Germany fears a wave of insolvencies

Prices for gas and electricity are exploding, driving companies into bankruptcy. As recession looms large, Economy Minister Robert Habeck has announced protection for German companies.

Germany may be heading into a recession

Bread, rolls, cakes, and cupcakes — that is what the Plaz bakery is famous for. Baker Tobias Plaz in Eutingen, a village near Stuttgart in southwestern Germany, says: "We are a classic artisan bakery where products straight out of the oven are sold fresh at the counter in the front of the shop."

The family business was founded in 1890, and Plaz is a fourth-generation master baker. Just last year, he completely remodeled his store; now, customers can see through a glass window into the bakery in the back and watch the production while they wait to be served at the counter.

Germany boasts 300 different types of bread

But right now, Tobias Plaz no longer knows whether he can stay in business. At the end of August, he received mail from his gas supplier. Instead of the previous €721 ($719) per month, he will now have to pay €2,588 for heating and hot water from October 1, 2022. That doesn't even include the costs for the baking oven. Plaz has a gas contract that secures delivery at the old price until the end of the year.

But if the gas prices continue to rise the baker may well be looking at an annual gas bill of €42,000 for the oven alone, up from currently €12,000.

The baker posted his gas supplier's letter on Facebook and Instagram with the comment: "We want to share this with you so that you understand why we have to adjust the prices for our baked goods."

The price of electricity and the cost of raw materials will also rise, he writes, adding, "Where will it end? Dear politicians in Stuttgart and Berlin, when will you finally wake up and come to your senses?"

One in three companies faces an existential threat

The baker's message seemed to go unheard. The relief package that the center-left federal government of Social Democrats (SPD), Greens, and the business-oriented Free Democrats (FDP) announced just last week, was aimed primarily at private households. Businesses feel left out in the cold, so many are lashing out at the government with scathing criticism. Siegfried Russwurm, President of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), spoke of "considerable shortcomings and loopholes in the relief package."

The BDI conducted a survey of industrial companies. It shows that 58% of the companies describe the exploding energy costs as "a big challenge," and 34% say this is threatening their very existence. According to the BDI, almost one in ten companies in Germany has already cut back or even suspended production.

Steel production requires so much energy, it is not viable anymore in Germany

Who is going to pay the high prices?

This also applies to the skilled trades. "Every day, we receive emergency calls from businesses that are on the verge of shutting down production — partly because these enormous energy price increases can no longer be compensated for by price increases for the customers," warns Hans Peter Wollseifer, president of the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts in an interview with several newspaper reporters. He warned that Germany may see more bankruptcies now than it did during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There are fresh examples every day: Toilet paper manufacturer Hakle has filed for insolvency, pointing to the increase in production costs, which could not be absorbed by retail prices. The steel company Arcelor Mittal has stopped two production plants in northern Germany and put its employees on furlough, so the state unemployment insurance will step in and pay their wages.

During the COVID pandemic, Germans were hoarding toilet paper. 

Now Hakle, a main manufacturer, has been forced into insolvency by rising gas prices

Germany faces recession

If a company ceases production, this usually has far-reaching consequences for other sectors of the economy. A case in point is that of Stickstoffwerke Piesteritz in Saxony-Anhalt, which can no longer afford to operate its ammonia plants and has therefore shut them down. This has led to a shortage in "AdBlue," the urea solution that purifies exhaust gases emitted by diesel vehicles. If a vehicle runs out of the fluid, its engine won't restart until the AdBlue tank is refilled — so transport of goods may also grind to a halt.

Economists reckon that Germany is heading for a recession — a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced, generally identified by a fall in GDP in two successive quarters — comparable to the economic collapse in the COVID pandemic. Business associations are unanimous in their demand that the German government should immediately initiate relief programs and find hardship solutions for the economy.

The German government is increasingly under pressure. Just how much became clear this week when the visibly exhausted Economy Minister appeared during a TV interview. On public broadcaster ZDF, Robert Habeck was asked whether he feared a wave of insolvencies. In an obvious attempt to make the situation seem less dramatic, he spoke incoherently, leaving his audience wondering whether the minister understood what insolvency entails.

