Pakistan's brick workers need kilns reignited after floods


Kaneez FATIMA
Mon, September 5, 2022 


The brick kilns that dominate the small village of Aqilpur in Pakistan's Punjab province now lie abandoned, furnaces extinguished by weeks of torrential rain that have caused the worst floods in the country's history.

Though the floods that engulfed Aqilpur and its surrounding fields have receded from the highs of a week ago, the kilns are still surrounded by water.

Most of those who lived on-site -- part of the country's millions-strong workforce known as "daily wagers" because of their piecemeal salaries -- abandoned their homes for higher, dry ground.

"I come here daily on my bicycle and go from one kiln to another to look for work but find nothing," said Muhammad Ayub, an itinerant labourer.

Now, a road that runs through the village has become a kind of town square for the kiln workers, who find themselves both homeless and out of work.

Ayub, 40, has a sick mother and an eight-year-old daughter to provide for.

When his home was destroyed in the torrential rains that preceded the flood, he sent them to a relative's house close to the village.


But once the flood hit, his family was forced to take refuge at a makeshift campsite on higher ground outside the village.

More than 33 million people in Pakistan have been affected by the flooding, brought on by record monsoon rains that have swamped a third of the country, causing at least 1,300 deaths.

The floods have destroyed or badly damaged nearly two million homes or business premises, and for the rebuilding process to begin, kilns like those in Aqilpur will have to fire up again.
- Earning less than $3 a shift -

There are thousands of small brick factories and kilns scattered across much of Pakistan -- a vital supplier of building materials for the nation of 220 million.

For now, mounds of bricks that should be making their way to building sites across the country lie partially submerged in floodwater.

Ayub worked 12 hours a night making bricks, earning less than $3 (600 rupees) a shift for his labours.

He would spend the mornings working the fields surrounding the village, and was only able to sleep briefly in the afternoon before his shift began again.

With the kilns shut down and the fields submerged, his daily wage is gone.

"Where should a labourer go? he asked AFP.

"Wherever the workers go to look for work, they come back empty-handed."

Daily wagers make up one of the poorest segments of Pakistan's society and many in rural areas are exploited by unscrupulous large-scale farmers and factory owners who keep them in virtual servitude.

The brickworks in particular are notorious for hiring child labour -- illegal under Pakistan law.

One of the youngest among the 50 or so kiln workers camped near Aqilpur is Muhammad Ismail, who joined his father at the brickworks almost a year ago when he turned 12.

He helped mould the clay that makes the bricks before they went into the furnace, hoping his labours would help his parents feed his six younger siblings.

After fleeing their home in the flood, Ismail's father had to borrow money to buy flour and other necessities for his family.

"But now we are in debt," Ismail said.

"I have been searching for work with my father every day. We need to pay off our debt, but I'm losing hope."

It is not uncommon in parts of Pakistan for those who incur debt and fail to pay it back to be forced into bonded labour for years, as interest on the original sum keeps mounting.

This debt can often be handed down from one generation to another.

The kiln workers of Aqilpur have petitioned the owner to spark up the furnaces so they can resume work, but Ayub thinks they are asking for the impossible.

"The water collected here isn't going to dry up for at least three months," he said.

"And after the water dries, it will take another two or two-and-half months for the repairs."

kf-fox/aha/cwl

Pakistan floods: Pregnant women in urgent need of health care

Hundreds of thousands of pregnant women have been displaced by the unprecedented floods in Pakistan. They urgently need proper medical care to ensure a safe pregnancy and childbirth.

Vulnerable sections of the population such as pregnant women and children 

are particularly affected by the floods

Ameeran, a 29-year-old pregnant woman from a village in Sindh province's Qambar district, has been taking refuge in a relief camp set up in the provincial capital Karachi since record torrential rains caused massive floods in the country in recent days.

"The roads were completely wiped away by the rain and flood. It took my family three days to reach Karachi," she said.

The unprecedented rains and melting glaciers in Pakistan's northern mountainous regions have brought floods that have so far affected over 33 million people and submerged a third of the country.

The floods, which have destroyed homes, land, crops and livestock, have followed record-breaking summer temperatures. Pakistan's government and the United Nations have both blamed climate change for the extreme weather and the devastation it has brought.

At least 1,314 people, including 458 children, have lost their lives because of the environmental catastrophe, Pakistan's National Disaster Management Agency said.

Bad food and dirty washrooms?

Vulnerable sections of the population, such as pregnant women and children, are particularly affected.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said last week that almost 650,000 pregnant women in flood-hit areas require maternal health services to ensure a safe pregnancy and childbirth — with up to 73,000 expected to give birth in September.

The UN agency stressed that the women will need skilled birth attendants, newborn care and support. "In addition, many women and girls are at an increased risk of gender-based violence (GBV) as almost 1 million houses have been damaged," it said in a press release.

Floods in Pakistan have so far affected over 33 million people and submerged

 a third of the country

In Sindh province, which is among the worst-hit regions, authorities have set up tens of relief camps to provide shelter to those displaced by the floods.

But Ameeran said that the camps don't much to offer for pregnant women.

The food provided at the camp is also a problem, she said. "We are not used to eating such oily and spicy food, it bloats my stomach and causes acidity, I try to avoid it but then I have no other option," she said.

Eighteen-year-old Rubina, who is seven months pregnant, said she hasn't received proper food since reaching the camp two weeks ago.

