It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Tuesday, January 02, 2024
China’s Appliance exports put on strong 2023 show
January 3, 2024
ANN/CHINA DAILY – China’s exports of home appliances were on the rise in 2023, as major brands intensify their efforts to penetrate more deeply into emerging overseas markets, such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa, experts said.
The General Administration of Customs said China’s exports of home appliances rose 13.4 per cent year-on-year to USD7.24 billion in November, fuelled by the holiday shopping season and a low comparison base the previous year.
It was also the fourth consecutive monthly increase.
In the January-November period, the country’s home appliance exports reached USD80.47 billion, up 2.8 per cent year-on-year. Exports of Chinese-made home appliance products are expected to see steady growth in 2024 along with the drop in raw material prices and sea freight costs, said Guosen Securities.
Global market research company GfK said Chinese home appliance exports to the 22 members of the League of Arab States, Latin America and Africa rose by 15.41 per cent, 18.36 per cent and 21.84 per cent year-on-year, respectively, during the January-October period.
Secretary-general of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products’ home appliances branch Zhou Nan said the growth of China’s home appliance exports to Europe and North America slowed in 2023 due to high inflation and trade barriers, which prompted these manufacturers to seek growth points and expand their footprint in emerging markets.
“The Middle East and Africa serve as important markets participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, presenting huge growth potential for enterprises to build self-owned brands and develop cross-border e-commerce,” Zhou said.
In recent years, some Middle Eastern countries, such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, have accelerated economic transformation, expecting more Chinese companies to invest and start businesses there, which also brings about new opportunities for Chinese brands, he added. Chinese home appliance maker Midea Group announced in November the launch of its third manufacturing base in Egypt. With a total investment of CNY830 million (USD116.9 million), the new factories, where refrigerators and washing machines will be produced, are expected to begin operating in the second half of 2025.
Vice-president of Midea Group and president of Midea’s smart home business group Wang Jianguo said once it begins operations, the new project will not only meet local demand in Egypt, but also satisfy consumers’ soaring purchasing demand for home appliances in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
Guangdong Xinbao Electrical Appliances Holdings Co Ltd set up its first overseas factory in Indonesia last year, and plans to tap more opportunities from countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.
Chinese consumer electronics company TCL Technology Group Corp is speeding up steps to strengthen its capacity in global operations, with a key focus on three core business segments covering intelligent terminals, semiconductor displays and new energy photovoltaics.
The company’s intelligent terminals unit has established production bases in Vietnam, India, Poland, Mexico and Brazil, which will further improve localised production and operations, said founder and chairman of TCL Li Dongsheng.
WE NEED A MAXIMUM WAGE Canada’s top executives make 246 times more than average worker
CEOs averaged $14.9M annually compared to $60,600 for worker
Barry Ellsworth |02.01.2024 -
TRENTON, Canada
Canada’s captains of industry made 246 times the annual salary of ordinary workers, according to a study released Tuesday.
By Jan. 2, the top 100 executives earned the annual income of an average employee – CAN$60,600 ($45,100).
“The average CEO collects $7,162 an hour,” according to the study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, an Ottawa think tank. “It takes just over eight hours in the new year for the top 100 CEOs to clock in … what the average worker in Canada makes in an entire year.”
And they earned it, by 9.27 am EST (1427GMT) Jan. 2 if Jan. 1 is considered a paid holiday.
The 246 number breaks last year’s figure of 243 times the average worker’s pay.
The vast majority of the top 100 earners are male, there are only four women on the list, and CEOs averaged CAN$14.9 million ($11.2 million) in 2022. That is up from CAN$14.3 million in 2021.
The average Canadian struggles with inflation that has pushed prices of virtually everything higher, particularly food.
“While the wave of inflation has been crashing down hard on regular Canadians, Canada’s 100 highest-paid CEOs have been riding it to another record-smashing year,” the report said. “Inflation presented a-once-in-a-lifetime chance for corporate Canada to jack up prices and pad their profit margins.”
That, in turn, was a major factor in the increase for CEOs, the study found.
Archeologists Confirm Oldest Viking Ship Burial in All Scandinavia–Could Rewrite the Viking Age
The mound, called Herlaugshaugen, is mentioned in Snorre’s royal sagas as the final resting place of King Herlaug.
Hanne Bryn, NTNU University Museum.
County archaeologists have recently dated the remains of a Viking ship burial on a small island called Leka and found it to be the oldest one in all of Scandinavia.
In fact, it dates back so far, there’s a technical question about whether or not one can even call it a Viking ship burial, because funerary activities pre-date the Viking Age, when the term Viking began to be used for a Scandinavian mariner who spent some time trading and some time raiding.
The Herlaugshaugen burial mound in Leka is located in an archaeologically rich area called Namdalen. Here, there is a very unusually high concentration of burial mounds, but while most are unsurveyed and unexcavated, Herlaugshaugen had been excavated at three different times.
