US lawmakers subpoena Commanders boss in malpractice hearing

Wed, June 22, 2022,


Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder was ordered to appear before a US Congressional panel probing allegations of workplace malpractice at the club on Wednesday as new evidence accused the team boss of attempting to thwart an NFL inquiry.

Carolyn Maloney, the chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, said in a statement that Snyder would be subpoenaed after his "continued and unfounded refusal" to provide voluntary testimony before the panel.

"Mr. Snyder's refusal to testify sends a clear signal that he is more concerned about protecting himself than coming clean to the American public," Maloney said.

"If the NFL is unwilling to hold Mr. Snyder accountable, then I am prepared to do so."

The Congressional panel has been conducting a probe into workplace misconduct and sexual harassment at Washington's NFL franchise.

The team was fined $10 million by the NFL last year after an investigation found evidence of sexual harassment, bullying and intimidation.

In February, a former cheerleader and marketing executive with the team told the panel how she had been sexually harassed by Snyder -- the first time the Commanders boss had been publicly accused of inappropriate behavior.

On Wednesday, lawmakers released a 29-page memo which detailed how the Commanders had tackled allegations made by female employees at the club.
- Hush money -

The memo said Snyder had launched a "shadow investigation" designed to stymie the near year-long NFL inquiry into the claims launched in 2020.

The shadow probe was used to create "a 100-slide dossier with private emails, text messages, telephone records and social media posts from journalists, victims and witnesses who had made credible public accusations of harassment" against the team.

It said that during the NFL's inquiry led by former federal prosecutor Beth Wilkinson, Snyder and his legal team offered "hush money" to former cheerleaders to dissuade them from cooperating with the investigation.

The committee also said it had found evidence which cast doubt on the NFL's claim that its own investigation was independent.

It noted that Snyder was given a "back-channel" to make confidential presentations to the NFL and was able to block the release of information.

It said the NFL became aware of Snyder's efforts to frustrate Wilkinson's investigation "but failed to take meaningful action to prevent them".

The committee has been sharply critical of the NFL's failure to release a full, written report of Wilkinson's investigation.

However NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in testimony before lawmakers on Wednesday that there were "compelling reasons" not to make the full findings of the investigation public.

"We have been open and direct about the fact that the workplace culture at the Commanders was not only unprofessional, but toxic for far too long," Goodell said, citing the importance of preserving witness confidentiality.

Asked why the report could not simply have redacted the names of individuals making allegations, Goodell replied: "With all due respect, redaction doesn't always work in my world, I promise. Okay.

"We need to take extra steps to make sure these people who did come through and courageously come forward."

rcw/bsp

Brazil's ex-education minister arrested on corruption charges

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's former top education official was arrested on corruption charges, the president said on Wednesday, noting his former aide will answer for his actions ahead of elections later this year in which graft scandals loom large for voters.

"If he is innocent, no problem. If he is guilty, he will pay," President Jair Bolsonaro told local broadcaster Radio Itatiaia, referring to former Education Minister Milton Ribeiro.

"The government is collaborating with the investigation. We don't condone any of this."

In a statement, Ribeiro's lawyer Daniel Bialski said his client's arrest was "unfair, unmotivated, unnecessary" and that he was filing a legal motion to free him.

According to a police source, Ribeiro's arrest is part of the so-called "Access Paid" operation aimed at investigating corruption and influence peddling related to the spending of public funds from an education development fund.

In a statement on Wednesday, police stressed that their investigations have uncovered "possible evidence" of crimes involving the use of public money.

Ribeiro resigned in March after allegations surfaced that he gave preferential treatment to two pastors for educational funding in return for bribes.

He was the third education minister to quit under Bolsonaro, who ran on a pledge to curb corruption.

When accusations against Ribeiro first emerged earlier this year, Bolsonaro called them "cowardice," adding that he fully trusted him.

The education ministry has confirmed that a police team visited its offices, adding that it was cooperating with investigations.

The probes focus on crimes such as influence peddling, abuse of power, and other corruption-related charges.

Local media said an evangelical pastor linked to Bolsonaro was also arrested in the operation.

