ICYMI RACIST HEALTHCARE
US fails again in report on preterm birth, a leading cause of infant mortality

EDUARDO CUEVAS, USA TODAY
November 16, 2023 

The U.S. has landed another poor grade when it comes to preterm births, with festering disparities in outcomes for Black and Native women that are life-threatening, according to a new annual report.

Preterm birth, when babies are born before 37 weeks gestation, is among the leading causes of infant death in the U.S., according to the March of Dimes. Outcomes across the country improved only slightly this year. In 2021, just over one in 10 babies were born preterm, and that was true again in 2022. Because of this, the March of Dimes, a decades-old health nonprofit for mothers and babies, gave the U.S. a D+ grade, the same as the previous year, in its “State of Maternal and Infant Health for American Families” report card published Thursday.

Ashley Stoneburner, a data scientist with March of Dimes, who was a report author, told USA TODAY it's hard to make sense of why mothers and babies are so at risk.

“We live in one of the wealthiest nations, and our health of moms and families is getting worse year after year,” Stoneburner said.
'Preterm birth is just the tip of the iceberg'

The report comes amid spikes in national infant and maternal mortality rates that have a disparate impact on communities, across race, class and geographical boundaries.

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Premature Baby in Incubator [Via MerlinFTP Drop]

“All these indicators are connected,” Stoneburner said. “And preterm birth is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Factors that exacerbate preterm birth include pre-pregnancy hypertension and diabetes, as well as smoking, unhealthy weight and a previous preterm birth, the report said.

The report showed gaps in women's and infants’ health along these faultlines. Black and Native women were 54% more likely to have preterm deliveries than white women. Babies born to Black and Indigenous mothers had death rates 2.3 times higher than those born to white and Hispanic mothers. The infant mortality rate also increased overall, as data from the National Center for Health Statistics recently showed an uptick for the first time in two decades. Maternal deaths doubled from 2018 to 2021, with greater increases among Black and Native women.


Amid the slight drop in preterm births, 14 states saw increases in preterm births. Preterm births have steadily risen in the last decade, according to the March of Dimes, which has published its annual report since 2008.

The March of Dimes’ index showed mothers giving birth in states in the Southeast, Appalachia and Midwest had higher levels of vulnerability and poorer outcomes. In its ratings, the March of Dimes gave eight states, mostly in the South, along with West Virginia and the territory of Puerto Rico, an F grade. No states earned an A, although just eight states – in New England, the West Coast and Idaho – earned B grades.

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The report cited 100 cities with the most live births, one-third of which earned F grades. These included Birmingham, Alabama, which had the nation’s highest birth rate, and Rochester, New York, and El Paso, Texas.

“The fact is, we are not prioritizing the health of moms and babies in this country,” Dr. Elizabeth Cherot, the president and CEO of March of Dimes, said in a statement.

The report called for an array of policy actions to improve health outcomes, such as increased federal funding to perinatal efforts to improve health outcomes across states, and efforts to extend Medicaid maternity coverage to one year after childbirth. The coverage currently ends 60 days after a pregnant person delivers a baby.

These problems are not new, but improving maternal and infant care is imperative, the report says. As the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recently put it, "The maternal access crisis in the United States is nothing short of catastrophic."

Eduardo Cuevas covers health and breaking news for USA TODAY. He can be reached at EMCuevas1@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: On preterm labor, U.S. gets failing grade (again) in new report

SEE

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2023/11/rascist-healthcare-ua-progress-in.html

A Ghana reparations summit agrees on a global fund to compensate Africans for the slave trade

Associated Press

FRANCIS KOKUTSE

November 16, 2023 

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Delegates at a reparations summit in Ghana agreed Thursday to establish a Global Reparation Fund to push for overdue compensation for millions of Africans enslaved centuries ago during the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

The Accra Reparation Conference adds to the growing demands for reparations after about 12 million Africans were forcefully taken by European nations from the 16th to the 19th century and enslaved on plantations that built wealth at the price of misery.

Centuries after the end of the slave trade, people of African descent around the world continue “to be victims of systemic racial discrimination and racialized attacks,” concluded a recent report by a special U.N. forum which supported reparations as “a cornerstone of justice in the 21st century.”

“It is time for Africa — whose sons and daughters had their freedoms controlled and sold into slavery — to also receive reparations,” said Ghana’s President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo at the conference, attended by senior government officials from across Africa as well as the diaspora community.

