Yale releases updated list of over 500 Western companies leaving or staying in Russia

Some 450 Western companies have said they will leave, or at least suspend, their business in Russia, but many major companies refuse to go, as their business is too big.

By bne IntelliNews March 26, 2022

Following Russia’s attack on Ukraine on February 24 an estimated 450 Western companies have “left” the Russian market. However, many have only “suspended” their business, while others have “scaled down” their operations, and a significant share of big western businesses have refused to leave. US university Yale has put together a comprehensive list of well over 500 companies, split into five categories, detailing who is leaving, who is suspending and who is staying in Russia.

“Originally conceptualised as a simple "withdraw" vs. "remain" list, our new list of companies now consists of five categories:” Yale said in a note on its website.

1) WITHDRAWAL – clean break: companies completely halting Russian engagements/exiting Russia;

2) SUSPENSION – Keeping options open for return: companies temporarily curtailing operations while keeping return options open;

3) SCALING BACK – Reducing activities: companies scaling back some business operations while continuing others;

4) BUYING TIME – Holding off new investments/developments: companies postponing future planned investment/development/marketing while continuing substantive business;

5) DIGGING IN – Defying demands for exit: companies defying demands for exit/reduction of activities

“Yale’s list is being updated continuously by Yale staffer Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and his team of experts, research fellows and students at the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute, to reflect new announcements from companies in as close to real time as possible,” Yale said.

This is the fifth iteration of the list which was first published in the week of February 28, when the first several dozen companies announced their departure. Hundreds of companies have withdrawn in the weeks that have followed.

European companies are torn between staying thanks to very significant investments and revenues generated from their Russian operations, and the reputational damage caused by refusing to leave.

bne IntelliNews has been following the corporate story closely and reporting on the departure of the major banks and companies. While some Western companies pulled out immediately, many others have defied public opinion. Western retailers are especially reluctant to leave. Swiss-based Nestle initially refused to leave, but when a public awareness campaign was launched online, featuring Nestle chocolate bars soared in blood, the company announced that it was “suspending” its work in Russia.

French retailer Auchan has also defied public opinion and will remain in Russia. The company has invested heavily in building up an extensive network of supermarkets and hypermarkets that generate over $3.5bn in revenues a year. The French DIY store Leroy Merlin and German cash & carry chain Metro have also both decided to remain in Russia and earn $4bn and $3bn a year in revenues respectively.

Several banks with big exposure to Russia have also ignored the exodus. Goldman Sachs was the first of the western banks to leave, having left before in the last big crisis in 1998, only to return again in the booming noughties. Deutsche Bank has also left after initially hesitating. The German bank has deep ties in Russia and its former CEO, Josef Ackermann, was a personal friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin. But the bank pulled out a week ago as public opinion, especially in Germany, turned on Russia. The Italian bank UniCredit, one of the three biggest foreign banks in Russia by assets, is currently sitting on the fence saying a decision to leave Russia could not be taken “quickly or lightly.”

On the list of banks that have definitely decided to stay, unless public opprobrium becomes too great, is Credit Suisse that has $1bn of exposure to Russia. The bank’s CEO, Thomas Gottstein, said on March 16 that it had “not decided whether to withdraw from Russia” and revealed that 4% of its liabilities was from deposits it holds for Russian businessmen in Switzerland and other jurisdictions. Switzerland said this week it had frozen a total of $6.5bn of money belonging to Russian oligarchs as it matched the EU sanctions. The bank was accused earlier this month trying to shred the evidence of $1.7bn worth of loans Credit Suisse had made to oligarchs used to buy luxury yachts, among other things.

Austria’s Raiffeisen International Bank (RIB) is another western bank with deep roots in Russia. RIB was an early entrant into the Russian market in the 1990s and built up a considerable trade financing business, before moving into retail, where it was for many years the dominant player amongst the foreign banks operating in Russia. RIB pioneered quality retail bank services and has grown its exposure to Russia to $25bn today.

French bank Société Générale is another bank that specifically targeted Russia as a growth market and in the boom years intended to make Russia its biggest business outside France. The bank has been equally reluctant to leave following the invasion of Ukraine and has a $20bn exposure to Russia today, according to reports.

Politicians are also worried about the impact of the war in Ukraine spilling over to hurt thier economies. According to fresh Ifo estimates, business sentiment in Germany fell in March to its lowest level since January 2021. The business climate index fell from 98.5 to 90.8 following a collapse in business expectations amid the war in Ukraine and the associated surge in energy and several other commodity prices.