"It has been a fortnight in this relief camp, and not even one day I have been able to eat something proper. I feel dizzy all the time. When I was at home I used to have milk, yogurt and fruits regularly but here all you get to eat are the spicy and oily rice which causes a lot of discomfort to me," she said.

"The washrooms are also very dirty."

Lack of female doctors and midwives

At campsites, many of them government schools turned into relief camps, stranded people and their livestock live side-by-side in cramped conditions without sanitation. And many women find it distressing to share living space with strangers, particularly men.

At one of the camps, 40-year-old Mansha said she remains awake all night as sleeping in a room in the presence of non-related men "makes me feel uncomfortable."

Mansha, from the town of Kandiaro in Sindh, is currently pregnant with her fourth child.

Pregnant women at the camps also complain of a lack of female doctors and midwives to help them.

Most of them have resisted being examined by visiting male doctors as in Pakistan's conservative society, it is often deemed inappropriate for women to consult male doctors, especially for gynecological issues.

"There is already a shortage of gynecologists and the floods have made the condition worse," said the Director General of Sindh's health services, Muhammad Juman.

Pointing out that the natural calamity has caused severe damage to the province's health infrastructure, he said authorities are setting up makeshift facilities to meet the urgent needs of the pregnant women.

"The health department of Sindh is devising a mechanism to deal with the destruction caused to health facilities and a special budget of 800 million rupees ($3.65 million or €3.67 million) will also be released for it in the next week," he underlined.

Sidra Basit, a gynecologist in Karachi who has been visiting the camps to treat pregnant women, said most of the women she has seen are extremely anemic.

That's the reason behind their unstable blood pressure, she noted, adding that iron deficiency could also create complications at the time of childbirth and increase the chances of post-partum hemorrhage, which is when women bleed heavily after giving birth.

"These women are also traumatized by the disaster they faced. Anxiety and depression in such mothers can adversely affect the mental health of the child too," she said.

The floods and their effects show how women are especially vulnerable to and hit hard by environmental disasters.

Struggling to avert danger

Even as flood waters are receding in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan provinces, the situation remains alarming across Sindh.

Authorities there breached the nation's largest freshwater lake, displacing up to 100,000 people from their homes in the hope of draining enough water to stop the lake from bursting its banks and swamping more densely populated areas.

But water levels in the lake, to the west of the Indus river in Sindh, remain dangerously high.

The floods are also a huge burden for an economy already needing help from the International Monetary Fund.

The United Nations has called for $160 million in aid to help the victims of the floods but Pakistani officials say the cost of the damage is far higher than that.

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru

School gardens a lifeline for hungry Cambodian children


Suy Se with Lisa Martin in Bangkok
Mon, September 5, 2022 


Among the spinach crops at a rural Cambodian school garden, children test their maths skills while weighing produce -- but as food prices rise, the vegetable patch has become a safety net for struggling families.

Long before Covid restrictions ravaged the economy, malnutrition and poverty stalked Cambodia's youth -- the legacy of decades of conflict and instability following the Khmer Rouge's genocidal rule in the 1970s.

Food insecurity has worsened since Russia's invasion of Ukraine stoked global shortages and inflation.

The World Food Programme (WFP) says the prices of local staples have shot up in the past year: duck eggs by more than 20 percent and cooking oil by almost 40 percent.


Noodle seller Chhon Puthy, 31, has lost half her income during the pandemic and worries about her children's health.

"We parents had to reduce our rations sometimes," said the mother-of-two from the village of Chroy Neang Nguon, about two hours from Siem Reap.

In recent months, her family has come to rely on the garden and free breakfast programme at her children's school to ease the financial pressure.

"This community depends on the meal because every morning parents are busy with farming and could not cook for their kids," she said.
- Garden lifeline -


Remote schools in Siem Reap province use the gardens to teach pupils life skills such as cultivation and cooking.

"I learn about growing vegetables, making organic fertiliser, how to work in soil," 12-year-old Seyha told AFP, adding that the know-how has helped improve her family's own vegetable patch.

More than 1,000 schools around Cambodia have meal programmes supported by the WFP, with around 50 learning gardens set up with help from global rights group Plan International.

Before each day's lessons, students are served a free breakfast of rice and fish soup with vegetables grown in the garden.


Long Tov, principal of the school in Chroy Neang Nguon, said the garden and meal programme helped improve students' concentration levels, memory and test results.

"It (also) hugely reduces the school dropout rate," he told AFP.

Vireak, 12, said he was happy to eat at school with his classmates.

"I feel stronger and smarter and I can learn things much easier than before," he said.
- Impact -

Malnutrition costs the Cambodian economy more than $400 million a year -- about 2.5 percent of GDP -- according to a study backed by UNICEF.

The country has made progress on tackling the issue -- chronic malnutrition in children under five fell from 32 percent in 2014 to 22 percent -- but there are fears that inflation could stall momentum.

"Rising food prices are likely to exacerbate the already high levels of childhood malnutrition, just as the country started showing signs of recuperating from the pandemic's economic impacts," the United Nations Nutrition office in Cambodia said in a statement.

At Angkor Hospital for Children in Siem Reap, nutrition team leader Sroeu Phannsy told AFP that some poor families were being forced to water down infant milk formula, which can have devastating consequences for a baby's health.

The fight against malnutrition takes her team of health workers into remote areas, where they treat children with ready-to-eat, energy-dense snacks.

