US reveals nuclear bomb numbers after Trump blackout

Issued on: 06/10/2021

A deactivated US Titan II nuclear ballistic missile 

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI AFP

Washington (AFP)

The US State Department published on Tuesday the number of nuclear warheads the country stockpiles for the first time in four years, after former president Donald Trump placed a blackout on the data.

As of September 30, 2020, the US military maintained 3,750 active and inactive nuclear warheads, down by 55 from a year earlier and by 72 from the same date in 2017.

The figure was also the lowest level since the US nuclear stockpile peaked at the height of the Cold War with Russia in 1965, when the total was 31,255 warheads.

The numbers were released Tuesday amid an effort by the administration of President Joe Biden to restart arms controls talks with Russia after they stalled under Trump.

"Increasing the transparency of states' nuclear stockpiles is important to nonproliferation and disarmament efforts," the State Department said in a statement.

Trump, who pulled the United States from the Iran nuclear deal and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty with Russia, also left another crucial pact, the New Start Treaty on the rocks last year before its scheduled expiration on February 5.

New Start caps the number of nuclear warheads held by Washington and Moscow, and letting it expire could have sparked a reversal of warhead reductions on both sides.

Trump said he wanted a new deal that includes China, which only has a fraction of the warheads that the United States and Russia have.

Biden, who came in to office on January 20, immediately proposed a five-year extension to New Start, which Russian President Vladimir Putin quickly agreed to.

The deal caps at 1,550 the number of nuclear warheads that can be deployed by Moscow and Washington.

Last week Russian and US diplomats held talks behind closed doors in Geneva to begin discussions on a successor to New Start and also controls on conventional weapons.

A US official called the talks "productive," but both sides said the mere fact of holding the talks was positive.

According to a January 2021 tally by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which includes retired warheads -- not counted in the State Department's numbers -- the United States had 5,550 warheads, compared to 6,255 in Russia, 350 in China, 225 in Britain, and 290 in France.

India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea have together around 460 nuclear warheads, according to the institute.

© 2021 AFP

Two stranded humpback whales rescued in Argentina



Issued on: 06/10/2021 - 

In this handout photo released by Mundo Marino Foundation, rescuers help a stranded humpback whale at a beach in Argentina, south of Buenos Aires, October 3, 2021 - FUNDACION MUNDO MARINO/AFP

Buenos Aires (AFP)

Rescue teams saved two stranded whales along the Atlantic coast of Argentina Tuesday, the World Marine Foundation said.

The animals were stranded on the beach of the seaside resort town of La Lucila del Mar, 220 miles (360 kilometers) south of Buenos Aires, just as spring arrives to the southern hemisphere.

"The first, which was stranded on Sunday, was a juvenile female humpback whale, 32 feet (9.8 meters) long and approximately eight tons in weight," the conservation group said in a statement.

The second individual, which "is a male of the same species, 28 feet long, and approximately seven tons, appeared Monday night," the foundation added.

Some 30 people participated in the rescue operation, including local residents, marine conservationists, Civil Defense members, coast guard officers, firefighters, volunteers and beach lifeguards.

Their collective efforts allowed the animals to return to the sea, the statement said.

"Upon arriving to survey the first animal's situation, primary support efforts were immediately carried out, including assuring the individual's position allowed it to breathe, keeping its pectoral fins underwater in order to stabilize its body temperature as much as possible," the organization said.

The whole procedure was "difficult," the group said. At one point, the force of the waves knocked the whale over so that the mammal's blowhole was underwater and it was unable to breathe.

"Thanks to a quick action, they were able to turn it over," said Sergio Rodriguez Heredia, a biologist at the World Marine Foundation's Rescue Center.

Rescuers tucked cables underneath the whale's body -- connected to a huge backhoe tractor crane -- hoping to free it from the sandy sea floor.

The workers noticed the second whale overnight, seeing it was in a "good state of health," said Augusto Giachetti, director of the Civil Defense's coastal division.

In this handout photo released by Mundo Marino Foundation, rescuers help a stranded humpback whale on a beach in Argentina, south of Buenos Aires, October 3, 2021 - FUNDACION MUNDO MARINO/AFP

They waited until dawn to begin the second whale's rescue.

"It was necessary to realign the animal, using the assistance of a backhoe and special cables to move it a big enough distance that it was able to float," he Giachetti said.

Once the whale realized it was able to float, it swam out to sea.