(Reporting by Ricardo Brito and Eduardo Simoes; Writing by Steven Grattan and Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Richard Chang)

Bolsonaro ex-minister arrested for 'influence peddling'

Author: AFP

Update: 22.06.2022 


Milton Ribeiro (R) was President Jair Bolsonaro's third education minister / © AFP/File

A Brazilian former education minister accused of influence peddling, allegedly at the request of President Jair Bolsonaro, was arrested Wednesday, police and a defense lawyer said.

Milton Ribeiro resigned in March over allegations that he channeled public funds to allies of two influential Evangelical pastors at Bolsonaro's "special request."

Newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo revealed an audio recording of Ribeiro saying he gave priority in deciding school-funding requests to municipalities governed by "friends" of the pastors.


One mayor reportedly said he had been asked for a kilo of gold in exchange for having his school-funding request cleared.

The claims triggered calls from opposition lawmakers for Ribeiro and Bolsonaro to be investigated.

Bolsonaro, a conservative Catholic, won the presidency in 2018 with solid backing from Brazil's powerful Evangelical Christian movement.

He is keen to keep the Evangelical vote as he seeks reelection in October, trailing in the polls to leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro and Ribeiro, himself a Presbyterian pastor, have denied wrongdoing.

"Based on documents, testimony and the final report of the preliminary investigation... possible indications of criminal practice in the granting of public budgets were identified," Brazilian police said in a statement.

Ribeiro's arrest, it said, was the result of an operation across four Brazilian states Wednesday morning to dismantle a criminal network, with officers armed with five arrest warrants and 13 search warrants.

He risks a sentence of between two and five years for influence peddling and two to 12 years for corruption, the police said.

Ribeiro's lawyer Daniel Bialski in a statement described his client's arrest as "unjust" and "indisputably unnecessary."

The Ministry of Education confirmed its premises were searched on Wednesday and said it intended to cooperate with investigators.

In March, Bolsonaro defended Ribeiro and called the claims "cowardly."

On Wednesday, the president appeared to distance himself from his former minister.

"Let him answer for his actions, I pray to God that he has no problem. But if he does, it shows that I have no influence on the police," the far-right president told the Itaitiaia radio station.

"I have 23 ministers, about a hundred secretaries of state... If someone does something wrong, will they blame me?" he added.

Ribeiro, 64, took office in July 2020 -- the third education minister in the cabinet of Bolsonaro, whose government was shaken by an avalanche of resignations and dismissals.

Ecuador Refuses to End State of Emergency; 18 Police Missing After Attack

June 22, 2022 
Agence France-Presse

Demonstrators clash with riot police in the El Arbolito park area in Quito, June 22, 2022, on the 10th consecutive day of Indigenous-led protests against the Ecuadorean government.


QUITO, ECUADOR —

Ecuador on Wednesday refused to end its state of emergency and said 18 police officers were missing following an attack by Indigenous protesters on a police station in the eastern Amazon region.

Two people have died in the 10-day protest in which the government has declared an emergency in six of Ecuador's 24 departments following violent clashes between protesters and security forces.

Around 90 civilians and 100 members of the security forces have been injured in clashes, while the interior minister said 18 officers were missing following the attack in the Amazonian city of Puyo.

Another six officers were seriously injured and three more were detained by the protesters, said Patricio Carrillo.

A protester also died in the attack in Puyo, a five-hour drive south of Quito, the government said Tuesday night.

"The mob began setting fires with police still inside patrol cars, began looting, burning public-private facilities such as the Guayaquil Bank, Red Cross, until they ended up torching the police facilities in the center of the city," said Carrillo.

Conditions for dialogue

President Guillermo Lasso has proposed dialogue with the powerful Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), which called the protests, in a bid to end the escalating violence.

But CONAIE leader Leonidas Iza said talks were conditioned on the state of emergency being repealed and the "demilitarization" of a public park in Quito that is a traditional rallying point for Indigenous people but is currently under the control of security forces.