"We worry about their growth in the future, particularly their brain development will be weakened as they prepare to go to school at the age of five or six," she said.

Children and infants not receiving enough nutrients can go on to suffer low IQs, blindness, stunted growth and weak immune systems.

Back at the learning garden, a teacher shows a class, with full bellies after breakfast, when vegetables are ready to harvest.

"In the learning garden, we are happy and learn important skills... Back home I grow morning glory, cucumber, beans and tomatoes," 12-year-old Vireak said.

ss-lpm/pdw/dva/kma/aha

Super Typhoon Leaves Several Dead as It Passes South Korea

Heesu Lee and Heejin Kim
Tue, September 6, 2022 




(Bloomberg) -- Super Typhoon Hinnamnor left at least two people dead and created widespread flooding and power outages as it passed through South Korea, though the destruction appeared to be less than had been forecast.

Hinnamnor hit near the southern city of Geoje at 4:50 a.m. local time and moved off the coast near Ulsan just a few hours later, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. Projections from the US Joint Typhoon Warning Center show the typhoon moving through Korea’s eastern sea, and potentially making landfall again in eastern Russia.

At least two people in South Korea were reported killed while at least eight are missing, according to Yonhap. Earlier, the meteorological agency had warned of potential casualties from what was expected to be the most powerful storm ever to hit the country.

Hinnamnor showed signs of weakening Tuesday afternoon, packing sustained winds of about 86 miles (138 kilometers) per hour with gusts around 104 mph, according to the US warning center. But the impact of the massive storm continued to be felt across South Korea and even parts of Japan.

About 3,500 people were evacuated along South Korea’s southern coast, while more than 66,000 homes nationwide suffered power outages, Yonhap reported. However, Korea Electric Power Corp. has restored electricity to more than 18,000 homes in Jeju, the newspaper said.

Kyushu Electric Power Co., the utility provider for Japan’s southwestern prefectures in Kyushu, said that over 30,000 buildings in the region are without power due to the typhoon, while telecommunications providers KDDI Corp. and NTT Docomo said service has been disrupted in some parts of the country.

Still, bsinesses in South Korea began to return to normal soon after the storm passed. Hyundai Motor Co.’s union said the company was set to resume work before noon while Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. planned to restart in the afternoon. No casualties or damage were reported at the facilities of the automaker and two shipbuilders.

Korean Air Lines Co. and Asiana Airlines Inc. restarted flights to Jeju Island in the morning, while flights to Busan were scheduled to resume in the afternoon.

Six nuclear reactors on the southeast coast had been running at lower rates ahead of the typhoon. They will operate at a reduced rate for now until the situation returns to normal, according to a spokeswoman at Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co.

Oil refiners, chemical operations and the nation’s oldest nuclear power plant had earlier taken precautions amid predictions the typhoon would hammer the resort island of Jeju and the key industrial city of Ulsan on the country’s southeast coast, disrupting ports and air traffic across the region.

The nation suffered the second major storm in a matter of weeks after Seoul was hit by the heaviest rains in a century in early August, killing at least 11 people. President Yoon Suk Yeol faced criticism for his response to the floods and apologized to the nation for “inconveniences” caused by the storm.

Yoon, who earlier promised the government would stay alert to protect the lives and safety of citizens, said Tuesday that while Typhoon Hinnamnor has made its way out to sea, it’s too early to express relief because areas with damage still need to be rescued.

Hinnamnor already disrupted port operations, airline services and schools across Asia since developing last month. Shanghai’s major container port of Yangshan briefly halted terminal operations. Some schools in both South Korea and China were closed for safety reasons.

(Updates with death toll in the first paragraph)

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.

DECRIMINALIZE DRUGS END DRUG WARS

Drug Violence Tests Mexico President's 'Hugs Not Bullets' Strategy

By Yussel Gonzalez
09/05/22 AT

Police inspect an area where suspected gang members set a bus on fire in Mexico's western state of Jalisco

Escalating drug cartel-related violence, including indiscriminate attacks on civilians, has deepened concerns about whether Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's "hugs not bullets" security strategy is working.

Mounting scrutiny of Lopez Obrador's approach comes as his critics accuse him of trying to militarize the Latin American nation by putting the National Guard under army control.

A spate of violence in August in several cities, including Ciudad Juarez on the border with the United States, left 12 people dead -- including several civilians.

Such attacks "generate panic in the civilian population and confusion among the political authorities. The security authorities are paralyzed, without the capacity to react," security consultant David Saucedo told AFP.

Saucedo branded the violence "narcoterrorism" -- a term that Lopez Obrador's government has stopped short of using.

In Ciudad Juarez, gang members went on a killing spree in what Lopez Obrador described as retaliation following a prison riot involving two rival gangs.

In the eastern and central states of Jalisco and Guanajuato, gang violence left one suspected criminal dead and businesses and vehicles on fire following a failed attempt to capture two cartel bosses.

The government's response was not to "examine why it happened and to implement the sort of strategies that have been proven to reduce criminal involvement," said Michael Lettieri, co-founder of the Mexico Violence Resource Project at the University of California, San Diego.

Instead, it ordered the deployment of soldiers -- a response similar to those of previous governments that Lopez Obrador accuses of having exacerbated violence by militarizing the war on drugs.

While the recent attacks shocked the country, every day there are dozens of murders in Mexico and most do not draw much attention.

The country faces "two wars": high-profile attempts to capture gang leaders and violence affecting ordinary Mexicans that the government has failed to tackle, said Laura Atuesta, coordinator of the drug policy program at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching.

