Tunisian comedian threatens to leave country after police attack

Lotfi Abdelli filmed a heated exchange with the police in the middle of his performance at the International Festival of Sfax. His one-man show had to end early.

By Lilia Blaise (Tunis (Tunisia) correspondent)

LeMONDE

Published on August 10, 2022 

The scene was not a planned part of the evening's program. In the middle of a one-man show, on Sunday, August 7, at the International Festival of Sfax, the comedian Lotfi Abdelli filmed himself, on stage, following a heated exchange with plainclothes officers. "Did I insult the police? Did I say mean things?" he asked, phone in hand, using an audience of several thousand people as witnesses, while the general confusion on stage led to the show's early end. The incident was broadcast live on Facebook.

"I am permanently leaving the country... you have stolen the little hope I had," the performer announced the next day. The cancellation of the show at Sfax following a verbal altercation between the performer and police officers has quickly revived the debate on freedom of expression in Tunisia. The Tunisian League of Human Rights issued a statement condemning the police's "interference" in the show and "the attack on the right of expression and creativity."

A provocative comedian with 2 million followers on Instagram, Mr. Abdelli is no stranger to using rude puns in the Tunisian dialect. And he spares no one: not political figures, nor institutions. Though the audience may appreciate it, the authorities are increasingly wary.
'Guardians of morality'

Sunday night, the sketch that started the fire was about Mr. Abdelli's grandmother's unpaid electricity bills. The comedian told off the police, the government, the president and the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company (STEG), using his middle finger by touching his genitals. Outraged, the police officers who were present to maintain security threatened to leave the area.

On Tuesday, the spokesperson for the Response Unit Branch Officers' Union, Mohamed Messai, accused the performer of "inciting hatred toward police officers." Another union announced that the police would boycott security for shows that offend morality.Read more Subscribers only Tunisia: 'The presidential project of a new Constitution is dangerous'

However, the tone was completely different from the Ministry of the Interior, which issued a statement the same day pledging that they would continue to ensure security at festivals. The ministry recalled that "an obscene gesture by the comedian" during the show in Sfax had "angered the police," but that Mr. Abdelli and his team had then been escorted to their hotel without incident. Nevertheless, the prosecutor's office has opened an investigation because, according to several witnesses, the performer's producer, Mohamed Boudhina, was allegedly attacked after the show. Police unions have denied this version of the events.

The incident has inflamed online debate in Tunisia on freedom of expression, some lamenting that it is now being threatened. "The police pose as guardians of morality in an already worrisome situation for freedoms," said lawyer Wahid Ferchichi, president of the Association for the Defense of Individual Liberties. He added, "Everyone knows this comedian's flair, and Tunisian audiences accept many things that are considered indecent if they're said on stage. The reaction of the police unions is shocking."
'Look where the country is headed!'

Since the coup on July 25, 2021, through which President Kais Saied claimed full powers for himself by establishing an emergency government, Parliament has been dissolved, the High Judicial Council has been abolished and replaced by a new one appointed by the head of state and civilians have been prosecuted before military courts. This concentration of powers within the presidency was finally ratified in a referendum voted on July 25. The new Constitution, which combines an all-powerful president and religious conservatism, was approved by 94% of voters – with a turnout of 30.5%.

Mr. Abdelli has not hidden the fact that he was in favor of voting "yes" on the referendum. That support did not prevent him, on Sunday night in Sfax, from challenging President Saied. "Look where the country is headed!" he said after his altercation with the police.

The rest of the comedian's summer shows have been canceled by his production team, believing that the comedian is no longer safe. Some fear the return of a police state. Lotfi Hamadi, a commentator with tens of thousands of followers on social media, posted a reminder on Facebook of the incidents that took place in 2013 between the police and Tunisian rappers. One of them, Weld 15, wrote a song called "Boulicia Kleb" ("Cops Are Dogs") and was sentenced to two years in prison for insulting an officer. The rapper was also beaten up by the police after one of his concerts.

As for Mr. Abdelli, he had to cancel several shows in 2020 following a controversy over a joke about the underwear of a female politician, MP Abir Moussi. At the time, the comedian said the president expressed his support and refused any form of censorship.Read more Kais Saied's dangerous plan for Tunisia

Lilia Blaise(Tunis (Tunisia) correspondent)

Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.

