UPDATE

NATO NATION BUILDING

Libyan flood death toll hits an estimated 6,000 as rescue efforts ramp up


A relative of an Egyptian man who died in the storm that hit Libya shows his picture at Kafr Sharif village in Beni Suef, about 120 km south of Cairo on Wednesday.

 Photo by Derna Khaled Elfiq/EPA-EFE

Sept. 13 (UPI) -- The official Libyan flood death toll rose to an estimated 6,000 Wednesday as rescue and aid operations ramped up. Roughly 10,000 more people were missing and hospital morgues were full even as many remained out of service to treat survivors.

"The death toll is huge and might reach thousands," said Tamer Ramadan of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

The Libyan interior ministry raised the official death toll to 5,300 Tuesday night after heavy rains destroyed two dams.

The number of deaths is expected to rise as more victims are discovered.

A quarter of the coastal city of Derna was destroyed, leaving dead bodies lying in the streets.

"They tell us that almost a quarter [of Derna] was vanished away by the hurricane. They tell us that the dead bodies, you can see them on the streets everywhere," Ramadan said, citing reports from aid workers.

The United Nations International Organization for Migration said more than 30,000 people were displaced by the flooding in Derna.

"The Martyrs' committee [has been set up to] identify the missing people and to implement procedures for identifying and burial in accordance with Sharia and legal laws and standards," said Adel Juma, Libya's minister of state for cabinet affairs.

The International Rescue Committee's Ciaran Donnelly said in a statement, "The challenges are immense, with phone lines down and heavy destruction hampering rescue efforts."

A Libyan reporter told the BBC people in flood-ravaged Derna are living through "doomsday" with entire families wiped put by flood waters.

Johr Ali said he has heard from survivors who describe a harrowing situation that is beyond catastrophic.

"People are hearing the cries of babies underground, they don't know how to get to them," Ali said. "People are using shovels to get the bodies from underneath the ground, they are using their own hands. There are photos of the city of people getting bodies out with their naked, bare hands."

Aid is being mobilized internationally from the European Union, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Tunisia.

The U.S. Embassy in Tripoli has made an official declaration of humanitarian need.

"The declaration of humanitarian need will authorize initial funding that the United States will provide in support of relief efforts in Libya, " Special Envoy Richard Boyce Norland wrote on X.

"We are coordinating with U.N. partners and Libyan authorities to assess how best to target official U.S. assistance. In addition, we have been contacted by many Libyan Americans anxious to make private contributions to relief efforts and we will work with Libyan authorities to direct those resources to where they are most needed."

Searchers race to recover bodies in Libya as death toll from flooding hits 5,100

BY SAMY MAGDY AND YOUSEF MURAD
September 13, 2023

DERNA, Libya (AP) — Search teams combed streets, wrecked buildings and even the sea Wednesday to look for bodies in a coastal Libyan city where the collapse of two dams unleashed a massive flash flood that killed at least 5,100 people.

The Mediterranean city of Derna has struggled to get help after Sunday night’s deluge washed away most access roads. Aid workers who managed to reach the city described devastation in its center, with thousands still missing and tens of thousands left homeless.

“Bodies are everywhere, inside houses, in the streets, at sea. Wherever you go, you find dead men, women, and children,” Emad al-Falah, an aid worker from Benghazi, said over the phone from Derna. “Entire families were lost.”

Mediterranean storm Daniel caused deadly flooding Sunday in many towns of eastern Libya, but the worst-hit was Derna. Two dams in the mountains above the city collapsed, sending floodwaters roaring down the Wadi Derna river and through the city center, sweeping away entire city blocks.

MORE ON THE LIBYA FLOODS

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As much as a quarter of the city has disappeared, emergency officials said.

Waves rose as high as 7 meters (23 feet), Yann Fridez, head of the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Libya, told broadcaster France24.

Mohammed Derna, a teacher in the city, said he, his family and neighbors rushed to the roof of their apartment building, stunned at the volume of water rushing by. It reached the second story of many buildings, he said. They watched people below, including women and children being washed away.


A general view of the city of Derna is seen on Tuesday, Sept. 12., 2023. (AP Photo/Jamal Alkomaty

)
A general view of the city of Derna is seen on Tuesday, Sept. 12., 2023.

“They were screaming, ‘Help, help,’” he said over the phone from a field hospital in Derna. “It was like a Hollywood horror movie.”

Derna lies on a narrow coastal plain, under steep mountains. Only two roads from the south remain usable, and they involve a long, winding route through the mountains.

Collapsed bridges over the river split the city center, further hampering movement.

Search teams went through shattered apartment buildings and retrieved the dead floating offshore in the Mediterranean Sea, al-Falah said.



A general view of the city of Derna is seen on Tuesday, Sept. 12., 2023. (AP Photo/Jamal Alkomaty)

Ossama Ali, a spokesman for an ambulance center in eastern Libya, said at least 5,100 deaths were recorded in Derna, along with around 100 others elsewhere in eastern Libya. More than 7,000 people in the city were injured.

A spokesman for the eastern Libyan interior ministry put the death tally in Derna at more than 5,300, according to the state-run news agency.

The number of deaths was likely to increase since teams are still collecting bodies, Ali said. At least 9,000 people are missing, but that number could drop as communications are restored.

At least 30,000 people in Derna were displaced by the flooding, the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration said.





This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows a dam collapse in Derna, Libya, on Sept. 2, 2023. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows a dam collapse in Derna, Libya, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

The storm hit other areas in eastern Libya, including the towns of Bayda, Susa and Marj. Rescuers retrieved at least 150 bodies Wednesday from the sea off Bayda, bringing the death tally in the town to about 200, Ali said.

The startling devastation pointed to the storm’s intensity, but also Libya’s vulnerability. The country is divided by rival governments, one in the east, the other in the west, and the result has been neglect of infrastructure in many areas.

Ahmed Abdalla, a survivor who joined the search-and-rescue effort, said they were putting bodies in the yard of a hospital before taking them for burial in mass graves at Derna’s sole intact cemetery.

“The situation is indescribable. Entire families dead in this disaster. Some were washed away to the sea,” Abdalla said by phone.

Derna is 250 kilometers (150 miles) east of Benghazi, where international aid started to arrive on Tuesday.

Neighboring Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia, as well as Turkey, Italy and the United Arab Emirates, sent rescue teams and aid. The U.K. and German governments sent assistance too, including blankets, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, tents, water filters and generators.



This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows Derna, Libya, on Sept. 2, 2023, before flooding. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)



This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows flooding in Derna, Libya, on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

U.S. President Joe Biden also said the United States would send money to relief organizations and coordinate with Libyan authorities and the United Nations to provide additional support.

Authorities transferred hundreds of bodies to morgues in nearby towns. More than 300, including 84 Egyptians, were brought to the morgue in the city of Tobruk, 169 kilometers (105 miles) east of Derna, the local Medical Center reported.

The victims’ lists reflected how Libya, despite its turmoil, was always a magnet for workers from around the region because of its oil industry.

More than 70 of Derna’s dead hailed from a single southern Egyptian village, el-Sharif. On Wednesday morning, hundreds attended a mass funeral in the village for 64 people.

Rabei Hanafy said his extended family lost 16 men in the flooding, 12 of whom were buried Wednesday. Another funeral for four others was held in a town in the northern Nile Delta.

Among those killed in Libya was the family of Saleh Sariyeh, a Palestinian originally from the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon who had lived in Derna for decades. The 62-year-old, his wife and two daughters were all killed when their home in Derna was washed away, his nephew Mohammed Sariyeh said.

