Mary Akrami, fighting to keep Afghan women's shelters open

Issued on: 08/07/2021 

As the Taliban seizes large swathes of the country, Mary Akrami fears for the safety of the women at her shelters for survivors of domestic violence

 ADEK BERRY AFP

Kabul (AFP)

Gathered around a tandoori oven in the kitchen of a small Kabul restaurant, a group of Afghan women prepare naan for their lunchtime customers.

They are all survivors of domestic violence, and many will never be able to return to their families.

Mary Akrami, the founder of the shelter where they sleep and the restaurant where they work, fears these lifelines will be lost with the departure of foreign forces, who had pledged to restore women’s rights in war-weary Afghanistan.

"The international community encouraged us, supported us, funded us... now they ignore us," said the 45-year-old, who is also director of the Afghan Women's Network, an alliance of NGOs.

US and international troops have all but gone from Afghanistan, as the Taliban seizes control of large swathes of the country, leaving Afghan forces in crisis.

Akrami fears for her safety and that of the women at her shelters. One site has already closed because of clashes in the provinces.

"A woman who is running away from home has no place to go," she said, adding that many girls and women end up on the streets.
.
"We received cases of women tortured, sexually abused, physically abused," she added.

Having spent the Taliban's 1996-2001 rule in Pakistan, Akrami returned after the Islamist group was toppled by the US-led invasion.

With the help of some European NGOs in 2002, she opened Afghanistan's first shelter for women fleeing family violence.

More than 20,000 women have passed through Akrami's network of more than two dozen shelters since then.

In Afghanistan, a country of 35 million, the vast majority of women are estimated by the United Nations to have experienced physical, sexual or psychological violence, and the culture remains unforgiving to those who part with their husbands.

In some parts of the country, women are still given as brides to settle debts or feuds, and subjected to so-called "honour killings".

- 'I can be independent' -

Since the ousting of the Taliban, which denied girls and women education and employment, there have been some hard-won gains -- women are now judges, police officials and legislators, and schools have reopened.

The government passed a law on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, although the provisions are unreliably enforced.

At the shelter in Kabul, some women study for exams or go to work, returning at night to sleep.

Others raise their children within its walls.#photo2

For those who have no opportunity to leave, Akrami has opened the restaurant.

Hassanat, who was married off as a peace offering, fled her husband when he strangled her, leaving her permanently hoarse.

The 26-year-old found her way to the capital’s shelter and has since mastered cooking.

"I learned to read and I can make kebabs for 100 people. I can be independent," said Hassanat, who used a pseudonym to protect her identity.

At the restaurant, male customers are only welcome if escorted by women, flipping the conservative tradition where women have to be chaperoned to leave the house.

- 'Betrayed' -

After pouring her life into the shelters, Akrami said she felt "betrayed" to discover Washington had failed to make any demands over women’s rights in the landmark withdrawal deal with the Taliban last year.

At peace talks between the warring Afghan government and Taliban, the militants have made only vague commitments to protecting women's rights in line with Islamic values.

Meanwhile, high-profile women including media workers, judges and activists are among more than 180 people who have been assassinated since September -- killings the US and Afghan government blame on the militants.

While some activists have been able to flee the country, most ordinary women face no option but to watch the chaos unfold.#photo3

"Being a woman in Afghanistan is not easy," Akrami said.

"I'm tired of fighting continuously and I'm on the verge of losing everything," she said.

Norway's Telenor quits Myanmar over military coup

Issued on: 08/07/2021 -

Telenor has had a commercial presence in Myanmar since 2014 and employs a workforce of around 750 in the country Ye Aung Thu AFP/File

Oslo (AFP)
Norwegian telecoms group Telenor said Thursday it is selling its subsidiary in Myanmar, where it is one of the major operators, as a result of the military coup there.

The agreement to sell Telenor Myanmar to M1 Group for $105 million will ensure continued operations of its fixed and wireless networks, it said.

"The situation in Myanmar has over the past months become increasingly challenging for Telenor for people security, regulatory and compliance reasons," Telenor chief executive Sigve Brekke was quoted as saying in a statement.

"We have evaluated all options and believe a sale of the company is the best possible solution in this situation," he said.