"We cannot lift the state of exception because that would leave the capital defenseless, and we already know what happened in October 2019, and we will not allow that," Minister of Government Francisco Jimenez told the Teleamazonas channel.

Police confront demonstrators during clashes in the El Arbolito park area in Quito, June 22, 2022, on the 10th consecutive day of Indigenous-led protests against the Ecuadorean government.

CONAIE led two weeks of nationwide protests in 2019 in which 11 people died and more than 1,000 were injured, also generating losses of $800 million.

In the capital, Quito, Indigenous protesters occupied congress, torched the comptroller's office, and damaged public and private property.

'Sit down and talk'

The capital is again the epicenter of the protests.

CONAIE, which has mobilized at least 10,000 people in Quito, hundreds of whom have clashed with security forces in recent days, want the government to lower fuel prices.

"It is not the time to put more conditions, to make more demands. It is the moment to sit down and talk," said Jimenez.

"Unfortunately, there has been accidental loss of life, according to the information we have, and we cannot keep waiting."

An Indigenous protester died after he was "hit in the face, apparently with a tear gas bomb," on Tuesday following the "confrontation" with security forces in Puyo, a lawyer for the Alliance of Human Rights Organizations told AFP.

The police said "it was presumed that the person died as a result of handling an explosive device."

Murder probe

Another protester died on Monday after falling into a ravine outside Quito, with police claiming that, too, was an accident.

However, the public prosecutor's office has opened a murder investigation.

The alliance said 90 people had been injured and 87 arrested since protests began on June 13.

Police said 101 officers and military personnel had been injured, with another 27 temporarily detained by protesters.

It said 80 civilians had been arrested.

Quito was relatively calm on Wednesday morning.

 

Police used tear gas to disperse hundreds of Ecuadorans taking part in a ninth day of Indigenous-led fuel price protests the military described as a "grave threat."

Thousands march in Ecuador protests
Wed, 22 June 2022

Thousands of indigenous protesters have marched peacefully through Ecuador's capital Quito to demand President Guillermo Lasso address price rises which have ignited 10 days of demonstrations across the country.

Disquiet over costs for fuel, food and other basics has exploded into sometimes-violent protests in several cities, led largely by major indigenous groups who travelled to the capital to make their views heard.

The demonstrations - longer-lasting and larger than marches over fuel prices in October last year - are testing Lasso's ability to restart the country's economy and kick-start employment.




Lasso has an adversarial relationship with the national assembly, where lawmakers have blocked his proposals, and he has struggled to contain rising violence he blames on drug gangs.

Indigenous groups are demanding a fuel price cut, a halt to expanding oil and mining and more time for farmer loan repayments.

"Everything is expensive, we can't take it anymore," said Jose Guaraca, who joined the protest after travelling from the indigenous city of Guamote in a truck to Quito to demand lower fuel prices and better income for farmers.

Protesters marched down Quito's major roads on Wednesday afternoon carrying Ecuadorean flags and chanting anti-government slogans. Some indigenous marchers carried spears.

A protester throws a tear gas canister fired by security personnel after Ecuador's armed forces warned they would not allow ongoing protests against President Guillermo Lasso's economic policies to damage the country's democracy, in Quito, Ecuador June 21, 2022. REUTERS/Santiago

Security forces were deployed around the government palace.

Demonstrations, led primarily by indigenous organization CONAIE, began last week with peaceful road blocks but levels of violence have escalated in some areas, prompting conservative ex-banker Lasso to decree a state of exception in six provinces.

Violent clashes between soldiers and demonstrators armed with guns, spears and explosives took place on Tuesday night in Puyo, an Amazonian city, but the government has restored order, it said on Tuesday afternoon.

Interior Minister Patricio Carrillo earlier said public safety could not be guaranteed after attacks on police in Puyo.

"We've always had our door open to dialogue, we've only said that talks can't make a mockery of the Ecuadorean people," CONAIE president Leonidas Iza told protesters, in a video the organisation published on Twitter.

Protesters march to demand President Guillermo Lasso address price increases for fuel, food and other basics which have ignited 10 days of demonstrations across the country, in Quito, Ecuador June 22, 2022. REUTERS/Santiago Arcos

Lasso reiterated a call for dialogue early on Wednesday.

