UN asks world court to weigh in on Israeli occupation, ‘annexation’

UNGA resolution calls for court’s 1st Israel probe since 2004; all Arab peace partners vote yes; investigation to cover settlements, Jerusalem, ‘discriminatory legislation’

By LUKE TRESS 

Today, The Times of Israel

The Palestinian envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, addresses the General Assembly at the UN Headquarters in New York, December 30, 2022. (Screenshot/UN)

NEW YORK — The United Nations General Assembly approved on Friday a resolution requesting the International Court of Justice weigh in on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israeli “annexation” and the “legal status of the occupation.”

The resolution promoted by the Palestinians passed by a vote of 87 in favor, 26 against, with 53 abstentions.

The resolution is titled “Israeli practices and settlement activities affecting the rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the occupied territories” and calls on the Hague-based ICJ to “render urgently an advisory opinion” on Israel’s “prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of Palestinian territory.”


It also calls for an investigation into Israeli measures “aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem” and says Israel has adopted “discriminatory legislation and measures.”

The resolution demands the court weigh in on the conflict in accordance with international law and the UN charter.

The ICJ, also known as the world court, is the top UN court for mediating disputes between countries. Its rulings are binding and influence public opinion but it has no mechanism for enforcement. The court is separate from the International Criminal Court, which is also in The Hague.

The court last issued an advisory opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2004 when the General Assembly asked it to rule on the legality of the separation barrier.

Israel, the US, the UK, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany and Italy voted against Friday’s resolution.

China, Iran, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Russia and Saudi Arabia were among those voting in favor, along with Muslim or Arab states with which Israel has relations including Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Azerbaijan.

France, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland abstained.

The votes against the resolution and abstentions together amounted to 79 countries, representing a smaller margin of support than usual for anti-Israel measures at the General Assembly.

A UN General Assembly vote December 30, 2022, on a resolution requesting the International Court of Justice to weigh in on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. (Screenshot/UN)

Some members of the 193-nation assembly, including Ukraine, did not cast a vote. Kyiv’s support for the resolution in a committee earlier this year sparked a diplomatic spat between Ukraine and Israel.

The UN has a long history of passing resolutions against Israel, and Israel and the US accuse it of bias. Israel has accused the Palestinians, who have nonmember observer state status at the UN, of trying to use the world body to circumvent peace negotiations and impose a settlement.

Earlier Friday, Israeli ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan denounced the UN for the resolution, calling it a “moral stain” on the world body. He has argued that the vote delegitimizes and demonizes Israel, including by referring to the Temple Mount only by its Arabic name, Haram al-Sharif.

The Temple Mount is the holiest place for Jews as the site of the ancient temples, and the third holiest site in Islam as the location of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Erdan did not appear at the vote because it took place after the start of Shabbat. A US representative voted against the resolution on behalf of Israel.

“No international body can decide that the Jewish people are ‘occupiers’ in their own homeland. Any decision from a judicial body which receives its mandate from the morally bankrupt and politicized UN is completely illegitimate,” Erdan said in a Friday statement. “The Palestinians have rejected every peace initiative while supporting and inciting terror. Instead of pushing the Palestinians to change, the UN is doing the opposite: helping them to harm the only vibrant democracy in the Middle East.”

“The decision to hold a vote that deals with Israel on Shabbat is another example of the moral decay of the UN, which prevents Israel’s position from being heard in a vote whose results are predetermined,” he said.

Erdan had his term as UN envoy extended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday in one of his first moves after returning to the premier’s office.

The Palestinian representative to the UN, Riyad Mansour, applauded the resolution after it passed.

“This vote comes one day after the new Israeli government was formed pledging to accelerate colonial and racist policies against the Palestinian people,” Mansour told the General Assembly.

“We trust that, regardless of your vote today, if you believe in international law and peace you will uphold the opinion of the International Court of Justice when delivered and you will stand up to this Israeli government right now because freedom, justice and peace shall prevail,” he said.

Ahead of the General Assembly vote, the resolution calling for ICJ guidance passed in the UN’s Fourth Committee last month by a vote of 98 in favor, 17 opposed and 52 abstentions.

Israel has blasted the resolution as biased and dismissive of Israeli security concerns. Former prime minister Yair Lapid waged a diplomatic campaign, contacting over 50 world leaders, to muster opposition to the move.

Israel’s new hardline government, sworn in on Thursday, is likely to further stoke tensions with the UN and the international community. The UN secretary-general’s office and the UN Human Rights Council did not respond to a request for comment on the new government and its policies toward the Palestinians.

