ANTI MIGRANT BIGOT

GOP donor pays $1M to deploy South Dakota national guard

By BRIAN SLODYSKO and STEPHEN GROVES

July 1, 2021


FILE - In this Feb. 27, 2021, file photo, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Fla. A billionaire Republican donor is paying $1 million to help defray the cost of deploying the South Dakota National Guard to the U.S. -Mexico border. The amount of the donation was confirmed Wednesday by Gov. Kristi Noem's office. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)


SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Willis Johnson said he just wanted to help.

So, earlier this month the billionaire Republican donor, who amassed a fortune building an international junkyard empire, took the unusual step of calling South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a rising Republican star who has railed against illegal immigration and aligned herself firmly with former President Donald Trump.

He asked if she wanted to send National Guard troops from South Dakota to the U.S.-Mexico border — and offered up $1 million to help.

Noem said, “Yes.”

Her acceptance of the donation from Johnson, who doesn’t even live in Noem’s state but rather in Tennessee, has drawn intense scrutiny. It landed in state coffers Tuesday and though it came from Johnson’s private foundation and appears to be legal, experts say it sets a troubling precedent in which a wealthy patron is effectively commandeering U.S. military might to address private political motivations.

“I didn’t know it would build into a bonfire,” said Johnson, who answered his phone on the second ring and estimates he’s talked to about 50 reporters since the news broke. “It’s getting out there a lot more than I thought.”

Whether the decision to accept his help will amount to smart politics or policy blunder for Noem is unclear. In the short term, at least, the decision has catapulted her into the headlines and generated even more attention for a possible presidential run in 2024.

Yet the pay-to-play transaction also highlights another way that big-dollar donors have insinuated themselves into governmental process to drive decisions. It also shows the lengths to which some GOP governors will go to show their fealty to Trump even as they try to position themselves for higher office.

“We don’t need this donation and whether it’s legal or not, it’s a terrible idea because it looks like our guardsmen are being used as political pawns,” said South Dakota state Sen. Reynold Nesiba, a Democrat.

Noem’s spokesman Ian Fury said the money could legally be accepted into a state fund designated for responding to emergencies, alleviating costs to taxpayers. South Dakota currently has a budget surplus, which Noem has boasted about.

Fury disputed the suggestion that Johnson’s donation motivated deployment of the 50-person contingent. The state would have sent the guard without it, he said.

Noem herself took to social media Wednesday, arguing the state has a history of relying on private donors. But those projects have typically been focused on local projects — like an events complex at the state fair grounds — not deploying the National Guard.

“This deployment is vital for the security of our state and our nation,” Noem said in a Twitter video.

South Dakota state law suggests that’s not the way such donations are intended to be used. The law states that the fund can only be used “to meet special emergency requirements of the Division of Emergency Management,” an agency tasked with preparing the state for natural disasters or other emergencies.

Republican governors from Arkansas, Florida, Nebraska and Iowa have all committed to sending law enforcement officers or national guardsmen to the border. But Johnson says South Dakota is the only state he’s donated to, a decision motivated by Noem’s quick response to a call from Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for assistance.

Immigration continues to be an animating issue in the Republican Party, stoked by Trump. On Wednesday, the former president and a group of about two-dozen Republican members of Congress toured the border in the Rio Grande Valley, where they railed against President Joe Biden’s handling of the border.

“The other ones were slow to react,” said Johnson, 74. “If they are procrastinators then I’m not going to help.”

Johnson, who also donated to Trump’s presidential campaign, amassed his fortune starting almost literally from a scrapheap.

A native Oklahoman, he learned the trade from his father. After serving in Vietnam, Johnson bought an old tow truck and his own wrecking yard in Vallejo, California. Through aggressive acquisition and an embrace of online technology, he built what is now known as Copart Inc. into a publicly traded global business.

He relocated to suburban Nashville over a decade ago, buying a home from country music star Alan Jackson.

Now a prolific donor, he’s given at least $2.3 million to federal campaigns over the past decade, including $900,000 to Trump, records show.

“America has been good to me. The Lord has been good to me,” said Johnson, whose memoir is titled “From Junk to Gold: Lessons I Learned.”

“I help upcoming senators, congressmen and governors. I’m behind the scenes. I try to keep it quiet.” Until now.

Separately, his family’s philanthropy, Willis and Reba Johnson’s Foundation, typically gives $1 million or more a year to churches and charities — including so-called abortion alternative services, disclosures show.

According to U.S. Defense officials and tax experts, his foundation’s donation to South Dakota is highly unorthodox but permissible.

As South Dakota’s governor, Noem has the legal authority to send her troops to Texas on state-activated duty, funded by the state, the defense officials said. The two states are also working within an existing emergency pact that allows them to send guard troops to each other when needed. Once in Texas, the South Dakota Guard troops would be under the Texas governor’s authority.

Officials said that the private funding given to South Dakota did not go directly to the National Guard. Instead it goes into the state treasury, and the state has wide latitude over how the money can be spent. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations on state matters.

The White House said the use and funding of the National Guard was the governor’s prerogative. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment.

The duties of the South Dakota National Guard contingent are not yet precisely known. Texas’ own guard will have a limited scope of duty that does not include making arrests and will focus instead on observing and reporting, according to statement from the agency.

Steven Bucklin, a professor emeritus at the University of South Dakota who has written on the history of the National Guard, said he was concerned about how the private donation threatened the distinction of the military as an apolitical organization.

“The optic is one that the South Dakota National Guard are soldiers of fortune and will go anywhere that some billionaire sends them,” he said, adding, “I think this is all politics.”

