Monday, June 17, 2024

SPACE




How to see the 2024 nova explosion without a telescope
DW
YESTERDAY

Gearing up to witness the nova explosion of T Coronae Borealis this September? It promises to be a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event.


An illustration of an event like a nova explosion showing a white dwarf and a red giant interacting
Image: NASA/CXC/M.Weis

It's not often that a dark spot in space illuminates our planet, but that is exactly what professional and amateur astronomers expect to happen in September when a once-in-a-lifetime nova explosion 3,000 light-years from Earth will light up our night sky.
What is a nova explosion?

A nova explosion is the dramatic instance of a star exploding as it interacts with another, nearby star. It's a one of many, repeated moments during the long, slow, death of two neighboring stars in the same system.

Astronomers are waiting for the fiery explosion of T Coronae Borealis, also dubbed the "Blaze Star" and known to astronomers as "T CrB".

The system contains two stars — a white dwarf and a red giant. The white dwarf is an incredibly dense remnant of a once larger star. It's about the size of planet Earth but with the same mass as our Sun.

Its neighbor, the red giant, is in its final years of existence and is slowly being stripped of hydrogen by the gravitational pull of the denser white dwarf.

This star "cannibalism" causes a tremendous buildup of pressure and heat, which eventually triggers a huge thermonuclear explosion. The explosion doesn't completely destroy the stars, however, and so this event repeats over time. It can carry on for hundreds of thousands of years.

For T CrB, this nova event happens roughly every 80 years — it's a like Halley's Comet event every 76 years — so, astronomers call T CrB a "recurrent" nova.

They believe T CrB's prior eruptions were observed as long ago as December 1787 and even October 1217 AD.


Is a nova the same as a supernova?

No. A supernova is the final explosion that utterly destroys stars. In a nova event, the dwarf star remains intact, which is why nova events typically repeat themselves.

Different nova events have different cycles, ranging from a few years to hundreds of thousands of years.

What does a nova look like?


The explosion of a nova blasts away star matter in a blinding light, but it won't look like a star explosion you see in the movies — thankfully, we're too far away to see this level of detail.

To the naked eye, the nova will instead look like a new star has appeared in the sky. People with high-powered telescopes will be able to see the nova's brightly colored luminosity in some detail.

Will we be able to see the nova without a telescope?


Yes! When T CrB erupts, its luminosity will increase dramatically, making it visible to the naked eye for several days.

The Northern Crown is a horseshoe-shaped curve of stars west of the Hercules constellation, ideally spotted on clear nights.

To find the Northern Crown, locate the two brightest stars in the Northern Hemisphere: Arcturus and Vega. Tracing a line between the two stars will lead you to the Northern Crown, where T CrB lies.

The European Space Agency told DW that all telescopes were already pointing towards T CrB, waiting to capture the event, but that there are no images as yet.
When will the nova be visible?

All signs point to the nova explosion happening in September 2024. However, novae can be unpredictable, so astrophysicists say it's difficult to know exactly when the T CrB nova will occur.

Have nova events been seen during history?


T CrB nova was last seen from Earth in 1946. The first recorded sighting of the T CrB nova was believed to be more than 800 years ago in 1217, when an abbot in the town of Ursberg, Germany, noted "a faint star that for a time shone with great light."

The abbot wrote the light lasted for "many days” and was thought to be a "wonderful sign." Other celestial events like comets were believed to be bad omens.

Astronomers have recorded supernova events much further back in history. The first sighting of a supernova goes back almost 2000 years to 185 CE, when Chinese astronomers saw a strange "guest star" appear in the night sky for eight months.

Edited by: Zulfikar Abbany

Sources:

NASA Astrophysics https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics

NASA, Global Astronomers Await Rare Nova Explosion, June 2024 https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/marshall/nasa-global-astronomers-await-rare-nova-explosion/

The recurrent nova T CrB had prior eruptions observed near December 1787 and October 1217 AD. Journal for the History of Astronomy, November 2023 https://doi.org/10.1177/00218286231200492


Fred Schwaller Science writer fascinated by the brain and the mind, and how science influences society@schwallerfred


Satellites to monitor marine debris from space


This is what emerges from a study led by the ICM-CSIC recently published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications



SPANISH NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL (CSIC)

Map of the Mediterranean Sea showing the locations of marine debris accumulations detected thanks to the European satellite Copernicus Sentinel-2. 

IMAGE: 

MAP OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA SHOWING THE LOCATIONS OF MARINE DEBRIS ACCUMULATIONS DETECTED THANKS TO THE EUROPEAN SATELLITE COPERNICUS SENTINEL-2. EACH RED CIRCLE REPRESENTS AN ACCUMULATION DETECTED DURING THE OBSERVATION PERIOD FROM JUNE 2015 TO SEPTEMBER 2021. THE BLUE ZONES ON LAND CORRESPOND TO THE URBAN AND INDUSTRIAL AREAS OF THE COUNTRIES BORDERING THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA.

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CREDIT: MANUEL ARIAS / ANDRÉS CÓZAR





Detecting marine debris from space is now a reality, according to a new study led by the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) and the University of Cadiz recently published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications. Until now, the amount of litter -mostly plastic- on the sea surface was rarely high enough to generate a detectable signal from space. However, using supercomputers and advanced search algorithms, the research team has demonstrated that satellites are an effective tool for estimating the amount of litter in the sea.

To carry out the work, funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), a six-year historical series of observations from the European Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite in the Mediterranean Sea were analysed. In total, 300,000 images taken every 3 days at a resolution of 10 metres were scrutinised. The results reveal large aggregations of litter within floating structures scientifically known as ‘windrows’ that can be up to several kilometres long and result from the convergence of ocean currents and the effect of wind on the sea surface.