The four were buried in Derna. Because of ongoing gunbattles in Ein el-Hilweh, the family there could not hold a gathering to receive condolences from friends and neighbors, Mohammed said.

Derna, about 900 kilometers (560 miles) east of the capital, Tripoli, is controlled by the forces of powerful military commander Khalifa Hifter, who is allied with the eastern Libyan government. The rival government in western Libya, based in Tripoli, is allied with other armed groups.

Derna was once a hub for extremist groups in the years of chaos that followed the NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.
___

Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press Writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.

Libya floods: How political turmoil has left infrastructure crumbling

Issued on: 13/09/2023 

01:51

In Libya the Red Crescent says 10,000 are missing after heavy rains swept away two dams - causing massive flooding. The situation in the country has been made worse by the fact that over a decade of political instability has left critical infrastructure in a pitiful state. The country’s two rival administrations are also complicating relief efforts.

Fears mount of surging death toll in Libya flood disaster

13/09/2023 - 

01:32

Bodies were washing ashore in eastern Libya on Wednesday, swelling the death toll from a storm that swept whole neighbourhoods out to sea, with thousands already confirmed dead and many thousands more still missing.

SEE

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2023/09/storm-daniel-hits-libya-basic-needs-are.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2023/09/storm-daniel-flooding-in-libya-leaves.html

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2023/09/libya-closes-four-major-oil-ports-as.html

BP shares drop after CEO quits over relationships

London (AFP) – Shares in British energy major BP dropped Wednesday after chief executive Bernard Looney resigned unexpectedly over his failure to disclose past relationships with colleagues.

BP CEO Bernard Looney is leaving after less than four years in the role 

© Arun SANKAR / AFP/File

BP's stock fell nearly one percent to 518.20 pence at midday on London's falling FTSE 100 index, despite rising oil prices that normally boost energy firms.

The company announced late Tuesday that Looney, 53, resigned "with immediate effect" after admitting he had not been "fully transparent" about historical relationships with colleagues.

The Irishman is leaving after less than four years in the role, having steered the energy major through a tumultuous period that included huge swings in prices owing to the Covid pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"The higher oil price might limit some of the fallout from the shock resignation... but this is a highly unwelcome turn of events for investors given his long tenure at the company and his pivotal role at the helm as it navigates the tricky transition to greener energy," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.

"Change at the top is always unsettling and the abrupt nature of his departure will intensify reactions, particularly as it comes at such a sensitive time in the company's strategy," she said.

Looney took the top job in February 2020, shortly before the 10th anniversary of the explosion on the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico that triggered the worst oil spill in US history.

The disaster killed 11 employees and cost the British firm tens of billions of dollars in damages and compensation.

Looney's arrival came also shortly before oil prices briefly turned negative as Covid lockdowns slashed energy demand and slammed the sector.

Finance chief Murray Auchincloss will now act as interim CEO while the group seeks a permanent successor.

Other CEOs, too

"Compared to the multi-billion-dollar fines following the Deepwater Horizon spill, briefly negative oil futures prices and dividend cuts during the pandemic, the resignation is a surprise but perhaps not a major chapter in BP history," said Interactive Investor analyst Richard Hunter.

"With a temporary replacement now confirmed, BP will be hoping for markets to regard the situation as business as usual," he said.

"There will, however, inevitably be uncertainty until such time as a permanent replacement is found and the company clarifies whether there will be any changes to its current strategy."

Looney had also come under fierce criticism from environmentalists, who have accused BP and rivals of not going far enough in transitioning away from fossil fuels.

He is not the first head of a major global company to resign or be ousted over relationships with employees.

Steve Easterbook was ousted as CEO of McDonald's in 2019 for having a "consensual relationship" with an employee, in violation of company policy.

A year earlier, Brian Krzanich stepped down as chief executive of US computer chip giant Intel over a "past consensual relationship" with an employee in violation with the company's non-fraternization policy.


13/09/2023 
© 2023 AFP

BP chief Bernard Looney resigns ‘with immediate effect’

By AFP
September 12, 2023

Oil giaqnt BP is offloading its 19.75 percent share in Russian-owned Rozneft. 

Credit - Weixi Zeng, (CC BY-SA 3.0)

British energy giant BP said Tuesday that its chief executive Bernard Looney has resigned “with immediate effect”, after admitting that he had not been “fully transparent” about historical relationships with colleagues.

“Bernard Looney has notified the company that he has resigned as chief executive officer with immediate effect,” the company said in a statement, adding that finance chief Murray Auchincloss would act as interim CEO.

Looney, 53, is leaving the energy firm after less than four years in the role.

BP said that in May last year its board received and reviewed allegations from an anonymous source relating to Looney’s conduct “in respect of personal relationships with company colleagues”.

Looney disclosed “a small number of historical relationships with colleagues prior to becoming CEO” during the review, it added, while noting that no breach of the company’s code of conduct was found.

However, the board was given his assurances over his disclosures of past personal relationships, as well as his future behaviour, according to BP.

“Further allegations of a similar nature were received recently, and the company immediately began investigating with the support of external legal counsel,” it said, adding that the process was continuing.


Bernard Looney ‘accepts that he was not fully transparent’ – Copyright AFP/File Rodrigo BUENDIA

“Mr Looney has today informed the company that he now accepts that he was not fully transparent in his previous disclosures,” BP added.

“He did not provide details of all relationships and accepts he was obligated to make more complete disclosure.”

BP said the board expects all staff to behave in accordance with the company’s values.

“All leaders in particular are expected to act as role models and to exercise good judgement in a way that earns the trust of others,” the company said.

Looney has been at BP since joining the British energy behemoth in 1991, and was appointed chief executive in 2020.

The company said no decisions had yet been made regarding any remuneration payments.

Looney had vowed to reposition BP as a leader in clean energy technologies, and gradually cut oil and gas production to reduce carbon emissions, but environmentalists have criticised the firm for inaction in that regard during his tenure.

Like many of its rivals, BP earlier this year unveiled record annual profits for 2022, thanks to soaring oil and gas prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

However, earnings have fallen somewhat from those heights so far this year, as energy prices retreated for much of 2023.

Nonetheless BP said in August it was hiking its dividend and returning $1.5 billion to shareholders by repurchasing stock.

Stolen Van Gogh returned in IKEA bag 'damaged but restorable'

Groningen (Netherlands) (AFP) – The precious Vincent Van Gogh painting stolen then sensationally returned to a Dutch art sleuth in an Ikea bag has been scratched but should be reparable, its museum director told AFP Wednesday.

The Van Gogh work is scratched but should be recoverable 

© Handout / ARTHUR BRAND/AFP

Thieves snatched the Van Gogh masterpiece "Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring" in the middle of the night in 2020 while the painting was on loan to a museum near Amsterdam from its home at the Groninger Museum in the northern Netherlands.

The painting, worth up to six million euros ($6.45m), was then returned on Monday to Arthur Brand, known as the "Indiana Jones" of the art world for his work in researching and recovering stolen artworks.

Brand took possession of the painting bound in bubble wrap, a pillow case and stuffed in a blue Ikea bag, but the work still appears to have sustained some damage.

"It is damaged by scratches so it's not in a perfect state but it's restorable," Groninger Museum director Andreas Bluhm told AFP in an interview.

"When it's there in the IKEA bag, of course it was hot, so this is not ideal. It had already suffered for three and a half years," he said, adding: "But then bringing it in that same bag is quite safe because it's the least conspicuous way of moving it. Nobody would suspect anything."