CYBER HACKER

Morocco court approves extradition of Frenchman to the US

August 9, 2022 

Paul Raoult, 63, the father of detained Sebastien Raoult, shows a phone bearing a portrait of his son in Epinal, eastern France, on August 1, 2022

 [JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN/AFP via Getty Images]

August 9, 2022

The Supreme Court of Morocco approved the deportation of French citizen Sebastien Raoult to the United States, where he is wanted in a case of computer hacking. His family is demanding he be repatriated to France.

The decision stated that the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation (Supreme Court) in Rabat is "approving the extradition of the wanted Sebastian Raoult to the judicial authorities of the United States of America who demanded him."

A Moroccan source close to the file explained that "the court's decision remains an opinion of approval and not an extradition order, as its implementation is up to the Moroccan government."

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, explained that "the implementation of the deportation would be following a decision by the prime minister, based on advice from a specialised committee that includes representatives of the ministries of justice and foreign affairs."

Moroccan police arrested 21-year-old Raoult on 31 May upon his arrival at Rabat-Salé Airport from France, where he was being pursued by the International Police (Interpol) at the request of the American judiciary.

The FBI suspects Raoult belongs to a hacker group called "Chinese Hunters", whose members are accused of committing "profitable" hacking operations targeting companies including Microsoft.

READ: Egypt asks Interpol to issue Red Notices to 4 Egyptian journalists in Turkiye

The US authorities are demanding his extradition, accusing him of involvement in a "conspiracy of electronic fraud", "electronic scam" and "serious identity theft", according to the French magazine Le Nouvel Observateur, which revealed the news of his arrest.

However, his lawyer, Philip Ohayon, is calling for his deportation to France to be prosecuted based on an "investigation opened by the French judiciary" and not the American one. Raoult's defence is based on the fact that "he lived only in France and Morocco, and if there was piracy, it took place from France."

Ohayon said on Tuesday that the decision of the Moroccan Court of Cassation "increases our determination to obtain a decision to extradite Sebastien Raoult to France."

"We consider that France has abandoned him," he added.

However, French Minister of Justice Eric Dupont-Moretti said last week that "there is no possibility of interfering now in the case that currently belongs to the Moroccan judiciary, based on a petition from its American counterpart."

If convicted by the US judiciary, Raoult could face a sentence of up to 116 years in prison, according to Le Nouvel Observateur.

Drought tightens its grip on Morocco

Kaouthar Oudrhiri
Thu, August 11, 2022


Mohamed gave up farming because of successive droughts that have hit his previously fertile but isolated village in Morocco and because he just couldn't bear it any longer.

"To see villagers rush to public fountains in the morning or to a neighbour to get water makes you want to cry," the man in his 60s said.

"The water shortage is making us suffer," he told AFP in Ouled Essi Masseoud village, around 140 kilometres (87 miles) from the country's economic capital Casablanca.

But it is not just his village that is suffering -- all of the North African country has been hit.

No longer having access to potable running water, the villagers of Ouled Essi Masseoud rely solely on sporadic supplies in public fountains and from private wells.


"The fountains work just one or two days a week, the wells are starting to dry up and the river next to it is drying up more and more," said Mohamed Sbai as he went to fetch water from neighbours.


The situation is critical, given the village's position in the agricultural province of Settat, near the Oum Errabia River and the Al Massira Dam, Morocco's second largest.

Its reservoir supplies drinking water to several cities, including the three million people who live in Casablanca. But latest official figures show it is now filling at a rate of just five percent.

Al Massira reservoir has been reduced to little more than a pond bordered by kilometres of cracked earth.

Nationally, dams are filling at a rate of only 27 percent, precipitated by the country's worst drought in at least four decades.
- Water rationing -

At 600 cubic metres (21,000 cubic feet) of water annually per capita, Morocco is already well below the water scarcity threshold of 1,700 cubic metres per capita per year, according to the World Health Organization.


In the 1960s, water availability was four times higher -- at 2,600 cubic metres.

A July World Bank report on the Moroccan economy said the decrease in the availability of renewable water resources put the country in a situation of "structural water stress".

The authorities have now introduced water rationing.

The interior ministry ordered local authorities to restrict supplies when necessary, and prohibits using drinking water to irrigate green spaces and golf courses.

Illegal withdrawals from wells, springs or waterways have also been prohibited.

In the longer term, the government plans to build 20 seawater desalination plants by 2030, which should cover a large part of the country's needs.

"We are in crisis management rather than in anticipated risk management," water resources expert Mohamed Jalil told AFP.

He added that it was "difficult to monitor effectively the measures taken by the authorities".