One protester died amid the incidents in Puyo and six police officers were seriously injured, while 18 are missing, the government said.

The protester was killed after being struck in the head by a police tear gas canister, according to human rights groups.

Another protester was killed last week after falling into a ravine and the health ministry has said two people died in ambulances delayed by road blockades.

Beachgoers brave rockets in East Ukraine

AFP - 

© Anatolii Stepanov

Sloviansk is a key city in eastern Ukraine that Russia has targeted

With its white sand, changing cubicles and clear water, the beach at Sloviansk in eastern Ukraine looks tempting. There's just one problem: the nearby bangs of rockets and missiles.


© Anatolii Stepanov

Sloviansk briefly fell to pro-Russian separatist forces in 2014 before being retaken by Ukraine

The lakeside resort is close to one of the most active fronts in the war with Russia, to the north of Sloviansk, where Ukrainian troops firing from woods and villages are seeking to halt Moscow's advance.


© Anatolii Stepanov

Ukraine says Russia has consistently targeted civilian infrastucture since its invasion launched on Febuary 24

But that doesn't dissuade some beachgoers.

"We just came here to walk around and take some snaps," says Kostyantyn, 40, strolling around wearing wraparound sunglasses and shorts.

"We wanted (to swim) but it's too cold," he adds as the sunbaked region has a rare cloudy day.

"A beach is a beach," he says, taking pictures of his friend Denys at an outdoor gym.

The nearby arms fire sounds like American howitzers, supplied to Ukrainian troops.

The Russian frontline is only about 10 kilometres (six miles) away and the Ukrainian armed forces said Wednesday that Moscow's troops were carrying out systematic firing in order to resume an offensive on Sloviansk.

The Sloviansk lake resort was once famous for its salty waters, believed to help relieve joint problems.

A sanatorium built on the spot is no longer open, however.

"It's pretty, people come to swim. We also come to see the swans," says Daniil, 39, who cycled along the beach with a group of friends on the way to buy food in Sloviansk.

- 'Be happy' -

Daniil says he is a metal worker at the Sloviansk power station in the nearby town of Mykolaivka, which has halted work due to the war.

Orange plastic letters on a beach hut read: "Be happy this summer", but the beach loungers have been locked inside. Ice cream stalls and a massage cabin are also closed.

"We used to come a lot before the war", Kostyantyn explained. "This is just the second time this year."

He says he has been helping out locally: feeding dogs abandoned by their owners, who have left for safer western Ukraine.

"I'm not scared because I'm a volunteer and have been under shelling," he says, as loud booms can be heard in the background.

Kostyantyn recalls how he was caught up in a Russian shelling attack on an evacuation bus in Kharkiv region in February.

"With what's happening now, you realise that life is not so threatening. People's fear is more of a threat, since what they fear comes true."

As the war draws on, those who opted not to evacuate from the area have become "very pushy and hardened," he says.

"I think it's more like a form of nerve stress."

"There are those who are waiting for Russians to come," interjects his friend Denys.

"People think it will be better, that they'll get a Russian pension."

There are also some who already receive benefits from the Moscow-backed separatist regions, adds Kostyantyn.

In 2014, Sloviansk was taken over by Russia-backed separatists and Ukraine only won it back after a lengthy siege.

Now the sleepy green town has no water or gas and an unstable electricity supply due to war damage and difficulties of repairs, its mayor told AFP this week.

Stacks of concrete beams on the road from the beach resort into the city creates a lengthy obstacle course for vehicles and trenches have been built along it.

am/oc/pvh

With an eye on re-election, Turkey’s Erdogan risks the ire of Western partners

Marc DAOU 

Between stalling Sweden and Finland’s bids for NATO membership and threatening a fresh military offensive against Kurds in northern Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems to be capitalising on the world’s focus on Ukraine to strengthen Ankara’s geopolitical standing – even at the expense of NATO and Western partners. Such moves may be targeting a domestic audience ahead of June 2023 presidential elections, with Erdogan trying to galvanise nationalist sentiment as a worsening economic crisis threatens his popularity at home

In recent weeks, Erdogan has once again complicated Turkey’s relationship with its NATO allies – stalling Swedish and Finnish plans to join the bloc; threatening another military incursion into northern Syria; refusing to join Western sanctions against Russia; and reviving tensions with perennial rival Greece over the Aegean islands.