The UN envoy to the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland, congratulated Netanyahu on Thursday, said he will continue to work with the Israeli government, and stressed the UN’s commitment to a two-state solution.

Of Netanyahu’s coalition partners, none are on record supporting a two-state solution with the Palestinians, some support annexing the West Bank without granting equal rights to Palestinians in those areas, and many also vehemently oppose coordination or strengthening the PA.

Netanyahu’s government is expected to entrench Israel’s control over the West Bank. His coalition deals included a vague commitment to annex the territory to Israel, a pledge to legalize dozens of unauthorized settlements, and the provision of large funds for road building and public transport in the West Bank.

“The Jewish people have an exclusive and inalienable right to all parts of the Land of Israel. The government will promote and develop the settlement of all parts of the Land of Israel — in the Galilee, the Negev, the Golan and Judea and Samaria,” the government’s overall published agenda said. Judea and Samaria are the biblical names for the West Bank.

There is no specific mention of the Palestinians or the peace process in the guidelines, which say only that “the government will work to promote peace with all our neighbors while preserving Israel’s security, historical and national interests.”

The Palestinian Authority on Thursday called for an international boycott of Israel’s new government over its hardline, right-wing agenda, saying it poses “an existential threat to the Palestinian people.”

In 2004, the court said that the separation barrier Israel built was “contrary to international law” and called on Israel to immediately halt construction.

Israel has said the barrier is a security measure meant to prevent Palestinian attackers from reaching Israeli cities. The Palestinians say the structure is an Israeli land grab because of its route through east Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank.

Israel has ignored the 2004 ruling, and Friday’s resolution demands that Israel comply with it, stop construction of the wall and dismantle it.

AP contributed to this report.

Football: Wout Faes scores two own goals in Liverpool’s win over Leicester in English Premier League

AP
30 Dec, 2022 

Leicester defender Wout Faes had an evening to forget as Liverpool ended the year by closing the gap to the Premier League’s top four.

Faes became just the fourth player to score two own goals in a Premier League game, helping Liverpool come from behind to beat Leicester 2-1 this morning in a match marked by defensive errors from both sides.

After a tough start to the season, Liverpool are now just two points behind fourth-place Tottenham heading into 2023 following a run of four straight wins.

At Anfield, Liverpool gifted the hosts the lead in the fourth minute with some calamitous defending as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was allowed to run straight down the middle of the pitch unopposed after a long goal kick to chip the ball over Alisson Becker.

But on a night when Liverpool’s forwards were repeatedly off target, they got some much-needed help from Faes.

The Belgian centre back had disastrous seven-minute spell before halftime as he first ignored a shout from his goalkeeper Danny Ward to leave a low cross from Alexander-Arnold and lunged in to make an attempted clearance, only to mishit the ball so it looped over Ward and in at the far post.

Darwin Nunez was then played through on goal by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and dinked a shot over Ward that bounced back off the far post.

The back-tracking Faes tried to clear the ball but only succeeded in hammering it into the net — and then had to endure taunts of “shoot” from the Liverpool fans every time he touched the ball.

“He’s a strong character, and he will get over that this evening,” Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers said.

“He has come back a little rusty having not played in a long time having got no minutes with Belgium at the World Cup.

“When he came in, he was absolutely fantastic for us and was just unfortunate today.”

It was far from a vintage performance from Jurgen Klopp’s team but Liverpool now have four successive league victories for the first time since April.

“It’s all about getting three points and trying to get into a position in the league where we feel like we need to be and haven’t been this season,” Liverpool defender Trent Alexander Arnold said. “These are the ones that you look back on and know that you needed to win it. Whether you win well or ugly, it doesn’t really matter.”

West Ham would be more than happy to get an ugly win, after outplaying Brentford for large parts of the game and still losing 2-0.

David Moyes’ team are staring at a crisis after a fifth straight loss. The London club could find themselves in last place by the end if the weekend.

The team were booed off the field after first-half goals from Ivan Toney and Josh Dasilva inflicted another damaging loss on Moyes.

“I thought we played well,” Moyes said. “The goals were completely against the run of play, we’ve lost two goals to throw-ins. We made a lot of opportunities, we just couldn’t take them.”

Brentford climbed to ninth, although the win was came at a cost as Toney left on a stretcher in stoppage time after landing awkwardly.

“He had some pain,” Brentford manager Thomas Frank said of Toney, who scored his 13th goal of the season. “It is something with the knee, we hope it is nothing serious.”