Records from the 18th and 19th centuries show that the mound contained construction materials like nails, a bronze cauldron, animal bones, and a seated skeleton with a sword. These have long since disappeared and interest in Herlaugshaugen for Norway’s recent ancestors concluded.
Now, a team of archaeologists and a professional metal detective went to survey the mound as part of a collaboration with the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage and Trøndelag County Authority.
They found iron nails and other evidence to suggest that the mound was the site of a ship burial, in which a man was interred around 700 CE, decades before the generally accepted start points of the Viking Age.
Furthermore, the ship was very large. Historians often credit the boat-building methods developed by the Scandinavians as one of several trends and forces that launched the Viking Age, but here, the appearance of a large sea-worthy vessel means that the technology and the will, capabilities, and commercial interests all existed to use it even before the 700 CE date.Ship nails of this size, and this age, tell us that people here could build large ships much earlier than previously believed. Credit: Geir Grønnesby.
“This dating is really exciting because it pushes the whole tradition of ship burials quite far back in time,” Geir Grønnesby, an archaeologist at the NTNU University Museum, told Phys.org.
Viking raids may have been ongoing within Scandinavia at earlier periods, but the first outward acts of aggression by medieval Scandinavians are recorded as happening within the final quarter of the 8th century.
The other side of the Viking identity—that of the trader—may have already been fully developed at much earlier dates, such as the Merovingian Period, during which this burial was constructed.
“I think that the location along the shipping route plays a key role in understanding why Herlaugshaugen burial mound is located at Leka,” said archaeologist Lars Forseth from Trøndelag County Authority. “We know that whetstones have been traded from Trøndelag to the continent from the mid-700s onwards, and goods transport along the route is key to understanding the Viking Age and developments in ship design before the Viking Age.”
This map shows the approximate locations of the large burial mounds located in central Norway
Ships would have been great signs of status, as they provided an economic link from the continent to these disparate Norwegian fjords and inlets. Anyone who owned one would have stood to make a lot of money, and the presence of the ship burial and the other mounds in Namdalen suggests to archaeologists like Forseth that the area of Namdalen may have played host to an elite merchant society.
'Helpless': Japan earthquake shatters New Year calm
Shika (Japan) (AFP) – Waiting in the cold, hundreds of residents of the earthquake-hit Japanese town of Shika stood in a queue to get rations of a suddenly scarce, but vital, commodity: drinking water.
Issued on: 02/01/2024
The earthquake left deep cracks in concrete and brought down entire wooden homes so only their tiled roofs lay on the ground
The line snaked out the door and around the town hall building, past paving stones jutting out of the ground that were forced upwards by the powerful series of tremors on New Year's Day.
Taps ran dry in many homes as dozens of aftershocks rocked Shika and other towns in the central Ishikawa region following a 7.5-magnitude earthquake.
Among those waiting for their six allocated litres (1.6 gallons) of water on Tuesday was Tsugumasa Mihara, who told AFP that the huge jolt was unlike anything he had experienced before.
The 73-year-old had just given his grandchildren a traditional New Year's Day gift of pocket money and was taking a nap when he was rattled awake by the quake.
Taps ran dry in many homes as dozens of aftershocks rocked Shika and other towns in the central Ishikawa region after the initial earthquake
"I was just helpless," he said. "All I could do at the time was pray that it would end soon."
The earthquake left broken dishes scattered in his kitchen, but no one was hurt in Mihara's family and his home still has electricity.
Now, "the problem is water".
Yuko, a 58-year-old resident, was also waiting for water, handed out in small plastic packets by a masked official in a blue jacket.
"I was on the second floor watching TV when the quake struck," she said, adding that she had to hold on to the screen to stop it from toppling over.
"I feared for my life of course, but I couldn't just run away, because I live with my family." 'Feared for my life'
The spate of earthquakes toppled large buildings, triggered a tsunami of more than a metre and saw a huge fire sparked in the city of Wajima, razing part of a market area.
By Tuesday, at least 48 people had been confirmed dead in the disaster, which left deep cracks in concrete and brought down entire wooden homes so only their tiled roofs lay on the ground.
The spate of earthquakes toppled large buildings, triggered a tsunami of more than a metre and saw a huge fire sparked in the city of Wajima, razing part of a market area
After the main shockwave on Monday -- a public holiday in Japan, when loved ones gather to ring in the New Year -- people in the worst-hit areas were urged to evacuate as authorities warned of the possibility of large tsunami waves.
There was an eerie quiet in a no-go area for vehicles near Shika, where AFP journalists saw an abandoned car stuck in a crack in the road.
Residents queued outside supermarkets to stock up on supplies, but some convenience stores were closed because there had been no product deliveries.
A sign at one store told customers: "We're closed today. We're evacuating."
Relief efforts were under way, with construction workers trying to mend road cracks with heavy machinery as rescue, army and police vehicles rushed to the scene.
The line for water snaked out the door and around the town hall building, past paving stones jutting out of the ground that were forced upwards by the tremors
A family, including grandparents and children, stood outside a tilted traditional wooden home in Wajima.