The painting is now at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, where it is being examined, he said, adding that it could be some time before the work is available to the public.

"Even the restorer cannot tell you how long it will take. Probably months rather than weeks," he said.

What offers some hope for a successful restoration is that Van Gogh painted the work on paper glued to a thick wooden panel, rather than on canvas, so scratches should be superficial.

Bluhm said the time between the robbery and the recovery had been a rollercoaster of emotions. The piece had never before left his museum, so its theft came as a hammer blow.

"The painting is part of our museum's identity and our collective collection. So that hurt even more," he said.

Then came news last Thursday of a possible return, giving him sleepless nights.

"They said 'please come to Amsterdam to identify the painting'. I said 'OK, but I'll believe it when I see it'."

"You constantly keep on thinking about it but at the same time you don't want to hope too much because it could still fail," he said.

When the painting was finally identified, he went straight to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam to give them an almighty surprise.

"They didn't even know I was coming. I called and said 'I'm coming, are you there? Can you open the door and let me in. I have something for you'."

Issued on: 13/09/2023 -
© 2023 AFP

SEE

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2023/09/art-detective-helps-dutch-police.html

EU confronts Chinese subsidies with electric car probe

Strasbourg (France) (AFP) – Brussels will investigate Chinese state subsidies for electric cars, the EU chief said Wednesday, vowing to defend Europe's industry from unfair competition.

China's BYD has become a major producer of electric cars 

The move is a victory for France which has expressed concerns that Europe will fall behind during the green transition if it is not more assertive when confronted with China's alleged protectionism.

But some EU member states, including Germany, are wary of angering Beijing, since they rely on trade relations with China, although Berlin welcomed the probe Wednesday.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced the anti-subsidy investigation, vowing to defend Europe's manufacturers.

"Global markets are now flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars. And their price is kept artificially low by huge state subsidies," von der Leyen said, during a speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

The probe could lead the European Union to impose duties on those cars that it believes are unfairly sold at a lower price, thereby undercutting European competitors.

"Europe is open for competition but not for a race to the bottom," the European Commission president said.

A Chinese official accused the EU of "protectionism" in a social media post.

Pointing to information from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), Wang Lutong, director-general of the Chinese foreign ministry's department of European affairs, said "many EU members subsidise their electric vehicle industries".

"In what position is the commission to launch anti-subsidy investigation into electric vehicles from China? This is nothing but sheer protectionism," he said.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said the probe was a "very good decision" during a visit to Berlin. Germany's Economy Minister Robert Habeck said it showed the "right attitude" and was about tackling "unfair competition".

Paris has already announced measures that would provide subsidies for new electric cars based on the manufacturers' emissions output. This would be more difficult for Chinese cars since their production often relies on coal-powered electricity.

'Distorted competition'

European car makers also hailed the EU's investigation as a "positive signal".

"The European Commission is recognising the increasingly asymmetric situation our industry is faced with, and is giving urgent consideration to distorted competition in our sector," said Sigrid de Vries, director general of the ACEA.

There are growing concerns across Europe about how much the continent relies on Chinese products, especially those needed for the EU's focus on clean energy.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has called on the bloc to define its own approach to Beijing 

© FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP

The EU's internal market chief Thierry Breton last week warned about a trend emerging where Europe was "being relegated to net imports of electric vehicles or solar panels".

China could overtake Japan to become the world's largest car manufacturer this year, according to some experts.

But European manufacturers have also to contend with state subsidies for electric vehicles across the Atlantic.

The US Inflation Reduction Act directs some $370 billion in subsidies towards America's energy transition, including tax breaks for US-made electric vehicles and batteries.

As she made the announcement, von der Leyen harked back to the bitter dispute with China over solar panel imports a decade ago.

"We have not forgotten how China's unfair trade practices affected our solar industry. Many young businesses were pushed out by heavily subsidised Chinese competitors," she said.

The EU imposed anti-dumping duties in 2013 after European panel manufacturers complained they were being forced out of business by underpriced Chinese imports.

The restrictions were scrapped five years later.

'Vital' dialogue

Von der Leyen has called on the EU to define its own approach to Beijing, although some of Europe's larger powers want to be cautious to avoid severing business ties.

Despite her strong comments, von der Leyen said it was "vital" for Europe to maintain "communication and dialogue with China".

"Because there are also topics, where we can and have to cooperate. De-risk, not decouple –- this will be my approach with the Chinese leadership at the EU-China Summit later this year," she added.

The EU's trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis will head to China next week, he said in a social media post, "to engage on trade and economic opportunities/challenges".


Issued on: 13/09/2023 - 

© 2023 AFP

Von der Leyen announces China car probe, presents herself as EU business champion

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced an anti-subsidy probe into Chinese electric vehicles on Wednesday, presenting herself as a champion of European business as she defended her track record ahead of elections next year.

Issued on: 13/09/2023 - 

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers her annual speech on the state of the European Union at the European Parliament, September 13, 2023 in Strasbourg, France. 

© Jean-François Badias, AP

By:NEWS WIRES|

Video by: Armen GEORGIAN

Von der Leyen, who is widely expected to seek a second ter as head of the EU executive next year but has yet to announce her plans, promised in her annual state of the union speech to take steps to help Europe's wind industry, make business easier for small companies and address labour shortages.

"Europe will do whatever it takes to keep its competitive edge," she told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

"In a world of uncertainty, Europe once again must answer the call of history," the 64-year-old former German defence minister told EU lawmakers, saying this applied to a wide array of policies, including the EU's support for Ukraine, promotion of green energy and defence of business against unfair competition.

In a speech that announced few concrete steps on the foreign policy front - Ukraine, she said, must do more before joining the bloc — the most substantial announcement was the launch of the probe into China's electric vehicles.

The Commission, she said, would investigate whether to impose punitive tariffs to protect European Union producers against cheaper Chinese electric vehicle imports it says are benefiting from excessive state subsidies.

"Europe is open to competition. Not for a race to the bottom," she said.

Von der Leyen, who has been at the head of the bloc's executive Commission since the end of 2019, also said she would appoint an envoy to help small and medium-sized enterprises tackle red tape to make it easier to do business.
'Great strides'

In her last State of the Union speech before European Parliament elections next June, she said the Commission was proposing to extend special protections granted to Ukrainian citizens who fled to the EU to escape Russia's war.

She also restated the EU's commitment to long-term support for Kyiv, praising the "great strides" it had made towards joining the EU but saying hard work still lay ahead.

"Our support to Ukraine will endure," she said.

Lawmakers gave a standing ovation after von der Leyen recounted the fate of Victoria Amelina, a Ukrainian writer and activist who was killed in a Russian attack on Ukraine.

MEPs applauded as Héctor Abad Faciolince, a Colombian writer who was wounded in the same attack, showed a photograph of Amelina to the chamber.

An upcoming package to support Europe's wind industry would be aimed at helping the sector as renewable energy companies struggle with steep inflation, von der Leyen said.

"We will fast-track permitting even more. We will improve the auction systems across the EU. We will focus on skills, access to finance and stable supply chains," she said, adding: "The future of our clean tech industry has to be made in Europe," she sai

Looking back at her track record, she told the EU assembly: "When I stood in front of you in 2019 with my programme for a green, digital and geopolitical Europe, I know that some had doubts ... But look at where Europe is today."

"We have seen the birth of a geopolitical Union — supporting Ukraine, standing up to Russia's aggression, responding to an assertive China and investing in partnerships," she said, also touting policies to promote green energy.