___

Slodysko reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.

___

This story has been corrected to reflect that the name of Gov. Kristi Noem’s spokesman is Ian Fury, not Ian Fry.

Ransomware cyberattack hits hundreds of US businesses

US IT company Kaseya urged its customers to shut down their servers after hackers smuggled ransomware onto its network. Such attacks infiltrate widely-used software and demand ransom to regain access.



A cybersecurity firm said the REvil gang, a major Russian-speaking ransomware syndicate, appears to be behind the attack

US technology company Kaseya urged customers to shut down their servers on Friday after cyberattackers smuggled ransomware onto its network platform.

The REvil gang, a major Russian-speaking ransomware syndicate, appears to be behind the attack, said John Hammond of the security firm Huntress Labs. He added that the criminals used Kaseya's network-management package as a conduit to spread the ransomware through cloud-service providers.

Huntress Labs said in a Reddit forum that it was working with partners targeted in the attack, and that some 200 businesses "have been encrypted."

Kaseya said Friday evening that it had limited the attack to a "very small percentage of our customers" who use its software, "currently estimated at fewer than 40 worldwide."

Ransomware attacks typically involve locking data in systems using encryption and making companies pay to regain access. Such attacks infiltrate widely used software and spread malware as it updates automatically.

Unclear how many customers affected

"We are in the process of investigating the root cause of the incident with an abundance of caution but we recommend that you immediately shutdown your VSA server until you receive further notice from us," Kaseya said in a message shared in a Reddit forum. "It's critical that you do this immediately, because one of the first things the attacker does is shut off administrative access to the VSA."

It was not immediately clear how many Kaseya customers might be affected. A virtual systems administrator, or VSA, is the company's main offering, which allows companies to manage networks of computers and printers from a single point. The company's US headquarters are in Florida and its international headquarters are in Ireland.

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said that it was "taking action to understand and address the recent supply-chain ransomware attack" against Kaseya VSA and the service providers using the software.

The agency urged businesses to follow Kaseya's guidance and quickly shut down VSA servers to avoid having systems compromised. Active since April 2019, REvil provides ransomware-as-a-service, meaning it develops network-paralyzing software and leases it to affiliates who infect targets and earn most of the ransoms.

The group is among ransomware gangs that steal data from targets before activating the ransomware.

The UN Security Council this week held its first formal public meeting on cybersecurity, addressing the growing threat of hacks to countries' key infrastructure. Multiple US companies, including the computer group SolarWinds, the Colonial oil pipeline and meat producer JBS have recently been targeted by ransomware attacks. The FBI has blamed those attacks on hackers based in Russian territory.

lc/rc (AP, AFP)

Ransomware hits hundreds of US companies, security firm says

By FRANK BAJAK, ERIC TUCKER and MATT O'BRIEN

today


FILE - This Feb 23, 2019, file photo shows the inside of a computer in Jersey City, 

N.J. A ransomware attack paralyzed the networks of at least 200 U.S. companies 

on Friday, July 2, 2021, according to a cybersecurity researcher whose company

 was responding to the incident. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)


WASHINGTON (AP) — A ransomware attack paralyzed the networks of at least 200 U.S. companies on Friday, according to a cybersecurity researcher whose company was responding to the incident.

The REvil gang, a major Russian-speaking ransomware syndicate, appears to be behind the attack, said John Hammond of the security firm Huntress Labs. He said the criminals targeted a software supplier called Kaseya, using its network-management package as a conduit to spread the ransomware through cloud-service providers. Other researchers agreed with Hammond’s assessment.

“Kaseya handles large enterprise all the way to small businesses globally, so ultimately, (this) has the potential to spread to any size or scale business,” Hammond said in a direct message on Twitter. “This is a colossal and devastating supply chain attack.

Such cyberattacks typically infiltrate widely used software and spread malware as it updates automatically.

It was not immediately clear how many Kaseya customers might be affected or who they might be. Kaseya urged customers in a statement on its website to immediately shut down servers running the affected software. It said the attack was limited to a “small number” of its customers.

Brett Callow, a ransomware expert at the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, said he was unaware of any previous ransomware supply-chain attack on this scale. There have been others, but they were fairly minor, he said.

“This is SolarWinds with ransomware,” he said. He was referring to a Russian cyberespionage hacking campaign discovered in December that spread by infecting network management software to infiltrate U.S. federal agencies and scores of corporations.

Cybersecurity researcher Jake Williams, president of Rendition Infosec, said he was already working with six companies hit by the ransomware. It’s no accident that this happened before the Fourth of July weekend, when IT staffing is generally thin, he added.

“There’s zero doubt in my mind that the timing here was intentional,” he said.

Hammond of Huntress said he was aware of four managed-services providers — companies that host IT infrastructure for multiple customers — being hit by the ransomware, which encrypts networks until the victims pay off attackers. He said thousand of computers were hit.

“We currently have three Huntress partners who are impacted with roughly 200 businesses that have been encrypted,” Hammond said.

Hammond wrote on Twitter: “Based on everything we are seeing right now, we strongly believe this (is) REvil/Sodinikibi.” The FBI linked the same ransomware provider to a May attack on JBS SA, a major global meat processer.

The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a statement late Friday that it is closely monitoring the situation and working with the FBI to collect more information about its impact.

CISA urged anyone who might be affected to “follow Kaseya’s guidance to shut down VSA servers immediately.” Kaseya runs what’s called a virtual system administrator, or VSA, that’s used to remotely manage and monitor a customer’s network.

