Texas poised to execute autistic man for 'shaken baby' death

There have been 19 executions in the United States this year

Washington (AFP) – Barring a successful last-minute appeal, the US state of Texas will execute an autistic man this week whose murder conviction was based on what his lawyers say was a misdiagnosis of "shaken baby syndrome."

Issued on: 15/10/2024 
Robert Roberson is scheduled to be executed in Texas on October 17, 2024 © Ilana Panich-Linsman / Innocence Project/AFP/File
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Robert Roberson, 57, is scheduled to die by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville on Thursday for the February 2002 death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki.

Roberson's case has drawn the attention of the Innocence Project, which works to reverse wrongful convictions, best-selling American novelist John Grisham, Texas lawmakers and medical experts.

Also among those seeking to halt Roberson's execution is the man who put him behind bars -- Brian Wharton, the former chief detective in the town of Palestine.

"Knowing everything that I know now, I am firmly convinced that Robert is an innocent man," Wharton said at a recent press conference organized by Roberson's supporters. "The system failed Robert."

Grisham, author of the legal thrillers "The Firm" and "A Time to Kill," also appeared at the event and said cases such as Roberson's "keep me awake at night."

"When you get into wrongful convictions, you realize how many innocent people are in prison," said Grisham, a former attorney.

"What's amazing about Robert's case is that there was no crime," added Grisham, a member of the board of the Innocence Project, which has helped free more than 250 innocent people from US prisons since it was founded in 1992.

Roberson's lawyers say the diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome, made at the hospital where his chronically ill daughter died, was erroneous and the cause of death was in fact pneumonia, aggravated when doctors prescribed a wrong medication.

Wharton, the former detective who is now a Methodist minister, said the conclusion by a hospital doctor that the toddler had died after being violently shaken "led the investigation from that point forward, to the exclusion of all other possibilities."
'Roundly debunked'

According to his lawyers, Roberson would be the first person executed in the United States based on a conviction of shaken baby syndrome, which the American Academy of Pediatrics now classifies as abusive head trauma.

Novelist John Grisham, seen here in France in April 2024, is a former attorney who has been active in cases of wrongful conviction 

© OLIVIER CHASSIGNOLE / AFP

"In the two decades that have passed since Mr Roberson's trial, evidence-based science has roundly debunked the version of the shaken baby syndrome hypothesis that was put before his jury," said Kate Judson of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences.

More than 30 parents and caregivers in 18 US states have been exonerated after being wrongfully convicted using "unscientific" shaken baby testimony, Judson said.

Roberson's attorney, Gretchen Sween, said his autism spectrum disorder, which was not diagnosed until 2018, was also not taken into account and contributed to his arrest and conviction.

During the medical crisis involving his daughter, Roberson "shut down, and his external lack of affect was judged as a lack of caring," Sween said.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday denied an emergency motion to stay Roberson's execution and order a new trial.

Another appeal is to be heard by a different state court on Tuesday, and lawyers for Roberson have also asked Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles for clemency.

Citing the "voluminous new scientific evidence" that casts doubt on Roberson's guilt, a bipartisan group of 86 Texas state lawmakers has also urged the parole board and the governor to grant clemency.

There have been 19 executions in the United States this year including the September 24 execution in the midwestern state of Missouri of Marcellus Williams, whose case was also championed by the Innocence Project amid doubts about his guilt.

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while six others -- Arizona, California, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Tennessee -- have moratoriums in place.

© 2024 AFP

Small town India's DIY film industry comes to London

'Mollywood' films are made on a shoestring budget and often spoof Bollywood or Hollywood classics

London (AFP) – The bright lights of the British capital are a world away from Malegaon, a down-at-heel textile town in the backwaters of Maharashtra state in western India.

Issued on: 15/10/2024 - 

Malegaon, in western India, has a thriving budget film industry 

© Indranil MUKHERJEE / AFP

But the two have come together at this year's London Film Festival, where the remarkable story of Malegaon's unlikely film industry success has had its European premiere.

"Superboys of Malegaon", by director and producer Reema Kagti, follows the true story of Shaikh Nasir and his friends and their no-budget parodies of Bollywood and Hollywood classics such as "Sholay" and "Superman".

With DIY filmmaking techniques, amateur actors and the unique flavour of local dialect and comedy, his works became instant local hits.

They then gained international recognition with the release of a 2008 documentary of their work, "Supermen of Malegaon".

Malegaon's links to the giant Hindi-language film industry, though, are not so distant. By a twist of fate, co-producer Zoya Akhtar's father Javed Akhtar wrote "Sholay", which inspired Nasir's passion for filmmaking.

"It's a very, very big story from a very small town in India", Akhtar told AFP in an interview. "It tells you how connected you are, especially with cinema."

"Nasir's influences and my influences are very similar", added Kagti.

"So it was really like a privilege to be able to give a hat tip to so many people, so many actors, so much of the Indian film industry."
'Dream factory'

"Superboys" is an ode to the determination of Nasir, played by Adarsh Gourav, who featured in the Oscar-nominated film adaptation of Aravind Adiga's 2008 Booker Prize-winning novel "The White Tiger".