Von der Leyen also said the wealthy bloc must engage more with African countries and accused Russia of stirring chaos in the Sahel region of the continent.

"We need to show the same unity of purpose towards Africa as we have shown for Ukraine. We need to focus on cooperation with legitimate governments and regional organisations," she said.

(Reuters)

 

Von der Leyen vows ‘fair’ green deal for EU farms and industry

By  AFP
September 13, 2023

Ursula von der Leyen's term ends next year, but she has so far not said if she wants a second one - 

Copyright AFP Adem ALTAN

Antoine POLLEZ, Julien GIRAULT

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen promised on Wednesday that Europe’s green energy transition would be “fair and just” for farmers and businesses fearful of new regulations and unfair foreign competition.

Nine months ahead of the European Parliament elections, von der Leyen’s State of the Union address to MEPs was more focused on addressing voters’ economic concerns than on foreign crises like the war in Ukraine.

Brussels will, she said, launch a probe into what she said were the “huge state subsidies” allowing China to flood the European market with cheap electric cars, opening a new front in the battle to lead the new green economy.

She said the EU would fast-track permits for new wind turbines, vowed that “agriculture and protection of the natural world can go hand in hand” and promised to organise an international conference on ways to fight human traffickers bringing migrants to Europe.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had been the centrepiece of the previous year’s address, but played a less central role this time, with the focus on what the EU must do to prepare itself to accommodate Kyiv and the countries of the Western Balkans as new members.

Some member states have dragged their feet on EU enlargement in the past, arguing that Brussels must streamline its decision-making rules — under which the 27 existing member states wield a veto in many areas — before taking on any more members.

– ‘Fit for enlargement’ –

But von der Leyen, who is due to report back to member states next month on Ukraine’s progress towards meeting the criteria for membership talks, said that Kyiv had made “great strides” and that reform of EU rules should not be an excuse for delay.

The president of the European Commission told MEPs the EU should reform “but we cannot -– and we should not –- wait for treaty change to move ahead with enlargement. A union fit for enlargement can be achieved faster,” she said.

“The future of Ukraine is in our Union. The future of the Western Balkans is in our Union. The future of Moldova is in our union,” she declared.

Von der Leyen’s commission has begun to lose some of its most senior members, as figures like former vice-president and Green Deal supremo Frans Timmermans seek new jobs ahead of the end of their five year mandate next year.

There is increasing speculation in Brussels that von der Leyen herself will seek to return for a second term, but first will come the June European Parliament elections, which will help define the political balance as a round of horse-trading over top European jobs begins.

Europe’s ongoing transition towards clean-energy technology has been at the heart of the commission’s agenda, but EU leaders are looking nervously over their shoulder at the mounting anger of farmers concerned that new green rules threaten their livelihoods.

In the Netherlands, a brand new populist farmers’ party, the BBB, rocked the political establishment in March by seizing the biggest share of seats in upper house elections.

In Poland, the country’s reputation as Kyiv’s staunchest ally has been damaged by popular opposition to Ukrainian grain imports.

And in France, memories of the Yellow Vest protest — a nationwide movement that sprang out of rural opposition to higher diesel prices — remain fresh.

– Fire and flood –

In the European Parliament, von der Leyen’s own conservative EPP group has begun trying to water down nature protection laws opposed by farmers, and the president herself marked her return from the summer break with a surprise vow to review the wolf’s protected status.

“I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to our farmers, to thank them for providing us with food day after day,” von der Leyen said.

“It is not always an easy task, as the consequences of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, climate change bringing droughts, forest fires and flooding, and new obligations are all having a growing impact on farmers’ work and incomes. We must bear that in mind.”

European industry, meanwhile, is faced with the challenge of the United States and China pouring subsidies into their own battery, solar and electrical vehicle sectors.

“It is a crucial industry for the clean economy, with a huge potential for Europe,” von der Leyen said.

“But global markets are now flooded with cheaper Chinese electric cars, and their price is kept artificially low by huge state subsidies,” she said, promising “an anti-subsidy investigation” that could theoretically lead to restrictions on imports.

burs-dc/del/jj

‘Women, Life, Freedom’

Iran’s regime has crushed anti-veil protests, but it has ‘lost the battle’ for credibility

Agence France-Presse
September 12, 2023

A poster displayed at a protest after the death of Mahsa Amini at the National Mall, Washington DC, October 22, 2022.© Jose Luis Magana, AP

The crackdown was increasing, the screws of repression getting tighter, in the weeks leading up to the first death anniversary of Mahsa Amini, also known as Jina Amini.

The 22-year-old’s death in police custody on September 16, 2022, sparked protests across Iran for months until the authorities responded with brutal tactics, forcing protesters indoors or into exile. But with the anniversary of Amini’s death approaching, the regime was taking no chances.

Weeks ahead of the one-year milestone, the families of protesters killed by security forces were barred from holding commemorative gatherings at their graves, in what Amnesty International called the “cruellest restrictions”. Several women’s rights activists were also detained and accused of planning events to mark the death anniversary, according to Human Rights Watch.

A year ago, Amini was arrested by Iran’s Gasht-e-Ershad – or guidance patrols, better known as the “morality police” – for “improperly” wearing the mandatory hijab.

As enraged female protesters took to the streets, many defying the hijab rules – some burning their headscarves and cutting locks of hair – there were reports suggesting the Gasht-e-Ershad had been suspended.

But since mid-July, the morality police squads have been back on Iran’s streets, aided by other security forces. In early August, President Ebrahim Raisi took to the airwaves to tell the Iranian people they should not “worry” because, he promised, “the removal of the hijab will definitely come to an end”.

A new “Hijab and Chastity” bill is now working its way into law, with a package of repressive measures, including exorbitant fines for hijab offenders and increased police surveillance.

Iranians have a lot to worry about, including the rising cost of living, hyperinflation, corruption, economic collapse, and isolation under international sanctions while the regime plays hardball in nuclear negotiations.

The prospect of women revealing their hair in public does not top the list of concerns for most Iranians.

But for their unpopular president, it’s a major worry. The veil in Iran symboliezs much more than just a hair-covering garment. The death in custody of one young woman, hailing from the marginalized Kurdish-Sunni periphery of the official Shiite state, exposed the weakness of the Islamic Republic four decades after the 1979 revolution.


A year after Amini’s demise, that chapter in Iran’s post-revolutionary history is still being written and it could have dramatic consequences for the country – as well as the international community.

‘A very fragile moment for Iran’

Since the protests erupted last year, Iranian authorities have used a combination of old and new measures to suppress public anti-regime displays.

Security forces killed at least 537 protesters, the majority in the first months of the protests, according to an April 4 report by Oslo-based NGO, Iran Human Rights. At least seven men have been executed in connection to the protests following “hasty proceedings”, noted a UN-appointed Independent International Fact-Finding Mission.

The appointment of the fact-finding mission on November 24 was hailed as a “landmark” by rights groups and came after intense negotiations at the Geneva-based Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

In its first oral report presented in July, the fact-finding mission noted that Iranian authorities had not yet responded to repeated requests for a visit. “Even today, ten months after the events, no official data is publicly available regarding those arrested, detained, charged or convicted in connection with the protests,” the team noted.

In other words, it was business as usual for the Iranian regime after yet another crackdown on yet another round of protests that have been erupting with increased frequency over the past decade.

But this time, some unfamiliar suppression tactics were also applied, and they were disquieting.

