MDMA 'outperforms' expectations in trial as medicine for PTSD

BETTER LIVING THROUGH CHEMISTRY

Rob Waugh
·Contributor
Mon, 29 January 2024 

MDMA could soon be used as a medicine, researchers say (Getty)

MDMA is better known as the dancefloor hallucinogen Ecstasy, but it may have important uses as a medicine, a new study has shown.

The research found that - when paired with therapy - MDMA significantly outperformed therapy alone when it came to dealing with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

The difference was particularly stark when it came to people dealing with traumas from early childhood, which are especially hard to deal with through therapy.


The researchers said: "MDMA may be particularly effective for enhancing treatment efficacy by improving a range of problems with self-experience that are associated with treatment resistance."

In particular, the drug may be able to help patients who have been traumatised during childhood confront their issues and deal with problems such as alexithymia - an inability to recognise emotions.

The study found people who took MDMA responded better to therapy. (Getty)

The researchers added: "Even though the MDMA-assisted therapy experimental sessions often occurred in relative silence as participants focus largely on their inner experience, MDMA-assisted therapy was associated with a significant improvement in emotional self-awareness and loss of alexithymia.

"This suggests that MDMA-assisted therapy can facilitate accessing painful memories and experiences that under ordinary conditions are too overwhelming and terrifying to confront, even in the presence of trained therapists."
Recommended reading

Scientists may have found how LSD treats mental illness (Daily Beast)


LSD might be good for us (Esquire)


Here's what LSD does inside your brain (Yahoo News)

How did the study work?

Speaking to Vox, researcher Bessel Van derk Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score, Brain Mind and Body in the Healing of Trauma, said he was initially reluctant to include people with childhood trauma in the study.

In the end, the study, which aims to legitimise the use of MDMA-assisted therapy, included 84% people with early childhood trauma.

The subjects were split into two groups, one of which had therapy, and one which had 36 hours of MDMA-assisted therapy.

Van der Kolk said: "We had the best outcome data here with MDMA that I’ve ever seen for any study."
Can psychedelic drugs really treat illnesses?

Research has shown that certain psychedelic drugs such as psilocybin (the ingredient in magic mushrooms) and MDMA can have an impact on problems such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

On LSD, the picture is less clear.

A small trial in 2018, funded by the Beckley Foundation and led by the 'first lady of LSD', Amanda Feilding, the Countess of Wemyss and March, saw 20 volunteers take the drug and fill in psychological questionnaires.

Feilding said: "I took it in the 1960s when it was legal and it improved my wellbeing."

A systematic review of studies into LSD in Frontiers in Psychiatry in 2020 found that the drug was a "potential therapeutic agent", with the strongest evidence around using LSD to treat alcoholism.
Will MDMA really be legal a medicine?

In 2017, the US Food and Drug Administration awarded the drug 'breakthrough status', so it could be fast-tracked as a potential treatment.

MDMA is often illegally sold on the street. (Getty)

Studies have shown that patients with PTSD – where it's difficult to deal with painful memories – can overcome their traumas, long-term, with the aid of MDMA.

Several successful trials have shown the drug's potential with PTSD, and some believe approval could come this year.

Anglican leader calls UK Rwanda migrants plan 'damaging'

Peter HUTCHISON
Mon, 29 January 2024 

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said the government's Rwanda bill leads Britain down "a damaging path" (JUSTIN TALLIS)

The leader of the world's Anglicans on Monday warned that the UK government's plan to send migrants to Rwanda was leading the nation down a "damaging path", as he waded into the highly charged political issue.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said the controversial plan of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative government would "outsource our legal and moral responsibilities for refugees and asylum seekers".

He made the comments during a debate in parliament's unelected upper chamber the House of Lords, which is scrutinising the government's Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill.


"With this bill, the government is continuing to seek good objectives in the wrong way, leading the nation down a damaging path," said Welby, who is the highest-ranking cleric in the Church of England, the mother church of global Anglicanism.

The legislation aims to combat irregular immigration by deporting asylum seekers to the east African country.

Sunak has put the plan at the centre of his pledge to "stop the boats" of migrants crossing the Channel from northern France in flimsy and ill-suited vessels.

