CRIMINAL CRYPTO CAPITALI$M

Second suspect in New York bitcoin kidnapping surrenders to police



By AFP
May 27, 2025


Kidnappings targetting crypto enterpreneurs have become

 increasingly frequent around the world

 - Copyright AFP

 Giuseppe CACACE

A second suspect in the alleged kidnapping and torture of an Italian bitcoin investor in New York surrendered on Tuesday, authorities said.

Police on Friday arrested John Woeltz, 37, of Kentucky, on suspicion of brazenly kidnapping and torturing an Italian cryptocurrency entrepreneur for weeks in a luxury Manhattan townhouse in order to extort his bitcoin password.

New York City Police Chief Jessica Tisch said on Fox 5 that the second suspect in the case, William Duplessie, was also taken into custody Tuesday morning.

“We do have someone that we were looking for, Mr Duplessie, in custody. As of this morning, 7:45, he turned himself in at our 13th precinct,” Tisch said.

“We know he is going to be charged with Mr Woeltz with kidnapping and false imprisonment of an associate in Soho,” said.

Duplessie, who according to US media is 33 and comes from Miami, Florida, surrendered to police clad in black pants and a white shirt, photos from the scene showed.

The name of the alleged victim has not been published, but US media reports identified him as Italian bitcoin entrepreneur Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan.

According to reports, Carturan arrived in New York from Italy on May 6 and went Woeltz’s home.

There, Woeltz, described by the New York Post as “Kentucky’s crypto boss,” and Duplessie confiscated the victim’s electronic devices and passport, and demanded access to his bitcoin accounts, according to police.

After the victim refused, the two men tortured him for two weeks, tying his wrists, hitting him with a rifle, pointing a gun at his face, threatening to throw him off the roof of the five-story building and promising to kill his family members, media reports said.

Several details of the story remain murky, including exactly why the victim had agreed to come to the townhouse in an upscale SoHo neighborhood, and whether he revealed anything of use to the kidnappers.

France foils new crypto kidnapping plot, arrests over 20: source


By AFP
May 27, 2025


French police foiled a new kidnapping plot Monday in the western city of Nantes - Copyright AFP 

Sébastien DUPUY

Sabine COLPART

France has foiled the latest in a spate of kidnapping plots targeting cryptocurrency entrepreneurs, and detained more than 20 people over that attempt and another against crypto boss Pierre Noizat’s family, a police source said Tuesday.

The new kidnapping attempt, near the western city of Nantes, was foiled on Monday before it was carried out, the police source said, without providing further details.

It came after a series of attempted abductions targeting cryptocurrency traders and their families, prompting one prominent crypto entrepreneur to call on authorities to “stop the Mexicanisation of France”.

Authorities on Monday and Tuesday arrested 24 people as part of a probe into the Nantes abduction attempt, as well as an investigation into the attempted kidnapping in mid-May of Noizat’s pregnant daughter and young grandson.

Noizat is the CEO and co-founder of Paymium, a French cryptocurrency exchange platform.

“The entire commando unit was arrested,” said the police source, referring to the attack on Noizat’s family.

The public prosecutor’s office said it would issue a statement at a later date, probably on Friday.

In an interview with BFM television, Noizat has praised his “heroic” son-in-law and a neighbour armed with a fire extinguisher, who thwarted the attempted kidnapping in broad daylight in the heart of Paris.

The kidnappings have raised concerns about the security of wealthy crypto tycoons, who have notched up immense fortunes from the booming business.



– ‘Rise in kidnappings’ –



French authorities have also been investigating the May 1 abduction of a crypto-millionaire’s father who was later rescued by police.

The victim, for whom a ransom of several million euros was demanded, was freed after being held for more than two days, in a raid on a house outside Paris.

Six people have been charged in connection with that kidnapping.

Five of them — aged 18 to 26 — were being prosecuted for organised extortion, kidnapping and false imprisonment involving torture or acts of barbarity by an organised gang, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in early May.

On January 21, kidnappers seized French crypto boss David Balland and his partner. Balland co-founded the crypto firm Ledger, valued at the time at more than $1 billion.

Balland’s finger was cut off by his kidnappers, who had demanded a hefty ransom. He was freed the next day, and his girlfriend was found tied up in the boot of a car outside Paris.

At least nine suspects have been charged in that case, including the alleged mastermind.

Ledger co-founder Eric Larcheveque, who received a ransom demand when Balland was kidnapped, urged authorities to “stop the Mexicanisation of France”.

Mexico has been plagued by drug-linked murders and disappearances for decades.

“For several months now, there has been a rise in sordid kidnappings and attempted kidnappings. In broad daylight. In the heart of Paris,” Larcheveque said on X.

“Today, to succeed in France, whether in crypto-assets or elsewhere, is to put a target on your back.”

