the UN Human Rights Office, the experts called on the Israeli government to conduct an "independent, impartial, prompt and transparent civilian investigation" into the boy's death.

"The killing of Ali Ayman Abu Aliya by the Israeli Defense Forces - in circumstances where there was no threat of death or serious injury to the Israeli Security Forces - is a grave violation of international law," they said. "Intentional lethal force is justified only when the security personnel are facing an immediate threat of deadly force or serious harm."
Killed on his birthday: Family grieves Palestinian boy shot by Israeli forcesRead More »

Israeli soldiers shot Palestinian Abu Aliya in the stomach during a protest near his village of al-Mughayir in the West Bank on 4 December. He later succumbed to his wounds.

The Israeli army has said that it opened an investigation into the incident but denied that live ammunition was used against the protesters, whom it described as "rioters".

The UN statement on Thursday noted that the protest at al-Mughayir was against an "illegal settlement outpost". While it acknowledged that children were throwing rocks, it stressed that they posed no immediate danger to Israeli forces and it countered the claim that live ammunition was not used.

"Abu Aliya was hit in the abdomen with a bullet from a 0.22 Ruger Precision Rifle, fired by an Israeli soldier from an estimated 100-150 metres. He died later that day in hospital," the statement said.

"The human rights experts are unaware of any claims that the Israeli security forces were in danger at any point of death or serious injury."

The UN experts - Agnes Callamard, special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, and Michael Lynk, special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian Territory - also underscored the broader issue of mistreatment of Palestinian children.
Atrocities against children

Abu Aliya was the sixth Palestinian child killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank in 2020, while more than 1,000 Palestinian minors have been wounded over the past year, according to the UN rights office.

US Congresswoman Betty McCollum denounces Israel's 'state-sponsored killing' of Palestinian child Read More »

Israeli atrocities against children raise "deep concerns" about Israel's human rights obligations as the occupying power in the Palestinian territories, Callamard and Lynk said. They also underscored that Israeli investigations into lethal use of force against Palestinians "rarely result in appropriate accountability".

"This low level of legal accountability for the killings of so many children by Israeli security forces is unworthy of a country which proclaims that it lives by the rule of law," the experts said.

The killing of Abu Aliya caused outrage among Palestinian rights advocates who said the incident was a reflection of the abuse that Palestinians endure at the hands of Israeli forces.

Unicef, the European Union and US lawmakers also raised concerns about the killing.

Earlier this month, US Congresswoman Betty McCollum denounced the shooting of the Palestinian child, calling it a manifestation of the occupation in the West Bank.

"Yesterday's death of a 15-year-old Palestinian boy in the West Bank by an Israeli soldier who shot the child in the abdomen is a grotesque state-sponsored killing," McCollum told MEE in a statement the day after Abu Aliya was killed.

"This senseless incident must be condemned as a direct result of Israel's permanent military occupation of Palestine."

#BDS #BOYCOTTPUMA

Palestinian activists continue push to boycott Puma
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel calls on Puma to stop sponsoring the Israeli Football Association

Puma has branded itself with the cause of social justice, and is a signatory to the United Nations Global Impact (AFP/File photo)

By Umar A Farooq
Published date: 12 December 2020 

As the Christmas holiday approaches, and with it one of the busiest seasons for gift-buying, Palestinians around the world are calling on consumers to boycott sports clothing brand Puma over its partnership with the Israeli Football Association.

On Saturday, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) launched its fourth Boycott Puma international day of action, which in addition to calling on shoppers to boycott the brand, will also organise calls to Puma, call on local teams around the world to stop using Puma products, and deliver a letter from 200 Palestinian football teams urging Puma to stop supporting Israeli occupation.

"As communities across the world grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic, climate catastrophe and the effects of savage capitalism, our choices as consumers are more important than ever," the campaign said on its website.


'Puma has been doing all sorts of acrobatics to try to distance itself from Israel's illegal settlement enterprise'

- Stephanie Adam, Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel

"Our choices and campaigns have the power to effect change. We can convince companies to abide by their ethics and human rights policies."

In 2018, Adidas ended its partnership with the Israeli Football Association (IFA).

Soon after, Delta Galil, the exclusive importer of Puma products and brand activity in Israel, struck a four-year deal with the IFA to supply the Israeli national team with all necessary equipment to play during competitions.

The deal was criticised by Palestinian activists because football teams of the IFA are allowed to play in occupied territory in the West Bank, in violation of international law as well as the rules set by football's governing body, Fifa.