Two days later, speaking in the federal parliament, the Bundestag, he promised more support for the business sector. "We will protect small- and medium-sized companies," he said, announcing aid payments for the fall and winter, comparable to the assistance provided during the coronavirus pandemic. From October, companies that are forced to cut back production to save gas will begin to see financial compensation, Habeck said.

The financial assistance is planned for a limited time period to tide companies over until European efforts to curb high electricity and gas prices take effect, Habeck announced.

But will that be enough? Steffen Müller, a professor at the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research in Halle (IWH), points out that rising energy prices, as well as skyrocketing interest rates on loans, are not a temporary phenomenon, but will remain in place for the medium and long term.

"In such a situation, short-term aid programs primarily postpone the problems for a few months — at the expense of the taxpayer," Müller wrote in response to a DW inquiry. "Measures that lower energy prices for a while are not sensible, as they take away incentives to save energy, and that's exactly what we can't afford."

It makes more sense, he believes, to provide low-interest loans specifically for the purpose of converting to energy-saving production processes.

"Energy prices will not fall back to the levels of recent years even after this winter. So we will see a "structural change toward a greener industry that is being accelerated by the crisis," noted Müller, pointing out that the state can help companies in this transition.

This article was originally written in German.

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• Date 08.09.2022

#KASHMIR IS #INDIA'S #GAZA

Domestic woes force Pakistan to put Kashmir on the back burner

For decades, Pakistan has been providing "diplomatic" help to separatists in India-administered Kashmir, but the support has waned considerably in the past few years due to rising economic and political turmoil at home.

Since 9/11, Islamabad has found it increasingly difficult to back Kashmiri 

separatists, say analysts

Pakistan has long supported Kashmiri separatists in their quest to gain "independence" from India. Islamabad says the help is only diplomatic and moral, but New Delhi claims that its neighboring Islamic country provides military and logistical backing to militants in the region.

India and Pakistan have been at loggerheads over the Himalayan region since they gained independence from British rule in 1947. Both South Asian countries rule parts of Kashmir but claim the region in its entirety. They have also fought several wars over the territory.

In 2019, New Delhi abrogated Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which had allowed the region limited autonomy. India claimed that Kashmir's semi-autonomy had been a "root cause" of anti-India militancy. It also said that its decision would improve the economic and social development of Kashmir, and embarked on a major political makeover of the Muslim-majority region.

Pakistan had a largely muted response to the Indian move. Experts said this could be a result of the political and economic turmoil the country has been grappling with for some years.

Pakistan's economic woes

On September 1, the first death anniversary of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, a pro-Pakistan separatist leader in India-administered Kashmir, passed quietly despite calls for regionwide strikes from separatist groups.

For many people, the relative silence on Geelani's death anniversary shows that Pakistan's influence in Kashmir is declining.

There is a perception among pro-Pakistan sections in the region that Islamabad is no longer in a position to help them. At the same time, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been able to assert his political power in India-administered Kashmir.

"There are indications that Pakistan has drifted away from Kashmir. Pakistan's anti-India Kashmir rhetoric is no longer so potent," Parvez Rather, a Srinagar resident, told DW.

While India is progressing economically, Pakistan's financial woes have aggravated in the past few years. Inflation data from July showed Pakistan's Consumer Price Index surged nearly 25% compared to last year, with people struggling to bear the soaring costs of basic essentials like food and energy.

The economic turmoil is putting heavy pressure on Pakistan's new government, which recently secured a bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stave off a disastrous default on foreign debt.

It is only natural that Islamabad can no longer afford to spend its energies on the Kashmir conflict.

Islamabad on a backfoot

Former Pakistani PM Imran Khan has been holding massive public rallies since his ouster from power in April. Khan accuses his country's powerful military generals of conspiring with the opposition parties to topple his government, a claim denied by the Pakistani Army. But due to Khan's rhetoric, many of his supporters have openly turned against the military.