In mid-May, Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau held an emergency meeting with crypto currency leaders, with the ministry announcing plans to bolster their security.

sc-mca-ekf-as/jhb

EU investigates four porn platforms over risks to children


By AFP
May 27, 2025



Raziye Akkoc

The EU kickstarted an investigation on Tuesday into four pornographic platforms over suspicions they are failing to stop children accessing adult content in breach of the bloc’s mammoth digital content law.

The European Commission said its investigations into Pornhub, Stripchat, XNXX, and XVideos “focus on the risks for the protection of minors, including those linked to the absence of effective age verification measures”.

The commission, the European Union’s tech regulator, accused the platforms of not having “appropriate” age verification tools to prevent children from being exposed to porn.

An AFP correspondent only had to click a button on Tuesday stating they were older than 18 without any further checks to gain access to each of the four platforms.

The commission found the four platforms did not have “appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure a high level of privacy, safety and security for minors”.

They also did not have the measures in place to prevent negative effects on children as well as users’ mental and physical wellbeing, the commission said.

“Online platforms must ensure that the rights and best interests of children are central to the design and functioning of their services,” it added.

The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) forces the world’s biggest tech companies to do more to protect European users online and has strict rules to safeguard children and ensure their privacy and security.

Under the law, “very large” online platforms with at least 45 million monthly active users in the EU have even greater obligations, and they are regulated by the commission rather than national authorities.

Fearful over children’s access to adult content, the commission said it will work with national authorities to make sure smaller porn platforms apply the same rules.

“Our priority is to protect minors and allow them to navigate safely online. Together with the digital service coordinators in the member states we are determined to tackle any potential harm to young online users,” EU digital tsar Henna Virkkunen said.

– Protecting children –

The EU also said it would remove Stripchat from the list of “very large” platforms since it now had fewer than 45 million monthly active users on average, with its probe to focus on the period when it fell under its purview.

Brussels stressed the launch of formal proceedings does not prejudge the investigation’s outcome and there is no deadline for its completion.

Violations, if proven however, risk fines of up to six percent of a firm’s global turnover. Platforms found guilty of serious and repeated violations can also be banned from operating in Europe.

The EU in parallel has invited the public including parents to help prepare guidelines for the protection of children online and is developing an age-verification app.

The DSA, which has a wide remit, sits within the EU’s powerful legal weaponry to regulate Big Tech.

Brussels has launched a wave of probes under the DSA since 2023 including into Meta’s Facebook and Instagram as well as Elon Musk’s X social media platform and TikTok.

‘Kisses from Prague’: The fall of a Russian ransomware giant


By AFP
May 27, 2025


A screenshot of the site of cyber-crime group 'LockBit' 

- Copyright AFP Raul ARBOLEDA

Didier Lauras

The sudden fall of a ransomware supplier once described as the world’s most harmful cybercrime group has raised questions about Moscow’s role in its development and the fate of its founder.

LockBit supplied ransomware to a global network of hackers, who used the services in recent years to attacks thousands of targets worldwide and rake in tens of millions of dollars.

Ransomware is a type of malicious software, or malware, that steals data and prevents a user from accessing computer files or networks until a ransom is paid for their return.

LockBit supplied a worldwide network of hackers with the tools and infrastructure to carry out attacks, communicate with victims, store the stolen information and launder cryptocurrencies.

According to the US State Department, between 2020 and early 2024 LockBit ransomware carried out attacks on more than 2,500 victims around the world.

It issued ransom demands worth hundreds of millions of dollars and received at least $150 million in actual ransom payments made in the form of digital currency.

But LockBit was dealt its first devastating blow in February 2024 when the British National Crime Agency (NCA), working with the US FBI and several other nations, announced it had infiltrated the group’s network and took control of its services.

Later that year, the NCA announced it had identified LockBit’s leader as a Russian named Dmitry Khoroshev (alias LockBitSupp).

The US State Department said it was offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to his arrest.

Lockbit, which the NCA said was “once the world’s most harmful cybercrime group”, sought to adapt by using different sites.

But earlier this year it suffered an even more devastating breach and received a taste of its own medicine.

Its systems were hacked and some of its data stolen in an attack whose origins were mysterious and has, unusually in the cybercrime world, never been claimed.

“Don’t do crime. Crime is bad. Xoxo from Prague,” said a cryptic message written on the website it had been using.



– ‘Others grow back’ –



“Lockbit was number one. It was in survival mode and took another hit” with the leak, said Vincent Hinderer, Cyber Threat Intelligence team manager with Orange Cyberdefense.

“Not all members of the group have been arrested. Other, less experienced cybercriminals may join,” he added.

However, observations of online chats, negotiations and virtual currency wallets indicate “attacks with small ransoms, and therefore a relatively low return on investment”, he said.

A French cyberdefence official, who asked not to be named, said the fall of LockBit in no way represented the end of cybercrime.

“You can draw a parallel with counterterrorism. You cut off one head and others grow back.”

The balance of power also shifts fast.