Delta Galil also has branches in and has operations on illegal Israeli settlements.

In a statement to Middle East Eye, Puma said that its contract with Delta Galil is ending at the end of 2020, and its new distribution partner, the Tel Aviv-based Al Srad Ltd, does not have any branches in illegal settlements nor does it operate in any.

As for a continued partnership with the IFA, Puma said it was up to Al Srad as to whether it will continue working with the association.

"Puma does not support football teams in settlements nor does its Israeli distributor have branches in settlements," a spokesperson for Puma told Middle East Eye.


"Puma does not have any other connection or association with any other Israeli football club team - neither in mainland Israel nor in settlements," the spokesperson said.

"As a brand concerned only with the power that Sport has to bring people together, Puma does not support any political direction, political parties or governments."
Ending complicity in Israeli occupation

Stephanie Adam, a campaigner with PACBI, said Puma is attempting to distance itself from Israel's illegal settlements and occupation of Palestinian territories.

"Puma has been doing all sorts of acrobatics to try to distance itself from Israel's illegal settlement enterprise as the global boycott launched by more than 200 Palestinian teams continues to grow," Adam told Middle East Eye.

"It's not surprising. What company with a progressive image would want to be associated with Israel’s apartheid regime that steals land and resources from the indigenous Palestinian population it has held under military occupation for decades?"

Why FIFA bottled out of enforcing its own rules on Israel Read More »

While Puma says it only has a connection to Israel's national football team, Palestinian advocates have also criticised this as well, saying that the sponsorship of the national team helps the country use the sport's global popularity to compete in international tournaments and wash over rights abuses.

Puma has branded itself with the cause of social justice, and is a signatory to the United Nations Global Impact, the world's largest sustainability initiative.

By signing this initiative, the brand committed to not being complicit in rights abuses.

Still, Adam noted that the strength of the boycott has helped people realise "that Puma can't promote itself as a corporate champion of social justice while helping to prop up Israel's apartheid regime".

She said that Puma's announcement that it is ending its contract with Delta Galil is a testament to the strength of the boycott campaign, but the company must go even further to stop its brand's sponsorship of the IFA.

"Puma needs to spend less time elaborating disingenuous statements denying the plain truth and more on ending its complicity in Israel's violent land grabs by terminating the sponsorship deal with the IFA," she said.

"We are mobilising this weekend and will continue to call on Puma to live up to its claims of a 'devotion to universal equality'."

Israel tried to lure Iran into war with Fakhrizadeh's killing. 

So far it has failed

It is likely Netanyahu and Trump agreed to provoke Iran and make problems for Biden. If Tehran does retaliate, it will likely be on a smaller scale

Iranian forces carry the coffin of nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh during his funeral in Tehran (Reuters)

By Yossi Melman in Tel Aviv, Israel
Published date: 7 December 2020 

As time has elapsed since the killing of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh on 27 November, the chances for quick retaliation are fading away.

After the assassination, in an operation east of Tehran attributed to Israel’s Mossad, senior Iranian leaders have used harsh language to promise revenge, not only against Israel but also the United States and Israel’s new allies in the region, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Among those vowing retribution were President Hassan Rouhani and military confidants of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, including former Defence Minister Ahmad Wahidi.

But the inflammatory rhetoric subdsided. Gut feelings made room for cool-headed decisions. The first question to be asked is, why? Why did Israel decide to kill him?

Fakhrizadeh was a gifted nuclear physicist, who taught and researched at Imam Hossein University in his nation’s capital city. But he was also a brigadier-general in the Revolutionary Guard and deputy defence minister.

For years, Israeli, American, British and German intelligence services have said that his academic credentials were just a front for his real work as head of the secret military nuclear programme focusing on weaponisation - to produce nuclear bombs.

In documents from the Iranian nuclear archives stolen in 2018 by Mossad and partially published in the media, evidence was seen of Fakhrizadeh’s involvement with Iran’s development of weapons - including a recording of his voice, in which he talks about five bombs and the need for tests.

Eventually Mossad, using technological and digital surveillance, as well as agents on the ground, found soft spots in Fakhrizadeh’s security

Because of these suspicious, the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency demanded to interview him twice, once a decade ago and again six years ago, but the request was rejected by the Iranian authorities.

It is not publicly known if Fakhrizadeh was working on weaponising Iran’s nuclear capabilities at the time of his death.

Western intelligence communities have tried to follow Fakhrizadeh, bug his phones and computers, and collect information about him.