As the number of defiantly unveiled women in public soared, the Islamic regime targeted prominent female influencers, including actresses, with dubious psychiatric diagnoses. As judges sentenced women to treatment for “anti-family personality disorder”, Iranian mental health organizations warned that the authorities were “exploiting psychiatry”.

A year after Amini’s death in custody, the figures may be disputed, but the facts are clear. “The government has very effectively crushed the protests that erupted last year. But anger at the regime is even worse,” said Barbara Slavin, distinguished fellow at the Washington DC-based Stimson Center. “The regime has been very effective in terms of repression, but it’s been a total failure at improving the lives of ordinary Iranians.”

The explosive mix of public rage and regime suppression makes it hard to say who really won the day, much less the year. “It’s a mixed picture: on the one hand, society is miserable, angry, restive. On the other hand, Iranians have shown that the regime no longer calls the shots,” said Slavin. “It’s a very fragile moment for Iran.”

‘Women, Life, Freedom’

The fragility was exposed last year by women, the officially fragile 51 percent of Iran’s 87 million population. Adopting the rallying cry, “Zan, Zendegi, Azadi” – Women, Life, Freedom – Iran’s women led the latest charge against the regime with a mix of courage, creativity and doggedness that electrified the world.

Since the 1979 revolution, women have been used as a political symbol by the Islamic Republic, with the veil promoted as the most manifest proclamation of its values. More than 40 years later, that political symbolism provided the seed for its own unraveling.

“Heavily discriminating against women in all aspects of life, the Islamic Republic’s policies on compulsory veil emerges throughout the years as the symbol of its control over women’s bodies and life. Regardless, Iranian women have remained courageously outspoken for their rights, while having paid and continuing to pay a high price for their dissent,” said Azadeh Pourzand, senior fellow at the Center for Middle East and Global Order.

While the government is pushing for the adoption of the “Hijab and Chastity” law, Slavin doubts it will end the regime’s worries. “Overall, the government has lost the battle for the obligatory hijab – they can’t arrest all the women going around without hijab,” she explained. “They’ve lost the battle, they simply refuse to admit it.”

Despite the tightened restrictions, many Iranian women are putting up a fight, with some displaying exceptional bravery. Weeks before Amini’s death anniversary, firebrand Iranian labour activist Sepideh Qoliyan got a warning by a criminal court judge that she could face additional charges if she continued to appear in court without a veil.It came a month after an earlier court hearing was cancelled because Qoliyan refused to wear the mandatory hijab. The 28-year-old activist remains in prison while she fights two separate charges, including insulting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Meanwhile Nazila Maroufian, the Iranian-Kurdish journalist who interviewed Amini’s father last year, walked out of Tehran’s notorious Evin prison on August 13 and posted a photograph on social media of herself without a headscarf and the slogan, "Don't accept slavery, you deserve the best."

She was promptly detained again, released on bail and then re-arrested. On September 4, an Iranian judge sentenced Maroufian to a year in prison, ensuring the now-prominent journalist would be locked behind bars on Amini’s first death anniversary.

New generation rejects ‘patience’

Iranian women and girls taking to the streets were immediately joined by male protesters who grasped the symbolism of the veil in their demand for total change. The unofficial anthem of the Women, Life, Freedom movement was written by a young man and recorded in his bedroom in the Iranian coastal city of Babolsar.

Shervin Hajipour wove tweets of protest-supporters into the lyrics of his song, Baraye, or “For” in English. He was arrested and released on bail when he won a special Grammy award in February for his powerful, haunting single.

The song title comes from #Baraye, a hashtag Iranians used to explain why they were protesting. One of the tweets in the song simply states, “For yearning for an ordinary life” – a central demand of the primarily young protesters.

The Gen Z component of the protests was particularly noteworthy, distinguishing it from previous Iranian protest movements, explained Iran-born and UK-based Pourzand.

At 38, Pourzand belongs to the “Green movement” generation of protesters who took to the streets to challenge the results of the 2009 presidential elections, which denied a victory to the reformist candidate.

“My generation thought patience is a value, that incremental change is a value worth holding on to,” she explained. “We thought we had to pick between the bad and worse. ‘Better to work for the bad – what if, what comes next is the worse,’ describes the reform movement.”

Iran’s Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2010 – or 1375-1389 in the Iranian calendar and dubbed DaheHashtadi (“the Eighties”) in Persian – displayed the impertinence and impatience of youth. This included a total rejection of the post-1979 edifice, complete with ripping and burning posters of Supreme Leader Khamenei.

The leaderless, social media-driven nature of the movement raised immediate doubts over whether the young protesters had the mobilization capacity to topple the regime.

But in their failure to bring immediate change, Generation Dahe Hashtadi did not fare any worse than their parents, analysts concede a year later. What’s more, in a country with a long protest culture, they fundamentally altered the discourse by calling for a dismantling of the republic itself.

“They got together, they figured a message quickly and effectively, and the whole world heard it,” said Pourzand. “'Women, Life, Freedom' divided Iran’s history into a ‘before’ and ‘after’. I don’t think the regime can take it back to before this movement.”

Referring to the Iranian saying, “the fire under the ashes”, Slavin says the smoldering anger cannot be extinguished by a deeply discredited regime using the old repression techniques. “Iranians understand this is a long struggle, they are very determined,” she explained.

A year after Amini’s death, the state of the republic appears to be as frail as that of the 84-year-old supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. “People have been calling 'Death to the dictator' for the past four to five years. They hate him,” said Slavin.

Khamenei’s most likely successor list includes President Raisi and the octogenarian supreme leader’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei. Both men lack popular support, according to analysts. “Khamenei has been trying to arrange for his son to succeed him. The hypocrisy of the regime is beyond all calculations,” said Slavin. “Someday it will fall and people will celebrate – just when and how it happens, people can’t predict.”

The Iranian women paying price for reporting on Mahsa Amini

Issued on: 13/09/2023 -

Paris (AFP) – Iranian authorities have since the death of Mahsa Amini systematically persecuted the journalists, often young women, who helped expose the case and magnify its resonance in and outside Iran, campaign groups say. 

Iranian journalists Niloufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi have both been held for almost a year 

Amini, 22, an Iranian of Kurdish origin, died on September 16, 2022 following her arrest in Tehran for allegedly flouting the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women.

Her death sparked months of protests in one of the biggest challenges for the Iranian authorities since the 1979 revolution.

Security forces responded with a crackdown that saw thousands arrested, including almost 80 journalists, according to a watchdog. Particularly targeted were those who reported on the circumstances of Amini's death.

Her family says she was killed by a blow while in custody, a version rejected by the Iranian authorities.

Almost a week after Amini died, Iranian authorities on September 22 arrested Niloufar Hamedi, 29, a journalist with the reformist Shargh daily who went to the hospital where Amini had been taken.

She posted on social media a photo of Amini's family grieving when her death was confirmed.

Hamedi's fellow reporter, Elahe Mohammadi, 36, of the Ham Mihan daily, rushed to Amini's hometown of Saqez in Kurdish-populated western Iran to report on her funeral which turned into one of the first protests.

Mohammadi was in turn arrested on September 29.

Both women have been held in detention ever since, for almost a year. They are now on trial on charges of violating national security, which they vehemently deny.

'Fearless reporting'

"Niloufar Hamedi's courage and commitment must be rewarded, not punished," said Jonathan Dagher, head of the Middle East desk at Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

"Her imprisonment for almost a year illustrates the Islamic Republic's terrible repression of journalists, and their rejection of press freedom and reliable information."

