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  • @cdb_77
    CDB_77

    #Frontex : « Sa #mission première est bien de garantir un contrôle des frontières extérieures », rappelle le Sénat

    C’est une enquête de l’Office de lutte antifraude (OLAF), mettant notamment en évidence cas présumés illégaux de « pushback » (refoulements) de migrants, notamment en mer Egée, qui avait précipité la démission de Fabrice Leggeri, l’ancien directeur français de Frontex, en mai dernier. Aija Kalnaja, directrice par intérim de Frontex, avait assuré il y a quelques semaines devant les sénateurs que 46 vérificateurs avaient été recrutés en octobre dernier, afin de vérifier la bonne garantie des droits fondamentaux aux frontières de l’Europe.
    Droits fondamentaux contre contrôles aux frontières : « Ce débat est en grande partie artificiel »

    La proposition de résolution européenne (PPRE) du Sénat, présentée par Jean-François Rapin, président LR de la commission des Affaires européennes, et François-Noël Buffet, président LR de la commission des Lois, « regrette » que ce rapport de l’OLAF « n’ait toujours pas été rendu public », alors qu’il « fait l’objet de ‘fuites’ régulières dans la presse. » Toujours est-il que l’exposé des motifs de cette PPRE rappelle que M. Leggeri avait mis sa démission sur le compte d’un « glissement », depuis 2019, des missions de l’Agence vers le respect des droits fondamentaux plutôt que sur le contrôle des frontières extérieures.

    Un « glissement » que le Sénat réfute dans cette proposition de résolution européenne, qui n’est pas un texte juridique contraignant, mais un message politique envoyé à l’Union européenne. « Ce débat, qui existe bel et bien, est toutefois en grande partie artificiel : en effet, Frontex doit exercer ses missions dans le respect des droits de l’Homme mais sa mission première est bien de garantir un contrôle efficace des frontières extérieures contre l’immigration irrégulière », expliquent ainsi Jean-François Rapin et François-Noël Buffet.

    « L’agence n’a aucunement vocation à surveiller le respect des droits fondamentaux par les États membres »

    Dans cette résolution, la majorité sénatoriale propose ainsi certaines pistes pour améliorer le fonctionnement de Frontex dans la « crise » actuelle que l’agence traverse. Premièrement, les présidents Rapin et Buffet préconisent de mettre en place un « pilotage » plus « politique » de l’agence, en regrettant l’absence de candidature française au poste de directeur et « l’excessive longueur » de la procédure de désignation.

    La proposition de #résolution entend aussi réaffirmer le rôle de soutien aux Etats-membres de Frontex, « qui intervient exclusivement en réponse aux demandes d’un Etat membre et sous son autorité. » Les sénateurs estiment, par conséquent, que « les personnels de Frontex ne sauraient être tenus responsables d’éventuelles violations des droits fondamentaux commises par les services de l’État partenaire » et que « l’agence n’a aucunement vocation à surveiller le respect des droits fondamentaux par les États membres. »

    Jean-François Rapin et François-Noël Buffet proposent de mettre en place, dans chaque Parlement national, un « groupe de contrôle parlementaire conjoint, sur le modèle de celui établi pour contrôler les activités d’Europol », afin de garantir « la nécessaire association des parlements nationaux au contrôle de Frontex. »

    ▻https://www.publicsenat.fr/article/politique/frontex-sa-mission-premiere-est-bien-de-garantir-un-controle-des-frontie

    #frontières #contrôles_frontaliers #migrations #asile #réfugiés
    #le_mérite_d'être_clair #missions #surveillance_des_frontières

    CDB_77
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  • @cdb_77
    CDB_77
    1
    @gonzo
    1

    First refugees arrive in tiny Catalan villages under repopulation plan

    Orwa Skafe, who fled Syria seven years ago, is among those given jobs and a home in attempt to revive rural areas.

    It’s been a long journey since Orwa Skafe fled the war in Syria seven years ago but thanks to an innovative resettlement scheme he’s found peace in a tiny village 900 metres (3,000ft) up in the Pyrenees. He is one of the first to benefit from a Catalan government programme to relocate refugees in depopulated villages.

    The programme, called Operation 500 because it involves villages with fewer than 500 inhabitants, is being run jointly by the regional employment agency, the equality commission and the Association of Micro-villages.

    The scheme, which runs for one year, provides participants with a home and a salary of €19,434 (£16,700) paid via the local authority, which also organises work for them. The programme is open to refugees, asylum seekers and immigrants who are legal residents.

    So far, 30 families have been accommodated, 24 of them refugees.

    “Up till now the system of dealing with refugees has been very centralised and focused on major cities,” said Oriol López Plana, a facilitator at the Association of Micro-villages, which helps participants integrate, learn the language and become independent.

    https://i.imgur.com/VRwAy9o.png

    “The programme aims to integrate people in villages where there’s a social network and then, if they want to move to the city, they can.

    “There’s a similar system in France. The difference here is we create a social fabric, we run mentoring and communitarian programmes, in both the work and social spheres.”

    Skafe, who comes from the coastal town of Latakia where he worked as an English teacher, left Syria in 2015 and went to Haiti because, he says, it was the only place he could go to legally.

    “It turned out that Haiti is even more dangerous than Syria,” he said, so he made his way to Spain and arrived in Barcelona in January this year. A month later he was granted asylum.

