Thousands gather to fete South Africa’s new Zulu king

Men and women in colourful traditional outfits assembled outside the marble palace on the hills of Nongoma, a small town in KwaZulu-Natal province, the Zulu heartland.

King of Amazulu nation Misuzulu holds a traditional stick and shield as he stands with Zulu regiments during his coronation on Saturday [Phill Magakoe/AFP]

Published On 20 Aug 2022

Thousands of people gathered at the Zulu royal palace in South Africa for the coronation of a new king in the country’s richest and most influential traditional monarchy.

Misuzulu Zulu, 47, is set to succeed his father, Goodwill Zwelithini, who died in March last year after 50 years in charge, but a bitter succession dispute threatened to overshadow the ceremony.

Although the title of king does not bestow executive power, the monarchs wield great moral influence over more than 11 million Zulus, who make up nearly one-fifth of South Africa’s population.

Men and women in colourful traditional outfits assembled on Saturday outside the marble palace on the hills of Nongoma, a small town in the southeastern province of KwaZulu-Natal, the Zulu heartland.

Tens of thousands more were expected to arrive to honour the new sovereign.

“Today, the king will be acknowledged by the whole Zulu Nation,” said Misuzulu’s sister, Princess Ntandoyesizwe Zulu, 46.

Yet, an acrimonious family dispute over the throne raged.

On Saturday, a court in Pietermaritzburg was to hear an urgent application by a branch of the royal family to block all ceremonies.

Thousands of people gathered at the Zulu royal palace in South Africa on Saturday [Rajesh Jantilal/AFP]

Coronation rites

In Nongoma, lines of Zulu warriors, known as Amabuthos and holding spears and shields of animal skin, marched into the palace grounds.

Women – in pleated skirts and beaded belts or draped with fabrics bearing the effigy of the sovereign – sang and danced.

On Friday night, Misuzulu entered the palace’s “cattle kraal” where he took part in a secret rite designed to present the new monarch to his ancestors.

Only select members of the royal family and Amabuthos were allowed in the enclosure which is protected from curious eyes by a thick fence of tree trunks.

“It’s a holy place, we can’t reveal to the world what is happening there,” said Muntomuhle Mcambi, 34, an amaButho.

Earlier this week, the soon-to-be king also killed a lion at a nearby reserve – in one of the last steps before the coronation.

People sing and chant in celebration of the coronation of their new King Misuzulu

 [Phill Magakoe/AFP]

Family spat

His path to the crown has not been smooth. King Zwelithini left six wives and at least 28 children when he died last year.

Misuzulu is the first son of Zwelithini’s third wife, who he designated as regent in his will. But the queen died suddenly a month later, leaving a will naming Misuzulu as the next king – a development that did not go down well with other branches of the family.

Queen Sibongile Dlamini, the late king’s first wife, has backed her son Prince Simakade Zulu as the rightful heir. Some of the late king’s brothers have put forward a third prince as their candidate for the throne.

Queen Sibongile’s legal bid to challenge the succession was revived on Friday as she was granted the right to appeal a previous unfavourable ruling.

On Saturday, two of her daughters filed an urgent application to stop all rituals pending the appeal.

“Those who are Zulu and know the traditions know who is the king,” said Themba Fakazi, an adviser to the previous ruler who supports Misuzulu.

The next Zulu monarch will inherit a fortune and tap into a rich seam of income. Zwelithini received some 71 million rand ($4.2m) a year from the government and owned several palaces and other properties.

A royal trust manages almost three million hectares (7.4 million acres) of land – an area about the size of Belgium.

President Cyril Ramaphosa, who in March recognised Misuzulu as the rightful king, is to formally certify the crowning at a ceremony in the coming months.

A bitter succession dispute threatened to overshadow the ceremony 

[Phill Magakoe/AFP]

SOURCE: AFP

'Close shave!' How De Gaulle escaped assassin's bullets 60 years ago

Frédéric DUMOULIN
Sat, August 20, 2022 


August 22, 1962: French President Charles de Gaulle and his wife are being whisked by car through the Paris suburb of Petit-Clamart for a flight back to their country home, when a man on the side of the road waves a newspaper.

The signal has been given.

A group of right-wing extremists spring into action and rake the presidential Citroen DS with gunfire.

Three of the bullets penetrate the bodywork and pass within inches of De Gaulle's head but he and his wife Yvonne miraculously escape unharmed.