WISHFUL THINKING; WISHING FOR UNEMPLOYMENT

New Fed research flags rising risk of U.S. recession

“I don’t think anyone knows whether we’re going to have a recession or not and, if we do, whether it’s going to be a deep one or not. It’s just, it’s not knowable,” Powell said.

Michael S. Derby
Published Dec 30, 2022

NEW YORK — Just over half of the 50 U.S. states are exhibiting signs of slowing economic activity, breaching a key threshold that often signals a recession is in the offing, new research from the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank report said.

That report, released Wednesday, followed another report from the San Francisco Fed from earlier in the week that also delved into the rising prospect that the U.S. economy may fall into recession at some point in coming months.

The St. Louis Fed said in its report that if 26 states have falling activity within their borders, that offers “reasonable confidence” that the nation as a whole will fall into a recession.

Right now, the bank said that as measured by Philadelphia Fed data tracking the performance of individual states, 27 had declining activity in October. That’s enough to point to a looming downturn while standing short of the numbers that have been seen ahead of some other recessions. The authors noted that 35 states suffered declines ahead of the short and sharp recession seen in the spring of 2020, for example.

Meanwhile, a San Francisco Fed report, released Tuesday, observed that changes in the unemployment rate can also signal a downturn is on the way, in a signal that offers more near-term predictive value than the closely-watched bond market yield curve.

The paper’s authors said that the unemployment rate bottoms out and begins to move higher ahead of recession in a highly reliable pattern. When this shift occurs the unemployment rate is signaling the onset of recession in about eight months, the paper said.

The paper acknowledged its findings are akin to those of the Sahm Rule, named for former Fed economist Claudia Sahm, who pioneered work linking a rise in the jobless rate to economic downturns. The San Francisco Fed research, written by bank economist Thomas Mertens, said its innovation is to make the jobless rate change a forward-looking indicator.

Unlike the St. Louis Fed state data that is tipping toward a recession projection, the U.S. jobless rate has thus far remained fairly stable, and after bottoming at 3.5% in September, it held at 3.7% in both October and November.

The San Francisco Fed paper noted that the Fed, as of its December forecasts, sees the unemployment rate rising next year amid its campaign of aggressive rate hikes aimed at cooling high levels of inflation. In 2023, the Fed sees the jobless rate jumping up to 4.6% in a year where it sees only modest levels of overall growth.

If the Fed’s forecast comes to pass, “such an increase would trigger a recession prediction based on the unemployment rate,” the paper said. “Under this view, low unemployment can lead to a heightened probability of recession when the unemployment rate is expected to rise.”

Tim Duy, chief economist with SGH Macro Advisors, said he believes that to achieve what the Fed wants on the inflation front, the economy would likely “lose roughly two million jobs, which would be a recession like 1991 or 2001.”

Anxiety over the prospect of the economy falling into recession has been driven by the Fed’s forceful actions on inflation. Many critics contend that the central bank is focusing too much on inflation and not enough on keeping Americans employed. Central bank officials have countered that without a return to price stability, the economy will struggle to meet its full potential.

What’s more, in the press conference following the most recent Federal Open Market Committee meeting earlier this month, central bank leader Jerome Powell said that he didn’t view the current Fed outlook as a recession prediction given the expectation growth will remain positive. But he added much remains uncertain.

“I don’t think anyone knows whether we’re going to have a recession or not and, if we do, whether it’s going to be a deep one or not. It’s just, it’s not knowable,” Powell said.

 (Reporting by Michael S. Derby; Editing by Dan Burns and Aurora Ellis)

RUNNING AWAY FROM COUP ATTEMPT

‘Lost a battle but not the war’: Bolsonaro leaves Brazil ahead of Lula’s inauguration

Outgoing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has left the country for the United States, avoiding the inauguration of incoming President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Reuters
Brasilia,

UPDATED: Dec 31, 2022 

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro attends an inauguration ceremony for new judges of Brazil's Superior Court of Justice in Brasilia, Brazil December 6, 2022.

 (Photo: Reuters File)

By Reuters:

 President Jair Bolsonaro left Brazil for the United States on Friday, 48 hours before his leftist rival President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was set to take office, saying in a teary goodbye speech he had "lost a battle but not the war."

Bolsonaro, who has barely spoken since losing the election, has not confirmed where he is going, but plane tracking data suggests he is heading to Florida, where his security staff are already in place.
He has repeatedly said he would not hand over the presidential sash to Lula at Sunday's inauguration, breaking with Brazil's democratic tradition.