© 2021 AFP

2% or less have had Covid jabs in many African nations: WHO

Issued on: 01/10/2021 

Half of the 52 African countries that have received COVID-19 vaccines have fully vaccinated just two percent or less of their populations, the WHO says Michele Spatari AFP/File


Brazzaville (AFP)

Just two percent of the population, or less, have been fully vaccinated against coronavirus in half of the countries in Africa, the World Health Organization said on Thursday,

Fifteen of the continent's 54 nations have managed to vaccinate at least 10 percent of their people, achieving the global goal for September 30, set in May by the World Health Assembly, the world’s highest health policy-setting body.

"The latest data shows modest gains but there is still a long way to go to reach the WHO target of fully vaccinating 40 percent of the population by the end of the year," said Richard Mihigo, the World Health Organization's vaccination coordinator in Africa.

Shipments of the vaccine have been increasing "but opaque delivery plans are still the number one nuisance that hold Africa back," said Mihigo.

A total of 23 million vaccine doses arrived in Africa in September, a 10-fold increase from June.

Half of the 52 African countries that have received COVID-19 vaccines have fully vaccinated just two percent or less of their populations, the WHO said.

Most of the African countries that have met, or bettered the 10 percent goal have relatively small populations.

The islands of Mauritius and the Seychelles have managed to fully vaccinate over 60 percent of their populations, according to the WHO data.

In Morocco, 48 percent of the population have received two Covid-19 jabs while the figures are above 20 percent in Tunisia, Comoros and Cape Verde.

"All these countries have enjoyed sufficient supplies of vaccines, and many could access doses from separate sources in addition to those delivered through the global Covax facility," the WHO said.

Covid-19 case numbers in Africa dropped by 35 percent to just over 74,000 in the week to September 26.

Almost 1,800 deaths were reported across 34 African countries in the same period.

"Despite the declining case numbers we must all remain vigilant and continue to adhere to the proven public health and safety measures that we know save lives, such as wearing a mask, washing our hands regularly and physical distancing, especially while vaccination rates remain low," Mihigo told a virtual press conference.

© 2021 AFP

For residents of Syria camp, slow death or risky exit

Issued on: 01/10/2021

This Syrian Arab Red Crescent aid convoy in February 2019 is one of the very few to have reached the Rubkan camp near the Jordanian border - Syrian Red Crescent/AFP/File

Beirut (AFP)

A slow death if they stay or possible detention if they leave: the last residents of a Syria desert camp face an unenviable choice ahead of a new "voluntary departure" programme.

The nearly 10,000 displaced Syrians still living in the Rukban camp, established in 2014 on the berm between Jordan and Syria, are the last remnants of the nearly 50,000 people who lived there a few years ago.

A 55-kilometre (34-mile) radius security zone around a nearby garrison of US-led coalition troops shields camp residents from the Syrian army.

But Jordan has largely sealed the border since 2016, leaving residents dependent on rare UN aid deliveries. Not a single humanitarian convoy has entered the area since September 2019.

Driven out by hunger, disease and deplorable living conditions, tens of thousands have flocked to government-held areas, risking detention and enforced disappearance by government forces.

With the situation in Rukban rapidly deteriorating, rebels and Syrian army defectors still living in the settlement must decide whether to go along with a fresh round of UN-facilitated departures -- a move human rights groups have strongly advised against.

"We are caught between two fires. If we go to government-held Syria, we will perish, and if we stay in the camp, we will die a slow death," said an army defector who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons.

- 'Trapped' -

"Since 2016, we have been trapped in the desert," said Mohammad Derbas al-Khalidi, head of the camp's organising committee.

Nearly 10,000 displaced Syrians still live in the Rukban camp

 - Syrian Red Crescent/AFP/File

Khalidi said there are no doctors or surgeons in the camp, only a small clinic and a team of first responders.

Instead of schools, children attend classes under canvas or in mud-brick buildings that need repair, he said.

"Many of the teachers sell vegetables or cigarettes in stalls at the market," instead of teaching, Khalidi told AFP.

Since 2019, more than 20,000 people have voluntarily left Rukban, according to the UN, which facilitated the voluntary departure of 329 people, with the help of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent in September that year.

Others departed independently, or with assistance from the Syrian government, which has been calling on residents to leave Rukban for more than two years.

Earlier this year, the camp committee received a UN plan to resume facilitated repatriations between September and November.