Although the satellite's sensors were not specifically designed to detect litter, their ability to identify plastic made it possible to map the most polluted areas in the Mediterranean. This map shows the main entry points for litter from the mainland and improves our understanding of the mechanisms that transport debris. The results indicate that the amount of floating plastic in the Mediterranean could cover an area of approximately 95 square kilometres over the period 2015-2021, which is equivalent to about 7,500 football pitches.

‘Until now, looking for aggregations of litter several metres in diameter on the ocean surface was like looking for needles in a haystack, as the formation of windrows requires the presence of a large amount of litter and little wind to prevent it from spreading,’ explains Manuel Arias (ICM-CSIC), one of the co-directors of the study.

From his side, Andrés Cózar, from the University of Cádiz, also co-director of the study, stresses that ‘the relevance and significance of the trails in terms of marine litter was unknown until now’, and welcomes the fact that automation through supercomputers and advanced search algorithms has made it possible to prove that it is possible to monitor the accumulation of marine litter from space over large areas and on a routine basis".

With an eye to future space missions, the research team suggests installing specific plastic detection sensors on satellites. According to the study, this would increase the ability to detect plastic in the ocean by a factor of 20. In addition, this information could be compared with other environmental factors to improve understanding of the mechanisms that transport plastic debris from land to sea, and better guide actions and regulations to combat this form of marine pollution that affects biodiversity, fish stocks and tourism.

Population density, a key factor

The study concludes that factors such as population density, geography and rainfall patterns have a significant influence on the accumulation of marine litter. For example, desert countries or cities contribute much less to the problem, while in areas with more rainfall, especially when torrential rains occur, the accumulation of litter resulting from emissions in the preceding days and weeks is much higher.

Finally, the study reveals that, in its majority, litter of continental origin is confined to the first 15 kilometres of sea from the coast, returning to the coast after a few days or months. ‘This confirms the notion that the distribution of plastic litter of continental origin and that generated by human activities directly in the sea behave and distribute differently,’ Arias explains.

The authors of the study illustrate the applicability of the new methodology with several real cases, such as the evaluation of the effectiveness of action plans against litter in the Tiber River in Rome (Italy), the identification of pollution hotspots related to maritime transport in the Suez Canal (Egypt) or the use of satellite observations to guide clean-up tasks in the waters of the Bay of Biscay (Spain).

Nevertheless, the study results show that satellite-based monitoring of marine pollution is feasible and promising for issues beyond plastic. For example, a sensor specifically dedicated to the detection and identification of floating objects could help address problems such as loss of cargo on ships, oil spills or search and rescue tasks at sea.

In addition to the University of Cadiz and the ICM-CSIC, the team is made up of researchers from the European Space Agency (ESA), ARGANS France, the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain), the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (ISMAR-CNR, Italy), the Technical University of Crete (Greece), ARGANS Ltd. (UK), AIRBUS Defence and Space (France), the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission, The Ocean Cleanup (The Netherlands), and ACRI-ST (France).

Cosmic leap: NASA swift satellite and AI unravel the distance of the farthest gamma-ray bursts



THE GRADUATE UNIVERSITY FOR ADVANCED STUDIES, SOKENDAI
Determining the Distance of Gamma-Ray Bursts with Machine Learning 

IMAGE: 

THIS ILLUSTRATION DEPICTS THE PROCESS OF DETECTING GAMMA-RAY BURSTS (GRBS) USING THE SWIFT OBSERVATORY AND ANALYZING THEIR EMISSIONS ON EARTH THROUGH ADVANCED MACHINE-LEARNING TECHNIQUES. THIS CUTTING-EDGE APPROACH ENABLES SCIENTISTS TO DETERMINE THE DISTANCES (REDSHIFT) OF THESE COSMIC PHENOMENA FOR WHICH THE DISTANCE IS UNKNOWN, HELPING UNRAVEL THE MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE.

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CREDIT: NASA, ADITYA NARENDRA, MARIA GIOVANNA DAINOTTI, AND AGNIESZKA POLLO




The advent of AI has been hailed by many as a societal game-changer, as it opens a universe of possibilities to improve nearly every aspect of our lives.

Astronomers are now using AI, quite literally, to measure the expansion of our universe.

Two recent studies led by Maria Dainotti, a visiting professor with UNLV’s Nevada Center for Astrophysics and assistant professor at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), incorporated multiple machine learning models to add a new level of precision to distance measurements for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) – the most luminous and violent explosions in the universe.

In just a few seconds, GRBs release the same amount of energy our sun releases in its entire lifetime. Because they are so bright, GRBs can be observed at multiple distances – including at the edge of the visible universe – and aid astronomers in their quest to chase the oldest and most distant stars. But, due to the limits of current technology, only a small percentage of known GRBs have all of the observational characteristics needed to aid astronomers in calculating how far away they occurred.

Dainotti and her teams combined GRB data from NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory with multiple machine learning models to overcome the limitations of current observational technology and more precisely estimate the proximity of GRBs for which the distance is unknown. Because GRBs can be observed both far away and at relatively close distances, knowing where they occurred can help scientists understand how stars evolve over time and how many GRBs can occur in a given space and time.

“This research pushes forward the frontier in both gamma-ray astronomy and machine learning,” said Dainotti. “Follow-up research and innovation will help us achieve even more reliable results and enable us to answer some of the most pressing cosmological questions, including the earliest processes of our universe and how it has evolved over time.”