He may also face legal risks from remaining in Brazil as his presidential immunity expires when Lula takes office.

Vice President Hamilton Mourao is now acting president, his press office told Reuters, confirming Bolsonaro had left the country. But Mourao will not pass the presidential sash to Lula either, a spokesperson said, raising questions about who will hand over the ceremonial ribbon to the leftist.

Website FlightAware, which monitors air traffic, showed the presidential plane departed Brasilia shortly after 2pm local time, bound for Orlando, Florida.

"I am in flight, back soon," Bolsonaro was quoted as saying by CNN Brasil. His press office did not respond to a request for comment.

The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The US embassy in Brasilia referred questions about Bolsonaro's trip to the Brazilian president's office.

FINAL WORDS

Before takeoff, Bolsonaro delivered an emotional final address on social media in which he ran through the highlights of his time in office, sought to defend his legacy, and tried to inspire his followers into keeping up the fight against Lula.

Some of his base have refused to accept Lula's victory, believing Bolsonaro's baseless claims that the October election was stolen. That has contributed to a tense atmosphere in the capital Brasilia, with riots and a foiled bomb plot last week.

READ: Brazil election body rejects Bolsonaro’s demand to invalidate votes, fines $4.3 million

Bolsonaro labeled the bomb plot a "terrorist act" for which there was no justification. He sought to distance himself from George Washington Sousa, the man who confessed to making the bomb, and who told police that Bolsonaro's call to arms inspired him to build an arsenal of guns and explosives.

"The man had ideas that are not shared by any citizen, but now they classify him as a 'Bolsonarista'," the president said.

Officials say President Bolsonaro may have left Brazil for Florida


By — Carla Bridi, Associated Press
By — Diane Jeantet, Associated Press

World Dec 30, 2022 

SAO PAULO (AP) — The office of Brazil’s vice president says he has become acting president, an indication that President Jair Bolsonaro has left the country and will break tradition by skipping the inauguration Sunday of his political nemesis, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The press office of Bolsonaro’s vice president, Gen. Hamilton Mourão, confirmed to journalists he was acting as president. The handoff of power to the vice president occurs whenever Brazil’s president travels abroad.

The Friday edition of the official gazette said that Bolsonaro is headed to Florida, and that several officials were given permission to accompany “the future ex-president” to Miami between Jan. 1 and Jan. 30, to offer “advice, security and personal support.”

According to flight tracking websites, the Brazilian military’s official airplane left the capital, Brasilia, around 2 p.m. for Orlando.

READ MORE: Brazil’s Lula pledges ‘big fight’ against deforestation at COP27

In Bolsonaro’s absence, it is not clear who will hand over the presidential sash to Lula on Sunday. Mourão’s press office said that is not part of the vice president’s duties.

Bolsonaro has remained mostly silent since losing the election Oct. 30. But a few hours before reports of his departure, he addressed the country as president on his social media.

At times on the verge of tears, the far-right politician said he wasn’t able to find a legal alternative or enough support to change the course of history and prevent his departure from office.

“How difficult it has been to stay quiet for two months, working to find alternatives,” he said. “If you’re upset, put yourself in my place. I gave my life to this country.”

Bolsonaro also condemned a recent bomb threat in Brasilia, saying it was not the time to attack people, but rather to try to build an opposition against the future government.

“We lost a battle, but we will not lose the war,” he said. “The world does not end on Jan. 1.”

A crowd of supporters stood outside the presidential residence in a pouring rain listening for a sign from their leader, and many were left disappointed. Some shouted the words “traitor” and “coward.” One woman cried.

Since his electoral loss, some of Bolsonaro’s most die-hard supporters have been camping outside military buildings in Brasilia and elsewhere in the country, asking for the armed forces to intervene. Many believed election results were fraudulent or unreliable, and hoped Bolsonaro would somehow remain in power.

Others have blocked roads and highways, or set buses and trucks on fire. Police are also investigating the attempted invasion of the federal police’s headquarters in Brasilia earlier this month, and said most of the 32 individuals they are looking for have had contacts with the Brasilia pro-Bolsonaro encampment.

Jeantet reported from Rio de Janeiro. Associated Press photojournalist Eraldo Peres in Brasilia contributed to this report.

Bolsonaro followers arrested in coup d'état probe

Friday, December 30th 2022 - 

One of the Bolsonaristas arrested calls himself a “defender of the homeland.”

At least eight raids were carried out Thursday and four followers of outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro were arrested for their alleged involvement in a plot to prevent President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from taking office this coming Sunday.