"They're such bad shots!," France's World War II hero later jokes about the attempt on his life which shocks the country and gives De Gaulle an opportunity to boost the powers of his office.

Yvonne's immediate concern meanwhile is for the jellied chicken she has in the boot of the car, having stocked up on the delicacy while in the capital.

- Hail of bullets -

Speeding along that summer evening towards a military airfield where they will board a plane taking them to their estate in the village of Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises, the presidential car is flanked by an escort vehicle and two motorcycle outriders.

Night is falling when the signal comes from the mastermind of the attack, Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry, an engineer in the Air Ministry with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.

Bastien-Thiry is a member of the Secret Armed Organization, known by its French acronym OAS, a far-right paramilitary group incensed by De Gaulle's decision to grant independence to Algeria after a brutal eight-year liberation war.

The dozen-strong hit squad is a mix of "pieds-noirs" -- Europeans born in Algeria during French rule which lasted from 1830 to 1962 -- as well as former soldiers and students. The youngest is just 20 years old.

They open fire first with a machine gun from a yellow van, then from a second vehicle parked further down the road.

The attack lasts just 45 seconds.

More than 150 bullets are fired and there are eight impacts on the car body. One bullet goes through to the back passenger seat, shattering the window by the president and his wife, showered in glass.

The De Gaulles owe a debt of gratitude to the sangfroid of their driver Francis Marroux, who had also been at the wheel a year earlier when the presidential car survived a first assassination attempt -- later attributed to Bastien-Thiry -- in the northeastern village of Pont-sur-Seine.

Marroux manages to keep control of the vehicle and speeds off on two flat tyres under more fire.

De Gaulle's son-in-law Alain de Boissieu also plays a key role. Sitting in the front of the car he shouts "Get down, father!" to France's leader.
- 'Close shave' -

The unflappable De Gaulle, aged 71 at the time, initially acts as if nothing has happened. On arrival at Villacoublay military airport he reviews the troops as usual.

But when boarding the plane with Yvonne he admits to de Boissieu: "This time, it was a close shave!"

Jean-Noel Jeanneney, French historian and author of a book on the attack, says a combination of factors explains the failure of the 1962 hit, notably that none of those involved were ready to die for the cause.

Interviewed by AFP in 2012, one survivor of the cell blamed weapons jamming and shooters not being sufficiently trained.

"They're such bad shots," De Gaulle tells Prime Minister Georges Pompidou in a phone call on the night of the attack.

News of the assassination attempt spreads quickly.

"Failed attack against De Gaulle" AFP writes in a first "flash" at 8:55 pm.

Another follows: "Shots were fired shortly after 8:00 pm against General De Gaulle's car near Villacoublay. No one was hit".

Later it emerges that a man driving in the opposite direction was hit on the hand by a stray bullet but only lightly injured.

- Mastermind executed -

The hunt for the culprits is swift and efficient, with one of the suspects spilling the beans on the whole operation after his arrest.

Nearly all those involved are caught, including Bastien-Thiry. Nine men are put on trial, three of whom are sentenced to death.

De Gaulle pardons two of them but refuses clemency for Bastien-Thiry, who is the last person to be executed by firing squad in France on March 11, 1963 at the age of 35.

Ever the strategist, De Gaulle harnesses public outrage over the attack to build support for a constitutional amendment to have the president elected by popular vote, rather than by an electoral college.

The attack he confides to one of his ministers came "at just the right time."

frd-eab/cb/jmy/rox/jv

EU fiscal oversight of Greece ends after 12 years

Sat, August 20, 2022 

Greece on Saturday concluded 12 years of European Union fiscal surveillance that was imposed in return for bailouts after a crushing debt crisis.

In November 2009, Athens revealed a sharp rise in its public deficit that eventually led to a financial crisis across the eurozone and wreaked havoc on Greek finances for a decade.

In exchange for bailout cash of 289 billion euros and to stop Greece from crashing out of the eurozone, a "troika", made up of the International Monetary Fund, EU and the European Central Bank, demanded across-the-board reforms from Athens.

These included deep state spending and salary cuts, tax hikes, privatisations and other sweeping reforms aimed at righting public finances.

The economy contracted by more than a quarter, unemployment spiked to almost 28 percent and skilled professionals emigrated in droves.

"A cycle of 12 years which brought pain to citizens, led to economic stagnation and divided society," has ended, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.