The Turkish president seems keen to take advantage of the West’s focus on the Ukraine war, using bellicose rhetoric in defence of Turkey’s interests and imposing his own conditions on top of European and US priorities.

Talks in Brussels on Monday on the latest NATO accession bids led to “clear progress” on some issues, a Finnish presidential aide said. But Turkey threw a spanner into the works – demanding Sweden and Finland take action against the "terrorists" of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) before approving their accession – ahead of next week’s NATO summit in Madrid.

Erdogan is all too aware that Swedish and Finnish accession would be a landmark expansion for the transatlantic alliance, with both nations jettisoning their longstanding Cold War neutrality amid a re-emergent Russian threat.
‘Imposing his agenda’

Ankara sees both countries – and Sweden, especially – as too close to the PKK, which has been waging a guerrilla war in Turkey since 1984 punctuated by periodic ceasefires. A militant insurgency that dreams of an independent Kurdish state uniting southeastern Turkey, northern Syria, northern Iraq and a small slice of northeastern Iran, the PKK has been designated a terrorist group by both the EU and the United States.

Erdogan says he wants “concrete” and “serious” steps from Sweden and Finland before he allows them into NATO. In effect, he wants them to bargain with him directly to get the green light.

The Turkish president also wants Western countries to lift the restrictions on arms and technology exports imposed in late 2019 after a Turkish attack on Kurdish forces in northern Syria. The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) were instrumental in defeating the Islamic State group in Syria and a key ally of the US-led international coalition battling the jihadists.

“By raising the prospect of a new offensive against Kurdish forces in northern Syria and threatening to block Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO applications, Erdogan is trying to show that he won’t compromise on Turkish nationalist causes – and that he can impose his agenda and priorities in the international arena,” said David Rigoulet-Roze, a Middle East specialist at the IRIS (French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs) think-tank in Paris.

Moreover, Erdogan is “trying to compensate for his disastrous management of the Turkish economy, to shore up his electoral base and mobilise voters ahead of the forthcoming elections, which look rather complicated for him”, Rigoulet-Roze continued.

‘Like a poker player’

With both presidential and parliamentary elections coming up in a year’s time, Erdogan’s geopolitical chess game with the West could well offer him an electoral boon.

A German Marshall Fund poll published in April showed that 58.3 percent of Turks see the US as the “biggest threat” to Turkey’s “national interests” while 62.4 percent believe European countries want to “divide and disintegrate Turkey as they had the Ottoman Empire in the past”. An even bigger number, 69.8 percent, believe European countries have helped strengthen separatist organisations like the PKK.



“Erdogan is a real political animal; he acts like a poker player on the world stage,” said Rigoulet-Roze. “But there’s often a domestic agenda lurking behind his games with the West – and his various postures in the global arena are nothing more than a response to domestic problems and a reflection of his desire to keep his grip on power.”

>> Turkey challenges allies and enemies alike in quest for ‘larger role on world stage’

The Turkish president is more than happy to pursue policies with an eye on the domestic agenda even if it means irritating the West – as witnessed in recent years by the decision to drill in disputed parts of the Mediterranean and the controversial purchase of an S-400 missile system from Russia.

Erdogan makes such moves on an “ad-hoc” basis, Rigoulet-Roze said, instead of working from an overarching strategy.

“For the most part, they’re provocative acts – Erdogan knows he can’t burn bridges with the West or remake the world on his terms.”

Indeed, Erdogan is all too aware that the EU is still Turkey’s largest trading partner (it is part of the customs union) and that the US became Turkey’s third-largest export market in 2020.