The children's mother Akiko, 46, described the earthquake as "long and violent" and said they could not return to their home because the roads were blocked.
"Even if we do manage to return home, I don't think we can go back to normal any time soon" because of the scarcity of basic necessities such as water, she said.
The family and their neighbours go to a nearby evacuation centre to relieve themselves, using plastic bags placed in toilets, with the bags changed out manually by residents when full.
"I'm worried about potential infections," Akiko said.
The start of 2024 would, she said, "be etched into my memory forever".
"I was reminded of how precious leading a normal life is," she added.
"We've experienced the absolute worst, so... now I will just move forwards, trying to get our life back".
48 Dead, Thousands Evacuated As 155 Earthquakes, Including One Of 7.6 Magnitude Hit Japan |
From toppled buildings, and sunken boats at a port to power outages in the middle of freezing overnight temperatures - the series of quakes in Japan has left a massive trail of destruction, as per several footages online.
Earthquakes led to cracks in the ground in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan AP
UPDATED: 02 JAN 2024
In a series of deadly earthquakes since Monday, Japan has been jolted by 155 quakes including a 7.6-magnitude and another over 6, the Japan Meteorological Office said. According to the officials, at least forty-eight people died in a major earthquake that struck central Japan on New Year's Day.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the quake which struck Ishikawa prefecture on the main island of Honshu had a magnitude of 7.5 while the Japanese authorities claimed it to be 7.6 on the Richter Scale and said it was one of more than 90 quakes that had rocked the region as of 1:00 am Tuesday (1600 GMT Monday).
On average, most of the quakes had a magnitude greater than 3 and while the strength has gradually moderated, six strong jolts were still felt early Tuesday, the JMA said.
From toppled buildings, sunken boats at a port to power outages in the middle of freezing overnight temperatures - the series of quakes have left a massive trail of destruction, as per several footages online.
155 earthquakes devastate Japan: Status quo
The quake reportedly triggered tsunami waves over a metre high which damaged several homes and caused the breakout of a major fire which led to the issuing of the highest-level tsunami alert. However, later the alert was dropped but the authorities told residents of coastal areas not to return to their homes as deadly waves could still come.
Around 32,700 households in the region remained without power on Tuesday, the local energy provider said.
Waves at least 1.2 metres (four feet) high hit the port of Wajima on Monday, and a series of smaller tsunamis were reported elsewhere, but warnings of much larger waves proved unfounded.
Bullet trains reach station after 11 hours of wait
Owing to the strong tremors and aftershocks, four Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet trains finally managed to reach the tations after being stranded for about 11 hours.It has been reported that the train service was suspended after the quake struck at 4:10 p.m. on Monday, stranding about 1,400 passengers.
The stranded bullet trains reached the stations by 4 am on Tuesday.
According to the railway operator, despite all the adversities, the trains maintained power and the passengers were also provided with food.
What do the authorities say?
According to the fire and disaster management agency, in light of the catastrophic event, tens of thousands of people had been evacuated, cited by Kyodo. About 1,000 people were staying at a military base.
"I instructed (emergency workers) to reach the area as soon as possible by using whatever means available," Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said late Monday after a disaster response meeting.
"It is very cold now. I issued an instruction to deliver necessary supplies like water, food, blankets, heating oil, gasoline, fuel oil, by using planes or ships," Kishida told reporters.
At least 30 people dead in Japan earthquake, as rescuers 'battle against time' to free survivors from rubble
2 January 2024,
At least 30 people have been killed in earthquakes in Japan. Picture: Alamy/Getty
At least 30 people have died after an earthquake struck Japan on Monday, as rescuers "battle against time" to free people trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings
Around 50 earthquakes struck the north central area of Japan, triggering tsunami waves, destroying buildings and starting fires on the island of Honshu.
Seven people are thought to be seriously injured in the earthquakes, alongside the 30 confirmed to have died by Tuesday morning UK time.
The largest earthquake reached 7.6 on the Richter scale, and more tremors are expected in the days to come.
The worst-hit area is the Ishikawa prefecture on the western side of Honshu island.
A car passes a collapsed wooden house in Shika Town, Ishikawa prefecture on January 2, 2024.
A damaged car left on the side of the road in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture.
People queue for water at a distribution point after the earthquake
Around 1,000 emergency services staff have been dispatched to help free people from the rubble.
But their efforts have been hampered by damaged and blocked roads. One of the local airports has been forced to close after a crack appeared in its runway.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told broadcasters: "The search and rescue of those impacted by the quake is a battle against time.
"We must rescue them as quickly as possible, especially those who are trapped under collapsed structures."
Smoke rising following a large fire in Wajima, Ishikawa prefecture on January 2, 2024 after the earthquake.
A house damaged by an earthquake is seen on January 02, 2024 in Nanao, Japan.
Firefighters investigate a partly burned and collapsed house on January 02, 2024 in Nanao, Japan.
In the aftermath of the earthquakes people were urged to flee to high ground or to get to the top of buildings as fast as possible.