Telenor was pushed deep into the red in the first quarter after it was forced to write down all of its assets in Myanmar, taking their value from 6.5 billion kroner ($769 million) to zero.

Telenor has had a commercial presence in Myanmar since 2014 and employs a workforce of around 750 in the country.

Myanmar has been rocked by massive protests and a brutal military response since the February coup that ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her government.

More than 880 civilians have been killed in a crackdown by the State Administration Council -- as the junta calls itself -- and almost 6,500 arrested, according to a local monitoring group.

The sale is subject to regulator approval by the authorities in Myanmar.

The junta has vested interests in swathes of the country's economy, from mining to banking, oil and tourism.

NGOs have urged foreign companies to review their presence in Myanmar.

M1 Group is a holding company founded by former Lebanese prime minister Najib Azmi Mikati and his brother.

It holds a major stake in the MTN mobile operator that is a leader in Africa but which is also active in Asia.

M1 is also on the blacklist established by Burma Campaign UK, which monitors the business ties of international firms with the Myanmar military.

According to a 2019 report conducted by an international independent fact-finding mission presented the UN Human Rights Council on the economic interests of Myanmar's military, the M1 Group has a stake in a company that rents mobile phone towers to the MEC, an army-owned firm that owns the Mytel mobile network.

© 2021 AFP

Chinese rogue elephant herd's breakaway male sent home

Issued on: 08/07/2021 - 

A herd of elephants has wandered 500 kilometres north from their natural habitat in southern China, captivating social media Handout Yunnan Provincial Command of the Safety Precautions of the Migrating Asian Elephants/AFP/File

Beijing (AFP)

A lone elephant who broke away from a herd marching through southern China has been captured and returned to a nature reserve, officials said, in the latest twist for a journey that has caused chaos but captivated Chinese social media.

He was part of a herd of Asian elephants that has spent months rambling across the province, travelling over 500 kilometres (310 miles) from the nature reserve in one of the longest ever animal migrations of its kind in China.

Since setting off in spring last year they have pilfered shops and trampled crops worth over $1 million, and thousands of residents have been evacuated from their path.

The solo 10-year old strayed from the group a month ago.

On Wednesday the animal, weighing over 1.8 tonnes, was tranquilized and taken to the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve, the wildlife department in Yunnan province said.

It did not specify how he was transported some 530 kilometres back to the reserve.

After being released in the reserve, state broadcaster CCTV showed him foraging for food among lush green foliage before taking a dip in a river.

Male elephants usually leave their mother's herd to live alone or in small groups with other males as they reach sexual maturity.

Scientists are still baffled by what prompted the elephants to leave their home at the Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve, on the border with Laos.

But their mammoth trek has helped highlight habitat loss and conservation challenges in one of the few places in the world where wild elephant numbers are on the rise.

China's wild elephant numbers have doubled to over 300 in the past three decades -- but their habitats have shrunk by nearly two-thirds over the same period.

© 2021 AFP

Hungary's LGBTQ community braces for 'propaganda' bill


Issued on: 08/07/2021 - 

The law, which comes into force on Thursday, has been met with a chorus of criticism ATTILA KISBENEDEK AFP/File

Budapest (AFP)

For Dorottya Redai, a Hungarian LGBTQ activist who visits schools to help combat homophobia, Hungary's new law that bans "promoting" homosexuality to minors came as no surprise.

The law, which comes into force on Thursday, has been met with a chorus of criticism, with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen labelling it a "disgrace" and warning of consequences if it is not rectified.

"For years the ruling party Fidesz has been eliminating references to sexual minorities or gender equality or gender in the school curriculum," Redai, 48, said in Budapest.

PUBLICITÉ

"It's as if gay people don't exist, but they do," she said, pointing to training booklets for teachers and LGBTQ-themed books published by her Labrisz Lesbian Association.

In recent years, politicians from Fidesz, headed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, have been "equating homosexuality with paedophilia," she added.

The ban on the "display or promotion" of homosexuality or gender reassignment to under-18s is part of a broader "Anti-Paedophilia Act" which was originally limited to tougher action against child sexual abuse.

