New emissions pledges barely affect global heating: UN

Issued on: 09/11/2021 

Earth is on course to heat some 2.7C this century despite a slew of net-zero country plans Andy Buchanan AFP

Glasgow (AFP) – A flurry of emissions pledges around the COP26 climate summit will likely do little to slow global warming, the UN said Tuesday, calling on nations to sharply accelerate their greenhouse gas cuts this decade.

Nations have presented a range of new and enhanced commitments -- including a vow by India to be carbon neutral by 2070 -- in recent weeks as the UN climate summit sets its sights on limiting temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Countries came in to the negotiations far off target, with national emissions-cutting pledges -- known as nationally determined contributions, or NDCs -- put Earth on course to warm a "catastrophic" 2.7C this century.

And a fresh assessment of their new pledges by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) found the outcome was "very similar", largely because the most ambitious emissions cuts are envisaged after 2030.

The report highlights the challenges facing climate negotiations, given the yawning gap between the emissions cuts needed this decade to keep warming to 1.5C and the continuing increases in greenhouse gases pumped into the atmosphere.

COP26 President Alok Sharma said it shows that "there has been some progress but clearly not enough".

"What we have always said is that we want at this COP to able to say with credibility that we are keeping 1.5 alive, and that's what we will be working at over the next few days," he said on Tuesday.
Off target

Experts have said several new pledges at COP26 could have a significant effect, including India's net-zero commitment and an international agreement to cut 30 percent of global methane emissions by 2030.

These have given rise to a number of recalculated global warming projections.

UN Climate Change said last week that countries' renewed NDCs -- updated every five years under the Paris agreement -- would see emissions climb 13.7 percent by 2030 before sharply declining thereafter.

To keep in line with 1.5C, emissions must instead fall 45 percent by then.

International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol said last week if all the pledges were implemented in full and if nations swiftly slashed their emissions then heating could be limited to as much as 1.8C.

But more recent calculations have come in higher.

Looking at just the national plans and announcements, UNEP said they would likely save 500 million tonnes of carbon pollution by 2030.

But it said that, taken together, all current national emissions-reduction plans would still see warming of 2.7C by 2100.

When other net-zero action -- such as carbon offsets and reforestation -- were factored in alongside decarbonisation efforts the warming estimate was 2.1C.

"We are not where we need to be and we need to step up with much more action," said UNEP executive director Inger Andersen.

"At this point, when we look at what has come in in the additional pledges frankly, it's an elephant giving birth to a mouse."
'Kick the can'

UNEP's assessment came on the same day as a similar analysis by the think tank Climate Action Tracker (CAT), which said that if countries fully implement their short-term emissions goals, global heating could be limited to 2.4C this century.

The CAT calculation is based on a 50-percent probability of hitting a given temperature, whereas UNEP's is a more conservative 66 percent.

Teresa Anderson, Climate Policy Coordinator ActionAid International, said the report was "the strongest evidence yet that too many net zero targets aren't worth the paper they're written on".

The latest report came as a who's who of US political heavyweights arrived to underscore America's recommitment to the UN climate process, after former President Donald Trump pulled the country out of the Paris Agreement.

"We come here equipped, ready to take on the challenge and meet the moment," said Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, a day after ex-President Barack Obama told the conference that he understood why young people were "frustrated" with climate inaction.

"This is all about the children. Leaving them a world where they can be healthy, most secure, and more in reach of their fulfilment," Pelosi said.

© 2021 AFP

THE REAL PURPOSE OF ABSTINENCE EDUCATION
U.S. adolescents getting less sex education now than 25 years ago, study finds
By HealthDay News


Researchers say that about half of teens receive minimum standards of sex education, a far lower number than 25 years ago. File Photo by Zurijeta/Shutterstock

Sex Ed -- it's been a staple of public education for decades, but new research shows that only half of American teens are getting instruction that meets minimum standards.

"The findings show that most adolescents are not receiving sex education that will enable them to manage their sexual lives," said study author Leslie Kantor, chair of the Department of Urban-Global Public Health at Rutgers School of Public Health in New Jersey.