Those who chose to leave would be required to spend at least 14 days in transit shelters in the government-held province of Homs, according to the plan, a copy of which was obtained by AFP.

They would only be allowed to leave the shelters if they were granted permission to do so by the Syrian authorities.

"The security and safety of individuals" rests with the Syrian government, the document said.

Bereft of security guarantees, the UN plan amounts to "collusion" with the Syrian government, Khalidi said.

"The United Nations in Damascus is complicit, and it is nothing but a company shipping humans for the regime."

- 'Detained, tortured' -

On September 11, the UN kicked off the latest round of departures by supporting a convoy of five trucks, alongside the Red Crescent.

The convoy entered Rukban in response to a request by 88 individuals who had registered to leave, said Danielle Jenni Moylan of the UN humanitarian agency OCHA.

"However, while inside Rukban, a small group of individuals obstructed the convoy and assaulted a driver," the spokesperson said.

"As a result, the mission was cancelled and the convoy immediately departed Rukban."

When asked about potential risks facing returnees, Moylan said the UN was not in a position to offer security guarantees to Rukban residents wishing to leave.

This effectively leaves them at the mercy of Syrian government forces, a concern that prompted Amnesty International to call on the UN to halt all plans for future departures.

"The Syrian government considers that people in Rukban are 'terrorists'," said Amnesty's Marie Forestier.

"They are targeted when they return... arbitrarily detained, tortured and, in some cases, forcibly disappeared."

Earlier this month, Amnesty published an investigation that documented "horrific violations" committed by Syrian security forces against 66 refugees, 13 of them children, who have returned to Syria since 2017 from several places of asylum, including Rukban.

Although the UN stresses that all facilitated departures are voluntary, Forestier said that the decision to leave by some Rukban residents cannot be considered "free" because of the pressures they have faced from accessing health care to securing food and clean water.

"In the current situation, there should be no plan to facilitate return," she said.

© 2021 AFP

A century on, Nobel's industrial legacy still resonates

Issued on: 01/10/2021
Bjoerkborn Manor is where Alfred Nobel lived during his last years 

Jonathan NACKSTRAND AFP

Karlskoga (Sweden) (AFP)

Alfred Nobel's last laboratory still exists, a stone's throw from a big explosives plant that his inventions and late-in-life business interests spawned.

Welcome to Karlskoga, a small town in the forests of central Sweden where the Nobel Peace Prize founder made home in 1894, two years before his death.

The pacifist and philanthropist was also the father of modern explosives -- and Karlskoga serves more than a century later as a living example of Nobel's global military industrial legacy.

Here, Sweden's defence industry now produces state-of-the-art cannons, artillery shells, bullets and explosives.

The site sprawls over three square kilometres (1.15 square miles) near this town of 30,000 people halfway between the Swedish capital Stockholm and the Norwegian capital Oslo.

'Nobelkrut' (NK) -- or Nobel gunpowder in English -- has been proudly manufactured here since 1898, the sound of howitzer test shots ringing out as regularly as churchbells throughout the day.

"The first gunpowder was called NK01. Now we're at NK1420," said Hakan Svensson, marketing director at the site where his father and grandfather worked before him.

Nobel invented the blasting cap in 1865, modernising high explosives. He then invented dynamite in 1867, and worked until his dying days on what all of Europe's armies dreamt of: a smokeless gunpowder.

The pacifist and philanthropist was also the father of modern explosives

 Jonathan NACKSTRAND AFP

Two years before his 1896 death and the reading of his now-famous will that created the Nobel prizes, he acquired the Swedish company Bofors, which was already making cannons in Karlskoga.

His assistant and executor of his will, Ragnar Sohlman, took over the group after Nobel's death, and the company went on to become the beating heart of Sweden's 20th century military-industrial complex.

- 'Modern and safer' -

Today, Bofors has been broken up and sold off, but there are still thousands of people employed at the Karlskoga site.

The gunpowder and explosives factory currently belongs to French group Eurenco, the European leader in the field.

"We use the same manufacturing method as Alfred Nobel, just more modern and safer," said production head Anders Hultman.

Powder trials and experiments with artificial rubber and synthetic threads were carried out in his laboratory

 Jonathan NACKSTRAND AFP

"Before, there used to be people who would sweep away the dust to prevent fires. Now, we have automated ventilators and tonnes of water can fall from the ceiling in a few seconds," he explained.

There is no one single large building here, like one would imagine at a modern factory.