‘Extremely vulnerable’

More recently, Erdogan has refused to join Western sanctions on Russia. Ankara does not want to “antagonise Russia” because the beleaguered Turkish economy is “extremely vulnerable” to a loss of Russian wheat and energy supplies, according to Howard Eissenstat, a Turkey specialist at St. Lawrence University in New York and the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC, speaking in a March interview.

Erdogan also riled Western leaders over the past few weeks by hosting Venezuela’s autocratic far-left President Nicolas Maduro for talks on June 8; neither the EU nor the United States recognises Maduro’s regime as legitimate.

A further provocation to the West came in early June, when the Turkish president announced he would end regular bilateral meetings with the Greek government aimed at building co-operation after decades of antagonism between these historic enemies. Ankara claims that Athens is stationing troops on Aegean islands near the Turkish shore in violation of peace treaties and has threatened to reopen a debate on ownership of the islands.

“On the surface it sometimes looks like Erdogan is the master of this game against the West – but in reality he’s testing them each time, seeing how far he can go, seeing if he can make some sort of geopolitical win on the regional chessboard or an economic win to try and relieve the financial pressure Turkey is under,” Rigoulet-Roze said. “Erdogan’s position isn’t as comfortable as it looks, because he risks really antagonising all the other NATO members and making Turkey the black sheep of the alliance.”

Erdogan is trying to make Turkey a great power again – on the global as well as regional stage.

“Erdogan is very nostalgic for Ottoman imperial grandeur, which has a profound resonance in the contemporary Turkish psyche – this idea that Turkey must once again be recognised as a great power, even if it can’t have an empire,” Rigoulet-Roze said. “Unfortunately for Erdogan, reality constrains these ambitions, because Turkey’s considerable economic difficulties mean it can’t afford to be isolated.”

Over the previous two decades, Erdogan’s moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) has won and kept power because it “assured Turks of sustained improvements in living standards”, Rigoulet-Roze said.

But that reputation for economic competence is gone, putting Erdogan at odds with millions of transactional voters he has relied on for support. Hence his diplomatic overtures to the wealthy Gulf petro-monarchies he previously scorned.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman began his first official visit to Turkey on Wednesday, with several agreements expected between the two Middle Eastern powers. Erdogan went to Saudi Arabia at the end of April after three and a half years of vexed relations between Ankara and Riyadh following the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

For all his troubles, Erdogan knows that Turkey’s geographic location – at the crossroads of Europe, the Black Sea, the Caucasus and the Middle East – makes it essential to the West from a strategic perspective. The Cold War is long gone, but the factors that motivated NATO to make Turkey the only Middle Eastern member of the Alliance in 1952 have not gone away. As much as Erdogan’s threats to the Swedish and Finnish accession bids rile NATO members, they know they need to engage with him.



But while much remains the same, the nature of Turkish politics has changed a great deal since the Cold War, Rigoulet-Roze observed. Back then, Turkey was “secular, anti-communist, pro-Western and pro-European; things have become very different since Erdogan and the AKP took power, making Turkey into a nation dominated by an Islamo-nationalist party that is, at the very least, non-aligned”.

“Now is certainly not the time to question Turkey’s role and status in NATO; that’s not in anyone’s interests,” he continued. “But that said, the way other NATO members perceive Turkey is clearly not what it used to be.”

'Snow blood': Why climate change may be turning the Alps red

High up in the Alps, vast patches of snow are mysteriously turning red in a phenomenon known as "snow blood". The result of a type of algae, the red patches are becoming increasingly common, say locals, and according to scientists are likely caused by climate change. They fear the algae could spell ecological disaster for this remote region as the red pigment reduces the snow's ability to reflect sunlight, causing it to melt faster.

Mexico, Brazil fall behind in anti-corruption efforts, ranking shows

Author of the article:

Reuters

Brendan O'Boyle

Publishing date:

Jun 22, 2022  •  

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MEXICO CITY — Brazil and Mexico were among the countries registering the biggest declines in anti-corruption efforts as the pandemic and inflation pushed fighting graft lower on public agendas in Latin America, according to a ranking released Wednesday.