AI Boosts Limits of Deep-Space Observation

In one study, Dainotti and Aditya Narendra, a final-year doctoral student at Poland’s Jagiellonian University, used several machine learning methods to precisely measure the distance of GRBs observed by the space Swift UltraViolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) and ground-based telescopes, including the Subaru Telescope. The measurements were based solely on other, non distance-related GRB properties. The research was published Feb. 8 on the preprint server arXiv.

“The outcome of this study is so precise that we can determine using predicted distance the number of GRBs in a given volume and time (called the rate), which is very close to the actual observed estimates,” said Narendra.

Another study led by Dainotti and international collaborators has been successful in measuring GRB distance with machine learning using data by NASA’s Swift X-ray Telescope (XRT) afterglows from what are known as long GRBs. GRBs are believed to occur in different ways. Long GRBs happen when a massive star reaches the end of its life and explodes in a spectacular supernova. Another type, known as short GRBs, happen when the remnants of dead stars, such as neutron stars, merge gravitationally and collide with each other.

The novelty of this approach, Dainotti says, comes from using several machine-learning methods together to improve their collective predictive power. This method, called Superlearner, assigns to each algorithm a weight whose values range from 0 to 1, with each weight corresponding to the predictive power of that singular method.

“The advantage of the Superlearner is that the final prediction is always more performant than the singular models,” said Dainotti. “Superlearner is also used to discard the algorithms which are the least predictive.”

This study, which was published Feb. 26 in The Astrophysical Journal, Supplement Series, reliably estimates the distance of 154 long GRBs for which the distance is unknown and significantly boosts the population of known distances among this type of burst.

Answering Puzzling Questions on GRB Formation

A third study, published Feb. 21 in the Astrophysical Journal Letters and led by Stanford University astrophysicist Vahé Petrosian and Dainotti, used Swift X-ray data to answer puzzling questions by showing that the GRB rate – at least at small relative distances – does not follow the rate of star formation.

“This opens the possibility that long GRBs at small distances may be generated not by a collapse of massive stars, but rather by the fusion of very dense objects like neutron stars,” said Petrosian.

With support from NASA’s Swift Observatory Guest Investigator program (Cycle 19), Dainotti and her colleagues are now working to make the machine learning tools publicly available through an interactive web application.

Mysterious mini-Neptunes



NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF NATURAL SCIENCES
Mini-Neptunes with an elliptical orbits 

IMAGE: 

DIAGRAM OF DISCOVERED EXOPLANET ORBITS. THE ORBITS OF EXOPLANETS CLOSE TO THEIR PARENT STARS TEND TO BECOME CIRCULAR OVER TIME, BUT THREE OF THE NEWLY DISCOVERED EXOPLANETS, EXCEPT THE BOTTOM LEFT, HAVE MAINTAINED ELLIPTICAL ORBITS DESPITE BEING OVER A BILLION YEARS OLD.

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CREDIT: ASTROBIOLOGY CENTER




This study discovered mini-Neptunes around four red dwarfs using observations from a global network of ground-based telescopes and the TESS space telescope. These four mini-Neptunes are close to their parent stars, and the three of them are likely to be in eccentric orbits.

Planets between the size of Earth and Uranus/Neptune, known as mini-Neptunes, are not found in our Solar System. However, mini-Neptunes are relatively common outside the Solar System and are promising targets for atmospheric characterization by the James Webb Space Telescope. What do mini-Neptunes look like?

This study discovered four transiting short-period mini-Neptunes (TOI-782 b, TOI-1448 b, TOI-2120 b, and TOI-2406 b) orbiting red dwarfs through follow-up observations with ground-based telescopes with MuSCATs (a series of Multicolor Simultaneous Camera for studying Atmospheres of Transiting exoplanets). These mini-Neptunes have radii about 2-3 times that of Earth and orbital periods of less than eight days. In addition, these radial velocity measurements of their parent stars, obtained with the IRD (InfraRed Doppler) on the Subaru telescope, indicate that the upper limit on the masses of these four planets is less than 20 times the mass of Earth. The relationship between the measured radii and the upper mass limits of these mini-Neptunes suggests that they are not rocky planets like Earth. Their interiors likely contain volatiles such as icy materials like H2O and atmospheres. 

    The team also found that at least three (TOI-782 b, TOI-2120 b, TOI-2406 b) of these four mini-Neptunes are likely to be in eccentric orbits. In general, the orbit of a short-period planet around a red dwarf should be circular due to tidal dissipation. However, three short-period mini-Neptunes around red dwarfs have maintained non-zero eccentricities for billions of years. One possible interpretation of this is that their interiors are not susceptible to tidal effects. The mass-radius relationship of these four mini-Neptunes suggests that they are not rocky planets. Thus, the interiors of these mysterious mini-Neptunes may be similar to those of Neptune. Short-period mini-Neptunes are promising targets for atmospheric observations with the James Webb Space Telescope. Further detailed follow-up observations are expected to improve our understanding of the internal compositions and atmospheres of short-period mini-Neptunes.

 

EU ministers approve contested Nature Restoration Law

Ministers of 20 EU member states voted in favor of the Nature Restoration law giving it their final approval. The Austrian minister who backed the vote faces legal action from her own party who say she acted unlawfully.

Image: Rainer Keuenhof/picture alliance

European Union environmental ministers on Monday approved a contested conservation law that seeks to restore habitats to their natural condition.

The Nature Restoration Law aims to regrow forests, re-wet moors and return rivers to their natural, free-flowing states.

The law has proven controversial, due to concern over the heavy restrictions that could be placed on farmers. It was passed by the European Parliament earlier in the year.

Environment ministers of EU member states backed the policy at a meeting in Luxembourg, meaning it can now pass into law.

Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius said on X, "We are still on track to reverse the biodiversity loss, let's now start work together and show that EU is still leading the way."