In another blow for the Mohammadi family, her twin sister Elnaz, who also works for Ham Mihan and reported on the protests, was earlier this month given a three year partly suspended prison sentence for "conspiracy and collusion".

Mohammadi works for the Ham Mihan daily © ATTA KENARE / AFP

She and co-defendant Negin Bagheri will serve one-fortieth of the term, or less than a month, in prison, their lawyer told Ham Mihan. But they must undergo "ethics" training –- overseen by intelligence officials –- and are barred from leaving the country.

"By imprisoning Elahe Mohammadi for the past 11 months and punishing Elnaz Mohammadi, the Iranian government shows that it is determined to silence these two sister journalists and the women whose views they report," said Dagher.

In recognition of their work the Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ) –- founded by the human rights lawyer Amal Clooney and actor George Clooney –- awarded them at this year's Albies awards.

The two journalists won the Justice for Women Award in recognition of "their fearless reporting that brought the death of Mahsa Amini... out of the shadows," the CFJ said.

'Don't accept slavery'

Weeks after the arrest of Hamedi and Mohammadi, the journalist Nazila Maroufian, now 23, published an interview on the Mostaghel Online news site with Amjad Amini, Mahsa Amini's father. He accused authorities of lying about the circumstances of his daughter's death.

Maroufian has since been arrested a total of four times, according to rights groups.

On her release she repeatedly posted a picture of herself without the Islamic headscarf in defiance of Iran's strict rules for women.

"Don't accept slavery, you deserve the best!" she wrote in one post after walking out of prison, holding flowers in one arm and the other raised skyward in a victory sign.

During her latest stint in jail this month, Maroufian said in an audio message that she was sexually assaulted while being arrested and had begun a hunger strike to protest her situation.

Nazila Maroufian has repeatedly posted pictures of herself outside prison without a headscarf © Alex MITA / AFP

She was freed at the weekend. This time, Maroufian opted not to post a picture on social media celebrating her release, implying she would be arrested again if she failed to wear a headscarf.

"I am forbidden to post my photo after 'freedom'. I preferred not to post a picture rather than posting a picture of myself... which is nothing like Nazila."

According to the RSF watchdog group, 79 journalists including 31 women were arrested in the crackdown. Twelve are still behind bars, RSF said.

Dagher said this "labyrinth of repression" has been created so journalists either "self-censor or they get locked up".

"But if the arrests are continuing, it is because there are still journalists who defy this formula."

© 2023 AFP

Iranians hit by internet curbs in year since protests

Issued on: 13/09/2023

Tehran (AFP) – Iran has imposed curbs on the internet in the year since protests erupted over Mahsa Amini's death, forcing people to find other ways to run their businesses or keep in touch with loved ones.

In the year since Mahsa Amini's death sparked protests, the Iranian authorities have imposed internet restrictions 

© ATTA KENARE / AFP

Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, died on September 16, 2022 after her arrest in Tehran for an alleged breach of the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women.

Her death triggered months of nationwide protests in which hundreds of people were killed, including dozens of security personnel, before authorities moved to quell what they branded "riots", including restrictions on the use of social media.

Alma Samimi, who makes a living by selling leather bags online, said her business had suffered since the blackout came into force.

"The damage has been irreversible," she said, with profits linked to her Instagram account -- which had amassed thousands of followers -- nosediving 80 percent.

"Online interactions have dramatically dropped since last year," she said.

The restrictions, which affected online activity including on Instagram and WhatsApp, come as millions of Iranians struggle to make ends meet, grappling with an economic crisis marked by soaring inflation and the Iranian rial's sharp decline.

Iran's economic woes were significantly compounded by Washington's 2018 decision to reimpose sanctions on Tehran after then-president Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from a landmark nuclear deal.

"We cannot plan for the future anymore," Samimi lamented.

'Added cost'

Some 1,200 business owners have since called on Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi to lift the restrictions, according to local media.

To keep her business afloat, Samimi resorted to using virtual private networks and anti-filter tools to bypass the censorship.

Daily demand on VPN services in Iran rocketed to "3,082 percent higher than before the protests" last year, according to Top10VPN, a British-based digital security advocacy group.

Mohammad Rahim Pouya, a psychologist who offers online therapy sessions, said he lost more than 50 percent of his clients in the early days of the blackout.

The 32-year-old said he could maintain communication lines with clients in Iran but it was more challenging with those abroad.

For him, the use of anti-censorship tools was "an added cost and probably has security flaws".

"But what are the options?"

Finding ways around internet curbs has become commonplace in Iran where authorities have repeatedly blocked access over the years at times of unrest.

In 2009, access to social media networks was blocked during mass protests -- which became known as the Green Movement -- following a contentious presidential election that saw the populist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad take office.

Popular social media networks including Facebook and X, formerly known as Twitter, have since been blocked.

A decade later, harsher curbs were imposed after protesters took to the streets over a government decision to raise fuel prices by 200 percent.

Costly curbs

In March, Iran's telecommunications minister Issa Zarepour urged foreign companies to introduce representative offices in Iran, saying "no one wants to limit the internet and we can have international platforms".

Meta, the American giant that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has said it has no intention of setting up offices in the Islamic republic, which remains under crippling US sanctions.

The internet curbs have been costly.

The government spent $773 million in 2022 alone to impose them, making it the second biggest spender on restrictions after Russia, according to Statista, a Germany-based data collection website.

In February, Iran's reformist Shargh daily reported that the country's internet service providers suffered 40 percent losses because of the restrictions.

With the bans on Western apps in place, Iranians have been left with little choice but to rely on state-backed apps.

But the homegrown alternatives for social networks and messaging apps -- like Bale, Ita, Rubika and Soroush -- have failed to garner significant popularity compared with their international alternatives.

Samimi says she has yet to "find any alternatives" to her now-dwindling online business on Instagram.

Likewise, Pouya insists on using international platforms through anti-censorship tools but he fears a total blackout.

"I wouldn't know what to do if they shut down (the internet) completely."

© 2023 AFP

Death of Mahsa Amini: 'Iran is not the same country one year on'

Issued on: 13/09/2023 

Arshas Alijani of the France 24 Observers team takes a look at how social and political attitudes have changed in Iran a year after the death of Mahsa Amini sparked a wave of protests across the country.

Iran: How Mahsa Amini’s death sparked a wave of protests

Issued on: 13/09/2023 - 

02:00

One year ago, 22 year-old Mahsa Amini was stopped by the Iranian morality police in Tehran for not properly wearing her head scarf. She died in hospital three days later, sparking outrage across the country. France 24 takes a look back at some of the key moments of the protest movement her death triggered

 

‘Like urban warfare’: The women at the heart of Iran’s year of protests

Issued on: 13/09/2023 - 

05:19

One year ago this week, the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in Iran sparked nationwide demonstrations against authorities in the Islamic Republic. For the women-led protests, the removal of the hijab became a symbol of defiance against what they viewed as an oppressive government. One year later, France 24 spoke to women inside Iran who took part in the demonstrations. They say, for now, the street protests have ended but their discontent remains. Correspondent Reza Sayah has more from Tehran.