The privately held Kaseya says it is based in Dublin, Ireland, with a U.S. headquarters in Miami. The Miami Herald recently described it as “one of Miami’s oldest tech companies” in a report about its plans to hire as many as 500 workers by 2022 to staff a recently acquired cybersecurity platform.

Brian Honan, an Irish cybersecurity consultant, said by email Friday that “this is a classic supply chain attack where the criminals have compromised a trusted supplier of companies and have abused that trust to attack their customers.”

He said it can be difficult for smaller businesses to defend against this type of attack because they “rely on the security of their suppliers and the software those suppliers are using.”

The only good news, said Williams, of Rendition Infosec, is that “a lot of our customers don’t have Kaseya on every machine in their network,” making it harder for attackers to move across an organization’s computer systems.

That makes for an easier recovery, he said.

Active since April 2019, the group known as REvil provides ransomware-as-a-service, meaning it develops the network-paralyzing software and leases it to so-called affiliates who infect targets and earn the lion’s share of ransoms.

REvil is among ransomware gangs that steal data from targets before activating the ransomware, strengthening their extortion efforts. The average ransom payment to the group was about half a million dollars last year, said the Palo Alto Networks cybersecurity firm in a recent report.

Some cybersecurity experts predicted that it might be hard for the gang to handle the ransom negotiations, given the large number of victims — though the long U.S. holiday weekend might give it more time to start working through the list.

___

Bajak reported from Boston; O’Brien contributed from Providence, Rhode Island.

5 things to know about the EU single-use plastics ban

The plastic food containers, coffee cups and cutlery that came with all that take-away during lockdown are now off the table as the EU gives single-use plastics the bin.

The EU's plastics ban aims to banish toxic waste from its beaches — including this one near Odessa on the Black Sea


The great packaging purge has begun.

Ten single-use plastic (SUP) products that for years have blighted Europe's beaches will be largely banned from July 3 as the EU's Single-Use Plastics Directive of 2019 comes into force.

Plastic cotton bud sticks, cutlery, plates, straws, stirrers, balloon sticks and polystyrene drink and food vessels cannot be sold as of Saturday. Also getting binned are oxo-degradable plastic bags that are marketed as biodegradable but which, according to the EU, break down into microplastics that long remain in the environment.

These disposable plastics make up around 70% of marine litter in Europe. Cafes and restaurants will now be forced to stock cups and straws made of bamboo, cellulose or other biodegradable materials.

But not all has been outlawed as part of the plastics reforms.

SUP bags, bottles, beverage and food containers for immediate consumption, packets and wrappers, tobacco filters, sanitary items and wet wipes will still instead be restricted, while producers will have to pay for the clean-up and institute awareness campaigns about their environmental impact.

The end goal is an EU circular economy model via which any remaining disposable plastics will be reusable or recyclable by 2030.

Here are five things to know about the EU's plans for a plastic-free future.
1. How the new plastic regime will be implemented

EU Member States have drawn up their own laws to implement the Single Use Plastics Directive. Some have even decided to add to the list of banned SUPs.

As part of France's 'law on the circular economy and the fight against waste' adopted in February 2020, most fruit and vegetable packaging will also be banned, as will plastic tea bags, confetti and plastic toys offered as part of kids menus.

Europe's battle with marine plastic pollution: Some of the 22 kilograms (48.5 pounds) of plastic found in its belly of a sperm whale found dead off Sardinia in 2019

In Germany, measures approved in Novemberadded EPS polystyrene food containers to the SUPs included in the directive.

In Luxembourg, SUPs have been banned from being sold at festivals from July 3. In Greece, meanwhile, they've been outlawed from use in government agencies since February, the first ban of its kind.

Other countries like Italy and Belgium are also introducing a plastics tax or levy to disincentivize the use of plastics.

It might all appear haphazard, but in line with the European Green Deal, all EU member states must ultimately fall in line with a waste and pollution-free circular economy model in which any SUPs are sustainably re-used and recycled by the end of the decade.
2. Plastic drink bottles still allowed

While the plastics directive deals with a lot of throwaway plastic items that end up on Europe's coasts, it does not ban some of the 1.3 billion plastic drink bottles that are sold daily around the world.

Made of PET, these fossil-based plastic containers are, however, one of the few that can be recycled and used to make new bottles, packaging or fibers. The problem remains that only 65% of PET bottles in Europe are collected for recycling, and the rest will take hundreds of years to decompose.

The SUP directive sets a collection target of 90% recycling for PET bottles by 2029 (with an interim target of 77% by 2025). These bottles should also contain at least 25% recycled, as opposed to virgin, plastic by 2025

And manufacturers who sell PET bottles now also have more stringent accountability as part of the "extended producer responsibility" mandate included in the directive. Based on the "polluter pays" principle, producers will have to cover the cost of waste management clean-up as well as raising awareness about the environment impact of the product and the most sustainable disposal methods.

Watch video 09:02 Solving our plastic bottle problem

3. Some alternatives to plastic

Natural polymers that have not been chemically modified are exempt from the directive. Any plastics created from modified natural polymers, or fossil or synthetic feedstocks, are effectively banned.

The winners here will be a range of new sustainable materials that are not considered chemically modified. These include regenerated cellulose, which is used to create viscose, lyocell and cellulosic films.

The most abundant biopolymer on our planet, regenerated cellulose is used to create a strong, transparent and completely biodegradable film or sheet that is largely impermeable to oils and greases. A long-used food packaging material before the introduction of oil-based plastics, cellulose is back.

Meanwhile, biodegradable cotton bud sticks will typically be made from compostable bamboo, meaning they can be disposed of in the normal organic waste. All that SUP cutlery is also likely to be replaced by completely compostable, 100% biodegradable bamboo that is cheap and fast to grow.