Agronomist Mohamed Srairi said Morocco's Achilles' heel was its agricultural policy "which favours water-consuming fruit trees and industrial agriculture".
- Key sector -

He said such agriculture relies on drip irrigation which, although it can save water, paradoxically results in increased consumption as previously arid areas become cultivable.

The World Bank report noted that cultivated areas under drip irrigation in Morocco have more than tripled.

It said that "modern irrigation technologies may have altered cropping decisions in ways that increased rather than decreased the total quantity of water consumed by the agricultural sector".


More than 80 percent of Morocco's water supply is allocated to agriculture, a key economic sector that accounts for 14 percent of gross domestic product.

Mohamed, in his nineties, stood on an area of parched earth not far from the Al Massira Dam.

"We don't plough the land anymore because there is no water," he said, but added that he had to "accept adversity anyway because we have no choice".

Younger generations in the village appear more gloomy.

Soufiane, a 14-year-old shepherd boy, told AFP: "We are living in a precarious state with this drought.

"I think it will get even worse in the future."

kao/agr-fka/srm/hc

THE PARTY OF AUSTERITY

Federal Tories racing to the 'extremes,' says former B.C. premier Christy Clark


Thu, August 11, 2022 



OTTAWA — Former British Columbia premier Christy Clark on Wednesday endorsed Jean Charest to be the next leader of the federal Conservatives at a time when she says the party is racing to the extremes.

She also expressed choice words for a pitch from a front-runner in Alberta’s United Conservative Party leadership contest who has vowed to introduce legislation to ignore federal laws.

“I think that is bats--t crazy,” Clark said of Danielle Smith’s proposed Alberta Sovereignty Act.

Clark’s comment followed an impassioned speech she delivered in Edmonton to a room of conservatives gathered to discuss the need for the federal party to stick closer to the political centre.

The event was hosted by Centre Ice Conservatives, an advocacy group that formed at the start of the Tories’ leadership contest to encourage candidates to focus on issues like the economy. It argues that championing affordability measures resonate with mainstream Canadians more than others like fighting pandemic-related health restrictions, which has become a rallying cry for many across conservative movements.

Its co-founder Rick Peterson ran in the party’s 2017 leadership contest and has said the new group will not endorse a candidate in the current race.

Clark was the keynote speaker at Wednesday’s event and only waded into commenting on the contest to replace Alberta Premier Jason Kenney as UCP leader when asked to by an audience member.

Clark, who formerly led the centre-right BC Liberal Party, spoke for roughly 20 minutes about the need for political leaders to focus on what Canadians have in common and not stoke division.

She accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of dividing the country when he said the views of the "Freedom Convoy" protesters who blockaded roads and highways last winter to oppose COVID-19 vaccine mandates were unacceptable.

Clark said politicians who divide create opportunities for others to do the same.

“Now we’re watching the Conservative Party of Canada make its race for the extremes to play to the very edges of the political divide,” she said.

“I think some days their rhetoric is just as bad or even worse.”

Her comments come as party members have less than one month left to cast their ballots to pick the next leader.

The race, which began in February, has been a fight for the party's soul and future direction.

The main rivalry has been between longtime Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre, who is running on a broad campaign message of “freedom,” and ex-Quebec premier Jean Charest, who has condemned the convoy as breaking the rule of law.

Of the 678,000 Conservative members able to vote in the race, the party reports that around 174,000 ballots have been returned ahead of the deadline Sept.6.

Speaking Wednesday, Clark said she recently received her ballot in the mail and will vote in the contest.

“I think Jean Charest would be a fantastic prime minister,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 11, 2022.

Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

South Korea to pardon Samsung's Lee, other corporate giants

GET OUT OF JAIL FREE

KIM TONG-HYUNG
Thu, August 11, 2022 


 Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong walks out from a detention center in Uiwang, South Korea, Aug. 13, 2021. South Korea's president will pardon billionaire Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong a year after he was released on parole after serving 18 months in prison over his involvement in a massive corruption scandal that triggered waves of protests and toppled a presidency. The decision by President Yoon Suk Yeol was announced by his justice minister on Friday, Aug. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's president will formally pardon Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong, one year after he was released on parole from a prison sentence for bribing former President Park Geun-hye as part of the massive corruption scandal that toppled Park's government, the justice minister announced Friday.

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin and two other top business leaders will be pardoned as well, extending South Korea’s history of leniency toward convicted business tycoons and major white-collar crimes. They are among some 1,700 people President Yoon Suk Yeol will pardon on Monday, a national holiday celebrating Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule at the end of World War II.