Kantor and her team analyzed data from nearly 8,000 U.S. adolescents in the National Survey of Family Growth from 2011-2015 and 2015-2019. They found that in both periods, about half the youths received sex education that met national standards.

More than 75% of teens received instruction about "how to say no to sex," while only about 60% received information about birth control.

In 1995, more than 80% of teens received information about birth control.

Another concerning finding was that a significant percentage of teens do not receive any information about protecting themselves against sexually transmitted diseases before they begin having intercourse.

The researchers also found notable gender and racial disparities in adolescents' access to comprehensive sex education.

Females are more likely than males to receive instruction in waiting until marriage to have sex, while males are more likely than females to be taught about condom use.

Fewer Black and Hispanic males than white males are instructed about birth control, HIV and STI -- sexually transmitted infections -- prevention, and saying no to sex.

Queer youth are less likely than straight youth to be taught about HIV/STI prevention and where to get birth control.

The study was published this month in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

"Policymakers at every level must invest in inclusive and comprehensive sex education programs with an eye toward greater equity and inclusivity," Kantor said in a Rutgers news release.

"The United States is failing adolescents and their families by providing limited sex education to so many of its youth," Kantor added.

"Federal, state and local policymakers must work harder to ensure that sex education is provided that is age appropriate and that education is equitable and meets the needs of all youth rather than leaving some youth less equipped to lead sexually healthy lives," Kantor said.

More information

The American Academy of Pediatrics offers advice on talking to children about sex.

Copyright © 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Lyft to offer rides in fully self-driving vehicles in Las Vegas by 2023


The company said Las Vegas will be the first of several U.S. markets to see the self-driving ride-share vehicles. File Photo by Ronda Churchill/UPI | License Photo

Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Autonomous vehicle technology company Motional announced on Tuesday that it will help offer fully driverless Lyft service within two years -- and they'll pick up their first U.S. passengers in Las Vegas.

Motional, a $4 billion joint venture between Hyundai and auto supplier Aptiv, said Las Vegas will be the first U.S. city to see the driverless vehicles in 2023.

The company said it's been operating driverless technology with Lyft in Las Vegas for three years, and they will use Hyundai's electric IONIQ 5-based robotaxi.

"Lyft's powerful network is the ideal platform for deploying autonomous vehicles at scale," Lyft co-founder and CEO Logan Green said in a statement.

"We can't wait for riders in Las Vegas to be the first to summon fully driverless cars on the Lyft platform."

Motional President Karl Iagnemma said Vegas will be the first of several U.S. markets to see the self-driving ride-share vehicles.

"[We] are now laying the foundation for large-scale deployments of driverless robotaxis," Iagnemma said. "We look forward to beginning this next chapter in Las Vegas, and then quickly scaling to other markets across the Lyft network."

Pakistan's crackdown on free press leaves journalists vulnerable to attacks

Journalists in the South Asian nation are facing draconian media laws and a culture of impunity, which has opened the door to intimidation and threats on social media.


A journalist's union protests a government investigation of an article in Pakistan's 'Dawn' newspaper

Journalists in Pakistan are currently working in an increasingly authoritarian environment, and encounter systemic censorship, violence and limits on free speech, according to Pakistani and international media watchdogs.

One report from the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), released last week in conjunction with the UN's "International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists," highlighted the "increasingly repressive environment" faced by Pakistani journalists.

The report said journalists publishing work online are "often on the receiving end of hate, threats and abuse."

"The past year has seen the continuation of trends to threaten and intimidate journalists online. While both private individuals online and members of the government continue to participate and initiate trends against certain media professionals and organizations, there is also an increased focus on setting up rules for social media platforms," the report said.

In June, a draft law was proposed for a government entity called the Pakistani Media Development Authority (PMDA), which would have sole power over media regulation in Pakistan.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said the PMDA would be able to hand down "arbitrary decisions with no possibility of appeal by journalists or public," and compared it to a "centralized censorship office typical of the worst authoritarian regimes."

Another proposal in October from Pakistan's Information Technology and Telecommunication Ministry is called the "Removal and Blocking of Unlawful Online Content."

It would give authorities the "right to control and censor any type of message posted on social media platforms," RSF said.

Pakistan is currently ranked 145th out of 180 countries in RSF's World Press Freedom Index.