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Role of Prensa Latina, Telesur in Media Warfare Recognized


ALBA-TCP Executive Secretary, Sacha Llorenti, visits Prensa Latina headquarters in Havana. | Photo: Twitter @PrensaLatina_cu

Published 26 March 2022

Sacha Llorenti, executive secretary of ALBA-TCP recognized in Havana the role played by alternative news agencies such as Prensa Latina and Telesur in the current global corporate media disinformation drive.

The executive secretary of ALBA-TCP, Sacha Llorenti, acknowledged the role of media outlets such as Prensa Latina and Telesur in the fight against corporate media aggression on countries of the bloc striving for Latin American integration.

RELATED:
Cuba Will Continue Supporting ALBA-TCP: President Diaz-Canel

Llorenti made these statements during a visit to Prensa Latina's main office in Havana, where he underlined the vitality and validity of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of Our America-People’s Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP).

In a meeting with the chairman of Prensa Latina, Luis Enrique González, the former Bolivian minister and diplomat denounced the punitive policies and the media warfare against Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and his own country. These policies are based on disinformation, and driven by the U.S. government, he added.



He praised the role played by the bloc in confronting COVID-19 and in particular Cuba’s effort to help other nations and share its vaccines.

Sacha Llorenti is about to conclude an intense work agenda in Cuba, where he met with President Miguel Díaz-Canel, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, and other government officials and civil society personalities.

US asks Sri Lanka to end detentions, improve rights

A woman belonging to the Sri Lankan minority Tamil ethnic group holds up a photo of her husband who disappeared during the final stage of the Sri Lankan Civil War (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)

By: Sarwar Alam

• 25 March, 2022

The United States urged Sri Lanka on Wednesday to end detentions under its draconian anti-terror laws and ensure justice for wartime atrocities.

Sri Lanka’s rights record has drawn the ire of the international community with Colombo accused of carrying out war-time atrocities against its Tamil minority during the decades-long civil war that ended in 2009.

Under pressure from the European Union — which threatened to revoke the country’s favourable trade status — Sri Lanka’s parliament on Tuesday amended its controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) but opposition lawmakers have said the changes will not stop abuses under the law.

On Wednesday, US under secretary for political affairs, Victoria Nuland stressed “the importance of the non-governmental sector, journalists and civil society, and ending surveillance, ending detention (under the PTA) and ending harassment,” after talks with local leaders in capital Colombo.

Her remarks came a day after Colombo reduced detention without judicial supervision under the PTA from 18 to 12 months.

“We commend the first steps… particularly the amendments passed yesterday to the PTA and the release of soft prisoners,” she said.

“There is more to do.”

As many as 78 Tamil prisoners are behind bars under the act without being formally charged, some of them for more than three decades.

Rights activists have also said they face increasing pressure from security authorities while many journalists have complained of attacks and intimidation.

Nuland arrived in Sri Lanka on Tuesday night on a brief overnight visit after travelling to Bangladesh and India.

She said improving human rights will ease cooperation around security between Washington and Colombo.

“As you take those steps (to improve rights), it will open even more space for our partnership, particularly in the security arena,” she said.

The US called for a credible investigation before the UN Human Rights Council into allegations that Sri Lanka’s military killed at least 40,000 Tamil civilians in the final stages of the war.

Colombo has denied killing any civilians and resisted calls for an independent probe.

Nuland also said that Washington was willing to provide unspecified help as Colombo seeks an IMF seeking bailout to ease its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948.

Protests have erupted in the country with people lining up for hours for food, fuel and medicines with Colombo short of dollars to finance critical imports.

“As you roll up your sleeves and do the hard work to strengthen and heal the economy here, the United States will be your partner,” she said.

Kenya: Court Declares Abortion-Related Arrests, Prosecutions Illegal


Bill Oxford/Unsplash
Judge's gavel (file photo).

26 MARCH 2022
Capital FM (Nairobi)By Jemimah Mueni

Malindi — The High Court in Malindi has declared abortion related arrests and prosecution illegal.

The landmark ruling made on Friday now protects patients seeking abortion services as well as healthcare providers offering the services.

While making the ruling, the court noted that abortion care is a fundamental right under the Constitution of Kenya and that protecting access to abortion impacts vital Constitutional values, including dignity, autonomy, equality, and bodily integrity.

It also ruled that criminalizing abortion under Penal Code without Constitutional statutory framework is an impairment to the enjoyment of women's reproductive right

The court case in question, which was filed in November 2020, involved PAK, a minor aged 16 from Kilifi County, after she experienced pregnancy related complications and sought medical care at a nearby clinic.

