Russian court sentences war critic to eight years for spreading ‘fake news’

By Mary Ilyushina
December 9, 2022

Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin is shown standing in the defendant's dock in a Moscow courtroom, just before he was sentenced to eight years and six months in prison for allegedly spreading "fake news" about the war in Ukraine. Russia has outlawed criticism of the war. 

Yuri Kochetkov/Pool/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

RIGA, Latvia — A Russian court on Friday sentenced an opposition politician, Ilya Yashin, to eight years and six months in prison on charges of “spreading false information” about atrocities by Russian forces in Ukraine — the latest criminal verdict intended to silence critics of President Vladimir Putin’s war.

Yashin, 39, posted a YouTube video in April in which he dissected the potential war crimes documented by Western journalists and Ukrainian officials in the city of Bucha, near Kyiv, in an effort to debunk the official Kremlin line that those reports were staged or fabricated to smear Russia.

The Kremlin in the early days of its invasion took aggressive steps to suppress criticism of the war by pushing through laws that made it illegal to criticize the military or the government, or even to call the war a “war” rather than a special military operation, with violations punishable by up to 15 years in jail.

While there have been dozens of prosecutions, the laws have been enforced selectively to target longtime opponents of Putin such as Yashin, while pro-war hawks and Kremlin propagandists are allowed to engage in fierce criticism of Russian military commanders who have overseen heavy battlefield losses.

Yashin’s YouTube video served as the basis of the criminal case initiated against him under the new laws, which also prohibited disseminating what the authorities consider “fake news” about the Russian military.

The threat of long prison sentences and the Kremlin’s far-reaching attempts to quash any dissent prompted thousands of Russians to flee the country, but some, like Yashin, decided to stay.

Shortly after the sentence was announced, Yashin’s lawyers posted a defiant message on his Telegram blog, urging his supporters to continue to protest the invasion.

“The trial was supposed to serve as the denunciation of ‘an enemy of the people,’ i.e. me, but it turned into an antiwar tribune, and in response, we only heard prosecutor’s incoherent Cold War slogans,” the post said. “I can only repeat what was said on the day of my arrest: I am not afraid, and you should not be afraid. Changes are coming.”

Yashin is a veteran of the anti-Kremlin opposition who rose to prominence during mass protests against fraudulent national parliamentary elections and Putin’s return to the presidency in 2011 and 2012. Later, Yashin led the People’s Freedom Party, known as PARNAS, and served as a municipal official in Moscow’s Krasnoselsky district.

During this week’s hearings in Yashin’s case, the prosecutor, Sergei Belov, accused the politician of spreading “Western propaganda” from “unfriendly states such as the United States and its satellites.”

“Yashin directly distributes enemy propaganda of low quality,” Belov said. “While our soldiers are at the front, and millions of citizens support the troops, Yashin is helping the enemy.”

In courtroom speeches throughout the trial, Yashin spoke about the need to remain in Russia to “speak the truth loudly” and help stop the bloodshed in Ukraine.

“It’s better to spend 10 years behind bars as an honest man than to quietly burn in shame over the blood spilled by your government,” he said during a hearing Tuesday.

Putin, when asked by a reporter in a news conference on Friday whether he thinks that “eight years for words is too brutal,” said of Yashin: “Who is he? Interfering in the work of the country is unacceptable and I consider it inappropriate to question the decision of the court.”

Yashin is a close ally of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is also now serving a long prison sentence for violating terms of his parole on charges stemming from a fraud case that was widely derided as politically motivated. In August 2020, Navalny was nearly killed in a poisoning attack carried out by a Russian government hit squad.

“I have known Ilya Yashin since he was 18 years old, and he is probably the first friend I made in politics,” Navalny said in a message shared by his lawyers Friday on social media. “Another shameless and lawless Putin verdict will not silence Ilya and should not intimidate the honest people of Russia. This is another reason we must fight and I have no doubt that we will win in the end.”

