McDonalds: Burgers, bacteria and market bombing


By Dr. Tim Sandle
DIGITAL JOURNAL
October 24, 2024

Delivery workers gather at a McDonald restaurant to pick up orders in Kyiv - Copyright AFP Peter PARKS

McDonald’s Quarter Pounders are temporarily unavailable in some states across the U.S. due to an outbreak of Escherichia coli food poisoning. There has been one confirmed death from the toxin the bacterium produces, according to the BBC. In addition, one child is in hospital with haemolytic uremic syndrome, which can cause kidney failure.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a food safety alert regarding an E. coli outbreak linked to one of the fast food chain’s most popular burgers. There are currently 49 recorded cases of E. coli across 10 different states: Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

McDonald’s is working with public health officials to determine the contaminated ingredient. Given there are multiple suppliers for the beef patties, and these a cooked to a high temperature, these are unlikely to be cause. One commonality is all affected restaurants shared a single supplier of onions (California-based Taylor Farms, one of the world’s largest vegetable processors). This is currently the main line of inquiry.

Meanwhile, McDonald’s shares are losing almost 7 percent. According to Hani Abuagla Senior Market Analyst at XTB MENA: “Historically, this is not the first situation of this type at McDonald’s, and each time the decline in share prices or sales resulting from similar ‘scandals’ turned out to be temporary, looking at the long-term horizon.”

Abuagla has provided his thoughts to Digital Journal.

Will this be the case on this occasion? Abuagla is not so sure: “This time, however, we are dealing with a number of negative factors. After a weaker second quarter of the year, the company has already announced that 2025 promises to be a ‘challenging year’, and an important driver of its growth was the ‘strong’ market in North America, where the ‘$5 meal’ recently debuted.”

Drawing some parallels, Abuagla observes: “Looking at the historical examples of E. coli poisonings at Chipotle (2015) and Jack in The Box (1993), comparable sales in the first case stabilized only after 1.5 years, and in the second case they fell for 4 quarters in a row.”

In terms of output, Abuagla predicts: “We can expect demand for McDonald’s meals to actually subside for some time as shares slide from all-time highs. Another aspect is the actual number of victims, which may increase, and possible legal costs.”

Yet there is more hope in the longer term since “the situation does not threaten the foundations of the chain’s business, and consumers are aware of the scale at which McDonald’s operates. Taking this into account, individual cases of poisoning do not invalidate the standards throughout the company. Nevertheless, the confirmed death may capture the imagination of consumers looking for alternatives to the Internet.”

Economic data will soon be available. Abuagla states: “The company will present its results on October 29, and if they also disappoint, we can expect a stronger downward impulse.”

What does the new UK Employment Rights Bill mean for workers and employers?

By Dr. Tim Sandle
October 23, 2024
DIGITAL JOURNAL

Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants to boost skills of UK workers - Copyright AFP/File ADEK BERRY

The UK Labour government’s Employment Rights Bill was presented on 10th October 2024 to Parliament. On launching the bill, Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister and housing secretary, has said the employment rights bill will be good for growth.

Speaking during the opening of its second reading debate, she said an impact assessment published by the government has made it clear the bill will have “a positive impact on growth and more than 10 million workers will benefit from Labour’s plan in every corner of this country”.

The opposition Conservative Party reverted to type, showing their true colours when it comes to rights at work. Despite overwhelming public support for stronger workers’ rights, the Tories attempted to block the Employment Rights Bill by not only by voting against it, but also tabling a wrecking amendment to stop the Bill in its tracks.

While the bill has disappointed many trade unionists in its timidity, there remain aspects that employers need to be aware of. In particular, the rules around zero hours contracts will change. A zero-hour contract is a type of employment contract in UK labour law, between an employer and an employee whereby the employer is not obliged to provide any minimum number of working hours to the employee.

Trade unionists maintain that zero-hours contracts hand the employer total control over workers’ hours and earning power, and hence they should be scrapped. Starmer’s government has not gone this far, although there are some progressive reforms.

Looking at some of the bill’s measures is Rufus Hood, Country Manager UK at digital staffing agency Coople.

Hood begins by cautioning, as is common with the legislative process, that the law that is finally passed will differ from the current contents of the bill as various amendments are made at the committee stage. Hood notes: “The government’s new Employment Rights Bill was presented to Parliament on 10 October. Rather than this being the version that is passed into law, it’s highly likely that some parts of it will be amended.”

It is also noticeable that statements made by politicians during the summer 2024 General Election have not ended up in the bill. Here Hood observes: “Some of the measures the government has previously mentioned would form part of the Bill were not included, such as the ‘right to switch off’ which will now likely be guidance rather than legislation.”