 

'In absence of democratic structure', streets are 'ballot' of Iranians demanding 'change & justice'

Issued on: 13/09/2023 - 

07:27

Video by: Genie GODULA

Snap checkpoints. Internet disruptions. University purges. Iran's theocracy is trying hard to both ignore the upcoming anniversary of nationwide protests over the country's mandatory headscarf law and tamp down on any possibility of more unrest. Yet the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini still reverberates across Iran. Some women are choosing to go without the headscarf, or hijab, despite an increasing crackdown by authorities. Graffiti, likely against Iran's government, is rapidly painted over in black by Tehran's municipal workers. University professors have been fired over their apparent support for demonstrators. International pressure remains high on Iran, even as the administration tries to deescalate tensions with other nations in the region and the West after years of confrontation. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective as Iran approaches the grim 1-year anniversary of the killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini and the unprecedented anti-government protests that followed, FRANCE 24's Genie Godula is joined by Azadeh Pourzand, Author, PHD Researcher at SOAS, University of London, focussing on women and activism in Iran.

BABAWEAR

'Made in Russia' fashion industry tries to fill gap left by Western brands' exit (2023)

 France 24 / AFP

Issued on: 13/09/2023

 

03:15

Despite lacking equipment, staff and even fabric, Russia's fashion industry is striving to expand and fill the huge gap – both physical and psychological – left by the departure of Western brands since the start of the war in Ukraine. In Saint Petersburg, the YOU clothing brand has cast itself as an alternative to Spain's Massimo Dutti, which has closed more than 500 shops. "We cannot produce everything abroad," explains YOU CEO Yevgeniya Moseychuk. "We need to reduce distances and organise production here," she added.

‘Made in Russia’ fashion struggles to fill gap

By AFP
September 13, 2023

Russia's fashion industry is rushing to fill the gap left by the departure of major Western labels -

 Copyright AFP BAY ISMOYO

Marina LAPENKOVA

Despite staff shortages, a lack of equipment and dwindling fabric supplies, Russia’s fashion industry is rushing to fill the gap left by the departure of major Western labels.

Dozens of brands like Adidas, H&M and Zara have shut up shop in Russia since the conflict in Ukraine began last year, while Western sanctions have cut off access to foreign goods.

Moscow saw its European clothing imports drop by 37.2 percent last year, according to the Fashion Network site.

The Kremlin has cast the sanctions as an opportunity to bolster domestic firms, returning to Soviet-style manufacturing after years of foreign dependence.

But while the state has poured subsidies into industries like clothing, Moscow faces an uphill battle to sell customers on the “Made in Russia” label.

– Industrial revolution –

Nadezhda Samoylenko, who has worked in the sector since 1978, said that when the Soviet Union collapsed, so too did the country’s light manufacturing industry.

Russia stopped producing fabrics and lost the knowledge needed to train managers, as the Soviet-era schools that trained staff closed.

Factories are between 25 percent and 50 percent short of the specialists they need as a result, one industry expert told AFP.

While Western brands such as H&M and Uniqlo have been superseded by Russian replacements like LIME and “Lady & Gentleman”, most manufacturing still takes place abroad.

“Major Russian clothing brands produce in the same Asian factories as the Western brands that left Russia,” said Tatyana Belkevich from RAFI, an association that represents Russia’s fashion industry.

In Saint Petersburg, the YOU clothing brand has positioned itself as an alternative to Spain’s Massimo Dutti, part of the Inditex group that closed more than 500 stores in the wake of Moscow’s offensive.

The company does produce in Russia, but volumes remain low.

YOU said it doubled its production last year, to 4,000 items. The company is aiming to double this again by 2024, “even though delivery times for raw materials and supplies from Asia have also doubled”, CEO Yevgeniya Moseychuk told AFP.

The brand has tripled its workforce in 18 months and opened six stores, but it is still a long way from mass production.

And it lacks a quarter of the sewing staff it needs.

– Patriotic customers? –

Still, the number of clothing companies is on the rise.

According to the Rosakkreditatsiya registration service, the number of companies in the sector increased by 20 percent between 2021 and 2022.

When it comes to marketing, the overwhelming majority of brands have chosen English names in favour of Russian ones.

“In their hearts, Russian consumers are still under the influence of Western soft power,” Belkevich said.

Clothing consultant Stanislava Nazhmitdinova said fashion choices might also be dictated more by financial circumstances than patriotism.

“For consumers now, it is more important to buy cheap than to buy (Russian),” she said.

According to the Fashion Consulting Group, clothing prices have gone up by 30 percent as sanctions disrupt supply chains and the ruble lingers at historic lows against the dollar.

“Russians say now that they are more interested in local brands, but in fact, do they have a choice?” Nazhmitdinova said.

And, in any case, more than half of Russians continue to buy Western brands ordered via third countries, according to the audit and consultancy firm B1, the former Russian arm of accounting giant EY.

“When Westerners return to Russia, they will still find their loyal customers here,” Nazhmitdinova said.

“If they are still alive, of course.”

‘Rearguard soldiers’: Women sew for Russian victory

By AFP
September 12, 2023

The Kremlin has cast its soldiers as heroes battling for Russia's very existence 

- Copyright AFP Natalia KOLESNIKOVA

Romain COLAS

In the cluttered basement of a residential building outside Moscow, 81-year-old Raisa carefully attached plastic strips to a camouflage net stretched over a wooden stand in front of her.

“It’s for our boys who are over there,” Raisa told AFP, with a hint of sadness in her voice.

“We are worried for them, of course,” she sighed. “We are ready to do everything to provide moral and material help.”

As Russia’s assault on Ukraine takes a heavy toll on the army and economy, the Kremlin has cast its soldiers as heroes battling for Russia’s very existence in the face of Western aggression and “Nazism”.

Raisa is one of a dozen mostly elderly women who make everything from camouflage nets to underwear in a workshop in the town of Zhukovsky, around 25 kilometres (16 miles) southeast of the Russian capital.

The volunteers say they were inspired by the Soviet Union’s historic mobilisation against Nazi Germany during World War II.

The seamstresses work in quiet concentration, surrounded by sacks and boxes destined for the front. A portrait of President Vladimir Putin is pinned to a wall. One of the posters says “From home with love.”

Manager Elena Poteryaeva proudly presented one of their latest creations — a green fabric stretcher with padded handles.

“That way the soldier won’t hurt his hands while pulling his wounded comrade,” the 50-year-old said.

The workshop is part of a network of about 10 in the regions of Moscow and Tver that produce up to 300 camouflage nets a month.

The nets then get delivered to Ukraine by volunteers or picked up by soldiers before joining the front.

Initially, several local grandmothers started sewing socks for soldiers last year, Poteryaeva said.

– Passionate support –

As the fighting continued, their efforts received official support, with the mayor’s office in Zhukovsky providing the women with a place to work.

While many Russians prefer to keep their distance from the conflict, the women volunteers make no secret of their passionate support for the Kremlin’s offensive.

“We support our guys and we believe that what they are doing is right,” said Poteryaeva.

“We already feel like soldiers, rearguard soldiers,” added the woman, an aeronautical engineer by training.

“I really hope that we will celebrate the victory together with our warriors.”

Her comrade Natalia Shalygina said the conflict divided Russians and that patriots like them continued “the work of their grandfathers”.

“In times of war there are those who help, those who wait and those who do harm,” said the 52-year-old philologist.

“So we need to reach out to the guys and tell them loud and clear that we are waiting for them here, helping and supporting them,” she added.

The women showed AFP a video of Russian soldiers thanking them for their support.

The workshop buys the necessary materials including fabrics and fishing nets from several companies across Russia and said it keeps going thanks to private donations.

Shalygina said she was already working on the new season as she pointed to a spool of white and green fabric for snow camouflage.

“Winter is coming soon,” she said.

Panama seeks new sources of water for canal

Panama City (AFP) – Panama is looking into new sources of water for the Panama Canal, which moves six percent of global maritime trade but recently had to restrict traffic due to drought, its operator said.