The news of the verdict was cheered loudly by pro-war commentators. One said Yashin should “sew mittens for the army along with Navalny." Another called him “a Nazi holdover and liberal trash.”

Human rights advocates said Yashin was being persecuted for his political views.

“Ilya Yashin spoke out about some of Russian forces’ atrocities in Ukraine in full knowledge of the personal risks,” said Rachel Denber, deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “That should never be grounds for legal action, yet the Kremlin relentlessly continues to persecute high-profile pro-democracy figures and opponents of Russia’s war in Ukraine.”

Since the beginning of the invasion, Russian authorities have arrested, detained or fined nearly 20,000 peaceful antiwar protesters and individuals who spoke out publicly against the war.

Yashin’s sentence is the harshest to date out of the nearly 100 criminal cases initiated by Russian prosecutors in the eight months since the new laws were adopted. In July, Moscow municipal deputy Alexei Gorinov was sentenced to seven years in prison on similar charges after he opened a public meeting with a moment of silence for those dying in the war.

In April, a Russian court charged dissident and Washington Post contributor Vladimir Kara-Murza under the same article, after he called the Russian government “a regime of murderers” in an interview. On Thursday, Russian media reported that Kara-Murza will remain in pretrial detention until Feb. 12.

Russia-Ukraine war: Nato chief fears conflict could become wider

AP
By Jamey Keaten
9 Dec, 2022

Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg gives a lecture on Russia, Ukraine and Nato's security policy challenges. Photo / AP

The head of Nato has expressed worry that the fighting in Ukraine could spin out of control and become a war between Russia and Nato, according to an interview released on Friday.

“If things go wrong, they can go horribly wrong,” Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in remarks to Norwegian broadcaster NRK.

“It is a terrible war in Ukraine. It is also a war that can become a full-fledged war that spreads into a major war between Nato and Russia,” he said. “We are working on that every day to avoid that.”

Stoltenberg, a former prime minister of Norway, said in the interview that “there is no doubt that a full-fledged war is a possibility”, adding that it was important to avoid a conflict “that involves more countries in Europe and becomes a full-fledged war in Europe”.

The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Nato allies of effectively becoming a party to the conflict by providing Ukraine with weapons, training its troops and feeding military intelligence to attack Russian forces.

In comments that reflected soaring tensions between Russia and the West, President Vladimir Putin suggested Moscow might think about using what he described as the US concept of a preemptive strike.

“Speaking about a disarming strike, maybe it’s worth thinking about adopting the ideas developed by our US counterparts, their ideas of ensuring their security,” he said.

Keep up to date with the day's biggest storiesSign up to our daily curated newsletter for the day's top stories straight to your inbox.
SIGN UP
By signing up for this newsletter, you agree to NZME’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
I’m not interested in Top News Stories newsletter. Please don’t show me this again.

Long before the Ukraine war, the Kremlin expressed concern about US efforts to develop the so-called Prompt Global Strike capability that envisions hitting an adversary’s strategic targets with precision-guided conventional weapons anywhere in the world within one hour.

Putin noted that such a strike could knock out command facilities.

“We are just thinking about it, they weren’t shy to openly talk about it during the past years,” he said, claiming that Moscow’s precision-guided cruise missiles outperform similar US weapons and Russia has hypersonic weapons that the US hasn’t deployed.

An aerial view of Bakhmut, the site of the heaviest battles with Russian troops, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine. Photo / AP

Putin also said he was disappointed with former German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s recent comments that a 2015 peace deal for eastern Ukraine negotiated by France and Germany had bought time for Ukraine to prepare for the 2022 war.

“I assumed that other participants of the process were sincere with us, but it turned out that they were cheating us,” he said. “It turned out that they wanted to pump Ukraine with weapons and prepare for hostilities.”

Putin argued that Merkel’s statement showed that Russia was right in launching what he calls the “special military operation” in Ukraine. “Perhaps we should have started it earlier,” he said.