Some of the changes will impact employers. Drawing this out, Hood says: “Employers will need to be aware of the changes to employment legislation that are on the horizon, to make sure that they remain compliant with the law. They might also need to be aware of any increased costs they might incur. For instance, it has been proposed that employers will pay a set charge to zero-hour and irregular hour workers if a shift is cancelled at short notice. Costs to pay staff who are on leave will also increase, as employees will now be entitled to more types of leave from day one of their employment.”

With timelines, Hood states: “Much of the new legislation is expected to come into play in 2026, meaning businesses have some time to prepare. In order to get ahead of these changes, employers should review the bill and conduct an assessment to see what the impact will be, especially of the policies that seem most likely to become legislation.”

The measures could have a concentrated effect in specific sectors. Hood thinks: “Certain industries may be affected by particular changes – for instance, hospitality is currently quite reliant on zero-hour workers. According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, 32 percent of hospitality staff are on zero-hour contracts.”

As a consequence, Hood recommends: “HR managers should begin reviewing policy documents and updating their processes. Line managers should be trained on requests that might be made to them by staff exercising their new rights.”

In terms of the specifics, Hood maps out: “The government has provided more details about the proposed new restrictions on zero-hour contracts. Workers on zero-hour contracts, or very low contracted hours, will be given the right to move to a new contract that more accurately reflects the hours they work. Employers will offer the set hours contract periodically, calculated looking back over how many hours the employee recently worked on average. Some aspects of this legislation are yet to be determined through a consultation process, including what this will mean for agency workers – consultation is expected to begin soon.”

In terms of other key changes: “Several new rights for workers have been proposed that would begin from day one of employment, including paternity leave and unpaid parental leave, as well as the right to request flexible working. Statutory Sick Pay will be available from day one, and it will also now be available to workers on lower earnings as the previous Lower Earnings Limit will be scrapped.”

Focus on the Sahel: Terrorism, NGOs and the Fulani communities

Explainer
Africa

Abuses by various jihadist groups, local militias and the Wagner Group are on the rise in the Sahel. The worsening security situation has forced the NGO Doctors Without Borders to suspend its operations. FRANCE 24’s Terrorism Expert Wassim Nasr corresponded with jihadist leader Amadou Koufa, the second-in-command of al-Qaeda-affiliated group JNIM, about the increasingly bloody conflict in the African region.


Issued on: 23/10/2024 

By: FRANCE 24

Video by: Wassim NASR

General view of the town of Barsalogho, Burkina Faso, on May 29th 2024. An attack that killed dozens of civilians and security personnel in north-central Burkina Faso in late August 2024 captures the ruling junta's failure to contain escalating jihadist violence, experts have said. © AFP


The medical charity Doctors Without Borders announced Monday it has suspended work in the northern Burkina Faso city of Djibo, citing the targeting of health centres operating in the city.

In the past two years, jihadist groups including al Qaeda and JNIM (the “Support Group for Islam and Muslims”) have closed in on the city, which is located near the borders of both Niger and Mali. But the charity is not just pointing fingers at the jihadists.

"Doctors Without Borders are saying this knowing that Djibo has been under siege for years now,” FRANCE 24 journalist and terrorism expert Wassim Nasr said. “They don't blame jihadist groups in particular as being responsible for this harassment they are living, but they also accuse local authorities."

Burkina Faso’s interim president Captain Ibrahim Traoré, one of a trio of military leaders who have seized power in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali in recent years, has been fighting a bitter battle against jihadist violence, declaring a policy of total war against the disparate Islamist groups operating across the three countries’ porous borderlands. The country’s armed forces, and the militias that Traoré has mobilised, have been accused of frequently killing civilians in their attempt to stamp out jihadist groups – in particular, members of the Fulani people.

06:18

“The Fulanis … are being attacked and harassed by local government and the militias,” Nasr said. “And we know that among the Fulani communities, we have castes. So the lower castes are seeing a kind of revenge by joining jihadists, but the upper classes are still loyal to the government. So it’s not only religious, it’s also playing on the social structure.”

One member of the 40 million-strong group that joined the jihadists is Amadou Koufa, a founding member and now second-in-command of JNIM. Nasr sent questions to the Fulani preacher about the current state of the jihadists’ campaign to spread their influence across the Gulf of Guinea – and their apparent willingness to let some NGOs continue their work in areas controlled by the extremist groups.

“He was very clear, he said we tolerate the work of NGOs, especially if they don’t contradict what we preach,” he said. “And I knew for example that in Timbuktu back in August, al Qaeda prevented all NGOs from working in the area, except two and the argument was that other NGOs were using pregnancy prevention tools, which go against what they think is their core religion.”

Koufa told Nasr that the military juntas’ all-out onslaught of jihadists – including the Malian government’s partnership with the Russian-backed Wagner mercenary group – was only driving more and more people to join their ranks.