Slave reparations have become an issue the world “must confront and can no longer ignore,” said Akufo-Addo, calling out the British and other European nations who enriched themselves during the slave trade while “enslaved Africans themselves did not receive a penny.”

Delegates to the conference in Accra did not say how such a reparation fund would operate. But Gnaka Lagoke, an assistant professor of history and pan-African studies, said it should be used to “correct the problems” that the continent is facing in all sectors of its economy.

Compensations are based on “moral and legal rights and dignity of the people,” said Ambassador Amr Aljowailey, strategic adviser to the deputy chairman of the African Union Commission, who read out the resolution titled The Accra Proclamation.

In addition to the Global Reparation Fund, which will be championed by a committee of experts set up by the A.U. Commission in collaboration with African nations, “a special envoy will engage in campaigns as well as litigation and judicial efforts,” said Aljowailey.

Activists have said reparations should go beyond direct financial payments to also include developmental aid for countries, the return of colonized resources and the systemic correction of oppressive policies and laws.

The required amount for compensation will be decided through a “negotiated settlement (that will) benefit the masses,” said Nkechi Taifa, director of the U.S.-based Reparation Education Project.

____

Follow AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

Five nations seek war crimes probe in Palestinian territories


November 17, 2023 at 11:32 AM



AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Friday said he had received a joint request from five countries to investigate the situation in the Palestinian territories.

Prosecutor Karim Kahn said the referral had come from South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros and Djibouti. South Africa said the request was made "to ensure that the ICC pays urgent attention to the grave situation in Palestine."

The ICC already has an ongoing investigation into "the situation in the State of Palestine" for alleged war crimes committed since June 13, 2014.

Last month ,Kahn said that his office had jurisdiction both over Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and any crimes committed as part of Israel's response including bombings in the Gaza Strip.

Because an investigation was already under way, Friday's request will have limited practical impact.

In a statement, the prosecutor's office said it had so far "collected a significant volume of information and evidence" on crimes in the Palestinian territories and also committed by Palestinians.

Israel is not a member of the court and does not recognise its jurisdiction.

The ICC can investigate nationals of non-member states in certain circumstances, including when crimes are alleged to have been committed in the territories of member states. The Palestinian territories have been listed among the ICC's members since 2015.

A court of last resort, the ICC prosecutes individuals for alleged criminal conduct when its 124 member states are unwilling or unable to prosecute themselves.

(Reporting by Bart Meijer and Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Cynthia Osterman)

Turkey's Erdogan labels Israel a 'terror state', slams its backers in West

Huseyin Hayatsever and Tuvan Gumrukcu
Wed, November 15, 2023 

Head of states attend OIC Summit in Riyadh Saudi Arabia

ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday Israel was a "terror state" committing war crimes and violating international law in Gaza, sharpening his repeated criticism of Israeli leaders and their backers in the West.

Speaking two days before a planned visit to Germany to meet Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Erdogan said Israel's military campaign against Palestinian militant group Hamas included "the most treacherous attacks in human history" with "unlimited" support from the West.

He called for Israeli leaders to be tried for war crimes at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, and repeated his view - and Turkey's position - that Hamas is not a terrorist organisation but a political party that won past elections.

Britain, the United States, European Union and some Arab states deem Hamas a terrorist group, unlike Turkey. Ankara hosts some members of Hamas and supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"With the savagery of bombing the civilians it forced out of their homes while they are relocating, it is literally employing state terrorism," Erdogan said of Israel in parliament. "I am now saying, with my heart at ease, that Israel is a terror state.

"We will never shy away from voicing the truth that Hamas members protecting their lands, honour, and lives in the face of occupation policies are resistance fighters, just because some people are uncomfortable with it," he said.

Erdogan's trip to Germany will be his first to a Western nation since Israel began bombarding Gaza on Oct. 7 in response to Hamas's attacks. Germany has expressed strong solidarity with Israel, while urging a focus on limiting the impact of military operations on Gaza's civilian population.

"The West, namely the United States, is unfortunately still seeing this issue backwards," Erdogan said, adding he would call leaders of the countries who last month abstained from a vote at the United Nations General Assembly on an aid truce in Gaza.

Later on Wednesday, Erdogan spoke to Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni and told her that Ankara expected Rome's support in achieving a ceasefire in Gaza, the Turkish presidency said. Meloni's office said she had called for rapid de-escalation in Gaza, adding Turkey had a crucial role in preventing the spread of the conflict.