The bill is his answer to a UK Supreme Court ruling late last year that deporting asylum seekers to Kigali is illegal under international law.

If passed, the legislation would compel judges to treat Rwanda as a safe third country.

It would also give UK ministers powers to disregard sections of international and British human rights legislation.

Welby, one of 26 senior Church of England bishops and archbishops who sit as the Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords, said the bill was damaging for asylum seekers in need of protection and safe legal routes.

He added that it was also damaging for Britain's "reputation" in relation to international law.

"Worst of all, it is damaging for our nation's unity in a time when the greatest issues of war, peace, defence and security need us to be united," the archbishop said.

- Selective -

Welby said the legislation offers "only ad hoc one-off approaches" and that Britain "can as a nation do better than this bill".

He warned that Britain might face 10 times the number of migrants in the coming decades and called for a "wider strategy" for refugee policy, involving international co-operation.

"This bill continues, wherever it does it, to outsource our legal and moral responsibilities for refugees and asylum seekers, with other countries far poorer already supporting multitudes more than we are now and to cut back on our aid," Welby added.

Sunak, who faces a general election later this year that he is widely predicted to lose, has urged the House of Lords to pass the plan.

He claimed it was the "will of the people" after the legislation cleared the elected House of Commons earlier this month.

But peers, which include former senior judges, have expressed deep unease, particularly about the scheme's calls to ignore international human rights and refugee law.

Welby said that "pick-and-choose approach" to international law "undermines" the UK's standing in the world.

The legislation is expected to pass the second reading stage on Monday but peers may vote for amendments at the crucial third reading later.

Last week, the Lords voted to delay ratification of a related treaty with Rwanda.

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New anti-Ukraine disinfo campaign aims to bog down Western media


Théo MARIE-COURTOIS
Mon, 29 January 2024 

This online disinformation campaign blamed on Russia involves not just the spreading of anti-Ukrainian fake news but also challenges Western media outlets to verify it (SEBASTIEN BOZON)

A message on X asked a major French channel to verify what seemed to be a Deutsche Welle report about a Ukrainian artist who "sawed down the Eiffel Tower."

"I see these kind of stories every day. Official media don't talk about them, what should I believe?" "Kathe" asked BFMTV on December 4.

But this was no innocent question, this was part of an online disinformation campaign blamed on Russia that involves not just the spreading of anti-Ukrainian false news, but also challenges Western media outlets to verify it.


It first appeared in September, and is a "vast enterprise of diversion" targeting journalists, experts say.

It is seemingly part of Russia's war on Ukraine, almost two years on since Moscow launched an invasion that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

The "Antibot4Navalny" collective that tracks inauthentic Russian-language accounts on X, formerly Twitter, has christened this new disinformation campaign, operation "Matryoshka", after the Russian stacking dolls that are placed one inside another.

In the space of a few hours, "Kathe" had also contacted dozens of other major French media such as Paris Match, FranceInfo, Le Figaro and Le Parisien.

The X account then remained inactive for two weeks before publishing a picture of graffiti, purportedly from Los Angeles and depicting Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky as a homeless person begging.

Subsequently, another X user asked various media to verify it.

The "Antibot4Navalny" collective trackers provided information that allowed AFP to identify scores of accounts that were also asking media to verify false stories.

The accounts AFP identified mostly appeared to have been dormant and then pirated.

These accounts posted frequently, sometimes as often as once per minute, in a tell-tale sign of false behaviour.

AFP analysis found that accounts requesting media to verify false news subsequently re-published them soon afterwards.

- 'Diversion for fact-checkers' -

Posts that are part of this campaign always target Ukrainians and attempt to foster the idea that Europe and the United States are weary of Kyiv.

Examples include thefts from the Paris catacombs by a Ukrainian, military aid misappropriated by Ukraine, doctored or fake graffiti of Zelensky, false adverts on New York's Times Square.

Most of these images were first posted by Russian users, generally on the Telegram social media platform and news blogs, according to AFP research.

This campaign followed in the wake of another in recent months called "Doppelganger", which consisted of posting anti-Ukraine fake images that impersonated Western media.

French Intelligence services attributed that to Russia, experts told AFP.