Other groups are replacing LockBit, which analysts said was responsible in 2023 for 44 percent of ransomware attacks worldwide.

“Some groups achieve a dominant position and then fall into disuse because they quit on their own, are challenged or there’s a breakdown in trust that causes them to lose their partners,” said Hinderer.

“Conti was the leader, then LockBit, then RansomHub. Today, other groups are regaining leadership. Groups that were in the top five or top 10 are rising, while others are falling.”

In a strange twist, the LockBit data leak revealed that one of its affiliates had attacked a Russian town of 50,000 inhabitants.

LockBit immediately offered the town decryption software — an antidote to the poison.

But it did not work, the French official told AFP.

“It was reported to the FSB (security service), who quietly resolved the problem,” the official said.



– ‘Complicit’ –



One thing appears to be clear — the field is dominated by the Russian-speaking world.

Among the top 10 cybercrime service providers, “there are two Chinese groups”, said a senior executive working on cybercrime in the private sector.

“All the others are Russian-speaking, most of them still physically located in Russia or its satellites,” said the executive, who also requested anonymity.

It is harder to ascertain what role the Russian state might play — a question all the more pertinent since Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

“We can’t say that the groups are sponsored by the Russian state but the impunity they enjoy are enough to make it complicit,” argued the French official, pointing to a “porosity” between the groups and the security services.

The whereabouts and status of Khoroshev are also a mystery.

The bounty notice from the US State Department, which said Khoroshev was aged 32, gives his date of birth and passport number but says his height, weight and eye colour are unknown.

His wanted picture shows an intense man with cropped hair and bulging muscular forearms.

“As long as he doesn’t leave Russia, he won’t be arrested,” said the private sector expert. “(But) we’re not sure he’s alive.”

“The Russian state lets the groups do what they want. It’s very happy with this form of continuous harassment,” he alleged.

In the past, there was some cooperation between Washington and Moscow over cybercrime but all this changed with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

French expert Damien Bancal cites the case of Sodinokibi, a hacker group also known as REvil, which was dismantled in January 2022.

“The FBI helped the FSB arrest the group. During the arrests, they found gold bars and their mattresses were stuffed with cash,” he said.

But since the invasion of Ukraine, “no-one is cooperating with anyone any more”.

Asked if the US has questioned Moscow about Khoroshev after the bounty was placed on his head, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Unfortunately, I have no information.”

Telegram’s Durov repeats claim France interfered in Romania vote

By AFP
May 27, 2025


Durov was arrested in France in 2024 - Copyright AFP/File Thomas SAMSON

The co-founder and CEO of the Telegram messaging app, Pavel Durov, on Tuesday repeated his allegation that French intelligence pressured him to interfere in this month’s Romanian presidential election.

Durov’s renewed claim during the Oslo Freedom Forum contradicted a denial by the DGSE, the foreign intelligence service of France, where he faces charges related to criminal activity on the Telegram platform.

“I was indeed asked by the head of French intelligence, Nicolas Lerner”, to turn off conservative Romanian Telegram channels ahead of the election, Durov said in an appearance by video after French judicial authorities denied his request to travel to Norway.

“It’s very important to be very transparent about what kinds of request we receive,” added Durov, who did not provide fresh evidence for his claim.

The 40-year-old, who holds French and Russian passports, was detained in Paris in August 2024 and is under investigation over illegal content on his popular messaging service.

The Romanian election, re-run due to alleged Russian interference after a first-round vote put a far-right candidate ahead, ultimately saw pro-European centrist Nicusor Dan defeat nationalist George Simion.

Romania’s constitutional court on Thursday denied Simion’s challenge to the results, which he based in part on claims of French and Moldovan interference. The court called his allegations “completely false and unfounded”.

The DGSE last week said it has contacted Durov in the past “to firmly remind him of (Telegram’s) responsibilities… concerning prevention of terrorist and child pornography threats”.

But it “refuted vigorously” his allegations about attempted Romanian election interference.

Durov also said Tuesday that Telegram “received a demand from the French police to shut down a public channel on Telegram which was organised by far-left protesters and demonstrators”.

The channel “seemed completely legitimate, and we refused to comply, despite the obvious personal risks I’m taking”, he added.

Durov was allowed in March to travel to Dubai, where his company is based, but French judicial authorities have more recently stopped him travelling to the United States to meet investors or to Norway for the Freedom Forum, organised by the Human Rights Foundation, a non-profit organisation.

He called the investigation “frustratingly slow”, adding that Telegram was “held at higher standards than most other platforms” — with the likes of Facebook or Snapchat “protected by this big American government”.

Since his arrest, Durov had appeared to bow to Paris’s demands for stronger efforts to ensure illegal content — such as child abuse and drug trading — was not on Telegram.

Peru arrests extortion gang that used Nazi symbols to sow terror

By AFP
May 27, 2025

Peruvian police on Tuesday captured a gang of Venezuelan and Colombian extortionists accused of using Nazi symbols to intimidate their victims - Copyright AFP TOMAS CUESTA

Police in Peru have captured a group of extortionists that used Nazi insignia to intimidate their victims, authorities said Tuesday.