'Dissent treated like a crime' in Pakistan

Rimmel Mohydin, a South Asia campaigner with Amnesty International, told DW that media in Pakistan is facing a "structural attack" by authorities.

This includes applying pressure on independent media houses, their advertisers, their owners and individual journalists to "toe the line," and not hold power to account.

"Dissent is being consistently treated like a crime," Mohydin said.

"Journalists have faced physical violence, censorship and now face the possibility of the PMDA actually materializing, which will further curb the journalistic freedom," she added.

Press freedom under attack under PM Khan?

Pakistan's censorship drive and attacks on press freedom have gathered pace under Prime Minister Imran Khan, who has sought to placate powerful conservative and religious constituencies, say critics.

In July, Khan was featured on the RSF's "red list," along with several other heads of government who have clamped down on press freedom.

"Press freedom is in a decidedly not good place in Pakistan," Michael Kugelman, a South Asia expert at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars, told DW.

Kugelman said press crackdowns in Pakistan often play out covertly, with "journalists receiving threats and warnings, media houses punished by having their advertisers removed, and media personnel feeling compelled to self-censor."

Ismat Jabeen, an Islamabad-based journalist and press freedom activist, told DW that Pakistan is facing one of its " worst periods of coercive censorship that is both overt and covert."

"This is in proportion to the rising intolerance of a state dominated by security imperatives that it doesn't want scrutiny of," Jabeen said. She added that it is not in the interest of the government to provide a space for dissent in the media.

Female journalists face online harassment

In Pakistan, female journalists say they are increasingly targeted online with harassment, including rape threats, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New York based media watchdog.

Mohydin from Amnesty International said that many female journalists self-censor or stop posting articles online altogether in order to avoid harassment.

"Many of these journalists have told Amnesty International that they have had to deactivate their personal social media accounts," Mohydin said. Some of the attacks even come from officials, she added.

"If authorities object to the work of a journalist, they have the right of reply, but must never target them on the basis of their gender or use abusive language," she said.

"Authorities have a particular responsibility to protect women from gender discrimination and must lead by example and demonstrate through their own actions why journalists must be respected and protected, and discourage attacks launched by their supporters or trolls," Mohydin added.

Online media the last space for free speech

With mainstream media outlets in Pakistan subject manipulation and restriction by authorities, online spaces relatively offer better alternatives for freedom of expression.

"In Pakistan, social media and the broader online space are really the sole remaining repository for liberal and progressive thought, and that includes criticism of the state and especially the military," analyst Kugelman said.

"It's natural that the state would seek to crack down on online dissent. And in a country with a highly patriarchal and sexist society, it's unsurprising that women journalists would face the brunt of this," he added.

Attacks on journalists go unpunished

In Islamabad alone over the last six months, around 30 incidents of violence against journalists were reported, but not a single culprit was arrested.

"The community of journalists and media practitioners in Pakistan feel that without specialized laws on safety for them, the impunity of attackers cannot be lessened. The attacks continue to happen because attackers go unpunished," said Jabeen.

Mohydin echoed a similar view, blaming also Pakistani society's general apathy toward what happens to journalists for contributing to the problem.

"The lack of meaningful legislation and its implementation, a general apathy towards what happens to journalists, vicious online campaigns to cast doubt on their credibility, and a misplaced belief that the press presents a threat to the country all combine to make holding attackers accountable a rarity," she underlined.

Interview: UN genocide adviser says Ethiopia's warring parties must talk

The UN's special adviser on genocide prevention, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, says the parties fighting in Ethiopia's war have few options but to negotiate.



Alice Wairimu Nderitu, UN special adviser on the prevention of genocide, is an experienced armed conflict mediator

Alice Wairimu Nderitu of Kenya is the United Nations special adviser on the prevention of genocide. She is also an experienced mediator in the field of peacebuilding and violence prevention, having led as mediator and senior adviser in reconciliation processes.

DW: The situation in Ethiopia is deteriorating at an alarming rate and there have been calls for action from the United Nations, the United States and others. What needs to happen to alleviate the situation?

Alice Wairimu Nderitu: What needs to happen as a matter of urgency is that the African Union Peace and Security Council needs to convene a meeting on Ethiopia.