Erdogan also called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to announce whether or not Israel had nuclear weapons, adding that Netanyahu would soon be a "goner" from his post.

He also likened the conflict between Israel, a Jewish state, and the Palestinians to a war between the Christian and Muslim worlds, saying the crisis was "a matter of cross and crescent".

Ankara would also take steps to ensure Israeli settlers in occupied Palestinian territories are recognised as "terrorists", he added.

GAZAN CANCER PATIENTS TO TURKEY

Turkey has sent 666 tonnes of humanitarian aid, medicine and medical equipment and a medical team to Egypt for Gazans so far. Ankara has said it is working with Egyptian and Israeli authorities as part of a coordination mechanism to bring cancer patients and some wounded civilians to Turkey for treatment.

Speaking at Egypt's Al-Arish airport after meeting with his Egyptian counterpart and visiting the hospitals housing wounded Gazans, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 26 patients and their 13 companions would be flown to Turkey on Wednesday.

Koca said the 39 people were the first to be brought out to Egypt, and later to another country, since the fighting broke out, adding Ankara wanted to bring as many of the nearly 1,000 cancer patients from Gaza to Turkey as possible.

Footage shared later by Turkish state media showed Koca and officials greeting the patients as they arrived on stretchers at Al-Arish airport before being put on a plane to Turkey.

(Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Additional reporting by Giulia Segreti and Angelo Amante in Rome; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne, Toby Chopra and Nick Macfie)

Irish premier says Israel actions ‘more approaching revenge than self-defence’

GRÁINNE NÍ AODHA

Irish premier Leo Varadkar has said that some of Israel’s actions in Gaza were “something more approaching revenge”.

The Taoiseach reiterated his belief that Israel has a right to defend itself, and to “go after Hamas”, but said what he is “seeing unfolding at the moment isn’t just self-defence”.

He said Israel will not consider Ireland a close friend or ally as it has a different stance on Palestine than most western countries.

“I strongly believe that, like any state, Israel has the right to defend itself, has the right to go after Hamas so that they cannot do this again,” he told Irish media in South Korea.

“But what I’m seeing unfolding at the moment isn’t just self-defence, it looks, resembles, something more approaching revenge.

“That’s not where we should be and I don’t think that’s how Israel will guarantee its future freedom and its future security.”

Mr Varadkar made the comments at the conclusion of a diplomatic mission that he and three ministers were fronting, as part of an Irish “big bang” strategy to improve relations with less-visited countries.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar during a visit to the Korean DMZ (Shin hyn Kyung/PA)

More than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 7, when Hamas militants launched rockets, killed 1,400 Israeli citizens and took around 200 hostages to Gaza.

Israel has carried out a military response in the wake of the atrocities; on Friday its troops were engaged in an encirclement of Gaza City in an effort to attack Hamas’s operations in the enclave it rules.

Aid agencies are now battling a humanitarian crisis in Gaza with limited resources.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Friday to press for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza.

Meanwhile, some dual nationals and injured citizens have been able to leave the war-ravaged region through Egypt’s Rafah crossing this week; around 35 Irish passport-holders remain in the territory.

On Thursday, Ireland’s president said that “collective punishment” cannot be accepted and there must be a push for verified facts in relation to the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Michael D Higgins said that those who want to uphold international law “must press for an independent verification of the facts”, and that lives lost should “not reduced to competing press releases”.

Mr Higgins said that if international law is to be upheld, the hostages should be released and an immediate humanitarian ceasefire should come into effect.

Israeli hostage families near Jerusalem in march of solidarity and protest


November 17, 2023 at 6:03 AM




JERUSALEM (Reuters) -The families of Israeli hostages and thousands of supporters marched towards Jerusalem on Friday, increasing pressure on the government to secure the captives' release nearly six weeks after Hamas militants abducted them and took them into Gaza.

The procession left Tel Aviv three days ago. Police blocked off parts of the main highway as the marchers began to ascend the foothills leading to Jerusalem.

They held up pictures of their loved ones, waved Israeli flags, and chanted "We won't give up, we demand the hostages' release!"

Hamas fighters took around 240 people hostage during their Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel. The captives - ranging from babies to grandparents - are believed to be held in tunnels deep under the Gaza Strip.

Israeli and Arabic media have reported on negotiations to secure the release of at least some of the hostages, but there has been no confirmation from any side of an imminent deal.