The pardon of Lee, who was released on parole in August 2021 with a year left on his 30-month term, underscores Samsung’s huge influence over a country that relies on its technology exports. He was convicted of bribing Park and her close confidante, who both were sentenced to lengthier prison terms, to win government support for a 2015 merger between two Samsung affiliates that tightened Lee’s control over the corporate empire.

Lotte’s Shin received a suspended prison term in 2018 on similar charges of bribing Park, whom then-President Moon Jae-in pardoned in December. Other business leaders to be pardoned are Chang Sae-joo, chairman of Dongkuk Steel Mill, and former STX Group Chairman Kang Duk-soo.

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon said the pardons of the business tycoons were aimed at “overcoming the economic crisis through encouraging business activity.” Yoon earlier told reporters that his pardons could help create “breathing room” for struggling domestic livelihoods.

Lee, 54, runs the Samsung group in his capacity as vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, one of the world’s largest makers of computer memory chips and smartphones. He was freed by Moon’s government, which then defended its decision on unspecified concerns related to the economy and the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement released through Samsung, Lee said he expresses his sincere gratitude for “receiving an opportunity to start anew.”

“I want to express my apologies for causing concerns for many people because of my shortcomings. I will work even harder to fulfill my responsibilities and duties as a businessperson,” Lee said.

Lee still faces a separate trial on charges of stock price manipulation and auditing violations related to the 2015 merger.

Opinion polls have indicated South Koreans – years removed from the angry protests in late 2016 and 2017 that ousted Park from office – largely favored granting Lee a pardon, reflecting Samsung’s influence in a country where it provides smartphones, TVs and credit-cards people use, the apartments they live in and the hospitals where they are born or go to die.

Business leaders and politicians had also called for Lee’s pardon, which they said would allow Samsung to be bolder and quicker in business decisions by fully reinstating his rights to run the business empire. South Korea’s law bans people convicted of major financial crimes from returning to work for five years following the end of their sentences.

Critics say Lee has always been in control of Samsung, even when he was behind bars, and pretty much fully resumed his management duties following his parole. Former Justice Minister Park Beom-kye, who served under the Moon government, had defended Lee’s involvement in Samsung’s management following his parole, insisting that his activities weren’t in violation of the five-year ban because the billionaire heir wasn’t receiving wages from Samsung.

Park Geun-hye was convicted of a broad range of corruption crimes, including colluding with her longtime confidante, Choi Soon-sil, to take millions of dollars in bribes and extortion from Samsung and other major companies while she was in office.

She faced a prison term of more than two decades before Moon pardoned her in December, citing a need to promote unity in the politically divided nation. Choi remains in jail.

Chang was released on parole in 2018 with about six months left on a 3 1/2-year prison term over charges that he embezzled millions of dollars in corporate funds and used some of it to gamble in Las Vegas.

South Korea’s Supreme Court last year confirmed a suspended prison sentence for Kang, who headed STX from 2003 to 2014, on charges of embezzling corporate funds and other crimes.

Like a scene from 'Parasite': Floods lay bare social disparity in South Korea

Aftermath of record level of torrential rain in Seoul

Wed, August 10, 2022 
By Hyonhee Shin and Hyeyeon Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) - Using a plastic bowl, Ha In-sik bailed water out of his lower ground apartment in the low-income housing district of Sillim in southwestern Seoul on Wednesday, where flooding caused by torrential rain forced his family to sleep at a nearby park.

The 50-year-old man, along with his wife and daughter had collected home appliances, furniture, books and even cutlery, and put them outside to see what was salvageable.

The scene bore uncomfortable similarities with the sewage-flooded semi-basement flat depicted in the 2020 Oscar-winning South Korean film "Parasite," that was a tale of growing social disparity in Asia's fourth-largest economy.

The floods have caused inconvenience and monetary losses in the wealthier parts of the capital, like the glitzy Gangnam neighbourhood a few miles away.

But in places like Sillim, the floods have snuffed out what little hope desperate people like Ha had clung to in order just to keep going.

"I've got no money, nothing. But I had come here to live in this basement, as it was only option I had to live with my daughter," Ha told Reuters.

"But I'm hopeless now. Everything is gone, there's no help and I don't even have a spoon to eat food with."

Ha wasn't alone in his misery. Other residents in Sillim were scooping up water with large bowls or combing through the detritus to see whatever was still usable.

On Monday, three family members living in the neighbourhood, including a woman with developmental disabilities, drowned in their lower ground apartment. President Yoon Suk-yeol visited Sillim a day later.