Warnings of waves as tall as five metres (16ft) were made for Noto, Ishikawa Prefecture, while NHK, Japan's national broadcaster, said tsunami waves bigger than one metre hit the north coast of central Japan.
Later, that warning was downgraded as three metre tall (9.8ft) waves were predicted.
A collapsed road near the city of Shika, Ishikawa prefecture on January 2, 2024.
Reacting to the disaster, Rishi Sunak said: "My thoughts are with all those affected by the earthquakes in Japan which have caused such terrible damage.
"Prime minister Fumio Kishida is a great friend of the UK and we stand ready to support Japan and are monitoring developments closely.
"British nationals in the affected areas should follow the advice of the Japanese authorities."
The comments came shortly after US President Joe Biden said his administration was in touch with officials in Tokyo and "ready to provide any necessary assistance for the Japanese people".
Japan is extremely earthquake-prone, but a tsunami warning of the magnitude of Monday's had not been issued since a major quake and tsunami caused meltdowns at a nuclear plant in March 2011.
Natural Calamities That Wrecked Japan Over The Last Three Decades
Japan currently tackling the effect of a 7.8 magnitude earthquake has been perturbed by fatal natural disasters for centuries owing to numerous geographical factors. Outlook looks at the deadliest disasters that shook Japan over the last thirty years.
Damaged roads and debris following the Chutes Earthquake in 2004 The Asahi Shimbun via Getty Images
Japan has always been a hotbed for deadly natural disasters and people continue to live in the reality of it. The island nation which finds itself lying across three tectonic plates, including the Pacific Plate under the Pacific Ocean and the Philippine Sea Plate, also falls on the Cirucm-Pacific belt or the 'Ring of Fire' which is a path along the Pacific Ocean dotted with active volcanoes. The tectonic shifts have led to earthquakes of massive seismic intensity and numerous tsunamis causing immense destruction. Presently grappling with the havoc that the 7.8 magnitude earthquake wreaked, on New Year's Day, which has already resulted in loss of around fifty lives, Japan continues to gasp for breath.
Outlook looks at major natural disasters that scourged Japan over the last three decades. 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami March 11, 2011,
witnessed Japan's worst earthquake and tsunami at a recorded magnitude of 9.1. Occurring in the east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, it lasted for approximately six minutes. The tsunami which happened as a result, saw waves as high as 40m in Miyako. The recorded number of deaths according to the official figures released in 2021 was 19,759 with around 6242 injured. The earthquake also triggered the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster which involved the meltdowns of three of its reactors, and the discharge of radioactive water in Fukushima and other areas.
1995 The Great Hashin Earthquake
Clocking a maximum intensity of 7.0, the earthquake took place in the southern part of the Hyogo Prefecture, including Hanshin. Kobe and Osaka, the cities closest to the epicentre experienced powerful tremors leading to immense death and destruction. Around 6434 people died as a result, and it was the deadliest earthquake to hit Japan since the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.
2018 Japan Floods
In June through mid-July 2018, Japan experienced successive heavy downpours resulting in devastating floods and mudflows. The mudslides and the landslides led to the death of 225 people across 15 prefectures, with it being the deadliest freshwater related disaster in Japan since the 1982 Nagasaki floods.
2004 Chuetsu Earthquake
The earthquake occurred on October 23, 2004, in the Nigara prefecture in Japan, which is in the Horishu region of Honshu. With a recorded magnitude of 6.6, the tremors were felt in major areas across half of the island of Honshu and resulted in the loss of 68 people with around 4805 people missing.
2014 Mount Ontake Eruption
The island of Honshu witnessed a fatal volcanic eruption of Mount Ontake on September 27, 2014. It was the deadliest volcanic eruption since Torishima in 1902. A popular tourist attraction for hikers and a relatively safe one as well, several hundred people were on its slopes during the eruption. The final numbers reported the death of 63 people.
Five dead in Japan plane collision at Tokyo airport
Tokyo (AFP) – Five people aboard a Japan coast guard aircraft died Tuesday when it hit a Japan Airlines passenger plane on the ground in a fiery collision at Tokyo's Haneda airport.
Issued on: 02/01/2024 -
A Japan Airlines plane was in flames on the runway of Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday after apparently colliding with a coast guard aircraft
All 379 passengers and crew on board the passenger plane which burst into flames were safely evacuated, Japanese transport minister Tetsuo Saito told reporters.
But five of the six crew members from the smaller plane -- bound for central Japan after Monday's huge earthquake -- died, Saito said.
The captain escaped and survived but was injured, he said, cautioning that "we're not at the stage to explain the cause" of the accident.
Television and unverified footage shared on social media showed the Japan Airlines (JAL) airliner moving along the runway before a large eruption of orange flames and black smoke burst from beneath and behind it.
Video posted to social media platform X showed people sliding down an inflatable emergency slide from the side of the passenger plane while flames shot out from the rear of the aircraft.
All 367 passengers plus 12 crew onboard were swiftly taken off the plane before dozens of fire engines with flashing blue lights sprayed the fuselage.
