Dutch court sentences three to life for flight MH17 downing
(17-11-2022) Russians Sergey Dubinskiy and Igor Girkin, as well as Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, were found guilty of causing the crash that killed 298 civilians in 2014.
A Dutch court has sentenced three men to life imprisonment in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine 2014, in the early stages of a war that eight years later would put the world on edge. Russians Igor Girkin and Sergei Dubinsky and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko were found guilty in absentia of murdering all 298 people on board and of bringing down the Boeing 777 with a Russian-supplied missile. A fourth man was acquitted. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the “important” court ruling. Relatives of MH17 victims blinked away tears as the verdicts were read out in a courtroom packed with families who had travelled from around the world for the end of the two-and-a-half-year trial. “The court calls the proven charges so severe that it holds that only the highest possible prison sentence would be appropriate,” head judge Hendrik Steenhuis said. “Imposing these sentences cannot take away the pain and suffering, but there’s hope that today clarity has been provided about who is to blame.” ‘Justice has spoken’ The trial represents the end of a long search for justice for the victims of the disaster, who came from 10 countries, including 196 Dutch, 43 Malaysians and 38 Australians. “Justice has spoken. We wanted justice to be done and that happened, in a very well-balanced verdict,” Piet Ploeg, chairman of the MH17 foundation, who lost his brother, sister-in-law and nephew, told AFP news agency.(Source: AFP)
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Explosion in the heart of Turkey’s Istanbul kills 6, wounds 81
(13 Nov 2022) ISTANBUL — At least six people were killed and dozens more were injured when an explosion rocked a popular pedestrian street in Istanbul, Turkish President Recep TayyipErdoğan said. “The explosion might be a terrorist act. A woman is thought to be involved,” Erdogan said in a televised address, without providing details about how he had come to that conclusion. Erdoğan said that the blast was a “treacherous attack” and that its perpetrators would be punished. He did not say who was behind the attack, which he said had the “smell of terror” without offering details, and added that that was not certain. Erdoğan said that four people died at the scene and that the two others died in the hospital.
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UK embassy guard in Berlin pleads guilty to spying for Russia
(Fri. 11 Nov 2022) A British man who worked at the United Kingdom’s embassy in Berlin has pleaded guilty to eight offences under the Official Secrets Act relating to passing on information useful to Russia. David Ballantyne Smith, who lived in Potsdam, Germany and was employed as a security guard at the embassy in Berlin, was extradited to the UK from Germany following his arrest by German police in August 2021. The 58-year-old pleaded guilty to eight offences on November 4. Judge Mark Wall lifted restrictions on reporting Smith’s pleas after the prosecution indicated it will not seek a trial on a ninth charge to which Smith pleaded not guilty. Smith appeared at the Old Bailey in London, pleaded guilty to one charge of passing information about UK civil servants to Major General Sergey Chukhurov, described in the prosecution indictment as the Russian military attaché to Berlin, between October and December 2020. He also admitted to seven other charges relating to collecting information which might be “useful to an enemy, namely the Russian state”, including material “relating to the operation and layout of the British embassy in Berlin”. Searches of his electronic devices found the draft of a letter dated May 2020 in which he offered his services to a Russian diplomat. Prosecutors said Smith – who was said to have lived beyond his means in Germany – was motivated by a hatred of the UK and its embassy, where he had worked for eight years, and had expressed sympathy with Russian authorities. Smith faces a maximum jail term of 14 years for spying.(SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES)
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Democrats retain control of US Senate after Nevada win
Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto wins re-election in Nevada state, Edison Research projects, in a victory that guarantees the Senate will be controlled by Democrats in 2023. President Joe Biden’s Democrats have retained control of the US Senate, according to Edison Research projections, a remarkable midterms election result that defied predictions of a Republican “red wave” over both houses of Congress. US networks late on Saturday called the key Senate race in Nevada for Democrat incumbent Catherine Cortez Masto, who defeated Republican challenger Adam Laxalt, giving the party the 50 seats they need for an effective majority with one race still undecided. With Democratic Senator Mark Kelly’s victory in Arizona, Democrats now hold a 50-49 edge in the Senate. The party will retain control of the chamber, no matter how next month’s Georgia runoff plays out, by virtue of Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote. Blow to Republicans Democrats’ hold on the Senate is a blow to Republicans’ high hopes of wresting away control of Congress in a midterm elections that typically favours the party out of power. It was still unclear which party would control the House of Representatives as counting continued in razor-tight races in California and a smattering of other states. Cortez Masto, the first Latina in the Senate, was considered the most vulnerable Democratic senator in the midterm elections, and the Republican Party had high hopes of flipping the seat. But despite an influx of spending on attack ads from national GOP groups, Cortez Masto managed to secure her reelection bid.(Source: TRTWorld and agencies)
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China holds its first meeting with 19 countries in Indian Ocean region – India Not Invited
China convened a first “China-Indian Ocean Region Forum” bringing together 19 countries from the region – and all of India’s neighbours, except for India itself, the lone absentee from a new Beijing strategic initiative. The forum, held in Kunming in southwestern Yunnan province on November 21, brought together representatives from 19 countries including Indonesia, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal, Afghanistan, Iran, Oman, South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius, Djibouti, and Australia, according to a statement from the organisers, the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA). India was not invited. The CIDCA is China’s new development aid agency, and is currently headed by former Vice Foreign Minister Luo Zhaohui, who also earlier served as envoy to India and Pakistan. The forum underlined China’s stepped up diplomacy in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Earlier this year, during a visit to Sri Lanka, Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed creating another forum “on the development of Indian Ocean island countries” to “build consensus and synergy, and promote common development”. He called on Sri Lanka to “play an important role” in the initiative. At CIDCA’s Kunming forum, China “proposed to establish a marine disaster prevention and mitigation cooperation mechanism between China and countries in the Indian Ocean region, and stood ready to provide necessary financial, material, and technical support to countries in need”, a statement from CIDCA said.
China Tests Hypersonic Engine: That Can Push Aircraft To 9 Times The Speed Of Sound
It uses aviation kerosene, which is far less explode-y than hydrogen.
(Nov 21, 2022) Chinese researchers claim to have successfully tested a hypersonic
detonation engine that can push aircraft up to Mach 9, a blistering nine times the speed of sound. What’s more, the engine uses aviation kerosene as fuel, which carries neither the cost nor risk of explosion that hydrogen solutions do. Published in a peer-reviewed paper, the research states this is the first time a kerosene-based detonation engine has been publicly tested. A detonation engine uses a chain of shockwaves to propel the aircraft forward by injecting fuel into a ring-shaped channel, before igniting it to form a controlled explosion. The shockwave then ignites the next round of fuel injected into the channel, creating a cascade of detonations that self-sustain themselves while the combustion products are ejected out of the rear. These engines release more energy than hypersonic alternatives, namely the scramjet that the US are investing in, and are markedly more efficient at high speeds. For carrying cargo or significant journeys, this could mean astonishing cost savings. The tests used the JF-12 hypersonic shock tunnel, the largest shock tunnel in the world, that replicates hypersonic flight conditions. With a diameter of up to 3.5 meters (11.4 feet), the tunnel can simulate conditions from Mach 5-9, allowing the testing of hypersonic aircraft profiles and engines. Detonation engines are not a new concept, but the dream of using aviation kerosene has posed challenges for scientists, as it burns more slowly than hydrogen. Using kerosene would require a huge chamber that is ten times longer than current hydrogen engines, and you can’t simply make things bigger when it will be travelling at close to Mach 9. Hypersonic flight is rapidly becoming a smaller form of the space race, with nations around the world searching for hypersonic technologies that can power missiles, passenger planes, and more. Aircraft travelling at that speed are almost unstoppable with current technology, so the appeal to create viable engines is rapidly coming to the forefront of research and development.