On Wednesday, Yoon apologised for the tragedy and called for measures to improve housing safety to protect old, poor or disabled people and families, like Ha's, whose homes were most vulnerable to flooding.

At least 10 people have perished as a result of the torrential rain that has swept across the northern part of the country since Monday, knocking out power, causing landslides and flooding roads and subways.

This week's deluge brought the heaviest rains in 115 years in Seoul, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.

As of Wednesday, it said, six people were still missing, 570 have at least temporarily lost their homes, while 1,400 have been evacuated, mostly in Seoul, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters said.

As the rain clouds moved southwards on Wednesday, the recovery effort kicked into high gear, at least in the better off districts.

While large swathes of Sillim remained flooded, and residents likened conditions to a "mudbath", in Gangnam most roads had been cleared and traffic was back to normal.

Ha said it would take about 10 days to get his apartment back to the point where he would move back in. He said the only help the government had offered was for temporary shelter at a gymnasium, which he rejected.

An official at the Gwanak district office, which covers Sillim, said that recovery efforts can be slower there due to the concentration of tiny apartments and houses lining the narrow streets, unlike Gangnam, which has wide boulevards and office buildings.

The official said the number of soldiers involved in the recovery would be raised from 210 to 500 on Thursday.

"We're making all-out efforts to help residents, bringing everyone from our office, troops and volunteers," the official said.

(Reporting by Hyonhee Shin, Hyeyeon Kim and Daewoung Kim; Additional reporting by Minwoo Park; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

Seoul floods: 'Parasite-style' flats to be banned after deaths

Melissa Zhu - BBC News
Wed, August 10, 2022 

The two women and a 13-year-old girl were trapped inside this basement flat

South Korea's capital Seoul will move to phase out semi-basement flats after two women and a teenager died during flooding earlier this week.

The tiny flats, featured in the Oscar-winning film Parasite, are usually rented out to people on low incomes.

Seoul will no longer give out permits to construct such homes from this week on and will gradually convert existing apartments, officials said.

This comes after the city was hit by the heaviest rains in 80 years.

As of Wednesday, at least 11 people were confirmed dead or missing as a result of the floods, which have gone on for three days.

On Monday night, two sisters in their 40s and a 13-year-old girl were found dead in their flooded semi-basement flat.


They had reportedly sought help as their home filled with water, but rescuers were unable to reach them.

The tragedy has renewed attention on income inequality and the dangers of living in the semi-underground flats - or banjiha - which are known for cheap rents and poor living conditions.

The real people living in a 'Parasite' basement

On Wednesday, officials said that the city would consult with the government to revise the building law to completely ban the use of basement or semi-basement spaces for residential purposes, according to a Yonhap report.

The city will give owners of such flats 20 years to convert them for non-residential uses such as storage or parking lots.

Authorities will also provide support for existing banjiha tenants to move to public rental housing, according to reports.

"Underground and semi-underground housing threatens the vulnerable in all aspects," Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon told Yonhap.

The family in Parasite (left) lived in a banjiha in Seoul

Bong Joon-ho's 2019 film Parasite, which featured a low-income family living in a banjiha in Seoul, raised awareness of these flats internationally.

Following the Oscar-winning movie's success, the city government said it would financially support 1,500 households living in semi-basement apartments so that they could improve their living conditions.

As of 2020, there were about 200,000 such flats in Seoul - making up 5% of all households in the capital - official data shows.

Young Gaza artist was among those killed in Israeli strikes



Adnan, father of Duniana al-Amour sits among her drawings in her damaged room which was hit by an Israeli strike, east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Monday, Aug. 10, 2022. Al-Amour, a 22-year-old Palestinian woman who had retreated into her artistic pursuits during Gaza's past wars was among the first people killed by Israeli strikes in the latest round of violence. Shrapnel tore through her bedroom during Israel’s surprise opening salvo last Friday, hours before militants fired any rockets. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)More

FARES AKRAM
Wed, August 10, 2022


KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — When Israeli bombs began falling last week, 22-year-old Duniana al-Amour ran into her room and tried to escape into her art and drawing, just as she had during Gaza's past wars.

But this time around, her pencil never met the paper.

An Israeli shell struck outside her home on Friday, making her one of the first of at least 47 Palestinians — including 16 children — who were killed during three days of heavy fighting between Israel and the Islamic Jihad militant group. She was killed during Israel's surprise opening salvo, hours before militants had fired any rockets.