“The human rights abuses of Wagner and the Malian junta in the centre of Mali made many Fulanis join the jihadists,” Nasr said. “And Koufa said that human rights abuses that were perpetrated by Wagner and the Malians exceeded by a lot the human rights abuses that were carried out by the French when they were there. So the factor of human rights abuses leading to more recruitment from al Qaeda is a fact today, and he admitted it too.”

With the jihadist groups fighting amongst themselves as well as against the three juntas, the conflict in the Sahel has grown increasingly bloody in recent months. Nasr said that the hope of a peaceful resolution to the fighting had long been elusive – though Koufa suggested he was open to sitting down one day with the military regimes “as long as the negotiations are bound by Sharia law”.

“When we talk about the bigger picture [Koufa] said, which was quite surprising, that even the negotiations under [deposed president Mohamed] Bazoum in Niger weren’t that efficient,” he said. “Because we thought they were, and we had results on the ground – but he doesn’t see it this way.”

“On the other hand, he said that he is ready to negotiate with the juntas, meaning Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, and that he is warning the countries of the Gulf of Guinea,” he added. “He is asking them not to make the same mistakes that were made by the juntas in the Sahel Region.”

Prolonged strike clouds new Boeing CEO's turnaround

NATIONALIZE BOEING UNDER WORKERS CONTROL

New York (AFP) – The quest by Boeing's new CEO to revive the aviation giant's fortunes suffered a serious blow when striking machinists voted down the latest contract proposal, prolonging a nearly six-week stoppage.

Boeing workers have been picketing since September 13, 2024 as they seek higher wages and a restoration of their pensions © Jason Redmond / AFP/File

Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of the members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751 rejected the preliminary agreement late Wednesday, extending a walkout of some 33,000 Seattle-region employees.

The strike has shuttered two major assembly plants, further dimming the company's near-term financial picture.

The vote came just hours after new Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg laid out steps aimed at restoring Boeing's reputation after a series of safety problems and problematic defense and space projects dented the company's reputation.

Ortberg told analysts that "the sky's the limit" for Boeing if it can get past some "big rocks" that are stressing the company's finances. On Wednesday, the aviation giant reported a $6.2 billion loss.


Analysts at Bank of America offered measured praise for Ortberg's presentation, noting that he was careful to emphasize that a plan to cut 10 percent Boeing's workforce targets overhead and not engineering or manufacturing employees.

But the "muted" stock market reaction Wednesday reflects worries that there are "plenty more skeletons in the closet" that will surface, Bank of America said.

The union's rejection of the contract "adds further uncertainty, costs, and recovery delays," said the note.

"We anticipate further concessions of wages will be required for a deal to pass."
Sticking points

The latest union rejection of a contract deal was a setback for Boeing, but an improvement over a previous vote, which triggered the strike © Patrick T. Fallon / AFP/File

While the union vote was a clear setback for Boeing, it was much closer than last month's referendum on a previous proposal, when 96 percent of members voted to strike, triggering a walkout on September 13.

The latest Boeing contract offer included a 35 percent pay rise over four years and a one-time signing bonus of $7,000. However, the deal did not restore a company pension, a major sticking point for older workers.

Many union members view the negotiations as a payback after concessions in earlier rounds, including a 2014 agreement that eliminated the pension.

"This contract struggle began over 10 years ago when the company overreached and created a wound that may never heal for many members," IAM District 751 President Jon Holden said in a statement after Wednesday's vote.

"We have made tremendous gains in this agreement," he added. "However, we have not achieved enough to meet our members' demand."

But Boeing, which has yet to comment on next steps after Wednesday's vote, views restoring the pension as a non-starter because of the cost burden involved.

Ratings agencies have warned the company could be downgraded to "junk" status.

The strike has cost an estimated $7.6 billion in direct losses -- including at least $4.35 billion for Boeing and almost $2 billion for its suppliers, according to the Anderson Economic Group consultancy.
'Baffled'

The tenor of the talks between the IAM and Boeing has been frayed at times. The latest proposal came after acting US Labor Secretary Julie Su visited Seattle to meet with both sides.

"Both parties will need to determine the best way forward," a Department of Labor spokesman said Thursday. "Acting Secretary Su has been in touch with the union and the company, and is available to support them."

Veteran aerospace expert Richard Aboulafia, a sharp critic of Boeing's prior leaders, said he was "baffled" by the company's handling of the talks given the importance of quickly settling the strike.

"They need to greatly ramp up the pace of the talks and at a very high level," said Aboulafia, who has been encouraged by some of Ortberg's moves.

In August, Ortberg, who has relocated to the Seattle area to be closer to operations, met with Holden and other union leaders as part of what he has called a needed "reset" of labor relations.

But while the new CEO has closely monitored the talks, he has not been at the negotiating table.