But late changes to the bill, approved by the Fidesz-dominated parliament last month, included the ban and restrictions on sex education as well as media content.

- 'Self-censorship' -

While the measures have been compared to Russia's 2013 bill that bans "gay propaganda" for minors, lawyers have said that it is not clear yet what sanctions will be meted out for breaking the law.

"It's vague," said Redai, who has helped take one of Labrisz's programmes called "Getting To Know LGBT People" to around 40 to 50 schools a year since 2004.

"For us, the real impact will be self-censorship, teachers won't invite us anymore to their schools for fear of getting into trouble with parents or the central school management bureau," she said.

"But school-kids will keep talking a lot about being gay, even though it's still a taboo for most teachers, they are not trained to talk about such social issues," Redai continued.

"We talk to them about homophobic or transphobic discrimination or bullying at school, it matters where young people learn about LGBTQ issues -- the internet is not always the best source," she said.

- 'Propaganda' -

The latest legislation is seen by its supporters as part of Orban's project since he took power in 2010 to reshape Hungary into a so-called "illiberal" socially conservative bastion.

In 2019, a Coca-Cola advertising campaign featuring smiling gay couples prompted some prominent members of Fidesz to call for a boycott of the company's products.

In December, parliament approved an effective ban on adoption by gay couples, while a year ago, a ban on legally changing one's gender came into force.

"Leave our children alone!" Orban said last year in sympathy with a far-right politician who publicly shredded a fairytale book published by Labrisz that included some homosexual characters.

Orban insists that the new law is about "child protection" and brushed off outrage from Brussels.

"No-one besides parents should have a say in the sex education of children... the law bans sexual -– homosexual and heterosexual -- propaganda targeted at children," the government's press office told AFP Tuesday.

"Sexual education must only be carried out by professionals, upon the authorisation of parents who have been made aware of the curriculum beforehand," it said.

- Finding 'enemies' -

Some analysts say Orban's move is aimed at shoring up his voter base ahead of an election next year that is expected to be a tight race, and meeting calls from far-right party Our Homeland for an anti-LGBTQ crackdown.

"As this law is unlikely to be actually applied legally, it is more like trolling or theatre to provoke conflict and polarise society," Bulcsu Hunyadi, an analyst with the Political Capital think tank, told AFP.

Over his decade in power Orban has "sought enemies to present to his voters, from the EU and civil society organisations, to migrants, asylum-seekers, and George Soros," said Hunyadi.#photo1

"And now that the coronavirus pandemic might be subsiding and the elections are near, the anti-gender narrative is intensifying, but that plays with the lives of citizens for short-term political gain," he said.

Since the law was passed several homophobic attacks have been reported in local media, and Redai worries about "people being encouraged by this law to vent their aggression on other people".

"In a political climate where we are made into an enemy, LGBTQ people, especially those living in the countryside who haven't come out yet, must be terrified," she said.

© 2021 AFP

POSTMODERN FUEDALISM
Rajapaksa family tightens grip on crisis-hit Sri Lanka

Issued on: 08/07/2021

Basil Rajapaksa, 70, has taken over the finance portfolio ISHARA S. KODIKARA AFP


Colombo (AFP)

A brother of Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Thursday became finance minister, tightening the family's grip on power in the South Asian nation as it confronts growing economic troubles.

Basil Rajapaksa, 70, took over the finance portfolio from another brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The 72-year-old president has put Mahinda in charge of a newly created but lower level economic policies and planning ministry.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, 75, was the country's president for a decade up to 2015, and Basil, who is known as the family's political strategist, managed the economy then.

Basil takes charge now after the economy recorded a coronavirus-inflicted 3.6 percent contraction for 2020, the worst since independence from Britain in 1948.

With his entry, the cabinet headed by Gotabaya now has five members of the Rajapaksa family.

Eldest brother Chamal, 78, is minister of irrigation while the prime minister's eldest son Namal, 35, is the youth and sports minister.

Several Rajapaksa family members hold junior minister positions and other key positions in the administration.

Basil Rajapaksa was described as "Mr Ten Percent" in a 2007 US embassy cable published by the WikiLeaks organisation because of commissions he allegedly took from government contracts.