David Chavalarias, director of the French scientific research centre CNRS, said this campaign is about "diversion for fact-checkers" in order to keep them "occupied on crude subjects (that are) difficult to verify".

This campaign can also give visibility to false information, said Chavalarias.

"The goal seems to be to capture the attention of fact-checkers in order to interfere with their work," said researcher Julien Nocetti, who specialises in cyber issues.

He added that the objective also seemed to be to generate more long-term effects on the narrative of the war by testing the ability of certain content to go viral.

The Russians are learning "and there is a type of agility in testing different methods," he added.

A French security source told AFP that Russia is "looking for visibility, they want us to talk about them, for better or for worse".

- 'Battle of narratives' -

The same bots that took part in the "Doppleganger" campaign also shared anti-Ukrainian posts as part of the "Matryoshka" operation.

A December 2023 report by Insikt Group, the threat research division of US cybersecurity company Recorded Future, indicated that the "Doppleganger" campaign was still highly active on social media, using at least 800 bots dedicated to promoting fake news impersonating Ukrainian media.

According to German press last week, Germany has uncovered a vast "pro-Russian disinformation campaign" using thousands of fake X accounts to publish anti-Ukraine content alongside the visuals of German media.

"Ukraine continues to be the country most often targeted by information manipulation -- not by accident," European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said last week during a press conference about disinformation and foreign interference.

"We are engaging on a 'battle of narratives'," he added. "Security is no longer just a matter of weaponry... It is a matter of information.:

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Spanish Catholics denounce ‘offensive’ Jesus poster

Our Foreign Staff
Mon, 29 January 2024 

The image was scorned on social media for being 'effeminate'

 - ALVARO LEFLET/AFP

A poster of Jesus to promote Easter week in Seville has drawn a backlash from Spanish ultra-conservatives, who denounced it as “effeminate” and “offensive” to Roman Catholics.

Designed by Seville artist Salustiano Garcia, the image shows Jesus after his resurrection, standing semi-naked in front of a blood-red background, with the lower part of his body covered by a white cloth.

It shows “the radiant side of Holy Week” in the “purest style of this prestigious painter”, said the Council of Brotherhoods and Guilds, which organises the main Easter week events in the Andalusian city.


In a social media backlash, however, many denounced the poster as “sexualised”.

“It’s absolutely shameful and an aberration,” wrote the ultra-conservative Catholic IPSE, which fosters “respect for Christian symbols” and is active in opposing abortion.
‘Not in the spirit of Holy Week’

The image portrayed Jesus as “effeminate” and “camp”, it said, demanding a public apology from the artist for a poster that was not in the spirit of Holy Week.

Javier Navarro of the far-Right Vox party, joined the chorus of disapproval, saying the poster “sought to provoke” and did not advance the aim of “encouraging the faithful to participate in Holy Week in Seville” in remarks on X, formerly Twitter.

Garcia told the Right-wing ABC newspaper that his portrayal of Jesus, which was based on an image of his son, was “gentle, elegant and beautiful” and created with “deep respect”.

Spanish artist Salustiano Garcia poses for a photograph next to his painting - CRISTINA QUICLER

“To see sexuality in my image of Christ, you must be mad,” he said, insisting there was “nothing” in his painting that “has not already been represented in artworks dating back hundreds of years”.

‘Homophobia and hatred’

Juan Espadas, leader of Spain’s ruling Socialist party in the Andalusia region, came to the defence of the artwork, denouncing the “expressions of homophobia and hatred” that it had caused, and saying it combined the region’s “tradition and modernity”.

Holy Week celebrations, which recall the death and resurrection of Christ, are important in Catholic Spain, notably in Seville, which is seen as the centre of such festivities.

Spain legalised homosexuality in 1976, three years after Franco’s dictatorship ended, and is one of the world’s most open countries with respect to LGBTQ rights, permitting same-sex marriage and allowing gay couples to adopt since 2005.

James Webb Space Telescope images show 19 nearby spiral galaxies in detail

Nina Massey, PA Science Correspondent
Mon, 29 January 2024

A treasure trove of images from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) showcases 19 spiral galaxies in never-before-seen detail.