"A new horizon filled with growth, unity and prosperity emerges for all," he said. "The Greece of today is a different Greece.

"We have recorded strong growth and a significant slide in unemployment of three percent since last year and 5 percent since 2019," he added.

Ending the oversight will strengthen Greece's international market position by increasing its attractiveness to investors. Athens will also now have greater control over its domestic economic policy.

"The end of enhanced surveillance for Greece also marks the symbolic conclusion of the most challenging period the euro area has experienced," Paolo Gentiloni, the European Commissioner for Economy, said in a statement.

"The sovereign debt crisis that defined the first years of the previous decade was a steep learning curve for our Union.

"Our strong collective response to the pandemic indicated that Europe had learned the lessons of that crisis. We must show the same solidarity and unity as we navigate the troubled waters our economies are now entering."

Greece -- like fellow bailed-out EU members Spain, Portugal, Cyprus and Ireland -- will still be monitored by its creditors while paying back its debts.

In Greece's case, that will take another two generations, with the last loans due for repayment in 2070.

According to European Commission projections, the Greek economy will grow by 4 percent this year, much higher than the eurozone average of 2.6 percent.

However, Greece's unemployment rate is one of the highest in the monetary union, its minimum wage one of the lowest and the country's debt is 180 percent of gross domestic product.

mr/gw/ach

Colombian President Gustavo Petro paves the way to restart peace talks

Colombia's new president said Saturday he was suspending arrest warrants and extradition requests for members of the left-wing guerrilla group the National Liberation Army (ELN) in an effort to restart peace talks to end nearly 60 years of war.


© Daniel Munoz, AFPColombian President Gustavo Petro paves the way to restart peace talks

The announcement is part of a principal campaign promise by newly elected Gustavo Petro, a former member of the M-19 insurgency, who took office on Aug. 7 on pledges to bring "total peace" to the Andean country.

"I have authorized the reinstatement of the protocols, allowing negotiators to again reconnect with their organization, suspending arrest warrants for those negotiators, suspending extradition orders for those negotiators in order to start a dialogue with the National Liberation Army," Petro said.

"This resolution initiates a new possibility of a peace process in Colombia," Petro said after attending a security council meeting in the province of Bolivar.

Representatives of the ELN, which was founded in 1964 by radical Catholic priests, have remained in Cuba since previous talks, begun under the government of Juan Manuel Santos, were called off in 2019.

The group said soon after Petro's election that it was willing to consider negotiations

Petro has said a visit to Cuba this month by Colombian and international officials was meant to tease out whether the ELN, which is seen as radical and not centrally-controlled, truly is willing to pursue a peace process.

Colombia's high peace commissioner Danilo Rueda traveled to Cuba with Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva, Senator Ivan Cepeda, and U.N. official Carlos Ruiz Massieu, as well as a representative of the Norwegian government.

Rueda has the authority to explore the possibility of talks as well examine whether ceasefires and other measures could be established, Petro has said.

Discussions could begin where the Santos' administration left off, the Colombian president said, adding he would recognize the protocols agreed with help from guarantors Cuba, Chile, Venezuela, Norway and Brazil.

Talks between the ELN and the Santos government began in Ecuador, later moving to Cuba, but were called off by Santos' successor Ivan Duque because the ELN refused to halt hostilities and killed 22 police cadets in a Bogota bomb attack.

Previous attempts at negotiations with the ELN, which has some 2,400 combatants and is accused of financing itself through drug trafficking, illegal mining and kidnapping, have not advanced partly because of dissent within its ranks.

Much of the ELN leadership in Cuba is older than many of its members and it is unclear how much sway they hold over units operating deep in Colombia's countryside.

(REUTERS)

Cuba sees surge in foreign tourists, hopes for more Russians

Canada this year is again the leading source of tourists, at 258,896.

Sat, August 20, 2022 


The number of foreign tourists visiting Cuba so far this year is up nearly sixfold from the 2021 period but remains below pre-pandemic levels, the government said Saturday.

Officials say they are hoping to see more Russian tourists once flights canceled because of Covid-19 and the Ukraine war are restored this year.

The National Statistics Office (ONEI) said 834,891 tourists visited the island from January through July, compared to 141,293 visits in the first seven months of 2021.

International tourism represents Cuba's second-leading economic activity, after the sale of medical services, but the pandemic, along with continuing travel curbs from the US, saw the numbers collapse in 2020 and 2021.

