'Stomachs dropping like Truth Social stock': Trump ridiculed as Fed rate cut boosts Harris

Kathleen Culliton
September 18, 2024 

Jerome Powell said economic data had not given the Fed 'greater confidence' that US inflation was coming down sufficiently (Mandel NGANAFP)

The Federal Reserve's decision Wednesday to slash interest rates spurred an outpouring of jokes about how former President Donald Trump would respond.

Experts say the Fed's move to slash rates by half a percentage point suggests inflation is easing — and comedians on X predict Trump will be outraged to lose one of his most powerful lines of attack against Vice President Kamala Harris.

"The Fed just cut interest rates by half a point," wrote comedian Jay Black. "The sound you just heard was the stomachs of Trump campaign staffers dropping through the floor like they were Truth Social stock."

MSNBC host Chris Hayes joined in on the revelry with a quip aimed at Trump's campaign rhetoric, writing "Trump promised to get interest rates down yesterday and he’s already delivering."

"Mark my words," wrote comedian Dana Goldberg. "Trump will spin the interest rate cut claiming it happened because the fed reserve is projecting him to win and in reality it has zero to do with him."

The New York Times Pitchbot, a satirical social media account that pokes fun at the New York Times' political coverage, predicted a headline for Thursday's edition.

"The Federal Reserve, citing stabilized inflation, cut interest rates for the first time since 2020," wrote the bot. "Here's why that's bad news for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris."

Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AR) took to X to complain Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell had prioritized politics over economics.

"Proud of Fed Governor Miki Bowman for bucking Jay Powell," Tuberville wrote. "The Fed’s drastic rate cut is shamelessly political. Our nation’s central bank has no business moving rates this close to an election and is clearly trying to tip the balance in favor of Kamala Harris."

As one of Tuberville's critics pointed out, Powell is a Republican who was appointed by Trump in 2018.

GOP senator caught red handed misleading voters about his 'IVF' bill

Matthew Chapman
September 18, 2024 

RAW STORY

Senator Rick Scott speaking with attendees at the 2021 Student Action Summit. (Gage Skidmore)

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) attacked Democratic colleagues this week for voting down a bill he called the "IVF with HSAs Act" — heavily implying in his official statement on the matter that the bill would have protected access to in vitro fertilization.

But his bill actually did nothing of the sort. And in fact, this week he also voted against an actual bill in the Senate that would have prohibited states from restricting the procedure.

"I have been called many names, some nice and some not so nice over the years – Governor, Senator, husband, dad… but my favorite is grandpa to my seven beautiful grandkids. Right now, my daughter is using in vitro fertilization, or IVF, to grow her family," said Scott's statement about his bill. "I support IVF 100%, and the truth about IVF is that it is one of the few unifying policies almost all Democrats and Republicans agree with ... If the Democrats and the Senate are serious about ensuring opportunities for families, we can start today by allowing this good bill to pass. Unfortunately, Democrats refused to do so today."

The problem is, Scott's bill isn't actually about in vitro fertilization — in fact, that term appears nowhere in the text.

ALSO READ: Harris nets another high-powered slate of Republican endorsements

The "IVF" in Scott's bill is an acronym for "Increasing Value for Families." The bill is actually just a tax reform proposal that would increase access and contribution limits to health savings accounts (HSAs), and has nothing to do with protecting the legal right to IVF or any other medical procedure.

Scott justified this sleight of hand in his statement by claiming that the bill's tax changes would "help individuals and families better plan and pay for medical expenses, like in vitro fertilization (IVF)."

Ever since the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade, access to IVF has been in a perilous position, because some states' abortion bans have been written so broadly that they could theoretically apply to IVF, which requires the production of embryos but only ever implants a tiny fraction of them.

This issue was thrown into national prominence after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled frozen embryos had personhood rights; the GOP-backed state legislature ultimately reversed this amid an outcry, but absent a national law, any other state could theoretically restrict IVF on this basis.

New GOP strategy: Skyrocket the cost of health insurance and prescription drugs

David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement
September 18, 2024

BLUE EYED TALIBAN

Sen. JD Vance (R-OH).\u00a0(Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)

House and Senate Republicans and the Trump campaign are looking to repeal parts of President Joe Biden's highly-successful Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and President Barack Obama's highly-successful Affordable Care Act (ACA), with a sharp focus on the provisions that protect access to health insurance and have lowered health care costs and prescription drug costs for millions of Americans – and will do so even more next year.