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Chinese jetliner C919 debuts at airshow, securing orders for 300 planes
(CGTN) By Gong Zhe) The C919 jetliner made by Chinese planemaker Commercial Aircraft
Corporation of China (COMAC) debuted on Tuesday at the country’s biggest airshow, securing orders for 300 planes for the company. The large passenger plane, the first homegrown one for China, got its airworthiness permit from Chinese regulators in September. The orders for the 300 C919 planes came from seven leasing companies backed by banks in China, multiple
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US to buy South Korea artillery shells ‘for Ukraine’
(11 Nov 2022) Washington plans to buy 100,000 South Korean-made artillery shells for use in the Ukraine war, a United States official has said, though South Korea has insisted its policy against providing lethal aid to Ukraine remained unchanged and it expects the end user of the ammunition to be US forces. Citing US officials familiar with the deal, the Wall Street Journal reported that the US and South Korea were nearing an agreement to buy 100,000 rounds of 155mm artillery shells that would be delivered to Ukraine. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed with Reuters news agency that Washington wanted to send the South Korean artillery shells to Ukraine.
The official said that Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) funds could be used to buy the ammunition, but that it was unclear whether the shells would be shipped through US territory. The official warned that news of the talks being made public could threaten the deal.
Responding to reports on the ammunition deal, South Korea’s defence ministry said that its position on not providing lethal aid to Ukraine remained unchanged, and its “confidential” negotiations on the sale of the artillery shells were being conducted “under the premise that the US is the end user”. Putin warns Seoul A US ally, South Korea has sought to avoid antagonising Russia, for economic reasons and because of the influence that Moscow can exert with North Korea. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol denied last month that Seoul had provided any lethal weapons to Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin said that such a decision would destroy their bilateral relations. Putin made the remark at a conference in Moscow, accusing the West of inciting the war in Ukraine and warning South Korea against supplying weapons to Ukraine.(SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES)
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Zelenskyy says Russia destroyed Kherson’s critical infrastructure
(12 Nov 2022) Russian forces destroyed critical infrastructure in the southern city of Kherson before their withdrawal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, as Kyiv’s military retook control of the southeastern city. “Before fleeing from Kherson, the occupiers destroyed all the critical infrastructure: communications, water, heat, electricity,” Zelenskyy stated in a video address on Saturday. “[Russians] everywhere have the same goal: to humiliate people as much as possible. But we will restore everything, believe me,” he said. Ukrainian troops retook control of more than 60 settlements in the Kherson region, Zelenskyy said, adding that almost 2,000 mines, tripwires and unexploded shells had been dealt with so far. Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine was “winning battles on the ground. But the war continues.” ‘Most decisive’ event in the war Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig, reporting from the Kherson region, said Moscow’s withdrawal was the “most ecisive” event in this war so far. “It’s boosted the morale of Ukrainian soldiers who say … they now believe they can win this war.” Ukraine’s National Police chief, Ihor Klymenko, said some 200 officers were at work in the city, setting up checkpoints and documenting evidence of possible war crimes. He urged Kherson residents to watch out for possible landmines laid by the Russian troops, saying one policeman had been wounded while de-mining an administrative building. Officials also said humanitarian aid was being delivered to the city’s residents. SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
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New IAEA resolution censures Iran over insufficient cooperation
(By Maziar Motamedi) 17 Nov 2022
A new resolution censuring Iran over insufficient cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been passed by the nuclear watchdog’s board of governors despite objections by Tehran. Introduced by the United States, and the E3 – France, Germany and the United Kingdom – the resolution called on Iran to cooperate with the IAEA’s investigation into traces of uranium found at several undeclared sites, diplomats at the vote said. The agency and the West have repeatedly called on Iran to provide thorough explanations on traces of man-made nuclear particles found at several Iranian sites in 2018, and for it to fully reinstate agency monitoring capabilities. This is the second such resolution against Tehran as another – also introduced by the US and E3 – was passed in June, with only China and Russia objecting to it. Iran took down a number of agency cameras after that resolution, adding to the cameras it had taken down when the US unilaterally reneged on the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear deal gave Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme. But the US abandoned it in 2018, imposing harsh sanctions. Talks to restore the deal began in April 2021 but have again stalled in recent months. Iran has maintained the case of the IAEA probe into nuclear particles needs to be closed before any agreement on restoring the JCPOA can be finalised. It restarted talks with the agency in late September. In a statement earlier, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani condemned the resolution, linking it with the country’s continuing protests without directly mentioning them. With the resolution, he said the US and EU are trying to “take advantage of recent conditions, strictly with the motivation and goal of exerting political pressure on Iran”. Kanani claimed there is “no credible technical reason or safeguards urgency” to back the resolution, and said its passing would negatively affect future Iranian relations with the agency. Iran’s nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami also condemned the tabling of the resolution and suggested it could affect future talks with the agency.(SOURCE: AL JAZEERA)