The five suspects from Colombia and Venezuela were arrested in raids on two homes, one in the capital Lima and another in the neighboring city of Huaral.

In addition to weapons and explosives, police discovered around 100 stickers depicting an eagle with a swastika, an emblem of the Nazi Party under Adolf Hitler.

Investigators found an oil painting of late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar with a wad of dollars sticking out of his shirt pocket.

Police chief Juan Mundaca said the authorities were investigating whether the stickers were the same as those that appeared on the homes and cars of extortion victims.

Prosecutor Jose Silva said the gang had threatened business owners in the Huaral area, as well as a judge.

Peru is battling a steep surge in gang violence, characterized by a wave of killings linked to extortion rackets.

Criminal gangs such as Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, which operates across Latin America, are accused of holding entire communities to ransom and of gunning down people who refuse to pay protection money.

This is not the first time that criminal gangs in the Andean nation have been caught using Nazi symbols.

In May 2023, police seized 58 kilograms of cocaine bricks destined for Belgium which were wrapped in a Nazi flag and stamped with Hitler’s name.

  BOYCOTT CHIQUITA!  

‘State of emergency’ in Panama after strike leads to layoffs


By AFP
May 27, 2025


Vehicles drive through banana plantations belonging to a subsidiary of US banana Chiquita Brands in Bocas del Toro, Panama - Copyright AFP Mandel NGAN

The Panamanian government on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in one province after US banana giant Chiquita Brands laid off about 5,000 workers following a strike that had ground its production to a halt.

Workers went on strike a month ago in the province of Bocas del Toro, blocking roads and halting school instruction to protest a pension reform approved by Congress.

Construction workers have also been striking for the past month over the pension reforms.

The “state of emergency” declaration allows the government to speed past bureaucratic hurdles to address economic or social crises quickly. Bocas del Toro lives off tourism and banana production.

Chiquita, which employed more than 7,000 workers, laid off about 5,000 of them last week for what they called unjustified abandonment of work.

The company claims the strike has cost it $75 million in losses and caused irreversible damage to the production of bananas.

Right-wing Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino warned Friday that more jobs are on the line if the strikes continue.

NOT SO GREEN MINERALS

Nickel rush for stainless steel, EVs guts Indonesia tribe’s forest home

By AFP
May 27, 2025


The lush jungle of Halmahera Island in Indonesia has been eaten away by the world's largest nickel mine - Copyright AFP STR

LONG READ

Jack Moore and Bagus Saragih

Sitting deep in east Indonesia’s lush jungle, Bokum, one of the country’s last isolated hunter-gatherers, has a simple message for the nickel miners threatening his home: “This is our land.”

He belongs to the Hongana Manyawa Indigenous tribe, which includes around 3,000 “contacted” members like him, and another 500 who reject contact with the modern world.

Their home on Halmahera Island was once a breathtaking kaleidoscope of nature that provided sanctuary and sustenance.

But it is being eaten away by the world’s largest nickel mine, as Indonesia exploits vast reserves of the metal used in everything from electric vehicles to stainless steel.

“I’m worried if they keep destroying the forest,” Bokum told AFP in a clearing in central Halmahera.

“We have no idea how to survive without our home and food.”

The plight of the Hongana Manyawa, or “People of the Forest”, started gaining attention in Indonesia last year after a video widely shared on Facebook showed emaciated, uncontacted members emerging from their rapidly changing forest home to beg for food.

But the remote region — about 1,500 miles (2,414 kilometres) from capital Jakarta — mostly remains far from the public consciousness.

AFP travelled into the Halmahera jungle to see how the sprawling Weda Bay Nickel concession has affected the once-pristine tribal lands that the Hongana Manyawa call home.

During a three-day, 36-kilometre (22-mile) trek across parts of the 45,000-hectare concession, the mining operation’s impacts were starkly clear.

Booms from controlled explosions to expose nickel shook birds from trees, while helicopters buzzing overhead shared the skies with green parrots, Moluccan owls, hornbills and giant bees.

Tree stumps provided evidence of logging, and off-duty mine guards were seen hunting tropical birds with air guns.

Throughout the night, the sound of excavators scratching the topsoil penetrated the thick vegetation, competing with frog calls and the drone of insects.

Mud that locals say is stirred up by mining has stained rivers copper, and the water leaves skin irritated.

In 22 river crossings, only a few fish were visible. Tribe members say they have mostly disappeared.

AFP did not seek to meet uncontacted Hongana Manyawa.

Bokum emerged from isolation earlier in his life, but still has very limited contact with the outside world.

He and his wife Nawate agreed to meet AFP around 45 minutes from his home deeper in the jungle.

But he could not stay long: en route, he spotted miners and wanted to return to ward them off.