Upon examining her, the clinical officer determined that she had lost a pregnancy and proceeded to provide her with the needed care, an incident that prompted police officers to storm the clinic and arrest the girl along with the clinical officer alleging offence of abortion.

The clinical officer was detained for one week while the girl was remanded to a juvenile remand for more than a month as she sought to secure the cash bail for her release.

The court further directed Parliament to enact an abortion law and public policy framework that aligns with the Constitution.

In Kenya, the 1963 Penal Code criminalizes all abortion care, including those allowed under the Constitution 2010.

The Constitution permits abortion if in the opinion of a trained health professional, there is need for emergency treatment, or the life or health of the mother is in danger.

Evelyne Opondo, Senior Regional Director for Africa at Center for Reproductive Rights said, "Today's victory is for all women, girls, and healthcare providers who have been treated as criminals for seeking and providing abortion care.

UK
A new Covid variant could be worse than Omicron, Professor Sir Chris Whitty warns

He said that people should expect significant problems in 'all parts of the world for the rest of our lives'


Ben Reid

SEO writer
24 MAR 2022

PROFESSOR SIR CHRIS WHITTY SAYS NEW VARIANTS OF COVID COULD CAUSE 'SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS' - AND RECOMMENDS PEOPLE CONTINUE TO ISOLATE IF THEY HAVE COVID

Rates of Covid-19 are “high and rising” in England, the nation’s chief medical officer has said, as he warned of increases in hospital admissions over the next fortnight. Professor Sir Chris Whitty said the virus was causing pressure in the NHS but that high rates of transmission were fortunately not translating into intensive care (ICU) cases and deaths.

Meanwhile, he said people should not expect an “end point” to Covid-19. Prof Whitty said the virus will steadily become “less dominant” and likely become a seasonal disease.

He said people should expect significant problems in “all parts of the world for the rest of our lives”. Prof Whitty also said school closures due to the pandemic were likely to have caused “substantial” issues for some children.

Read more: Dr Hilary Jones gives Covid warning on ITV Good Morning Britain

Chief Medical Officer, Sir Chris Whitty addresses the nation during a press conference on plan for "Living With Covid'" at Downing Street Briefing Room on February 21, 2022 in London, England. (Image: Getty Images)

And he has stated that the UK would likely be hit by seasonal waves of Covid for the next 'two or three years'. That will be 'interspersed' by new variants of varying seriousness.

He said: "There's a high chance that we will all be discussing and I will be discussing with my colleagues, a new variant at some point in the next two years that actually significantly changes our balance of risk. We could well end up with a new variant that produces worse problems than we've got with Omicron and the Omicron problems are by no means trivial".

Addressing the Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Public Health’s annual public health conference, Prof Whitty said: “Covid cases are rising quite rapidly from a quite a high base and this is driven by a number of different factors of which BA.2 – the new Omicron variant – is a large part of it.

“I think it’s important firstly to acknowledge that rates are high and rising in virtually all parts of England. This is not translating into the very significant surges in all cause excess mortality, so we are still running at quite low rates in terms of mortality.

“Of course, that doesn’t mean that that is having no impact at all from it – if we look at hospitalisations, there are now quite significant numbers of people in hospital and they are now rising again, and I think will continue to rise for at least the next two weeks. So, there is pressure on the NHS and fortunately this is not translating into cases in ICU, it’s not at the moment translating into significant impact on excess deaths.”

Asked whether the virus had become endemic, he added: “The pandemic is going to become steadily less dominant over time, but we’re going to have a significant problem with it in multiple parts of the world, in all parts of the world in fact, for the rest of our lives. So, let’s have no illusions about that.

“I’m expecting it to probably be seasonal in the UK but interspersed – for the next two or three years – by new variants whilst it’s still evolving to adapt to humans, which may occur in between seasonal peaks. So, I think we should just accept that is what we’re going to deal with and just roll with it rather than expect there is some end point.”

He also warned about the long-term impact of the virus, including the effect of school closures and long Covid. Sir Chris said: “The impact of disrupted schooling on some children is going to be very substantial.

SEC Unveils Landmark Proposed Rules on Climate Change Disclosures

On March 21, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) unveiled its long-anticipated draft proposed rules for mandatory climate disclosures that would align the United States with other developed economies, particularly the EU and the UK, which have focused on financial disclosures related to climate change as a useful tactic to promote environmentally-conscious policies.