The other body that needs to do something is IGAD [the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, which is made up of eight East African countries]. African countries are governed by colonial borders and these colonial borders split ethnic communities into two. For example, the Oromo [ethnic group] exists in both Kenya and in Ethiopia, the Somali exist in both Somalia and Ethiopia, and the Luo exist in both Ethiopia and South Sudan. So the danger of cross-border conflict, of spillover from the conflict is very, very huge right now.

We need IGAD to step in. [Ethiopia's neighbors] need to work on ensuring that cross-border conflicts are prevented before they happen and not deal with it when they happen. I welcomed the statements by President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, saying that they were now working around supporting Ethiopia. It is a very positive step.

What actions could we be seeing in the coming days to try to solve this conflict?

This violent conflict has been characterized by the refusal of the parties — and by parties I mean the leadership of the TPLF [Tigray People's Liberation Front], the OLA [Oromo Liberation Army] leadership, and the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy — to engage, to speak. So there is now no option. They have to engage. They have to dialogue. The world will not sit back and allow these transgressions of violence and killings to continue anymore in the name of sovereignty.

The key message that we are putting across, not just from the UN, but internationally, is that sovereignty means responsibility — that they should take responsibility for their actions.

What would be the best solution to the current conflict in the Tigray region?

This is an Ethiopian problem, it's not a Tigray problem. If we solve Tigray today and we don't solve what's happening in [the region of] Oromo, then we will have another issue. People talk about how the Tigray forces are threatening to overrun the capital Addis Ababa. The danger of that, at this moment, is more from the OLA than from the TPLF.

In all the wars that have been fought in the world, ultimately people end up sitting at a table making decisions. So what needs to happen right now to end this conflict? Ethiopian leaders, the Ethiopian prime minister, the TPLS — they must sit at the table now and talk. The Ethiopian prime minister has said over and over again that he cannot negotiate with [the TPLF because it has been designated as] a terrorist organization.

We have to ask Abiy to remember that he's a Nobel laureate for peace and that he needs to sit at the table and not think about sitting with terrorist organizations. He needs to think about which lives he can save next. No more Ethiopians should die because Abiy cannot sit at the table with his fellow Ethiopians.

I know that there has been violence perpetrated by both sides, but at this point in time, all parties must act in the best interests of the average Ethiopian who is sitting in his house cowering in fear, thinking about whether he could be killed or not.

Really for Prime Minister Abiy, I think that the Nobel Peace Prize put him at another level. Whether the Ethiopian comes from Tigray or comes from Amhara or comes from Oromo, we must have the prime minister stepping up and saying: "No more deaths. Nobody will die anymore in this country, and I will now sit at the table in dialogue."

Let him sit with [the African Union envoy, former Nigerian President Olusegun] Obasanjo and with the TPLF and with the OLA and everyone else who is making demands of the state, let them sit together and find a solution. We are here to support that in every possible way.

'Every day we pray for rain': Fuel shortage brings Haiti to brink of water crisis

Video by:Sam BALL

In many parts of Haiti, securing enough water to drink, wash and clean can be a daily struggle, with only half of the population having access to potable water, according to the World Bank. Now though, severe fuel shortages – the result of armed groups blocking access to ports – mean that Haiti's water authority may soon no longer be able to operate water pumps, cutting off the supply to communities around the country

Chile lower house OKs impeachment trial for President Pinera



Chile lower house OKs impeachment trial for President PineraChilean lawmakers have approved the impeachment trial of President Sebastian Pinera over allegations of corruption (AFP/JAVIER TORRES)


Paula Bustamante
Tue, November 9, 2021

Chile's lower house of congress on Tuesday approved an impeachment trial for President Sebastian Pinera over corruption allegations originating from the Pandora Papers leaks.

Lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies garnered the 78 votes required to seek impeachment and advance proceedings to the Senate over Pinera's alleged involvement in the controversial sale of a mining company.

The call for the impeachment of Pinera -- who is in the final stretch of a second non-consecutive term that began in March 2018 -- was presented in early October by members of the opposition, including socialist deputy Jaime Naranjo.