Her drawings, mostly black and white portraits of relatives, some killed in previous rounds of fighting in Gaza, can be seen in the shattered bedroom where she died. Her mother, her brother and two sisters-in-law were in another room baking bread and suffered only minor injuries. Days later, the bread sits out on a wooden tray — a still-life from the moment the shell hit.

One of her sisters-in-law, Simone, said al-Amour's life revolved around her art. “She painted whether she was happy or sad. She would bring a chair to the backyard, sit and draw. She drew all of us," Simone said.

Her death underscores the vulnerability of Palestinian civilians during the frequent conflicts, including four wars fought between Israel and the territory's militant Hamas rulers since they seized power in Gaza 15 years ago. The wars have killed more than 4,000 Palestinians, over half of whom were civilians, according to the United Nations. More than 100 people have been killed on the Israeli side.

Those killed during the latest violence include two senior Islamic Jihad commanders, one of whom Israel said it targeted in order to foil an imminent attack. But many civilians also perished, including as many as 16 who might have been killed by rockets misfired by Palestinian militants.

Islamic Jihad fired some 1,100 rockets, but the Israeli military said some 200 fell short and most of the rest were intercepted or fell in open areas. No Israelis were killed or seriously wounded in the latest round of fighting.

An Egyptian brokered cease-fire ended the violence late Sunday, but grief still hangs over the impoverished territory.

Gaza has also been under a crippling Israeli-Egyptian blockade since the Hamas takeover, which Israel says is needed to keep the militants from re-arming. Critics view the blockade, which severely limits movement in and out of the narrow seaside territory — home to more than 2 million Palestinians — as collective punishment.

Al-Amour had tried to escape Gaza's tribulations through art. Her relatives said she had little interest in politics and dreamed of making a Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia.

Her family home, nestled among farmland and olive groves near the border, was a bucolic escape from Gaza's densely-packed cities and refugee camps. It was also on the front line whenever a new round of fighting broke out.

The Israeli military said it “precisely attacked legitimate military targets” during the latest operation and made “every effort to prevent and minimize harm to civilians.” It did not immediately comment on the strike near al-Amour's home.

Israel destroyed several guard towers manned by Palestinian militants near the border, apparently with artillery or tank shells, including one about 500 meters (yards) from al-Amour's family home. The military distributed video showing some of the hits — the towers going up in smoke and the men inside vanishing in a flash.

All the family knows is that the shell that killed al-Amour came from the direction of the border fence. Mohammed al-Amour, Duniana's grieving brother, said that Israel, with its sophisticated surveillance and targeting capabilities, had to have known what it was aiming at.

“They brag about this technology," he said. "They know who is a civilian or not.”

___ Associated Press writer Joseph Krauss in Ottawa, Ontario, contributed to this report.

ZIONIST ETHNIC CLEANSING
Death toll from weekend Israel-Gaza fighting rises to 48 PALESTINIANS

- Palestinian demonstrators clash with the Israeli army while forces carry out an operation in the West Bank town of Nablus, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022. The death toll from last weekend's fighting between Israel and Gaza militants has risen to 47, after a man died from wounds sustained during the violence, the Health Ministry in Gaza said Thursday, Aug. 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, File)More

FARES AKRAM
Thu, August 11, 2022 

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Palestinian death toll from last weekend's fighting between Israel and Gaza militants rose to 48 Thursday after an 11-year-old girl and a man died from wounds they suffered during the worst cross-border violence in over a year.

Meanwhile, two wounded Gaza children, ages 8 and 14, were fighting for their lives in a Jerusalem hospital. In all, more than 300 Palestinians were wounded over the weekend when Israel struck Islamic Jihad targets across Gaza and the militant group fired hundreds of rockets at Israel.

The death of 11-year-old Layan al-Shaer at Mukassed Hospital in an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem brought to 17 the number of children killed in the fighting. Hani al-Shaer, a relative, said she was wounded in a drone attack during a surprise opening salvo launched by Israel, hours before any rockets were fired.

Israel said it launched the initial wave of airstrikes, which killed an Islamic Jihad commander, in response to an imminent threat from the militant group, days after Israeli troops arrested one of its leaders in the occupied West Bank.

Two other Gaza children, 14-year-old Nayef al-Awdat and 8-year-old Mohammed Abu Ktaifa were being treated in the intensive care unit at Mukassed.

Nayef, who is blind, was wounded in an Israeli airstrike, while Mohammed was hurt in an explosion that went off near a wedding party and killed an elderly woman, with the circumstances still unclear.