"The political chaos is on the rise in Pakistan. This has disillusioned those Kashmiris who see Pakistan as a state that can help them," Ajai Sahni, a counterterrorism expert and executive director of the Institute for Conflict Management, New Delhi, told DW.

"There are still some Pakistan supporters in the region, but their enthusiasm has substantially gone down," he added.

But Pakistan's struggles with its involvement in the Kashmir conflict go back further. Since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the US, Islamabad has found it increasingly difficult to back Kashmiri separatists, said security analysts.

"After 9/11, Pakistan has been under pressure from the international community to fight terrorism, but that in turn has helped the Indian position," Sahni argued.

According to anthropologist Ather Zia, it does not mean that Indian repression and human rights abuses in Kashmir have declined.

"Indian policies have been emboldened by anti-Muslim geopolitics that show the Kashmiris' struggle in a poor light," Zia, a professor at the University of Northern Colorado Greeley, US, told DW.

 

KASHMIR: TOURISM REBOUND OFFERS HOPE TO BUSINESSES HIT HARD BY LOCKDOWNS
Heavy tourist influx in 2021
The heavy influx of tourists this year has given new cheer to the people of India-administered Kashmir. It is a dramatic change for the tourism industry in the disputed region, which faced the double whammy of the coronavirus pandemic and harsh curbs on civil rights New Delhi imposed in the region in August 2019. 1234567

A blessing in disguise?

Pakistan's backing for Kashmiri separatists has also proven to be a double-edged sword for the locals. Many experts in India and Pakistan are of the view that Islamabad hijacked the indigenous Kashmiri movement and infused militarism in it. Thus, a largely political movement has lost its credibility internationally.

On the international stage, New Delhi has used Pakistan's alleged military backing to discredit Kashmiris' political struggle, a human rights activist in Srinagar, who asked not to be named, told DW.

He lamented that the Kashmiri civil society never questioned Pakistan's role in the region.

Sahni believes that Kashmir needs a political solution now. "The security has improved in the region. Now it is time for a political resolution, but we don't see a willingness among the [PM Modi's] Bharatiya Janata Party's government to achieve it," he said.

Some locals are of the view that Pakistan's relative disassociation from the Kashmir conflict could be a blessing for the political movement there.

"Pakistan has exploited us for 30 years; suddenly it can't abandon us," a university student in Srinagar told DW on condition of anonymity. "They must tell us whether they want to help us or we should deal with New Delhi on our own," she added.

Analyst Ather Zia said that Pakistan and India should stop using Kashmiris as a "bargaining chip," adding that it is time that Kashmiris find their own solutions.

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru

The third anniversary of India-controlled Kashmir losing its autonomy 

Aug 5, 2022

 

How India reshaped Kashmir by revoking Article 370 | UNPACKED 

Aug 5, 2020

 

SEE LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for KASHMIR 

 Pakistan: Is international aid reaching flood victims?

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is likely to appeal for more international aid for Pakistan's flood victims when he arrives in the South Asian country on Friday. But is the aid reaching those who really need it?

Authorities say they are doing their best to help the flood victims

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been at the forefront of an international effort to help the flood victims in Pakistan.

Guterres has actively supported the $160 million (just under €160 million) UN "Flash Appeal" to fund Pakistan's Flood Response Plan. When he visits the South Asian country on Friday, he is likely to appeal for more aid.

"The secretary-general will travel to areas most impacted by the floods. He will interact with displaced families and first responders in the field, and oversee UN's humanitarian response work in support of the government's rescue and relief efforts for millions of affected people," Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It added that Guterres' visit "will contribute toward enhancing commensurate and coordinated international response to the humanitarian and other needs of the 33 million affected Pakistanis."

At least 1,300 people have been killed and millions displaced amid months of torrential rains in Pakistan. About one-third of the country has been flooded.

Although the UN and many foreign governments have pledged hundreds of millions in aid for Pakistan, Islamabad estimates it will cost at least $10 billion to rebuild everything that has been destroyed.