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Iran says it has built hypersonic ballistic missile -Tasnim
(Syed Zafar Mehdi |10.11.2022)
Tasnim-Missile capable of passing through, targeting all air defense systems, says military official The missile “has high speed and can maneuver in and out of the atmosphere,” according to Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, who heads the aerospace division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He hailed the development as a “big generational leap in the field of missiles,” adding that it came despite “oppressive US sanctions,” according to local media reports. Hajizadeh was speaking at a ceremony to mark the 11th anniversary of the death of Hassan Tehrani Moqaddam, known as the “father of Iran’s missile program.” He said the supersonic missile, Iran’s first since the 1979 revolution, is capable of passing through and targeting all missile defense systems. A hypersonic missile travels at speeds of Mach 5 and higher, five times faster than the speed of sound, according to military experts, making them virtually impossible to intercept or bring down. “We are now engaged in a security, economic and political war, and this cognitive war, which today is a massive psychological operation against our nation, and the enemies want to stop our progress,” Hajizadeh was quoted as saying. This is the first time Iran has announced the development of a hypersonic ballistic missile, even though its missile program has been active for years now. The US and its allies have often expressed concern over Iran’s missile capabilities, and it even figured in discussions around the 2015 nuclear deal. The sanctions targeted the IRGC division working on research and development of ballistic missiles, as well as Parchin Chemical Industries, a firm affiliated with Iran’s Defense Industries Development, and an intermediary involved in the procurement of parts for missiles. The development of a hypersonic ballistic missile by Iran is likely to heighten concerns in the West, according to experts.(Source: Anadolu Agency News Agency)
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Iranian drones used in Ukraine built with western parts: Report
A Ukrainian investigation found that Iranian-built drones Russian forces are using in Ukraine consist of components made in the US and Europe. The majority of parts found in downed Iranian drones in Ukraine are manufactured in the US, Europe and other Western allies, a Ukrainian intelligence report has revealed, exposing the limits of export controls on Iran. Three-quarters of the component parts of Iranian drones purchased by Russia for its war in Ukraine were made in the US, according to documents obtainedby the Wall Street Journal from the Kiev-based Independent Anti-Corruption Commission, a non-profit known by its Ukrainian acronym NAKO. Iranian drones entering a conventional battlefield in Europe have occurred despite the US imposing punitive sanctions against Iran’s economy and placing export controls on commercial parts that could be used in the manufacturing of weapons systems. In one instance, researchers studied an Iranian Mohajer-6 drone that was brought down by Ukrainian forces after being hacked mid-flight. Nearly half of the drone’s parts were found to be made by US firms, while a third of them came from Japan. One of the devices allowing pilots to remotely control the drone was made by Japan’s Tonegawa-Seiko Co while electronic components were found to have been manufactured by the German-owned Infineon Technologies AG and the US-based Microchip Technology Inc. “Without access to the device itself, we are unable to advise whether it is a microchip product or counterfeit product, and if it is a microchip product, how it ended up in this particular application,” Brian Thorsen, a spokesman for Microchip Technology, was quoted by the WSJ as saying. Meanwhile, the hi-res telescopic infrared lens used in the Mohajer-6 for surveillance and targeting appeared identical to a model by Israeli firm Ophir Optronics Solutions Ltd. Tehran has admitted to selling drones to Moscow but denies it has done so since the war in Ukraine commenced in February. Both Iran and Russia have deniedthe use of Shahed-136 drones in Ukraine. Much of the technology found in the drones shot down in Ukraine can easily be purchased online and shipped to Iran through intermediary countries, making them hard to intercept. Weapons experts told the WSJ that Iran has been able to reverse engineer and pull pieces from downed and captured drones from countries like the US and Israel. Iranian-made drones used by Russian forces include the Shahed-136, Shahed-129, Shahed-191, and Qods Mohajer-6. The Shahed-136 has recently emergedas a weapon of choice for Russian troops, who have reportedly used the drone to attack Ukrainian cities. While it can fly like an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the Shahed-136 is technically a long-range loitering munition – which can linger around an area before a target is engaged. The system is packed with explosives and can be directed at a specific target before flying into it and detonating upon impact, leading it to be dubbed a “suicide” or “kamikaze” drone. In recent weeks, Iranian drones have allegedly been used by Russia to target critical energy infrastructure in Ukraine. In October, the WSJ cited a report documenting how Iran was able to supply drones to its Houthi allies in Yemen and evade sanctions using commercial companies to acquire parts. Washington has also accused Tehran of sourcing parts for its drone programme from Beijing.