"Hear our shout. Bring them back home now," said Yuval Haran, who walked with a placard showing seven members of his family who were taken hostage, including his three-year-old niece.


"How can you put a price on a three-year old girl? We need them back now, at any price."

The German ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, met up with the marchers and called for the unconditional release of the hostages.

"We work for this on all political and diplomatic levels and we just ask you to keep the hope alive," he said, speaking through a megaphone. "In our hearts and our minds we are with you."

At one point cabinet minister Miki Zohar, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, showed up and was largely met by jeers, with the crowd yelling "Shame!" and "Take responsibility!"

"I knew it wouldn't be easy to come here. I knew I would get yelled at," he said during a conversation with some of the marchers. "But it doesn't matter. I came here to tell you, as clearly as possible, that we will do everything - everything - to bring everyone home."

The families and their supporters say they will end the march of about 60 km (37 miles) on Saturday in front of Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem.

(Reporting by Ilan RosenbergEditing by Gareth Jones and Angus MacSwan)

Angry families of Israeli hostages march to Netanyahu’s door

COLIN FREEMAN
November 16, 2023 

In the 41 days since his grand-daughter Naama Levy was kidnapped by Hamas, Shaul Levy has cycled, swum and run hundreds of miles.

The 78-year old is still an active triathlete, and in his daily 40-mile bike rides and mile-long swims, he reaches some peace of mind amid the stress.

“I exercise every morning, and afterwards I feel strong and good,” he said. “My grand-girl is also a triathlete, a strong woman, and I hope some of that energy goes to her too.”

For such a spry figure, the five-day march he is taking part in with other hostages’ families is not too hard a pull.

Covering 50 miles from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and stopping overnight in villages en route, the marchers are on course to be outside prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s house by Saturday.

Shaul Levy on march to campaign for the hostages - COLIN FREEMAN

The journey, though, doesn’t really finish there. While its aim is to remind Mr Netanyahu that his priority should be the 240 captives still held by Hamas, the end will only come when every single one is back safe and well.

Yet with every day, that chance diminishes, for not all are as spritely as Mr Levy.

“There are sick people among them, old people, children and people who need medications,” Mr Levy told The Telegraph yesterday, as around 100 marchers had a lunch stop in the village of Nof Alayon.

He wore a T-shirt bearing a picture of his grand-daughter, 19, who was serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). “After 41 days, it’s getting urgent.”

To the outside eye, many might wonder whether Mr Netanyahu needs reminders.

Haunting montages of the hostages adorn every street corner in Israel, each one bearing a photo from a family album. They show hostages graduating from college, cuddling partners, holidaying in Europe - and in the case of a two-year toddler, taking their first steps.

Yet other than four captives released by Hamas last month, there is still no firm word on a deal to free any more, let alone all of them.

On Wednesday, Israel was reported to have turned down a Qatari-brokered deal by which Hamas would release 50 hostages in exchange for a three-day ceasefire.

Israel’s official position is that it does not negotiate with terrorists, but the realities of life in the Middle East render such a lofty approach impractical.

Over the decades, it has exchanged hundreds of jailed terrorists for captured soldiers - so many, critics say, that it incentivises Hamas to take more.

Yair Mozes, 49, whose mother Margalit Moses, 77, and father Gade Moses, 79, were kidnapped - COLIN FREEMAN

Indeed, some believe that Mr Netanyahu’s unspoken priority is destroying Hamas for good, rather than saving the hostages.

Just as their loved ones were snatched from all walks of life, many taken from the kibbutzes were Left-wing campaigners, the marchers hold no single position on what should be done.


Some believe military pressure will help force Hamas into handing hostages over. Others think Mr Netanyahu should have secured the hostages’ release first, before any invasion of Gaza. Few baulk at handing over Hamas prisoners.

“We know that may have to be done, and we can deal with that problem later,” said Mr Levy. “First, though, we just have to get the hostages home - and all at once, not a few here and there in exchange for a ceasefire.”

Where many are unhappy, though, is in the failure so far of the Red Cross to get welfare visits to the hostages, especially the more vulnerable.

The UN-backed organisation has visited detainees of terror groups in the past, such as the Afghan Taliban, and has extensive contacts in Gaza, where it operates humanitarian programs.

So far, it insists Hamas has simply refused it access, despite extensive back channel talks.

However, given Israelis’ long-standing suspicion that the UN harbours institutional bias in favour of Palestinians, many hostages’ families find it hard to take the Red Cross at its word.