The 2022 Capacity to Combat Corruption Index, published jointly by Americas Society/Council of the Americas and Control Risks, pointed to “new setbacks for key institutions and the anti-corruption environment as a whole” in Latin America’s two largest economies.

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The index, which evaluates 15 Latin American countries on how effectively they uncover, punish, and deter corruption, presented a “mixed picture” with rising inflation and COVID-19 distracting from anti-corruption efforts, the report said.

“Overall, the willingness and capacity of governments across the region to combat corruption appears to have plateaued against the backdrop of other, more immediate concerns,” said Geert Aalbers, partner at consultancy Control Risks and one of the report’s authors.

Mexico is ranked 12 out of the 15, with one of the highest declines in the index, as “the country experienced setbacks in all categories, but the steepest decline was within democracy and political institutions,” the report said.

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It cited President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s proposal to replace Mexico’s national electoral institute with a body chosen by voters.

Brazil fell four places to 10, declining for the third straight year. President Jair Bolsonaro has clashed repeatedly with Brazil’s judiciary.

Anger over corruption accusations was a driving factor in elections that booted incumbents in Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Peru, Chile and Ecuador in the last couple of years.

Guatemala saw the biggest decline in the corruption index, following the attorney general’s sacking of an anti-graft prosecutor.

The Dominican Republic saw the biggest jump, while Uruguay ranked first for the third consecutive year. (Reporting by Brendan O’Boyle, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)

Tanzania ruling party now says it 'insists' on constitutional reform

Wed, June 22, 2022

FILE PHOTO: COP26 in Glasgow

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Tanzania’s ruling party said on Wednesday it "insists" on reforming the East African country's constitution after fending off years of sustained pressure by opposition parties and rights groups to do just that.

A previous attempt to make changes to the constitution failed in 2014. At the time, a draft constitution left out changes such as trimming the president's powers, establishment of an independent electoral commission and allowing legal challenges to presidential election results.

Since then, opposition and rights groups have been pushing for the completion of the reforms, and the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party said on Wednesday it welcomed change.

"I would like to inform you that Chama Cha Mapinduzi insists on the need of having a new constitution...,” Shaka Hamdu Shaka, the party's ideology and publicity secretary, told reporters. “The party is supporting President Samia’s reconciliation efforts.”

Last July the head of the leading opposition party, CHADEMA, and 10 others were detained while planning a meeting to discuss proposals for a new constitution.

CHADEMA said the arrests of its supporters was proof that President Samia Suluhu Hassan was following in the authoritarian footsteps of her predecessor, John Magufuli, who died in March last year. The government has denied the allegations.

(Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by James Macharia Chege and Nick Macfie)

Migrant rights defenders in Greece treated like criminals, says UN expert

ATHENS (Reuters) – Human rights defenders in Greece, particularly those documenting the treatment of migrants and refugees, face smear campaigns and are treated like criminals, U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor said on Wednesday.

Lawlor was presenting her preliminary findings at the end of a 10-day visit to Greece where she met ministers in Athens and also visited the islands of Lesbos, Chios and Samos which were on the frontline of Europe’s migration crisis in 2015 and 2016.

“I am concerned about the increasing criminalisation of humanitarian assistance in Greece. Solidarity should never be punished and compassion should never be put on trial,” Lawlor said.

“At the tip of the spear are prosecutions, where acts of solidarity are reinterpreted as criminal activity, specifically the crime of people smuggling,” she added.

Lawlor said human rights defenders had found it increasingly difficult to carry out their work since 2019, especially in fields that might be considered “controversial or geopolitically complicated or sensitive”.

“The negative impact of such cases is multiplied by smear campaigns perpetuating this false image of defenders,” Lawlor said.

This policy created a “climate of fear and insecurity” that was reinforced by elements of the legal framework as well as statements from high-ranking government representatives attacking the work of NGOs, she added.

Responding to Lawlor, the migration ministry said Greece “fully respects the action of organized or individual human rights defenders active in the field of migration and asylum”.

Greece has also repeatedly denied accusations of so-called pushbacks of asylum-seekers, saying it intercepts boats at sea to protect its borders.