He also said her comments further eroded Russia’s trust in the West, complicating any possible peace talks.

“Eventually we will have to negotiate an agreement,” he said. “But after such statements, there is an issue of trust. Trust is close to zero. I repeatedly have said that we are ready for an agreement, but it makes us think, think about whom we are dealing with.”

In separate comments via video link to defence and security chiefs of several ex-Soviet nations, Putin again accused the West of using Ukraine as a tool against his country.

“For many years, the West shamelessly exploited and pumped out its resources, encouraged genocide and terror in the Donbas and effectively turned the country into a colony,” he said. “Now it’s cynically using the Ukrainian people as cannon fodder, as a ram against Russia by continuing to supply Ukraine with weapons and ammunition, sending mercenaries and pushing it to a suicidal track.”

Ukrainians say they are fighting for freedom against an unwanted invader and aggressor.


British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by phone and both “agreed on the importance of preempting Russia’s insincere calls for a cease-fire”, Sunak’s office said. “The prime minister added that the Kremlin needed to withdraw its forces before any agreement could be considered.”

What Is Stiff Person Syndrome? Celine Dion Announces Diagnosis of Rare Disease

The rare neurological disease affects about one to two people in a million


Margaret Osborne
Daily Correspondent

December 9, 2022

Singer Celine Dion on stage during the 2016 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Photo by JB Lacroix / WireImage

Canadian popstar Celine Dion announced on Instagram this week the postponement of her upcoming tour due to a diagnosis of stiff person syndrome, a rare neurological disease that affects about one in a million people.

“I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time, and it’s been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through,” Dion says in her video. “I always give one hundred percent when I do my shows, but my condition is not allowing me to do that right now.”

So what exactly is stiff person syndrome?

It s an autoimmune and neurological disorder that causes rigidity and spasms in the torso and limbs, debilitating pain and chronic anxiety, per the Stiff Person Syndrome Research Foundation. The spasms can occur randomly or in response to environmental stimuli like loud noises or emotional distress, and they can last anywhere from seconds to hours, Pavan Tankha, the medical director of comprehensive pain recovery at Cleveland Clinic, tells the New York Times’ Nicole Stock. They can even be so violent as to dislocate joints or break bones.

“Just imagine having the worst Charley Horse you can have but it’s affecting a ton of muscles in your lower back and legs — and it’s constant,” Kunal Desai, professor of neurology at Yale University, tells the Washington Post’s Lindsey Bever, Richard Sima and Annabelle Timsit. “It’s very painful.”

Dion explains that the muscle spasms “affect every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I’m used to.”

While the cause of the condition is unknown, research suggests it may be the result of an awry response in the brain and spinal cord, per CBS News’ Li Cohen. Some with the syndrome have higher levels of antibodies to an enzyme called glutamic acid decarboxylase, or GAD65. This enzyme facilitates the formation of a neurotransmitter called GABA that “helps to reduce nerve and muscle excitation,” per the Stiff Person Syndrome Research Foundation.

The disease can affect anyone, but it occurs more in women and people aged 20 to 50 and very rarely in children. Currently, there is no cure, but medications such as sedatives, muscle relaxants and steroids can be used to relieve symptoms.

Earlier this year, Dion canceled several shows on her North American tour and on her Las Vegas residency, citing health concerns. Now, eight of her shows scheduled for summer 2023 will be canceled and her spring 2023 shows will be rescheduled to 2024.

"This is just such a severe diagnosis to have, especially if you’re an entertainer [on] the world-class type of stage," Simon Helfgott, a rheumatologist at Harvard Medical School, tells NBC News’ Aria Bendix. "It’s going to be very, very challenging to be able to continue."

Stiff person syndrome itself is not fatal, but it can be debilitating and complications from the disease can lead to a shortened life expectancy, per the Times. While it’s difficult to predict how the disease will progress, most people see a worsening of stiffness and spasms over time. "In some cases, the condition can level off and stay the way it is. I have people who are like that — they're no different now than they were 10 years ago," Helfgott tells NBC. "In others, it is a slow, subtle decline."