“I am sure they could be doing more,” said marcher Yair Mozes, 49, whose mother Margalit Moses, 77, and father Gade Moses, 79, are among those kidnapped.

“The Red Cross is still doing humanitarian work in Gaza today. They should simply say to Hamas that if they aren’t given access to the hostages, they will scale down their humanitarian operations there.”

Mr Mozes, who wears a pendant saying: “Our hearts are captured in Gaza”, said his mother, a diabetic who had just recovered from cancer, was without her regular medication. He himself, he added, was struggling physically with the stress of past weeks.

Israeli hostage families march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in the village of Nof Ayalon - COLIN FREEMAN

“It is hell, just hell. You don’t go to sleep properly, and the minute you wake up, you are bolt upright.

“I’m just about managing at present, but every so often, I fall apart and sleep for ten hours straight as my body can’t handle it any more.”

The families take succour from the crowds the march attracts, who line the streets and organise meal-stops and lodgings.

“There may not be much they can do, but just having them watch gives us strength,” said Mr Levy.

But despite the cheering and the gritty smiles, the sense of peril is never far away.

On Thursday, the body of kidnapped kibbutz resident Yehudit Weiss was recovered by troops in a building near Gaza’s Al Shifa hospital. And when the march began on Tuesday, Hamas announced the death of hostage Noa Marciano, 19, another abducted IDF soldier, claiming she had been killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza.

Her mother’s reaction spoke volumes about what families were facing, according to Mr Levy.

“She said she actually felt some relief,” he said. “She was very sad, but at least she knew the answer.”

Factbox-What's next in Google's court battle with the US Justice Department?

November 16, 2023 



(Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department and Alphabet's Google on Thursday wrapped up the evidentiary phase of their legal fight over whether Google broke the law to maintain its dominance of search and some search advertising.

Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia will rule sometime in 2024 on whether any of Google's actions broke antitrust law. The following is what might happen after his ruling, according to experts.

APPEALS LIKELY

No matter who prevails when Mehta issues his ruling, experts say there will be an appeal. Google will appeal if the company is found to have broken antitrust law. The government will appeal if Google is found innocent of any wrongdoing. Is this likely to end up being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court? "Oh, for sure," said Megan Gray, an independent tech lobbyist who has been attending proceedings.

WHAT IS THE REMEDY?

If the appeals are over and Google is found not guilty, the case is done.

But if Google is found to have broken the law, the Justice Department will go back and ask the judge for a remedy to undo the harm in the search and search advertising market. Experts disagree on whether this phase would take place before the appeals are exhausted.


One potential remedy would be to ban Google from paying billions of dollars - $26.3 billion in 2021 - to Apple, wireless companies, Android smartphone makers and others to be the default search engine on their devices, said Lee Hepner, legal counsel for the American Economic Liberties Project. Microsoft's Bing and other search engines would be allowed to make payments to be the default, however, raising the possibility of Google rivals getting more users.

If the Justice Department wins in the first phase, it may also ask Mehta to require Google to share data on what users ask Google and what responses they click on, experts said. This is something that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said Bing and other search engines need in order to compete. Google's default search agreements have prevented this from happening, they say.

Google may also be required to spin off its Chrome browser, which has the Google search engine as its default. Chrome has almost 60% of the computer browser market, according to the Justice Department's amended complaint filed in 2021.

Any remedy would have an independent monitor ensuring Google's compliance for a number of years.

WHEN WILL THE CASE BE OVER?

The lawsuit was filed in 2020, and it could be mid-2026 before all appeals are exhausted, experts said.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz in Washington; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

UK
Calls for investigation after 60 women at MoD allege ‘toxic’ culture

DOMINIC MCGRATH, PA POLITICAL STAFF
16 November 2023 



The Ministry of Defence has been urged to investigate following reports that 60 senior women at the department have complained of a “hostile” and “toxic” environment amid allegations of sexual assault and harassment.

The Guardian has reported that the senior civil servants have written to the Ministry of Defence’s permanent secretary detailing claims that the women have been “propositioned”, “groped” and “touched repeatedly” by men working in the department.

The paper reported that the letter saw officials claim their “day-to-day professional lives are made difficult thanks to behaviours that would be considered toxic and inappropriate in public life, but that are tolerated at the MoD”.

They also said that the workplace was “hostile to women as equal and respected partners”.