The total number of foreign visitors plunged from 4.2 million in 2019 to one million a year later.

But with Covid-19 under better control, Cuban authorities hope to hit 2.5 million visits this year.

The Communist-ruled country is counting in particular on a revival of tourism from Russia, which in 2020 and 2021 displaced Canada as the largest source of foreign visitors.

The Cuban ambassador in Moscow, Julio Garmendia, last week told Russian newspaper Izvestia that efforts are underway to restore canceled flights by this winter.

"We know that the Russians are eager to again vacation in Cuba, and the Cuban people are waiting for them with characteristic hospitality," he said, the official Cubadebate blog reported.

Data from ONEI, however, show Canada this year is again the leading source of tourists, at 258,896.

cb/dga/gm/bbk/dw

Guinea opposition calls for protests after junta denies role in new deaths

FNDC, a coalition of political parties, trade unions and civil society groups in the West African country calls for demonstrations as military rejects allegations of killing two teenagers in capital Conakry.

Poor but mineral-rich country has been ruled by the military since a coup last September that ousted president Alpha Conde, in power since 2010. (AFP)

A political coalition has called for fresh protests a day after Guinea's junta denied its forces had shot dead two teenagers at opposition demonstrations earlier in the week.

The National Front for the Defence of the Constitution or FNDC, a coalition of political parties, trade unions and civil society organisations, called for fresh protests in messages posted on social media on Saturday.

The junta banned the group earlier this month.

On Wednesday, FNDC, relatives and neighbours said that security forces in Guinea's capital had shot dead two teens as their convoy drove through the capital Conakry during protests against the junta.

FNDC accused junta leader Mamady Doumbouya's forces of having killed the pair, aged 17 and 19.

Junta spokesperson Amara Camara said in a statement released late on Friday: "The rumours about shots fired from the presidential motorcade are false and unfounded."

READ MORE: Guinea junta leader announces 39-month transition period

Deaths in forbidden protests

FNDC staged rallies on July 28 and 29 in which five people were killed. It called for the demonstrations last Wednesday –– also forbidden by the junta –– at which the two teenagers were shot dead.

Ibrahima Balde was killed by a projectile fired by a member of the security forces in Wanidara, a suburb of Conakry that has been the scene of clashes, his father Mohamed Cherif told the AFP news agency.

A relative of the young man, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he was hit by a soldier's bullet as the junta leader's motorcade passed through the neighbourhood.

Oumar Barry, a 17-year-old secondary school student, died later in nearby Koloma district. "They shot him in the stomach in Koloma," said his neighbour, Pathe Diallo.

READ MORE: Fresh clashes erupt in Guinea despite ban on protests

Government warning

Justice Minister Charles Alphonse Wright, who met with relatives of Barry, said that justice would be done, according to a statement read out by ministry spokesperson Yaya Kairaba Kaba Friday.

But the statement also made clear that anyone calling for protests would also have to answer before the courts, denouncing any attempt to exploit the deaths of the teenagers.

During Wednesday's banned demonstration, police were heavily deployed around the city, and demonstrators in one flashpoint suburb of Conakry hurled stones at the security forces who retaliated with teargas.

The poor but mineral-rich state has been ruled by the military since a coup last September that ousted president Alpha Conde, in power since 2010.

In May, the junta banned all protests and on August 6 decreed the dissolution of the FNDC.

The FNDC spearheaded protests against Conde while he was in power, fiercely opposing his bid for a third term that it said was unconstitutional. The demonstrations were often brutally repressed.

Since the coup, the group has turned its focus on the junta, progressively amplifying its concern over human rights and the pace of return to civilian rule.

Doumbouya has pledged to hand over power to elected civilians within three years –– a timeline that fellow West African states want accelerated.

READ MORE: West Africa and the ‘vicious cycle’ of coups

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On track: Cairo metro employs Egypt's first women train drivers

Sofiane Alsaar
Sat, August 20, 2022 


As it prepares to expand to serve a population now exceeding 20 million, the Cairo metro has recruited Egypt's first female train drivers, a novelty in a country where few women have formal jobs.

Since April, commuters on the network's newest line have seen women take the controls in the driver's cab, with reactions ranging from raised eyebrows to outright disapproval, according to the two pioneers.

Egyptian women have had the right to vote and stand for office since 1956, but patriarchal legislation and a male-dominated culture have severely limited personal rights.