He has denied any wrongdoing and inquiries failed to find any evidence to back charges he syphoned off millions of dollars from state coffers.

As a dual US-Sri Lankan citizen, Basil was prohibited from standing in the 2020 election, but Gotabaya removed constitutional provisions which prevented his entry to the legislature.

French spy agency DGSI emerges from shadows with first website


Issued on: 08/07/2021 -

The DGSI website aims to demystify the agency's activities to millions of French people. AP - Stephane de Sakutin

Text by: Amanda Morrow with RFI

France's intelligence agency, the DGSI, has launched its first website – giving ordinary folk a peek at its top secret missions fending off terrorism, cyberattacks, foreign spies and more.

A year in the making, the website is a PR tool of sorts. It aims to demystify the agency's activities to millions of French people who are either unsure what it does, or who believe it was created to monitor the population.

Described as “a tool for contact and exchange", the new online address also gives individuals another avenue for reporting a person suspected of having been radicalised.

“All of the world’s major intelligence services have dedicated website," DGSI director general Nicolas Lerner told a press conference Tuesday at the agency’s headquarters in the Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret.

“We have an obligation to publicise what we do."

Advice, info, quizzes

As well as offering practical advice on how to protect oneself from cyberattacks, the DGIS website warns citizens of the unscrupulous methods used by foreign spy agencies to recruit sources and collect sensitive information.

"A professional manipulator, a spy will first show sympathy and interest in the private life and activities of the person they are targeting," it cautions.

"They are an enlightened strategist who will do everything in their power to trap their target in an insidious spiral from which that person will not be able to extricate themselves without outside help."

The website also offers a virtual museum packed with unusual objects related to the world of espionage – think James Bond-style gadgets – as well as quizzes for young people who might one day want to become secret agents.

Then there's info on how the service has been set up, the legal framework under which it operates and a list of the modern defence challenges it faces.

Active recruitment

Created in 2014, the DGSI is the resulting merger of two police services – the General Intelligence and the Directorate of Territorial Surveillance. It actively recruits hundreds of agents every year, boasting a team of almost 5,000 men and women.

The testimonies of some of those agents can be found on the website, where would-be agents can also lodge their job applications.

“Talking about the secret activities of an intelligence service is complicated," Lerner said.

“But it is precisely because we are a service whose activity is classified that we have a strong obligation to talk, to explain and to make known who we are.”

 Magnificent building from Second

Temple-period revealed

Recently-developed visitors’ route reveals one of the most

magnificent public buildings discovered from 

Second Temple-period Jerusalem.

 Tags: IAA Western Wall Tunnels

Arutz Sheva Staff , Jul 08 , 2021 9

The Western Wall Heritage Foundation and the Israel Antiquities Authority are enabling the public to view impressive new sections of one of one of the most magnificent public buildings uncovered from the Second Temple period. The discovery – the fruit of archaeological excavations recently conducted in the Western Wall Tunnels – will be part of the new route opened to visitors ahead of Rosh Chodesh Elul and Selichot (penitential prayers).

Part of the structure, to the west of Wilson’s Arch and the Temple Mount, was discovered and documented by Charles Warren in the nineteenth century, followed by various archaeologists in the twentieth century. Now that its excavation is complete, we know that it contained two identical magnificent chambers with an elaborate fountain between them. The walls of the halls and the fountain were decorated with a sculpted cornice bearing pilasters (flat supporting pillars) topped with Corinthian capitals. The decorative style of the building is typical of opulent Second Temple-period architecture.

Mordechai Soli Eliav, Chairman of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation said, “It is exciting to reveal such a magnificent structure from the Second Temple period while we mourn the destruction of Jerusalem and pray for its restoration. These chambers are part of a new walk through the Western Wall Tunnels, where visitors will view fascinating finds and walk for the first time along the entire route among Second Temple-period remains that illustrate the complexity of Jewish life in Jerusalem between the Hasmonean and the Roman periods.”