    He now lives in Tírvia, a remote, mountaintop village of 130 souls close to the border with France, although Skafe says in reality the population is more like 50. He’s employed by the local authority doing maintenance and cleaning.

    “I’m very happy here,” he said, freely mixing Spanish and English. “What I want most of all is peace. I like Barcelona but there are too many people. I love nature, which is why I wanted to join this programme.

    “I’m learning Catalan, poc a poc [little by little]. Everyone in the village is Catalan. I’m the only foreigner. I don’t understand much but I’m patient and I’m not afraid to learn new languages.

    “People are very welcoming, everyone talks to me, they offer me help or to do my shopping. That’s the case for 90%. Of course, there are always people who don’t like strangers.”

    He hopes that his wife and child, who are still in Syria, will be able to join him once he obtains a residency permit, but sees no prospect of returning to Syria.

    “I want to stay in the village when the programme ends and I want my family to live here with me. I’m going to work hard to stay here.”

    ▻https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/11/catalan-villages-refugees-repopulation-plan

    #repeuplement #réfugiés #Espagne #asile #migrations #accueil #rural #Tírvia #montagne #Tirvia #Pyrénées #Catalogne #Operation_500 #plan_repeuplement

    CDB_77
    • @cdb_77
      CDB_77

      #Oportunitat500 - Vols optar a una plaça de tècnic?

      Acollida de persones migrades i refugiades per aconseguir el seu l’establiment sostenible i arrelament progressiu. Participa en l’acollida omplint el formulari que trobaràs a la notícia.

      L’objectiu del projecte Oportunitat500 és que els micropobles de Catalunya donin resposta a l’acollida de persones migrades i refugiades per aconseguir el seu l’establiment sostenible i arrelament progressiu. Per assolir aquest objectiu, aquest projecte s’estructura en tres línies estratègiques: participació dels micropobles, participació de les persones migrades, i comunicació.
      La participació dels micropobles és una línia estratègica perquè aquest projecte busca garantir i fomentar la sobirania del territori. Per aconseguir aquest objectiu específic s’han dissenyat una sèrie de processos participatius on els micropobles podran dissenyar i implementar estratègies locals per implementar el projecte.
      Les persones migrades han de prendre la decisió conscient de voler-se desplaçar a un micropoble. S’ha dissenyat un procés d’acompanyament a les persones migrades i refugiades per tal que optin pels micropobles com una opció de vida. Aquest acompanyament passa per tallers de treball de l’imaginari on s’explica què és Catalunya i com són els micropobles d’una manera vivencial, unes visites als municipis, un acompanyament per prendre la decisió conscient de voler-se desplaçar al micropoble, un seguiment en el desplaçament, i un enllaç amb el teixit social del territori.
      Al ser un projecte amb un fort component d’innovació, Oportunitat500 ha creat un pla de comunicació per tenir una veu pròpia que situï els micropobles i el mon rural de Catalunya en una posició de rellevància en l’acollida de persones migrades i refugiades.

      ▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXlhnPro0n4


      ▻https://www.micropobles.cat/actualitat/5625/oportunitat500---vols-optar-a-una-placa-de-tecnic

      #micro-pobles #Oportunitat_500

      CDB_77
    • @cdb_77
      CDB_77

      Programa de suport a la implementació de les PAO en municipis de menys de 500 habitants de Catalunya (SOC – MICROMUNICIPIS)

      El Programa de suport a la implementació de les #Polítiques_Actives_d'Ocupació (#PAO) en municipis de menys de 500 habitants de Catalunya es tracta d’una política de foment de l’ocupació que, mitjançant els projectes de millora de l’ocupabilitat de les persones treballadores en situació d’atur i les persones treballadores, permet adquirir experiència laboral en un entorn real de treball, i que obtinguin la qualificació o les capacitats necessàries, per a la seva inserció laboral.

      Els ajuntaments dels municipis de menys de 500 habitants solen estar agrupats territorialment, singularitat que afavoreix la seva sinergia de treball mancomunat i de treballar en conjunt en programes col·lectius per donar resposta a necessitats i problemàtiques concretes.

      L’objectiu d’aquest Programa és implementar les polítiques actives d’ocupació en municipis de menys de 500 habitants de Catalunya. Aquests municipis per la seva mida i capacitat tècnica i econòmica tenen menys recursos per presentar-se a les convocatòries anuals del SOC en l’àmbit del foment de l’ocupació i el desenvolupament econòmic local.

      Les actuacions subvencionables són les següents:

      - Actuació de contractació laboral.
      - Actuació de formació.
      - Actuació d’acompanyament.

      ▻https://serveiocupacio.gencat.cat/ca/entitats/subvencions-desenvolupament-local/programa-de-suport-a-la-implementacio-de-les-pao-en-municipis

      CDB_77
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  • @loutre
    Loutre

    Alaa Abd el-Fattah has ended hunger strike, sister says
    Ruth Michaelson
    Tue 15 Nov 2022 | Egypt | The Guardian
    ▻https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/15/alaa-abd-el-fattah-has-broken-hunger-strike-sister-says
    ▻https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/6c3175062b3edafc1895a136218c40c07cc83cb7/191_0_3119_1872/master/3119.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-ali

    Alaa Abd el-Fattah, the British-Egyptian democracy activist jailed in Egypt, has told his family in a letter that he has ended his six-month-long hunger strike, which he began in protest against his detention conditions.