In Malegaon, some 300 kilometres (185 miles) from India's entertainment capital Mumbai, video parlours -- small picture houses -- are a haven for labourers keen to escape the daily slog of industrial weaving looms.
Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar's new film 'Superboys of Malegaon' charts the industry's success © SUJIT JAISWAL / AFP

Nasir's films offer comedic respite and a chance to see their town portrayed on the big screen, said Kagti.

"Every person who was part of that film has been immortalised and has been made into a hero of sorts, and it's given them a reason to not just exist but to celebrate life," added Gourav.

With no budget and little experience beyond his love for films and gigs as a wedding videographer, Nasir has to improvise and use homespun techniques to make movies.

While filming the Superman spoof, the hero dresses in comical red shorts with drawstrings dangling out, flying with the help of wacky green-screen contraptions while Nasir films tracking shots by balancing on the back of a truck hurtling down a bumpy road.
Global audience

"Superboys" touches upon everything from poverty to love, never straying far from Nasir's unwavering belief in the power of a camera -- and some imagination -- to turn the mundane into something extraordinary.

"The story is so universal that we feel there is a global audience," said executive producer Ritesh Sidhwani.

'Mollywood' films are made on a shoestring budget and often spoof Bollywood or Hollywood classics © Indranil MUKHERJEE / AFP

The film has already been shown at the Toronto International Film Festival and with its screening in London, Sidhwani hopes it will attract audiences beyond the Indian diaspora.

Nasir's homemade local films succeeded in creating a place in India's sometimes impenetrable film industry for Malegaon.

Akhtar said it is a lesson for everyone, particularly in a world of smartphones, where everyone can be a film-maker.

"People who watch this film will realise that they don't need to wait for a big break... They can just take that step," she added.

Today, "Mollywood" as it is sometimes called, lives on, with some actors from the original films continuing in Nasir's footsteps, sharing their DIY creations on platforms such as YouTube.

"That industry is now a part of Indian cinema's history", said Akhtar.

In "Superboys", the writer of the spoofs, Farogh, tells Nasir: "You told our stories, in our own voices... You gave us dreamers a place in history."

"In the history of Indian cinema, you've added a page for Malegaon."

© 2024 AFP

Cuban president leads pro-Palestinian march in Havana

Havana (AFP) – Thousands of Cubans, led by President Miguel Diaz-Canel and other leaders of the communist-run island, marched in Havana on Monday to express solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.


Issued on: 15/10/2024 

The demonstrators, who included some 250 Palestinian medical students living in Cuba, carried a large banner that read 'Long live free Palestine' © YAMIL LAGE / AFP

The demonstrators, including some 250 Palestinian medical students living in Cuba, carried a large banner that read "Long live free Palestine," while the president and his allies wore traditional keffiyeh scarves.

"We are here to support the just claim of the Palestinian people, for their sovereignty, their freedom (...) and against the genocidal crusade that Israel practices towards the Palestinian people," Michel Marino, a 20-year-old international relations student, told AFP.

The march had been due to take place on the anniversary of the brutal attack by Hamas on Israel, but it was postponed due to Hurricane Milton, which lashed Cuba and Florida last week.

The October 7 attack, which triggered the war in Gaza, resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures. That number includes hostages killed in captivity.

Out of 251 people taken hostage that day, 97 are still being held inside the Gaza Strip, including 34 who the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed 42,289 people, the majority civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. The UN has described the figures as reliable.

A woman holds a Palestinian flag as people march along Havana's waterfront during a pro-Palestinian rally © YAMIL LAGE / AFP

"For a whole year our Gaza has not had a single day of calm, not a single day of peace and our people in the West Bank suffer daily aggression while the world remains paralyzed and unable to stop this tragedy," said Mohammed Suwan, a Palestinian student, as he addressed the participants.

In June, the Caribbean island joined a lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over its military campaign in Gaza.

© 2024 AFP

Reoxygenating oceans: startups lead the way in Baltic Sea

Paris (AFP) – European scientists have teamed up with two startups in a pioneering experiment to tackle one of the major problems facing sea life -- the depletion of oxygen in the ocean, causing the disappearance of fish and marine biodiversity.


Issued on: 15/10/2024 - 

The Baltic Sea borders nine northern European countries including Sweden, Finland and Poland, NORWAY AND RUSSIA

 © Alessandro RAMPAZZO / AFP/File

Ocean deoxygenation is one of the issues on the agenda at the UN COP summit on biodiversity, opening on October 21 in Columbia.

Researchers from Stockholm University in Sweden, the French industrial company Lhyfe, and a Finnish startup Flexens are working on a pilot experiment to reoxygenate the Baltic Sea by producing hydrogen at sea.

The BOxHy project is seeking an overall solution to the asphyxiation that threatens a sea bordering nine northern European countries.