Austrian climate minister breaks with Vienna to pass law

Austria's environment minister, Leonore Gewessler of the Greens, went against her conservative coalition partners by pledging to back the policy — giving it the majority needed to pass.

"I know I will face opposition in Austria on this, but I am convinced that this is the time to adopt this law," Gewessler told reporters.

Gewessler called it "a victory for nature" in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

On Monday, Austria's center-right chancellor, Karl Nehammer, said it was "unlawful" of his climate minister to vote in favor of the nature restoration law.

"Austria should stick with its already-agreed vote" against the law, Nehammer's office said.

"Last night, Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer informed the Belgian Council Presidency (of the EU) that federal minister Gewessler's approval of EU renaturation would be unlawful."

The country's governing Austrian People's Party (OVP) said that Gewessler would face legal action for her decision to back the law.

The party's general secretary Christian Stocker said that a charge of abuse of office would be laid against Gewessler.

Germany's Environment Minister Steffi Lemke meanwhile said on X that the adoption of the law was "a clear signal of trust in Europe's ability to compromise and its responsibility to protect the environment and nature."

Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland and Sweden voted against. Belgium, which is responsible for chairing talks among member states, abstained.
What is included in the law?

The law sets a target for the EU to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.

It aims to reverse the decline of Europe's natural habitats, of which 81% are determined to be in poor health.

The legislation also sets specific targets such as peatlands that can soak up CO2 emissions and help curb climate change. Other ecosystems explicitly covered by the law include forests, grasslands, and wetlands, as well as rivers, lakes, and coral beds.

Member states must restore at least 30% of habitats specifically covered by the new law from a poor to a good condition by 2030.

That target would increase to 60% by 2040, and 90% by 2050.

DW

kb/ab (dpa, AP)
Why is China targeting #MeToo activists?

Yuchen Li in Taipei
DW

After a court in China handed prison terms to two activists, DW looks at the motivations behind Beijing's crackdown on social justice campaigners and rights activists' struggle for accountability.


Both Huang and Wang faced charges of sedition following gatherings they held for Chinese youth where they exchanged views on social issues
Image: FreeXueBing/Wang Jianbing/AP

Leading Chinese women's rights advocate Huang Xueqin was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday for "inciting subversion of state power," according to a group campaigning for her release and a copy of the verdict issued by a court in Guangdong.

The#MeToo activist was sentenced alongside labor rights activist Wang Jianbing, who was given three years and six months in prison on the same charge. Wang has spoken out in support of women reporting sexual harassment.

The two have already been detained for over 1,000 days after being arrested in September 2021. They have maintained their innocence throughout their detention and trial.
'Zero tolerance for independent thinking'

Huang and Wang often held gatherings for Chinese youth during which they discussed social issues. It is widely believed that Chinese authorities viewed their meetings as a threat to national security.

"It reflects the zero tolerance the [Chinese] government has over people who show any kind of independent thinking," Wang Yaqiu, Research Director for China at Freedom House, a US-based human rights organization, told DW.

In 2022, the International Women's Media Foundation honored Huang Xueqin with its Wallis Annenberg Justice for Women Journalists Award
Image: Thomas Yau/newscom/picture alliance


Beijing's crackdown on social movements


Wang Yaqiu warned that the convictions of the two activists, affectionately nicknamed "XueBing" by their friends and supporters, would further narrow "the almost non-existent civil society space."

The decline of China's civil society landscape has been a long and challenging process for local activists.

In 2015, over 300 lawyers and human rights defenders were arrested in a nationwide sweep called the "709 crackdown." The name derives from the date it began: July 9. The arrests targeted legal professionals and activists advocating for human rights and the rule of law.

Over the past decade, Beijing has also restricted overseas NGOs from operating in the country and suppressed feminist and LGBTQ+ movements by arresting leading advocates.
China's #MeToo campaign

Huang emerged as a key voice for women's rights in China during the 2018 #MeToo movement, which originated in the United States — but unlike its Western counterpart, the Chinese campaign was initially introduced and promoted by university students who accused professors of sexual abuse and harassment.

Huang helped spark China's first #MeToo case in 2018 when she publicized allegations of sexual harassment made by a graduate student against her PhD supervisor at one of China's most prestigious universities.

Later, Huang collaborated with Wang to organize social gatherings for activists at his apartment in the southeastern Chinese city of Guanzhong.


Efforts to rebuild civil society


Wang wanted to rebuild the civil society community and provide support to young NGO workers and activists because many of them faced obstacles working in a highly censored environment.

Rio, a friend of the two activists who regularly attended the gatherings in Wang's apartment, told DW they never thought such informal events would be a problem to the Chinese government until a police raid.

Rio described how the attendees supported each other by sharing their work challenges, learning from guest speakers — and simply unwinding by playing board games together.

"It was not meant to criticize the government privately … it's a very constructive conversation," Rio said, speaking under a pseudonym due to safety concerns.

Why does Beijing seem 'insecure' about social events?

It was not the first time Chinese authorities targeted people involved in social gatherings.

In 2019, dozens of lawyers and activists who attended a private meeting in Xiamen, a port city on the southeast coast of China, were also summoned and questioned by the police. Some of them were arrested and have remained incarcerated ever since.

Lü Pin, a Chinese feminist activist currently living in the United States, said this was a "preemptive measure" against dissidents or activists building connections with one another — which could form the foundation of social resistance in the future.

This kind of preventative suppression, Lü emphasized, has no legal basis since specific actions have not yet occurred. Unfortunately, in China, "such unlawful acts continue to happen."

Wang Yaqiu, the Freedom House researcher, also told DW that Chinese authorities found social connections "very threatening" as they usually led to solidarity and empowerment.