They however failed to put out the flames coming out of windows near the wings and the blaze soon engulfed the entire aircraft.
The plane, reportedly an Airbus 350, had arrived from New Chitose Airport serving Sapporo on the northern island of Hokkaido. Those on board included eight children.
"Smoke began to fill the plane, and I thought, 'this could be really bad'", an adult male passenger told reporters at the airport.
"An announcement said doors in the back and middle could not be opened. So everyone disembarked from the front," he said.
A female passenger said it had been dark on board as the fire intensified after landing.
"It was getting hot inside the plane, and I thought, to be honest, I would not survive," she said in comments shown on broadcaster NHK. 'Sense of mission'
The coast guard plane had been preparing to fly to Ishikawa prefecture to deliver supplies after the devastating New Year's Day earthquake which killed at least 48 people.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida praised the deceased crew members on their way to help the victims of the quake.
"These were employees who had a high sense of mission and responsibility for the affected areas. It's very regrettable," he told reporters.
"I express my respect and gratitude to their sense of mission," Kishida said.
JAL said the passenger plane either collided with the other aircraft on a runway or a taxiway after it touched down, Kyodo reported.
There was also burning debris on the runway at Haneda, one of the world's busiest airports.
Haneda suspended domestic flights, according to its website, but most international takeoffs and landings were still operating.
A transport ministry official said investigations into the incident were ongoing, including exchanges between the flights and air traffic control.
Japan has not suffered a serious commercial aviation accident in decades.
Its worst ever was in 1985, when a JAL jumbo jet flying from Tokyo to Osaka crashed in central Gunma region, killing 520 passengers and crew.
That disaster was one of the world's deadliest plane crashes involving a single flight.
5 Dead As Japan Airlines Plane Goes Up In Flames After Collision With Coast Guard Jet In Tokyo
All 379 passengers and crew on board the Japan Airlines plane were evacuated but five crew members of the Coast Guard aircraft it hit, were found dead.
Japan Airlines plane caught fire at Tokyo's Haneda airport on January 2, 2024 AP
UPDATED: 02 JAN 2024 5:05 PM
An aircraft of Japan Airlines, JAL 516, burst into flames after hitting a Japanese Coast Guard plane on a runway at Tokyo's Haneda airport on Tuesday evening.
While all 379 passengers and crew on board the Japan Airlines plane were evacuated, five crew members of the Coast Guard aircraft it hit have died in the incident. The Coast Guard said the pilot had evacuated safely.
Visuals of the incident showed the Japan Airlines plane turning into a fireball on the runway after the collision with the Japanese Coast Guard aircraft. Videos also surfaced of crew members working to put out the fire.
NHK TV reported that the plane, JAL flight 516, had flown out of Shin Chitose Airport in Japan to Haneda.
Haneda is one of the busiest airports in Japan, and many people travel over the New Year holidays.
Japan runway collision 'incredibly unusual event,' transport director says
Jan 2, 2024A passenger plane and a Japanese coast guard aircraft collided on the runway at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday, killing five coast guard crewmembers. Graham Braithwaite, Director of Transport Systems and Professor of Safety and Accident Investigation at Cranfield University, says a ground collision like this is an 'incredibly unusual event' that tends to have 'tragic consequences.'
Moment Japan Airlines plane evacuated after explosion in Tokyo
The Times and The Sunday Times
Jan 2, 2024
#japan #planecrash #haneda
Almost 400 people have been rescued from a Japan Airlines plane which was engulfed by flames on the runway of Tokyo’s Haneda airport.
Initial reports claim that JAL flight 516, an Airbus A-350, was travelling from Shin Chitose airport, near Sapporo, the capital of the mountainous northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, when it struck a coastguard plane set to deliver aid to the earthquake-hit Noto peninsula.
Five of the six people aboard the smaller aircraft died, local media reported.
All passengers and crew on JAL516 were evacuated safely, according to NHK, the local broadcaster. A total of 379 people were on board — 367 passengers and 12 crew members.
Japan: Miracle as hundreds survive plane collision inferno
Sky News
Jan 2, 2024
#japan #tokyo #skynews
A Japan Airlines aircraft that was carrying 379 passengers caught fire on the runway at Tokyo's Haneda airport after a collision with a coast guard plane.
However, of the six people aboard the coastguard plane, five crew have been found dead while the pilot was able to escape as Sky's Alex Rossi reports.
Spanish star Hermoso testifies about Rubiales's World Cup kiss Madrid (AFP) – Spanish World Cup-winning star Jenni Hermoso told a judge on Tuesday that the kiss forced on her by disgraced former Spanish football chief Luis Rubiales was "at no point consensual" and that she had come under pressure to defend his actions.
Issued on: 02/01/2024
In her testimony, Spanish football star Jenni Hermoso said the kiss was 'completely unexpected and at no point was it consensual'
Arriving at the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid just before 10:00 am (0900 GMT), the 33-year-old went to testify before Judge Francisco de Jorge, who is investigating Rubiales on allegations of sexual assault and coercion.