The oxygen dissolved in the oceans is essential to sustaining sea life as underwater organisms have no chance of surviving without it, scientists say.

"But for more than 50 years, its concentrations have been decreasing," said Christophe Rabouille, a scientist at France's CNRS scientific research centre.

The loss of oxygen has two main causes, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The warming of oceans due to climate change is one -- warmer oceans contain less oxygen, while organisms require more oxygen in hotter waters.

The other is eutrophication, the process in which fertiliser runoff, sewage, animal waste, aqua culture and the deposits of nitrogen from burning fossil fuels creates excessive algae blooms.

When this seaweed decomposes it produces vast amounts of CO2, removing oxygen from the water.

'Ecological desert'

An overabundance of seaweed in the Baltic Sea has contributed to the depletion of oxygen © Alessandro RAMPAZZO / AFP/File

The central Baltic, a semi-enclosed sea bordered by agricultural and industrial countries, "is one of the largest dead spots in the world... basically an ecological desert," Alf Norkko from the University of Helsinki told AFP.

The aim of BOxHy, which has received support from the UN as part of a 10-year programme on sustainable ocean development, is to study the feasibility of injecting gaseous oxygen at depth, a technique used in certain freshwater lakes in North America.

"Restoring oxygen conditions in deep waters through long-term additions would have many positive effects on the Baltic Sea ecosystem," such as expanding the habitat for cod breeding, said Jakob Walve from Stockholm University and associated with the project.
The long game

A wind turbine farm in the Baltic Sea, north-east of Rugen Island in Germany 

© FRED TANNEAU / AFP/File

Flexens, the Finnish startup involved in the project, has identified three possible zones for oxygen reinjection, but much remains to be done. Oxygen has to be produced cleanly, and on site.

This is where the French startup Lhyfe comes in, specialising in the separation of hydrogen and oxygen molecules from water using an electric current.

The company has developed a first-of-its kind offshore hydrogen production unit using desalinated seawater in a year-long experiment in the western French region of Le Croisic.

Until now, the oxygen produced by Lhyfe has been released into the atmosphere. But in the Baltic Sea, it would be injected into the water.

The project is still in the planning stage -- how the injection would be done, how much, and at what rate all need to be decided, as well as how to measure the subsequent impact on fauna and flora.

The second phase of BOxHy involves running a pilot project, expected to last five to six years and scheduled to start in 2025, according Szilvia Haide of Flexens who is coordinating it.

The aim of the pilot is to work out the method of injecting oxygen and to study the impact on the environment and biodiversity.

According to calculations by Matthieu Guesne, Lhyfe's CEO, around 30 offshore platforms on the Baltic would be necessary to completely reoxygenate it.

"It is not a miracle solution, it is a very long-term project," Guesne told AFP, estimating a duration of 20 to 30 years.

It will also depend on the agricultural industry and its use of fertilisers.

Ethiopia's 'korale' recyclers turn waste into money

Addis Ababa (AFP) – With a tattered bag on his back, Dereje Enigdamekonen trawled the endless alleyways of the Merkato market in Addis Ababa, calling for the Ethiopian capital's abundant scrap.


Issued on: 15/10/2024 -

Ezedin Muste, 23, is one of thousands of waste collectors known in Amharic as 'korale'

 © Michele Spatari / AFP

"Korale, korale," he shouted at regular intervals.

It's a made-up word in Amharic that is now used for the thousands of collectors, almost all men, who hunt out everything from used jerry cans and electrical equipment to shoes, shovels and any other unwanted bric-a-brac.

These objects are then either restored, stripped for spare parts, or transformed into something new -- giving new life to what would otherwise be polluting litter.

Piles of plastic are resold in the historic Merkato district in Addis Ababa © Michele Spatari / AFP

Dereje, 45, has been doing this work for a year, rain or shine, saying he buys "everything that can be reused".

For a kilogramme of collected metal, he can get about 40 birr ($0.30) and for jerry cans, depending on the size, between three and 25 birr.

"Waste can be transformed into money," he said with a smile.

After wandering for hours, the korales converged on an area of Merkato called Minalesh Tera, which translates from Amharic as "What do you have?".

Here, the narrow alleys of Merkato, one of Africa's largest open-air markets, are lined with tiny tin-shack shops as far as the eye can see.

The recyclers sell their daily finds to middlemen like Tesfaye Getahun, who was in the middle of dismantling a huge printer.

With heavy blows of a mallet, he isolated the motherboard and some aluminium parts.

The collectors hunt out everything from used jerry cans and electrical equipment to shoes, shovels and any other unwanted bric-a-brac © Michele Spatari / AFP

Whether it is computers or old televisions, Tesfaye said he recycles everything.

"They aren't used anymore, and if left like that, they can cause environmental pollution. But if they are disassembled and sold for parts, it helps prevent pollution," he said.