The Cairo metro itself provides reserved carriages for women who do not wish to ride with men in an attempt to provide protection against sexual harassment.


Business graduate and mother of two Hind Omar said she had rushed to apply to be a train driver, eager to be a pioneer in a country where only 14.3 percent of women are in formal employment, according to 2020 figures.

"I have several thousand lives in my hands every day," the 30-year-old told AFP, proudly wearing a fluorescent jacket emblazoned with the RATP-Dev logo of the foreign operations arm of the Paris metro beneath her black and white headscarf.

Omar acknowledged that she had been lucky to have the support of her family.

"My parents found it strange at first but they ended up supporting me," she said.

"My husband was enthusiastic from the start and always encouraged me."

A key factor had been the exemption from night shifts offered to women drivers, she said.

Omar said the tests for would-be drivers had been gruelling, requiring candidates to demonstrate their "attention span" and "endurance".

She said drivers had to remain "extremely vigilant for long hours" during a six-day working week.

- 'Some passengers were afraid' -

Omar was one of two women accepted for the training programme run by Egypt's National Authority for Tunnels in cooperation with RATP-Dev.

The other, Suzanne Mohamed, 32, recalled the first time commuters on the platform saw her in the driver's cab.

She said she could understand "they were surprised" in a country where women have limited access to many careers.

"Some passengers were afraid," she told AFP. "They doubted my skills and said they didn't feel safe with a woman at the controls."

Launched in 1987, the Cairo metro is the oldest in the Arab world but it has fallen behind other Arab countries in providing employment opportunities for women.

Moroccan Saida Abad became the first female train driver in Africa and the Arab world in 1999.

Even in Saudi Arabia, where until recently women were banned from driving cars, a first group of women is currently in training to be drivers on the railways.

With the Cairo metro planning to add three new lines as well as Egypt's first monorail system, Omar said she hoped her example would help "pave the way for other women" to become train drivers and ensure "that there's a lot of us".

sar/sbh/bha/kir/lg/smw

Art market pushes on with rocky crypto romance

NFTs such as this one of the painting "Madonna del Cardellino" by Raphael have been in vogue, but the dud auction of the first-ever tweet could signal the trend is slipping. (Photo: AFP/Justin Tallis)

21 Aug 2022 12:18PM(Updated: 21 Aug 2022 12:23PM)

PARIS: The closest most people get to owning a world-famous artwork is to buy a cheap poster from a gallery, but art dealers are determined to harness technology to draw in new collectors.

Anaida Schneider, a former banker based in Switzerland, is among those promoting new ownership schemes - for a small fee, investors can buy a digital chunk of a painting and share in the profits when she sells.

"Not everyone has US$1 million to invest," she told AFP. "So I came up with the idea to split, to make like a mutual fund but on the blockchain."

Each buyer gets an NFT (non-fungible token), the unique digital tokens created and stored on the blockchain, the computer code that underpins cryptocurrencies.

Although cryptoassets have been routed this year with plunging values, collapsing projects and widening scandals, the NFT art sector has weathered the storm better than other parts of the crypto world.

NFT artworks accounted for some US$2.8 billion in sales last year and the rate has declined only slightly in the first half of this year, according to analyst firm NonFungible.

Collectors and artists are among the most eager experimenters with the technology, even if it means owning only a slice of a digital copy of a painting.

A fifth of 300 collectors surveyed by the website Art+Tech Report said they had already engaged in so-called fractional ownership.

Schneider's Liechtenstein-based company Artessere offers squares of paintings by Soviet artists including Oleg Tselkov and Shimon Okshteyn for 100 or 200 euros (US$100 or US$200) a piece.

She is giving herself 10 years to resell them.

Schneider owns the paintings she sells, thus avoiding legal complications, but attempts to offer novel digital ownership schemes for publicly owned works is proving more tricky.

Related:


Move over candy bars, New York vending machine now selling NFT art


Commentary: Despite Beeple's US$69 million windfall, uncertainty plagues museum NFT art sales

'COMPLEX AND UNREGULATED'

Thirteen Italian museums recently signed deals with Cinello, a firm that sells limited edition digital reproductions, to offer ownership of digital replicas of masterworks.

The buyer gets a unique, high-resolution digital copy to project onto a screen and a certificate from the museum, which gets half the proceeds.

The company held a splashy London show in February displaying digitised works by Renaissance masters including Raphael, Leonardo and Caravaggio. It has since sold a handful of them.