That said, when implementing the SUP directive, countries like France and Belgiun have banned the labeling of products as "biodegradable" because it can be a form of greenwashing that encourages packaging consumption.

Watch video 04:02 Biomaterials: nature's plastic substitutes

4. Cigarette butts also on the list

Article 8 of the EU Single Use Plastics Directive specifies that tobacco producers have to foot the bill for the clean-up of cigarette butts containing plastic filters.

Made with cellulose acetate, a polymer that breaks down in the environment very slowly, some 4.5 trillion butts are discarded annually, making it the most littered item on the planet.

But the EU's SUP directive is forcing producers to label the butts and packets to create awareness as opposed to an outright ban.

Activists want plastic butts to simply be outlawed — which won't happen until 2027 when the list of banned SUPs will be updated.

In September 2020, anti-plastic campaigners collected 142,000 cigarette butts from streets across the Netherlands.

"Communication campaigns do not solve the issue," said Karl Beerenfenger from By the Ocean we Unite, which co-organized the clean-up. "We must change the product itself. Cigarette filters only serve as a marketing tool to sell more cigarettes. We want to get rid of the plastic cigarette filter altogether."

But so far there are no plans to ban butts.

Sustainable filters could be an interim solution, with the company Green Butts pitching its water dispersable filter to the EU Commission on social media, claiming its product biodegrades in days and is produced with sustainable natural fibers.



5. 'Pandemic plastics' yet to be included

The SUPs ban exempts medical-related plastics, including the masks and gloves that have become so widespread during the pandemic. In addition to the many types of packaging made from long-lasting SUPs for these pandemic response products, these materials have ended up as waste on both land and in marine environments, with potentially harmful impacts on ecosystems, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA).

"Imports of face masks into the EU more than doubled compared with business as usual before the pandemic," said the EEA. The increase happened while EU production was also increasing.

With around 170,000 additional tons of these plastic-based face masks introduced into the EU during the first six months of the pandemic, calls are growing to find alternatives.

But so far, pandemic plastics are not addressed by the new SUP rules: "Notably, the directive on single-use plastics does not even apply to single-use plastic products used in the health sectors, such as single-use gloves, gowns and masks," said Justine Maillot from Zero Waste Europe in a statement.



ECO DRINKING STRAWS: GRASS IS GREENER
Natural innovation
Vietnamese entrepreneur Tran Minh Tien has tapped into the natural resources in his local area in a bid to do his bit to tackle plastic waste. His company 3T produces drinking straws from hollow grass which grows wild in the Mekong river delta, west of Vietnam's capital, Ho Chi Minh City. 1234567

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Keywords single-use plastics, single-use plastics ban, plastics, marine pollution, cigarette butts, circular economy, circular econonomy, EU, recycling
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COVID outbreak at China's Yantian port threatens global trade

A recent coronavirus outbreak at the Chinese port of Yantian is set to cause a bigger disruption than the Suez Canal blockage in March. The subsequent shortages could spike already rising inflation.


Containers carrying Chinese exports to Europe and the USA have been held up by a COVID outbreak at the port of Yantian


Up to 5% of global freight capacity is being held up in China following a recent COVID-19 outbreak at the country's largest container terminal, a German think tank warned this week.

The bottleneck comes as the global economy is already smarting from major delays to shipping caused by coronavirus lockdowns around the world.

Yantian port, in China's southern trade hub Shenzhen, stopped accepting export containers last month after a local COVID infection cluster involving port workers.

New data from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) published Tuesday showed the strain the new backlog could have on the global economy.

It comes at a time of shortages of key commodities and surging demand which have sent inflation racing higher.

Watch video01:28 China posts stunning Q1 export growth

Second wave of COVID delays

IfW researchers found that current shipping delays around China's Pearl River Delta region have reached a similar level to August 2020 when the Asian powerhouse had only just restarted its economy after a strict lockdown.

They warned that the effects of the delays can already be witnessed near the Suez Canal — the critical chokepoint for world trade — where 10% fewer container ships are operating than expected.

Suez Canal is a 120-mile-long (193-kilometer-long) manmade passage through Egypt that connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean and is the shortest maritime route from Europe to Asia.

The Kiel institute's team warned the latest delays could have a huge impact on trade between Asia and Europe over the summer.

Although operations have now resumed at Yantian, Maersk, the world's biggest shipping company, last week warned that it would take several weeks to clear the backlog.

"It was already hard to find containers before, and the situation is even scarier now," Alfred Wong, CEO of D&S Products Manufactory, which produces goods in Shenzhen, told AFP news agency.

Congestion at the port of Yantian is expected to take several weeks to clear

Bigger than Suez

Patrik Berglund, Chief Executive of Xeneta, an ocean freight rate benchmarking firm headquartered in Oslo, said the impact of the Yantian bottleneck will likely be bigger than the Suez blockage.

In March, a huge container ship got stranded in the Egyptian waterway, leaving nearly 600 other ships stranded for 6 days at an estimated cost of $9.6 billion (€8.1 billion) to the global economy.

Berglund added that some exporters are now "turning to trucks to send their cargo from China to Europe."

Even as congestion at Yantian begins to ease, traffic at the Shenzhen port of Shekou and the main Guangzhou port of Nansha remains high, shipping experts say.

Meanwhile, charter rates for container ships around the world remain at record levels.

Many vessels and containers have been stranded in the wrong locations following earlier COVID-related disruption, leading to shortages where containers are most needed.