Addis Ababa produces about 400,000 tonnes of waste annually, according to 2020 figures from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), of which only 70 percent is picked up by the official waste management system.
'Help the environment'

The collected waste objects are either restored, stripped for spare parts, or transformed into something new © Michele Spatari / AFP

Tamirat Dejene was almost lost among piles of jerry cans in his shop.

The 21-year-old, who has been collecting plastic for four years, said he earns between 500 and 1,000 birr ($4 to $8.50) a day.

That can be a godsend in a country where more than a third of its 120 million people live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

Workers make mops in a street near the Merkato district of Addis Ababa

© Michele Spatari / AFP

"We earn our living and we also help the environment because these items are not biodegradable," said Tamirat.

"It is also beneficial for Addis Ababa: if this waste were not collected, the city's landfills would overflow. So we earn our living while providing a solution," he added.

The objects made in Minalesh Tera are then sold in shops in the capital and all over the country.

Some go even further.

Addis Ababa produces some 400,000 tonnes of waste annually, according to 2020 figures from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 

© Michele Spatari / AFP

Biruk Shimeles, 31, buys scrap metal to make aluminium charcoal stoves which he sells in Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia.

"This work protects the community from waste by transforming it into a business opportunity," said Biruk.

© 2024 AFP

FRANKFURT BOOKFAIR

Italy row, AI in focus at world's biggest book fair

Frankfurt (Germany) (AFP) – An eclectic range of topics will be in focus at the world's biggest book fair this week, from a row over an Italian mafia author to growing interest in wacky literary subgenres and AI in publishing.


Issued on: 15/10/2024 -

A host of big-name authors and many other figures from publishing are attending the Frankfurt book fair 

© Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP

The Frankfurt book fair, which officially kicks off Wednesday, brings together authors, publishers and other industry players over five days in the western German city.

Big names include Israeli author and historian Yuval Noah Harari, best known for "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind", American writer Anne Applebaum and British-Turkish novelist Elif Shafak.

But the run-up has been marred by a row in Italy, this year's "guest of honour", an annual tradition intended to shine a spotlight on a partner country's literary scene.

Fury erupted after the initial official selection put forward by the Italians did not include Roberto Saviano, author of mafia bestseller "Gomorrah" who was convicted and fined last year for defaming far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Following the move, Saviano lashed out on social media at what he branded the "most ignorant government in the history of Italy". In the end he is coming to the fair anyway, but at the invitation of his German publisher.

Controversy has surrounded Italy being 'guest of honour' at this year's fair © Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP

Critics say it is further evidence of a worsening climate for freedom of expression in Italy, with 41 authors writing an open letter in response that complained of "increasingly suffocating political interference in cultural spaces".

The Italian Publishers Association insisted that it would never allow any kind of "outside interference" in the programme, called "Roots in the future".

The fair is no stranger to controversy -- last year several publishers from Muslim-majority countries withdrew in protest at organisers' strong support for Israel following Hamas's October 7 attacks that triggered the Gaza war.

Fair director Juergen Boos insisted it was right to maintain Italy as guest of honour, despite the controversy.

"I think to showcase what's happening in Italy's culture right now, in Italy's politics, it is very important," he told AFP.

'Romantasy' and robot writers

There is much more going on besides the controversy surrounding Italy -- the world's biggest publishing trade event will this year welcome about 1,000 authors and other speakers at some 650 events on 15 stages.

A large area will be dedicated to "new adult" literature, which encompasses a weird and outlandish range of sub-genres beloved of younger readers, such as "Romantasy" and "Dark College".

These genres have been rapidly growing in popularity, often boosted by exposure through social media trend BookTok on the TikTok platform, where authors promote their work and readers post reviews.

Artificial intelligence will also be a major topic, with talks and panel discussions dedicated to the subject, as fears mount in the industry about poor-quality, computer-written books flooding the market and potential opyright violations.

Leading authors, including John Grisham and Jodi Picoult, have in recent times taken legal action against OpenAI, alleging the company unlawfully used their works to train its popular AI chatbot ChatGPT.

A huge range of literature will feature at the Frankfurt book fair 

© Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP

Still it's not all doom and gloom. There are hopes that AI can improve efficiency for publishers and also that it could be beneficial in some areas, such as scientific and research publishing.

"On the one side it's beneficial for the workflows in the publishing houses," said Boos. "On the other hand, regarding copyright, it's a big mess."

An annual highlight is the awarding of the prestigious "Peace of the German Book Trade", which will this year go to Applebaum, an American-Polish journalist and historian whose latest book "Autocracy Inc." examines the growing links between authoritarian states.

© 2024 AFP

Belgian pathologist and literary star gives 'voice to the dead'

Blegny (Belgium) (AFP) – Forensic pathologist Philippe Boxho likes to ask people "why shouldn't we laugh about death?". But gallows humour is just one of the ingredients that the surprise literary sensation brings to his macabre line of storytelling.

Issued on: 15/10/2024 - 

Philippe Boxho has worked on hundreds of bodies -- bringing to light homicide cases that would otherwise have remained undetected © Nicolas TUCAT / AFP

In 33 years as a medical examiner in Belgium's eastern Liege region, Boxho has performed hundreds of autopsies -- his attention to detail bringing to light homicide cases that would otherwise have remained undetected.