Criminals "keep killing people, breaking into houses and making people disappear," she said.

Lopez Obrador says his "hugs not bullets" strategy aims to tackle violent crime at its roots by fighting poverty and inequality with social programs, rather than with the army.

The new approach was "reducing violence," the president said last week in his annual state of the nation address, adding that federal crimes had dropped 29.3 percent since he took office in 2018.

Between January and July, murders fell 8.7 percent compared with the same period in 2021, to 18,093 victims, according to the government.

More than 340,000 people have been killed in a spiral of bloodshed since the government of then-president Felipe Calderon deployed the army to fight drug cartels in 2006.

Human rights group Amnesty International has urged Lopez Obrador to abandon his plan to give the military control of the National Guard.

The president created the new security force in 2019 with a civilian command to replace federal police accused of corruption and rights violations.

"Experience shows that today Mexico is more dangerous than 16 years ago when it was decided that the military should take to the streets," Amnesty said last month.

"There has been an increase in forced disappearances, arbitrary arrests, physical, psychological and even sexual torture," it added.

Lopez Obrador's plan has been approved by the lower house of Congress but seems unlikely to be passed in the upper chamber, so he has vowed to seek other legal options.

Even if the National Guard is put under military control, it will take time for the force to develop operational capabilities, according to experts.

Lopez Obrador is only managing, rather than solving, the security problem, "laying the groundwork for a future war" that will not happen before his term ends in 2024, Saucedo said.

Soldiers, firefighters and forensic experts work at the site of an arson attack in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez'

Army Taking On Gangs In Colombia's Biggest Port

By Juan RESTREPO
09/05/22 
A Colombian navy patrol in the waters around Buenaventura, where rival gangs have turned the major port city into a living nightmare for residents

Colombia's army put on a show of force at the weekend in a town whose population is at the mercy of two warring gangs.

The "Shottas" and "Spartanos" gangs have been fighting for months over control of Buenaventura's drug trafficking trade, and other illegal activities such as micro-trafficking, extortion and kidnappings.


But the army has tried to assert some state control by coming out in force in several neighborhoods in Colombia's main port city.

Buenaventura is where 40 percent of the country's international trade takes place and the departure point of most of the cocaine destined for the United States.

In recent years, it has become one of the most violent cities in the country, with 576 murders between 2017 and 2021, according to the Pares foundation, along with forced disappearances and kidnappings.

On August 30, the two gangs were involved in a shoot-out using automatic weapons that lasted several hours.

It was a "night of terror," said local media.

Surrounded by mangroves, Buenaventura is a city of between 350,000 and 500,000 people, with 90 percent claiming African descent.

The city extends along an avenue flanked by poor neighborhoods down to the port at the end of a lagoon.

Those are places where it is too unsafe to venture alone due to the kidnapping risk.

Shottas and Spartanos share control of these neighborhoods of modest brick homes, unfinished buildings surrounded by steel fences, wooden huts on stilts and metal shacks perched over water and garbage.

The gangs swept in and replaced the right-wing paramilitaries and left-wing guerrillas that used to reign here and were already self-financed by drug trafficking and terrorising the local population.

Formed from a schism in the La Local criminal group, these two gangs markedly stepped up their actions from the end of 2020 and their territory extends to the marshlands on the edge of town.

Buenaventura has since been a hive of shoot-outs, kidnappings and extortion.

Locals speak too of sinister so-called "slaughterhouse" homes, where the bodies of kidnap victims are dismembered before being disposed of in the laguna, far from prying eyes.

"The two groups made themselves with legal businesses, above all food: eggs, cheese, fruit... nothing got away from them. They were even prepared to fix prices on certain basic foods," Juan Manuel Torres, a researcher at the country's peace and reconciliation commission, told AFP.

"What we're living through now is a new urban war, one in which control of the neighborhoods is at play."

With new left-wing President Gustavo Petro due to visit Buenaventura on Tuesday to implement his "total peace" policy aimed at negotiating with, rather than crushing, criminal groups, police and the army patrolled the city's streets night and day.


They were most present in streets known for being conflict zones between the rival gangs, known as "invisible borders."

In one such neighborhood, Jean XXIII, shootings are a near-daily occurrence and terrified residents barricade themselves inside their homes once night falls.

The sudden appearance of soldiers has generated apprehension and curiosity.

Heads pop out of doorways and eyes peer from behind curtains, as heavily armed soldiers carefully make their way down roads and alleyways.

"The criminals could shoot at us at any time," warned lieutenant colonel Samuel Aguilar, commander of the 24th marine infantry battalion.

"The two gangs are at war here and they don't like seeing us interfering in their business."

Alongside the police, they are trying to prevent the gangs from asserting their authority on the streets.

"There have been many changes in Buenaventura in one year, and unfortunately not to the benefit of the community," added Aguilar.

Buenaventura is Colombia's biggest port from where most of its cocaine leaves for the United States

Colombian police are securing the streets of Buenaventura where residents are often too afraid to step outside at night

Colombia's army is making a show of force in poor Buenaventura neighborhoods faced with an escalating turf war between drug gangs

SMELLS LIKE TEEN DATA
Irish watchdog fines Instagram 405M euros in teen data case

Mon, September 5, 2022



LONDON (AP) — Irish regulators are slapping Instagram with a big fine after an investigation found the social media platform mishandled teenagers' personal information in violation of strict European Union data privacy rules.