To assist Ukraine counter the explosive drones, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced last month that the military alliance would send “hundreds” of signal-jammers to Kiev.(Source: TRTWorld and agencies)
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North Korea issues nuclear threat after Kim oversees ICBM test with family
(19 Nov 2022) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has promised to use nuclear weapons to counter threats from the United States hours after test-firing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICMB), the latest escalation as the UN Security Council prepares to convene an emergency session on Pyongyang’s actions. The United Nations Security Council, at the behest of Japan, South Korea and the US will gather on Monday 21 Nov. to discuss North Korea’s latest missile launch.
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North Korea test-fired what it said was a Hwasong-17 ICBM, which can travel up to 15,000 km (9,320 miles), on Friday shortly after warning of “fiercer military responses” to Washington. “Kim Jong Un solemnly declared that if the enemies continue to pose threats … our party and government will resolutely react to nukes with nuclear weapons and to total confrontation with all-out confrontation,” Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. KCNA said the Hwasong-17 launched was aimed at achieving “the most powerful and absolute nuclear deterrence” and described the missile as “the strongest strategic weapon in the world”. North Korea has long defended its launch of ballistic missiles as a legitimate defence against what it calls a decades-old threat from US military forces and its allies in South Korea. Korean Central News Agency KCNA said the missile flew nearly 1,000 km (621 miles) for roughly 69 minutes, reaching a peak altitude of 6,041 km (3,754 miles). Kim hailed the test launch a success, declaring it as confirmation of North Korea’s “maximum capacity to contain any nuclear threat” and a warning to US President Joe Biden’s administration and allies that any military provocation would trigger their “self-destruction”, KCNA reported. “Our party and government should clearly demonstrate their strongest will to retaliate the hysteric aggression war drills by the enemies,” Kim stated, according to KCNA. (SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES/ AFP)
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The Kashmir Files: Israeli director sparks outrage in India over ‘vulgar movie’ remarks
By Al Jazeera Staff | (29 Nov 2022) During the closing moments of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) held in Goa, Israeli filmmaker and jury head, Nadav Lapid, openly criticised Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files released in March this year – calling it “vulgar” and “propagandist”. “We were, all of us, disturbed and shocked by the 15th film: The Kashmir Files. That felt like propaganda, a vulgar movie, inappropriate for an artistic competitive section of such a prestigious film festival. I feel totally comfortable to openly share these feelings here with you on stage. Since the spirit of having a festival is to accept also a critical discussion which is essential for art and for life,” Lapid said addressing the audience at IFFI. Internationally acclaimed filmmaker Nadav Lapid (47) is known for Synonymes (2019), The Kindergarten Teacher (2014) and Policeman (2011). Lapid’s remarks have attracted massive backlash from the Indian right wing as well as the Israeli state authorities. Israel’s ambassador to India Naor Gilon instantly reacted strongly against Lapid’s statements, claiming that the latter had “abused” his invitation to an Indian film festival. Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit chimed in with the others to slam Lapi’s remarks. “I take strong objection to the language used by Mr. Nadav Lapid for #KashmirFiles. Depicting the genocide of 3 lakh #Kashmiri Hindus cannot be called vulgar. I as a filmmaker & a #KashmiriPandit condemn this shameless act of abuse towards victims of terrorism,” he tweeted. In a series of tweets that he posted after, he called for action against Lapid, claiming that he has “insulted seven lakh Kashmiri pandits under the nose of the BJP government.” Fellow jury-member and director of the controversial anti-Muslim film, The Kerala Story, Sudipto Sen also took to Twitter and said that it was “wrong” for Lapid to express his personal opinion on a public platform. Actor Ranvir Shorey termed Lapid’s action as “political opportunism”. Although lauded by the ruling camp and distributed tax-free in BJP-led states, several national, as well as international film critics before Lapid, have pointed out the propagandist tones within the film. Singapore even banned the film for its “provocative and one-sided portrayal of Muslims and the depictions of Hindus being persecuted in the on-going conflict in Kashmir” – classifying it to be outside of the nation’s broadcast guidelines. Similarly, Canadian filmmaker Dylan Mohan Gray criticised The Kashmir Files – in support of Indian filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, who also spoke out against the film. “It [the film] is a hate-mongering piece of revisionist garbage of no artistic merit,” said Gray. The narrative of the film revolves around the killings and exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 from the valley. Many critics of the film have deemed this as an “embarrassing moment” for India and one that has exposed the “vile nature” of a film such as The Kashmir Files.
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Horrors of DRC massacre: DR Congo Says ‘Massacre’ Left More Than 100 Dead
KINSHASA — Three days of national mourning began in the DR Congo on Saturday, 3 December, after the alleged massacre of civilians in the country’s east, with the government now giving a death toll of “more than 100.” On Thursday, the government accused the M23 militia — with whom it is locked in a months-long conflict — of slaughtering 50 people at Kishishe, a village around 70 kilometers north of the city of Goma. The M23 hit back, saying the allegations were “baseless” and denying that it targeted civilians. At a council of ministers meeting, the DRC’s president Felix Tshisekedi “condemned in the strongest terms the massacre of more than 100 compatriots in Kishishe,” government spokesman Patrick Muyaya said. He said Tshisekedi had “instructed the government to declare three days of national mourning,” adding that flags would be flown at half-mast throughout the country. Kenya, Rwanda ask M23 rebels to vacate eastern DRC Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame agrees to assist Kenya’s ex-leader Uhuru Kenyatta in urging M23 rebels to drop weapons and withdraw from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Kenya’s former president Uhuru Kenyatta and Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame have agreed on the need for M23 rebels to cease fire and withdraw from captured territories in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the East African Community (EAC) bloc said.
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DRC sends tanks, fighter jets against advancing M23 rebels
(18-9-2022) Warplanes of Democratic Republic of Congo hit rebel positions in Kibumbaby town of eastern North Kivu province, as rebels push closer toward main Goma city, locals and officials say.Tanks and two fighter jets targeted rebel positions in the town of Kibumba, according to a resident who spoke to the AFP news agency via telephone from the region’s main city Goma. M23 fighters recently captured the town in North Kivu province, which lies just 20 kilometres north of Goma, a commercial hub of one million people. A security official, who requested anonymity, confirmed the warplane strikes. “We have hope, we are moving forward,” he told AFP. UN mission denounces DR Congo ‘massacre’, calls for investigation (December 1st, 2022) The UN’s peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has denounced the killings of 100 villagers allegedly by the M23 armed group in the country’s conflict-wracked east as it called for an investigation to “bring the perpetrators to justice”. “These allegations, if confirmed, could constitute crimes under international humanitarian law,” the UN mission tweeted on Thursday night, adding that it was “horrified” by the killings, which the DRC military said were a violation of a ceasefire agreed on November 23. The DRC army blamed the M23 rebel group and its allies for what it called a massacre in the eastern town of Kishishe. Denis Mukwege, the Congolese doctor who won the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize for helping rape victims in the strife-torn region, also expressed his horror at reports of “mass slaughter, missing people and forced recruitment of children” into conflict. Representatives for the United States and European Union said the killings were potential war crimes while Human Rights Watch said UN troops should be deployed to protect survivors.