Analyst Peter McNally of Third Bridge said Boeing "needs to raise money" given how the strike has exacerbated the company's cash burn.

"While the most recent vote was at least closer than the previous one, the two sides still have a ways to go in negotiations," McNally said in a note.

"Third Bridge experts expect an agreement to be reached in the coming weeks, but the impact of the work stoppage on Boeing will linger through the fourth quarter."

© 2024 AFP

Boeing workers to extend strike after rejecting latest contract offer, says union


Boeing workers voted to extend their nearly six-week strike on Wednesday after the US aerospace giant offered a contract that included a 35 percent wage hike, but did not reinstate a pension plan sought by many employees.




Issued on: 24/10/2024 - By: NEWS WIRES

Boeing workers decisively rejected the US aerospace giant's latest contract offer on Wednesday, extending their nearly six-week strike.

Almost two-thirds -- 64 percent -- of the members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751 rejected the contract, the union said on X.

The latest Boeing offer had included a 35 percent wage hike, but did not reinstate a pension plan sought by many employees.

Some 33,000 hourly workers with the IAM have been on the picket line since September 13, when workers overwhelmingly rejected a Boeing proposal for a new four-year contract to replace the expiring pact.


The strike has halted activity at two Seattle-area factories that assemble the 737 MAX and 777.

Workers had sought a 40 percent wage increase to make up for years of tepid salary growth that have not kept pace with inflation and that employees complain leave them unable to afford living in one of the most costly regions of the United States.

"After 10 years of sacrifices, we still have ground to make up, and we're hopeful to do so by resuming negotiations promptly," Jon Holden, president of the Seattle union, said in a statement.

"This is workplace democracy -- and also clear evidence that there are consequences when a company mistreats its workers year after year," Holden said.

“Ten years of holding workers back unfortunately cannot be undone quickly or easily, but we will continue to negotiate in good faith until we have made gains that workers feel adequately make up for what the company took from them in the past," he added.

01:43

A Boeing spokeswoman said Wednesday night the company had no comment on the vote.

The extension of the strike adds to the troubles facing Boeing and its new CEO Kelly Ortberg, who earlier Wednesday expressed measured optimism the latest contract would be ratified.

"We have been feverishly working to find a solution that works for the company and meets our employees' needs," Ortberg said in a message to employees accompanying third-quarter results.

Boeing reported a whopping $6.2 billion loss due in part to added costs connected to the strike and to problems with its troubled defense and space business.

The embattled aviation giant has also been under regulatory scrutiny following safety problems.

To strengthen liquidity, Boeing has announced plans to raise up to $15 billion in securities. But Boeing executives Wednesday declined to elaborate on the timing of the offering, or the particular investment vehicles that would be employed.

Even before the strike, Boeing had slowed production in its commercial plane division to ensure greater attention to safety protocols after a 737 MAX flown by Alaska Airlines was forced to make an emergency landing in January when a fuselage panel blew out mid-flight.

The near-catastrophe -- coming after two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that claimed 346 lives -- put Boeing under intense regulatory oversight once again.

(AFP)

Education on hold as Lebanon’s schools turned into shelters for displaced

Hundreds of thousands of students in Lebanon have been left unable to access education as public schools have been turned in to shelters for those fleeing the conflict. FRANCE 24's Rawad Taha reports from Beirut.


Issued on: 25/10/2024 -

FRANCE 24
Rawad TAHA

Video by: Rawad TAHA

02:08A displaced Lebanese person sits inside a classroom at a school in the town of Deir Ammar in northern Lebanon on October 17, 2024. © Ibrahim Chalhoub, AFP


Since Israel expanded its war to Lebanon in early October, “75% of the schools are out of service [and] 45,000 teachers are unable to reach their workplaces or are displaced from their regions", said Hayam Isaac, Head of the Centre for Educational Research and Development.

“We are talking about 546,000 students who have been displaced from their schools, homes, and communities,” she added.

As an educational crisis looms – and fighting in Lebanon intensifies – the Ministry of Education is scrambling to find solutions, such as remote learning, to ensure that students can resume their studies next month.

But numerous logistical challenges remain in a country that has poor internet services and is facing widespread poverty among families who have lost their homes and belongings.

Click on the player above to watch the video in full.

Lebanon: One month into the expansion of the war, at least 2,574 people killed

Issued on: 24/10/2024
Video by: Catherine NORRIS TRENT

Israel claims it dismantled a Hezbollah tunnel operated by its elite Radwan force in southern lebanon. That announcement came as the Lebanese military said three of its soldiers were killed as they evacuated wounded people near the southern village of Yater. For more, FRANCE 24 senior reporter Catherine Norris Trent in Beirut.