Mossad went further and a few times even planned to kill him, but Fakhrizadeh was cautious, highly suspicious and evasive. He uncovered the plots against his life, went underground, and the security around him was doubled, around the clock.

In the end it was not sufficient. Eventually Mossad, using technological and digital surveillance, as well as agents on the ground, found soft spots in his security. On Sunday, Iran said that a satellite-controlled machine gun with "artificial intelligence" had been used to kill the scientist.

Avoiding the trap

The desire to assassinate a wanted man is not enough.

To carry out the plan, Mossad also needed accurate information and operational feasibility. Once Israel had acquired the desire, precise intelligence and logistical capabilities, only the question of timing - of why now - remained.

It was most likely that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is the ultimate authority in approving or denying whether Mossad chief Yossi Cohen can carry out such a mission, had consulted with outgoing US President Donald Trump.

Five scientists in 10 years: Iran's nuclear physicists are top targets for assassins

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Trump and his security and military aides must have been privy to the secret decision, because the US had to prepare itself for all eventualities, including the worst-case scenario: Iran deciding to retaliate by hitting US targets, such as its bases in Bahrain or Qatar.

This leads to the almost inevitable conclusion that Netanyahu and Trump hoped to provoke Iran.

Their hopeful scenario could have been that after Fakhrizadeh had been killed, Tehran would retaliate against the US, which would leave Trump with no choice but to declare war on Iran. If this was their plan, they wanted also to embarrass President-elect Joe Biden.

After their initial, emotional reaction, Iran's leaders understood the Israeli-American conspiracy and decided not to fall into the trap.

Iran still seeks revenge and prepares its intelligence agencies to be ready. But Tehran anxiously awaits Biden and his incoming administration. It hopes that the Democrat will bring the US back into the 2015 nuclear deal, known as JCPOA, and lift the crippling sanctions Trump has imposed over the past two years.


After their initial, emotional reaction, Iran's leaders understood the Israeli-American conspiracy and decided not to fall into the trap

All things considered, it is very unlikely that Iran will retaliate against US targets at all, and certainly not before Biden enters the White House on 20 January. The Iranians are looking beyond that date, however, in the knowledge that the new administration will need a few more months to formulate its policy and re-enter the nuclear deal, if it does so at all.

Yet Iran may eventually be disappointed. Contrary to how Netanyahu and US Republicans portray Biden, as weak and soft on Iran, he is not in Iran’s pocket. Biden wants to revive the nuclear deal and bring Iran into the international family of nations. But not at any cost.

Biden and some of his future cabinet nominees have hinted that they wish to improve the nuclear deal and close some of the loopholes in it. These include the notion of a “sunset” - when the agreement will expire - which Biden certainly doesn’t want to happen in 2025, as the original agreement stipulates.

He also hopes to persuade Iran to expand the deal so it will address the issues of long-range missiles, Iran’s destabilising interventions in the Middle East and its support for militant groups.

Limited options

In a way Iran is trapped. It desperately needs the sanctions to be lifted, otherwise with its deteriorating economy it will find itself in an economic, social and political catastrophe.

But Tehran also, as a matter of national pride and due its inner divisions between reformists and conservatives, will find it difficult to further compromise.

On the other hand, Iran has no hesitations about its desire and readiness to strike Israeli targets. But its capabilities are limited.

It doesn’t want to launch its long-range missiles from its own soil, knowing that not only will Israel retaliate with an iron fist, but also it may leave the US no choice but to rush and help its ally.

Iran says nuclear scientist killed by 'artificial intelligence' machine gun

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The other punitive measure available for the Iranian strategic planners is to launch its missiles from Syria. But here, too, its hands are tied. Russia and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would not approve it, and again Israel would respond harshly.

Another possibility is that Iran will conduct cyber-warfare against major Israeli strategic sites and infrastructure. However, Israeli cyber-capabilities - defensive and offensive - are much more superior than Iran's.

A year ago, Iran tried to strike Israeli critical infrastructure, but caused minimal damage to a few water pumps. However, a few years earlier it did manage to succeed in inflicting major damage to Saudi Arabia’s computers managing its oil industry.

The other option for Iran is to command its most reliable proxy, Hezbollah, to shower Israel with missiles from Lebanon. Yet, Iran, Hezbollah and the weak Lebanese government in Beirut know full well that any Israeli response would be swift and painful, to the point that Lebanon as a whole may collapse.

So, what is left for Iran is more of the same: to try to target Israelis abroad.

It has tried this in the past, after Mossad assassinated five Iranian scientists in the streets of Tehran between 2010-2012, and Hezbollah’s military chief Imad Mughniyeh in Damascus in 2008.