Delta variant hits China

China's export woes are being further exacerbated by other COVID outbreaks, like in the major manufacturing hub of Dongguan, which this week forced entire communities to quarantine.

Although factories in Dongguan are still running, concerns are rising about the arrival of the Delta variant of COVID-19 into China. The high transmissible variant, first identified in India, has dominated infections in the latest upsurge in the country's most populous Guangdong province.

German economy takes a hit

That's led Germany's industrial sector to complain about a shortage of raw materials and intermediate products needed to fuel the country's economic rebound. The competition with China and the United States for key commodities has already contributed to a spike in inflation.

German companies say although they are sitting on bulging order books, they are unable to fulfill them.

The IfW researchers have estimated that shipping bottlenecks have already cost the German economy €25 billion ($29.7 billion) in 2021, adding that they expected German economic output to be "lower by about 1% in the second quarter."

The report forecast that German industrial production will grow as high as 10% as soon as the delays are resolved, due to strong demand and the existing backlog of orders.

mm/uhe (AFP, Reuters)

 

Coronavirus digest: India's Covaxin 'effective against all variants'

India's Bharat Biotech says late-stage trials showed Covaxin was 93.4% effective against severe symptomatic COVID. Meanwhile, Australia's New South Wales state reported its biggest daily rise in infections this year.

    

In a stage three trial, Covaxin showed effectiveness against both the Delta variant and in severe 

symptomatic cases of COVID.

Bharat Biotech, the manufacturer of India's indigenous vaccine, Covaxin, said on Saturday that its vaccine showed 93.4% effectiveness against severe symptomatic COVID-19.

The company said that Phase III trials of the vaccine also showed 65.2% effectiveness against the Delta variant of the COVID virus, that severely-affected India in March, April and May. Bharat Biotech said that Covaxin also showed 77.8% effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19.

Covaxin's success against the Delta variant follows similar results from AstraZeneca, whose vaccine has shown over 90% protection against hospitalization from the Delta variant. Meanwhile, the vaccine manufactured by Johnson & Johnson is also believed to be effective against the Delta variant.

Bharat Biotech said that it now estimates to step up production to 23 million doses a month. The company, which is manufacturing Covaxin with Ocugen Inc, is planning to file a request for approval for its vaccine in the US.

READ ON  https://p.dw.com/p/3vyGB

 THE EARTH WILL SHAKE

At least 19 people missing in Japan after landslides

Rescue workers in the Shizuoka prefecture are still searching after homes were swept away. Some people in the area are believed to have been evacuated.

    

Rescue workers are still searching for the missing people in the prefecture.

Japanese authorities said on Saturday that at least 20 people were missing after rows of houses were swept away by mudslides in Atami, west of Tokyo, according to NHK, Japan's public broadcaster. The country's military sent emergency rescuers to Atami in the Shizuoko prefecture following the incident.

Officials in the Shizuoka prefecture said that the mudslide happened on Saturday morning. Rescue workers are still searching for the missing people.

Takamichi Sugiyama, a prefectural disaster management official, said that some officials in the area were believed to have been evacuated, but more details were unavailable. Television footage, along with videos on social media showed a black mudslide from the mountains crushing houses on the way.

WATCH THIS PHENOMENAL VIDEO

Yoshihide Suga, Japan's prime minister, has called an emergency task force to respond to the crisis, according to the NHK.

The mudslide comes at a time when heavy rain has been hitting several parts of Japan. NHK said that rains lashing the Shizuoka and Kanagawa prefecture has already exceeded the level of rain usually expected in July. Experts cite climate change for the increased rainfall levels in Japan.

Officials in the Kanagawa, Shizuoka and Chiba prefectures have issued landslide and flood warnings. 

am/rc (AP, Reuters, dpa)

Hebrews 12:27
And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

Isaiah 2:19
And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

Exodus 19:18
Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended on it in fire. And the smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.

Mexico: Marijuana legalization on the horizon?

Political power struggles have so far prevented the legalization of marijuana in Mexico. But a Supreme Court ruling could provide fresh momentum.



An activist smokes marijuana outside the national Senate in Mexico City


Progressives and conservatives are waging a protracted battle over whether or not to legalize marijuana in Mexico. On Monday, Mexico's Supreme Court ruled eight to three that a ban on recreational marijuana use is unconstitutional. It has called on Congress to translate the ruling into law.
Legal gray zone

Liza Sanchez, who heads the Mexico United Against Crime (MUCD) group, welcomed the court's decision. "Not even in Germany or Britain do supreme courts make it so clear that the consumption of marijuana is a matter of personal choice," she told DW.

But she also expressed frustration over Mexican lawmakers, accusing them of "incompetence." She told DW that "politicians have not understood the issue at hand, and do not want to understand it, and many taboos still exist."

In spring, business and military lobbyists succeeded in blocking Congress from adopting a bill to legalize marijuana. Mexico's government, meanwhile, has lacked a clear position on the matter. Following Monday's court ruling, individuals may now apply for a marijuana permit from the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (Cofepris) — something that was not necessarily possible previously. Even so, Mexican law still prohibits growing, trading and owning more than five grams of marijuana. The drug, therefore, remains in a legal gray zone

]

Protesting for marijuana legalization on Mexican public transport

A nation divided

"Parts of the political elite, including the president, are conservative," Zara Snapp of the Drug Policy and Peace Research Institute (RIA) told DW. "They are concerned about legalizing [marijuana], and they do not believe in its benefits," the RIA co-founder said. "All of us who voted for [Mexico's left-wing] Morena [party] were hoping for a more progressive agenda and are a bit disappointed." The governing Morena party, after all, has commanded a clear parliamentary majority for the past three years.