Republicans this week have been discussing plans to repeal the protections that require private insurance companies to provide the same coverage, and at the same cost, to people with pre-existing conditions as it does for those without them. They are also looking to repeal the hard-fought right the federal government now has to negotiate prescription drug prices for Medicare.

The Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, turned 14 this year. Some Americans, especially those who came of age after it was enacted, may not be aware that before the ACA, insurance companies could and often did deny coverage based on "pre-existing conditions." ObamaCare made that practice illegal.

"GOP healthcare plans, per the last 24 hours," reports DC journalist Todd Zwillich, include "repeal pre-existing conditions protections in private insurance," and "repeal Medicare’s negotiating power for Rx drugs."

U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) called the provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act that allow the federal government to negotiate prices for Medicare drugs, "the worst legislation I've ever witnessed in 10 years in Congress and 10 years in the state legislature." He said he "absolutely" wants to repeal them, according to Axios. "No congressional Republicans asked by Axios argued for keeping the IRA drug pricing talks."

READ MORE: ‘Huge Problem for Trump’: Joe Rogan Gushes Over Kamala Harris

"Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said he '100%' wants to repeal the negotiation provisions, while other drug pricing sections of the law would need to be evaluated based on whether they have 'a positive impact on business.'"

Axios also reports that "multiple high-ranking Republicans told Axios they want to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act's Medicare drug price negotiations next year if they prevail in the elections."

"This isn’t some wild accusation or scare tactic," remarked Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. "Republicans are admitting they would side with Big Pharma and gut the Biden-Harris law that lets Medicare negotiate drug prices, if they win. They are literally, openly, for higher drug prices."

During last week's presidential debate Donald Trump admitted that after years of vowing to "repeal and replace" Obamacare and after numerous promises he would release his healthcare plan soon, often in "two weeks," all he actually has are the "concepts of a plan."

Trump's running mate, U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) on Sunday revealed what some of those concepts are.

Journalist Brian Beutler highlighted Vance's remarks on Sunday's "Meet the Press," where the GOP vice-presidential nominee said, "we want to make sure everybody is covered. But the best way to do that is to actually promote some more choice in our health care system and not have a one-size-fits-all approach that puts a lot of people into the same insurance pools, into the same risk pools, that actually makes it harder for people to make the right choices for their families."

Pointing to Vance's interview (above), Beutler writes: "When Vance here says he wants to put the healthy and sick in different risk pools he’s saying he wants to make pre-existing conditions protections impossible. His claim to want to maintain them is a lie."

"One of the 'concepts' of the Trump-Vance plan is to screw over people with pre-existing conditions, specifically," he adds, pointing to his "Off Message" Substack. "Step one of the plan is to lie about it—say it covers pre-existing conditions. Step two is to kick out the regulatory tentpoles that make covering pre-existing conditions possible."

Journalist Heather Parton Digby writes that Vance's plan "would take us back to the time when I was denied health insurance because I had periodontal disease. (I’m not kidding.) When I finally found a health insurer who would cover me ( I was otherwise completely healthy) it cost well over a thousand dollars a month and it had a gigantic deductible. That’s the market we were living in if we didn’t have employer or government insurance. Vance wants to take us back to that and people really should know that."

If Republicans are successful in eliminating protections, insurance companies could be able to determine what a pre-existing condition is, and whether they want to deny a policy to any individual who has a pre-existing condition, or to deny coverage for that condition and any related issues.

Up to 50 percent of all non-elderly Americans – up to 129 million Americans – have a pre-existing condition, according to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services's Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

"A medical illness or injury that you have before you start a new health care plan may be considered a pre-existing condition. Conditions like diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cancer, and sleep apnea, may be examples of pre-existing health conditions. They tend to be chronic or long-term," according to Cigna, a healthcare and insurance company. "The ACA made it illegal for health insurance companies to deny you medical coverage or raise rates due to a pre-existing condition."

The list of what could be considered a pre-existing condition is long, but after the coronavirus pandemic, it has grown longer and encompasses more Americans: An estimated 43 million Americans have had long COVID, and about 17 million Americans currently do still.