“The crimes under investigation are those of qualified damage, arson, criminal association, violent abolition of the rule of law and coup d'état, whose combined maximum penalties amount to 34 years in prison,” said the Federal Police (PF) in a statement after taking into custody four Bolsonaristas following 32 search and seizure warrants in eight states under orders from the Supreme Federal Court (STF).

On December 24 one of Bolsonaro's followers linked to a group of opponents camped outside the army headquarters in Brasilia confessed to making a bomb to trigger a military uprising.

Thursday's deployment was linked to the Dec. 12 incidents when PF premises were attacked and cars set fire following the arrest of a pro-Bolsonaro indigenous leader, it was reported.

In the meantime, Lula's relatives were advised not to leave their hotel out of security concerns.

According to Folha de Sao Paulo, four people have been arrested in Rio de Janeiro, Rondônia, and Brasília. One of the Bolsonaristas arrested in Brasilia was identified as Klio Hirano, who calls himself a “defender of the homeland” and participated in camps in front of the Army barracks in Brasília.

Also arrested was Átilla Reginaldo Franco de Melo, 41. He campaigned for Bolsonaro in October and even stopped by the Army Headquarters camp in Brasília, along with his wife.

STF Justice Alexandre De Moraes temporarily suspended all authorizations for citizens to bear arms in the Federal District until January 2. Under Bolsonaro, Brazil opened up to people buying guns to arm themselves in self-defense.

Brazil is going through a week marred with uncertainty. Press reports kept announcing that Bolsonaro would fly to Florida for New Year's Eve not to take part in Lula's inauguration. The incumbent head of state has denied all those rumors, which he dubbed as “fake.”

Brazilian investigators find Bolsonaro committed incitement to crime
Thursday, December 29th 2022 - 

If prosecuted, Bolsonaro faces between three and six months in prison for unlawful conduct

Brazil's Federal Police (PF) has found evidence proving that President Jair Bolsonaro might have committed the crime of spreading false information about the Covid-19 pandemic when he linked the use of vaccines to the development of the AIDS virus

In the final report submitted to Superior Federal Court (STF) Justice Alexandre De Moraes, the investigators believe Bolsonaro should be held accountable for encouraging people not to wear masks.

The investigation was opened at the request of the Senate's Covid Parliamentary Investigative Committee (CPI) after a live broadcast in which Bolsonaro falsely linked vaccines' use to the development of the AIDS virus. Bolsonaro also claimed that most victims died from pneumonia caused by the use of a mask.

The PF requested De Moraes' authorization in August to indict Bolsonaro and take his statement, but the magistrate remained silent. The PF had also requested the Office of the Solicitor General to hear Bolsonaro but to no avail. Bolsonaro's incitement to crime and a misdemeanor for “causing alarm, announcing disaster or non-existent danger” were signaled at that time. Both findings were maintained in the final report released Wednesday.

Bolsonaro was summoned to testify earlier this month but he chose to remain silent.

The PF's final document was delivered to De Moraes, who must now forward it to the Attorney General's Office for a final decision on whether to charge Bolsonaro or not. If prosecuted, Bolsonaro faces between three and six months in prison for unlawful conduct.

Putin's 'rocket man' becomes latest senior Russian official to mysteriously die - days after top former Kremlin general was found dead on Christmas Day

Man who made Putin's dreams of space exploration possible has died aged 74

He is the fourth senior official with Russian links to die mysteriously in days

There have been suggestions Putin is 'clearing out' his inner circle and critics

Alexander Buzakov and General Alexei Maslov both suddenly died this week

Putin critic and sausage tycoon Pavel Antov fell to his death before Christmas

By WILL STEWART and BRITTANY CHAIN FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED:  30 December 2022

The man who made Vladimir Putin's dreams of space exploration possible has died aged 74.

Vladimir Nesterov, is the latest casualty this year among Russia's elite and the fourth official reported dead in a matter of days.

He pioneered the new 'world's best' Angara rocket and was the former general director of the Khrunichev Centre, which Putin hoped would facilitate Russia's first manned mission to the moon

Since 2014, Nesterov has been dogged by persistent allegations of fraud and embezzlement.



Vladimir Nesterov, is the latest casualty this year among Russia's elite and the fourth senior official reported dead in a matter of days

He pioneered the new 'world's best' Angara rocket and was the former general director of the Khrunichev Centre, which Putin hoped would facilitate Russia's first manned mission to the moon

Authorities accused him of pocketing upwards of £57million, and he had been under house arrest pending further investigation.

Nesterov's cause of death has not been revealed.