Ireland's Data Protection Commission said by email Monday that it made a final decision last week to fine the company 405 million euros ($402 million), though the full details won't be released until next week.

The penalty is the second-biggest issued under the EU's stringent privacy rules, after Luxembourg's regulators fined Amazon 746 million euros last year.

Instagram parent Meta, which also owns Facebook, said that while it had “engaged fully" with regulators throughout the investigation, “we disagree with how this fine was calculated and intend to appeal it.”

The Irish watchdog's investigation centered on how Instagram displayed the personal details of users ages 13 to 17, including email addresses and phone numbers. The minimum age for Instagram users is 13.

The investigation began after a data scientist found that users, including those under 18, were switching to business accounts and had their contact information displayed on their profiles. Users were apparently doing it to see statistics on how many likes their posts were getting after Instagram started removing the feature from personal accounts in some countries to help with mental health.

Instagram said the inquiry focused on “old settings" that were updated more than a year ago, and it has since released new privacy features for teens, including automatically setting their accounts to private when they join.

“We’re continuing to carefully review the rest of the decision," the company said.

Under the EU's data privacy rules, the Irish watchdog is the lead regulator for many U.S. tech companies with European headquarters in Dublin.

The watchdog has a raft of other inquiries into Meta-owned companies. Last year, it fined WhatsApp 225 million euros for breaching rules on transparency about sharing people’s data with other Meta companies.

The Associated Press

Germany puts two nuclear plants on standby in energy U-turn


Sebastien ASH
Mon, September 5, 2022 


Germany said Monday it would keep two nuclear plants on standby beyond the end of the year in a policy U-turn, as the shut-off of Russian gas supplies sends Europe scrambling for energy sources.

Following a new network stress test, two of the three remaining power plants would "remain available until mid-April 2023 in case needed", Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a statement.

The move partly delays a nuclear exit planned under former chancellor Angela Merkel.

The plants would be kept in reserve to potentially "make a further contribution to the electricity grid in southern Germany", where the development of renewable power was lagging the north.

Habeck said such a crisis was still "extremely unlikely" and assured that Germany had a "very high security of supply".

The Green minister also underlined that Germany was not wavering from its plan to move on from nuclear energy, with all plants being unplugged from the grid at the end of the year.

"New fuel rods will not be put in and after mid-April 2023 it is also over for the reserve," Habeck said.

An initial stress test in March had found that the remaining nuclear fleet was not needed to ensure energy security, leading to the conclusion that they could be phased out by year's end as originally planned.

But the electricity market has since been upended by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with power bills soaring in part because Moscow has slashed energy supplies to Europe.

"War and the climate crisis are having a very concrete impact," Habeck said, referring to a summer drought that has dried up Germany's rivers and impeded fuel transport.
- Pipeline cut -

Merkel spectacularly decided to ditch atomic energy in 2011 following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan.

Extending the lifetime of the plants, which account for six percent of the country's electricity output, has set off a heated debate in Germany, where nuclear power has been a source of controversy stretching back before Merkel's decision.

The move is especially sensitive for Habeck, whose Green party has its roots in the anti-nuclear movement.

But Germany has already moved to restart mothballed coal power plants and fill gas storage ahead of the winter to guard against an energy shortfall.

Last week, Russian energy giant Gazprom said it would not restart gas deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline Saturday as planned after a three-day maintenance, pinning the blame on Western sanctions.

"Problems with pumping (gas) arose due to sanctions that were imposed against our country," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday.

Germany no longer takes Russian supplies into account in its energy security considerations, said Habeck, saying it was "not a surprise" that Moscow did not restart gas flows via Nord Stream 1.

"The only thing that is reliable from Russia is lies," he said, adding that "we will have to solve our problems without consideration of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's erratic decisions, and that's what we will do."
- Bill squeeze -

Swift government action meant Germany would "get through this winter" with the energy it needed, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Sunday.

But soaring bills meant "rapid" changes were needed to the electricity market at a European level, he said at the unveiling of a 65-billion-euro ($65-billion) inflation relief package.

Hundreds of demonstrators rallied in the eastern city of Leipzig on Monday evening to protest what they see as the insufficiency of the government's support measures.

The demonstrations called by the far-left Die Linke party could mark the start of a "hot autumn" of protest in Germany as bill payers feel the squeeze from rising prices.

Earlier Monday, Scholz spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron, who said France was ready to deliver more gas to Germany to allow Berlin to export more electricity.

France, which has long leaned on nuclear power, is itself struggling after a number of its reactors were shut down due to corrosion issues.

Other countries have re-evaluated their stance on nuclear energy in the wake of the Russian invasion, including disaster-struck Japan.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called at the end of August for a push to revive the country's nuclear power industry, and build new atomic plants.

bur-sea/hmn/ach/imm

After referendum rout, Chile leader pursues quest for new constitution


Paulina ABRAMOVICH, Paula BUSTAMANTE
Mon, September 5, 2022 


President Gabriel Boric vowed Monday to press ahead with efforts to replace Chile's dictatorship-era constitution, hours after voters rejected a first draft in a setback to his leftist reform agenda.

Boric, 36, met the rejection by 61.8 percent of voters with "humility," he said, while adding there was "latent discontent" against deep-rooted social inequality in the country.

Sunday's "No" majority vote -- by a far larger margin than projected by pollsters -- was the latest in a wave of recent political and social showdowns in the country.