Near the end of the Trump administration, in 2020, KFF, formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation published a report: "Mental Illnesses May Soon Be the Most Common Pre-Existing Conditions."

Also in 2020, House Democrats published a massive 197-page report: "Shortchanged: How the Trump Administration’s Expansion of Junk Short-Term Health Insurance Plans is Putting Americans at Risk." It concluded these plans "present a significant threat to the health and financial well-being of American families. STLDI plans include limited protection for both catastrophic medical costs and routine medical care, and it is unclear what kind of value consumers are getting for their premium dollars, other than a false sense of security."

Democratic former U.S. Congressman and Obama State Dept. official Tom Malinowski weighed in earlier this week:

 

Protesters outside New York Times demand newspaper 'stop normalizing Trump'
Sarah K. Burris

RAW STORY
September 18, 2024 


Hundreds of people march through downtown in protest of Trump.

 (Wade Jackman / Shutterstock.com)

The New York Times has garnered criticism over the year for its reporting on Donald Trump and the 2024 election. On Wednesday, that criticism led to in-person protests outside the building.

Readers left online complaints and cancelled subscriptions before direct protests began. Their demand, according to one civil rights lawyer, is to stop "sane-washing" Trump.

The activists had bright yellow signs with words the Times has avoided using in reports such as "lies," "convict" and "felon." The group had one large black banner across the group reading "stop normalizing Trump."

Read Also: How the press corps is Trump’s assisted living program

As Oliver Darcy wrote for CNN in March, "Critics have also argued that The Times covers Biden and Trump with disproportionate standards, placing false equivalence on issues surrounding the current president to those of the former president, who is facing 91 criminal counts and fantasized about being a dictator on 'day one.'"

Among the concerns, earlier this year was the Times' obsession with President Joe Biden's age, only a few years over Trump. In a poll conducted with Siena the paper asked whether Biden was too old to be effective.

“That they even asked this question is evidence of the bias — the agenda — in their poll. Who made age an ‘issue’? The credulous Times falling into the right-wing’s projection. This is not journalism. Shameful," Jeff Jarvis posted on Threads. He's currently the Leonard Tow Professor of Journalism Innovation at the CUNY Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, Darcy pointed out.

Complaints grew more recently after the Times paraphrased Trump's rambling non-answer while speaking to The Economic Club of New York. In the report, the Times reshaped his language to make sense of what he said. The reality of the comments was that none of it made sense, according to critics.

They were accused of "sane-washing" Trump's comments.

Ultimately, the Times confessed in an article published at the time, "Often his mangled statements are summarized in news accounts that often do not give the full picture of how baffling they can be."

AMERIKA

Six ‘cult’ leaders convicted in scheme that forced children to work for no pay

Grace Hills, Kansas Reflector
September 18, 2024 

Photo by Santi Vedrí on Unsplash

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A federal jury convicted six leaders in a quasi-religious group in a scheme that convinced parents to send their children to Kansas City, Kansas, for schooling but instead forced them to work long hours without pay and subjected them to beatings and other abuse.

The six defendants held high-ranking positions of influence within the United Nation of Islam, which a federal judge deemed a “cult.” They pleaded not guilty but were convicted Monday in federal district court in Kansas City.

United Nation of Islam founder Royall Jenkins, who claimed to be Allah and had multiple wives, court documents show, died in 2021.

In 1996, Jenkins told local government in Kansas City that the group was moving there to create its headquarters and make it their new “heaven.” From 1998 to 2000, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City and a public school board donated five buildings to the group for the purpose of revitalizing an area that was considered blighted and dangerous.

Instead, federal prosecutors said, the organization used fear to coerce children into working up to 16 hours a day in its storefronts, with names like, “Your Diner,” “Your Bakery” and “Your Gas Station.”

Although members could be of any age, court documents show the defendants primarily used the labor of minors, with the youngest only 8 years old. In return, they would get meager meals, sparse accommodations and crowded housing, according to court documents.

“The United Nation of Islam and these defendants held themselves out as a beacon of hope for the community, promising to educate and teach important life skills to members, particularly children,” said Kristen Clarke, of the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, in a statement. “Instead, the defendants betrayed this trust, exploiting young children in the organization by callously compelling their labor.”