Boxho has become a surprise star of the book world in Belgium and France, distilling his unusual line of work into taut collections of short stories, each one 15 pages or less.

Anchored in real life, the writing is unflinching and darkly-humorous, but the 59-year-old Boxho also seeks to impart some of his passion for a little-known, but crucial, profession.

The enthusiasm is palpable as the pathologist described the "excitement of being there at the start of an investigation", of pulling on his sturdy dishwashing gloves and white coveralls to begin working.

It's a way, he said of his work, "to give voice to the dead one last time".

Boxho's observations have revealed the most unusual of circumstances for a person's demise -- like the 60-something woman who had her throat slashed by her son's pitbull terrier, that she had exceptionally gone to feed.

Another time he established how a farmer was trapped by a bull he did not see surge from the stable shadows. Multiple fractures to the torso and limbs showed how the hapless victim was crushed by a beast weighing in at 1.2 tonnes.

The idea of writing came to Boxho in 2021, triggered by the success of a post by Belgian channel RTBF, in which he recounted three striking anecdotes.

Encouraged, he decided to set down in writing more of the stories pulled from his more than three decades in forensics -- which until then had been shared only with students at the medical school where he teaches.

Published almost back-to-back, Philippe Boxho's three books have together sold some 740,000 copies © Nicolas TUCAT / AFP

It was an instant hit: published almost back-to-back, his three books have together sold some 740,000 copies, including almost 200,000 for the latest one released in late August, whose title translates as "Looking death in the face".

"It's extraordinary for a work of non-fiction," said a spokesperson for Kennes, a small Belgian publisher that was struggling to make ends meet until it struck gold with Boxho.

In France, his latest book is among the season's non-fiction bestsellers, with talks underway on an English edition of his work

.
'I respect the body'

At a book-signing event at a former mining site in Blegny, near Liege, Boxho drew a full house of enthusiasts.

"It's fascinating to hear him talk because he's passionate about what he does," said Marie Lou Collard, a political science student who was among the readers in the audience.

She came across Boxho via his videos posted on TikTok and YouTube, and sought out his essays to find out more.

In all of Boxho's real-life stories, dating back sometimes decades, the identities have been changed in keeping with medical confidentiality rules.

"I respect the body I have in front of me," Boxho explained to AFP. "It belongs to a person I don't know."

"What I laugh about is death and the ways that people die," he said. "It's a bit cynical, but that's the way I am. If you don't like it, don't read my books."

Many of his cases have involved women killed by their partners. Sometimes it is a parent killed by a child -- or almost killed, as in one extraordinary case Boxho shared with the crowd in Blegny.

Late one night, a woman entered her father's bedroom with a revolver, intent on murdering him. She fired the entire barrel at him, and left him for dead.

But the autopsy later showed the suspected murder victim was already dead when she shot him -- of a brain hemorrhage that occurred just moments earlier -- and the daughter was cleared as a result.

"Criminal law requires certainties," said Boxho, who argued that defending his profession, whose numbers have dwindled dramatically in recent years in Belgium, is also a way of ensuring better justice for all.

© 2024 AFP

PRODUCER POWER

Falling sales cause sour grapes for iconic Portugal wine

"If we don't create scarcity, we'll never manage to keep prices under control,"

São João da Pesqueira (Portugal) (AFP) – Jose Manuel Ferreira should have already started harvesting grapes on his century-old vineyard in northern Portugal -- instead he is still looking for a buyer for his crop.


Issued on: 15/10/2024

Roughly 20,000 winegrowers operate along the banks of the River Douro 

© MIGUEL RIOPA / AFP

"I used to sell my grapes to a cooperative, but this year they refused me," the 74-year-old told AFP in Sao Joao da Pesqueira, in the heart of the Douro wine region.

"We feel abandoned. It's revolting," he said.

His plight is repeated across the Douro Valley, known for its endless swathes of vineyards cascading down lush green hills on tiered terraces carved over the centuries.

The cause: sluggish sales of the region's famous sweet port wine and overproduction.

Roughly 20,000 winegrowers operate along the banks of the River Douro, which winds its way across northern Portugal before spilling out into the Atlantic at Porto, the country's second-largest city, where major wineries are based.

Most vineyards in the region belong to several owners, who cultivate small plots averaging just two hectares (five acres) and generally sell their output to groups operating large estates known as "quintas".

Port wine, which is made by adding brandy during fermentation, was invented by the British in the 18th century and went on to become one of Portugal's most famous exports.

'Can't compensate'

The Upper Douro region, which in 2001 was added to the United Nations' cultural heritage list, produces port wine and table wine, with both enjoying a protected designation of origin status.

This means they can be made only in the region according to a set of production specifications.

While sales of Douro table wines are rising, those of port wines -- which are more profitable -- have fallen steadily in recent years because of changing consumer habits.