It started with protests in 2019 for a fairer, more equal society, which led to a referendum in 2020 in which 80 percent voted for replacing the constitution.

A left-leaning convention was elected last year to do the drafting work, and in December, Boric took office after beating a right-wing rival by campaigning against Chile's neoliberal economic model -- protected by the constitution.

The constitution, which dates from the rule of dictator Augusto Pinochet, is widely blamed for making companies and the elite richer at the expense of the poor, working classes.

Among the proposals that proved most controversial, the text would have entrenched the right to elective abortion and guaranteed stronger protections for Indigenous rights.
- Try again -

After the overwhelming rejection, Boric called on politicians to "put Chile ahead of any legitimate differences and agree as soon as possible on the deadlines and parameters for a new constitutional process."

He invited party representatives to talks starting Monday, but none of the right-wing opposition have indicated whether they would attend.

According to analysts, most Chileans and political parties want a new constitution, but not the one they got to vote on.

One exception is far-right politician Jose Antonio Kast -- Boric's vanquished rival in December elections -- who is against a constitutional change.

"The right is split among the more moderate sectors, which have committed to changes and reforms... and the most extreme sectors, which I believe are not ready for that change," said analyst Cecilia Osorio of the University of Chile.

The referendum was "disappointing" for public servant Carola, who said the draft was "very progressive on environmental issues" and women's rights.

"It is a bit difficult" to accept the rejection, she told AFP.

But Pablo Valdez, a 43-year-old lawyer among those celebrating the rejection, said the outcome made him "hopeful" that "tensions will be reduced."

The Chilean Stock Exchange opened 3.65 percent higher Monday and the peso strengthened 3.2 percent to 885.52 to the US dollar.

Boric, Chile's youngest-ever president painted by his detractors as a "communist", had won his election with promises creating rights-driven "welfare state" in one of the world's most unequal countries.
- 'Pinochet is alive' -

Proposals to protect the environment and natural resources such as water -- which some say is exploited by private mining companies -- garnered much attention in the constitutional debate.

The new constitution would also have overhauled Chile's Congress, while requiring women to hold at least half of positions in public institutions.

Many had feared the new text would generate instability and uncertainty, which could harm the economy.

But supporters believed it would prompt necessary changes in a conservative country marked by social and ethnic tensions.

Although the constitution has undergone several reforms since its adoption in 1980, it retains the stigma of having been introduced during the military dictatorship of Pinochet.

The draft new text was drawn up by an elected, left-leaning constitutional convention made up of 154 members, split equally between men and women and with 17 places reserved for Indigenous people.

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro, an ally of Boric, tweeted after the rejection on Monday that: "Pinochet is alive in some political sectors of the Americas."

The European Union for its part, said it took "note of the commitment expressed by President Boric and across the political spectrum on the need to pursue the constitutional process."

pb-pa-apg/lbc/mlr/bgs


Too much, too fast? Why Chile’s draft constitution was roundly rejected

FRANCE 24 - Yesterday 

Chileans have overwhelmingly rejected a draft constitution that would have replaced the constitution adopted during Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship, dealing a blow to the country's youthful President Gabriel Boric.




Although rejection had been expected in Sunday's plebiscite, the almost 24-point margin was a shocking repudiation of a document that was three years in the making and had been promoted as a democratic effort to replace the constitution imposed by Gen. Augusto Pinochet 41 years ago.

The constitution, written by a convention split equally between male and female delegates, characterised Chile as a plurinational state, would have established autonomous Indigenous territories, and prioritised the environment and gender parity.

With 99.9 percent of the votes counted, the rejection camp led by 61.9 percent to 38.1 percent and turnout was heavy, with voting mandatory.

Analysts say some of the proposals in the draft constitution were too radical for most voters – a majority of whom have made it clear they want a new constitution, just not this one.

Here are five possible factors behind Sunday's vote.

Going too far?

Many of the draft's most ground-breaking proposals raised concerns that things may be changing too much, too fast.

"There was certain content... that generated resistance from broad sectors of society and increased levels of fear and uncertainty," said Marcelo Mella, a political scientist at the University of Santiago.

Catholic-majority Chile was deeply divided on draft proposals guaranteeing the right to abortion, declaring access to water and health care as human rights, and specifically recognizing Indigenous rights, which some say undermines the goal of national unity.

"A part of the (draft) constitution is very 'millennial,' and those 'millennial' values are not what the more traditional part (of society) wants," said sociologist Marta Lagos.

Voters were also torn over a proposal to replace the Senate, the upper house of the bicameral Congress, with a so-called Chamber of Regions.

While it would have better represented regional interests, it would have had less power than the existing Senate. Detractors feared this could weaken the opposition's veto powers, leaving too much power in the hands of the president.

Drafting disarray

Much of the drafting process was combative, with even the constitutional assembly's opening session marred by protests from its own members.

Several issues had to be shelved, with negotiators unwilling to compromise, and there were numerous verbal assaults.

"More than the result of the text itself, what people had been evaluating poorly... was the way this process unfolded," political analyst Marco Moreno of the Central University of Chile told AFP.

Voters were put off by disrespectful behaviour and "excesses" on the part of some assembly members, he said.

One member reportedly cast a vote from the shower, for example, while others came to work dressed as the Pokemon character Pikachu or a dinosaur.