Attorneys for the defendants during the 26-day trial argued their clients used their positions in the organization to try and stop Jenkins and the abuse. The federal government wanted to prosecute Jenkins, they said, but he died.

The jury convicted each defendant of conspiracy to commit forced labor. Kabba Majeed — one of two defendants who testified during the trial — also was convicted of five counts of forced labor. Majeed and other defendants, except for Dana Peach, who was one of Jenkins’ wives, were part of an executive board that had planned to shut down the United Nation of Islam after they realized Jenkins was “a fraud.”

“We tried to do a stealth breakdown, remove everything, then have Royall find out,” Majeed testified. “Our attempt was to make sure this didn’t happen again. Period.”

Ultimately, Majeed said, there was nothing they could’ve done to stop him.

“Going to the police would’ve stopped him,” said Myryam Zhuravitsky, an attorney with the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit, during cross-examination.

Multiple victims testified during the trial. One woman spoke of her time at the United Nation of Islam school, where children were taught an unregulated curriculum, including that “women were not needed.” Children were humiliated and beaten regularly, she said.

“I was scared,” she said. “Hearing a little boy scream, knowing he’s defenseless.”

Kansas Reflector doesn’t identify survivors of domestic and sexual violence without their consent.

Defendants are scheduled for sentencing on Feb. 18. Majeed faces up to 20 years in prison and restitution. The other defendants face up to five years in prison: Peach, Yunus Rassoul, James Staton, Randolph Rodney Hadley, and Daniel Aubrey Jenkins.

Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and X.

UFOs must be investigated, says former astronaut Sen. Mark Kelly

September 18, 2024
GZERO Staff


Is there life on Mars? When David Bowie asked that question half a century ago, he was speaking for more of us than just Ziggy Stardust. Today, the prospect of intelligent alien life in our universe continues to tantalize stargazers and lawmakers alike. In a wide-ranging interview on the future of the US Space program, Arizona Senator and former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly does not impatiently snicker at the mention of extraterrestrial life. Far from it. In fact, he says, we owe it to the brave military personnel who have seen inexplicable occurrences to investigate them as intensely as possible.

"I've seen some compelling testimony from navy fighter pilots who, in one case, in a position of leadership in a squadron have seen something very compelling. It's our obligation on the Armed Services Committee, to investigate it and put more resources behind studying this kind of phenomena."

Kelly, whose Senate office boasts a green inflatable alien mascot, is skeptical that intelligent life has visited us so far. But he also is smart enough to never say never. "I get these questions all the time. People think as I've been to space, maybe I have this special insight, or maybe I've seen something. While I've spent time orbiting the earth, I haven't."

   

IMPERIALSIM IN SPACE

Mark Kelly on the new space race

September 16, 2024
GZERO Staff



On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer delves into the modern space race and its role as a critical domain for global security with Arizona Senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly. They discuss China’s growing ambitions, the future of the International Space Station, and the evolving role of private companies like SpaceX in shaping US space policy.

In a wide-ranging conversation, Kelly is clear-eyed about China’s ambitious space goals, including lunar missions and collaboration with Russia to build a lunar base, sparking concerns over the militarization of space. “They [China] just returned a sample from the backside of the moon. Nobody’s done that.” Senator Kelly also discusses the International Space Station’s eventual decommissioning and the importance of international cooperation, particularly with allies such as Europe, Canada, and Japan. Yet, tensions, especially with adversaries like China and Russia, loom large in the space domain.

“We’ve got to make sure that we can counter their capability, but also… prevent them from using space as a domain in any future conflict,” Kelly tells Bremmer. A key concern is how space assets, such as spy satellites and anti-satellite weapons, could be used in future conflicts. The conversation also touches on private-sector involvement in space, with companies like SpaceX playing pivotal roles in both space exploration and geopolitical issues, including the role of Starlink in the war in Ukraine. “I would hope that US companies… align with us and our values,” Kelly tells Bremmer.

'Ghost' cybercrime platform dismantled in global operation, 51 arrested

General view of the Europol building in The Hague, Netherlands December 12, 2019. REUTERS/Eva Plevier/File Photo

Updated
Sep 18, 2024,

THE HAGUE - An international law enforcement operation has dismantled an encrypted communication platform, known as Ghost, notorious for enabling large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering, Europol said on Wednesday.