"Now everything is in the hands of the justice system and that's all I can say," she told reporters on leaving court several hours later.
A judicial source told AFP that she had "ratified the statement made at the public prosecutor's office that the kiss was completely unexpected and at no point was it consensual".
During the incident on August 20, the then head of Spain's RFEF football federation held her head in both hands and forcibly kissed her on the lips after Spain won the World Cup in Australia.
He has said the act was "a consensual peck" but Hermoso has insisted it was not.
She filed a lawsuit against him in September and told the judge she had come under pressure to defend Rubiales, both on the flight back from Australia and on a subsequent team holiday to Ibiza in the Balearic Islands.
"After the event, the situation experienced by the victim, both on the flight back to Spain and during her stay in Ibiza was one of constant harassment by the parties under investigation, which disrupted her normal life, causing her anxiety and distress," the source said, quoting Hermoso's testimony.
Fine or up to 4 years prison
Under Spanish law, a non-consensual kiss can be considered sexual assault -- a criminal category that groups all types of sexual violence.
Penalties for such a kiss range from a fine to four years in prison.
The 46-year-old Rubiales, who is subject to a restraining order banning him from being within 200 metres (yards) of Hermoso, is also accused of "coercion" for allegedly pressuring her to justify his actions, which were broadcast live round the world.
The kiss provoked widespread outrage and prompted his suspension by world football governing body FIFA.
Rubiales appeared in court on September 15.
In October, the judge quizzed three others over allegations they also pressured Hermoso -- former women's coach Jorge Vilda, men's team director Albert Luque and RFEF marketing boss Ruben Rivera.
Numerous other witnesses have testified in court over the pressure faced by Hermoso, among them two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas and two other Spanish teammates.
BNP Paribas faces €600 million hit over Swiss franc loans
Paris, (AFP) – French bank BNP Paribas could pay out 600 million euros after reaching a deal to compensate clients judged to have been deceived over mortgages issued in Swiss francs in 2008 and 2009.
Both BNP Paribas and the CLCV consumer organisation confirmed Tuesday that a deal had been reached to compensate the approximately 4,400 clients who had contracted the mortgages which carried low interest rates.
The mortgages, issued in 2008 and 2009, were denominated in Swiss francs, and reimbursement was made in euros at current market rates.
The Swiss franc is widely considered a safe haven investment, and during the global financial crisis it strongly appreciated against other currencies as investors sought refuge from the market carnage.
As a result, BNP Paribas customers with those mortgages faced sharply higher costs to reimburse their mortgages.
The deal between BNP Paribas and the CLCV was reached after an appeals court in late November ruled that the BNP Paribas subsidiary that issued the mortgages had not properly warned investors of the currency risks involved.
CLCV was separately pursuing legal action to get the abusive clauses of the mortgage contracts nullified.
The consumer organisation said in a statement that BNP Paribas would offer all the affected borrowers a settlement.
According to a source, most borrowers would receive between 120,000 and 150,000 euros, which would put the total cost to BNP Paribas at between 400 and 600 million euros.
The agreement also provides for the cancellation of all loan contracts.
CLCV welcomed the deal, which it said was in the interest of the consumers and would not force them to wait for all legal proceedings to be exhausted before receiving financial compensation.
Such a scandal could not happen today, since a French law has prohibited taking out a loan in a foreign currency since July 2013.
Lenders in a number of countries issued mortgages in Swiss francs in the run-up to the global financial crisis as interest rates in Switzerland were lower.
Polish borrowers won an important ruling from the EU's top court last year in their legal fight against local banks that had issued Swiss-franc mortgage loans.
French celebrities distance themselves from Depardieu, accused of rape
IT'S ABOUT TIME
ce n’est pas trop tôt !
Several of the 60 personalities who signed a petition in support of French actor Gerard Depardieu, accused of rape and sexual harassment, have now distanced themselves from the move. Since then, three anti-Depardieu petitions signed by thousands of artists and celebrities have emerged.
Issued on: 02/01/2024 -
Gerard Depardieu at the 74th Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo
On Monday, actor and director Jacques Weber became the latest French celebrity to distance himself from an open letter entitled "Don't erase Gerard Depardieu," published on Christmas Day in daily newspaper Le Figaro.
Weber said he regretted his "blindness", after having signed the petition in support of the disgraced film legend, who is charged with rape and is facing a litany of other sexual assault claims.
"As a reflex of friendship, I signed in haste, without inquiring ... Yes I signed, forgetting the victims and the fate of thousands of women in the world who suffer from a state of affairs that has been accepted for too long," Weber wrote in a fresh opinion piece, published by the investigative website Mediapart on New Year's Day.
"Despite the love or admiration that his friends, his family and the cinema family have for [Depardieu], we must not prevent the truth from emerging."
"If we were guilty of accepting behaviour that is now unacceptable on film and theatre sets, then yes I was guilty," Weber admitted.