The new set of pictures show stars, gas, and dust on the smallest scales observed.

Researchers are studying the images to uncover the origins and evolution of the intricate structures.

Following each of the galaxy’s clearly defined arms – which are brimming with stars – to their centres may reveal old star clusters and maybe even active supermassive black holes.

Webb’s image of NGC 1087(Nasa/Esa/CSA/STScI/J Lee [STScI]/T Williams[Oxford]/R Chandar [UToledo]/PHANGS Team/PA)


The newly released images are part of a large, long-standing project, the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) programme, which is supported by more than 150 astronomers worldwide.

Webb’s near-infrared camera (NirCam) captured millions of stars which sparkle in blue tones in the images.Some are spread throughout the spiral arms but others are clumped tightly together in star clusters.

The telescope’s mid-infrared instrument (Miri) data highlights glowing dust and also spotlights stars that have not yet fully formed; they are still encased in the gas and dust that feed their growth, like bright red seeds at the tips of dusty peaks.

Astronomers were amazed to discover the images also show large, spherical shells in the gas and dust which may have been created by exploded stars.

Webb is the largest, most powerful telescope launched into space and is an international partnership between Nasa, the European Space Agency (Esa) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

Murder, drugs, violent loyalty – inside Japan’s feared yakuza

Jake Kerridge
Mon, 29 January 2024 

Yakuza members show off their tattoos at a Shinto festival in Tokyo - Jiangang Wang

The American journalist Jake Adelstein has spent decades in Japan exposing the secrets of organised crime gangs. Anybody who has read his 2009 book Tokyo Vice, or seen the 2022 HBO television series based on it, won’t be surprised to know that there are people after his blood.

Prior to Tokyo Vice coming out, Adelstein thought it would be prudent to hire a bodyguard, and he asked Makoto Saigo, a retired yakuza – the term for a member of one of the crime syndicates that used to dominate Japan – to take on the job. Saigo agreed, on one condition: that Adelstein write his biography. “I want my [baby] son to know who I was and what I did [and] I don’t think I’ll live long enough to see him grow up.”

The Last Yakuza is the resulting book, although some of the biographical details have been merged with those of other yakuza to protect the identity of the man Adelstein calls “Saigo”. Only Adelstein knows how much of a composite Saigo is: he certainly emerges from these pages as a bizarre mixture of erratic, honourable, tough and hapless.


Born around 1960, Saigo was a large youth who “towered over his classmates like a bear among deer” at school. He “became a yakuza… because he didn’t like strait-laced Japanese society”. There was also the matter of his taste for upmarket sex-workers, which left him with debts of 60 million yen (then around $60,000) when he was barely out of his teens. Only joining the Inagawa-kai, the third-most powerful yakuza group in Japan, protected him from the loan-sharks.

Saigo’s career was chequered. A spell as a methamphetamine addict saw him convicted of possession in the early 1980s, and landed him in one of Japan’s hellish prisons. “You lost your human rights the second you walked in here” was the greeting he received from the guards. It also nearly saw him expelled from the Inagawa-kai; but he redeemed himself sufficiently after his release from prison to become leader of an Inagawa-kai subset of 150 men.

Jake Adelstein, author of The Last Yakuza

Saigo’s dodgy schemes could be ingenious. When he wanted to secure a loan without collateral, he ordered his men to turn up at a local bank, each bringing a cat: they proceeded to tease the cats, the noise driving all the customers away, until the manager agreed to Saigo’s demands. At heart, though, Saigo was a softie, and when the bank manager lost his job as a result, Saigo gave him five million yen. (He had also insisted that any yakuza who hurt one of the cats would be docked a day’s pay.)

In Saigo’s heyday, the yakuza saw themselves as part of the community: they demanded protection payments from local businesses, but as they were effective in seeing off petty criminals, they were thought to be worth the money. Different Yakuza gangs fought each other, but their code forbade them from harming ordinary people, and they didn’t indulge in the vulgar American gangster habit of carrying guns. Saigo was content, if he was attacked, to see off his enemies with whatever came to hand, such as (in one instance) a “For Sale” sign. Anti-yakuza laws were passed, but the police didn’t see much point in enforcing them.