International aid pouring in

But the most pressing issue is to help people whose lives have been devastated by these floods.

The European Union has provided €350,000 in immediate assistance to people most affected by the climate catastrophe, especially in Jhal Magsi and Lasbella districts in the western Balochistan province.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has released $10 million from its emergency fund to support the Muslim-majority country. The World Bank announced $350 million, the World Food Program $110 million, Japan $7 million, the Asian Development Bank $20 million, the UK $46.6 million and the US $31.1 million.

Pakistani Prime minister Shehbaz Sharif last week tweeted that the first tranche of aid from the United Arab Emirates had already reached the country.

Other countries and international non-governmental organizations are also assisting Pakistan in these difficult times.

A source at the Ministry of Economic Affairs told DW on condition of anonymity that Pakistan has already received 40% of the UN "Flash Appeal" aid in the form of relief goods and assistance.

"The World Bank has repurposed some of its projects so that it could use them to support the ongoing relief efforts," he said.

People still waiting for aid

Although a substantial amount of aid has arrived in Pakistan, prominent social worker Faisal Edhi said that only 10% of the flood victims have received any assistance so far.

According to UNICEF, relief and rescue operations are still extremely difficult to carry out given the scale of destruction in many parts of the country.

Muhammad Nawaz Khoso, resident of the Nasirabad district in Balochistan, told DW that the government does not have the capacity to help them.

"My house in the village has been flooded for days now. Rising water levels forced me to leave the village with my family members," he said, adding that he and his family have been without any help for days.

Another flood victim from the southern Sindh province tells the same story. Saleem Magsi told DW that hundreds of people from different parts of the province have camped near the highway.

"Many remote areas in the province are still under water and authorities have not rescued the residents there. We have not received medicines, food and tents," he said.

Shazia Abid, a lawmaker from the Punjab province, says that women have been affected by floods more than others. "Many relief camps do not have toilet facilities, what to say about medicines, food and other facilities," she told DW, adding that thousands of people were camping on roads and had to walk three to four kilometers to safer areas.

Women have been severely affected by the floods, as toilets and other amenities are lacking

Government 'doing its best'

Rehmat Saleh, a former health minister in Balochistan province, who recently visited a number of floods affected areas, told DW that it is difficult to help flood victims without the help from nongovernmental organizations. "But the government has barred them from operating in the country on the pretext of security," he said.

Authorities say they are doing their best to help the flood victims. According to the federal government, it has introduced a scheme to deliver cash aid to families affected by floods.

Muhammad Younas, an official at the Provincial Disaster Management Authority, Balochistan, told DW that foreign aid was being distributed to people through the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

"The NDMA delivers aid to provincial disaster management authorities, who then pass it to the district management and other administrative units."

"International NGOs have their own local partners who they give their aid to. They have their own mechanism and ways of assessing the damages and victims' needs. They, however, must get permission from the government to work in a particular area," Younas added.

Difficult days ahead

Although water is receding in some areas, the ordeal of the flood victims is far from over. There are reports of disease outbreaks in many flood-affected areas, and a shortage of medical facilities.

Al Khidmat relief organization estimates that at least five million people are at risk of contracting various diseases.

UNICEF fears that over three million children could contract waterborne diseases in the coming days. According to the UN body, at least 18,000 schools have been damaged or destroyed by the floods.

Muhammad Jalal Uddin from the ruling coalition in Islamabad says that Pakistan is hoping to receive more aid from the international community.

Renowned economist Kaiser Bengali, however, believes it would not be easy for the Pakistani government to get a large amount of aid. "One, there is a donor fatigue. Two, Pakistan needs to slash non-development expenditure, including the non-combatant defense budget, ration petrol and ban non-essential imports to generate more money that will be required for flood rehabilitation," he said.