The "XueBing" case once again "speaks of how insecure Xi Jinping and the CCP are," she said, referring to the Chinese president and the country's ruling Communist Party.



A huge setback for Chinese civil society

Rio is one of the core members of the online support group Free Huang Xueqin and Wang Jianbing, which was formed after the duo's arrest to provide information on the case. So far, Chinese authorities have only made a few details public.

Most of the group's members were frequent participants in the gatherings, and according to Rio, more than 70 of them have been interrogated by the police.

At least 10 people have been forced to move to other cities, and some were reportedly coerced into signing documents with false statements during their interrogations. These documents may have been used as evidence to charge Huang and Wang, some group members told Rio.

"This is a big attack for many young activists in Guangzhou," Rio said. "We have cultivated the community for many years, but the government cracked down on everything very easily."

Lü told DW that the case had had "a huge impact" on feminist communities as well. They feel "an overwhelming sense of anger… and fear" whenever they think about it.

She said that the authorities intended to demonstrate that "its arbitrary actions essentially have no boundaries" by suppressing activists.

'You never know when the next peak will come'

Following the sentencing on Friday, Beijing's foreign ministry spokesman, Lin Jian, said that China "guarantees the legitimate rights of every citizen in accordance with the law."

He added: "At the same time, anyone who breaks the law will receive legal punishment."

But the momentum of activism in some areas, such as calling for women's rights and addressing sexual harassment, will not be easy to quench.

"You never know when the next peak will come," Lü said, referring to the #MeToo movement, "because this system continuously produces victims, and the victims will resist and prompt those around them to speak out."

"This will not stop."



Edited by: Keith Walker
WAR IS RAPE

Ethiopia's Tigray war survivors hope for a better future

Ximena Borrazas in Tigray | Edgar Gutierrez in Tigray
DW

Many survivors of Ethiopia's devastating Tigray war remain optimistic despite the scars left by the conflict.



The war in Tigray might be over but many survivors have to cope with the trauma
Image: Ximena Borrazas

Warning: This article includes graphic accounts of sexual abuse which some people may find disturbing. Please exercise caution before reading on.

Before the outbreak of war in Tigray, life was quite different for 42-year-old Kebedesh and her family in the northern part of Ethiopia. She ran a small hotel and was also involved in small-scale agriculture. Everything was going well for her.

Then, in November 2020, fighting between the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (FDRE) and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF)broke out. The war — which lasted two years — later saw Eritrean forces and Amhara militia joining hands to support the Ethiopian government forces.

Rape as a weapon of war

A week after the outbreak of the conflict, as Kebedesh and her 8-year-old daughter were walking through Kafta, a rural area near the Eritrean border, five soldiers intercepted them, four from the neighboring country and one from the central government.

"They aggressively asked me, 'Do you have a man at TPLF?' — I said no," Kebedesh recalled.

The five men gang-raped her. At the same time, they stabbed her daughter and poured boiling water on her stomach to silence her cries for help.

After the soldiers left, Kebedesh gathered all the strength left in her and took her seriously wounded child to an Ethiopian military base to receive medical assistance.

Kebedesh was among the estimated 120,000 people subjected to sexual violence during the war in Tigray, according to the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute for the Parliamentary Group on International Law, Justice and Accountability (APPG).

"Some of them have committed suicide because of the stigma," Yirgalem Gebretsadkan, head of the Violence Against Women unit of the Tigray Genocide Commission of Inquiry, told DW.

Kebedesh's young daughter dreams of becoming a doctor to help her fellow Ethiopians
Image: Ximena Borrazas


Life at the IDP camp

After this incident, Kebedesh and her daughter's lives became uncertain. For three months, they lived in an internally displaced persons (IDP) center in Adwa.

Adwa, located 160 km (99 miles) north of Mekele, has a population of about 40,500 people. The Adwa Women's Affairs Office states that it has recorded 1,374 cases of rape; 86 of those cases were HIV positive, 72 of whom are children.

But then Kebedesh's life improved after she was picked to be part of a program run by the Don Bosco Mission for victims of sexual violence. Since then, she has been sharing a compound of five rooms with ten people who are also survivors of sexual violence.


Dealing with the trauma and stigma of sexual assault

When her little daughter, who just turned 11, lifts her T-shirt, it is impossible not to feel distressed. A visibly huge scar compounds the stomach problems she carries from the stabbing,

The girl attends a private school that is paid for by the Don Bosco Center.

According to her mother, she has no friends. "Sometimes she is afraid when she walks to the student center [where classes take place], she is afraid that someone will attack her again."

On top of all the experiences endured over the past four years, they suffer from stigmatization.

Now, both mother and daughter live in the shadow of suffering, afraid to speak out because of the stigma and harassment that society tends to impart on survivors of sexual violence. They fear being pushed into a corner and forced to leave the city.


A family separated by war

Kebedesh's husband fled at the beginning of the war, leaving her in charge of four children. He was never heard from again until recently when news came that he had died during the conflict.

Kebedesh shares her room at the compound with three of her four children, the eldest of whom is in Sudan fighting with the TDF (Tigray Defence Force).

"After the signing of the [Tigray] peace agreement (in November 2022), I received a letter from him, so I know he is alive", Kebedesh said with a tone of relief.
Adwa in northern Tigray has become a refuge for many who fled the violence
Image: Ximena Borrazas

Hope for a better future in Tigray

Despite deep physical and psychological wounds, Kebedesh and her children remain hopeful.

"I dream of setting up my own mini-market and sending all my children to study," Kebedesh said.

"My daughter dreams of becoming a doctor to help herself and her people," she added, smiling.