“The company workers have been trying to map our territory,” he told AFP, wearing a black cowboy hat, shirt and rolled-up jeans.

“It’s our home and we will not give it to them.”



– ‘Prevent their annihilation’ –



Indonesia’s constitution enshrines Indigenous land rights, and a 2013 Constitutional Court ruling promised to give local communities greater control of their customary forests.

But environmental groups say the law is not well enforced.

With no land titles, the Hongana Manyawa have little chance of asserting their claims to stewardship of forest that overlaps with Weda Bay’s concession.

According to Weda Bay Nickel (WBN), its mine on Indonesia’s Maluku islands accounted for 17 percent of global nickel production in 2023, making it the largest in the world.

WBN is a joint venture of Indonesia’s Antam and Singapore-based Strand Minerals, with shares divided between French mining giant Eramet and Chinese steel major Tsingshan.

WBN told AFP it is “committed to responsible mining and protecting the environment”, and trains employees to “respect local customs and traditions”.

It said there is “no evidence that uncontacted or isolated groups are being impacted by WBN’s operations”.

Eramet told AFP it has requested permission from WBN’s majority shareholders for an independent review of “engagement protocols” with Hongana Manyawa, expected this year.

Further review of how the tribe uses the area’s forests and rivers is also underway, it added, though it said there was currently “no evidence” of members living in isolation in its concession.

The Indonesian government, which acknowledges most of the concession was previously protected forest, told AFP otherwise.

There is “recognition of evidence of the existence of isolated tribes around Weda Bay”, said the directorate general of coal and minerals at Indonesia’s energy ministry.

It said it was committed to “protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples and ensuring that mining activities do not damage their lives and environment”.

Indigenous rights NGO Survival International said that was Jakarta’s first acknowledgement of uncontacted, or “isolated”, Hongana Manyawa in the area.

It called the admission a “hammer blow” to Eramet’s claims and said a no-go area to protect the tribe was “the only way to prevent their annihilation”.

Both WBN and Eramet said they work to minimise impact on the environment. Eramet’s new CEO will be in Indonesia this week, seeking permission to expand the mine’s capacity.

Tsingshan and Antam did not respond to AFP requests for comment.

Bokum said mining has driven away the wild pigs, deer and fish he once caught for food. Now, he looks for shrimp and frogs in less-affected smaller streams.

“Since the company destroyed our home, our forest, we’ve been struggling to hunt, to find clean water,” he said in the Indigenous Tobelo language.

“If they keep destroying our forest we cannot drink clean water again.”



– ‘Go away’ –



Nickel is central to Indonesia’s growth strategy. It banned ore exports in 2020 to capture more of the value chain.

The country is both the world’s largest producer, and home to the biggest-known reserves.

Mining — dominated by coal and nickel — represented nearly nine percent of its GDP in the first quarter of 2025, government data shows.

Nickel mined in the Halmahera concession is processed at the Weda Bay Industrial Park.

Since operations began in 2019, the area has transformed rapidly, into what some call a “Wild West”.

At a checkpoint near the industrial park, men stopped AFP to demand cash and forced their vehicle to move elsewhere, before a local government official intervened.

The towns on the mine edge — Lelilef Sawai, Gemaf and Sagea — form a chaotic frontier.

Employees in hard hats crisscross muddy roads that back up with rush-hour traffic.

Shops catering to labourers line the roadside, along with prostitutes looking for business in front of bed bug-infested hostels.

The mining workforce has more than doubled since 2020 to nearly 30,000 people.

Locals say these are mostly outsiders whose arrival has sparked tensions and coincided with rising cases of respiratory illness and HIV/AIDS.

Smelter towers belch a manmade cloud visible from kilometres away.

“Mining companies have not implemented good practices, have violated human rights and there is rarely any evaluation,” said Adlun Fiqri, spokesman for the Save Sagea campaign group.

Inside the jungle, a similar story is playing out, said Hongana Manyawa member Ngigoro, who emerged from the uncontacted as a child.

“Long before the mining, it was really quiet and good to live in the forest,” said the 62-year-old, as he marked his route by slicing pock-marks into trees with his machete.

He remains at ease in the forest, using reeds for shade and bamboo shoots to boil water.

“There was no destruction. They were not afraid of anything,” he said.

He climbed nimbly down a steep slope by clinging to tree roots before crossing a riverbed peppered with garnierite — green nickel ore.

“This land belongs to the Hongana Manyawa,” he said.

“They existed living in the rainforest before even the state existed. So go away.”

That sentiment echoes elsewhere on Halmahera.

At least 11 Indigenous people were recently arrested for protesting mining activity in the island’s east, Amnesty International said Monday.



– ‘We will not give our consent’ –



Despite their “contacted” status, Bokum and Nawate have rarely met outsiders.

They approached haltingly, with Nawate refusing to speak at all, instead surveying her visitors with a cautious smile.