At an open meeting, the SEC proposed rules to significantly expand and standardize registrants’ climate-related disclosures for investors. The proposed rules would employ mandatory, prescriptive disclosures in periodic reports and registration statements to address topics related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and global climate change.

Under the proposed rules, companies would disclose their own direct and indirect GHG emissions, known as Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. The rules would also require companies to disclose GHG generated by suppliers and partners, known as Scope 3 emissions, if they are material or included in any emissions targets the company has set.

While materiality remains a touchstone for the majority of the proposed rules, certain disclosures—including GHG emissions—are now mandatory regardless of the circumstances. These disclosures are required to be incorporated into existing SEC filings, rather than a separate climate-focused document. The SEC has also provided for an extended roll-out of the rules (see below), with full compliance not expected for several years, and has also incorporated safe harbor provisions related to certain disclosures, notably for Scope 3 GHG emissions.

SEC chair Gary Gensler said the agency was responding to investor demand for consistent information on how climate change will affect the financial performance of companies they invest in. The proposed rule would require disclosures on Form 10-K about a company’s governance, risk management, and strategy with respect to climate-related risks. Moreover, the proposal would require disclosure of any targets or commitments made by a company, as well as its plan to achieve those targets and its transition plan, if it has them.

See below highlights of the proposal, which are subject to public comment.

CLIMATE-RELATED RISKS

The proposed rule requires U.S.-listed companies to disclose climate-related risks and their “actual or likely material impacts” on the company’s business, strategy and outlook. This could include the physical risks posed by climate change, such as flooding or wildfires, but also risks that may result from government policies aimed at mitigating climate risks, such as a carbon tax or other new regulations.

CLIMATE RISK GOVERNANCE

Companies will also have to disclose their governance processes and framework for managing climate-related risks, including, for example, the risk-management controls and processes they have in place; what the board is doing to oversee those processes; and the company’s “processes for identifying, assessing, and managing climate-related risks.”

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

Under the proposed rules, companies will have to disclose the GHG emissions they generate both directly and indirectly from purchased electricity and other forms of energy, known as Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, respectively. They will also have to disclose the indirect emissions from upstream and downstream activities in their value chains, known as Scope 3 emissions, “if material” or if they have a greenhouse gas emissions target that includes Scope 3 emissions. Smaller companies will be exempt from this requirement.

GHG emissions data are increasingly being used as a quantitative metric to assess a company’s exposure to—and the potential financial effects of—climate-related transition risks. Those risks could include regulatory, technological, and market risks driven by a transition to a lower greenhouse gas emissions economy, with potential financial impacts on revenues, expenditures, and capital outlays.

In short, all filers would be required to disclose their Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions—emissions that “result directly or indirectly from facilities owned or activities controlled by a registrant.” Moreover, the proposal would phase in Scope 3 disclosures after Scopes 1 and 2; a new safe harbor would be available for Scope 3 disclosures; and smaller reporting companies would be exempt from Scope 3 disclosures.

The core elements of the proposed rules also would apply to international filers on Form 20-F.

CLIMATE TARGETS, TRANSITION PLANS

Companies that have publicly declared climate-related targets or goals must provide details, including “the scope of activities and emissions included in the target,” the deadline, any interim targets, and how they plan to meet their goals. If the company has adopted a transition plan as part of its climate-related risk management strategy, it must disclose “a description of the plan, including the relevant metrics and targets used to identify and manage any physical and transition risks.”

CLIMATE FINANCIAL REPORTING

The proposed rules also would require a company to disclose “certain disaggregated climate-related financial statement metrics that are mainly derived from existing financial statement line items” in a note to its financial statements. This would include the impact of the climate-related events and transition activities on the company’s consolidated financial statements. The disclosures would be included in companies’ registration statements and annual reports, as well as in a note appended to consolidated financial statements.