The Panama Canal, a wonder of engineering that provides a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific, expects to lose tens of millions of dollars after having to curb traffic from about 40 to 32 ships per day 

© Ivan PISARENKO / AFP

The canal, a wonder of engineering that provides a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific, expects to lose tens of millions of dollars after having to curb traffic from about 40 to 32 ships per day.

Ricuarte Vasquez, the canal's administrator, told reporters in Panama Tuesday that "another source of (water) supply is needed to regulate Gatun Lake" -- an artificial reservoir that is a key part of the 50-mile (80-kilometer) waterway inaugurated in 1914.

It is used mainly by clients from the United States, China, and Japan.

Each ship moving through the canal requires 200 million liters of freshwater to move it through an intricate system of locks, provided by two artificial lakes fed by rainfall.

The lakes also supply drinking water to half the country of about 4.2 million people.

However, Panama is facing a biting drought, made worse by the El Nino weather phenomenon, which has also forced canal administrators to restrict the waterway to ships with a maximum draft (water depth) of 13.11 meters (43 feet).

The restrictions are expected to lead to a drop in earnings of some $200 million in 2024.

Vasquez said one option being considered was the construction of a dam on the Indio River, west of the canal, from where water could be transferred to Gatun Lake via an eight-kilometer pipeline.

The canal recorded a record queue of 163 ships on August 9 

© Luis ACOSTA / AFP

Another is to extract water from the Bayano Lake to the east, Panama's second largest after Gatun.

"Indeed there is a different weather pattern that is affecting rainfall levels," Vasquez said of the predicament.

The canal recorded a record queue of 163 ships on August 9. By Tuesday, the number was down to 116.

 13/09/2023 - 
© 2023 AFP

Bangladesh: Macron accused of putting trade before rights

Arafatul Islam
September 12, 2023

As China and the US jostle for influence in Asia, French President Emmanuel Macron offered an alternative to Bangladesh during a visit. However, he refrained from commenting on the country's poor human rights record.

During a rare two-day visit to Bangladesh, French President Emmanuel Macron focused on his country's Asia-Pacific strategy and ways to counterbalance a "new imperialism" in a region where several superpowers are jostling for influence.

The Bangladesh trip came after a series of short trips by Macron this year to Asian countries such as Mongolia, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka.

"Based on democratic principles and the rule of law, in a region facing new imperialism, we want to propose a third way, with no intention to bully our partners or to lead them to an unsustainable scheme," he told Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in Dhaka on Monday.

Macron's two-day visit came after attending the G20 summit in New Delhi.

Suppression of human rights in Bangladesh

While the United States and China compete for influence in the wider region, Macron has pushed France as an alternative partner.

He is the first French president to visit Bangladesh in well over three decades. Several Western powers widely criticized the world's eighth most populous country for its poor democracy and human rights records.

Rights groups have accused Sheikh Hasina of using law enforcement agencies and the judiciary to silence opposition members since she came to power 14 years ago. Hundreds of people have become victims of extrajudicial killings or enforced disappearances by the security forces under her tenure.

Many opposition leaders, civil society members, and human rights defenders have faced politically motivated lawsuits that force them to spend most of their time in courtrooms or jail.

Government likely to exploit Macron visit, says expert

Jasmin Lorch, a Bangladesh expert at the Hamburg-based GIGA Institute for Asian Studies, thinks that Macron's visit was very important for the South Asian country's ruling Awami League (AL) government, which can use it to claim both international and domestic legitimacy.

"The US has issued a visa ban for people who violate the electoral process and imposed sanctions on the paramilitary RAB while human rights groups have long been criticizing severe human rights violations committed by the Bangladeshi security forces," she told DW.

"In this context, Macron is offering the government a 'third way' and is promising to deepen political and economic ties between Bangladesh and France. It's a gift for the Hasina government, which can use Macron's visit to convey the message that it still has partners in the West despite US pressure and sanctions," Lorch added.




Macron ignores human rights, focuses on business, stability

Despite calls from rights groups, Macron refrained from publicly commenting on Bangladesh's poor democracy and human rights records during his visit to the country.

He focused more on regional stability and business opportunities his country negotiated with the South Asian nation in recent years.

Bangladesh exported goods, mostly garments, worth about $3.29 billion (€3.07 billion) to France between July 2022 and June 2023, according to the Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau. France's exports to Bangladesh were worth about $254.32 million last year, according to the UN database on international trade.

Dhaka and Paris have inked a deal to support Bangladesh to launch an Earth observation satellite system.

The letter of intent between the state-run Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited and France's Airbus Defence and Space company was signed on Monday after the talks between Macron and Hasina.

Both leaders also discussed a "commitment" from Bangladesh's national airline to purchase 10 A350s from the planemaker Airbus, headquartered in France, a potential contract that could be worth as much as $3.2 billion.

National carrier Biman had previously always bought aircraft from the US manufacturer Boeing, and the hope of a purchase from Airbus was "an important point," Macron told reporters alongside Hasina.

The two leaders also discussed geopolitical stability in the Asia-Pacific region, supporting Bangladesh's infrastructure development and combating the impact of climate change, according to Hasina's press officer Shakhawat Moon.

"We both hope that this new strategic move between Bangladesh and France will play an effective role in establishing regional and global stability and peace," Hasina said.

Macron paid homage to Bangladesh independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum in Dhaka

Yeasin Kabir Joy/AP Photo/picture alliance

Misconstrued as representing EU

South Asia analyst Lorch said she thinks that the timing of the French president's visit, which is just a few months before Bangladesh's national elections, is "unfortunate" because it can be viewed "as a signal that France is ready to prioritize geo-strategic and economic interests over democracy and human rights."

"And, although this is a bilateral visit, the position taken by France might even be viewed as representing the position of the European Union as a whole," she told DW.

The last two general elections, held in 2014 and 2018, were marred by allegations of massive vote rigging and intimidation of opposition activists, charges denied by Hasina's government. Her party won both controversial elections and she remained in power.

The country's opposition parties and civil society groups have been holding out hope for an important role by the international community in ensuring a free, fair, and participatory national election by January 2024.

Lorch said there is a broad consensus in European diplomatic circles about the last controversial elections. "Still, Europe has not come out very strongly against these violations of the electoral process as yet," she emphasized.

Both leaders agree on Rohingya repatriation

Both Macron and Hasina reiterated their commitment to put the issue of Rohingya repatriation high on the international agenda. According to UN data, around 1 million Rohingya Muslims live in squalid camps in Bangladesh after fleeing persecution in Myanmar.

Although several attempts have been made, the refugees are yet to return to their homeland.

Dhaka and Paris underscored the need for creating conditions inside Myanmar for the voluntary, safe and sustainable return of the Rohingya people to their ancestral home in Rakhine, Myanmar.

Rezaur Rahman Lenin, a Rohingya researcher based in Cox's Bazar, considers Myanmar's citizenship law the main obstacle to the return of the refugees.

"A few refugees returned in 2018, but it later emerged that they were living under strict restrictions, with little freedom of movement and work," he told DW. "If Myanmar's citizenship law remains unchanged, any repatriation attempt will fail to address fundamental insecurity in Bangladesh."

The Rohingya are not recognized by Myanmar as a distinct ethnic group and have been subject to discrimination and demonization for decades.

The French president's office has not responded to DW over whether Macron raised the issue of human rights violations with Bangladesh's Hasina during their meeting.

Edited by: John Silk