Bokum described moving at least six times to outrun encroaching miners.

NGOs fear the mine operation risks wiping out the tribe.

“They rely entirely on what nature provides for them to survive and as their rainforest is being devastated so too are they,” said Callum Russell, Asia research and advocacy officer at Survival International.

“Any contact with workers in the forest runs the risk of exposing them to deadly diseases to which they have little to no immunity.”

The government told AFP it has “conducted documentation” to understand isolated tribes near Weda Bay, and involved them “in the decision-making process”.

Activists say this is impossible given most of the group do not use modern technology and limit contact with outsiders.

Amid growing scrutiny, there have been rumblings of support for the tribe, including from some senior politicians.

Tesla, which has signed deals to invest in Indonesian nickel, has mooted no-go zones to protect Indigenous peoples.

And Swedish EV company Polestar last year said it would seek to avoid compromising “uncontacted tribes” in its supply chain.

For Bokum however, the problem is already on his doorstep.

A 2.5-kilometre-long (1.5 miles) open pit lies just over the hill from a plot where he grows pineapple and cassava.

Bokum and Nawate received mobile phones from mine workers — in an unsuccessful attempt to convince them to approve mining operations.

They and other tribe members use numerical codes to identify contacts and make calls.

They must approach the concession to pick up signal, but when mine workers near his home, Bokum wields his machete to scare them off.

“This is our land. Our home,” he said.

“We will not give our consent to destroy it.”

Australia approves 40-year extension for contentious gas plant


By  AFP
May 28, 2025


Australian energy company Woodside Woodside is one of the world's largest producers of liquified natural gas - Copyright AFP SAEED KHAN

Australia on Wednesday approved a 40-year extension to a major liquified gas plant, brushing off protests from Pacific island neighbours fearful it will inflame climate damage.

The North West Shelf is a sprawling industrial complex of offshore rigs and processing factories pumping out more than 10 million tonnes of liquified gas and petroleum each year.

Run by resources giant Woodside, it is one of the world’s largest producers of liquified natural gas — and one of Australia’s biggest polluters.

Originally slated to close in five years’ time, Environment Minister Murray Watt on Wednesday approved an extension to keep it running until 2070.

In a statement, Watt said he approved the extension “subject to strict conditions” designed to limit the impact of emissions.

Neighbouring Pacific islands, already seeing their coastlines eaten away by rising seas, had urged Australia to shut down the plant.

“Pacific leaders have made it clear — there is no future for our nations if fossil fuel expansion continues,” said Tuvalu Climate Change Minister Maina Talia.

“The North West Shelf extension would lock in emissions until 2070, threatening our survival and violating the spirit of the Pacific-Australia climate partnership,” he said ahead of this week’s decision.

Australia insists that extending the plant — which each year emits millions of tonnes of greenhouse gas — does not tarnish a pledge to reach net zero by 2050.

But it poses an awkward diplomatic problem as Australia seeks to host next year’s UN climate conference alongside Pacific island nations.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said liquified natural gas — a fossil fuel — would bridge the gap while more renewables were plugged into Australia’s power grid.

“You can’t have renewables unless you have firming capacity. It’s as simple as that,” he said this week.

“You don’t change a transition through warm thoughts.”

The Woodside plant straddles Western Australia’s Burrup Peninsula, a region home to some of the country’s best-preserved Aboriginal rock art.



– Spewing ‘toxins’ –



A monitoring program is still trying to determine if industrial air pollution was degrading the engravings, some of which are thought to be 40,000 years old.

Watt said “adequate protection for the rock art” was central to his decision.

Aboriginal leaders have tried in vain to stop the extension.

“The toxins that spew out, we see this on a daily basis,” Raelene Cooper said ahead of the government’s decision.

“No one had a say when all this happened. Government never come to us. Woodside never come to us.”

The project consistently ranks among Australia’s five largest emitters of greenhouse gas, according to figures from the country’s Clean Energy Regulator.

Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane trap heat as they collect in the atmosphere, fuelling climate change.

OUTLAW DEEP SEAN MINING

Trump’s drive for ocean bed mining threatens law of the sea


By AFP
May 28, 2025


Scientists have warned that rising ocean temperatures are impacting whales' body clock and migration cycles, as well as killing off krill, the tiny crustacians they need to fatten up for a journey of thousands of kilometers - Copyright AFP

 Yasuyoshi CHIBA

Amélie BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS

US President Donald Trump’s move to sidestep global regulations and begin pushing for seabed mining in international waters could pose a wider threat of competing countries claiming sovereignty over the ocean, experts say.

Trump last month signed an executive order to accelerate the permit-granting process for deep-sea mining in domestic and international waters, citing an obscure 1980 US law.

And the Canadian deep-sea mining frontrunner The Metals Company has already filed an application in the United States to conduct commercial mining on the high seas — bypassing the International Seabed Authority (ISA). This is the body entrusted by a United Nations convention with managing the ocean floor outside of national jurisdictions.