    “I’ve broken my strike. I’ll explain everything on Thursday,” he told them, in reference to his monthly family prison visits to the Wadi el-Natrun desert prison where he is being held. The democracy activist was sentenced to a further five years in prison last year for sharing a social media post about torture, shortly after gaining British citizenship through his mother.

    #AlaaAbdelFattah #Egypte

    Loutre
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  • @tintin
    jean michel

    Man who lived in Charles de Gaulle airport for 18 years dies in airport | France | The Guardian
    ▻https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/12/iranian-man-who-lived-in-paris-charles-de-gaulle-airport-for-18-years-d
    ▻https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/b525b9c418daa22a7ea6ee0f28d300937042dc04/0_77_2464_1479/master/2464.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-ali

    An Iranian man who lived for 18 years in Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport and inspired the 2004 Steven Spielberg film The Terminal died on Saturday in the airport, officials said.

    Merhan Karimi Nasseri died after a heart attack in the airport’s Terminal 2F around midday, according an official with the Paris airport authority. Police and a medical team treated him but were not able to save him, the official said.

    Karimi Nasseri, believed to have been born in 1945, lived in the airport’s Terminal 1 from 1988 until 2006, first in legal limbo because he lacked residency papers and later by choice, according to French media reports.

    He had been living in the airport again in recent weeks, the airport official said.

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  • @odilon
    odilon CC BY-NC-ND
    14
    @vazi
    @jacotte
    @sombre
    @vanderling
    @ericw
    @kassem
    @olaf
    @fonkisifou
    @grommeleur
    @simplicissimus
    @7h36
    @rastapopoulos
    @monolecte
    @rezo
    14

    La Suisse sur sa montagne de charbon : un rapport de Public Eye
    ▻https://www.publiceye.ch/fr/thematiques/negoce-de-matieres-premieres/la-suisse-sur-sa-montagne-de-charbon

    https://www.publiceye.ch/fileadmin/_processed_/a/3/csm_22charbon1200x630_lo_d19d83170f.jpg

    Dans l’imaginaire collectif occidental, le charbon reste associé aux travers de la Révolution industrielle, à un prolétariat en haillons couvant la révolte. Dénué du glamour et des intrigues géopolitiques de son cousin le pétrole, le charbon est encore perçu comme une énergie du siècle passé. Détrompez-vous. Ce petit « concentré de soleil », enfoui par des millions d’années, n’aura en réalité jamais été autant extrait, transporté et consommé qu’en 2022, dépassant la limite historique des huit milliards de tonnes. À lui seul, le charbon est responsable de près de la moitié de l’augmentation des émissions de dioxyde de carbone (CO₂).

    Et la Suisse – avec ses groupes miniers, ses négociants et ses banques – tient un rôle central dans le commerce mondial du charbon.

    odilon CC BY-NC-ND
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  • @biggrizzly
    BigGrizzly CC BY-NC-SA
    1
    @arno
    1

    Canadian bill would fine workers $4,000 for each day they strike | Canada | The Guardian
    ▻https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/03/ontario-doug-ford-strike-fine-bill-28-canada

    The premier of Canada’s most populous province is under fire for a “draconian” bill that would fine school support staff C$4,000 a day for striking, prompting concerns that Ontario is eroding fundamental workers’ rights – and setting a troubling precedent.

    BigGrizzly CC BY-NC-SA
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  • @gonzo
    gonzo CC BY-NC
    6
    @biggrizzly
    @monolecte
    @arno
    @7h36
    @kassem
    @stephane_m
    6

    What do US curbs on selling microchips to China mean for the global economy ? | China | The Guardian
    ▻https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/19/what-do-us-curbs-on-selling-microchips-to-china-mean-for-the-global-eco
    ▻https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2d99793933a5d8625d8a428fb6f8840d22bceee4/0_84_1724_1035/master/1724.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-ali

    The US has taken unprecedented steps to limit the sale of advanced computer chips to China, escalating efforts to contain Beijing’s tech and military ambitions.

    The moves are designed to cut off supplies of critical technology to China that may be used across sectors including advanced computing and weapons manufacture.

    The crackdown marks the most significant action by Washington against Beijing on technology exports in decades, escalating a trade battle between the world’s two most powerful economies.

    After the export controls, Apple reportedly put on hold plans to use memory chips from China’s Yangtze Memory Technologies in its products. The Nikkei newspaper said Apple had planned to use the chips in iPhones sold in China.
    What action has the US taken?

    On 7 October, the Biden administration imposed a sweeping set of export controls that included measures to cut China off from certain semiconductor chips and chip-making equipment.

    Under the rules, US companies must cease supplying Chinese chipmakers with equipment that can produce relatively advanced chips unless they first obtain a licence.

    The new regulations also add controls on some semiconductor production items and transactions for specific end-uses of some integrated circuits or chips. The US also wants to increase its export controls to include semiconductor products and software, technology, and other things used to develop and make integrated circuits. In a further restriction, US citizens and green-card holders will also be banned from working on certain technology for Chinese companies and entities.