Naranjo took 15 hours on the floor Monday to read from the 1,300-page accusation against the president, arguing Pinera's "impunity" should end in the South American nation rattled by social unrest that broke out in 2019.

The marathon speech was apparently designed to allow another left-wing lawmaker, Giorgio Jackson, to complete a period of quarantine and join the process before it ended so he could vote.

"What we saw was a show," said Juan Jose Ossa, the minister general-secretary of the presidency, an equivalent to the chief of staff.

The case grew as new details emerged about a deal first revealed in the Pandora Papers document leak, which highlighted offshore transactions involving political figures.

Naranjo highlighted potential corruption around the 2010 sale of the huge Dominga mine in Chile when Pinera, a wealthy businessman, was a first-term president.

The Pandora Papers linked Pinera to the sale of Dominga, through a company owned by his children, to businessman Carlos Delano -- a close friend of the president -- for $152 million.

The papers said a large part of the operation was carried out in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven.

"Acting as president, he benefited (himself) and his family in a direct way, with information that he had in the exercise of his office," said Naranjo, adding that Pinera's involvement pushed up the sale price.

Pinera's lawyer Jorge Galvez brought the embattled president's defense to a close before the chamber, saying: "I beg you, honorable deputies, to reject this improper constitutional accusation."

The case now moves to the Senate, where the effort to remove Pinera from office does not appear to have the necessary votes.

However, the president is barred from leaving the country while the process is under way.

Pinera risks up to five years in jail.

- Controversial clause -

The government in a statement said it hoped the Senate would dismiss the "unjust" accusations it said had "no basis, either in the facts or in law".

Pinera, one of the richest men in Chile, has denied the claims and said he was absolved in a 2017 investigation.

It is the second impeachment case brought against Pinera after an unsuccessful attempt to remove him from office in 2019 over an at-times brutal crackdown on anti-inequality protesters.

The Pandora Papers said a controversial clause was included in the Dominga deal that made the final payment of the sale conditional on "not establishing an area of environmental protection in the area of operations of the mining company, as demanded by environmental groups."

According to the investigation, the Pinera government at the time decided not to protect the area around the mine.

Galvez denied Pinera "intervened in the decision to sell" the mine, or that the decision to not protect the area was linked to the sale.

Dominga owns two open-air mines in the Atacama desert, 500 kilometers (310 miles) north of Santiago, that are yet to be exploited.

A mining project to do so was approved by a regional court but has yet to be ratified by the Supreme Court due to appeals.

The project included the construction of a cargo port close to an archipelago that is home to a national park reserve hosting protected species including 80 percent of the world's Humboldt penguins.

pb/lm/ssy-bc/mlr/jh

Israel Using Facial Recognition Surveillance In Palestinian City


By Ben Simon
11/09/21

Israel's army has deployed a sweeping personal data collection programme using facial recognition technology targeting Palestinians in parts of the occupied West Bank, an organisation working with former soldiers said Tuesday.

The programme sees Israeli troops collecting data of Palestinians in the flashpoint city of Hebron. It was first reported by The Washington Post based on soldier testimony given to the Breaking the Silence organisation.

Soldiers on patrol equipped with specialised devices "take photos of every Palestinian that they see, completely arbitrarily," Breaking the Silence advocacy director Ori Givati told AFP.

After the picture is taken, the system known as "Blue Wolf" generates four possible results, according to Givati who said the findings were based on testimony from six soldiers who participated in the surveillance effort.

A man points at surveillance cameras in the Palestinian city of Hebron, where an organisation working with former soldiers says facial recognition technology is targeting Palestinians

 Photo: AFP / HAZEM BADER

A red result means the individual should be arrested, yellow means the Palestinian should be detained while an army superior is consulted, and green indicates the individual is free to go.

But no result means the Palestinian is not yet in the Blue Wolf system. That prompts the soldier to collect more data.

Asked for comment on the reports about Blue Wolf, Israel's army said it "conducts routine security operations" in the West Bank as part of its "fight against terrorism."

"Naturally, we cannot comment on the IDF's operational capabilities in this context," a spokesman said, referring to the Israeli Defense Forces.