As he acknowledged the draft's rejection on Monday, President Gabriel Boric said it was necessary for leaders to “work with more determination, more dialogue, more respect” to reach a new proposal “that unites us as a country”.

Rebuking Boric

Boric, 36, is Chile’s youngest-ever president and a former student protest leader. He had tied his fortunes so closely to the new document that analysts said it was likely some voters saw the plebiscite as a referendum on his government.

After initial euphoria at his electoral victory last December, his approval rating recently declined to just 38 percent – the same as the constitutional "Yes" vote.

Boric, who had promised a rights-driven "welfare state" in place of the neo-liberal status quo, has had to contend with social unrest driven partly by economic hard times, and some have questioned the wisdom of dramatic changes in policy now.

"There is an important protest vote" in the outcome of the constitutional process, said Moreno.

After Sunday's blow, Boric said he would shuffle his government team and host political talks on how best to restart the constitutional process.

Economic downturn

After record growth of 11.7 percent in 2021, boosted by early withdrawals from pension funds and state assistance to people contending with the pandemic, the Chilean economy entered a phase of slowdown and high inflation.

"When our country decided to open the constituent process... it did not have the level of economic crisis it has today," said Mella.

"People's risk assessment may have changed, given the dramatic change in economic conditions," he added.

The Chilean peso strengthened and stocks in the Santiago market soared on Monday after rejection of a constitution that would have increased environmental regulations on businesses.

Shy voter factor

Despite polls that foresaw the defeat, no pollster had predicted such a large margin for rejection of what would have been one of the most progressive constitutions in the world.

Analysts point to the so-called "spiral of silence", the phenomenon in which people may hide their opinion on a controversial subject if they perceive they are in a minority, including from pollsters.

The high voter turnout of more than 80 percent – 13 million out of some 15 million eligible voters – was unexpected, though participation was technically compulsory.

"Practically everyone who had to vote" did so," said Moreno. "That was not in any analysis."

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)

An overnight, climate-friendly train trip to Croatia

Traveling by night train is becoming increasingly popular, and new connections are added every year. DW reporter Lisa Stüve put it to the test and took the night train from Munich to Zagreb.



Rather than battling the chaos at airports, a night train offers the option of settling down for the night and waking up at your destination


At Munich's Ostbahnhof station, I am greeted by the smell of Leberkäse meatloaf and other Bavarian cuisine. Much to my delight, the night train to Zagreb is already waiting at platform 12, ready to depart. The conductor of the Croatian railroad company HZPP directs me to my sleeping carriage, speaking a mixture of German, Croatian and English. A short time later, the train jolts into motion in a southeasterly direction.

As I stand with other passengers in the aisle sipping a beer, conversations quickly develop about previous night train trips and the destinations we are heading to. On a plane this would be a rare experience. At most there might be a brief exchange with the person sitting next to me.

The adventure can begin: DW reporter Lisa Stüve in front of the overnight train to Zagreb
On the night train, the journey is part of the travel experience

Time and again, conversations during the journey reveal that it is this different way of traveling that makes the night train so special. Thirty-seven-year-old Sarah, from Belgium, whom I meet on the journey, tells me that she loves that the night train takes its time to get to the destination and that she can really feel the distance of the trip.

Sarah is not alone in her appreciation of slow travel. Night trains are not currently a mass phenomenon, and there is still a lack of attractive routes and offers, both nationally and internationally, but the idea of boarding a train in the evening and getting off the next day rested and stress-free is experiencing a renaissance and gaining more and more fans. Matthias Gastel, rail policy spokesman for Germany's Green Party, envisions a Europe-wide night train network that would make inner-European flights largely superfluous.

"Since most of the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, night trains on the Munich-Zagreb route have been fully booked, especially on summer weekends," says Ivana Cubelic of corporate communications at Croatian railroad company HZPP. People have a desire to catch up on travel after two years of being locked-down, according to the German Travel Association. But it's not just the desire to travel that is driving demand for night train travel, it's also increasing environmental awareness.

When it's crowded, the night journey can become uncomfortable

I encounter a family from Berlin who are on their way to Albania. Parents Bianca and Thomas tell me that there had been heated discussions at the breakfast table about the pros and cons of travel in times of climate change. Their daughter is part of the Friday's for Future movement, started by environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg, and insisted on train travel. In the end, they came to a compromise: go to their destination by train and bus, return by plane.

Ismail from Amsterdam, who has been on the road since 8 a.m., explains his decision to take the night train as follows: "In my circle of friends, awareness of the climate crisis we are currently experiencing is quite pronounced. Some are stricter and don't fly at all. If I want to travel with them, I have to follow that."
Growing rail network

My plan is to board in Munich in the evening and get off in Zagreb in the morning. From there, I will continue by bus to the Croatian Adriatic coast. The distance from Munich to Zagreb is just under 550 kilometers (342 miles). A one-way ticket from Munich to Zagreb cost €80 ($80). For the sake of simplicity, I booked the ticket directly through the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB). Wido and Johannes, my fellow travelers from Weimar, complain that you have to be very skilled to book a ticket. They say many get so frustrated with the complicated booking system, that they give up and use the car. But that may soon change.

The European night train network is to be expanded and extended in the coming years, and the compatibility of international bookings is also to be improved. German rail operator Deutsche Bahn is joining in, albeit in cooperation with European partner companies and without its own wagons. Thirteen more major European cities are to be accessible by night train in the coming years. The Berlin-Brussels and Berlin-Paris routes are set to begin in December 2023.