    Cet article d’un site affreusement conspirationniste explique (en français) les enjeux de cette mesure : ▻https://lesakerfrancophone.fr/le-blocus-etasunien-des-semi-conducteurs-en-chine-est-une-bombe-a

    gonzo CC BY-NC
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  • @cdb_77
    CDB_77
    1
    @stephane_m
    1
    @fil

    Finland PM : Wide Political Support for Russia Border Fence

    Finland’s prime minister says she was convinced that there is a “wide support” within the Parliament to build a fence on the Nordic country’s border with Russia as proposed by the Finnish border guard officials.

    Finland’s prime minister said Tuesday she was convinced that there is a “wide support” within the Parliament to build a fence on the Nordic country’s border with Russia as proposed by the Finnish border guard officials.

    “It is a question of securing proper surveillance of Finland’s (eastern) border in the future,” Prime Minister Sanna Marin told reporters at the legislature before a meeting with parliamentary groups on the border fence issue.

    The Finnish Border Guard had earlier suggested covering parts of the 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border Finland shares with Russia, the longest of any European Union member, to help in preventing possible large-scale and illegal migration — a concern that has grown in Helsinki amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

    Based on a risk analysis by border officials, the fence would be up to 260 kilometers (162 miles) long in total and cover areas that have been identified as potential risks for large-scale migration from Russia.

    The main parts of the fence would be erected in southeastern Finland, where most border traffic to and from Russia takes place, but some sections are likely be built also around border stations in the north.

    The construction of the fence would take up to four years and is expected to cost several hundreds of millions of euros (dollars) in total, according to Finnish news agency STT. Finnish media reported there is support for the project from parties in Marin’s center-left coalition government and the opposition alike.

    A pilot section of the fence running the length of around three kilometers (two miles) will be decided on soon and built quickly, but the decision of the entire fence project may be postponed to the next government as Finland holds a general election in April 2023.

    ▻https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2022-10-18/finland-pm-wide-political-support-for-russia-border-fence
    #Finlande #murs #barrières_frontalières #Russie #frontières

    En 2018, la Finlande avait considéré la possibilité de construire un mur pour stopper les #sangliers :
    Suomen itärajalla kulkee hontelo piikkilanka, ja Valko-Venäjän kriisi aloitti pohdinnan kunnon aidasta – rajan lähellä ajatukset ristiriitaisia
    ▻https://seenthis.net/messages/959319

    –—

    Et la proposition de construire un mur date au moins de novembre 2021, selon ce tweet de Ville Laakkonen :

    Inspired by the situation at the Polish border, conservatives in Finland are actually proposing a wall on our border with Russia. If we set aside the plain fascism and racism involved for a while, the border is also over 1300 kilometres long.

    ▻https://twitter.com/vvlaakkonen/status/1459469949907386372

    via @fil

    CDB_77
    • @cdb_77
      CDB_77

      Ville Laakkonen, 18.10.2022 :

      https://i.imgur.com/Dam9rgO.png

      Now Finland has decided to fence the border, in the first stage over 200km. This will cost hundreds of millions of €. First, you need to have roads suitable for building and maintenance. Next, the ground must be worked on to be suitable for the fence. Then comes the building.
      And the fence will not only require maintenance, but also constant monitoring and enforcement; guards and surveillance technology. What we know from such border fences and walls is that they rarely even accomplish what they’re set up to do. Yet it’s widely supported.

      ▻https://twitter.com/vvlaakkonen/status/1582486620171042816

      CDB_77
    • @cdb_77
      CDB_77

      Finland’s political party leaders express support for partial border fence

      The Finnish Border Guard has proposed that between 130 and 260 kilometres of partial fencing be built along Finland’s 1,300 kilometres border with Russia.

      The leaders of Finland’s main political parties have given their support to a proposal by the Finnish Border Guard to build a partial fence along the nation’s eastern border with Russia.

      Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) called a cross-party meeting of leaders on Tuesday evening to discuss the proposal, and where it received widespread backing.

      Marin had told reporters as she arrived at the meeting that the political support for the proposal is so strong because the Border Guard’s view is trusted.

      “It is about being able to make sure that the border is well controlled and we can preemptively influence the situations that may occur at the border,” Marin said.

      Petteri Orpo, chair of the opposition National Coalition Party, reminded reporters on his arrival that his party has long supported the idea of a fence along the eastern border.

      “The world has become such that this is needed. Now everyone sees it as essential,” Orpo said, adding that he also wants to know from the government if Finland is ready to close the border completely should a large number of asylum seekers arrive from Russia.

      https://i.imgur.com/vtXSxb3.png

      Finns Party chair Riikka Purra, meanwhile, wondered why a meeting of the parties was necessary, as there is already a consensus across the political spectrum about the need for a border fence.

      In response to a media question based on Purra’s comment, Interior Minister Krista Mikkonen (Green) stated that it is important the proposal is discussed widely among the parties because it is a long-term and far-reaching project.

      The Border Guard has proposed that between 130 and 260 kilometres of partial fencing be built along Finland’s 1,300 kilometres border with Russia.

      The main section of the proposed fence would be located around the border control posts in southeastern Finland, but could also be built at border crossings further north. The cost of the project is estimated to run into hundreds of millions of euros and construction would take about 3-4 years.

      Speaking to Yle News’ All Points North podcast, Matti Pitkäniitty, Head of the International Affairs Unit of the Finnish Border Guard, said that Finland’s border policy needs to adapt to the changing nature of modern migration.