According to Dr. Shlomit Weksler-Bdolach, excavation director on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “This is without doubt one of the most magnificent public building from the Second Temple period that has ever been uncovered outside the Temple Mount walls in Jerusalem. It was built in around 20–30 CE. The building, which apparently stood along a street leading up to the Temple Mount, was used for public functions – it may even have been the city council building where important dignitaries were received before entering the Temple compound and the Temple Mount.”

“Visitors to the site can now envisage the opulence of the place: the two side chambers served as ornate reception rooms and between them was a magnificent fountain with water gushing out from lead pipes incorporated in the midst of the Corinthian capitals protruding from the wall. The excavation also uncovered the original massive stone slabs with which the ancient building was paved. The archaeologists believe that the guest rooms, which were also used for dining, contained wooden reclining sofas that have not been preserved.

“Reclining dining rooms were common in the Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman worlds from the fifth century BCE to the third–fourth centuries CE. They are known in the archaeological record from private homes, palaces, temples, synagogue complexes and civilian compounds. Dining or feasting while reclining is mentioned as early as the Book of Amos – in the first half of the eighth century BCE – when the prophet rebukes the people of the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel.

“In the late Second Temple period, before the Temple’s destruction, extensive changes made throughout the area included alterations to the building, which was divided into three separate chambers. In one of the chambers, a stepped pool was installed that was used as a ritual bath.”

Shachar Puni, architect for the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Conservation Department explained, “The new route provides a better understanding of the complex and important site known as the Western Wall Tunnels, while emphasizing the extent of this magnificent building. It creates a new visitors’ route that passes through the building and leads to the spacious compound at the foot of Wilson’s Arch (one of the bridges leading to the Temple Mount), which was also excavated by the Western Wall Heritage Foundation and the Israel Antiquities Authority. By making the route accessible and opening it to the public, visitors are introduced to one of the most fascinating and impressive sites in the Old City of Jerusalem.”

Remains of the magnificent 2000-year-old building recently excavated and due to be opened to the public. Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority

Remains of the magnificent 2000-year-old building recently excavated and due to be opened to the public. Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority

Remains of the magnificent 2000-year-old building recently excavated and due to be opened to the public. Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority

Stepped pool installed in one of the chambers in the late Second Temple period that served as a ritual bath. Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority

Stepped pool installed in one of the chambers in the late Second Temple period that served as a ritual bath. Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority

Remains of the magnificent building in the Western Wall Tunnels Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority

BLUE HYDROGEN IS MADE FROM NAT GAS 

Rebound in global gas demand threatens international climate targets: Energy agency

Gas demand in 2021 is expected to rise by 3.6 per cent as global economies recover following a record fall in 2020.

PHOTO: AFP

PUBLISHED JUL 5, 2021, 


LONDON (REUTERS) - A rebound in global gas demand to 2024 following a record fall last year is poised to knock the world off track for a climate goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Monday (July 5).

More than 190 countries have signed the Paris agreement designed to limit global warming to 1.5 deg C, which will require a huge reduction in the use of fossil fuels such as coal and gas.

"Natural gas demand is set to rebound strongly in 2021 and will keep rising further if governments do not implement strong policies to move the world onto a path towards net-zero emissions by mid-century," the IEA said in its latest gas outlook.


Gas demand in 2021 is expected to rise by 3.6 per cent as global economies recover following a record fall in 2020 due to restrictions to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus.

From 2022 to 2024, demand growth is expected to average 1.7 per cent per year, meaning gas demand would be too high to keep to the IEA's road map towards meeting global net zero emissions by 2050.

The IEA in May published a pathway for the energy sector to meet the net zero emissions target and said investors should not fund new oil, gas and coal supply projects.

But new demand could be met by projects already approved or under development before the pandemic, the latest report said.

Global gas prices have soared to multi-year highs over the past month, with high temperatures driving demand for power generation in the northern hemisphere for air conditioning and as some regions such as Asia seek to boost stocks before winter.

The report said Europe's benchmark Dutch gas prices are expected to average US$9.5 per million British Thermal Units (MBtu) in 2021, their highest since 2013, while Asian spot LNG prices are expected to average US$11/MBtu, the highest since 2014.

In Monday's report, the IEA said the gas industry should ramp up efforts to reduce emissions such as addressing methane leaks.