Adelstein shows how much these gangs depended on rituals and hierarchies as much as any other sector of Japanese society. Once, Saigo was obliged to cut off his own little finger to satisfy a debt owed by one of his men: Adelstein makes this solemn deed into one of the book’s excellent comic set-pieces, as he describes Saigo hopelessly hacking at his pinkie, rejecting his wife’s offer of a sticking plaster with a cartoon frog on it, and then visiting the creditor and chucking the mangled lump of gristle into his coffee.

The Last Yakuza is set in the Japanese underworld - Greg Nicod

As well as telling Saigo’s story, Adelstein gives us a potted history of the yakuza, and how they survived by keeping politicians in their pockets. He’s unimpressed with the latter: “I’ve come to feel that the only difference between Japan’s [ruling] Liberal Democratic Party and the yakuza [is that] some of the yakuza have a code of ethics”. He’s a serial info-dumper: when Saigo gets a tattoo, Adelstein launches into half a dozen pages’ worth of the history of Japanese tattooing. But what he tells us is always interesting, whether or not it’s pertinent, and he always keeps the human story of Saigo’s triumphs and travails in focus, however large his canvas becomes. His deadpan prose proves well-suited not just to the story’s comic aspects, but also its pathos.

Even when Saigo was young, he already seemed old-fashioned in his devotion to the old yakuza codes – apart from the bit that forbade drug use. The generations that came after him, from the early 1990s on, were greedier, more reckless, more trigger-happy. The police began to enforce the laws that forbade people from paying the yakuza protection: unable to bring in funds, Saigo was expelled from the Inagawa-kai. Yet the yakuza habit proved more difficult to shake off than the drug addiction, and the end of the book finds Saigo, to Adelstein’s dismay, seeking a way to return to his old life.

Adelstein makes the appropriate tut-tutting noises when he writes about the harm that the yakuza have caused over the years, and insists that he doesn’t want to romanticise them. Even so, the main effect of The Last Yakuza is to make one nostalgic for a time when criminals had standards of decency. One comes away from it finding Saigo not just sympathetic, but even lovable.

The Last Yakuza is published by Corsair at £25. To order your copy for £19.99, call 0844 871 1514 or visit Telegraph Books

African wildlife charity with Prince Harry as board member investigating rape and torture claims against eco-guards

Sky News
Mon, 29 January 2024 


A wildlife charity which has Prince Harry as a board member is investigating allegations of human rights abuses by its guards in the Republic of the Congo.

African Parks said it was "encouraging anyone with knowledge" of any abuse to come forward and said the investigation was its "highest priority".

In addition to sitting on the board, the Duke of Sussex is also a former president of the non-profit organisation, which manages 22 national parks and protected areas across 12 countries.

Guards managed and paid by the charity had been engaged in the beating, rape and torture of indigenous people in the rainforests of the Republic of the Congo, according to a report in the Mail On Sunday.

The charity said it had been made aware of the allegations last year after a letter from Survival International - but added the human rights organisation had "chosen not to co-operate, despite repeated requests" for more details.

African Parks was founded in 2000 and aims to protect Africa's national parks and advance wildlife conservation around the world.

It manages more than 20 million hectares (49.4 million acres) of protected zones - or an area nearly as big as England, Scotland and Wales combined.

'A zero-tolerance policy'

A statement from the African Parks board and chief executive said: "African Parks has a zero-tolerance policy for any form of abuse and is committed to upholding the rights of local and indigenous people.

"We are aware of the serious allegations regarding human rights abuses by eco-guards against local people living adjacent to Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of Congo, which have recently received media attention.

"We became aware of these allegations last year via a board member who received a letter from Survival International.

"We immediately launched an investigation through an external law firm based on the information we had available, while also urging Survival International to provide any and all facts they had.

"It's unfortunate that they have chosen not to co-operate, despite repeated requests, and we continue to ask for their assistance.

"This is an active, ongoing investigation that is our highest priority as an organisation, and we encourage anyone with knowledge of any abuses to report them to us or to the Congolese law enforcement authorities which will assist with the investigation and ensure that the perpetrators of any abuses are brought to justice."