      “The world has evolved and our basic conclusion is that our traditional methods, our traditional way of working, is not up to these tasks that we see in the world today,” Pitkäniitty said.

      ▻https://yle.fi/news/3-12662282

      CDB_77
    • @cdb_77
      CDB_77

      Finland’s main parties back plans to build Russia border fence

      Structure would protect areas identified as posing potential risk of large-scale migration from Russia

      Finland’s main political parties have backed building a fence along parts of the country’s border with Russia, with work on a short pilot section expected to start as soon as funds have been allocated, Finnish media have reported.

      Neighbouring Norway, which also shares a border with Russia in the far north, on Wednesday said it had arrested a seventh Russian national suspected of illegally flying drones or taking photographs in restricted areas in recent days.

      Norway’s prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, said it was “obviously unacceptable for foreign intelligence to fly drones” over the country after police announced that the son of a close confidant of Vladimir Putin had been detained on Monday.

      The Finnish broadcaster YLE said a meeting on Tuesday evening between the prime minister, Sanna Marin, and representatives of all main parties had confirmed cross-party support for the plans, proposed last month by the Finnish border guard.

      Helsinki is increasingly concerned about large-scale illegal crossings of the 830-mile (1,340km) eastern border it shares with Russia – the longest of any EU member – as thousands of Russians flee Moscow’s partial mobilisation in response to its faltering war in Ukraine.

      It is also concerned about the prospect of Moscow deploying orchestrated mass migration as a form of hybrid warfare, as Belarus was accused of doing last year by Poland and the Baltic states of Latvia and Lithuania.

      “We were in agreement about the need,” Marin said after the meeting. “Now the government will bring concrete proposals to parliament.” Funding for the pilot section would be voted on by the start of next month, she said.

      “It is a question of securing proper surveillance of Finland’s border,” Marin said. “We want to ensure our border guard has sufficient support to carry out appropriate and effective border control, and we need to be prepared for any disruptive situations.”

      Finland’s border guard last month suggested building a fence several metres high, topped with razor wire and equipped with surveillance cameras and sensors along 160 miles of the border – roughly 20% of its total.

      The fence would protect areas identified as posing a potential risk of large-scale migration from Russia, mainly in south-east Finland, where most traffic crosses the border, but also around border stations in the north of the country.

      The project would take up to four years to complete and could cost several hundred million euros, according to border guard estimates. Final approval for the main phase could be delayed until April, when Finland is due to hold parliamentary elections.

      The suspect detained in Norway was identified as Andrei Yakunin, the son of the former Russian railways chief Vladimir Yakunin, who is considered close to Putin. Police said he had been flying a drone in the strategically sensitive Svalbard region.

      Earlier this week, Norway, now western Europe’s largest gas supplier and on high alert after last month’s suspected sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, said it had arrested four Russian citizens seen illegally taking pictures of facilities last week.

      Police did not identify the four, who were carrying photographic equipment and other image-making material, but said they had came to Norway from Finland and claimed to be tourists.

      Two other Russians were also arrested in Norway last week, both with drones. One had taken photos of military helicopters and airports, while the other, who held two Russian passports, had a partially encrypted 4 terabyte stash of photos and videos.

      Meanwhile, Finland’s foreign minister, Pekka Haavisto, warned that Turkish delays to the ratification of Helsinki’s application to join Nato were endangering the security of entire Nordic region. He said his country would resist any effort by the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to separate Finland’s Nato application from that of Sweden.

      Turkey and Hungary are the only two remaining Nato states yet to ratify the joint Nato application by Finland and Sweden, with Turkey demanding both countries first extradite from their territory to Turkey what Ankara perceives to be Kurdish terrorists.

      Referring to the recent attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, Haavisto said: “We are living in turbulent times security wise and the sooner we are also covered by Nato article 5 and can contribute to Nato’s defence, the better in the circumstances. Any delay in the strengthening of the security in the Baltic Sea is of concern.

      “The explosion of the Nord Stream pipeline showed the conflict is getting closer to us. When you delay you have to take into account that this has a side-effect on the security situation in the applicant countries and the entire region.”

      In an attempt to speed up the ratification process before the Nato summit in June, Finland and Sweden signed a memorandum of understanding with Turkey on how issues such as extradition to terrorism, and terrorism charges, would be handled in both countries. Turkey accuses Sweden especially of harbouring PKK sympathisers.

      Many observers believe Erdoğan is bargaining with Finland partly to look tough domestically ahead of next year’s elections.

      Asked about the fence proposal, Haavisto said the government was being advised by its border experts that some parts of the border were vulnerable to an influx of asylum seekers, and said a fence might be electronic as well as physical.

      He said so far 40,000 Russians had entered Finland, some of whom have returned or moved on, adding that it was to be determined by the courts whether asylum could be granted simply on the basis that the applicant did not wish to fight for Russia in Ukraine.

      “There might be grounds for seeking asylum on the basis that the conscript was not willing to commit human rights abuses in the Russian army,” he said.