Alexander Buzakov, 65, director general of Admiralty Shipyards, in charge of building new submarines armed with deadly Kalibr missiles, also unexpectedly died earlier this week.

And General Alexei Maslov, 69, former commander of Russian ground forces with close ties to Ukraine, died 'suddenly' on Christmas day, after Putin abruptly cancelled a trip to the tank enterprise where he worked as an international sales ambassador.

Buzakov had been healthy the day before he died, and 'nothing had been heard about Maslov's health problems'.


Authorities accused him of pocketing upwards of £57million, and he had been under house arrest pending further investigation. Nesterov's cause of death has not been revealed

Days earlier, Alexander Buzakov (left), 65, d in charge of building new submarines armed with deadly Kalibr missiles, also suddenly died. And General Alexei Maslov (right) , 69, former commander of Russian ground forces with close ties to Ukraine, died 'suddenly' on Christmas day

Maslov had been commander-in-chief of Russian ground forces between 2004 and 2008.

Similarly, sausage tycoon and Russian MP Pavel Antov, 65, fell to his death from a window in an Indian hotel in another case that has aroused suspicion.

In June, Antov criticised the war and air strikes on Kyiv as Russian 'terror' wounding Ukrainian civilians.

He highlighted a Russian missile strike and said: 'A girl has been pulled out from under the rubble, the girl's father appears to have died.

'The mother is trying to be pulled out with a crane - she is trapped under a slab. To tell the truth, it is extremely difficult to call this anything other than terror.'

He evidently then swiftly came under intense pressure after which he withdrew the comment and made a grovelling apology.

He made an about-turn and claimed his post on social media had been 'an unfortunate misunderstanding' and a 'technical error'.

He insisted he had 'always supported the president' and 'sincerely' backed the goals of Putin's military operation - but local journalists strongly disputed this.

This year, at least 10 Russian oligarchs and critics have died under mysterious circumstances, amid suggestions Putin is 'cleansing' his inner circle.

Russian MP Pavel Antov, 65, who previously criticised the war in Ukraine, was found dead in India after 'falling from a third floor hotel window'

Argentina wheat exports at their lowest, but record year for fertilizer consumption

Friday, December 30th 2022 - 

Total consumption of fertilizers in Argentina added to 4.54 million tons in 2021/22, setting a record, reported the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange

Bad and good news from Argentina. Wheat exports are expected to hit their lowest point in eight years because of climate effects, especially La Niña ravaging the country’s crops for the third consecutive reason, points out the Rosario Grains Exchange (BCR)

Argentina’s foreign sales declarations (DJVE), which account for the volumes already committed to exports, are close to 8.9 million tons. However, the government allowed part of this volume to be exported in the next season since there were not enough stocks available this season.

Season-ending stocks are forecast at 1.72m tons, the lowest in five seasons. In 2017/18, there were 1.2 million tons in stock. Production in the current season is forecast at 11.5 million tons, half of last year’s 23 million. This is the lowest crop since 10.9 million in 2014/15. Productivity, at 2.3 tons per hectare, is the weakest since 2008/09, when 2.11 tons per hectare were harvested.

Finally, Argentine wheat prices reported by industry regulators, measured in dollars per ton and converted at the official exchange rate, show values much higher than the market average and are the highest since 2012/13.

On the bright side, total consumption of fertilizers in Argentina added to 4.54 million tons in 2021/22, setting a record, reported the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange. The volume was 12% higher than the previous harvest season.

The increase in acreage and the increase in the number of applications drove the growth. The area destined for corn grew by 900 thousand hectares (13%), and those for wheat and barley grew by 500 thousand hectares (3% and 33%, respectively).

According to the exchange, the crops that most consumed fertilizers were corn and wheat, with 37% and 33% of the total used in the country. Soybeans accounted for 16% of the volume, barley for 7%, and sunflower for 3%.

Nitrogenous fertilizers were the most used, representing 59% of the total. Phosphates accounted for the other 41%.

Argentine wheat crop, one of the least productive in recent history
Wednesday, December 28th 2022 - 

The 11,5 million tons of this year's harvest is half the 2021/22 crop, according to the Rosario Grains Exchange.

The Argentine wheat crop, 2022/23 is again suffering the consequences of a prolonged drought and lack of sufficient rain, which means that the overall estimate volume has again been reduced by 300,000 tons to a total of 11,5 million tons, according to the Rosario Grains Exchange.

This is half the 2021/22 crop, which was a record, and the contraction this season was not greater because the province of Entre Rios surprised with some extraordinary yields.