On claims Survival International has not been co-operating, the head of the organisation's conservation campaign, Fiore Longo, said: "It's not up to us to give them details.

"It's their responsibility when we raise a problem to go there and investigate."

Iranian, Canadians indicted in US in dissident murder plot

AFP
Mon, 29 January 2024 

An Iranian and two Canadians have been indicted for allegedly conspiring to assassinate Iranian dissidents on US soil (SCOTT OLSON)

An Iranian and two Canadians, including a member of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, have been indicted for allegedly conspiring to assassinate Iranian dissidents on US soil, officials said Monday.

Naji Sharifi Zindashti, 49, Damion Patrick John Ryan, 43, and Adam Richard Pearson, 29, plotted to murder two residents of the state of Maryland, Justice and Treasury department officials said.

Zindashti, who is based in Iran, is a narcotics trafficker who runs a network that has carried out numerous "assassinations and kidnappings across multiple jurisdictions in an attempt to silence the Iranian regime's perceived critics," the Treasury Department said in a statement.

Zindashti was indicted by a grand jury in Minnesota along with Ryan and Pearson for allegedly plotting the murder-for-hire of two unidentified individuals who had fled to the United States from Iran.

Ryan, identified in the indictment as a "full-patch member of the outlaw Hells Angels Motorcycle Club," and Pearson are currently incarcerated in Canada on unrelated charges, the Justice Department said.

According to the indictment, Zindashti recruited Ryan to carry out the murders, for which he was to be paid $350,000 with another $20,000 for expenses.

Ryan allegedly hired Pearson to put together a team to carry out the murders.

"Zindashti and his team of gunmen, including a Minnesota resident, used an encrypted messaging service to orchestrate an assassination plot against two individuals," said US Attorney Andrew Luger for the District of Minnesota.

"Thanks to the skilled work of federal prosecutors and law enforcement agents, this murder-for-hire conspiracy was disrupted and the defendants will face justice," Luger added.

Zindashti allegedly communicated with Ryan between December 2020 and March 2021 through the SkyECC encrypted messaging service, according to the indictment.

An unidentified co-conspirator allegedly sent Ryan information about the intended victims, including their photographs and a map with their address.

- 'Unacceptable threat' -

The same day, the United States and Britain announced sanctions against Zindashti's network, which they alleged is run "at the behest of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security."

"Zindashti's network has been linked to murders in several countries," including the United Arab Emirates, Canada and Turkey, the US Treasury Department said.

"The Iranian regime's continued efforts to target dissidents and activists demonstrate the regime's deep insecurity and attempt to expand Iran's domestic repression internationally," US Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism Brian Nelson said.

The United Kingdom said in a separate notice that it would "sanction seven individuals and one organization, including senior Iranian officials and members of organized criminal gangs who collaborate with the regime."

They include members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Unit 840, over reported "plots to assassinate two television presenters from news channel Iran International on UK soil," said the British announcement.

"The Iranian regime and the criminal gangs who operate on its behalf pose an unacceptable threat to the UK's security," British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a statement. "The UK and US have sent a clear message -– we will not tolerate this threat."

Barcelona runs out of water for swimming pools amid ‘worst drought ever’


James Badcock
Thu, 1 February 2024 


Reservoirs across southern Spain are at extremely low levels thanks to a continued spell of warm, dry weather - Jon Nazca/Reuters

Tourists face swimming pool closures in Barcelona in the coming weeks as Catalonia confronts its “worst drought ever”.

The region’s government has imposed emergency measures over the crisis, caused by a lack of rainfall, which outlaw the refilling of pools or topping them up unless recycled water is used.

“It’s the worst drought ever recorded,” said Pere Aragonès, Catalonia’s president, on Thursday.

The emergency measures, set to take effect from Friday, will impact six million people in Barcelona and hundreds of other coastal communities in Catalonia.

The first phase of restrictions includes a ban on washing cars and watering public gardens unless using water sourced from an approved recycling system.

Private pools at hotels and elsewhere cannot be emptied and refilled, and are only permitted to be topped up if facilities have water regeneration systems.

The only exceptions will be made for swimming pools used for therapeutic purposes in hospitals, nursing homes and facilities for the disabled.