      ▻https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/19/finland-main-parties-back-plans-build-russia-border-fence

      CDB_77
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  • @tintin
    jean michel
    2
    @biggrizzly
    @simplicissimus
    2

    Elon Musk’s SpaceX says it can no longer fund Starlink internet in Ukraine | Ukraine | The Guardian
    ▻https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/14/elon-musk-spacex-no-longer-fund-starlink-internet-ukraine
    ▻https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/bf5d837a67ab9dca192ea34c0b8ef5305fac1b44/0_180_4827_2897/master/4827.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-ali

    But the request for funding comes after a high-profile intervention from Musk, who suggested Ukraine should seek an end to the war by surrendering territory to Russia and committing to remain “neutral”. His tweets led to a furious reaction from the Ukrainian government, which had previously praised Musk for offering the Starlink system.

    “Fuck off is my very diplomatic reply to you,” tweeted Andrij Melnyk, the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany. “The only outcome is that now no Ukrainian will EVER buy your f…ing Tesla crap. So good luck to you.”

    jean michel
    • @simplicissimus
      Simplicissimus

      du coup, c’est pas clair : il arrête de financer,…
      • parce qu’il (la société Starlink) n’en a pas (plus…) les moyens, ou
      • parce qu’il souhaite pousser à négocier

      c’est une évidence – qui échappe à nos médias – laisser les robinets ouverts pousse à la poursuite de la guerre

      de même quele rôle de Starlink est un «  détail » qui, me semble-t-il, leur a aussi un peu échappé ; cf. il y a 5 mois ►https://seenthis.net/messages/959976

      Simplicissimus
    • @simplicissimus
      Simplicissimus

      point de vue UKR, par un acteur impliqué…

      Dimko Zhluktenko 🇺🇦 - @dim0kq sur Twitter
      fil : ▻https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1580827171903635456.html
      tweet initial : ▻https://twitter.com/dim0kq/status/1580827171903635456

      Very interesting statement from @elonmusk re Ukrainian StarLink and how damaging it is for @SpaceX economics.

      Being Ukrainian actually in the topic of StarLinks, I want to tell you some based facts re starlinks in Ukraine.

      🧵

      https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FfA57j9WQAAfRbQ.jpg

      0. I admire the actions of SpaceX of enabling StarLink service in Ukraine. It is a true game changer for Ukrainian army in the open fields of no cellular, and long distances not suitable for radios, given the situation is changing quick on the battlefield.

      It’s a game-changer.

      https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FfA58J8XkAUEivI.jpg

      1. Despite that, I have not seen ANY StarLink which was bought by the governments, or by SpaceX. All the Starlinks I have seen / used - were bought either by volunteers like myself, or soldiers put their personal money in.

      The subscription price is also paid out of the pocket.

      2. In my charity fund @dzygaspaw, I have bought and delivered to the frontlines over 50 StarLinks, some of them are still being paid from my credit card, now 60$ each per month.

      Pic related - one more StarLink I bought and pay for - for Ukrainian EOD unit for Kharkiv offensive.

      https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FfA584DXkAAht1D.jpg

      3. I would be VERY curious to see actual transparency on the process of getting StarLinks up and running in Ukraine, all the hidden costs that Elon claims. Because - Ukrainians pay the same price as everyone else but it’s only Ukraine that is a subject to discussion for @elonmusk

      4. I have bought over 50 StarLinks, with official prices right from the website in EU countries - Poland, CZ, Germany - like 400-500 bucks each, then enable portability for extra IIRC 50$, then payed monthly fee of 60$ (was 120$ before).

      It’s the same for everyone else in EU.

      5. My question is - why is Ukraine so special for @elonmusk in sense of operating @SpaceX and StarLink? I don’t get the answers from the interview he did with CNN exclusive, especially given the numbers they claim.

      I think it’s far from reality.

      https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FfA59wbWQAA2KxI.jpg

      6. All pictures in this thread are legit usage of StarLinks in Ukrainian military for communication.

      I am arranging that through my charity work - see dzygaspaw.com
      I have helped my buddies in the military to survive - just because they can get information.

      Ukrainian Charity Fund
      The Paw of help to Ukraine 🇺🇦 Dzyga’s Paw - Ukrainian charity fund supplying Ukrainian military with high-tech equipment that multiply the effectiveness of our units. By having direct connections …
      ▻http://dzygaspaw.com

      May I present you bank statement of my buddy

      https://i.imgur.com/a9kqa66.png

      • • •

      Simplicissimus
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  • @loutre
    Loutre
    1
    @stephane_m
    1

    Israël. Des détenus, dont un avocat franco-palestinien, de nouveau en grève de la faim
    Ouest-France à Tel-Aviv, Nicolas ROUGER. Publié le 10/10/2022
    ▻https://www.ouest-france.fr/monde/palestine/israel-des-detenus-dont-un-avocat-franco-palestinien-de-nouveau-en-grev
    ▻https://media.ouest-france.fr/v1/pictures/MjAyMjEwNjRjNWFiYTcwZGYxYjYxMGVmZjk3MGY4NjAzODhkMGM?width=1260&he

    L’avocat franco-palestinien Salah Hamouri fait partie de la trentaine de prisonniers qui ne s’alimentent plus depuis quinze jours. Ils sont englués dans le labyrinthe carcéral sciemment déployé par Israël.

    Le 25 septembre, le juriste franco-palestinien Salah Hamouri, 37 ans, et 29 autres prisonniers palestiniens ont cessé de s’alimenter. Tous sont derrière les barreaux sous le régime de la détention administrative, Hamouri depuis le 7 mars. Et tous protestent contre cette pratique, héritée du colon britannique (1920-1948), qu’Israël a conservée et développée contre les militants palestiniens.