Instead, for safety reasons, there are 600 bunkers and small buildings, some only as big as a single room that fits two or three people.

The global propellent and explosives industry is still closely linked to Alfred Nobel.

"Many of our competitors, especially in Europe, have a historical connection to Alfred Nobel," Svensson said, citing private companies in the UK, Germany, Spain and France.

- 'Richest vagabond' -

Nobel was a globetrotter -- he was nicknamed "the richest vagabond in the world" -- who at various times in his life lived in Sweden, Russia, Germany, France, the United States, Britain and Italy.

In order to protect his patents and avoid having to transport dangerous nitroglycerin long distances, the inventor founded companies all over the place.

His Swedish and British branches went on to become part of the multinational chemicals group AkzoNobel, based in the Netherlands.

And the Norwegian branch, founded in 1865, is now known as DynoNobel, a major civil explosives manufacturer.

In Germany, the plant founded by Nobel near Hamburg no longer exists, but its descendent Dynamit Nobel Defence is still active in the armaments industry.

Nobel medals are displayed at the laboratory 

Jonathan NACKSTRAND AFP

The French branch, a dynamite manufacturer, is now the civil explosives group TitaNobel.

The non-defence applications for explosives are numerous -- the Bofors Eurenco site in Karlskoga supplies gunpowder to inflate car airbags -- but the defence sector remains a key market.

Towards the end of his life, he worked on a launch pad for rockets for military use, in San Remo, Italy.

But Nobel never saw a contradiction between his interests in pacifism and the weapons industry, according to Ingrid Carlberg, the author of a recent biography, noting that Nobel saw weapons as a deterrent.

Svensson underlines the point.

"I think we carry on Alfred Nobel's idea that we need to have some type of military production to stabilise the world, to keep it safe," said Svensson.

"If you use it for defence of course, not for attack."

© 2021 AFP

'It is a circus': Philippine election season kicks of

Issued on: 01/10/2021 

A week-long registration process launches a typically noisy and deadly seven months of campaigning for more than 18,000 positions Noel CELIS AFP

Manila (AFP)

The Philippines' election season kicked off Friday with TV celebrities, political scions and at least one inmate expected to be among thousands of candidates vying for posts from president to town councillor.

A week-long registration process launches a typically noisy and deadly seven months of campaigning for more than 18,000 positions -- but the raging pandemic and economic misery caused by harsh lockdowns could dampen the party atmosphere.

A successor to President Rodrigo Duterte, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a second six-year term, will be elected in the May ballot that is expected to draw more than 60 million voters.

Duterte, who polls show remains almost as popular as when he was swept to victory in 2016 on a promise to rid the country of drugs, has declared he will run for the vice-presidency.

Among the front runners to replace him are his daughter, Sara, and ally Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, son and namesake of the country's former dictator.

Ex-actor and city mayor Francisco Domagoso -- known by his screen name Isko Moreno -- and newly retired boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao are planning to run.

Election campaigns in the famously chaotic democracy are normally raucous and star-studded with contenders deploying celebrities to pull crowds to rallies.

Candidates are expected to perform on stage, with their charisma, singing and dancing skills judged more harshly than their policies.

"It is a circus," political analyst Tony La Vina told AFP.

"People have a sense that in this brief moment, they are the boss, to be wooed by suitors whom they demand sing, dance, act as clowns."

This election season could be less festive, analysts said -- though probably just as deadly as some politicians resort to violence to eliminate rivals despite a gun ban.

Campaigning will be "largely" on social media platforms, La Vina predicted, as surging infections and the glacial pace of vaccinations restrict mass gatherings.

In a country where personality and name recognition are key to winning votes, that could improve the chances of lesser-known candidates, said Ronald Mendoza, dean of Manila's Ateneo School of Government.

"If you are a relative nobody with some money for social media and some following, you may actually get a not insignificant number of votes," he added.

But they will face the enduring challenge in Philippine politics of powerful clans who dominate national, provincial and local posts in the absence of a strong party system.

Deep pockets -- and huge donations -- are essential in the country plagued by poverty, corruption and a historic culture of patronage.

"The electoral workers can still go door to door buying votes," a long-time observer of Philippine politics told AFP.

"The money just flows like water."

- 'Teflon Duterte' -

As political jockeying intensified ahead of the opening of registrations, analyst Richard Heydarian said it was too early to pick a likely winner in the presidential race, which has "inherent unpredictabilities".