Wine consumption has decreased globally, and especially so for products like port wine that are traditionally drunk before meals to stimulate the appetite.

Portugal's Douro Valley is known for its endless swathes of vineyards cascading down lush green hills on tiered terraces 

© MIGUEL RIOPA / AFP

The volume of port wine sold annually has fallen over the last 15 years by a quarter to nearly 65 million litres in 2023.

"Douro table wines can't compensate for the fall in port wine sales," said the head of Portuguese wine promotion body ViniPortugal, Frederico Falcao.

"The grapes still to be harvested in the Douro region are being sold at very low prices, often not even enough to cover the cost of picking," he added.

"Unfortunately, this means there is likely to be quite a lot of grapes left uncollected in the vineyards."

Production cut

To tackle the problem of oversupply, the Port and Douro Wines Institute regulatory body has slashed the port wine production quota this year to 90,000 barrels from 104,000 in 2023. Each barrel contains 550 litres (145 gallons).

But industry representatives argue this level of production remains too high given the amount of stocks that have built up in recent years.

These reserves enable major port wine brands, which control almost 90 percent of the market, to limit their losses.

It is small growers like Ferreira, whose modest plot is expected to produce around a tonne of grapes this year, that are being hit hardest.

Oscar Quevedo, a 41-year-old winemaker, believes steeper production cuts are the answer 

© MIGUEL RIOPA / AFP

"The region, which has a unique, world-famous product, generates wealth, but it is not well redistributed," Manuel Cordeiro, the mayor of Sao Joao da Pesqueira, told AFP.

Some are calling for a steeper cut to production that would involve pulling up vines, as is currently being done in the Bordeaux region in southwestern France.

"If we don't create scarcity, we'll never manage to keep prices under control," said Oscar Quevedo, a 41-year-old winemaker who has taken over the family business of around 100 hectares.

Producing wine in the Douro, with its steep slopes and arid climate, "is very expensive" so moving upmarket is necessary to survive and "market a wine that is profitable", he added.

© 2024 AFP

Only one-third of Europe's surface water is in good health, report warns

Only 37 percent of Europe’s surface waters are in good condition, warns the European Environment Agency. Climate change, habitat degradation, freshwater overuse and pollution are key threats. "Our waters face unprecedented challenges," said EEA Executive Director Leena Yla-Mononen, highlighting risks to Europe's water security.


Issued on: 15/10/2024 -

Activists fear time is running out to save what they call Europe's last major "wild river". 

Pollution, habitat degradation, climate change and over-use of freshwater resources are putting a strain on Europe, with only a third of its surface water in good health, the European Environment Agency warned on Tuesday.

"The health of Europe's waters is not good. Our waters face an unprecedented set of challenges that threatens Europe's water security," EEA executive director Leena Yla-Mononen said in a statement.

Only 37 percent of Europe's surface water bodies achieved "good" or "high" ecological status, a measure of aquatic ecosystem health, the EEA report said.

Meanwhile, only 29 percent of surface waters achieved "good" chemical status over the 2015-2021 period, according to data reported by EU member states.

Europe's groundwaters -- the source of most drinking water in the continent -- fared better, with 77 percent enjoying "good" chemical status.

Good chemical status means the water is free of excessive pollution from chemical nutrients and toxic substances like PFAS and microplastics.

Surface water is threatened by air pollution -- such as coal burning and car emissions -- as well as the agriculture industry, whose dumped waste contaminates the soil.

"European agriculture needs to increase its use of more sustainable organic and agroecological practices, accompanied by incentives and a change in our food and dietary habits," the report said.

The European agency analysed 120,000 surface water bodies and 3.8 million square kilometres (1.5 million square miles) of groundwater body areas in 19 EU countries and Norway.

It called on EEA member states to halve their use of pesticides by 2030.

"We need to redouble our efforts to restore the health of our valued rivers, lakes, coastal waters and other water bodies, and to make sure this vital resource is resilient and secure for generations to come," Yla-Mononen said.


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Climate change effects, including extreme droughts and flooding, and the over-use of freshwater resources are putting a strain on Europe's lakes, rivers, coastal waters and groundwaters "like never before", the EEA said.

Governments must prioritise reducing water consumption and restoring ecosystems, it said.

(AFP)

Painkiller sale plan to US gives France major headache


By AFP
October 14, 2024


Copyright AFP Hector RETAMAL
Jurgen HECKER

The planned sale of France’s best-selling medical drug to US investors has caused the government a splitting headache after an outcry against the project from politicians on all sides.

Even President Emmanuel Macron is involved in the debate centred on a perceived “loss of sovereignty” if popular painkiller Doliprane falls into American hands.

Doliprane is the brand under which healthcare giant Sanofi sells paracetamol, a non-opioid analgesic for the alleviation of mild to moderate pain, and of fever.

In French pharmacies, the brand’s colourful boxes often line entire shelf walls, and Doliprane comes in many doses — from 100 mg for newborn babies to 1,000 mg for adults — and in tablet, capsule, suppository and liquid forms.