    Aberration dans un État par ailleurs démocratique, la détention administrative permet à un juge d’embastiller quiconque menace la sécurité d’Israël pour des périodes de trois à six mois, renouvelables indéfiniment, et sur la base d’un dossier entièrement secret. Les avocats des détenus n’ont pas accès aux « preuves »​, présentées en général par le Shin Beth, le service de sécurité intérieure. (...)

    #Salah_Hamouri

    Loutre
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  • @grommeleur
    grommeleur

    The Black Panthers protesting in Chicago, Illinois, 1969

    https://i.postimg.cc/26dYx3GQ/3532.jpg

    Hiroji Kubota: ‘At the time, the Black Panthers were starting to get popular and I managed to get to know them. For some reason, these three leaders wanted to be photographed with a very big Picasso sculpture at Chicago City Hall. “It’s not interesting,” I said. Then it started snowing so we went outside and I took this. I didn’t give them any instructions – they just went down there and saluted, never asking me anything about myself, or what I might be doing the picture for. They pretty much ignored me.’

    Photograph: Hiroji Kubota/Magnum Photos/c/o Atlas Gallery

    ▻https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2022/oct/07/black-triangle-moments-and-heroes-of-the-civil-rights-era-in-pictures
    #photographie

    grommeleur
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  • @grommeleur
    grommeleur
    1
    @simplicissimus
    1

    Lady of the Gobi: trucking coal across the desert to China
    ▻https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2022/sep/29/lady-of-the-gobi-trucking-coal-across-the-desert-to-china

    On Mongolia’s coal highway to the Chinese border, truck driver Maikhuu dreams of a better life and financial security for her three children. However, the road from the mines to China is riddled with accidents, toxic pollution, poor hygiene and now, amid the Covid crisis, drivers face days of quarantine on the border. Trapped in a hazardous industry, Maikhuu’s journey reflects the human and environmental costs of Mongolia’s mining boom

    grommeleur
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  • @grommeleur
    grommeleur
    2
    @biggrizzly
    @ericw
    2

    ‘It’s a murder scene’: feral pigs torment residents in New Zealand capital
    ▻https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/27/its-a-scene-wild-pigs-torment-residents-in-new-zealand-capital

    Marauding feral pigs have blighted a central suburb in New Zealand’s capital, killing kid goats at an urban farm, intimidating dogs and turning up in residents’ gardens.

    The owners of a goat milk farm in the hills of the suburb of Brooklyn, 10 minutes from the centre of Wellington, has lost about 60 kid goats to pigs in the past few months. Often, all that is left of them are gnawed bone fragments and parts of the hooves or head.

    #it_has_begun

    grommeleur
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  • @cdb_77
    CDB_77
    1
    @stephane_m
    1
    @karine4 @cede

    British Muslims’ citizenship reduced to ‘second-class’ status, says thinktank

    Recently extended powers to strip people of their nationality almost exclusively targets Muslims, report says

    British Muslims have had their citizenship reduced to “second-class” status as a result of recently extended powers to strip people of their nationality, a thinktank has claimed.

    The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) says the targets of such powers are almost exclusively Muslims, mostly of south Asian heritage, embedding discrimination and creating a lesser form of citizenship.

    The IRR’s report was published on Sunday amid renewed controversy over the case of Shamima Begum, who was smuggled into the hands of Islamic State aged 15, and in the wake of the Nationality and Borders Act – that allowed citizenship to be stripped without notifying the subject, coming on to the statute books.

    Frances Webber, IRR vice-chair and report author, wrote: “The message sent by the legislation on deprivation of citizenship since 2002 and its implementation largely against British Muslims of south Asian heritage is that, despite their passports, these people are not and can never be ‘true’ citizens, in the same way that ‘natives’ are.

    “While a ‘native’ British citizen, who has access to no other citizenship, can commit the most heinous crimes without jeopardising his right to remain British, none of the estimated 6 million British citizens with access to another citizenship can feel confident in the perpetual nature of their citizenship.”

    Webber said before being used against the Muslim preacher Abu Hamza in 2003, no deprivation of citizenship had been authorised for 30 years. But since then there have been at least 217, with 104 removals in 2017 after the collapse of Islamic State in Syria.

    Despite government claims that powers are only used against those who pose a grave threat to national security, or who have committed abhorrent crimes, the “Citizenship: from right to privilege” report argues the effect is that certain people have a “second-class, disposable, contingent citizenship”.

    Webbersaid: “These classes of citizenship were brought in to target British Muslims of south Asian and Middle Eastern heritage. Such divisions act as a constant reminder to minority ethnic citizens that they must watch their step, and reinforce racist messages about ‘undeserving’ racialised groups unworthy of being British.”

    The report describes the criteria for deprivation of citizenship as “nebulous and undefined” and warns of a risk of its use for political purposes, with Webber highlighting Begum’s case as an example. It was recently alleged Begum was rtrafficked into Syria by a spy working for Canadian intelligence.

    “It raises the question: was Begum’s citizenship removed to divert attention from western agencies’ prioritisation of intelligence gathering over safeguarding vulnerable trafficked girls?” said Webber.