An MoD spokesperson said: “We are taking action to tackle the deeply concerning issues raised. No woman should be made to feel unsafe in defence and this behaviour will not be tolerated.

“We also continue to encourage anyone who has experienced or witnessed this kind of inexcusable behaviour to report it immediately.”

The FDA, which represents senior civil servants, called on the Ministry of Defence to launch an “immediate investigation” in the wake of the allegations.

The union’s national officer, Gareth Hills, said: “The accounts of these women’s experiences are deeply worrying. Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect in the workplace.

“The MoD must now take action, including an immediate investigation of these allegations.

“The FDA, along with other unions representing staff at the MOD, has requested an urgent meeting with the permanent secretary to discuss this.”

UK
Study finds official statistics fail to capture scale of poverty and inequality

JONATHAN BUNN, PA
16 November 2023 

The scale of poverty and the inequality between the poorest and richest households is often being miscalculated as housing costs are not routinely considered in official statistics, a study has found.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the most deprived households spent three-and-a-half times more of their budgets on housing costs than the richest when rent and mortgage interest payments are included.

It found on average the poorest 25% of the population spent 21% of their household incomes on rent or mortgage interest in 2021, compared with 6% spent by the richest quarter.

The IFS said the findings emphasised the importance of including these costs when measuring poverty, an approach not typically taken when some of the Government’s deprivation statistics, which inform policy approaches and decisions, are calculated.

The absence of housing costs in calculations distorts the levels of children and pensioners in poverty, research has found (Danny Lawson/PA)

Without including housing costs it is “not possible to understand income poverty or inequality”, the IFS said.

The study found that when housing costs were not deducted from incomes, the relative poverty rate, which is a headcount of people who fall below the poverty line, was 17% in 2021.

However, when housing costs are taken into account, the rate was 22%, meaning 3.4 million more people were in relative poverty at the time.

This impact can also be observed in poverty trends, the IFS found.

When housing costs are ignored, poverty is observed as falling by 1.4 percentage points between 2008 and 2021.

This decrease is reduced to just 0.5 percentage points over the period when housing costs are accounted for, which is equivalent to 550,000 people based on the current population.

The study concluded that measures of poverty which take variations in housing costs into account are “more closely aligned with measures of material deprivation and food insecurity”, implying the approach is “better at capturing who is actually poor”.

When the costs were incorporated, 45% of the poorest tenth of population were found to be materially deprived, meaning they lack access to essential items, compared with 39% when costs are not accounted for.

The IFS said failing to account for housing costs also leads to “perverse conclusions” when assessing the living standards of housing benefit claimants.

“This is because increases in rents over time have led to higher housing benefit payments, which make low-income households look better off using poverty measures that disregard housing costs, even when their living standards are the same or worse,” the IFS added.

The absence of housing costs in calculations also distorts the levels of children and pensioners in poverty, it was found.

When costs are not taken into account, the relative poverty rate for children of 23% was only slightly above the rate for pensioners in 2019.

When costs are incorporated, the relative child poverty rate was 31%, compared with 18% for people aged over 65.

Regional poverty variations are also affected, with the relative poverty rate in London rising from 16% to 27% once housing costs are considered.

The IFS said the range of headline poverty statistics produced by the Government can cause “confusion”.

Tom Wernham, research economist at IFS, said: “Measures of income poverty that take housing costs into account provide a more reliable picture of poverty than those that disregard housing costs.

“Now more than ever, with rising mortgage interest rates and rising private rents for new lets, we need to take account of these housing costs and how they affect people’s disposable incomes. Otherwise, we will fail to identify which people in which parts of the country are facing the greatest difficulty regarding their incomes and material living standards.”

The Government has been approached for comment.

Polly Neate, chief executive of homeless charity Shelter, said a failure to build affordable social housing had “pushed more people into wildly expensive and insecure private renting” and left many families with “severe shortfalls”.

She added: “Any conversation about poverty has to include housing. The government must use the upcoming autumn statement to unfreeze housing benefit and pull families back from the brink.

“But the only long-term solution is to build the new generation of social homes that would fix this housing emergency for good.”

U$A

PG&E bills will go up by more than $32 per month next year in part to pay for wildfire protections

ADAM BEAM
November 16, 2023 



SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — About 16 million people in California will see their electric and gas bills go up by an average of more than $32 per month over next year in part so that one of the nation's largest utility companies can bury more of its power line s to reduce the chances of starting wildfires.