Israel has said as many as 16 people might have been killed by rockets misfired by Palestinian militants. Israeli strikes appear to have killed more than 30 Palestinians, including civilians and several militants, among them two senior Islamic Jihad commanders. It wasn't immediately clear how the man whose death was announced Thursday was wounded. The Israeli military says it makes every effort to avoid civilian casualties.

A cease-fire took hold Sunday night, bringing an end to the fighting that started Friday. No Israelis were killed or seriously wounded.

Israel and Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers have fought four wars and several smaller battles over the last 15 years at a staggering cost to the territory’s 2 million Palestinian residents. Hamas sat out the latest fighting, possibly because of understandings with Israel that have eased a 15-year Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed on Gaza when Hamas took power.

In other developments, a Palestinian prisoner on a protracted hunger strike was moved Thursday from an Israeli jail to a hospital because of his worsening condition, the prisoner’s wife said. An Israeli prison service official confirmed the development, speaking on condition of anonymity under regulations.

Khalil Awawdeh has refused food for just over 160 days, according to his family, in a bid to draw attention to his detention by Israel without trial or charge. His case was thrust into the spotlight during the latest Gaza fighting.

Gaza militants have demanded his release as part of the cease-fire that ended the fighting.

Awawdeh, a 40-year-old father of four, was arrested by Israel in December, accused of being a member of a militant group, a charge his lawyer said he denies. Recently, he has been using a wheelchair and was showing memory loss and speech difficulties, according to his lawyer, Ahlam Haddad.

Dalal Awawdeh, Khalil’s wife, said his condition had deteriorated, prompting Israeli authorities to move him to a hospital.

Dr. Lina Qasem from the Physicians for Human Rights Israel organization said Thursday after meeting Awawdeh that his condition was “extremely bad” and that he only drinks water and is refusing additional vitamins, salts and sugar.

“He suffers from a very extreme weakness," she said. Awawdeh said he will continue his hunger strike until his release from detention, she said, but he "requests that the medical team do what is necessary to save his life because he does not wish to die.”

Prospects for Awawdeh’s release under the cease-fire are uncertain. But his case highlights the plight of hundreds of Palestinians who are being held by Israel under a system that critics say denies them the right to due process, known as administrative detention. The worsening conditions of hunger striking prisoners has in the past whipped up tensions with the Palestinians, and in some cases prompted Israel to accede to hunger strikers’ demands.

Israel is currently holding some 4,400 Palestinians, including militants who have carried out deadly attacks, as well as people arrested at protests or for throwing stones. Around 670 Palestinians are now being held in administrative detention, a number that jumped in March as Israel began near-nightly arrest raids in the West Bank following a spate of deadly attacks against Israelis.

Israel says administrative detention is needed to prevent attacks or to keep dangerous suspects locked up without sharing evidence that could endanger valuable intelligence sources. Israel says it provides due process and largely imprisons those who threaten its security, though a small number are held for petty crimes.

Palestinians and human rights groups say the system is designed to quash opposition and maintain permanent control over millions of Palestinians while denying them basic rights.

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Associated Press writers Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Isaac Scharf in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

BHP, Pan Pacific Copper and Norsepower partner to reduce emissions on shipping routes

Staff Writer | August 11, 2022 

Norsepower’s M/V Koryu. Image from BHP.

BHP has partnered with Pan Pacific Copper – a member of JX Nippon Mining & Metals group, and Norsepower – a global provider of auxiliary wind propulsion systems, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from maritime transportation between BHP’s mines in Chile and PPC’s smelters in Japan.


The companies are conducting a technical assessment and plan a retrofit installation of wind-assisted propulsion system onboard the M/V Koryu, a combination carrier operated by Nippon Marine – a member of SENKO group.

BHP and PPC have multi-year agreements for delivery of copper concentrates from Chile to Japan as well as sulphuric acid from Japan to Chile, making the cargo capacity utilization of M/V Koryu (a 53,762 deadweight tonne combination carrier) one of the highest in the industry.

Norsepower’s Rotor Sails installation – a “push-button wind propulsion” system and estimated to be around ten times more efficient than a conventional sail that requires no reefing or crew attention when in operation – is scheduled for completion by the third quarter of 2023, which is expected to make M/V Koryu the cleanest vessel in its category when measured for GHG emissions intensity, BHP said.

Norsepower’s Rotor Sails are modernized versions of Flettner rotors, and the technology is based on the Magnus effect that harnesses wind to maximize ship fuel efficiency.

“Identifying and implementing innovative and sustainable solutions through our strong commodity and supply chain partnerships remain essential in supporting BHP’s decarbonisation ambitions,” BHP Chief Commercial Officer, Vandita Pant, said in the statement.