Ocean law is largely guided by that accord — the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), first signed in 1982 to prevent “a competitive scramble for sovereign rights over the land underlying the world’s seas and oceans,” according to Maltese diplomat Arvid Pardo, the convention’s forebearer.

The United States never ratified the convention, which took effect in 1994, though it has applied many of its clauses.

Coalter Lathrop, an attorney at the US law firm Sovereign Geographic, told AFP that the United States is “a huge beneficiary of the parallel set of customary international law rules” despite not being a party to UNCLOS.

For instance, the United States has one of the largest Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) which gives states sovereignty over maritime areas up to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from their coastline — protecting them from foreign fishing boats, among other extractive industries.

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in April to expand permitting for deep-sea mining in both domestic and international waters using an obscure 1980 US law – Copyright AFP TOMAS CUESTA

If the US enjoys the benefits of ocean law, Lathrop argues, “but then you disregard the other part of the package deal — that the seabed and its minerals in areas beyond national jurisdiction are the common heritage of humankind — that is going to be destabilizing, to say the least, for the general legal order of the oceans.”

“US unilateral permitting could lead to the disintegration of a system that has been carefully curated and created by the United States, largely for its own benefit,” he added.

– ‘Unraveled’ –

The US and Canadian moves sparked an international outcry from ISA member states, including China, whose foreign ministry spokesman warned it violates international law.

ISA secretary general Leticia Carvalho expressed similar concern, saying that “any unilateral action… sets a dangerous precedent that could destabilize the entire system of global ocean governance.”

The Metals Company does maintain contracts with ISA members like Japan — where it has a partnership with smelting company Pamco. And experts note such ISA member states could invoke their obligation to UNCLOS to enforce maritime law on The Metals Company via these proxies, even if it ultimately receives a permit from the Trump administration.

Guy Standing, an economist at the University of London, told AFP: “It’s the most dangerous thing he’s done so far,” referring to Trump.

If marine laws “were to come sort of unraveled,” Standing said, “you could have a carve up in different parts of the world, with Russia, China and America carving up the Arctic.”

However, not all scholars in the field are in agreement.

James Kraska, a professor of international maritime law at US Naval War College, said “it’s naive to think the United States has that kind of influence.”

“I just disagree with the people that are saying that it’s somehow a legal obligation to comply with a treaty that you never joined,” he told AFP.

“I just can’t see any way that it’s unlawful. I understand that there’s sort of political opposition to it, but I would just distinguish between politics and the law.”

Medical crisis: How US states differ in how well their local health sector functions


By Dr. Tim Sandle
DIGITAL JOURNAL
May 27, 2025


A nurse prepares the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine at a public housing project pop-up site targeting vulnerable communities in Los Angeles. — Photo: © AFP

A recent study by a firm called Masumi analysed all U.S. states across key healthcare metrics to identify the states that are most prepared for medical emergencies. In order to evaluate healthcare systems, the research compared states by hospital availability, medical workforce, and emergency response efficiency. The data from the American Hospital Directory KFF was used to calculate a final preparedness score, ranking states for emergency readiness.

This established that South Dakota leads the list of the U.S. states most prepared for medical emergencies, with the shortest ER waiting time and most hospitals for the state’s population.

The findings showed:

State	Hospitals Per 100K	Hospital Beds Per 100K	Doctors Per 100K	Nurses Per 100K	Composite Score
Idaho	0.9	131.7	186.3	817.9	100.0
Washington	0.7	131.4	301.3	812.0	97.9
Utah	1.0	135.4	241.6	794.6	95.4
Arizona	1.1	180.0	259.5	859.2	89.5
Nevada	1.0	183.5	200.8	831.8	87.5
Maryland	0.8	162.4	435.5	1,014.0	83.5
Colorado	1.0	144.9	282.9	827.5	78.6
California	0.8	187.5	310.0	838.4	77.0
Oregon	0.8	149.1	313.9	1,036.3	76.4
Texas	1.2	190.0	232.8	790.6	75.6

The U.S. state most prepared for medical emergencies is South Dakota, with a preparedness score of 100, reflecting a sufficient number of hospitals and available medical workforce. The state has the most nurses and most hospitals per 100K residents, with 2.5 hospitals available. South Dakota also has the shortest ER waiting time at 113 minutes on average.

Louisiana ranks second on the list of the states most prepared for medical emergencies, scoring 97.9. There are 299.4 available hospital beds per 100K residents in the state, more than in South Dakota, and the state leads in available doctors, with 302.5 specialists per 100K.

Mississippi holds third place, getting a preparedness score of 95.4. The state leads in available space for new patients, with 304.7 hospital beds per 100K people, the highest number in the ranking. The rate of available doctors and nurses is a little lower than in South Dakota and Louisiana.

West Virginia takes fourth place with a score of 89.5. There are 2 hospitals per 100K residents in the state and 328.6 doctors for the same population. West Virginia follows Mississippi closely when it comes to available hospital space, at 303.2 beds per 100K.