Pacific Gas & Electric had initially asked state regulators for permission to raise rates by more than $38 per month so it could bury 2,100 miles (3,380 kilometers) of power lines in areas that are at high risk for wildfires. But consumer advocacy groups complained, arguing PG&E could save ratepayers money and still reduce wildfire risk by putting a protective covering over the power lines instead of burying them.

Thursday's decision by the California Public Utilities Commission sought to find a middle ground. Commissioners decided to let PG&E bury 1,230 miles (1,979 kilometers) of power lines, which would be $1.7 billion cheaper than PG&E's proposal.

The commission rejected a proposal by a pair of administrative law judges that would have only allowed PG&E to bury 200 miles (322 kilometers) of power lines while installing protective covering on 1,800 miles (2,897 kilometers) of power lines.

“We as a commission have struggled mightily with the additional hardship these increases will create for families,” said Commissioner John Reynolds, who wrote the proposal regulators approved. “I can say that I am confident that you are getting something out of this investment.”

PG&E said 85% of the increase was to improve safety in its gas and electric operations. It says typical bills will increase by about $32.50 next year, followed by a $4.50 increase in 2025 before decreasing by $8 per month in 2026.

For low-income customers who qualify for discounted rates, PG&E said typical monthly bills will increase by $21.50 next year, followed by a $3 per month increase in 2025 before decreasing by $5.50 per month in 2026.

“We are committed to being the safe operator that the people of California expect and deserve,” PG&E CEO Patti Poppe said in a written statement. “We appreciate the Commission for recognizing the important safety and reliability investments we are making on behalf of our customers, including undergrounding powerlines to permanently reduce wildfire risk.”

Electricity rates have been increasing in California over the past decade in large part because utility companies are rushing to upgrade their aging infrastructure to prevent wildfires. PG&E’s residential rates have more than doubled since 2006, according to The Utility Reform Network, an advocacy group for ratepayers.

The turning point for PG&E came in 2018 when a windstorm knocked down one of its power lines in the Sierra Nevada foothills that started a wildfire. Within a few hours, the fire had spread to Paradise, where it destroyed most of the town and killed 85 people.

PG&E eventually pleaded guilty to 84 counts of manslaughter and filed for bankruptcy after facing more than $30 billion in damages related to the Paradise fire and other blazes started by its equipment. The company has pledged to bury 10,000 miles (16,093 kilometers) of power lines over the next decade.

The five people on the commission, who are appointed by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, approved the rate increase unanimously while voicing concern for ratepayers.

“The rates we are asking ratepayers to pay are increasing at a rate that will become unaffordable in the very near future if we don’t find mechanisms to better control costs,” Commissioner Darcie Houck said.

Before the vote, dozens of people called the commission to complain PG&E's rates are already unaffordable, with one woman testifying she doesn't watch TV or turn on the pilot light for her gas stove because she can't afford it.

Cheryl Maynard, who identified herself as a survivor of the Paradise fire, called the rate hikes “outrageous” and accused the company of trying to secretly recoup the billions of dollars it paid to wildfire victims in a settlement.

“PG&E is getting our settlements back from us by raising rates. This has to stop,” she said.

UK
Southern Water announce £1.5bn investment to cut sewage spills

ANAHITA HOSSEIN-POUR
16 November 2023 

Southern Water has announced £1.5 billion investment to get to the “root cause” of sewage spills into seas and rivers.

Storm overflows, which capture rain and wastewater to stop flooding of homes and communities, will be the main focus in improvements pledged between 2025 and 2035.

The water company, which serves parts of Sussex, Kent and Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, was named as one of the four worst performing water companies by regulator Ofwat last month.

Southern Water bosses revealed its Clean Rivers and Seas plan on November 16 as they faced “tough choices” between environmental protection and minimising bills for customers.

The announcement said customers will “notice the impact reflected in their bills”.

Southern Water’s chief executive, Lawrence Gosden, said: “I’ve heard our customers’ concerns, and we take our impact on the environment seriously.

“We have a long-term strategy to 2050 that will restore and protect our regions’ rivers and coastal habitats and a large part of that will be to get to the root cause of storm overflows.

“We cannot simply switch storm overflows off. But by implementing this clean rivers and seas plan and tackling the root cause, slowing the flow of rainwater going into the combined sewer, whilst increasing capacity of our network, we can reduce their use.”