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Climate change linked to 5 million deaths a year, new study shows

Extreme weather accounted for 9.4 per cent of all deaths globally between 2000 and 2019.

PHOTO: REUTERS

SYDNEY (BLOOMBERG) - The extraordinarily hot and cold temperatures that are becoming more common as climate change accelerates are responsible for five million deaths globally every year.

Extreme weather accounted for 9.4 per cent of all deaths globally between 2000 and 2019, according to researchers who on Wednesday (July 7) published the first study linking changes in temperatures to annual increases in mortality.

While most deaths have been caused by exposure to the cold, the trend is likely to reverse as the planet warms, they said.

"In the long term, climate change is expected to increase the mortality burden" as heat-related deaths rise, said Dr Yuming Guo, one of the report's authors and a professor at Monash University.

Hundreds of people have already died from heatwaves sweeping across the Northern Hemisphere this summer. The last two decades were the hottest since the pre-industrial era, with the 10 warmest years on record occurring during the period.

Global warming continues to accelerate, with the planet on track to warming around 3 deg C above the pre-industrial average, according to estimates by nonprofit Climate Action Tracker.

Scientists forecast that a warming of more than 2 deg C would be catastrophic for life on earth.

Researchers at Monash in Australia and China's Shandong University estimated that there were 74 excess deaths from abnormally cold or hot temperatures for every 100,000 people.

The paper, published in The Lancet Planetary Health, analysed mortality in 43 countries across all continents.

It also concluded that cold-related deaths fell 0.5 per cent from 2000 to 2019, while heat-related deaths rose 0.2 per cent.

Europe had the highest excess death rates per 100,000 people due to heat exposure, the research found. Sub-Saharan Africa registered the highest death rates per 100,000 people due to exposure to cold. The largest decline of net mortality happened in South-east Asia.

Australian govt must consider climate risks to kids in decision on coal mine expansion, court rules

The Australian federal court ruling could set a precedent for all fossil fuel projects.

PHOTO: REUTERS


SYDNEY (BLOOMBERG) - Australia's federal court has ruled that the government must consider risks posed to young people from climate change in a looming decision on a coal mine expansion - a ruling that could set a precedent for all fossil fuel projects.

Environment Minister Sussan Ley must assess the consequences of additional greenhouse gas emissions from raw materials produced if Whitehaven Coal is permitted to extend an operation in New South Wales, Judge Mordy Bromberg said in a Thursday (July 8) ruling at the Federal Court of Australia.

"The risk of harm that the minister must take reasonable care to avoid is personal injury or death to the children arising from the emission of carbon dioxide from the burning of coal extracted from the extension project," he said in the judgment.

Eight schoolchildren and an octogenarian nun brought the case to court.

Whitehaven declined to comment on the judgment. The producer's shares were 2.7 per cent lower in afternoon trade in Sydney.

This is the latest legal challenge to the fossil fuel industry as climate campaigners seek to use courts to press companies to accelerate efforts to address global warming.

A May ruling in The Hague ordered Royal Dutch Shell to cut emissions faster than planned, and there are about 1,800 climate litigations pending around the world, according to Columbia Law School's Sabin Centre for Climate Change Law.

Judge Bromberg earlier dismissed an injunction aimed at halting the mine expansion sought by campaigners in Australia. The latest decision that the government must weigh climate risks will likely complicate the task of considering Whitehaven's proposal.

The judgment could pose challenges to any applications for the approval of new fossil fuels projects in Australia, a key global producer of coal and liquefied natural gas. Earnings from energy and mining exports are forecast to rise to A$334 billion (S$337.5 billion) in the current fiscal year.

"The reasons underpinning the duty set a precedent for the minister to take reasonable care over the risks any fossil fuel project before the minister poses to children," Mr David Barnden, lawyer for the Australian campaigners, said by phone.

Whitehaven's planned Vickery mine expansion involves a "tiny but measurable" impact on climate change, and would produce about an additional 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the life of the operation, Judge Bromberg said in May.

Australia's emissions last year were 499 million tonnes, according to government data.

Australia's government "will review the judgment closely and assess all available options", Mrs Ley's office said in an e-mail statement.

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