Though Dion’s video was solemn, she says she remains optimistic. “I have a great team of doctors working alongside me to help me get better and my precious children, who are supporting me and giving me hope,” she says. “I have hope that I’m on the road to recovery. This is my focus and I’m doing everything that I can to recuperate.”

“I love you guys so much, and I really hope I can see you again real soon,” she adds.




Margaret Osborne | | READ MORE
Margaret Osborne is a freelance journalist based in the southwestern U.S. Her work has appeared in the Sag Harbor Express and has aired on WSHU Public Radio.

Looming Famine: Millions at Risk of Acute Hunger in Africa

By Mary Moore | Published on December 9, 2022

Reviewed By Gilmore Health | 

Certain parts of Africa have been experiencing serious drought problems for some time. Experts now warn that the possibility of famine is looking increasingly real and millions of people, including children, stare starvation in the face.

Drought

A recent report by United Nations (UN) agencies reveals that hundreds of millions of people globally are facing acute food insecurity and in need of critical aid. A good number of the affected countries are in Africa.

Read Also: The Health Hazards That Oil Spills And Pollution Pose To the People In Nigeria

The hunger problem is being compounded by conflicts and the COVID-19 pandemic. This is by way of economic responses to these phenomena.
Unfavorable Weather and Impending Famine

Rising food insecurity around the world has been linked to extreme weather conditions. These range from droughts to tropical storms and flooding. La Nina has also worsened conditions to bring about crop and livestock losses in many parts of the world, especially in West and East Africa, Central Asia, and Central America.

La Nina is a climate event that causes a change in the surface currents of the ocean and makes cooler water rise from the Pacific Ocean’s depths.

For the first time in over 20 years, La Nina has persisted for three consecutive years – what is referred to as a “triple dip.” This puts countries that are already experiencing drought or flooding at risk of worse conditions.

Drought in the Horn of Africa has been severe. The region is experiencing its longest drought in more than 40 years.

Countries such as Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia are having years of little rain. There have been four straight failed rainy seasons, something that had never happened before. By contrast, the 2011 famine in Somalia resulted from two successive failed rainy seasons.

The likelihood of famine is becoming more real, especially in Somalia, with a fifth consecutive failed rainy season looking likely. According to the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), some worst-hit areas in Africa already have conditions similar to that of famine.

Read Also: A Dummies Guide for African Dictators, Autocrats, Generals, and Pseudo Democrats On How to Get Filthy Rich and Still Serve Their People

Effects of Drought

Experts say millions of livestock and crops have fallen victim to a devastating drought. These losses have forced more than one million people in the Horn to leave their homes to search for food and water elsewhere.

As per the WFP, around 13 million people were facing starvation in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia at the beginning of 2022. The number jumped to 20 million by the middle of the year. It was expected to reach 22 million by September.

Extreme need is predicted to remain high heading to 2023, with ongoing drought likely to last well into the new year. Going by forecasts, as many as 26 million people in Somalia as well as parts of Kenya and Ethiopia could face crisis-level (or worse) food insecurity.

The risk of severe hunger isn’t limited to just Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia in Africa, however. Nigeria and South Sudan are also among 19 “hunger hotspots” identified in a recent report by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and WFP. These places are in critical need of humanitarian aid to fight starvation and prevent associated deaths.

As per analysts, up to four children or two older people per 10,000 may die daily in Somalia by December due to starvation if nothing is done to sufficiently tackle the problem.
Hunger Worsened by Conflict

The hunger problem is exacerbated by conflict. This is actually deemed to be the primary driver of severe hunger in Africa.

Ethiopia provides a good example of how conflict can promote hunger. There has been inter-ethnic violence in multiple places there for some time now. Sadly, the trend appears like one that could continue through 2022.

There is also the angle of the war in Ukraine. The invasion of that country by Russia has caused a surge in global food prices, with countries in Africa not spared. Both countries directly involved in the war jointly account for roughly 30 percent of the global wheat market.