Mexican public opinion, too, is divided over legalization. A poll by Mexico's El Financiero newspaper, published in April, found that a slim majority of Mexicans support the step. The annual survey has, however, shown Mexicans to be rather fickle on the issue.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has not taken a clear position on marijuana legalization

Activists calling for decriminalization of the drug have taken legal action to further their cause. Since 2015, several court rulings in their favor have forced lawmakers to act. According to court orders, a legalization bill should have been ready by April. Due to high-stakes Mexican regional and parliamentary election in June, however, parties postponed dealing with the issue. "President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador publicly admitted that his cabinet is divided over the issue and has therefore put the bill on hold," Liza Sanchez told DW.
Concerns remain

"The Senate draft was strongly reworded in the lower chamber after several ministries intervened," Zara Snapp said. Adding that the original draft displayed a far stronger social focus in that it envisioned issuing licenses to indigenous and rural communities, and for personal consumption. Changes by the lower house, she said, made the bill much more business-friendly.

Mexico's security forces, who have gained political influence under Lopez Obrador, are keen to block legalization. "They instrumentalize the punishable offence of drug possession to conduct preventive crime checks," Sanchez told DW. Police officers plant the substance on suspected criminals, or individuals believed to be planning a criminal act, to lock them up, Sanchez said. That would no longer be possible if marijuana were made legal.

Paradigm shift possible?

After the supreme court ruling, the burden is on Congress to act once more. This is "a major chance" for Mexico to finally push for a paradigm shift in its drug policy, Snapp said. The Mexican state could, she said, bring to an end the bloodshed [connected to the drug war]. In 2006, Mexico launched its war on drugs. Since then, over 275,000 Mexicans have died a violent death.

Mexican security forces watch as 134 tons of marijuana go up in flames

The US government should play a bigger role in pushing for legalization in Mexico, Snapp said. While 19 US states have legalized the drug, no action has been taken to support decriminalization across the border, not even under US President Biden, she added.

Watch video02:30
"Legalizing cannabis is no magic wand" to solve all problems, the expert admitted. But, she said, it could make the lives of poor people who are being criminalized for cultivating and possessing the drug. This could reduce social tensions in Mexico.

Mexico: Top court strikes down ban on recreational marijuana use

Mexicans will soon be able to apply for permits to use marijuana recreationally. The move could help create one of the largest legal markets for cannabis



Mexicans have frequently demonstrated to demand the legalization of marijuana

Mexico's Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a ban on recreational marijuana use is unconstitutional, nullifying parts of the country's general health law.

The decision was approved by eight of the court's 11 judges. Court president Arturo Zaldivar said it "is a historic day for liberties."
What does the ruling mean?

Mexicans who want to smoke marijuana recreationally or grow a number of pot plants for private use will now be able to apply for a permit from the government.

Marijuana users must be adults and are not allowed to undertake any risky activities, such as driving, while under the influence. Marijuana use in front of children is also prohibited.

Watch video 04:36 The race to legalize marijuana

The sale of marijuana will continue to be illegal. Possession of more than 5 grams of marijuana (about 3/16 of an ounce) is also still punishable by law.

Medical marijuana has been legal in Mexico since 2017. Marijuana permits have been granted for Mexicans who file court injunctions since 2015, but now they will be available for the general public.
Cannabis legalization bill stalled in parliament

The decision comes as a wide-ranging bill to legalize marijuana remains stalled in Mexico's bicameral Parliament. The Supreme Court previously gave the Congress of the Union until April 30 of this year to pass the bill.

The legislation was passed by Mexico's lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, in March. Yet the Senate has not passed the legislation, and it may push back its final decision on the law to September.

Watch video 01:46 Mexico moves closer to legalizing recreational marijuana

The court called on the Congress to move forward with the legislation in Monday's ruling.

The legislation would create a system of permits not only for buying and selling marijuana, but also for the cultivation, transportation and export of the drug.

Supporters believe the law would reduce drug-related violence. Opponents believe it would mostly benefit large multinational corporations.

Some Mexicans are also against legalization for religious reasons, as Mexico's Catholic Church is opposed to the idea.

If Mexico were to pass the bill, the country would become the third-largest nationwide marijuana market in the world, behind Uruguay and Canada.

wd/rt (AP, AFP, dpa)

NGO accuses Libyan coast guard of shooting at migrant boat

A German NGO has said it has footage of a Libyan coast guard vessel firing at a migrant boat trying to cross to Europe. More than 800 people have died this year making the dangerous Mediterranean Sea crossing.



An overcrowded migrant boat tries to escape the Libyan coast guard, according to footage released by the German NGO Sea-Watch


A non-profit sea rescue group on Thursday hit out at Libya's coast guard after it released footage that it said showed authorities shooting at a migrant boat crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.

German charity Sea-Watch said the video, filmed on Wednesday using a plane, also showed the Libyan coastguard trying to ram the migrants' vessel.

During the chase, which occurred in international waters under Malta's search and rescue responsibility, men in uniform on the Libyan vessel can be seen firing twice towards the boat.

The migrants eventually made it safely to the Italian island of Lampedusa.
Sea-Watch slams Libyan authorities

"Those who shoot at refugees and try to capsize their boats are not there to save them. The EU must immediately end cooperation with the so-called Libyan Coast Guard," Felix Weiss was quoted in a statement from the group released with the video.

Sea-Watch said it told the Libyan authorities via radio that the lives of the migrants were in danger.

The NGO said the Libyan coast guard replied that they were trying to save them.