But the Italian culture ministry was reportedly irked that a replica of Michelangelo's "Doni Tondo" sold for around 240,000 euros but Florence's Uffizi gallery got less than a third of the proceeds.

A spokesman for the ministry was quoted in several outlets last month as saying the issue was "complex and unregulated" and asked museums not to sign any new contracts around NFTs.

Cinello boss Francesco Losi was not pleased with the characterisation, telling AFP: "We don't sell NFTs."

Buyers can ask for an NFT to go with their image, but the firm said they had their own patented system to secure ownership, which they call DAW.

MIXED BLESSING

Cinello said it had digitised more than 200 works and its sales had generated 296,000 euros in extra revenue for Italian museums.

But the firm's difficulties in Italy underline the mixed blessing of NFTs - they bring publicity but also suspicion.

The NFT sector - which covers anything from avatars in computer games to million-dollar cartoon apes - is replete with scams, counterfeit works, thefts and wash trading.

Losi said he was well aware that NFTs could be used "in the wrong way" and was unsure what future they had in the art world.

Anaida Schneider stressed that her project was protected by law in Liechtenstein, the tiny principality being among the first jurisdictions to pass a law regulating blockchain companies in 2019.

Beyond that, she said her insurance would cover damage to the artworks and she had also factored in the possibility that the paintings would fall in value, though she declined to give exact details.

"I hope it never happens," she said. "For me, it's very important to put this idea in the market."

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

https://web.mit.edu › allanmc › www › benjamin

PDF

Walter Benjamin — Replicas were made by pupils in practice of their craft, by masters for diffusing their works, and, finally, by third parties in the pursuit of gain. Mechanical ...

26 pages

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Kabbalistic Kommunism 

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for WALTER BENJAMIN 

FDIC sends cease and desist letters to FTX US, four others over insurance statements

David Hollerith

·Senior Reporter

Fri, August 19, 2022 

The Federal Insurance Deposit Corporation is trying to snuff out claims the agency is backstopping customer funds held in certain crypto or stock brokerage accounts.

The FDIC said Friday it issued cease and desist letters to five companies accused of making “misleading” statements about whether crypto assets have federal deposit insurance support.

Among them were Cryptonews.com, Cryptosec.info, SmartAsset.com, FDICCrypto.com and U.S.-based exchange FTX US, which offers crypto and stock brokerage services to American customers.

The entrance to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), located across the street from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, is viewed on June 6, 2017 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)

According to the FDIC letter sent to FTX US, Brett Harrison, the company's president crossed the line with a tweet published on July 20 which stated: “Direct deposits from employers to FTX US are stored in individually FDIC-insured bank accounts in the users’ names,” and that “stocks are held in FDIC-insured and SIPC-insured brokerage accounts.”

“In fact, FTX US is not FDIC insured, the FDIC does not insure any brokerage accounts, and FDIC insurance does not cover stock or cryptocurrencies. The FDIC only insures deposits held in insured banks and savings associations (insured institutions), and FDIC only protects against losses caused by failure of insured institutions,” the letter to FTX US said.

In a public statement, FTX’s Harrison said he deleted the tweet adding: “We really didn’t mean to mislead anyone, and we didn’t suggest that FTX US itself, or that crypto/non-fiat assets, benefit from FDIC insurance. I hope this provides clarity on our intentions.”

By law, the FDIC only insures banking deposits such as cash and cash equivalents held in checking, savings, and money market accounts with FDIC-insured banks.

That mean the corporation doesn’t insure funds held in bonds, stocks, mutual funds, commodities, or crypto assets, according to the FDIC.

The issue of whether customer losses are covered in the event of failure has bubbled up following recent bankruptcies in the crypto space that saw lenders, including Voyager and Celsius, freeze customer accounts.

Coinbase also added a disclosure in its 10-Q filed with the SEC in May that subject to a bankruptcy, customer funds could belong to the indebted firm’s estate.

Voyager Digital and Celsius Network are set to test this point after filing for bankruptcy last month.

Last month, the FDIC sent a similar warning letter to Voyager Digital, stating that the embattled firm had misrepresented the FDIC’s reach in claims through its website, mobile app, and social media accounts “stating or suggesting” that because Voyager was FDIC-insured, customers who invested on Voyager’s platform would receive FDIC insurance coverage on their funds.