The Rosario Grains Exchange also pointed out that the main losses happened in the rich fields of the provinces of Cordoba, Buenos Aires and Santa Fe, where in only a month estimates were down 300,000 tons. With domestic consumption of some nine million tons, surplus for exports has been considerably reduced.

“We had an average yield fo 2,300 kilos per hectare, the lowest recorded since 2010”, pointed out the Rosario Grains Exchange. But in Entre Rios yields were excellent and helped the overall average. Temperature played a crucial role, 15 Celsius during the maturing period with abundant humidity. And this despite a month of November with insufficient humidity and consecutive frosts, but Entre Rios prevailed and had a production of 3,900 kilos per hectare“.

Cordoba on the other hand continues with its production disaster. Compared to the 3,600 kilos per hectares of last year, this season it is down to 1,500 kilos, following on the effects of frosts. Something similar can be said of the Buenos Aires province. Last year Santa Fe province had a yield close to 3,900 kilos per hectare, but nowadays the average is hardly 2,200 kilos per hectare”, concluded the Rosario Grains Exchange.

Cotopaxi volcano fumes have Ecuador under alert

Monday, December 26th 2022 

The first warning this year about the Cotopaxi had been issued on Oct. 21

Ecuadorian authorities have been placed on alert after a 1,500-meter column of steam, gas, and ash emanated Sunday from the Cotopaxi volcano, it was reported.

The National Polytechnic School's Geophysical Institute confirmed that the volcano was clear at 5.50 am local time until the emission of steam, gas, and ash was observed in a south-easterly direction.

Sunday's episode follows some ash detected last Thursday in Quito, which is believed to stem from the Cotopaxi and arrived there due to strong winds.

The Geophysical Institute reported an increase in seismic signals on Oct. 21 from the volcano in the Andean mountain range, just 45 kilometers southeast of Quito, so a full eruption is expected anytime soon.

The Cotopaxi is one of the most active volcanoes in Ecuador. At 5,897 meters above sea level, it is the second-highest peak in the country and together with the Sangay and Reventador volcanoes (both in the Amazon region), is currently among the most active in the country.

Ecuador has over fifty volcanoes, most of them in the Andean region, although there are others in the Amazon region and in the Galapagos Islands.

FIRE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD

Tierra del Fuego fires still smoldering
Friday, December 30th 2022 -

It has been already a month since a bonfire apparently went out of control

One month after the forest fires started in the Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, the authorities are still unable to put down the flames as new “hot spots” keep being found with over 100 firefighters deployed. Over 9,000 hectares of native forests burned down, it was reported.

According to the Government of Tierra del Fuego, the fire in the “Corazón de la Isla” reserve about 50 kilometers from Tolhuin, is “contained.” In other words, it is limited to a specific perimeter but it is not yet “controlled” due to the continuous appearance of secondary outbreaks.

After the province sought assistance from the federal government, some 100 firefighters of the National Fire Management Service (SNMF) flew in from different parts of the country to help the Provincial Fire Management Directorate, volunteer firefighters, provincial park rangers, and Civil Defense, in addition to Federal Police, and the Argentine Navy.

The provincial government has already allocated some AR$ 230 million (around US$ 657,000 at the unofficial exchange rate) to bring two hydrant planes and a helicopter to fly over the area spraying water, using an airfield in Tolhuin as a base.

The forest fire resulted in the total prohibition of fire lighting in wild areas determined by the Fuegian government in adherence to national regulations, and in tougher controls to enforce this restriction.

Regarding the origin of the fire in “Corazón de la isla,” judiciary sources said Tolhuin Judge José Pellegrino excused himself from continuing to lead the case because a piece of evidence requested by the investigation involves a former client of his when he was practicing law independently.

Based on telephone audios of local ranchers, investigators believe they have identified the two fishermen who would have started the crisis after a bonfire went wild due to strong winds.

ABOLISH SCOTUS

US Supreme Court appeals to 1944 law to expel asylum seekers at border

Wednesday, December 28th 2022 -

Immigration advocates and the Biden administration moved to repeal the law, but 19 Republican-leaning states along the border pushed back with their own lawsuit to keep it in place.

The United States Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a pandemic-era health measure used to limit immigration will say in place indefinitely. The restriction, known as Title 42, has been used by officials to expel asylum seekers. In all, it has been deployed some 2.5 million times and turned away many more at the border.

Immigration advocates and the Biden administration moved to repeal the law, but 19 Republican-leaning states along the border pushed back with their own lawsuit to keep it in place.