Detained anti-whaling activist Paul Watson requests French nationality


Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson has applied for French nationality as he fights a Japanese attempt to have him extradited from Greenland, where the prominent anti-whaling activist was arrested in July. Watson has previously asked French President Emmanuel Macron to grant him political asylum.


Issued on: 24/10/2024 -
By: NEWS WIRES

Protesters call for the release of Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson at a rally in central Paris on October 24, 2024. © Grégoire Campione, AFP

Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson has requested French nationality, his lawyer Jean Tamalet told AFP on Thursday, as Paris pushes for his release from a Greenland jail where he is being held pending possible extradition to Japan.

Watson, who had been living in France until his July 21 arrest, filed the request on Wednesday, said Tamalet, who coordinates the 73-year-old's defence team.

The request "makes total sense when you realise that since 1977 he's been giving everything to protect the marine ecosystem, whereas France has the second-largest coastline in the world," Tamalet added.

Watson was arrested when his ship docked to refuel in Nuuk, the capital of the Danish Arctic territory, on its way to intercept a Japanese whaling vessel in the North Pacific, according to his foundation.


He is being held on a 2012 Japanese arrest warrant that accuses him of causing damage to a whaling ship in the Antarctic in 2010 and injuring a whaler.

Greenland extended the detention of Watson – a prominent marine wildlife conservation activist – on Wednesday.

06:42  PERSPECTIVE © FRANCE 24

Paris's Energy and Ecological Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said Thursday that France would call for Paul Watson's release" by the Danish authorities.

"The allegations against him, from our point of view, do not justify detention," she told broadcaster FranceInfo.

Watson had previously written to French President Emmanuel Macron to ask for political asylum.

French officials have previously urged Copenhagen not to extradite him but have said that a person must be in France to file an asylum claim.

Watson, a master mariner, was one of the founding members of Greenpeace. He went on to create Sea Shepherd and then the Captain Paul Watson Foundation.

(AFP)

UN chief tells Putin Ukraine invasion violates international law

In his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in two years, UN chief António Guterres told Putin on Thursday that Russia's invasion of Ukraine violates international law. Guterres, who has been involved in peace efforts between the two sides since the early weeks of the conflict, also vouched for "freedom of navigation" in the Black Sea.

Issued on: 24/10/2024 - 
By: FRANCE 24

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia on October 24, 2024. © Grigory Sysoyev, AP


Vladimir Putin met UN chief Antonio Guterres for the first time in over two years on Thursday, as the Russian president faced calls from his BRICS allies to end the conflict in Ukraine.

The meeting took place on the final day of the BRICS summit in the Russian city of Kazan, a forum Moscow hopes will help forge a united front of emerging economies against the West.

The UN secretary-general met with Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, after a speech in which Guterres called for a "just peace" in Ukraine.

He "reiterated his position that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was in violation of the United Nations Charter and international law," a readout from the UN chief's spokesperson said after their meeting, which had been criticized by Kyiv.


Guterres has repeatedly criticised Moscow's military offensive against Ukraine, saying it sets a "dangerous precedent" for the world.

Guterres also emphasized his commitment to "establishing freedom of navigation in the Black Sea," saying the move was vital for both Ukraine and Russia, as well as global "food and energy security."

"He fully supports the continuation of negotiations in this regard," the statement said, citing "deep appreciation" to Turkey's mediating efforts.

The Black Sea is a significant trade route for Ukraine, one of the largest exporters of grain in the world, but it has been mired since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.

A UN-brokered agreement allowed Ukraine to export agricultural exports on the Black Sea, but Moscow withdrew from the deal in 2023.

Kyiv has nonetheless carved out a maritime corridor allowing trade to continue.

The two men last saw each other in the first weeks of the offensive when Guterres travelled to Moscow during Russia's siege of Mariupol in south Ukraine.

Guterres has since been involved in peace efforts between the two sides, helping to broker a deal that allowed Kyiv to safely export grain from its ports in 2022.

There has been little direct diplomatic contact between the two countries since, and Ukraine has strongly criticised the UN chief's decision to meet Putin.

There was also criticism from Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of slain Kremlin dissident Alexei Navalny, who labelled Putin a "murderer" in a post on X.

During the final day of the BRICS summit on Thursday, Putin said that the conflict in Ukraine was being used by Moscow's opponents to try and defeat it militarily but they would not succeed.

Russia's opponents "do not conceal their aim to deal our country a strategic defeat", Putin said. "I will say directly that these are illusory calculations, that can be made only by those who do not know Russia's history."

The Putin-Guterres talks come as Moscow's troops advance in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, edging closer to the key supply hub of Pokrovsk.

The United States has warned that thousands of North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia, in what the West and Kyiv fear could develop into a major troop deployment to support Moscow.
'No place in modern world'

The United Nations has said that Guterres plans to meet Putin in Kazan, where he will also deliver a speech.