The Ukraine war not only makes food more costly but also increases the costs of aid delivery.

Economic Instability Also Plays a Part

The crisis in Ukraine, coupled with the pandemic, has adversely affected economies across the world. Rising food and energy prices are global, so different governments have been contending with those. Essentially, most donor countries’ attention has been somewhat diverted from the plight of people suffering extreme hunger.

Read Also: What is Being Done by the Nigerian Government to Limit Bushmeat-Transmitted Diseases

Several richer countries have opted for monetary tightening due to rising inflation. This – on the other end – has caused low-income countries’ cost of credit to rise. Indebted poorer countries, including those in Africa, therefore find it harder to finance essential imports.

Governments in some African countries are also introducing monetary tightening and austerity measures. These impact incomes and hurt the purchasing power of those most at risk.

There is an urgent need for serious humanitarian action to preserve the lives and livelihoods of those at risk of famine and severe hunger. Without this, further conflict and civil unrests are likely from unpleasant socio-economic conditions. There may be clashes for the control or a share of reduced resources, including fertile land, that are available.

References

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/20/drought-in-horn-of-africa-places-22m-people-at-risk-of-starvation-says-un

https://reliefweb.int/report/world/food-crisis-tightens-its-grip-19-hunger-hotspots-famine-looms-horn-africa-new-report

USURY

Debt Slavery in Kenya on Fintech Explosion

PROJECT 

DECEMBER 8, 2022


Allan Odhiambo
GRANTEE
Pulitzer Center

This project focuses on the plight of poor Kenyans who have been trapped in debt by the explosion of fintech in the East African country.

For example, borrowings from the regulated Safaricom’s mobile money overdraft service known as Fuliza rose by 30.7% in the six months to June this year, fueled by households seeking to deal with high inflation. The amount of cash disbursed on Fuliza hit USD $2.38 billion in the first-half period, up from USD $1.82 billion in the same period of 2021. This translates to about USD $13 million daily borrowing despite Fuliza's 395.2 percent annualized fee.

The interest charges are even higher among hundreds of other unregulated digital lenders that disbursed billions to households with exaggerated loan costs of up to 520 percent, leading to mounting defaults. Some 14 million loan accounts held by 3 million individuals in Kenya have been blacklisted by the Credit Reference Bureaus (CRBs), signifying the debt trap. Many have been forced to liquidate property to clear their debts.

Debt: The First Five Thousand Years | The Anarchist Library

https://theanarchistlibrary.org › library › david-graeber-...

by D Graeber · 2009 · Cited by 227 — Debt: The First Five Thousand Years ... What follows are a series of brief reflections (part of a much broader work in progress) on debt, credit, and

A janitor laid off at Twitter's headquarters said one of Elon Musk's team members told him he'd be replaced by robots

NOT BY ONE OF MUSK'S ROBOTS THEY ARE BARELY ABLE TO FUNCTION

Grace Kay
Dec 9, 2022

Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco. Jed Jacobsohn/AP

A janitor told the BBC a member of Musk's team said his job would eventually be replaced by robots.
Four former Twitter cleaners told the publication they were laid off Monday without severance.
Twitter janitors went on strike Monday after they learned their jobs were in danger.

A member of Elon Musk's team told Julio Alvarado, a janitor who was laid off at Twitter earlier this week, that he'd eventually be replaced by robots, Alvarado told the BBC.

Four former Twitter janitors told the publication they were laid off Monday without severance. Alvarado, who worked as a cleaner at Twitter's headquarters for 10 years, said the tone at the company soured after Musk took over in October.

Since the acquisition, Alvarado said private security had been escorting him around the building while he was cleaning.

"People worked without worries," he told the BBC about the environment at Twitter before the acquisition. "Now we are afraid."