Tigray endured one of the bloodiest wars of the 21st century, with at least 600,000 people killed and more than one million internally displaced. All sides have been accused of escalating the conflict, but the most sustained violence was suffered by Tigrayan women.

Despite a peace agreement signed by TPLF and Ethiopia's federal government in November 2022, the situation in Tigray is still uncertain. Meetings for dialogue between Abiy's ruling Prosperity Party (PP) and the TPLF are ongoing.

Currently, Tigray faces severe famine and extreme poverty, with tens of thousands of civilians living in internally displaced people camps.

Edited by: Chrispin Mwakideu and Thomas Mösch


White House unveils new initiatives to combat war-related sexual violence

Event hosted by Vice President Kamala Harris on International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict

By Chris Benson & Allen Cone

Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks on conflict-related sexual violence during an event at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington on Monday. 
Photo by Rod Lamkey /UPI | License Photo

June 17 (UPI) -- Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday unveiled new measures aimed at addressing sexual violence in armed military conflicts, including in the Middle East, to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict.

"it is the responsibility of all of us governments, international organizations, civil society, and individual citizens to actively confront conflict-related sexual violence and to work to rid our world of this heinous crime," Harris said during an event at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. "And to do what is necessary to hold perpetrators accountable."

The initiative also will increase women's leadership through the Women, Peace and Security Incentive Fund, among others.

"I especially thank the survivors and advocates that are with us today," Harris said. "You are fearless advocates in the fight for justice, and you remind us of the resilience of survivors."

Harris, along with sexual violence survivors and experts on the topic, "condemned" conflict-related sexual violence and called for the international community to join the United States in advancing justice and accountability for this crime," a White House news release stated.

At the event was Amit Soussana, who was abducted from her home on Oct. 7 and released in March.

Soussana describes her ordeal in Sheryl Sandberg's documentary film Screams Before Silence. The event included a partial screening of the film.

Harris said "women's bodies were found naked to the waist down, hands tied behind their back and shot in the head."

Harris said that released hostages are revealing of the sexual violence they endured in captivity.

"These testimonies, I fear, will only increase as more hostages are released," she said. "We cannot look away, and we will not be silent. My heart breaks for all these survivors and their families."

At Monday's event, the United States' first woman vice president launched the Dignity in Documentation Initiative.

The White House says the initiative will focus efforts on investigating and documenting conflict-related sexual violence in line with the Murad Code, which is named for Nobel Laureate and survivor Nadia Murad.

Described as a "holistic program," it will be supported by a $10 million investment from the State Department and will "support justice for survivors by promoting accountability for crimes punishable under international law."

The United Nations General Assembly on June 19, 2015, proclaimed June 19 of each year the "International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict" to raise awareness of "the need to put an end to conflict-related sexual violence," and to honor the victims and survivors of sexual violence around the globe, according to the United Nations.

This year's International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict will focus on healthcare.

The White House cites President Joe Biden's 2022 memorandum on promoting accountability for conflict-related sexual violence, which states that it is U.S. policy "to promote accountability for perpetrators of acts of" conflict-related sexual violence "through relevant existing sanctions authorities, where applicable, and to ensure that these authorities are used to the fullest extent possible to target perpetrators of acts of CRSV and their enablers."

Harris outlined a series of administration actions that will be taken consistent with Biden's 2022 memo, including: incorporating gender-based violence prevention into humanitarian responses; supporting survivors of sexual violence in Russia's ongoing war with Ukraine; "expanding atrocity prevention"; increasing women's leadership roles in Sri Lanka and Sudan; supporting other U.N efforts and a series of sanctions on Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, Haiti, Iraq and Syria.



... Against. Our Will. Men, Women and Rape. SUSAN BROWNMILLER. Fawcett Columbine • New York. Page 5. Sale of this book without a front cover may be unauthorized. If ...

Chemnitz: A stronghold of Germany's far-right AfD

NO BIG JUMP
DW
TODAY

In almost all of eastern Germany, the far-right populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) has become the strongest political force. Even in Chemnitz, this year's European Capital of Culture.














Nico Köhler, AfD leader in Chemnitz, has campaigned on security and anti-immigration sentiment
Image: Hans Pfeifer/DW


"The blue wave" — this is how supporters of the far-right populist Alternative for Germany party (AfD) have celebrated their party's recent successes. Blue is the color of the radical right. On an electoral map of Germany, where the AfD emerged as the strongest political force in the recent European and local elections, practically the entire eastern part of the country is blue — including the city of Chemnitz.

"You can really tell that people are waking up," explains Nico Köhler. The 48-year-old AfD district chairman in Chemnitz is pleased. He is an entrepreneur and represents the AfD on the city council. He is friendly, dressed in sporty casual clothes, and is happy to take the time for a chat. His party has become the strongest political force in Chemnitz, winning 24% of the vote in the local elections and 28% in the European elections. What does his party plan to do with this success?

"Order and security, that's what we need to establish," he says. He is calling for more police in his city: "People don't like going into the city center, especially at night. A lot of things happen, whether it's muggings or people being robbed, or women being groped. It has been constant since 2015." He could also have said: "It's the foreigners," but instead he says, "since 2015."



For the AfD and the political right, the year 2015 is code for just about everything they think is wrong with Germany. In 2015, some 2 million people fled to Europe from Syria and Iraq. Most of them to Germany. The AfD opposed them being welcomed and rose in the polls.

AfD: against refugees and migrants

According to police crime statistics from 2023, Chemnitz is one of the safest cities in Germany. And Germany is one of the safest countries in the world. But the AfD is fomenting mass prejudice and fear against migrants.

Chemnitz has a population of 250,000, and the number of foreigners has risen to almost 35,000. They have become part of the city's landscape, where tea rooms, shisha bars, and Arab grocery stores can be seen.