UN spokesman Farhan Haq said Guterres would use the meeting to "reaffirm his well-known positions on the war in Ukraine".

Haq said the UN chief is on standby to offer mediation, but is waiting for when "the conditions are right".

"Obviously he stands ready, when the parties are willing, to offer his services. He will continue to monitor and see when the situation is right."

Ukraine has slammed Guterres's Russia visit, with Kyiv's foreign ministry blasting him for planning to meet the "criminal Putin".

Guterres has criticised Moscow's annexation of Ukrainian territory, saying it has "no place in the modern world".

He has visited areas where the Russian army has been accused of atrocities in Ukraine, and repeatedly called for a "just peace".
North Korea

The meeting comes a day after the United States said it believed "thousands" of North Korean soldiers were being trained in Russia.

Read moreFrom isolation to battlefield: North Korean troops could face reality shock in Ukraine

"We don't know what their mission will be or if they'll go on to fight in Ukraine," a senior US official said.

Putin – who signed a mutual defence pact with North Korea on a trip to the reclusive state in June – has not yet commented on the reports.

Russia on Wednesday said to "ask Pyongyang" about troop movements, refusing to confirm or deny the allegations.

Several world leaders called for an end to the Ukraine conflict at the BRICS summit.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi – who has also tried to mediate between Moscow and Kyiv – said on Tuesday he wanted the conflict to be resolved "peacefully".

"We totally support efforts to quickly restore peace and stability," he said.

New Delhi has walked a delicate tightrope since Moscow launched its offensive, pledging humanitarian support for Kyiv while avoiding explicit condemnation of Moscow's actions.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has also urged an end to the conflict.

On Wednesday night, Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan also arrived in Kazan "as a state invited to join the (BRICS) group", his ministry said on social media platform X.

Turkey is determined to pursue its talks with the BRICS group of emerging market nations, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday after Ankara became the first NATO member seeking to join.

Erdogan joined the summit at Putin's invitation after asking last month to join the bloc, which incorporates Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

"We are determined to further our dialogue with the BRICS family, with whom we have developed close relations based on mutual respect and win-win," he told delegates at the BRICS forum in Kazan.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Host Putin faces calls to end Ukraine war at BRICS summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin faced direct calls to end the Ukraine conflict from some of his closest and most important partners on Wednesday as world leaders gathered in Russia for the second day of the largest diplomatic forum held by the country since it began its invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

Issued on: 23/10/2024 - By: NEWS WIRES

Russian President Vladimir Putin hosts China's Xi Jinping and India's Narendra Modi at the BRICS Summit in Kazan on October 23, 2024. © Alexander Nemenov, AP

World leaders called for peace in the Middle East and Ukraine at the BRICS summit in Russia on Wednesday, as President Vladimir Putin told them he welcomed offers to mediate in the Ukraine conflict.

The Russian leader is casting the gathering as a sign that Western attempts to isolate Moscow have failed, but faced direct calls to end the Ukraine conflict from some of his closest and most important partners.

The meeting of around 20 world leaders in the central city of Kazan is the largest diplomatic forum in Russia since Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in 2022.

Starting in 2009 with four members – Brazil, Russia, India and China – BRICS has since expanded to include other emerging nations such as South Africa, Egypt and Iran.


Chinese President Xi Jinping told the summit there must be "no escalation of fighting" in Ukraine.

Putin said he saw relations between Beijing and China as a foundation of global 'stability'. © Alexander Zemlianichenko, POOL/AFP

"We must adhere to the three principles of 'no spillover from the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and no adding oil to the fire by relevant parties', so as to ease the situation as soon as possible," Xi said.

Russia and China signed a "no limits" strategic partnership days before Moscow ordered troops into Ukraine and Putin and Xi both hailed close ties in a bilateral meeting on Tuesday.

Without referring to any specific conflict, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also issued a call for peace.

"We support dialogue and diplomacy, not war," he said.

Mediation offers

On the Middle East, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian urged BRICS members to "use all their collective and individual capacities to end the war in Gaza and Lebanon".

Xi repeated his call for a ceasefire, saying: "We need to... stop the killing and work tirelessly for a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Palestinian issue."

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also called for escalation in both the Middle East and Ukraine to be avoided.

"As we face two wars that have the potential to become global, it is essential to restore our ability to work together toward common goals," he said in an address to the summit via video conference.

In private talks, Putin welcomed offers by several of the BRICS leaders to mediate in Ukraine, even as he told them his forces were advancing, his spokesman said Wednesday.

Many countries "expressed a desire to contribute more actively" to resolving the conflict, state media cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as telling reporters.

Read morePutin hails Russia-India 'strategic partnership' in talks with Modi at BRICS summit

Putin had also used the meetings to tout "the very positive dynamics on the front for the Russian armed forces," Peskov said.