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Predicting the Next Pandemic: Flu, Shrews, and a Plague of Mistrust and Misinformation
BY: MATTHEW DAVIS, BURNESS
The next major global health emergency could be caused by a dangerous strain of influenza
or a novel pathogen like the one linked to a recent cluster of cases in China that is from the same family of viruses as measles. It also could be caused by a manageable illness that runs rampant due to misinformation and public mistrust of science. These predictions emerged from a panel of experts at #TropMed22 who were brought together to discuss pandemic surveillance and pathogen prediction. A new strain of influenza that escapes existing immune protections was cited as the most likely source of the “next pandemic.” But Kevin Olival, PhD, an ecologist and evolutionary biologist with EcoHealth Alliance, pointed to potential new threats from novel types of paramyxoviruses, a category of pathogens that also includes measles and mumps. He noted that in the last two decades there have been growing concerns over a subcategory of paramyxoviruses known as henipaviruses that circulate in bats and rodents. It includes one called Nipah virus that caused an outbreak in Malaysia and Singapore in 1999 that resulted in about 100 deaths. Olival pointed to a report from this summer describing a small cluster of 35 human infections in China with a newly identified henipavirus called the Langya virus, which is believed to have spilled over from shrews. The report noted the symptoms were relatively manageable—fever and fatigue—but Olival said it was additional evidence that these viruses are moving from animals to humans. He also cited research published last year documenting novel henipaviruses in shrews in Korea that had the potential to infect humans.
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Brazil breaks Amazon deforestation record for October
(11 Nov 2022) Official data shows the destruction of 904 sq km while the Brazilian branch of WWF says deforestation and wildfires “exploded” in the rainforest since last month’s presidential election. Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest has broken the monthly record for October, with the destruction of 904 square kilometres, according to official figures.
The grim news on Friday comes less than two months before far-right President Jair Bolsonaro’s four-year term ends. The former army captain is a climate crisis skeptic and has been heavily criticized over policies seen as encouraging deforestation. The DETER satellite observation system detected a three percent increase in the deforested area of the world’s largest tropical rainforest compared to October 2021, making it a record for that month, according to the INPE space research institute. The newly deforested section stretches an area just over half the size of Sao Paulo. With two months still to go, 2022 is already the worst year for Amazon deforestation since DETER began monitoring it in 2015. However, far higher figures for deforestation were recorded in the early 2000s. So far this year almost 9,500 square kilometres have been destroyed, compared to the total 9,200 square kilometres deforested in 2021. ‘Race for destruction’ The Brazilian branch of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said deforestation and wildfires had “exploded” since last month’s presidential election, in which Bolsonaro was defeated by leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Lula, who was also president from 2003-2010, has pledged to eliminate deforestation. “The increase in deforestation (in October) was expected, but even so, the numbers for the first days of November are frightening, they show an unbridled race for destruction” before the change of government on January 1, said the WWF. Under Bolsonaro, average annual deforestation increased by 75 percent compared to the previous decade. “The new government will have its work cut out to repair the situation, to end the perception that the Amazon is a lawless land,” said WWF specialist Raul do Valle in a statement. However, Bolsonaro’s environmental policies will keep “causing damage for some time yet,” said Andre Freitas from Greenpeace in Brazil.(Source: AFP)
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Global food import bill to jump to record $1.9 trillion: FAO
(11 Nov 2022) The world food import bill is expected to surpass $1.9 trillion in 2022, a 10 percent increase compared with last year’s record level, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has said. The figure, released in a report (PDF) on Friday 11 Nov., marks “an all-time high” due to the depreciating values of currencies against the US dollar – the main currency of exchange on international markets – as well as Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. “The bulk of the increase in the [global food import] bill is accounted for by high-income countries, due mostly to higher world prices, while volumes are also expected to rise,” the report said. Consequences will be more dramatic for economically vulnerable countries, it added. “For instance, the aggregate food import bill for the group of low-income countries is expected to remain almost unchanged even though it is predicted to shrink by 10 percent in volume terms, pointing to a growing accessibility issue for these countries,” the FAO said. Sub-Saharan Africa, already hard-hit by malnutrition, is expected to spend $4.8bn more on food imports, despite a decrease in volumes.