CATASTROPHIC FLOODING CONTINUES IN PAKISTAN
A country under water
Much of the country looks like this aerial shot of the northern Pakistani city of Charsadda. It’s "a climate dystopia on our doorstep," said Pakistan's Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman. According to the Statistical Meteorological Office, there has been twice as much rainfall across the country than usual at this time of year. In some areas, even four times as much.
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Edited by: Shamil Shams

UN chief in Pakistan to boost flood aid

A third of the country is under water — an area the size of the United Kingdom — following record rains brought by what Guterres has described as "a monsoon on steroids".

Aid sent by the Turkish government, as part of a commitment by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, include tents, medicines, food items and other essentials. (AA)

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has begun a two-day visit to flood-hit Pakistan that officials hope will boost global support for a humanitarian crisis affecting millions.

Pakistan officials say it will cost at least $10 billion to rebuild and repair damaged infrastructure, but the priority, for now, is food and shelter for millions made homeless.

"Everything is drowned, everything washed away," said Ayaz Ali, suffering from fever as he reluctantly took his place Thursday on a navy boat rescuing villagers from flooded rural communities in southern Sindh province.

In a tweet en route to Pakistan, Guterres said he wanted to "be with the people in their time of need, galvanise international support."

Pakistan receives heavy — often destructive — rains during its annual monsoon season, which are crucial for agriculture and water supplies.

But a downpour as intense as this year's not been seen for decades, and Pakistan officials blame climate crisis, which is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather around the world.

Pakistan is responsible for less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but is eighth on a list compiled by the NGO Germanwatch of countries deemed most vulnerable to extreme weather caused by climate change.

READ MORE: Türkiye sends two planes carrying aid for Pakistan flood victims

Tents and tarpaulins needed

A flood relief plan scaled by the Pakistan government and UN last month called for an immediate $160 million in international funding, and aid is already arriving.

On Thursday a US Air Force C-17 landed — the first American military plane in Pakistan for years — bringing desperately needed tents and tarpaulins for temporary shelter.

While Washington is a key supplier of military hardware to Islamabad, relations have been fractious as a result of conflicting interests in neighbouring Afghanistan — especially since the Taliban returned to power there in August last year.

READ MORE: PM Sharif likens Pakistan to a 'sea' as flood death toll mounts

The meteorological office says Pakistan received five times more rain than normal in 2022 — Padidan, a small town in Sindh, has been drenched by more than 1.8 metres (70 inches) since the monsoon began in June.

The effect of the heavy rains has been twofold — flash floods in rivers in the mountainous north that washed away roads, bridges and buildings in minutes, and a slow accumulation of water in the southern plains that has submerged hundreds of thousands of square kilometres (miles) of land.

In Jaffarabad district of Balochistan Thursday, villagers were fleeing their homes on makeshift rafts made from upturned wooden "charpoy" beds.

Thousands of temporary campsites have mushroomed on slivers of dry land in the south and west — often roads and railway tracks are the only high ground in a landscape of water.

With people and livestock cramped together, the camps are ripe for outbreaks of disease, with many cases of mosquito-borne dengue reported, as well as scabies.

The floods have killed nearly 1,400 people, according to the latest National Disaster Management Authority report.

Nearly 7,000 km of roads have been damaged, some 246 bridges washed away and more than 1.7 million homes and businesses destroyed.

Blaming melting glaciers for Pakistan floods is far-fetched: experts

SAAD HASAN

A factual diagnosis of the disaster is important in order to develop a concrete contingency plan.

In the past few days, the internet was rife with speculation that fast-melting glaciers have caused the recent deluge in Pakistan.

One-third of the South Asian country of more than 220 million people is under water as massive flooding submerged hundreds of villages and towns, displacing millions and killing more than 1,200 people.

Contrary to the theory of melting glaciers, the devastation has been brought by prolonged monsoon downpours, which occur annually in the subcontinent region that includes India, experts say.

However, the volume of rainfall this year was something people had not seen in a lifetime, raising concerns about the worsening impact of climate crisis.

“These floods were mostly the result of southbound rains,” says Dr Shafqat Munir, a research fellow at Islamabad-based think tank, Sustainable Development Policy Institute.

“To be very clear, the glaciers had nothing to do with the recent floods,” he tells TRT World.