“The court is not going to decide until June, apparently, and in meantime we have to enforce it. But I think it's overdue,” Biden told reporters at the White House.

“The states contend that they face an immigration crisis at the border and policymakers have failed to agree on adequate measures to address it,” the Supreme Court said in its 5-4 ruling on Tuesday.

“The only means left to mitigate the crisis, the states suggest, is an order from this Court directing the federal government to continue its COVID-era Title 42 policies as long as possible.”

However, in their dissenting opinion, justices Neil Gorsuch and Ketanji Brown Jackson argued that “the current border crisis is not a COVID crisis.

Title 42 is named after the section of the 1944 public health law it is based on. But the rule was introduced under former US President Donald Trump in early 2020.

The measure allows authorities to remove foreigners without any legal process or formal deportation to their country of origin if they are found to have entered the country without a visa.

Critics branded Title 42 as an ”inhumane” rule that was unfit as both health policy and immigration policy. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said in April that vaccination rates meant the COVID-era policy was no longer necessary.

“We are deeply disappointed for all the desperate asylum seekers who will continue to suffer because of Title 42, but we will continue fighting to eventually end the policy,'' said Lee Gelernt, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, which had been lobbying to end Title 42's use.

Ahead of Tuesday's ruling, thousands of migrants gathered on the Mexican side of the border. The White House said it it is preparing to manage the border ”in a secure, orderly, and humane way when Title 42 eventually lifts.”

NASA wants ideas to boost Hubble Space Telescope into a higher orbit with private spaceships

By Robert Lea

SPACE.COM

published 1 day ago

A study by SpaceX to use private spacecraft to reboost the Hubble Space Telescope has NASA weighing options to give Hubble new life.

A study by SpaceX to use private spacecraft to reboost the Hubble Space Telescope has NASA weighing options. (Image credit: NASA/SpaceX)


NASA is looking deeper into the possibility of using a private spacecraft to lift the Hubble Space Telescope to new heights, giving the influential space observatory a new lease on life.


On Dec. 22, the space agency issued a Request for Information regarding a non-exclusive SpaceX study earlier this year that suggested how the Hubble Space Telescope could be "reboosted" into a higher orbit.

NASA's request for information, which you can read here, comes as it continues to consider the space telescope's future and will remain open until Jan. 24, 2023.

Related: The best Hubble Space Telescope images of all time

Since the start of Hubble's operations in 1990, the orbit of the space telescope 335 miles (540 kilometers) above Earth has been decaying. Reboosting it to an orbit that is both higher and more stable could add years to Hubble’s operating lifetime delaying the point at which NASA must deorbit or dispose of the telescope.

During its five space shuttle missions to the service Hubble, NASA used the shuttle to reboost the telescope. The last shuttle servicing mission to Hubble was in 2009. NASA retired its shuttle fleet in 2011.

The idea to raise Hubble to a higher orbit using a Dragon spacecraft at no cost to the government was first developed between SpaceX and Polaris Program, a private program of space missions using SpaceX's Dragon and Starship vehicles funded by billionaire Jared Isaacman. The unfunded agreement between SpaceX and NASA to study the feasibility of reboosting Hubble was then signed in September 2022.

The SpaceX study was designed to help NASA, which currently has no plans to operate or fund a new Hubble servicing mission, determine the commercial possibility of such a mission. The SpaceX study also aimed to lay out the technical challenges of such a servicing endeavor.

 
The fact the study is non-exclusive means that other companies are free to propose their own Hubble servicing studies based on the use of different rockets or spacecraft.

These studies will collect data from Hubble itself and from SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft to assess the possibility of safely rendezvousing and docking with the space telescope before shunting it to a higher stable orbit. The studies are expected to take around 6 months to complete.

"This study is an exciting example of the innovative approaches NASA is exploring through private-public partnerships,” associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington, Thomas Zurbuchen, said in a statement.(opens in new tab) "As our fleet grows, we want to explore a wide range of opportunities to support the most robust, superlative science missions possible."

The operation to reboost Hubble would demonstrate how older satellites and spacecraft could be given extended operating lives, especially those in near-Earth orbits like the space telescope.

"SpaceX and the Polaris Program want to expand the boundaries of current technology and explore how commercial partnerships can creatively solve challenging complex problems," said Jessica Jensen, vice president of Customer Operations & Integration at SpaceX. "Missions such as servicing Hubble would help us expand space capabilities to ultimately help all of us achieve our goals of becoming a space-faring, multiplanetary civilization."