Other personalities have since distanced themselves, including Depardieu's former partner Carole Bouquet, Nadine Trintignant and Gérard Darmon.
The unease stems, in part, from the revelation that the author of the petition, Yannis Ezziadi – who is reputedly close to Julie Depardieu, Gerard's daughter – writes for the ultraconservative magazine Causeur, known for its links to far right-wing circles.
Meanwhile Trintignant, whose daughter Marie was killed by singer Bertrand Cantat in 2003, told Le Point that she did not know who had written the column and admitted she'd signed it because she did not agree with the media's poor treatment of Depardieu – something she had suffered from herself.
"I ask the people I shocked not to blame me for my grave error. I am against the media lynching – that I experienced with violence in the press – which spoke of a crime of passion regarding my daughter. Today, we talk about it like a murder and that’s good," the actress and director insisted.
On Sunday, actor Pierre Richard also dissociated himself from the letter. "I signed without knowing the ideological movement to which the author of the petition belongs," he said.
Also on Sunday, actor Charles Berling also posted a message with an apology to victims.
"My position has obviously hurt many people. I am deeply saddened and I apologise. My commitment against violence against women is unwavering and will always remain so."
'Spitting in the face' of victims
Meanwhile, since 29 December, over 8,000 artists have signed a counter-petition, including singers Angèle, Louane and rapper Médine.
Organised by the collective "Cerveaux non disponible" (Brains not available), the petition is particularly critical of President Emmanuel Macron's response to the scandal.
Macron came to Depardieu's defence on 20 December, claiming the "immense" actor was the target of "a manhunt".
"This forum and the defence of Macron are spitting in the face of the victims of Gérard Depardieu but also of all the victims of sexist and sexual violence," the signatories wrote.
Another petition, entitled "Address to the old world", was published on Sunday on the Mediapart website with some 70 signatures from cinema personalities including Laure Calamy and Anouk Grinberg.
The latest petition was published Monday by French left-wing daily Libération, proclaiming that "art is not a totem of impunity."
"Sacred monsters do not exist. There are only ordinary men to whom we have given all the rights," the text reads.
The column was signed by 150 personalities from the world of culture, including actresses Muriel Robin, Alexandra Lamy and director Thomas Jolly.
French bishop denies promoting banned gay conversion therapies
The anti-discrimination non-profit SOS Homophobie has accused the bishop of Bayonne-Lescar-Oloron, in southwestern France, of "legitimising" the implementation of banned conversion therapies – a charge he denies. This comes on the heels of a decision by the Vatican to authorise blessings for homosexual couples.
Issued on: 02/01/2024 -
Bishop of Bayonne, Marc Aillet, outside Notre Dame Cathedral in Bayonne, southwestern France.
SOS homophobie says it is angry over a note, published on the Bayonne-Lescar-Oloron diocese website on 29 December, written by bishop Marc Aillet.
The Catholic leader invited the priests of the diocese to give their blessing to homosexual couples if requested, but with certain conditions.
"If people ask, give them a blessing provided that it is to each person individually – calling them to conversion and inviting them to ask for the help of grace that the Lord grants to all those who ask him to conform their lives to the Will of God," the message reads.
SOS homophobie says these conditions are discriminatory for homosexual couples and akin to "legitimising" conversion therapies.
Sometimes called sexual reorientation therapies, conversion refers to a set of pseudo-scientific treatments with the controversial goal of attempting to change one's sexual orientation.
"It’s a form of injunction to change one’s sexual orientation as if it were a choice," Véronique Godet, co-president of SOS homophobie told FranceInfo on Monday.
According to her, bishop Aillet's directions concerning homosexual people were "both hurtful and reductive".
She is particularly critical of the fact that "each person should be received "individually," rather than as a couple.
Separating the couple is a "denial of its existence", Godet says, adding it was designed to "weaken" either partner.
The bishop's office told FranceInfo that Aillet’s note had been misinterpreted.
"It is not a question of conversion therapy, but of a reference to the Gospel which invites all believers to change direction to take the right path," Aillet's office said.
In a historic move, the Vatican announced on 18 December that it now authorises the blessing of "unmarried, divorced and homosexual couples".
Kazakhstan: Hundreds of wild swans die with avian flu
Activists are concerned the die-off may number into the thousands.
Jan 2, 2024
Screengrab of footage of dead swans as filmed by activist Azamat Sarsenbayev.
Environmental officials in Kazakhstan say at least 227 wild swans have died in the western Mangystau region as a result of the spread of the avian influenza.
The Mangystau regional government’s ecology department said on January 2 that the bodies of the birds were found around the Karakol Lake, which lies some 30 kilometers south of the city of Aktau.
Azamat Sarsenbayev, a local activist who has been monitoring the unfolding situation, has said he believes the die-off is much greater than what the authorities are stating.
“I don’t understand why they are underestimating the scale of the tragedy that is currently unfolding on Lake Karakol,” Sarsenbayev wrote on January 1.
The looming specter of widespread bird flu in Kazakhstan mirrors trends that have been recorded further west.