Around $270 million in cash deposits held by Voyager Digital’s partner bank, FDIC member Metropolitan Commercial Bank, were released earlier this month.

 Map: These are the states with the most and least credit card debt

Luke Carberry Mogan

Sat, August 20, 2022 

Credit card debt has soared throughout 2022 as consumers are shying away from cash-on-hand in order to foot the bill of inflation.

Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed a $312 billion increase in total household debt to $16.15 trillion in the second quarter of 2022. Credit card debt, in particular, increased by $46 billion.

According to a study from WalletHub, the median average credit card debt per state varies across the country. The study used credit and economic data from TransUnion to compile its state rankings based on median debt and the average length of time expected to pay it off.

Alaska and the District of Columbia are at the top of the list, with their residents averaging over 17 months to pay off their median debts of $3,206 and $2,788, respectively.

Collectively, New York holds the most credit card debt at just under $50 billion total.

West Virginia, Arkansas, and Mississippi sit at the bottom, with Mississippi having the lowest average credit card debt ($1,806) and the only state with a payoff timeline of under 10 months (9 months, 18 days).

“Americans have racked up a record amount of credit card debt at over $1 trillion,” WalletHub Analyst Jill Gonzales told Yahoo Finance. “That being said, we’re not all in the same boat — people in some states have less debt than others, due to a number of factors.”

Gonzales attributed these additional variables to the degree to which Americans were impacted by the pandemic and their own personal finance skills.

"In states like Mississippi or Arkansas, where the median income and cost of living are among the lowest, the amount of credit card debt is also among the lowest," Gonzales said. "At the opposite end, we have Connecticut and Massachusetts, with high income levels and costs of living and also a high amount of credit card debt."

A salesman registers a credit card for a customer at a shop in Peshawar, Pakistan April 1, 2019. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz

Where does credit spending fit in

American consumers have grappled with record inflation in 2022, which has led to prices rising for basic household items.

This, combined with the spillover effects of the coronavirus pandemic, has led to a decline in cash payments and a rise in the use of credit cards. Credit card transactions have become more common as consumers are leaving their homes and resuming travel. Most importantly, they're using their credit cards more frequently to offset inflation on gas and food prices.

That hasn't necessarily led to an increase in credit card debt across the country, however.

In a separate WalletHub study from June, consumer credit spending for 2022 so far has amounted to $13.1 billion, a fraction of the debt accumulated in 2021.

A coffee shop displays signs for Visa, MasterCard and Discover, in Washington. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

"2020 brought on a record-setting credit card debt reduction," Gonzales said. "However, during 2021, consumers added over $86 billion in new credit card debt back to their tab, [and] we've yet to gauge the impact on inflation on this year's amount of credit card debt."

According to Bank of America (BAC), credit card delinquencies sunk to 1.2% in June 2022, lower than pre-pandemic figures (1.96% in July 2019). At the same time, BAC researchers found credit spending to have risen by 16% year-over-year in June.

Why credit card debt can be a good thing

Financial planners advise credit spenders to follow the fundamentals: Know what you can spend, always be aware of what you owe, and budget accordingly.

Though the idea of falling into credit card debt can seem overwhelming, consumers are still encouraged to use credit responsibly. Some debt can be "necessary" for certain costs or experiences that appreciate in value over time.

"Credit card debt is simultaneously a wonderful way to pay for things and accrue benefits and the absolute worst way to pay for things," Iona University Professor Jeffry Haber said. "I divide credit cards into two pools — those that you intend to pay off each month and those where the balance will be paid off over several months."

Apr 2, 2022; Augusta, Georgia; A patron carries her purchases at the Augusta National Women's Amateur golf tournament. (Katie Goodale-Augusta Chronicle/USA TODAY Network)

Experts recommend using credit cards on purchases that work towards the card's rewards program, whether it be for gas, groceries, or travel points on airfare. They are also a means to maintain and improve one's credit rating, as long as payments are made on time each month.

"Credit card debt is designed to grow due to high interest rates and through the power of compounding [paying interest on interest]," Nazareth College Professor Eileen Beiter said.

Beiter described one's relationship with their finances as "emotional," which can also be projected onto their spending habits. Impulse buying, for example, often leads consumers to outspend more than they've saved, a symptom of the recent return-to-retail shopping fervor.

"The growth of e-commerce is another factor that leads to an increase in credit card debt," Gonzales noted.

Luke is a producer for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter @theLukeCM.