Pinpointing the exact cause for the unprecedented floods is of utmost importance as Islamabad and the international community focus on preparing a contingency plan to battle such a natural disaster in the future.

Screaming headlines such as ‘Pakistan’s melting glaciers are erupting and worsening floods’ can undermine efforts and investments needed to battle the ravages of climate change.

Pakistan contributes less than 1 percent to global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, environment experts count it among the most vulnerable to the fallout of rising sea levels and rapidly shifting weather patterns.

  

Heavy Monsoon rains have flooded hundreds of villages in southern Sindh province. (AP)

Glacial lake threat still real

Much to the disbelief of residents in Swat and Gilgit-Baltistan, the tourist hotspots in Pakistan’s north, water tributaries overflowed, dragging human-sized boulders down the hills, washing away markets and homes.

“What happened in Swat and Gilgit was a cloudburst. If the floods were caused by melting glaciers then the downstream dams would have filled with water. That didn’t happen,” says Munir.

Mangla Dam built on the Jhelum River, which collects water from the melting snows of the Karakoram and Himalayan mountain ranges, still hasn’t been completely filled, he says.

But videos shared on social media in which bridges could be seen swept away by muddy deluges triggered a debate about thousands of glaciers in the country's mountainous north. The fear of more downstream towns and cities getting flooded by melting glaciers became palpable.

With more than 7,000 glaciers, Pakistan is known as the third pole – having the most number of moving snow mountains outside of the Antarctic and Arctic polar caps.

Rising temperatures cause glaciers to melt and the runoff creates glacial lakes that can burst anytime and cause flash floods in towns spread across foothills.

The phenomenon known as the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) hit the Hunza district in May this year when a heatwave swept across the country.

“Such flash floods unleash widespread destruction for communities in the downstream valleys,” says Dr Parvaiz Naim, an Islamabad-based ecologist.

“Nonetheless, such floods have so far been of local significance only because of the relatively small volumes of water (discharge),” he tells TRT World.

The May flash floods were the result of a breach at the Shisper glacial lake, which is less than half a square kilometer in size. It released probably around 50 million cubic meter of water.

But that was enough to wash away a major bridge on the Karakoram Highway, submerge a hydropower plant and destroy houses, says Naim.

Glaciers melt and move all the time, causing the lakes to form and, at occasions, burst violently. In Pakistan, the monitoring of the effects of climate change on glaciers is a relatively new phenomenon, says Naim.

Water authorities keep track of glacial melt using telemetric stations but that’s done to regulate the water flow of hydropower dams.

Yet the “available evidence suggests that the formation of glacial lakes has probably increased in recent years. This increases the flooding risk for downstream communities,” he says.

This year has been particularly testing for Pakistanis when it comes to dealing with weather changes. The ‘monster monsoon’ of July-August was followed by an intense heat wave in May.

In southern Sindh province, people are still stranded in villages and fields inundated by the floods. Rescue workers are struggling to reach them.

“The major concern is the timing of the annual summer glacial melt. If the glacial melt peak coincides with the monsoon rainfall peak, then we need much more than a few more boats!” says Naim.

Source: TRT World

Pakistan: Monsoon rains endanger UNESCO World Heritage Site Mohenjo Daro

In Pakistan, heavy monsoon rains are threatening the archeological ruins of a 4,500-year-old city. Parts of the ancient Mohenjo Daro site have reportedly already been damaged.

The ancient city Mohenjo Daro is on the UNESCO World Heritage List as

 the largest preserved Bronze Age city.

Parts of the ancient Mohenjo Daro ruin in Pakistan are already damaged, with heavy monsoon rains affecting the archeological ruins of the 4,500-year-old city, according to local reports.

The ruins of Mohenjo Daro are located in the southern province of Sindh on the right bank of the Indus River, about 510 kilometers (317 miles) northeast of Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, and 28 kilometers from Larkarna. The site is considered one of the best preserved urban centers in South Asia.