Catalonia’s campsite association has said it is exploring ways to use seawater in pools because of the restrictions.

Outdoor pools used by swimming clubs will be able to dodge the restrictions but cannot use their showers. Showers on beaches used by bathers to wash away sand must remain closed.

The measures aim to lower the daily amount of water permitted for residential and municipal purposes from 210 to 200 litres (55 to 52 gallons) per person.

Most households in Barcelona already fall well below that limit. Hotels, however, register a much higher average consumption, with a 2016 survey showing that five-star establishments with Jacuzzis and multiple pools exceed 540 litres per guest per day.
Irrigation systems next in line

Measures will be ramped up in two more phases if winter and spring do not bring abundant rains, with limits lowered to 180 litres, and then 160 litres, if required.

Across the board, agricultural irrigation must be reduced by 80 per cent, water use in livestock farming by half, and in the industry and leisure sector by 25 per cent.

If triggered, a second phase of restrictions would see showers at gyms switched off.

Businesses in the sector have criticised that proposal and instead plan to introduce time-limited showers of just three minutes instead.

Tourism sector representatives are also in discussions with the regional government on how to reduce their water use without pulling the plug on attractions.

The measures come after several heatwaves were recorded in Spain and wider Europe last summer, lowering reservoir levels as water evaporation and consumption increased.


The Cuencas Internas water board, which supplies more than 90 per cent of Catalonia’s population with water, says the region has regularly received less than half of its anticipated rainfall since the autumn of 2020.

As a result, its reservoirs are currently at just 16 per cent of their capacity.

Teresa Ribera, Spain’s ecological transition minister, said “the government of Spain will not leave the Barcelona metropolitan area without support.”

Last summer’s unusually warm weather has continued into 2024, with the mercury rising to nearly 30C (86F) in some regions in January – temperatures usually seen in June.

The region of Andalusia, whose reservoirs are at just 22 per cent of capacity, is also expected to impose emergency measures. Juan Manuel Moreno, Andalusia’s president, has said that the region’s major cities and resorts should expect restrictions this spring and summer, adding that the region lost 2.1 per cent of GDP in 2023 because of the drought.

Experts say climate change driven by human activity is boosting the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, droughts and wildfires.

Ukrainian nuclear staff barred from Russia-held plant: IAEA


AFP
Thu, 1 February 2024 

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is under Russian control, has banned Ukrainian staff from entering, according to the IAEA (Anatolii Stepanov)

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Thursday that workers from Ukraine's atomic energy operator Energoatom have been barred from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was taken over by Russian forces in March 2022, one month after Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine, and its six reactors have been shut down.

As the plant is now manned by staff who have taken Russian nationality, it was not clear how many people are affected by the new order.


But fierce fighting in the area and power cuts have raised international concerns as the plant still needs electricity and water to cool its systems.

IAEA head Rafael Grossi is to visit the site next week after holding high-level talks on Tuesday in Kyiv, the agency said in a statement.

During his visit, Grossi will "raise the crucial issue of staffing" at the plant to seek "further information" on the latest announcement.

"It is of crucial importance that the plant has the qualified and skilled staff that it needs for nuclear safety and security," Grossi said in the statement.

"The number of staff has already been reduced significantly since the war began," he added.

A source in Energoatom told AFP that Russia had been "imposing" citizenship on the plant's employees and forcing them to sign contracts with Russian-installed operator Rosatom.

"The Russians have set several deadlines. If someone does not take a Russian passport and sign contracts, they will no longer come to work," the source said.

The latest deadline was 1 January 2024, it said.

Before the war, there were 11,500 staff at the plant. At present 4,500 people are employed by the Russian operator at the plant and 940 applications were "under consideration".

Staff working at the site consist of former Energoatom employees who have "adopted Russian citizenship and signed employment contracts with the Russian operating entity", the IAEA statement specified.

Besides that "staff who have been sent to the ZNPP from the Russian Federation" work there.

The IAEA has repeatedly warned of persistent nuclear safety and security risks at the site.

IAEA officials have been on the ground monitoring the plant since September 2022.

The six reactor units, which before the war produced around a fifth of Ukraine's electricity, have been shut down.

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