Ohio is fifth in the ranking of the U.S. states most prepared for medical emergencies, with a preparedness score of 87.5. The state has more available doctors than West Virginia or Mississippi, but overall, there are fewer hospitals for patients at 1.2 per 100K.

Massachusetts ranks sixth, scoring 83.5. There is 1 hospital per 100K residents in the state but Massachusetts has the most doctors for its population, amounting to 511.3 per 100K, over 200 more than in South Dakota or Louisiana.

Missouri holds the seventh position, getting a preparedness score of 78.6. There is an extensive medical workforce in the state, with 356.6 doctors and 1,057.5 nurses for every 100K residents. Similar to Ohio, the average ER waiting time in Missouri is 144 minutes.

Kentucky follows closely with eighth place and a score of 77. There are more available medical facilities here than in Missouri or Massachusetts, with 1.6 hospitals per 100K residents, and the state offers enough space for the patients, amounting to 272.4 hospital beds for every 100K.

Pennsylvania is ninth, earning a score of 76.4. The state has one of the biggest medical workforces in the top 10, providing 1,126 nurses and 412 doctors for every 100K residents. Pennsylvania also has the most hospitals overall in the top 10, with 178.

Kansas closes the ranking of the U.S. states most prepared for medical emergencies, getting tenth place and a score of 75.6. Compared to other states, Kansas has a short ER waiting time of 117 minutes and enough medical facilities, with 1.9 hospitals per 100K residents.

 

New study reveals: Contingent responsive parenting can shape the brains of sensitive babies and support emotional regulation

Reichman University

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Dr. Tahli Frenkel, Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University

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Credit: Gilad Kavalerchik

Sensitive parental interactions during the first year of life may directly affect the structure of babies' brains and prevent future emotional difficulties, according to a new study conducted by Dr. Tahli Frenkel of the Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology at Reichman University, in collaboration with the University of California, Davis.

 

 

Approximately 20% of babies are born with a turbulent and unregulated temperament, characterized by high sensitivity to new stimuli, a tendency to cry excessively, and difficulty calming down once emotionally aroused. Previous studies have identified this temperament as a potential risk factor for challenges in social-emotional development, particularly for the emergence of anxiety disorders. The current study found that contingent responsive parenting — that is, consistently and accurately responding to the baby’s cues and rhythms — can shape patterns of brain activity in ways that strengthen the child’s capacity for emotional regulation and reduce the likelihood of developing emotional difficulties later in life.

 

In the study, the researchers followed 51 mother-infant pairs over the course of the babies’ first year. At four months of age, observations were conducted to assess the infants’ temperament and to evaluate the degree of contingent responsiveness in the mothers’ interactions —how accurately and sensitively they responded to their babies' cues. At one year of age, the researchers measured the infants’ brain activity using EEG and examined their reactions to fear and to witnessing others in pain.

 

The findings show that early parenting influences the baby’s brain activity, which in turn supports their emotional and social behavior. Infants with turbulent temperaments who did not experience parental contingent responsiveness developed a pattern of brain activity associated with emotional regulation difficulties, and showed heightened fear in unfamiliar situations and less prosocial behavior. In contrast, babies with similar temperaments who received contingent responsive parenting did not develop the brain activity associated with emotional difficulties. Instead, their brain activity supported more adaptive behavior: they responded more calmly to fearful situations and even demonstrated the beginnings of empathy and prosocial behavior in response to the pain of others.

Dr. Tahli Frenkel, Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University: “These findings highlight the critical role of early parenting as a protective factor, especially for infants with more reactive or sensitive temperaments. Such temperaments can be very difficult for both the baby and the parents. The study’s findings are encouraging, as they indicate that challenging temperaments can be shaped with the help of an responsive caregiving environment. Babies with more intense temperaments need an environment that helps them regulate their emotions. When parents are attuned to the baby’s rhythm, and especially to signals indicating whether the baby is ready to tolerate new stimuli from the environment, they support the development of emotional regulation and build resilience that will help the child cope with the challenges posed by his or her innate temperament. Raising awareness among parents, offering them emotional support, and providing them with the knowledge and tools to deal with the natural challenges involved in parenting a baby with a turbulent temperament can have significant and long-term effects on the parenting experience, on the child, and on the parent-child relationship.”

 

The study, published in the prestigious journal Developmental Psychology as part of a special issue in memory of Jerome Kagan, a pioneer in the study of infant temperament, reinforces the importance of early emotional connections in shaping a healthy developmental trajectory. Greater awareness, early detection, and tailored interventions have the potential to make a significant and lasting impact on children’s lives.

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Journal

Developmental Psychology

DOI

10.1037/dev0001764 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Maternal Contingent Responsiveness Moderates Temperamental Risk to Support Adaptive Infant Brain and Socioemotional Development Across the First Year of Life