Repair work has begun in Mohenjo Daro

The Indus River floods did not directly hit Mohenjo Daro, Ahsan Abbasi, the site's curator, told The Associated Press news agency. Nonetheless, the unprecedented rainfall severely damaged the ruins of the ancient city, he said. Several big walls collapsed, he said, adding that extensive repair work has begun. However, the site's landmark Buddhist stupa (a structure resembling a burial mound, ed.) is intact, Abbasi said.

Mohenjo Daro was part of the Bronze Age Indus culture from 2,600 to 1,800 B.C., one of the three early advanced civilizations of humankind in the 3rd millennium B.C. Its disappearance coincided with that of Egypt and Mesopotamia. The settlement was abandoned, was forgotten and only rediscovered in 1922 by British-Indian archaeologists. The name Mohenjo Daro means "mound of the dead" in the Sindhi language.

Ahsan Abbasi says several big walls have collapsed as a result of the rains

The discovery of the site allowed accurate conclusions about the locals' customs, art, religion and administrative organization. Their well-planned city with its public baths, a college of priests, an elaborate sewage system with wells and cesspools and a large granary, was built largely of baked bricks. According to UNESCO, Mohenjo Daro was a "metropolis of great importance." It is on the UNESCO World Heritage List as the largest preserved Bronze Age city.

Severe monsoon rains

The ruins are visible from afar. At 15 meters, the citadel (a later addition) located west of the lower city is the highest structure. 4,500 years ago, the site must have been even more impressive — over time, the Indus River has raised the plain by more than seven meters.

Mohenjo Daro is listed as the largest preserved Bronze Age city

The rising waters of the Indus, one of the region's most important rivers, have wreaked havoc across large parts of Pakistan. More than 1,300 people have been killed and millions have lost their homes in the floods.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is scheduled to visit Pakistan on Sept. 9 to express solidarity with the people and ask for massive international support for the country. The floods are a result of climate change, which is "supercharging the destruction of our planet," he said.

"Today it is Pakistan. Tomorrow it can be anywhere else,'' he warned.

According to Pakistani officials, Guterres will travel to Sindh, but it was unclear whether he will visit the archaeological site.

sd/suc (ap/dpa/UNESCO)

This piece was originally written in German.

UN index shows living standards declining in 90% of countries

The UN's Human Development Index has declined globally for two years in a row for the first time in 32 years amid the combined effects of climate change, the coronavirus pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

Concurrent crises are putting pressure on the world's living standards

Living conditions in 90% of the world's countries deteriorated in 2021, according to the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

The UNDP's Human Development Index measures a country's health, education and standard of living.

'Uncertainty complex' from multiple crises

The index has declined globally for two years in a row since the first time it was calculated 32 years ago. The UNDP's report said that this erased "the gains of the past five years."

UNDP chief Achim Steiner said that even at the height of the last global recession which broke out in 2007, the index declined in only around one in ten countries.

The combined effects of climate change, the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic have created an "uncertainty complex" exerting downward pressure on global living standards, the report said.

"Navigating this new uncertainty complex is hampered by persistent deprivations and inequalities in human development," it added, referring to stark global disparities in living standards.

"We are living through very distressing times, whether it is a world underwater, a world with no water, a world on fire or a world in the midst of the pandemic," Steiner said.

UNDP chief Achim Steiner cited floods, droughts, wildfires and the COVID-19 pandemic as some of the humanitarian crises the world is facing

What does the data show?

According to the index, Switzerland is the most highly developed country in the world. Norway and Iceland come at a close second and third place.

Germany came in at ninth place, behind Sweden, Denmark and Ireland, but ahead of the Netherlands and Finland.

The United States took first place in 1990 when the index was first calculated, but has since slipped to 21st place.

The least developed country listed in the ranking is South Sudan, followed by Chad and Niger.

North Korea, Somalia, Nauru and Monaco were not listed on the index.

The 2021 index data counts Hong Kong, which came in at fourth place as the most highly developed territory in Asia, separately from mainland China, but not Taiwan or Macao.