A number of scientific groups in Europe have reported on outbreaks of avian influenza across 23 countries on the continent in the period running from September 2 to December 1. Researchers have said the broad spread of the virus may have occurred later than anticipated because the delayed arrival of the fall pushed back the migratory season.
Georgia's billionaire boss re-enters politics … again
Ivanishvili says he's coming out of retirement for a second time because the opposition is too weak to hold his team to account.
Ivanishvili said the decision to re-enter politics was "unpleasant" for him (Facebook; Georgian Dream)
The billionaire founder of Georgia's ruling party is once again, reluctantly, emerging from the shadows to take an active role in politics.
Bidzina Ivanishvili announced at an unscheduled congress of the ruling Georgian Dream party on December 30 that he had decided to become the party's "honorary chairman."
He said that he took the "unpleasant" decision because the country was facing challenges arising from the "complicated geopolitical situation."
He lamented that the ruling team once again needed his steadying hand because the opposition has become so marginalized that it's unable to keep the country's rulers honest.
He also spoke cryptically about the risk of internal discord and "corruption" in the party ranks.
Ivanishvili said that he would be Georgian Dream's "main advisor" and that Irakli Kobakhidze will stay on as chairman, a role he's been performing "brilliantly" for the past three years. The billionaire also said he has no ambition to become prime minister. "Political activity is not in my nature," he pleaded.
Ivanishvili's reappearance is being christened in social media as his "third coming."
In 2011 he emerged from a life of reclusive luxury and philanthropy to assemble a coalition of politicians that took down the government of President Mikheil Saakashvili in the parliamentary election the following year. After serving as prime minister for just over a year and handing over the reins of power to his then-31-year-old protege Irakli Garibashvili in 2013, he declared his mission accomplished and retired from public life.
He came back in 2018, then too with great reluctance, and made himself Georgian Dream's chairman ahead of a presidential election that was seen as a key test of strength for the party.
He retired again in early 2021, a few months after the party secured a majority in the last parliamentary election. Among the reasons he cited was that he was about to reach pension age, 65.
Analysts and politicians have speculated broadly about Ivanishvili's intentions in re-entering the fray now.
Among them are the challenges associated with Georgia's quest to join the European Union, which Ivanishvili identified in his speech as the country's "main foreign policy task."
One of the EU's main requirements for Georgia is "deoligarchization." This has largely been understood as referring to Ivanishvili's informal role in the country's governance. (He acknowledged in his speech yesterday that over the past three years he "was in communication with two or three party leaders," which he said was an "ordinary phenomenon.")
By formalizing his role in politics now, he's seeking to remove this criticism and gain a certain "immunity" from possible EU sanctions, according to pundit Gia Khukhashvili, a former advisor to and current critic of Ivanishvili.
Others have attributed the decision to the billionaire's insecurity about the fall 2024 election in which Georgian Dream will seek a fourth straight four-year term in power.
As things stand now, the party appears to be in a solid position, particularly after the country was granted the long-coveted EU membership candidate status earlier this month. Recent polls show Georgian Dream with 25 percent support, which is nearly double that of its nearest competitor.
In his speech, Ivanishvili was insistent, perhaps a little too insistent, that the party would prevail comfortably in next year's poll. If the election were held today, Georgian Dream would win between 90 and 100 seats in the 150-seat parliament, he asserted. He said that the opposition had been "completely destroyed" and that critical media's "torrent of lies" against the ruling party was having no effect whatsoever.
Which brings us to one of Ivanishvili's main arguments for resurfacing: Georgian Dream is too strong and too well positioned for its own good.
"With the destruction of the opposition, risks in the ruling team grow. The absence of an opposition can indeed daze and slacken the ruling team. In addition, when there's no one opposing us from the outside, there emerges a temptation of concocting discord within the team. Given the current non-existence of an opposition, corruption risks rise, and need to be urgently insured against. All of this has led me to make the unpleasant decision to return to politics," he said.
His own reasoning aside, it can be argued that Ivanishvili's return to the public sphere will make Georgia's political discourse more honest.
"This step of his should be welcomed by society and by the opposition," said Gia Khukhashvili, the analyst. "One of the trump cards of the Georgian Dream's system has always been the untouchability of the decision-maker. Effectively, decisions were taken by Bidzina, policy was determined by Bidzina and then people would go and attack the messenger, [current Prime Minister Irakli] Garibashvili. So the decision-maker was effectively not held accountable for anything. … [Now] The players are on the stage, there's no one left behind the scenes. The main protagonist has come out."
Ship nails of this size, and this age, tell us that people here could build large ships much earlier than previously believed. Credit: Geir Grønnesby.
Jacques Weber pictured on 15 December 2020 at the Théatre de l'Atelier where he was supposed to perform, before the government cancelled the reopening of theatres due to the Covid-19 pandemic. © RFI/Hird
Ivanishvili said the decision to re-enter politics was "unpleasant" for him (Facebook; Georgian Dream)