Olga Miranda, the president of the Service Employees International Union Local 87, said she believed the workers were laid off because they were in a union, the BBC reported. The workers organized a strike Monday after they learned the contractor that employed them was set to be replaced.

San Francisco's city attorney, David Chiu, has said he was investigating whether Twitter broke the law. According to San Francisco law, when a company changes contractors for cleaning services, the contractor is supposed to hire workers from the old contractor for at least 90 days during the transition.

Multiple workers told the BBC they were concerned about how they would be able to pay bills in the coming weeks, especially with the holidays coming up.

"Overnight we don't have anything," Adrianna Villarreal, a cleaner who had worked at Twitter since 2018, told the BBC.

"I can only tell you, I don't have money to pay the rent," Alvarado said. "I'm not going to have medical insurance. I don't know what I'm going to do."

A spokesperson for Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company is also being investigated by the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection over reports that Twitter installed bedrooms for workers at its headquarters.

On Wednesday, Musk defended his decision to turn some of Twitter's offices into bedrooms, saying he's "providing beds for tired employees."


Since his acquisition, Musk has fired more than half of Twitter's employees and brought in several workers from his other companies, as well as close business associates, like his PayPal mafia buddy David Sacks and personal attorney Alex Spiro.

Read the BBC's full story on its website.

UK

Thousands of striking Royal Mail workers stage rally near Parliament

SOPHIE WINGATE AND SHANE RYAN, PA

9 December 2022

Thousands of Royal Mail workers have staged a rally to mark another strike in the increasingly bitter dispute over “unachievable” conditions they said would “destroy” the company.

Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) from across the UK congregated outside Parliament in central London to voice their anger about the proposed changes they believe would turn them into “gig” economy workers.

CWU general secretary Dave Ward told the PA news agency: “They’re fighting for their jobs, their livelihood, and the service that they provide to the public.

“What the company are asking postal workers to agree is that we sack thousands of them whilst at the same time bringing in self-employed drivers, new recruits … and whilst retaining agency workers.”

He said the company’s demands for workers to start up to three hours later “will destroy the future of Royal Mail”.

“We’re not prepared to accept that under the banner of modernisation.”

Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, joins Dave Ward, general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, during a rally in Parliament Square (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Mr Ward said the action was aimed at securing job security for postal staff, who were classed as key workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s about keeping postal workers, decent working people, in work and making sure that this company has a successful future and that it doesn’t just get turned into just another parcel courier,” he said.

The union was expecting more than 15,000 members to attend the rally, describing it as the biggest postal workers’ demonstration in living memory.

Parliament Square was a sea of pink high-vis vests, flags and colourful flare

Postal worker Gary Wright travelled from Bristol on coaches with around 200 colleagues to join the action.

He told PA: “Why we’re here today is because the terms and conditions that they’re wanting to bring in are unachievable. They’re wanting to make it into basically a gig company taking on parcels to match with DPD and the likes of Amazon, but they have not got the infrastructure.

“They’ve made £750 million and then to say ‘now we’re losing a million pounds a day’. Where that’s gone, that’s total mismanagement.”

He said the conditions the employer wants to impose would mean working Sundays for the basic rate and “later starts, later finishes”.

“I have to travel to work and for me to get home it means it might be an extra even two hours on top of normal finish time because there’s traffic and everything.

“We work to live, not live to work.”

Postal workers hold a rally in Parliament Square (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Picket lines were mounted outside Royal Mail offices across the country.

Strikes are also planned on Sunday and next Wednesday and Thursday.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We spent three more days at Acas this week to discuss what needs to happen for the strikes to be lifted.

“In the end, all we received was another request for more pay, without the changes needed to fund the pay offer.

“The CWU know full well that in a business losing more than £1 million a day, we need to agree changes to the way we work so that we can fund the pay offer of up to 9% we have already made.

“While the CWU refuses to accept the need for change, it’s our customers and our people who suffer….

“We are doing everything we can to deliver Christmas for our customers and settle this dispute.”