Most of these Iranian efforts were thwarted by Israeli intelligence. There is no indication they would be more successful now.

Who was Mohsen Fakhrizadeh?

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Top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was gunned down outside Tehran on Friday, a move declared an "act of state terror" by Iran's foreign minister.

Though it is unclear who is behind the assassination, it is likely to precipitate tensions comparable to the 3 January US killing of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.

Fakhrizadeh is renowned as the architect of Iran’s military nuclear programme.

He became the face of Iran's nuclear ambitions when named in the International Atomic Energy Agency's 2015 "final assessment" of open questions about Iran's nuclear programme and whether it was aimed at developing a nuclear bomb.

The IAEA's report said that he oversaw activities "in support of a possible military dimension to [Iran's] nuclear programme" within the so-called AMAD Plan.

Iran denies ever having sought to develop a nuclear weapon.

Believed to be a senior officer in the elite Revolutionary Guard, Fakhrizadeh was the only Iranian the report identified.

The IAEA has long wanted to meet Fakhrizadeh as part of a protracted investigation into whether Iran carried out illicit nuclear weapons research.

Showing no sign it would heed the request, Iran acknowledged Fakhrizadeh’s existence several years ago but said he was an army officer not involved in the nuclear programme, according to a diplomatic source who spoke to Reuters. 

Fakhrizadeh was also named in a 2007 UN resolution on Iran as a person involved in nuclear or ballistic missile activities.

An exiled Iranian opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), in May 2011 issued a report with what it said was a photograph of Fakhrizadeh, with dark hair and stubble. It was not possible to independently verify the picture.

The NCRI said in the report that Fakhrizadeh was born in 1958 in the holy city of Qom, was a deputy defence minister and a Revolutionary Guard brigadier-general.

According to the NCRI, the scientist held a nuclear engineering doctorate and taught at Iran’s University of Imam Hussein.

Fakhrizadeh’s assassination comes at a time of rising tensions, with Tehran fearing that outgoing US President Donald Trump could lash out before his term ends on 20 January.

Fakhrizadeh was mentioned by name by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he made a 2018 speech detailing an alleged archive of nuclear plans reportedly stolen from Iran.

"Remember that name, Fakhrizadeh," Netanyahu said.

In the same speech, the Israeli premier said the scientist had continued to work on "special projects" at the Iranian defence ministry after his military nuclear outfit was closed.

Fakhrizadeh was reportedly wanted by Mossad, and has previously escaped an assassination attempt.

Lebanon military court sentences pop singer Fadel Shaker to 22 years in prison

Shaker was sentenced in absentia for 'interfering in terrorist acts' and financing an armed group in 2012

Lebanese singer Fadel Shaker performs during a gathering in the main sports stadium in the southern Lebanese city of Saida on 9 June 2013 (AFP)

By MEE staff

Published date: 17 December 2020 

A Lebanese military court sentenced on Wednesday evening famous pop singer Fadel Shaker to a total of 22 years imprisonment with hard labour.

Shaker, whose real name is Fadel Shamander, was sentenced in absentia to 15 years for “involvement in terrorist acts committed by terrorists” and “for providing logistical services”, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.

The court issued a second sentence against Shaker of seven years in prison and a fine of 5m Lebanese pounds ($3,312) for financing the armed group of the radical cleric Ahmed al-Assir and for securing it weapons and ammunition costs.

The Lebanese Permanent Military Court had sentenced Shaker in September 2017 to 15 years in prison with hard labour and issued the death penalty against Assir for armed clashes between his militant group and the Lebanese army in the southern city of Saida.

At least 18 soldiers and 13 armed men died in fighting that erupted in the neighbourhood of Abra when supporters of Assir opened fire at a military checkpoint in June 2013 amid tensions in Lebanon heightened by the civil war in neighbouring Syria.

Assir was arrested at the airport in Beirut in 2015 while trying to flee Lebanon with a fake Palestinian passport. At the time, he had changed his physical appearance by shaving his beard and sporting a moustache with large eyeglasses.

Shaker quit music to become a full-time vocal supporter of Assir, and has hidden in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh near Saida since the Abra clashes.

But he has been trying to make a comeback to the music world since 2013. “I’m an artist. I don’t know how to do anything else,” he said in an interview in 2018 with Middle East Eye.

He has released several singles in Egyptian and Gulf dialects since 2018, the latest of which came out on Monday, garnering more than two million views in 72 hours.