PHASE-IN PERIOD

The proposed rules would include a phase-in period with compliance dates dependent on the registrant’s filer status as follows:
Large Accelerated Filers:
Fiscal year 2023 (filed in 2024) for all proposed disclosures excluding Scope 3 GHG emissions
Fiscal year 2024 (filed in 2025) for (i) Scope 3 GHG emissions disclosures (if required) and (ii) limited assurance attestation of Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions disclosures and
Fiscal year 2026 (filed in 2027) for reasonable assurance attestation of Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions disclosures.
Accelerated and Non-Accelerated Filers:
Fiscal year 2024 (filed in 2025) for all proposed disclosures excluding Scope 3 GHG emissions
Fiscal year 2025 (filed in 2026) for (i) Scope 3 GHG emissions disclosures (if required) and (ii) for accelerated filers only, limited assurance attestation of GHG emissions disclosures (non-accelerated filers would be exempt from the attestation requirements) and
For accelerated filers only, fiscal year 2027 (filed in 2028) for reasonable assurance attestation of GHG emissions disclosures.
Smaller Reporting Companies:
Fiscal year 2025 (filed in 2026) for all proposed disclosures other than Scope 3 GHG emissions disclosures (smaller reporting companies would be exempt from the requirements to provide Scope 3 GHG emissions disclosures or independent attestation).

See SEC Fact Sheet, Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures (March 22, 2022).

CONCLUSION

The proposed rules draw on our existing rules and guidance governing climate-related disclosures, as well as from the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, an international framework that many companies and countries already have started to adopt, including Brazil, the European Union, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. See, SEC Chair Gensler on Proposed Mandatory Climate Risk Disclosures, Comment, Columbia Law School Blue Sky Blog (March 22, 2022)

The comment period for the proposed rules will remain open for 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, or 60 days after the date of issuance and publication on sec.gov, whichever period is longer.

[View source.]

The Guardian view on record-breaking Arctic temperatures: do look up
Editorial

A heatwave at the north pole and collapsed Antarctic ice shelf are reminders to redouble our efforts, and focus on climate

Weather events in the Arctic and Antarctica bring warnings that climate breakdown could be accelerating.

Photograph: Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

Fri 25 Mar 2022 

A heatwave in the Arctic and the collapse of the Conger ice shelf in East Antarctica bring warnings that climate breakdown could be accelerating. There are signs of melting at weather stations near the north pole, with temperatures 30C above normal. In Antarctica, temperatures are 40C up. While the Conger ice shelf is too small to cause significant sea-level rises, its collapse points to growing instability. These weather events do more than offer proof of the dangers of global heating. They also risk triggering changes that could accelerate the disruption.

When policymakers and the public are focused on war in Ukraine and the rising cost of living, it is hard to be reminded of the existential threat posed by rising temperatures. But the extent to which climate has faded from consciousness in the months since the UN conference in Glasgow is frightening. If we are to avoid the worst effects of global heating, with around half the world’s population said by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to be highly vulnerable, it is imperative to make drastic changes to our global energy system.

Of course, extreme weather at the poles doesn’t affect people in the same way as in densely populated areas. But the truth is that even when large populations are harmed, dangerous weather events in poorer countries do not reliably catch and keep international attention. Generally it takes a crisis in a rich, developed nation for western audiences to take notice of what runaway warming could mean: the record-smashing heat dome in the northern US and Canada last summer, for example, or fires and heatwaves in California and Europe.

Even then, we are learning all the time how quickly memories fade, and how hard it is to keep climate at the top of the agenda. The world’s political and economic systems were not built to conserve the Earth’s atmosphere. Whether our human focus on short-term goals is learned or hardwired, and whether we regard governments, corporations or civilisation itself as responsible for the failure to dismantle our fossil-fuel-powered global system, one fact is known. As long as emissions keep rising, we are failing to prioritise our collective long-term survival.

It’s not only at the poles that we see climate disaster unfolding. In the Horn of Africa, conditions are the driest since 1981 and scientists believe the failure of three consecutive rainy seasons has been exacerbated by global heating. Somalia faces the risk of famine, with a million malnourished children. In November, Madagascar’s environment minister used the global stage of Cop26 to link high-carbon western lifestyles with the desperate hardship endured by people in her country due to climate-induced droughts – and the failure of western governments to deliver the climate finance that would pay for a pipeline.

Animals, as well as people, are doing their best to adapt to changing conditions. This week, US scientists revealed research showing that many species of birds are building nests and laying eggs around a month earlier than a century ago. Such adjustments are a vital part of the climate message. Without the hope they offer, that we can find ways to live in changed conditions, the danger is that the prospect becomes too scary, prompting reactions of either avoidance or despair. This was the message of the recent film Don’t Look Up, with it satirical portrait of a world hellbent on denial as scientists try to warn about an approaching comet.

It’s essential to stress that the climate crisis is not a comet that will instantly wipe out civilisation. In April, the IPCC will update its recommendations to governments on how to limit emissions. The shift to green power remains achievable. But time is running out.