Russia's troops have been slowly advancing in eastern Ukraine for much of 2024, though neither side has been able to make a decisive breakthrough and the conflict appears locked in an attritional phase.

"Avoiding escalation and initiating peace negotiations is also crucial in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia," Brazil's Lula said.
Multipolar order

Xi and Modi have previously touted their own peace initiatives for Ukraine, though there has appeared to be little progress.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, also at the summit, is another casting himself as a possible peacemaker.

He will hold direct talks with Putin later on Wednesday.

The BRICS summit is the largest diplomatic forum in Russia since it launched its full-scale military offensive on Ukraine. © Alexey Filippov, AFP

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres was also at the summit, his first visit to Russia for more than two years. He will on Thursday hold talks with Putin over Ukraine.

Moscow promotes the BRICS platform as an alternative to Western-led international organisations like the G7.

"The process of forming a multipolar world order is underway, a dynamic and irreversible process," Putin said at the official opening of the summit.

He also blasted the West for hitting BRICS members, including Russia, with sanctions, saying they could trigger a global crisis.

"Significant crisis potential also remains. And it is not only about the ever-increasing geopolitical tensions, but also ... the practice of unilateral sanctions, protectionism and unfair competition is expanding," Putin said.

Putin also called on the leaders of emerging economies to explore alternative payments and trading platforms to reduce their reliance on Western infrastructure.

(AFP)

Georgia set for tense elections as voters choose between Russia and EU

Elections in Georgia on Saturday will pit pro-Western opposition forces against a ruling party that is increasingly under Russian influence. While polls indicate that opposition parties may be able to form a winning coalition, experts fear that the ruling party may attempt to cling to power.

Issued on: 25/10/2024 -
NEWS WIRES

People walk past election posters in Batumi, Georgia on October 16, 2024. © Irakli Gedenidze, Reuters

Georgians vote on Saturday in watershed elections, with a union of pro-Western opposition forces facing off against a ruling party accused of democratic backsliding and shifting towards Russia.

Brussels has warned the October 26 vote will be crucial for the fate of Georgia's fledgling democracy and its long-held aspiration for European Union membership.

Opinion polls indicate opposition parties could get enough votes to form a coalition government to supplant the ruling Georgian Dream party, controlled by powerful billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili.

The current government says it wants to win a supermajority in parliament to allow it to pass a constitutional ban on the pro-Western opposition.


"Georgia's traditionally fractured opposition forces have managed to forge an unprecedented united front against Georgian Dream," said analyst Gela Vasadze at Georgia's Strategic Analysis Centre.

"But if the ruling party attempts to stay in power regardless of the election outcome, then there is the risk of post-electoral turmoil."

In power since 2012, Georgian Dream initially pursued a liberal pro-Western policy agenda. But over the last two years the party has reversed course.

Its campaign has centred on a conspiracy theory about a "global war party" that controls Western institutions and is seeking to drag Georgia into the Russia-Ukraine war.

In a country where the scars of Russia's 2008 invasion remain unhealed, the party has offered voters bogeyman stories about an imminent threat of war, which only Georgian Dream could prevent.

In a recent TV interview, Ivanishvili painted a grotesque image of the West where "orgies are taking place right in the streets".
'Crucial test'

The party's passage of a controversial "foreign influence law" this spring, targeting civil society, sparked weeks of mass street protests and was criticised as a Kremlin-style measure to silence dissent.

The move prompted Brussels to freeze Georgia's EU accession process, while Washington imposed sanctions on dozens of Georgian officials.

Earlier this month, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell cautioned that Georgian Dream's actions "signal a shift towards authoritarianism".

He called the upcoming polls "a crucial test for democracy in Georgia and its European Union path".

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has vowed to lead Georgia towards EU membership, saying ties with the West will normalise once the Ukraine war ends.
Undecided voters

But the latest polls show that the opposition is poised to garner enough votes to form a coalition government.

The grouping includes Georgia's main opposition force, jailed ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili's United National Movement (UNM) and Akhali, a recently formed party headed by former UNM leaders.

Along with several smaller parties, they have signed up to a pro-European policy platform outlining far-reaching electoral, judicial and law enforcement reforms.

They have agreed to form an interim multi-party government to advance the reforms -- if they command enough seats in parliament -- before calling fresh elections.

The parties argue that the current electoral environment is not conducive to democratic elections, and that a fresh ballot held in a year's time -- after necessary reforms have been implemented -- would truly reflect the will of the voters.

Nestled between the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea, Georgia was once considered a rare example of a democracy among ex-Soviet nations.

But elections in the country of some four million regularly spark mass protests.

A poll conducted by US pollster Edison Research shortly before the elections showed 34 percent of decided voters would cast their ballots for Georgian Dream, while the four opposition alliances combined are set to garner 53 percent of the vote.