(Reporting by Karolina Tagaris; Editing by Nick Macfie)

UK 

Research uncovers ‘digital poverty’ across North West’s rural communities with one in four struggling to complete key tasks online

A new study by researchers at Lancaster University reveals 28% of the population in North West England are not confident completing key tasks online, such as applying for a job or making an online call

Reports and Proceedings

LANCASTER UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: BEN HARRISON, DIRECTOR OF THE WORK FOUNDATION view more 

CREDIT: WORK FOUNDATION

A new study by researchers at Lancaster University reveals 28% of the population in North West England are not confident completing key tasks online, such as applying for a job or making an online call. Most alarmingly, over half of those aged 65 and above and those on lower incomes lack digital skills, meaning those most in need of online services are least likely to be able to access them. 

The research features in a new Work Foundation policy briefing, published today, and is based on a survey of more than 500 people living in rural communities in the North West between February and March 2022, as well as 16 in-depth interviews.  

It finds that while 95% of residents have access to the internet, only a quarter feel able to make the most of it. A significant proportion of people lack digital confidence, and risk missing out on key services and employment opportunities.  In particular, 26% of rural residents are not confident in applying for jobs online, and 23% are unable to confidently make video calls via Zoom or Microsoft Teams. 

To get around the problem, one in five say they would have to ask family or friends for help - which was a particular problem for older participants and those on lower incomes. 

Ben Harrison, Director of the Work Foundation, said: “It is clear that for those in the rural North West a lack of digital confidence and skills are bigger barriers to accessing key services and employment opportunities than internet connectivity. 

“Given the seismic shift to remote and hybrid working we’ve seen since the beginning of the pandemic, it is alarming that such a high proportion of the rural population still really struggle with these skills – especially older residents and low earners who are most likely to benefit from accessing digital services.” 

The North West is also one of the lowest performing regions in terms of closing the digital divide. While Government set out an ambition in its 2014 Digital Inclusion Strategy to reduce the number of people offline by 25% every two years, the North West only achieved a 15.4% reduction rate between 2017-2019 – ranking ninth out of twelve UK regions.  

Affordability remains a significant issue for many. 19% of the sample found either their PC, home broadband, a smartphone headset or mobile data unaffordable, rising to 36% among households with an income of £20,000 or less. 13% said they have poor quality or no Wi-Fi, and 1 in 5 have no mobile broadband. 

“It was concerning to hear in our interviews that low levels of consumer confidence and technical understanding can result in people committing to costly and sub-optimal contracts, that they are then tied in to,” Ben Harrison adds. “For example, we heard of instances where people were tied into contracts but unable to get any reliable connectivity at home– so felt they had to take out another contract at the same time, facing huge costs.  

“People living in rural areas also tend to face higher costs for fast broadband connectivity, which can be enough to deter some from engaging with the online world completely and this could worsen as families struggle to make ends meet during the cost of living crisis. If Government ambitions to Level Up the UK are to become a reality, clearly more needs to be done to provide people living in the rural North West with the digital skills and access they need.” 

The Work Foundation briefings set out a series of recommendations for local authorities and Government. These include calls for: 

• Ofcom to ensure providers openly disclose the full range of charges included within mobile or broadband packages and ensure this information reaches vulnerable consumers in clearly understandable terms 
• Help to ensure claimants of Universal Credit know they may be eligible for social tariffs which allow individuals to benefit from broadband connection at a reduced cost 
• Job search platforms, recruiters and local bodies such as councils and LEPs to work in partnership to build confidence among rural residents in searching and applying for jobs online, through outreach activities in local settings and at home 
• Local authorities to provide educational outreach to rural residents at the greatest risk of digital poverty, to equip them with the key skills needed to search and apply for jobs online 
• Local authorities to collaborate with third parties to undertake peer-to-peer outreach to boost confidence in accessing digital services, using intermediaries and trusted individuals and via accessible community settings 

The full briefings are available on the Work Foundation website: www.theworkfoundation.com  

Ends 

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METHOD OF RESEARCH

Survey

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People