AFTER 20 YEARS OF WAR NATO FORFIETS TO TALIBAN 

‘Open the schools’: Afghan girls protest in Kabul for right to education

Two dozen girls and women react to Taliban’s decision to shut secondary schools to girls across Afghanistan

Afghan women and girls take part in a protest in front of the Ministry of Education in Kabul. Photograph: Ahmad Sahel Arman/AFP/Getty Images

Agence France-Presse in KabulSat 26 Mar 2022 

About two dozen girls and women chanting “open the schools” protested in the Afghan capital on Saturday against the Taliban’s decision to shut their secondary schools hours after reopening them this week.

Thousands of jubilant girls across Afghanistan had flocked to learning institutions on Wednesday – the date the education ministry had set for classes to resume.

But just hours into the first day, the ministry announced a shock policy reversal that left youngsters saying they felt betrayed and foreign governments expressing outrage.


‘Is it a crime to study?’: outcry as Taliban bar girls from secondary schools

“Open the schools! Justice, justice!” chanted protesters, some carrying school books as they gathered at a city square in Kabul.

They held banners that said: “Education is our fundamental right, not a political plan” as they marched for a short distance and later dispersed as Taliban fighters arrived at the scene.

The protest was the first held by women in weeks after the Taliban rounded up the ringleaders of initial demonstrations held after they returned to power in August.

The Islamists have not given a clear reason for their decision, which came after a meeting late Tuesday of senior officials in the southern city of Kandahar, the Taliban’s de facto power centre and spiritual heartland.

It followed months of work by some foreign countries on a plan to support the payment of teachers’ wages.

Afghan secondary school girls have now been out of education for more than seven months.

“Even the Prophet (Mohammed) said everyone has the right to education, but the Taliban have snatched this right from us,” said one girl, Nawesa, at the demonstration, which was organised by two women’s rights groups.

“The Taliban can not oppress the women of Afghanistan,” said another protester, Laila Basim.

Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban have rolled back two decades of gains made by the country’s women, who have been squeezed out of many government jobs, barred from travelling alone, and ordered to dress according to a strict interpretation of the Koran.

The Taliban had promised a softer version of the harsh Islamist rule that characterised their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001.

But many restrictions have still been imposed – if not at the national level then implemented locally at the whim of regional officials.

Some Afghan women initially pushed back against the Taliban’s curbs, holding small protests where they demanded the right to education and work.

But the Taliban soon rounded up the ringleaders, holding them incommunicado while denying that they had been detained.

Since their release, most have gone silent.

Lockdown for chickens leaves UK without free-range eggs

Free range eggs are no longer available on UK supermarket shelves, as the "largest ever outbreak" of bird flu has kept hens inside for months.

Updated / Tuesday, 22 Mar 2022 

Free-range eggs are no longer available on UK supermarket shelves, as the "largest ever outbreak" of bird flu has kept hens inside for months.

UK-wide measures to tackle the outbreak of avian flu were introduced in late November 2021, with bird keepers legally required to house poultry indoors, such as in large barns for commercial flocks.

Farmers who have to house their birds to protect human and animal health under government rules are allowed to keep the free-range status for eggs for 16 weeks, a grace period which expired yesterday.

That means eggs sold in the UK will now have to be labelled as "barn eggs" and not free-range, until the mandatory housing measures are lifted.

Free-range egg packaging has to have stickers or labels marking them as "barn eggs", and supermarkets have to display information in-store and online to tell consumers what is happening and why.

An Environment Department (Defra) spokesperson said: "We are experiencing our largest ever outbreak of avian flu and housing measures remain in force to protect poultry and other birds from this highly infectious and unpleasant disease.

"We continue to provide support for the poultry sector throughout this challenging time.

"The 16-week grace period we allowed for free-range eggs has now been exceeded, and eggs must now be marketed as 'barn eggs'.

"We have worked closely with the sector and retailers to implement these changes as smoothly as possible."

National Farmers’ Union chief poultry adviser Aimee Mahony said that government advice was that there was still a high level of risk to birds from avian flu, which meant all birds must remain indoors until further notice.

"This is an incredibly difficult time for all bird owners and vigilance remains vital.

"Poultry farmers continue to do all they can to ensure the health and welfare of their flocks, including following stringent biosecurity measures and adding additional enrichments to the bird’s environment such as pecking blocks and dust baths.

"Shoppers may notice different labels on egg packs as well as point-of-sale information explaining that the eggs have been laid by hens temporarily housed to protect their health and welfare.

"Once the risk levels have reduced and the housing measures have been lifted by Defra, birds will be able to go outside again," she said.