Hebron is the only Palestinian city with Jewish settlers living inside it, making the city "the best place" to test Blue Wolf, Breaking the Silence deputy director Nadav Weiman told AFP.

Israeli soldiers walk past surveillance cameras in Hebon, the only Palestinian city with Jewish settlers living inside it

 Photo: AFP / HAZEM BADER

He spoke in central Hebron near the holy site known to Muslims as the Ibrahimi mosque and to Jews as the Cave of the Patriarchs.

The settlers are guarded by heavy military protection in an urban area, which increases contact between soldiers and Palestinian residents, and the city's vast network of security cameras has been integrated into Blue Wolf, Weiman said.

According to Givati, soldiers have competed for prizes over who takes the most pictures.

"We are talking about another layer of control. Another layer of things that we allow ourselves to do to the Palestinian people," Givati said.

Speaking to AFP from her apartment that overlooks Hebron's Al-Shuhada street -- once a bustling market area but closed to Palestinians for more than 20 years -- Zulaikha Muhtaseb said her neighbourhood was "surrounded by cameras."

She spoke through a door that once opened onto Al-Shuhada street but was welded shut after Israel closed the street, citing security concerns, after Jewish extremist Baruch Goldstein murdered 29 Palestinians in Hebron in 1994.

Muhtaseb said she had not knowingly had direct exposure to Blue Wolf. But as a Palestinian Hebron resident she felt the perpetual nature of Israeli surveillance.

"For the Palestinians it is a kind of violation. Nobody likes to be watched all the time," she said.

Israel has occupied the West Bank -- where more than two million Palestinians live -- since the 1967 Six Day War. Roughly 475,000 Jewish settlers now live in the Palestinian territory, in communities widely regarded as illegal under international law.
Copyright AFP. All rights reserved.

Famine-stricken Madagascar calls for 'climate empathy' at COP26



Famine-stricken Madagascar calls for 'climate empathy' at COP26The UN has said people in Madagascar have resorted to eating cactus, wild leaves and locusts (AFP/RIJASOLO)

Kelly MACNAMARA
Tue, November 9, 2021, 

As the world's first climate change-driven famine ravages her tropical island homeland, Madagascar's environment minister is in Scotland to warn that other countries could find themselves suffering a similar fate.

A multi-year drought has desiccated farmland across the southern part of the Indian Ocean island known for its rich biodiversity, with no end to the crisis in sight.

More than 1.3 million people are severely hungry and tens of thousands are facing famine conditions that the United Nations says are driven by global heating.

In desperation, many are eating locusts, wild leaves and cactus that normally serve as food for cattle, according to the World Food Programme.

"The situation is critical," said Environment Minister Baomiavotse Vahinala Raharinirina.

But in a year where disasters magnified by climate change have touched every continent on the planet, she wants the nations gathered for UN climate talks to realise that this is just the beginning.

"We appeal for climate solidarity," she told AFP, calling on nations to act to halt the march of calamities across the world.

"What we are living through now, others could experience," she told AFP.

"Desertification, islands under water -- a large part of the lands in the south will disappear but so will cities here in the northern hemisphere.

"We must take decisions and act to prevent this type of situation from happening in other countries."

- 'Question of behaviour' -

Already people are faced with desertification and temperatures of 45 degrees Celsius "throughout the year", said Raharinirina.

"The lack of water, the women who now travel 20 kilometres to fetch a container of water, these are the realities," she said.

Madagascar has always suffered prolonged dry spells, but now they are intensifying and if global heating is not halted, she said these punishing droughts could scorch three-quarters of the country by 2080, affecting some 20 million people.

To have a hope of avoiding this fate, energy intensive lifestyles in the rich world -- from taking cheap flights for holidays to using gas heaters on outside terraces -- will have to change.

"This rise in temperature will only be stopped if there is also a change in consumption and production patterns in the so-called polluting countries," she said, adding people and governments all need to play a part.

But she is worried that there is a "psychological distance" that prevents those who have not experienced a situation like Madagascar's from understanding the realities of these climate change-driven calamities.

"It's called empathy, climate empathy, maybe it's a new term but that's what it takes -- empathy from north to south, and between citizens," she said.

"It means telling yourself that your own act of purchase, of consumption, can impact others."