It is so ubiquitous that French people call any paracetamol product Doliprane, even when it is made by a different manufacturer.

Sanofi, which is France’s biggest healthcare company and among the world’s top 12, has found out over the past few days just how attached the French are to the drug.

Political and trade union reactions came in hard and fast after the company announced last week that it was in talks with New York-based private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) to sell a 50-percent controlling stake in its subsidiary Opella, which makes Doliprane along with other consumer healthcare products.

The planned spinoff, it said, would be part of Sanofi’s strategy to focus less on over-the-counter medication and more on innovative medicines and vaccines, including for polio, the flu and meningitis.

“This is another symbol for the loss of our sovereignty,” thundered Fabien Roussel, France’s Communist party leader, calling the planned sale “shameful”.

At the other end of the political spectrum Jordan Bardella, president of the farright RN party, said that “the piecemeal sale of France carries on”.

– ‘Protect France’ –

Green party deputy Marine Tondelier said the government had “learned nothing” from the Covid pandemic when France suffered from medication bottlenecks blamed mostly on the outsourcing of production to foreign countries.

An adhoc group of centre-right lawmakers — including from Macron’s party — meanwhile stated that the sale represented “a very worrying risk for our national security”.

Boris Vallaud, parliamentary leader for the Socialists, reminded the government of 2022 when a sharp rise in demand for paracetamol caused some shortages in French pharmacies.

“Already some months ago, paracetamol was nowhere to be found,” he said. “And now they want to give it up completely?”

In a message to Finance Minister Antoine Armand — in the job only since last month — the group of deputies said the planned sale went against “the re-establishment of France’s sovereignty in the health sector”.

The government had the legal option, they said, of posing conditions or blocking the sale on the grounds that it concerns a “sensitive” industry.

Macron himself entered the fray Monday, saying that “the government has the instruments needed to protect France” from any unwanted “capital ownership”.

The American investment fund is offering more than 15 billion euros ($16.4 billion) for Opella, according to Les Echos, a French business daily.

Faced with the protests, Armand on Friday told Sanofi and the potential buyer that Opella’s “headquarters and decision-making centres” had to remain in France.

On Monday, Industry Minister Marc Ferracci said that current production also had to stay, “to safeguard employment and to secure supply for French people”.

The same went for research and development facilities, he said.

Speaking to broadcaster France 3, Ferracci said the government would invoke a procedure for the control of foreign investment if the buyers failed to meet the demands.

But he added: “I honestly believe that those commitments will be made.”

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THREE MILE ISLAND REDUX

Google signs nuclear power deal with startup Kairos


By AFP
October 15, 2024

Google and Kairos have yet to determine how many of the small nuclear reactors being built to meet the AI energy demand will be located near the tech giant's facilities - Copyright AFP Aamir QURESHI

Glenn CHAPMAN

Google on Monday signed a deal to get electricity from small nuclear reactors to help power artificial intelligence.

The agreement to buy energy from reactors built by Kairos Power came just weeks after word that Three Mile Island, the site of America’s worst nuclear accident, will restart operations to provide energy to Microsoft.

“We believe that nuclear energy has a critical role to play in supporting our clean growth and helping to deliver on the progress of AI,” Google senior director of energy and climate said during a briefing.

“The grid needs these kinds of clean, reliable sources of energy that can support the build out of these technologies.”

No financial details were disclosed.

– Insatiable AI –

Tech giants like Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are rapidly expanding their data center capabilities to meet the AI revolution’s computing needs while also scouring the globe for sources of electricity.

The first of a series of small modular reactors (SMRs) developed by Kairos as a result of its deal with Google is projected to be online by the end of this decade, according to the companies.

Additional small reactors are expected to go online through 2035, generating a combined total of 500 megawatts of power.

SMRs are more compact and potentially easier to deploy — with big investments by Microsoft founder Bill Gates in the sector.

However, the technology is still in its infancy and lacks regulatory approval, leading companies to seek out existing nuclear power options.

“We view this as a really significant partnership,” Kairos co-founder and chief executive Mike Laufer said in the briefing.

The agreement allows SMR technology “to mature and learn along the way,” Laufer added.

The grid needs new, clean, electricity sources to support AI as its capabilities and uses accelerate, Terrell said, saying nuclear power is part of a campaign by the tech giant to have abundant carbon-free energy available around the clock.

“This is an incredibly promising bet,” Terrell said of the deal.

“If we can get these projects to scale and then scale globally, it will deliver enormous benefits to communities and power grids around the world.”

– Is it safe? –

Seen as a more consistent source of power than solar and wind, many tech companies are betting on nuclear energy’s rapid development to meet AI’s electricity demands.

Microsoft use of Three Mile Island’s nuclear energy will bolster a power grid covering 13 states.

This area faces severe strain from data centers’ massive energy consumption, raising concerns about grid stability as AI demands increase.

Amazon’s AWS agreed in March to invest $650 million in a data center campus powered by another Pennsylvania nuclear plant.