Nico Köhler is calling for tough measures against migrants and foreigners in Chemnitz: he wants to see their children removed from classrooms: "The proportion of migrants in classes must fall," he says. And he is calling for a ban on foreigners with a criminal record from entering Chemnitz.

The monument of Karl Marx is an iconic landmark in Chemnitz
Image: Monika Skolimowska/picture alliance/dpa


Ukrainian refugees


The asylum and migration debates intensified after Russia launched its war of aggression against Ukraine in 2022, triggering a new influx of refugees into Germany. Along with it came a sustained backlash from the AfD.

The party calls the acceptance of refugees a "population exchange." It has declared all other parties to be enemies of Germany for destroying the country and pushing it into war with Russia. This is catching on with voters.

"I would say that someone who comes from western Ukraine, where everything is pretty much fine, is someone I shouldn't have to feed," says Nico Köhler in reference to a region, which has seen fewer Russian attacks than the east of the country.

Köhler is against German arms deliveries to Ukraine. He feels it is quite reasonable that the AfD faction in parliament almost unanimously boycotted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to the Bundestag on June 11, 2024.

Campaigning against the AfD

Zeran Osman has been living in Chemnitz for eight years. She studied here and now does educational work in development policy for the ASA-FF association, a network for democracy and against racism. She has a very different view of her city than the AfD.

Zeran Osman (right) and the staff of the ASA-FF association in Chemnitz have been fighting for a cosmopolitan and tolerant city for years.
Image: Hans Pfeifer/DW

Zeran thinks it's good that there are now more foreigners living in the city than 10 years ago. "The streets in the middle of the city used to be completely empty — now they've been revitalized and that wouldn't have happened if there weren't migrants living here." Zeran Osman is fighting for a democratic and diverse Chemnitz. And against the AfD.

The rise of the AfD has had real implications for life in Chemnitz: verbal abuse, insults, and attacks against migrants in the city are on the rise. Statistics from victim counseling centers prove this.

Chemnitz — safe haven for neo-Nazis


Chemnitz has been a refuge for German neo-Nazis for many years. TheNational Socialist Underground (NSU) , a neo-Nazi terror group, was able to operate from here in the late 1990s. It was able to rely on a large network of sympathizers and helpers in the city.

In August and September 2018, neo-Nazi marches and riots continued for days in Chemnitz, sparked by the killing of a man at a festival a few days earlier. According to media reports, the alleged perpetrators had a migration background. As a result, a far-right mob went on the hunt for real or alleged migrants, counter-demonstrators, police officers, and members of the press. Right-wing extremists also attacked a Jewish restaurant in the city.

The AfD's victory in the June 9 European vote and the local elections "was to be expected, and yet it hit harder, and is even worse than feared," says Osman.

Far-right politician Björn Höcke (m) took part in a far-right march in Chemnitz in 2018
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Hirschberger

The AfD has been on the rise in Germany for years although, or perhaps even because, it is becoming increasingly radical and extremist. It is also becoming more aggressive when it comes to debates with other parties. What Zeran Osman finds particularly alarming is the voters' reaction: "I personally have the feeling that voters want these changes. And it's quite shocking to realize that."

People like Zeran Osman and many politically-committed associations in the city have been passionately fighting for change in the city for years. And they have also received a lot of support. But the rise of the AfD has put that support at risk. This is because the AfD generally rejects democracy projects like those by Zeran Osman at ASA-FF.

Yet Zeran Osman is not discouraged by the AfD's successes. Neither are her fellow activists. Instead, they feel even more determined. After all, it's their city, their country. At the same time, however, the rise of the AfD also raises concerns about possible attacks. Not only for Osman.

"There are some parts of Chemnitz that I wouldn't dare go to," says Avery. The 19-year-old sits in front of the Karl Marx monument in the heart of the city. It is a city landmark, which was still called Karl-Marx-Stadt in the former GDR. "People shout 'f***ing faggot' at me." Because there is a rainbow printed on his sneakers, the symbol of the LGBTQ+ movement.

The AfD has rejected all accusations that it incites hatred. And that it is an extremist and racist party. It calls itself "normal." In Chemnitz, normal means that Lars Franke, a man who once walked around in a T-shirt with a Hitler smiley face, is joining the city council for the AfD. A man who has taken part in neo-Nazi marches. And has been linked with the far-right terrorist group NSU. He is a friend of AfD member Nico Köhler.

Also in front of the Karl Marx monument, our DW reporter meets Leon, a friendly guy in a hoodie who rides a BMX bike. Yes, he voted AfD, he admits. Because of the foreigners. What does he think of the fact that opponents of the AfD say it's a Nazi party? That doesn't bother Leon. He thinks it over. Maybe that's partly true. But Hitler also did some good things. But I don't really know German history that well, says Leon.

This article was originally written in German.
Play explores dark chapter of German–Romanian history
DW

During the Cold War, Germany bought the freedom of about 220,000 ethnic German Romanians from the communist dictatorship in Romania. A new play explores this little-known chapter of German–Romanian relations.


The play 'Humans. For sale' by Romanian author and director Carmen Lidia Vidu was staged in the German cities of Karlsruhe and Berlin
Image: Ovidiu Zimcea

"Humans. For sale" is the title of a play by Romanian playwright and theater director Carmen Lidia Vidu about a little-known chapter of German–Romanian relations that saw the government of West Germany buy the freedom of about 220,000 ethnic German Romanians from Romania's communist regime between 1969 and 1989.

The German State Theater in Timisoara (DSTT) brought the play to Germany, staging it in Berlin and Timisoara's twin city, Karlsruhe.