- Children wasting away -

Across Madagascar's vast southern tip, the worst drought in decades has transformed fields into desolate dust bowls. Some villages have been abandoned.

Last week the UN said nearly 30,000 people were now officially affected by famine in the country, and more than 1.3 million others were considered to be in a food security crisis or emergency.

Half a million children are acutely malnourished, including 110,000 suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

Officials described "heartbreaking" scenes of children wasting away.

And things could get worse.

The "lean season" has only just begun and people face another six months before the next harvest. If it comes in.

There is scant hope in the weather forecast. Only 450 millimetres of rain is expected for the whole year, according to Raharinirina, the equivalent of a month's worth.

- Empathy, not pity -

The biting drought is also worsening threats for Madagascar's unique biodiversity, including lemurs and the baobab tree she said, as people leave their homes and move into other regions.

"We are perhaps the only generation able to save this unique part of the world, which we must bequeath to future generations," she said.

She is hoping that the international community will show "climate solidarity to help Madagascar preserve what remains, to reforest, to restore what is damaged".

The COP26 meeting in Glasgow has been rocked by tensions over delays in promises of funding from rich countries historically responsible for the greenhouse gasses driving climate change, to developing nations with low emissions.

But Raharinirina said the conference was able to give voices from a nation like Madagascar a platform they might not otherwise have.

"We still believe in the ability of the world to come together and make intelligent decisions collectively," she said.

And she is adamant that climate "empathy does not mean pity".

"It is how I can access levers to change things so that others can project themselves for the future."

abd-klm/mh/jxb

Facebook will no longer allow advertisers to target political beliefs, religion, sexual orientation
Amanda Silberling@asilbwrites / •November 9, 2021


Facebook announced today that it will no longer allow advertisers to target users based on potentially “sensitive” topics like health, sexual orientation, or religious and political beliefs. “Lung cancer awareness,” “LGBT culture” and “Jewish holidays” are just some of the interest categories that will no longer be targeted starting early next year.

“The decision to remove these Detailed Targeting options was not easy and we know this change may negatively impact some businesses and organizations,” the company wrote in a blog post, saying input from civil rights experts, policymakers and other stakeholders contributed to its decision. Advertising revenue is Facebook’s leading source of income, so any major change to ad policy can have significant ramifications.

Facebook can target users based on information provided in their profile, like their age, location or gender. But the platform never made it possible to target people based on the sexual orientation listed in their profile, a representative from the company told TechCrunch. Rather, the advertising that will be removed refers to ads that are served based on your profile’s interest categories.


Facebook assigns these interest categories to your profile based on your activity. Based on how you engage with Facebook content, you might be assigned categories that Facebook would call “sensitive,” like “American Jewish culture,” “LGBT rights” or “Barack Obama.” Starting January 19, advertisers will no longer be able to target their ads based interests like these. Other interest groups like “rock climbing” and “knitting,” not being sensitive, will still be targetable — there are tens of thousands of these categories, sensitive or not.

Users can see their profile’s interest groups by navigating on desktop to Settings and Privacy > Settings > Ads > Ad Settings > Categories used to reach you > Interest Categories. If you don’t want to receive ads based on a certain interest, you can opt out.

This change in ad policy comes as Meta — the newly renamed parent company to the Facebook platform — faces increased scrutiny after a series of senate hearings related to documents leaked by whistleblower Frances Haugen. As more documents are leaked to the press, Meta has gone on the defensive, claiming that some journalists’ reporting has misrepresented its actions.

But Facebook’s ad policy has been a topic of concern for years. Leading up to the US Presidential election in 2020, Facebook placed limitations on the kinds of political ads that could be created. In 2018, Facebook conducted a similar removal of over 5,000 targeting options for ads after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) filed a complaint against Facebook that accused it of helping landlords and home sellers violate the Fair Housing Act. Before that, in 2016, Facebook disabled “ethnic affinity” targeting for housing, employment and credit-related ads after a ProPublica report suggested that these capabilities could be used for discriminatory advertising. When it comes to housing and employment, it’s illegal to target ads based on certain demographics. Another report from ProPublica spurred Facebook to remove ad targeting based on anti-Semitic interest categories.