The investigation led to the arrest of 51 suspects from multiple countries, with more arrests expected.

The platform had gained popularity among criminal organisations for its advanced security features and its dismantling marks a significant blow to global organised crime networks.


"This was truly a global game of cat and mouse, and today, the game is up," Europol's Deputy Executive Director Jean-Philippe Lecouffe told reporters.

The operation prevented several threats to life, dismantled a drug lab in Australia, and led to the global seizure of weapons, drugs, and over 1 million euro ($1.11 million) in cash, Europol said.

"Today we have made it clear that no matter how hidden criminal networks think they are, they can’t evade our collective effort," Europol's Executive Director Catherine De Bolle said, calling the Ghost platform "a lifeline for serious organised crime".

The operation was conducted with the help of authorities from Australia, Canada, France, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States, as part of a broader commitment to combat global organized crime.

As the investigation continues, further disruption of illegal activities is anticipated.

 REUTERS

Fake Kamala Harris hit-and-run story created by Russian troll farm: Report

A false claim that Kamala Harris caused a 2011 hit-and-run accident, leaving a 13-year-old girl paralysed, has been linked to a Russian disinformation campaign. Research by Microsoft identifies Storm-1516, a Kremlin-aligned group, as responsible for fabricating the story


Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is running for president in the November 5 US elections. (AP)


India Today World Desk
New Delhi,UPDATED: Sep 18, 2024
Written By: Girish Kumar Anshul

In Short

False claim about Kamala Harris hit-and-run linked to Russian disinformation

Claim spread by Russian group Storm-1516 using fake news site, actor

Storm-1516 known for misleading videos using fake whistleblowers, journalists


A false claim circulating on social media alleging that Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris left a 13-year-old girl paralysed in a 2011 hit-and-run in San Francisco has been linked to a covert Russian disinformation campaign, according to new research by Microsoft.

Kamala Harris, 59, is running for president in the November 5 US elections against Republican candidate Donald Trump.

The claim was spread by the Russian group Storm-1516, which is associated with Kremlin-aligned troll farms. Microsoft’s research reveals that this group fabricated the story using a fake news website, KBSF-TV, and an actor posing as the victim.

Storm-1516 is known for producing misleading videos featuring on-screen or voice actors who impersonate whistleblowers or journalists that share false, scandalous information, experts say, according to a Reuters report.

The disinformation was disseminated through social media, including X, where it used the hashtag #HitAndRunKamala.

The video, shared by Aussie Cossack -- a self-described "Registered foreign agent for Sputnik News" -- has been viewed over 2.7 million times. Cossack urged his followers to spread the video and make it go viral.



According to a blog authored by Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center, Storm-1516 has previously created misleading videos with actors impersonating whistleblowers or journalists to push false narratives.

Microsoft’s blog highlighted that Russian operations faced challenges shifting focus from President Biden's campaign to the Democratic ticket after Biden’s exit from the 2024 race.

However, in August, Storm-1516 intensified its efforts, targeting Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, with fabricated conspiracy theories.

This incident comes amid heightened scrutiny of Russian influence operations. Earlier this month, the US Justice Department charged two employees of the Russian state media network RT with money laundering for allegedly hiring an American company to produce election-related content.

US officials have been reported to hold the belief that Russia aims to deepen political divisions within the US and reduce support for American military aid to Ukraine. Harris has pledged to continue supporting Ukraine if elected, reinforcing her commitment to assisting in the defence against Russia’s invasion.

With inputs from agencies

Palestine submits first draft resolution to UN to end Israeli occupation

September 18, 2024

The Palestinian Permanent Mission to the UN submitted a first draft resolution to the General Assembly demanding Israel end its presence in the occupied Palestinian territories within 12 months.

The move came after the General Assembly granted the mission additional rights and privileges to participate at the UN.

An emergency session was held at the 79th UN General Assembly on the legal consequences of Israel’s activities in occupied Palestinian territories.

UN General Assembly President Philemon Yang reiterated the International Court of Justice’s “advisory opinion” on Israel’s actions in occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.

Yang emphasized that the UN, General Assembly and Security Council have a responsibility to take steps to end Israel’s illegal occupation.

“It is our collective duty as representatives of the international community to ensure that the principles of justice and the rule of law prevail,” he said.