"This is just a single round, first past the post -- there's no run-off elections, all you need to do is win more votes than everyone else," said Heydarian.

"Much will depend on who's going to run, much will depend on how many are going to run, much will depend on presidential debates (and) what kind of antics the candidates are going to pull."

Duterte has not yet announced his preferred successor -- a perennial preoccupation for outgoing Philippine presidents seeking to avoid arrest.

Many expect it will be Sara, who would likely protect Duterte from criminal charges in the Philippines, and International Criminal Court prosecutors probing his deadly drug war.

But the mayor of the southern city of Davao -- a position held by her father before he became president -- has said she would not run if Duterte sought the vice-presidency.

That is probably a tactic to generate publicity because Filipinos "love a reluctant candidate", University of the Philippines political science professor Jean Franco told AFP.

Even if Sara misses the October 8 deadline for registration, she still has until November 15 to make a late entry -- as her father did in 2015.

A presidential endorsement would normally be a "kiss of death" for the recipient, said Jorge Tigno of pollster Social Weather Stations.

But Duterte's net satisfaction rating among adults was 62 percent in June, compared with 64 percent in September 2016, its surveys show.

"He's known as 'Teflon Duterte' for a reason," said Eurasia Group analyst Peter Mumford.

"He tends to shake off most accusations of impropriety or extrajudicial killings."

© 2021 AFP

In Brazil election run-up, US-style Big Lie not ruled out

Issued on: 01/10/2021 -

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro trails his chief rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in polling one year out from the next presidential elections

 PAULO LOPES AFP/File

Rio de Janeiro (AFP)

Leftist former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is the favorite in Brazil's elections one year from now but surprises along the way are not ruled out -- not even a dramatic US-style finale with charges of a rigged result.

The current right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, whose approval rating has plummeted in recent months, would win 26 percent of the votes in the first round on October 2, 2022 compared to 44 percent for Lula, according to a recent poll by Instituto Datafolha.

What factors come into play in the next presidential election in the country with Latin America's largest economy

- Bolsonaro, down and out? -

Bolsonaro, 66, has been severely criticized over his performance, mainly because of the Covid pandemic, which has claimed nearly 600,000 lives in Brazil, and economic decline that comes with double digit inflation which is sapping people's buying power.

His approval rating has fallen to 22 percent, the lowest since he took office in 2019. He is also staring down a slew of impeachment motions and several judicial probes, among other things for allegedly looking the other way in a vaccine procurement corruption scandal.

But this former army captain who is the darling of Brazil's most conservative sectors such as the agribusiness community is not done yet, says Oliver Stuenkel, a professor of international relations at the Getulio Vargas Foundation.

"His time to turn around this negative outlook is shorter and shorter," said Stuenkel. But "whoever is in power has a series of strategic advantages, especially the possibility of raising government spending."

- Lula laying low -

Although he has not formally announced he is running, 75-year-old Lula has emerged as the favorite ever since courts threw out his convictions for corruption and money laundering.

At age 75, Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (L) has emerged as favorite in the country's 2022 presidential race, although he has not formally announced his candidacy ARISSON MARINHO AFP/File

But the former president, who could return the Workers Party to power after his two terms (2003-2010) and those of Dilma Rousseff (2011-2016), is keeping a low profile.

"Lula is aware that he cannot expose himself a lot because he would come under sharp attack," said political scientist Andre Cesar of consulting firm Hold.

"'Antipetismo' is a strong party," he said, using a term that refers to intense resentment of the Workers Party and covers a range of key conservative sectors including the business community.

Stuenkel said Lula is preparing a conciliatory strategy similar to that of US President Joe Biden, "who sought to project himself as a centrist bringing together a diversity of Democrats and not be just the leader of the left" against Donald Trump in the 2020 campaign.

- Realistic third option? -

At the same time multiple minor candidates, like Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria, are trying to lead a so-called "third way" bringing together those opposed to Lula and Bolsonaro. A street rally on September 12 playing up this idea was a dud, however.

"The 'neither one of them' people occupy a huge ideological space, running from left to right," said Stuenkel, so "it is not realistic" to expect them to settle on one candidate.

But Cesar the consultant said a third way candidate could emerge if Bolsonaro's unpopularity or legal woes oust him from the race, a prospect that currently seems unlikely.

And neither Bolsonaro nor Lula want a third candidate. Lula, a former union leader, allows the president to focus on Brazil's left, which he associates with corruption and communism, as the country's enemy.