Romanian author and director Carmen Lidia Vidu has made a name for herself with documentary plays about her country's present and recent past
Image: Marian Adochiței

"This deal is unique in recent European history," director Carmen Lidia Vidu told DW.
People exchanged for money and goods

Ethnic Germans known as the Transylvanian Saxons and the Banat Swabians came to what is now Romania in the 12th and late 17th centuries respectively.

During the 24 years of Nicolae Ceausescu's rule (1965–1989), many of these ethnic Germans wanted to escape the poverty and oppression of the communist dictatorship and move to West Germany.

The regime in Bucharest realized the potential involved and effectively sold its German minority to West Germany for hard cash. The details of the deals and the extent of this human trade only came to light more than 20 years after the collapse of communism.
Secret negotiations in Cologne and Bucharest


Working on behalf of the West German government was Christian Democrat lawmaker Heinz Günther Hüsch, who kept all his dealings with the Securitate — Romania's communist-era secret police force — carefully under wraps.\

Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu was leader of communist Romania from 1965 to 1989, when he and his wife were executed on Christmas Day after a hasty trial during the Romanian Revolution. 
Image: dpa/picture alliance

Bucharest insisted that the deal remain secret and threatened on a number of occasions to break off negotiations.

Hüsch, who died in October 2023, regularly met Securitate officers either in the Romanian capital or in Cologne to negotiate the number of Romanian Germans who would be allowed to leave Romania every year and the sum that Bonn, which was the seat of the West German government, would pay Bucharest.

Germany paid an estimated DM 2 billion to resettle ethnic German Romanians


The size of the payment for each Romanian German fluctuated over time and was mainly defined by Bucharest on the basis of the person's skills and qualifications. Although a definitive sum was never actually revealed, it is estimated that West Germany paid Romania about DM 2 billion (about €1 billion or $1.07 billion in today's money).

This was in addition to numerous loans and goods that the Ceausescu regime demanded in return, such as limousines, medical technology and bugging devices.
Taking advantage of people's misery

But it didn't end there: Ethnic Germans who wanted to move to Germany were forced to pay bribes to Securitate officers to get the papers they needed to leave Romania.

The fortified church in the Transylvanian village of Cristian, Romania, was built by German (AND DUTCH)  settlers in the 13th century and celebrated its 800th anniversary in 2023
Image: Medana Weident/DW

The money had to be in foreign currency, even though Romanian citizens were strictly forbidden to hold such money. As a result, many had to borrow from friends and relatives in Germany. Then there were those, who promised to either accelerate the process — or at least not to sabotage it — in exchange for hard cash.

Bringing history to life on stage

Director Carmen Lidia Vidu made a name for herself in Romania with documentary plays about the bloody 1989 overthrow of the communist regime, cities and towns during the Ceausescu dictatorship and the hopes and problems of today's youth. Her productions are multimedia.

"Humans. For sale" is based on extensive research in the Securitate archives, interviews with historians and secret service experts, West Germany's chief negotiator Heinz Günther Hüsch and Securitate officer Stelian Andronic.

Vidu also spoke to Romanian Germans who were themselves directly involved. Extracts from these interviews and television documentaries from the Ceausescu era are integrated into the play.

Hüsch's family and some of the ethnic Germans who came to Germany also speak of this dark chapter in German–Romanian relations either in the form of video extracts or live acting.

Should one negotiate with dictators? How much is a human life worth? Can people be saved if they are treated like goods? These are just some of the questions addressed by Carmen Lidia Vidu's play 'Humans. For sale'
DW/Medana Weident

The play also highlights the fate of people who either emigrated through legal channels or fled. For example, one character talks of how his father suffocated while trying to flee Romania in a tank.

The long-term impact of the deals

Should one negotiate with dictators? How much is a human life worth? Can people be saved if they are treated like goods? Did the deals struck by Bonn and Bucharest sound the death knell for about 800 years of German culture in Romania? How did the Romanian Germans fare in their new country? How did their departure affect their ethnic German neighbors and relatives who stayed in Transylvania and Banat? These and other questions are addressed in Vidu's play.

Vidu is in absolutely no doubt that Hüsch had the best interests of this ethnic group at heart. "Heinz Günther Hüsch really wanted to help these people," she told DW. "I was touched by his humanity."

The challenges of performing abroad


"Going on a foreign tour is challenging — both for the DSTT and probably any other minority theater group — because you only have a limited audience back home," Lucian Varsandan, the ensemble's manager, told DW.

Both the play and the discussion highlighted the ongoing pain experienced by those who lost their home and their roots when they left Romania
Image: Corina Fratuțescu

Varsandan said that performing in Germany was particularly special for the group, which was curious to know how a German audience would respond to the subject matter.
Great interest in post-performance discussion

Many audience members in both Romania and Germany could relate to Vidu's play because either they or their relations hailed from Romania.

The play was a resounding success in Germany, with demand for tickets in Karlsruhe so great that additional seats had to be brought in. The performance in Berlin on June 14 was sold out despite the fact that it coincided with Germany's opening fixture at Euro 2024.

In Berlin — as in Karlsruhe and Timisoara – there was great interest in the post-performance discussions. Romanian Germans in the audience told their stories, while people who had nothing to do with the events at the time had questions and were keen to know more.

Both the play and the discussion highlighted the ongoing pain experienced by those who lost their home and their roots when they left Romania. In Berlin, television journalist Hanni Hüsch, daughter of West Germany's chief negotiator, shared her memories of her father's involvement and of her lasting interest in both the subject and in Romania.

"In a way," said manager Varsandan, "the post-performance discussion was a continuation of the performance itself."

This article was originally published in German.


Medana Weident Writer, reporter and editor, especially for DW's Romanian service