He expressed hope for the session to “make a positive difference in the lives of the many who continue to suffer in this region and who look up to us to make the right decisions at this emergency special session.”

Palestinian envoy to the UN Riyad Mansour said: “Palestine is an important part of universal history and the Palestinian people is an integral part of humanity. Neither our country nor our people will disappear. But that is no excuse for ignoring the existential threat they are facing.”

Emphasizing that “Palestinians want to live, not survive,” Mansour said: “Now the sky is full of children whose life was taken away way too soon and in the cruelest of ways, and the earth is full of children who have suffered, who were injured, paralyzed, orphaned, and traumatized.”

Over 2,100 murders ‘tip of a very big iceberg’ of threats to environmentalists: Researcher

‘Murders are just the most brutal form of attacks. They really are the tip of a very, very big iceberg,’ says Laura Furones of Global Witness

Burak Bir |18.09.2024 - TRT/AA


- Defenders are facing harassment, increasing criminalization, sexual violence and other dangers around the world, says Furones

- Killings are mostly in Global South countries, but activists are also under attack and being criminalized in the Global North, says expert

LONDON

The killings of over 2,100 land and environmental defenders over the past decade is just “the tip of a very, very big iceberg,” according to the lead author of a new report documenting violence against activists around the world.

Global Witness, an international NGO, recorded 196 murders of land and environmental activists in 2023, an increase from 177 in 2022.

That pushed the number of fatalities between 2012 and 2023 to 2,106, according to the report.

Speaking to Anadolu about the latest findings, Global Witness’ Laura Furones said 196 murders of land and environmental defenders “is a really horrible figure that should make us all really reflect.”

These figures are “painting a very, very worrying picture yet again,” she said.

“It’s not really given us any hope that things are getting any better … It’s higher than the last year, and over the period that Global Witness reported, which is between 2012 and 2023, that also brings the total figure over the 2,000-mark, which is sort of very symbolic, and speaks to the relentlessness of the attacks,” she said.

“I think what we’re also seeing is the climate crisis is accelerating, and we’re seeing the impacts of it more and more … and I think that’s how we also start to see the linkages between the climate crisis and the humanitarian crisis because they’re both actually the same thing, they go hand in hand.”

A breakdown of the data shows Latin America as the deadliest region for land and environment activists, with Colombia leading the count with 461 murders over the past decade, followed by Brazil at 401.

Other countries in the list are Philippines with 298, Mexico 203, Honduras 149, India 86, Guatemala 86, Democratic Republic of the Congo 74, Nicaragua 70, and Peru 58.

‘Silencing defenders’

Furones, senior advisor for Global Witness’ Land and Environmental Defenders Campaign, emphasized that attacks on the lives of activists are just part of the myriad of dangers they are facing.

“Murders are just the most brutal form of attacks. They really are the tip of a very, very big iceberg,” she said.

“We’re seeing, pretty much everywhere around the world, all other sorts of tactics … Those range from threats to harassment to criminalization, sexual violence … The list really goes on and on.”

The main aim of all this is “silencing defenders and making them stop the work,” she said.

While killings are mostly taking place in Global South countries, activists trying to peacefully protest against environmental destruction are also under attack and being criminalized in the Global North, Furones added.

“It’s particularly interesting and worrying to see the … increasing nature of criminalization charges all around the world,” she said.

“There are new laws in the US and the EU. There’s legislation being thrown at defenders turning them into criminals,” she said.

Peaceful demonstrators are being treated as criminals and “we’ve seen gagging laws in the EU that aim to silence defenders,” she added.

In some Asian countries, she pointed, even tax laws are being used to target and criminalize environmental activists.

Furones stressed the need for countries to step up, offer more protection, and ensure that the perpetrators are held to account.

“One very serious challenge defenders face around the world is that they’re confronted with impunity. It’s very rare that we see any cases resolved and leading to any sort of criminal charges against the murderer,” she said.

“What we really would like states to do is to make murders stop. That starts with preventive measures. It’s everything to do with preventing those attacks happening in the first place.”

This can be achieved by ensuring a safe environment for defenders and making sure that freedom of expression and media freedom are protected, she said.

“That’s not happening in so many contexts. Civic space is very, very compromised, and as a result, attacks are on the rise,” warned Furones.