Nuclear energy has staunch opponents due to concerns about radioactive waste disposal, the potential for catastrophic accidents, and the high costs associated with plant construction and decommissioning.

The 1979 partial meltdown of Unit 2 at Three Mile Island caused panic in the United States and brought the expansion of nuclear energy to a standstill.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission deemed it the “most serious accident in US commercial nuclear power plant operating history,” though it noted no detectable health effects on workers or the public from the small radioactive releases.

Google and Kairos Power team up for SMR deployments

Tuesday, 15 October 2024

Google has agreed to purchase energy from small modular reactors under a deal that will support the first commercial deployment of Kairos Power's reactor by 2030 and a fleet totalling 500 MW of capacity by 2035.

(Image: Kairos)

The Master Plant Development Agreement signed by the two companies will see Kairos Power develop, construct, and operate a series of advanced reactor plants and sell energy, ancillary services, and environmental attributes to Google under power purchase agreements (PPAs). Plants will be sited in "relevant service territories to supply clean electricity to Google data centres", with the first deployment by 2030 to support Google’s 24/7 carbon-free energy and net zero goals.

This the first corporate agreement for multiple deployments of a single advanced reactor design in the USA, the companies said.

Kairos has adopted a rapid iterative development approach and vertical integration strategy to bring its fluoride salt-cooled high-temperature reactor technology to market. Site work and excavation for a low-power demonstration reactor version, Hermes, began at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, earlier this year after the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued a construction permit in 2023, targeted to be operational by 2027. The NRC has also completed the final environmental assessment for the construction of the next iteration - the two-unit power-producing Hermes 2 plant - which is also planned to be built at Oak Ridge.

Kairos said the innovative, multi-plant agreement with Google will support technology development by extending Kairos Power’s iterative demonstration strategy through its first commercial deployments: "Building on progress from the early iterations, each new plant will enable continued learning and optimisation to support accelerated commercialisation. Along the way, milestone-based accountability baked into the agreement will establish confidence in Kairos Power's ability to deliver throughout the long-term partnership."

"Our partnership with Google will enable Kairos Power to quickly advance down the learning curve as we drive toward cost and schedule certainty for our commercial product," Mike Laufer, Kairos Power CEO and co-founder, said. "By coming alongside in the development phase, Google is more than just a customer. They are a partner who deeply understands our innovative approach and the potential it can deliver."

Google is aiming to achieve net-zero emissions across all of its operations and value chain by 2030. Earlier this year, Google - together with Microsoft and steel manufacturer Nucor - announced plans to develop new business models and aggregate their demand for advanced clean electricity technologies, including advanced nuclear, and issued a Request for Information to identify specific projects to engage with.

The additional generation that will be developed under the multi-plant agreement with Kairos will complement its existing use of variable renewables while helping it to reach its 24/7 carbon-free energy and net zero goals, the company said.

"This landmark announcement will accelerate the transition to clean energy as Google and Kairos Power look to add 500 MW of new 24/7 carbon-free power to US electricity grids," Google Senior Director of Energy and Climate Michael Terrell said. "This agreement is a key part of our effort to commercialise and scale the advanced energy technologies we need to reach our net zero and 24/7 carbon-free energy goals and ensure that more communities benefit from clean and affordable power in the future."

Google pioneered the first corporate purchase agreements for renewable electricity more than a decade ago, and since then has played a pivotal role in accelerating clean energy solutions, Terrell said in a blog post. The agreement with Kairos is important because the grid needs new sources of electricity to support AI technologies, and nuclear can help meet those demands reliably with carbon-free energy every hour of every day, he added.

"By procuring electricity from multiple reactors … we will help accelerate the repeated reactor deployments that are needed to lower costs and bring Kairos Power’s technology to market more quickly. This is an important part of our approach to scale the benefits of advanced technologies to more people and communities, and builds on our previous efforts," he said.

"We'll continue working to accelerate a diverse portfolio of advanced clean electricity technologies and bring new 24/7 clean, affordable energy onto every grid where we operate."

Molten salt reactors
 

Molten salt reactors - or MSRs - use molten fluoride salts as primary coolant, at low pressure. Some designs - like Kairos Power's KP-FHR - use solid fuel, while others use fuel salts, in which the nuclear fuel is dissolved in the coolant.

The KP-FHR will use fully ceramic TRISO (tri-structural isotropic) pebble-type fuel. The Hermes and Hermes 2 demonstration plants will feature units with a thermal capacity of 35 MW each. The two 35 MWt units at Hermes 2 are intended to a power a common turbine generator set to produce about 20 MW electric (MWe).

Kairos envisages its commercial KP-FHR offering as dual unit plants, with two 75 MWe units for a total of 150 MWe of power output.

MSRs are one of the four main types of SMR that are currently being developed. SMRs are broadly defined as nuclear reactors with a capacity of up to 300 MWe equivalent, designed with modular technology using module factory fabrication, pursuing economies of series production and short construction times.