Night trains are becoming increasingly popular, which is why the railroads are continuing to expand their route network

A climate-friendly alternative

On the night train to Zagreb, passengers agree that demand will continue to rise. Alex from Bonn, who is traveling to Slovenia with friends for a hiking vacation, says that Deutsche Bahn needs to do its homework, advertise the service better and promote night trains as a viable alternative to flying.

Ecologically, the advantages of taking the train are clear. If the route from Munich to Zagreb is covered by rail, this produces around 20 kilograms of CO2 per passenger. By plane, the figure is 130 kilograms, according to the online calculator EcoPassenger. But as we all know, people do not only choose means of transport for ecological reasons. Despite all the climate debates, air travel between major European cities is often cheaper than traveling by overnight train. After all, air travel is subsidized, with kerosene tax and and VAT scrapped on cross-border flights.

Not exactly luxurious, but good for waking up: my breakfast on the night train to Zagreb
The journey is part of the adventure

It's not just the carbon footprint that's much lower on train journeys. Night trains also afford greater comfort and a nicer travel experience than flights.

On the way to Zagreb I am lucky, with a six-person compartment all to myself. Two weeks later, I will discover that the sleeping experience is somewhat less romantic and comfortable when the carriage is fully occupied. For those who are light sleepers, the night train adventure can quickly turn into an all-nighter, leaving you feeling rather groggy the next day.

While looking out the window early in the morning en route to Zagreb, I see picturesque meadows framed by imposing mountains. Breakfast is basic, consisting of a croissant and a jet-black coffee. It takes the last of the tiredness out of my limbs. We arrive in Zagreb shortly before 9 a.m.

My destination: the Croatian Adriatic coast. The journey was an adventure in itself.

As I walk from the main train station to the nearby bus station, the city seems deserted on this Sunday morning. The last leg of my journey takes me by bus to the coastal town of Zadar. After another three hours, I am rewarded for the almost 17-hour journey — with a plunge in the clear waters of the Croatian Adriatic.

This article was originally written in German.

EUROPE'S MOST SCENIC TRAIN LINES
Flam Line, Norway
This 20-kilometer (12-mile) route in southern Norway connects Flam with Myrdal mountain railway station, situated 867 meters (2,844 feet) above sea level. Touted to be the country's most beautiful train ride, this journey takes you past an impressive waterfall and through a gorgeous valley. A return ticket will set you back about €60 ($62).
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High speed rail to displace flights amid airport chaos?

Cancellations, short staffing and lost baggage currently make flying a nightmare. In Europe, trains are set to become a faster, more reliable and climate-friendly alternative.

Africa: Rich nations pledge funds at climate crisis summit

Africa generates less than 3% of all greenhouse gas emissions, but experts say it is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Wealthy nations say they'll do more to help African nations cope with climate shocks.

African nations are at the frontline of a global climate emergency inspite of contributing least to it

Wealthy nations said they would spend about $25 billion (€25 billion) by 2025 to boost Africa's efforts to adapt to climate change, according to officials at a climate summit in Rotterdam, Netherlands, held Monday.

The summit was the first ever to bring together leaders from across many governments and institutions, like the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund, to discuss climate adaption techniques for Africa.

The amount pledged was billed as the largest ever climate adaptation effort globally.

Akinwumi A. Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, told DW that Africa was not just affected by climate change, but "distressed" by it.

Africa and the climate crisis

Africa is the world's most climate-vulnerable continent, according to the latest UN assessment.

The summit gains importance because it comes before the 27th annual summit of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Egypt, to be held in November.

It was at COP26 in Glasgow that leaders revisited 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. They also made a new commitment to bring more international funding for rapid climate adaption measures.

The African Adaptation Summit takes place just weeks after the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) found that rich countries had failed to deliver on their 2009 promise to spend $100 billion a year by 2020 to help developing countries adapt to global warming.

The OECD said richer nations gave $83.3 billion to poorer nations in 2020, the highest ever sum, but still short of the original amount.

African nations generate less than 3% of all greenhouse gas emissions but they're suffering "a deluge of problems," Adesina told DW.

Adesina added that Africa loses anywhere between "$7 billion and $15 billion a year as a result of climate change."

How can Africa tackle climate change?

Adesina told the summit that Africa does not have the financial resources to tackle climate change since it only receives "3% of the total climate financing."

Africa will need between $1.3 and $1.6 trillion this decade to implement itss commitments to Paris climate agreement, an annual cost between $140 and $300 billion, Adesina said.

He told DW he is not too concerned whether African can balance the needs of its economy as well as commit to climate adaption techniques.

He maintains African nations have vast gas reserves, and given the crisis in Europe, may even be able to help European countries to secure gas supplies in the future.

Still, despite the presence of leaders and four African presidents at the summit, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, Amina Jane Mohammed, said it was important to take note of those who weren't there.

She told DW that the struggle was to "continue to see this [climate change] as an existential threat for everyone and not just for one side of the world."

Mohammed said a major problem was that while money was available for climate finance, very little of it found its way to Africa.

"The truth of the matter is that the resources that we need, need to be leveraged. They need to be de-risked… that's not happening. And it needs to happen yesterday."

Mohammed added it was crucial for climate adaptation techniques to take effect.

"This is an implementation COP. It's happening in Africa. If we can't demonstrate commitments to Africa at this time, then really the promises are broken," she told DW.

Associated Press material contributed to the report