Southern Water has promised to restore river habitats (Alamy/PA)

As part of Southern Water’s pledge to cut spills by 8,000 a year by 2035, the water company said phase one will invest £700 million on areas such as bathing waters and environmentally sensitive sites.

It added that by 2035, it aims for 75% of “high priority” overflows to meet Government targets and for 100% of them to meet targets by 2050.

Its Clean Rivers and Seas Task Force, made up of environmental scientists and industry experts, has also created solutions within the natural environment such as rain gardens and tree planting schemes.

Environmental charity Surfers Against Sewage said the plan was a “step in the right direction” with nature-based solutions such as wetlands being implemented.

But the marine conservation campaigners added that customers seeing this reflected in their bills was “outrageous”.

Surfers Against Sewage communications chief Josh Harris said: “Southern Water have overseen decades of mismanagement of our sewerage network, all the while paying the fat cats at the top huge pay and bonuses. Why should customers foot the bill?”

The charity added that through its water monitoring app, Safer Seas and Rivers Service, which receives sewage alerts from water companies, Southern Water has issued 14,931 alerts this year.

Mr Harris added: “They are top tier polluters and we won’t fall for their empty promises, or let them continue to profit off the destruction of our rivers and seas.”

Southern Water customers are being asked for their feedback on the plan before it is finalised with Ofwat.

Southern Water bosses also urged that “collaboration is key” for customers and local authorities to help with solutions such as sustainable drainage systems and water butts to drain rain water back into the environment.

The water firm’s shareholders have not received dividends since 2017 and its chief executive and chief financial officer both declined bonuses for the year until March 2023.

Bonobos make friends outside their group and help each other like humans – study

NILIMA MARSHALL, PA SCIENCE REPORTER
16 November 2023 

Wild bonobos make friends outside their group and help each other out, challenging the view that only humans are capable of forming strategic alliances, scientists have said.

Researchers have found this endangered great ape species has “remarkable levels of tolerance between members of different groups”, often travelling, feeding and resting together.

However, these pro-social primates do not interact randomly, instead selecting a few individuals to form strong bonds and share food and other resources with, much like people in human societies.

This is in stark contrast to chimpanzees – another close relative of humans – where relationships between different groups are often hostile and lethal aggression is not uncommon, the team said.

Martin Surbeck, a professor at Harvard University’s department of human evolutionary biology and senior author on the study, said: “They (bonobos) preferentially interact with specific members of other groups who are more likely to return the favour, resulting in strong ties between pro-social individuals.

“Such connections are also key aspects of the co-operation seen in human societies.”

The scientists believe their findings, published in the journal Science, can help shed light on how complex behaviours like co-operation and conflict evolved in humans.

Prof Surbeck added: “Bonobos show us that the ability to maintain peaceful between-group relationships, while extending acts of pro-sociality and co-operation to out-group members, is not uniquely human.”

Research on primate behaviour has been mainly focused on chimpanzees as they are easier to study compared to bonobos, which live in remote parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

As chimpanzees are more aggressive, previous models of human evolution have often assumed that group hostility and violence are innate to human nature, the scientists said.

Researchers studied small groups of bonobos over two years (Jacob King/PA)

For the study, Prof Surbeck and his team worked with the local Mongandu population in Kokolopori, a community of villages in Djolu territory of the Tshuapa province, to set up the Kokolopori Bonobo Reserve.

Over the course of two years, they observed two small groups of bonobos – 31 adults in total – that spent about 20% of their time together.

Analysing 95 encounters in total, the researchers found individuals from different groups engaged in friendly and co-operative interactions.

Pairs of bonobos from different groups were found to groom each other, share food and formed coalitions.

The primates also engaged in aggressive interactions but these disputes were not lethal.

Dr Liran Samuni, a researcher at the German Primate Center in Gottingen, Germany, and the lead author of this study, said: “Tracking and observing multiple groups of bonobos in Kokolopori, we’re struck by the remarkable levels of tolerance between members of different groups.

“This tolerance paves the way for pro-social co-operative behaviours such as forming alliances and sharing food across groups, a stark contrast to what we see in chimpanzees.”

According to the researchers, their work on bonobos “show that constant warfare between neighbouring groups is not necessarily a human legacy and does not seem evolutionarily inevitable”.

They wrote: “Our findings show that co-operation between unrelated individuals across groups without immediate payoff is not exclusive to humans and suggest that such co-operation can emerge in the absence of social norms or strong cultural dispositions.”