Libyan authorities have not commented on the charity's claims.

More than 800 people have died in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe this year, according to UN figures.

As many as 20,000 have perished making that crossing since 2014.

EU trains Libyan coast guard

The Libyan coast guard is trained, equipped and supported by the European Union as part of the bloc's strategy to stem the flow of migrants and refugees to Europe's shores.

Some 15,000 men, women and children have been picked up by Libya's coast guard and returned to the North African country from the start of the year up to June 26, a record number.

But critics have condemned their return to the war-torn country, where many are placed in detention centers where there have been multiple reports of abuse and torture.

A UN report in 2018 said migrants making the crossing faced "unspeakable horrors."

It published stories of migrants and refugees being treated as commodities and subjected to torture and gang rape.

The report was based on 1,300 first-hand eyewitness accounts.

jf/aw (AFP, AP)

AMLO NEOLIBERAL TYRANT

Groups condemn Mexican president for targeting press

In a weekly "Lie of the Week" segment, Mexican President Lopez Obrador selects unflattering news articles he thinks are unfair and decries them as "fake news." Various bodies have condemned his behavior.

Lopez Obrador's supporters have previously launched social media campaigns against the journalists he has criticized

The Inter American Press Association, a North America-based press advocacy group, along with the Inter American Human Rights Commission, said on Friday that they "rejected" a segment organized by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, aka AMLO, in his morning conference.

In the weekly segment, translated as "Lie of the Week," Lopez Obrador presents a few critical or unflattering news articles which he thinks are unfair and "fake news." In the segment, he also makes accusations against journalists, singling them out for their reporting.

The president's supporters have previously launched social-media campaigns against reporters criticized by the presidency.

President Lopez Obrador is seen as more resistent to criticism from the press as compared to his predecessors.

Jorge Canahuati, the president of the IAPA, said Lopez Obrador's campaign against the press was "nothing new."

"He reminds us of the dangerous campaigns by government officials who from the public forum discredit, and censor the independent press," said Canahuati.

The IAPA further said that in a country like Mexico, where exercising journalism poses the "highest risk," directly 

insulting journalists and the media is a form of aggression that "usually ends up in acts of violence."

Lopez Obrador spokesperson Jesus Ramirez said the president's program "seeks to reduce the damage caused by disinformation and lies. It is not to discredit or journalists or news outlets, it only stigmatizes lies."

"This allows the public to form their own opinion about national problems, and strengthens democracy,'' added Ramirez

Watch video12:36 Mortal danger for Mexico's reporters

Resistance to criticism

The weekly segment targeting journalism follows a statement from Lopez Obrador earlier this week that he was resistant to criticism and refused to acknowledge errors. He had claimed to be a target of a smear campaign by "conservatives," who pay reporters or news outlets to target him.

Mexico is considered one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists. In 2020, the nation occupied the sixth spot on the Global Impunity Index of the Committee to Protect Journalists — just below war-ravaged countries like Syria.

Nine journalists were killed in Mexico in 2020, the highest of any country not at war, according to press associations. Two journalists have been killed in Mexico so far in 2021, and two other reporters have disappeared.

 POSTMODERN SLAVERY

Caregivers face difficult labor conditions in Germany

Switzerland and Austria have increased regulation of their national in-home nursing sectors. In Germany, however, caregivers are rarely afforded regular breaks and are often expected to work unpaid overtime.

    

With Germany's aging population, demand for in-home caregivers is high

"Polish nurses are desperate to leave Germany for Switzerland," the caregiver Izabela Marcinek told DW. She herself spent years working as a caregiver after arriving in Germany and has since found work in Switzerland. "The differences are immense," said Marcinek, who is 58, "especially when it comes to regulated working hours."

In the German domestic-nursing sector, she added, overextended caregivers are rarely afforded regular breaks, and are often expected to work unpaid overtime. Fortunately for her, Marcinek now tends to a 93-year-old Swiss woman, working the agreed 42 hours a week — no more, no less.

For the past 10 years, caregivers in Switzerland have fought hard for better working conditions. It has paid off. In 2015, Swiss-based Polish nurse Agata J. went to court over outstanding pay for overtime and on-call shifts. She won, with the court forcing her employer to pay her 13,000 Swiss francs (€11,900/$14,000). "It was a groundbreaking verdict," Elvira Wiegers, of the Swiss Union of Public Service Personnel (VPoD), told DW after assisting Agata J. in her court case.

A similarly groundbreaking court ruling was delivered on June 24, when Germany's Federal Labour Court ruled that caregivers — most of whom are female and hail from Central and Eastern Europe — must receive the minimum wage when on call. As most nurses are in-home caregivers, who are available around the clock, this could mean getting paid for up to 24 hours a day. Up to 300,000 German families who employ caregivers now face the prospect of significantly higher labor costs. Developments in Switzerland could shed some light on what employers in Germany might now expect, but German caregivers have a long way to go to secure the conditions their counterparts have in neighboring countries.

Polish caregiver Agata J. took to court and won

Improving caregiver conditions

After the 2015 court ruling, Switzerland's government devised a standardized caregiver labor contract, which stipulates that nurses must work no more than 44 hours a week, are entitled to one and a half days off per week and should earn 25%-50% of their hourly wage when on nighttime stand-by — depending on how often they are summoned each night.

Switzerland's individual cantons are tasked with implementing labor standards. But not all are going along with the changes. "More progressive cantons have adopted the rules," Wiegers said. "Others have not." She added that further court cases have drawn greater public attention to the fraught situation. Nurses have also joined together to form alliances, she said. Even so, the problem of unpaid overtime persists. Gradually, however, there is a growing awareness that on-call services must be remunerated, she said.