No other party is expected to clear the five-percent electoral threshold needed to secure seats in the 150-member legislature.

But the outcome of the vote is far from a foregone conclusion, as more than a quarter of respondents told the pollster they were either undecided or refused to name their preferred political force.

Voting will begin at 0400 GMT and end at 1600 GMT, with exit polls set to be released on closing.

The elections, held under a proportional party list system, will be monitored by international observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

(AFP)

East DR Congo grapples with Chinese gold mining firms

Kamituga (DR Congo) (AFP) – Italian priest Davide Marcheselli has been fighting for years against Chinese companies illegally mining gold in the town of Kitutu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Illegal gold mining has marred the town of Kitutu in South Kivu province, polluting rivers and destroying fields © Glody MURHABAZI / AFP

He says mining has spoilt the town which lies in South Kivu province, polluting rivers and destroying fields.

Hundreds of foreign companies, most of them Chinese-owned, mine gold in the mineral-rich province often without permits and without declaring profits, according to local authorities.

For a long time, civil society groups and members of the church in Kitutu, have been the only people taking a stand against the powerful mining businesses, who often have friends in high places.

In the town of Kamituga, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Kitutu, gold mining is in full throttle © Glody MURHABAZI / AFP

"From the deputies, to the village chief, everyone receives something (from the companies), money or shares (in businesses)," Marcheselli told AFP.
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In July, South Kivu governor Jean-Jacques Purusi suspended "illegal" mining activity in the province until companies could comply with Congolese mining laws.

Under the legislation, companies would have to renew their mining permits, some of which have been expired for decades.

Since the ban, firms, which normally operate in the shadows, have come in hordes to the governor's office in an attempt to get authorisation to resume business.

"In place of the 117 illegal companies we invited, 540 showed up here overnight", Purusi said.

- Access denied –

In the town of Kamituga, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Kitutu, gold mining is in full throttle.

In one site mined by Congolese cooperative Mwenga Force, around 400 people delve into vast open pits hoping to make a few dollars a day.

The president of an association for artisanal diggers, Felicien Mikalano, says local operators "don't have the same means" as Chinese firms, such as machinery and cash.

Artisanal mining refers to small-scale mining, carried out by individuals without big machinery and not employed by big businesses.

Artisanal mining is forbidden to foreigners by the country's mining code, but Chinese companies partner with local cooperatives to circumvent the ban © Glody MURHABAZI / AFP

The practice is forbidden to foreigners by the country's mining code, but Chinese companies use local cooperatives as "partners" to circumvent the ban.

Around half of the Congolese cooperatives in the province are partnered with Chinese companies, according to the bureau of scientific and technical study (BEST), a Congolese NGO specialising in mining governance.

A few kilometres from Kamituga, at the end of a dirt track, access to a mine operated by one of these cooperatives is controlled at three checkpoints.

AFP was not allowed to pass them.

Officials employed to control and inspect mining sites are also refused entry.

"It is difficult to monitor these companies," said inspector Ghislain Chivundu Mutalemba.

"These Chinese partners mine (and) the cooperatives sell the product over the counter. We don't know what percentage the Chinese take, or how much they produce", he said.

"All that I know is that the bosses take the gold and bring it to Bukavu, I don't dare ask questions," says gold buyer Siri Munga Walubinja.

"But I have never seen a Chinese person, it is uniquely the Congolese buying," he adds.

Gold bought in Kamituga is transported to South Kivu provincial capital Bukavu by "big traders", most of them Congolese.

The production of gold in the DRC has boomed from 42 kilograms (92 pounds) in 2022 to more than 5 tonnes (11,200 pounds) in 2023 © Glody MURHABAZI / AFP

Once they arrive in the provincial capital, some declare only a fraction of their merchandise and sell the rest illegally in DRC, which is then transported by smugglers to Rwanda, according to BEST.

In December 2022, the government granted a monopoly on gold exports from South Kivu to Congolese state-owned business Primera Gold.

The move aimed to "break the ore export routes to Rwanda", and "to target political opposition business", according to a note from the French Institute of International Relations published in February 2024.

Gold exports out of South Kivu have boomed from 42 kilograms (92 pounds) in 2022 to more than five tonnes (11,200 pounds) in 2023 -- about a sixth of the officially declared national production.

But Primera Gold now lacks the liquidity to buy the mineral and has failed to curb the black market, according to BEST.

The channels used by the Chinese companies, none of which responded to AFP's requests for comment, remain unknown to the authorities and NGOs.

Even Purusi is having trouble getting answers from businesses.

"Their representatives put you through to this general (telephone line) or a minister in Kinshasa on the phone, to tell you not to bother them," says the provincial governor.

© 2024 AFP