Rail union boss Mick Lynch calls for urgent meeting with Prime Minister

10 December 2022, 00:04

Royal Mail strike. Picture: PA

The RMT general secretary has written to Rishi Sunak saying a meeting between the two men was now the best prospect of making any progress.

The leader of the biggest rail workers union has called for an urgent meeting with the Prime Minister in a bid to help resolve the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) are due to stage two 48-hour strikes next week following months of industrial action over the deadlocked row.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch has written to Rishi Sunak saying a meeting between the two men was now the best prospect of making any progress.

Mr Lynch said that from press reports, Transport Secretary Mark Harper’s appearance at the Transport Committee this week and from what he has been directly told by the Rail Delivery Group’s negotiators, it was clear that No 10 is “directing the mandate for the rail companies and has torpedoed the talks”.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (House of Commons/PA)

He wrote: “There is no reason why this dispute could not be settled in the same way that RMT has resolved disputes in Scotland and Wales.

“Where the Scottish and Welsh governments have had responsibility for mandates, pay settlements for 2022 have been agreed and neither of these settlements have been conditional on cutting staffing, and eroding safety, security and accessibility.

“It is already a national scandal that your government has been paying the train operating companies not to settle the dispute, indemnifying them to the tune of £300 million so that they have no incentive to reach a resolution.

“It’s not clear to me why, on top of this, your government has now torpedoed the negotiations, but I now believe that a meeting with yourself represents the best prospect of any renewed progress.

“We have a duty to explore every possible option for settling this dispute and I’m willing to do my part. I hope you will agree to meet me.”

A Government spokesperson said: “It’s incredibly disappointing that, despite a new and improved deal offering job security and a fair pay rise, the RMT continues to hold Christmas hostage with more damaging strikes.

“The Government has played its part by facilitating a fair and decent offer and the RMT and its members should vote this deal through and end this harmful disruption.”

By Press Association

Some Banks May Struggle To Pay Back ECB Loans, Says EU Watchdog

By Huw Jones

Dec 09, 2022 

LONDON (Reuters) – Some banks in the euro zone could struggle to pay back money borrowed from the European Central Bank as volatile markets make it harder to raise funds, the European Union’s banking watchdog said on Friday.

Banks had until recently been sitting on 2.1 trillion euros ($2.21 trillion) worth of cash from the ECB’s Targeted Longer-Term Refinancing Operations (TLTRO), but are now repaying them after the central bank raised the borrowing costs on them.

“Banks must repay substantial amounts of central bank loans until 2024. A number of banks will be able to rely on existing liquidity buffers – including central bank deposits – to pay back central bank loans,” the European Banking Authority said in a report on banking risks in the 12 months to June 2022.

“Some banks however may need to issue additional debt or increase deposits. It remains to be seen how costly replacing central bank funding will be,” EBA said.

Meeting separate minimum requirements for issuing debt that can be written down in a crisis could also prove a challenge for some banks, EBA said.

New inflows of “non-performing” or souring loans increased substantially in the first half of 2022 as the economy began to deteriorate and consumers were hit by a cost of living crisis, prompting banks to increase provisions.

Banks continue to hold capital well above regulatory requirements, the watchdog said.

The average return on equity, a key measure of profitability, remains below the estimated cost of equity, with best performers from Greece, Romania and Slovenia, and laggards from Hungary and Ireland.

“In the medium term, market participants do not expect major profitability improvements,” EBA said.

 Signage is seen outside the European Central Bank (ECB) building, in Frankfurt, Germany, July 21, 2022. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo

UN Security Council to vote on blanket aid sanctions exemption for humanitarian efforts

MICHELLE NICHOLS
REUTERS

PUBLISHED YESTERDAY

The U.N. Security Council will vote on Friday on a proposal by Ireland and the United States to give humanitarian efforts a blanket exemption from U.N. sanctions, addressing aid groups’ concerns about the impact of such measures on their work.