The regulations mean that families who wish to hire caregivers need deep pockets. Recruitment agencies connecting nurses and Swiss families now charge 4,200-7,400 francs, depending on region and the nature of the care. Families can save such fees by hiring caregivers themselves. In Switzerland, nurses make 2,300-2,700 francs per month after tax, somewhat more than they would earn in Germany, where the cost of living is lower.

Izabela Marcinek is glad to be working in Switzerland

Marcinek was hired directly by her client's family. "The first two months, I snapped pictures of my timesheets, sending them to authorities for monitoring purposes," she said. If her client is in need, she will tend to her. If the unexpected visits become a regular occurrence, Marcinek has the recourse to ask her Swiss employers to adapt her contract accordingly.

'Off the books'

Most of Austria's 60,000 caregivers are self-employed. Technically, they could push for better working conditions. But only "recruiting agencies can really leverage that kind of power," Csilla, from neighboring Slovakia, told DW. She asked not to use her surname. Csilla has worked in Austria for 20 years — initially, without a contract. She has been technically self-employed since Austria introduced a law to better regulate the in-home nursing sector in 2007. "Things are better now, though half of my hours remain off the books," she said.

Self-employed caregivers are now fully registered and entitled to insurance, yet can claim neither overtime nor on-call availability pay. Nursing jobs are allocated through special agencies, who decide how much caregivers are paid per day. Daily rates range from €50 to €80 before taxes. Low-income pensioners are entitled to state subsidies.

Germans are looking to Austria as an example of how to better regulate the nursing sector. "Traditional labor contracts do not do justice to in-home carework," Daniel Schlor, the chair of the VHBP, Germany's association for in-home care, told DW. "Our legal system does not currently capture live-in work models," said Schlor, who represents recruiting agencies. He said Germany needed rules similar to those in place in Austria.

But Wolfgang Mazal, a professor of labor and social law at Vienna University, told DW that Germany should not emulate Austria. In-home caregivers who are "bound by instructions" should be regarded as conventional employees, rather than self-employed agents, Mazal said. He cited a 2011 ruling by Austria's Supreme Court of Justice that had arrived at this very conclusion. "It is scandalous that such a verdict is being ignored," he said. Legal complaints by Austrian caregivers are not being taken seriously, he added.

Mazal cautions against bogus self-employment

Legal action has significantly improved conditions for Swiss caregivers. "When we learned about exploitative labor practices, we used to wait until a contract was up before going to court," Wiegers said. Now, labor activists are educating caregivers, informing them which rights they hold and how they can enforce them.

Alas, with a significant pay gap persisting across Europe, may employers will continue recruiting nurses from poorer countries — and asking them to tend to clients around the clock. Csilla said this was certainly the case in Austria. "First, agencies recruited women from the Czech Republic and Slovakia, then they recruited Romanians and Bulgarians, and now they are seeking women from Moldova and Ukraine," she said.

#NOTOKYOOLYMPICS
Olympics chiefs relax protest rules for Tokyo Games

The International Olympic Committee will allow athletes to make gestures of protest at the Tokyo Games. But they cannot target people, countries or organizations.



Tokyo Games are set to kick off in three weeks

Olympics chiefs on Friday eased some of its rules to allow athletes at the Tokyo Games to "express their views" both before and after events.

The decision came amid calls to relax rule 50.2 of the Olympic Charter, which states: "No kind of demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda is permitted in any Olympic sites, venues or other areas."

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had promised to review the rule after the Black Lives Matter movement gained global support.

The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee had already vowed not to sanction American athletes for "respectful" protests supporting racial and social justice at the Tokyo Games.

IOC said it consulted with some 3,500 athletes ahead of the Tokyo Games, which open in three weeks.

Watch video12:31Sports Life - The rocky road to the Tokyo Olympics - part 2

What are the new guidelines?

For the first time, athletes can express themselves before starting a competition or after, but not during a game. In that limited period, athletes can take a knee or raise a fist.

Political statements during events, victory ceremonies, and at the Olympic Village are still not allowed, the IOC said.

IOC also stressed that protests must not be "targeted, directly or indirectly, against people, countries, organizations and/or their dignity," and they cannot be "disruptive" to other competitors.

Athletes who violate the revised guidelines face sanctions, including disqualification and being stripped of medals.

WHEN SPORT AND POLITICS MEET

Mesut Özil offers support for Uighurs in China

Arsenal's German World Cup winner Mesut Özil has become an increasingly political figure in recent years. After a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan eventually led to the end of his national team career, the midfielder has now drawn criticism in China for a social media post speaking out against what he sees as the persecution of the Uighur population in China. PHOTOS 1234567891011

Do the new rules apply to other Olympic events?

The IOC's Friday decision is limited to the Tokyo Olympics and does not refer to the controversial 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in February.

China has come under scrutiny and boycott calls over the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang and the clampdown on freedoms in Hong Kong.

UNFORGETTABLE HIGHLIGHTS FROM OLYMPIC OPENING CEREMONIES

1896: The first modern Olympic Games

The Olympic Games were held in Ancient Greece from c. 776 BC-393 AD, until they were banned by Emperor Theodosius as a "pagan cult." French academic Pierre de Coubertin initiated their revival in Athens from April 6-15, 1896. Those Games were opened by Greece's King George. The Olympic Hymn, composed by Spyridon Samaras with lyrics by Greek poet Kostis Palamas, was performed for the first time. PHOTOS 123456789101112