The report pointed out that "not all indicators were available for all countries," and urged readers to use "caution" in drawing comparisons between countries.

sdi/wmr (dpa, AFP)

In Ghana, mobile apps help smallholder farmers get fairer prices

Newly-developed farming apps have brought relief to farmers in Ghana who struggle to access fair market prices. Developers hope the apps will soon also be used on a wider scale to tackle food insecurity on the continent.

Other African countries, including Ivory Coast, have also seen success with farming apps

Abel Agbango is a a vegetable farmer and has spent the past 12 years carefully cultivating his farmland in Ghana. 

The 38-year-old doesn't have any other profession: His vegetable farm is his only source of livelihood.

But Agbango isn't worried about that right now. His main concern is accessing the direct market in urban areas and getting a decent price for his produce — a problem for which he still hasn't found a solution after all these years.

"We often don't get to sell our produce at fair prices," Agbando told DW. "The intermediaries are mostly market women [who] don't give us fair prices."

Agbango says he's been at a loss to change his predicament for years.

Smallholder farmers in Ghana say prices for their produce are often unfairly 

set at urban markets

"There is nothing we can do about it because [the market women] have direct contact with consumers," he explained. "This is a major problem for us."

But a solution for farmers like Agbango could soon be in sight: Some young tech entrepreneurs in Ghana are turning their attention to Africa's agricultural sector. They believe they may hold the key to opening up more opportunities for farmers to get better value for their produce, while also tackling post-harvest losses and food insecurity.

Apps changing the game

Several software applications have already flooded Ghana's burgeoning tech space, with signs they are already proving a game-changer for many farmers.

Five years ago, the agro-tech firm AgroCenta launched an app which enables farmers to sell their produce to consumers directly. They can even upload pictures of their produce, so the consumer can see what they are buying.

The biggest challenge facing the app is the lack of internet service in remote areas. But the company says it has still reached at least 12,000 farmers.

AgroCenta's CEO and co-founder, Francis Obirikorang says his firm is now servicing four regions in Ghana.

"We are working with 12,000 small holder farmers," he told DW. "We make a monthly revenue of $50,000 (€50,000), connecting these 12,000 smallholder farmers to five major off-takers."

AgroCenta recently announced that it is looking to scale up its service across Ghana's borders into other parts of Africa. But they're already facing competition in Ghana.

Teaming up for a solution

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ghana's Institute for Scientific and Technological Information of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) assembled a group of software engineers to help create mobile and web applications that wouldn't just help farmers get a good price, but agro-input shops and marketers, too.

The result: Kuafo MarketPlace, an online platform developed through the Modernizing Agriculture in Ghana (MAG) program under the CSIR, which also helps prevent fraud and enables trackability.

To login to the platform, users must first become a member of a registered farmer-based organization (FBO) or be verified by the platform managers themselves.

The application also has a feature which lets prospective buyers directly contact the seller of any commodity before a transaction can be agreed upon.

Michael Wilson, who was part of the innovation team, told DW that one of the main goals of the project is to "make agri-farming lucrative, especially to the youth."

Beyond that, Wilson and the other developers also want "to solve some of the problems that are plaguing the world, including Ghana." 

"We realized that there is a post-harvest loss, and most of these post-harvest losses are attributed to the inability of produced food to reach markets or consumers," he explained. 

Farmers already feeling relief

Many farmers are already benefiting from the use of these apps: Their revenues are growing and they're less concerned about food insecurity.  Last year, Agbango also decided to switch to using apps to sell his vegetables.

Before, he used to sell less than $1000-worth of produce a quarter. Now, he's earning much more, telling DW that the "app is helping me a lot." 

"Before the produce is ready for harvest, we take pictures of them and place it on the app for consumers to see and order," he said.

"The app has really helped not only to get fair prices but reduce our post-harvest losses."

According to Ghana's Ministry of Food and Agriculture, post-harvest losses account for 30 to 40% of food wastage in Ghana.

With these kinds of results, the potential to boost Ghana's agricultural sector could become massive in the coming years, as these tech solutions only continue to expand and improve. 

Edited by: Ineke Mules

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