Ireland’s U.N. Ambassador Fergal Mythen said ahead of the vote that the 15-member Security Council had an important opportunity “to comprehensively deal with the unintended humanitarian consequences of U.N. sanctions regimes.”

When humanitarian groups have been affected by U.N. sanctions, the Security Council has traditionally dealt with issues on a case-by-case basis. The draft resolution to be voted on Friday broadly states that support for humanitarian efforts would not be a violation of any U.N. asset freezes.

“The provision, processing or payment of funds, other financial assets, or economic resources, or the provision of goods and services necessary to ensure the timely delivery of humanitarian assistance or to support other activities that support basic human needs … are permitted,” reads the draft.

AID NEEDS RISE

If adopted, it will apply to U.N. bodies, international organizations, humanitarian groups with U.N. General Assembly observer status – like the International Committee of the Red Cross – and aid groups working with the United Nations.

“With needs at record levels globally, it is critical all efforts are made to remove obstacles to reaching communities with assistance,” said Amanda Catanzano, acting vice president of Policy and Advocacy at the International Rescue Committee.

“The shift in power in Afghanistan last year underscored the urgent, overdue need for this kind of clarity during an emergency,” she said. “We cannot predict the crises of tomorrow, but we can act now to create universal clarity.”

A resolution needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes – by the United States, Russia, China, Britain of France – to pass in the council. Diplomats expected the measure to be adopted.

The draft text stresses that sanctions are an important tool “in the maintenance and restoration of international peace and security, including in support of peace processes, countering terrorism, and promoting non-proliferation.

The Security Council has more than a dozen sanctions regimes in place.

One of the toughest U.N. sanctions regimes targets North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. U.N. experts have said that while challenging to assess accurately, “there can be little doubt that U.N. sanctions have unintentionally affected the humanitarian situation” there.

UK 

Domestic abuse charity 'forced' to 'temporarily cease' many operations due to safety fears after palace racism row

Sistah Space, founded by Ngozi Fulani, said in a statement that it had to "ensure the safety of our service users and our team", following "horrific" social media abuse.


Saturday 10 December 2022


The charity of the domestic abuse campaigner who was asked where she "really came from" at Buckingham Palace has had to suspend operations due to safety concerns.

Founder of Sistah Space, Ngozi Fulani, said the organisation, which supports women of African and Caribbean heritage who have been affected by domestic and sexual abuse, has been "forced to temporarily cease" many of its operations after she spoke out about her treatment by Lady Susan Hussey.

After repeatedly challenging the British noblewoman when she said she was British, Ms Fulani said she had suffered "horrific abuse" on social media.

In a statement posted to the charity's Instagram page on Friday night, Sistah Space said: "Thank you for the continued support and messages.

"Unfortunately recent events meant that we were forced to temporarily cease many of our operations to ensure the safety of our service users and our team.

"We are overwhelmed by the amount of support and encouragement and look forward to fully reinstating our services as soon as safely possible."

Sistah Space's statement released on Instagram

Lady Susan, the Prince of Wales's 83-year-old godmother, resigned from the household and apologised after she repeatedly challenged Ms Fulani at the Queen Consort's reception highlighting violence against women and girls.

Speaking to ITV's Good Morning Britain, Ms Fulani said the royal also touched her hair during the encounter, an action she described as a "no-no".



The Sistah Space founder said: "I was stood next to two other women - black women - and she (Lady Susan) just made a beeline for me and she took my locks and moved it out of the way so that she could see my name badge."

In comments to Sky News, Ms Fulani described the interaction as a "violation" adding in another interview that she thought the comments were down to racism, not Lady Susan's age.

Ngozi Fulani says she felt abused

"I've heard so many suggestions it's about her age and stuff like that and I think that's a kind of a disrespect about ageism," she said on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"Are we saying that because of your age you can't be racist or you can't be inappropriate?

"If you invite people to an event, as I said, against domestic abuse, and there are people there from different demographics, I don't see the relevance of whether I'm British or not British. You're trying to make me unwelcome in my own space."