“We look forward to working with PPC on the wind-assisted propulsion system to enable further GHG emissions reduction in our supply chain,” she said.

This latest partnership with PPC and Norsepower follows BHP’s collaboration agreements in the maritime decarbonisation segment that include the first marine biofuel trial involving an ocean-going vessel bunkered in Singapore, taking delivery of the first of five LNG-fuelled Newcastlemax bulk carriers and joining a consortium to assess the development of an iron ore Green Corridor between Australia and East Asia.

Column: Australia’s renewable energy ambitions dwarfed by coal, LNG juggernaut

Reuters | August 11, 2022 | 

Workers at Grosvenor mine (Credit: Anglo American)

(The opinions expressed here are those of the author, Clyde Russell, a columnist for Reuters.)


One of the refrains of the environmental lobby is that Australia is extremely well-placed to become a renewable energy superpower, and that this will replace the loss of revenue from coal and natural gas exports.

The problem is that only one of the two above assertions is accurate, namely that Australia is in pole position when it comes to many of the minerals that will be critical to the energy transition.

These include lithium, where Australia is already the world’s top producer, as well as copper, nickel, zinc and other metals.

Even iron ore can be viewed as vital to moving the world from fossil fuels to renewables, given the essential role of steel in building out electric grids, power networks and wind turbines.

But the idea that Australia can compensate ending the export of coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) by boosting output of energy transitions metals is somewhat fanciful.

It would take an absolutely astonishing increase in production of lithium and other renewable energy metals to come anywhere close to the current level of export revenue derived from thermal and coking coal, as well as LNG.

The Australian government’s commodity forecasts give an indication of the scale of the challenge.

The June quarter Resources and Energy Quarterly forecast that Australia’s mined lithium output would rise from 218,000 tonnes in 2020-21 fiscal year to 438,000 tonnes by the 2023-24 fiscal year.

The value of lithium exports is forecast to rise from A$1.06 billion ($750 million) in 2020-21 to A$8.71 billion by 2023-24.

A rise of more than 700% in export revenues from lithium certainly looks impressive, and the Australian government also expects the country’s share of global output to rise slightly by 2024 to around 46% from the current 41%.

But even these bullish figures show that lithium will remain well behind the export revenues for coal and LNG.
Coal, LNG dominant

Exports of metallurgical coal, used to make steel, were valued at A$58 billion in 2021-22 and the government expects they will decline to A$41 billion by 2023-24 as the global price softens.

Thermal coal exports were valued at A$39 billion in 2021-22, and are forecast to decline to A$31 billion by 2023-24.

The combined export value of both grades of coal is A$72 billion in 2023-24, and it’s worth noting that this is a conservative forecast, especially in the light of the current high price of thermal coal caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupting global energy markets.

LNG export revenue was A$70 billion in 2021-22 and is expected to remain stable at around A$68 billion by 2023-24, according to the government forecast.

Similar to coal this LNG price estimate is on the low side, with the government predicting around $10.79 per million British thermal units (mmBtu) in 2023-24.

This is substantially below the current spot price of around $44.71 per mmBtu, and while it’s unlikely the current near-record high prices will persist for an extended period, it is possible that they will exceed the forecast, especially if Europe continues to seek to replace piped gas from Russia.

Looking at forecasts for Australia’s export revenues for other metals essential to the energy transition shows a more mixed picture.

Australia is the world’s third-biggest exporter of copper and sixth-largest producer, and export revenue is forecast to rise to A$15 billion in 2023-24 from A$12 billion in 2021-22.

Exports of nickel are forecast at A$5.8 billion in 2023-24, down from A$6.7 billion in 2021-22.

Exports of zinc, which is mainly used to galvanise steel, but also has potential as a battery metal, are forecast at A$3.8 billion in 2023-24, down from A$4.2 billion in 2021-22.

Taking lithium, copper, nickel and zinc together gives forecast export revenue of A$34 billion in 2023-24, which is less than a quarter of the A$140 billion forecast for LNG and both grades of coal.

It is likely that Australia’s production of metals for the energy transition will continue to accelerate in the years beyond the 2023-24 horizon, but for them to overtake and replace the revenue from shutting down coal and LNG exports will take enormous investment in mines, infrastructure and processing plants.

Australia can become the renewable energy superpower many environmentalists and miners dream of, but a dose of realism on the scale and cost of achieving the goals would be welcome.

(Editing by Kim Coghill)