With opposition to both Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his likely chief election rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva relatively high, some Brazilians are seeking a so-called third way 

ANDRE BORGES AFP/File

For Lula it is safer to target Bolsonaro and his decline than face a minor candidate supported by pro-Bolsonaro voters and people who hate the Workers Party, said Michael Freitas of the Getulio Vargas Foundation.

- Coup? Trump-style ending? -

In his battles with the courts, Bolsonaro has gone so far as to hint at the possibility of a coup. And on September 7 he convened protest marches in which his most fervent followers chanted openly against democracy.

Although they rule out the possibility of a putsch, many analysts say they fear Bolsonaro will reject the election results if he loses the presidential runoff.

"Bolsonaro is a politician who often mimics Trump," said Freitas, recalling that the Brazilian leader has already warned against electoral fraud by challenging -- with no evidence -- the reliability of electronic voting, which has been used in the country since 1996.

Stuenkel said Bolsonaro might try to encourage violence as Trump did ahead of the January 6 US Capitol insurrection by Trump followers riled up by his false claims that the November vote was stolen from him.

"The big difference is that the army's and the police's commitment to democracy in Brazil is much weaker," said Stuenkel.

© 2021 AFP

From slavery to police abuse, new museum documents US history of racism

Issued on: 01/10/2021 

An exhibit at the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama

 Handout Equal Justice Initiative/AFP

Washington (AFP)

Slavery, lynchings, segregation, mass incarceration and police abuse: a museum that opens Friday in the state of Alabama traces a direct link between the racist past of the United States and today's inequalities.

The Legacy Museum in the state capital of Montgomery is housed in a building where African captives were once held before being sold as slaves.

"It's a museum about the history of America, with a focus on the legacy of slavery," Bryan Stevenson, the head of Equal Justice Initiative, a civil rights organization in Alabama, told AFP.

"I can't think of another institution in America that has more profoundly shaped our economy, our politics, our social structures. And our character."

"Our understanding of slavery is very very incomplete," he said.

"Our understanding of slavery is very very incomplete," says a civil rights activist

 in Alabama Handout Equal Justice Initiative/AFP

It is this information void that the Legacy Museum aims to fill, while prompting Americans to campaign against the inequality that persists today, according to Stevenson.

"The only way we can make progress in this country is if we engage both our minds and our hearts in a serious commitment to truth and justice to eliminating racial injustice," he said.

The museum, inspired by memorials to the Holocaust in Berlin or to apartheid in Johannesburg, offers an immersive experience: upon arrival, visitors board a ship crossing the Atlantic, witnessing the suffering of future slaves.

Another space is dedicated to the violence experienced by slaves, including sexual violence.

One wing is dedicated to the thousands of victims of lynchings of Black Americans, which occurred between 1877 and 1950. The National Lynching Memorial, located next to the museum, is devoted to the same topic.

The museum also conveys the "humiliation of segregation" in the South after World War II, Stevenson said.

Victims of legal injustice tells their stories at the Legacy Museum Handout Equal Justice Initiative/AFP

Stevenson's organization provides legal assistance and advocacy for people wrongly convicted of crimes, a widespread problem for African Americans.

The group has succeeded in acquitting several people who had been condemned to death. In the museum, visitors can listen to them tell their stories.

The museum is part of a national reckoning on race and racism in America, which has grown more intense since the murder of African American George Floyd by a white police officer in May 2020.

Stevenson lamented that the efforts are meeting resistance on the part of conservatives. Still, he was optimistic.

"The good news is that we have the capacity to get past that fear, to get past that preference for silence," Stevenson said. "I believe we will make that choice."

© 2021 AFP

Australian mining giants back net-zero target

Issued on: 01/10/2021 - 

Most Australians want concrete action to tackle climate change, with calls intensifying following a string of climate-worsened bushfires and other disasters 

PETER PARKS AFP/File


Sydney (AFP)

Australia's powerful mining sector has backed a 2050 net-zero carbon target, heaping pressure on the country's coal-championing government to follow suit.

The Minerals Council of Australia -- which represents mining heavy hitters like BHP and Rio Tinto -- said a 2050 target was achievable through "significant investment in technology".

"A more sustainable minerals sector is not only important for Australia's post-Covid recovery, it is also helping to sustain and improve the lives of millions around the world," chief executive Tania Constable said.

Australia is currently one of the world's leading exporters of fossil fuels, particularly coal and natural gas.

Its conservative government continues to fund new coal projects despite the global climate crisis and mounting questions about whether new mines make economic sense.

Conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison has so far shied away from setting a net-zero target carbon emissions target, despite pressure from the United States, Britain and other allies ahead of climate talks in Glasgow.

Morrison has threatened to boycott the landmark UN climate summit, which begins late this month.

At the same time, his government has slowly shifted focus away from a 2030 carbon-neutral target to a less ambitious 2050 target -- which critics say is too little, too late.

A series of senior figures within Morrison's government, and now closely tied industry groups, have backed the 2050 target publicly.

But there is still division within Morrison's ruling coalition.

He faces reelection before May next year and will almost certainly need the stridently pro-coal and climate-sceptic National Party to form a government.

Polls show most Australians favour concrete action to tackle climate change, with those calls only intensifying following a string of climate-worsened bushfires and other natural disasters.

© 2021 AFP

Big drop in US teen vaping seen with COVID school closures


FILE - In this Jan. 31, 2020 file photo a woman holds a Puff Bar flavored disposable vape device in New York. Government researchers reported a big drop in teen vaping this year as many U.S. students were forced to learn from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. health officials urged caution in interpreting the numbers Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021, which were collected using an online questionnaire for the first time.

(AP Photo/Marshall Ritzel)


By MATTHEW PERRONE  September 30, 2021

WASHINGTON (AP) — Teen vaping plummeted this year as many U.S. students were forced to learn from home during the pandemic, according to a government report released Thursday.

U.S. health officials urged caution in interpreting the numbers, which were collected using an online questionnaire for the first time. But outside experts said the big decrease in electronic cigarettes use is likely real and makes sense given that young people often vape socially.

“They found a dramatic drop from last year and it’s hard to imagine that doesn’t represent a real decrease in use among high school and middle school students,” said Dr. Nancy Rigotti of Harvard University, who was not involved in the research.

In the national survey, 11% of high school students and less than 3% of middle school students said they were recent users of e-cigarettes and other vaping products, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

That’s a roughly 40% drop from last year, when nearly 20% of high school students and 5% of middle schoolers said they’d recently vaped.

If this year’s numbers hold up, it would be the second big drop in a row, from a peak of 28% for high schoolers in 2019.

Even before the pandemic, a number of new restrictions were curtailing underage use of e-cigarettes. In late 2019, a new federal law raised the purchase age for all tobacco and vaping products from 18 to 21. Shortly afterward, the FDA banned nearly all flavors from small, cartridge-based e-cigarettes, which first sparked the teen vaping craze.

Also, some kids may have been scared off by an outbreak of vaping-related illnesses and deaths; most were tied to a filler in black market vaping liquids that contained THC, the chemical in marijuana that makes users feel high.

For months, tobacco experts have speculated about the potential effect of school closures on vaping, given most teens vape with their friends and get e-cigarettes from their peers.

Rigotti said the decline will have to be confirmed by other surveys due out later this year. It’s also hard to predict whether vaping could rebound now that most schools have returned to in-person classes.

“I’m sure schools are working hard to ensure that doesn’t happen,” she said.

Previously, the survey was always conducted in classrooms. This year’s was done online from January through May to accommodate students both at home and in school. Anti-tobacco advocates point out that students who completed the survey in school reported higher rates of vaping — 16% compared to 8% for students learning at home.

Overall, government officials estimate about 2 million U.S. teens and adolescents are vaping, a number they say is far too high. “E-cigarette use among youth remains a serious public health concern,” said CDC specialist Dr. Karen Hacker, in a statement.

Thursday’s report comes as the FDA is poised to potentially place even bigger limits on the vaping industry. The agency is in the midst of a sweeping federal review to decide which e-cigarette brands and products can stay on the market, after years of regulatory delays.

Earlier this month, the agency announced a ban on thousands of products, but it has not yet ruled on a handful of major manufacturers that account for most sales, including Juul and Vuse.

The new government numbers show teen vaping habits are shifting away from those brands. The top brand cited by high schools students is a disposable e-cigarette called Puff Bar that comes in flavors like pink lemonade, strawberry and mango. Disposable e-cigarettes are not subject to the tight flavor restrictions of products like Juul, which is only available in menthol and tobacco. Only 6% of students who vape said they prefer Juul.

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Follow Matthew Perrone on Twitter: @AP_FDAwriter

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.