    Citing the Prevent counter-terrorism programme, which has been dogged by claims of being a cover to spy on Muslim communities, the report said citizenship-stripping is “just one aspect of measures targeting Muslim communities, in Britain and abroad, in the past two decades, which have helped to turn British Muslims in the UK into a ‘suspect community’”.

    The latest change to citizen-stripping powers in the Nationality and Borders Act, heightened public awareness – and criticism – of the existing rules as well as the additions, provoking public protests, opposition from campaigners as well as some MPs and Lords.

    The Home Office said the legislation did not target ethnic minorities or people of particular faiths, and that the test for deprivation was clearly set out.

    A spokesperson said: “Our priority is to ensure the safety and security of the UK. Deprivation of citizenship only happens after careful consideration of the facts and in accordance with international law. It is used against those who have acquired citizenship by fraud and against the most dangerous people, such as terrorists, extremists and serious organised criminals.

    “We make no apology for doing whatever is necessary to protect the UK from those who pose a threat to our security.”

    ▻https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/11/british-muslims-citizenship-reduced-to-second-class-status-says-thinkta
    #UK #Angleterre #citoyenneté #musulmans #nationalité #déchéance_de_nationalité #minorités_ethniques

    ping @karine4 @cede

    CDB_77
    • @cdb_77
      CDB_77

      Citizenship: from right to privilege

      https://i.imgur.com/kfdzmCc.png

      Citizenship-stripping powers introduced since 2002 have enshrined a ‘second-class citizenship’ in the UK, mainly affecting British Muslims, says a new report from the Institute of Race Relations.

      Written in the wake of the Nationality and Borders Act, Citizenship: from right to privilege shows how outrage against the controversial ‘clause 9’ (now Section 10 of the Act), allowing citizenship to be removed without notice, heightened public awareness of the powers, and provoked a groundswell of opposition amongst campaigners, MPs and Lords.

      Examining the history of nationality and citizenship legislation since the ‘East African Asians’ scandal of 1968, the background paper explains how both Labour and Conservative governments have given ministers successively wider powers to remove citizenship from those with access to another citizenship – who are mainly ethnic minorities – and how the targets are almost exclusively British Muslims of south Asian heritage.

      The power to remove citizenship from those obtaining it fraudulently is not considered contentious, but the stripping of citizenship on other, often vaguer grounds has become controversial. Such deprivation increased heavily following its use against Muslim preacher Abu Hamza in 2003. Before Hamza, no removal of citizenship had been authorised for 30 years, but since then, there have been at least 217 removals of citizenship, with 104 removals in 2017 following the collapse of ISIS in Syria.

      The government claims that only those whose actions pose grave threats to national security, or who have committed abhorrent crimes, will lose their citizenship. But the report’s author, IRR vice-chair Frances Webber believes the powers affect far more people, effectively creating a second-class of largely minority ethnic Britons whose citizenship is disposable and contingent:

      ‘Changes to citizenship law which have created these classes of citizenship were brought in to target British Muslims of south Asian and middle eastern heritage. Such divisions act as a constant reminder to minority ethnic citizens that they must watch their step, and reinforce racist messages about “undeserving” racialised groups unworthy of being British.’

      The Home Office is not required to show objectively reasonable grounds to remove a person’s citizenship, nor does the person need to have been convicted of any offence, with many deprived despite having no criminal convictions. The report argues that the ambiguous, undefined criteria for deprivation increases the likelihood of arbitrary and discriminatory decisions, and warns of the risk of abuse of the powers for political purposes – an apt warning given the disclosure that Shamima Begum, whose citizenship was removed by then home secretary Sajid Javid in 2018, had been trafficked into Syria by a Canadian spy. ‘The recent revelation of how Begum was trafficked, and the collusion of the British authorities in the cover-up, suggests that risk is a reality,’ said Webber. ‘It raises the question: was Begum’s citizenship removed to divert attention from Western agencies’ prioritisation of intelligence gathering over safeguarding vulnerable trafficked girls?’

      The ability to challenge decisions has also been diminished, with the briefing highlighting the case of a British-born domestic abuse victim who lost her appeal against citizenship removal although she had been coerced by her husband into travelling to Syria.

      Webber adds that the legislation is also a threat to racialised communities’ right to dissent or criticise the government, with Muslims turned into a ‘suspect community’. The increased use of the powers, alongside other provisions affecting Muslim communities, including the controversial Prevent duty, has coincided with the government’s shift away from racial and religious equality protections, which new prime minister Liz Truss has described as ‘favouritism’.

      Webber warns that the measures share the same rationale with the infamous Windrush scandal that came to light in 2018:

      ‘The ‘deportation logic’ on which the deprivation powers are based – get rid of them, regardless of family ties, or how long they have lived here– is the logic that deprived the Windrush generation of their livelihoods, their homes, in some cases their freedom and their country.’

      ▻https://irr.org.uk/article/citizenship-from-right-to-privilege

      #rapport #privilège #loi

      CDB_77
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  • @cdb_77
    CDB_77
    1
    @colporteur
    1

    Heatwave in China is the most severe ever recorded in the world

    A long spell of extreme hot and dry weather is affecting energy, water supplies and food production across China

    https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/23145221/SEI_120628506.jpg?width=778#.jpg

    Low rainfall and record-breaking heat across much of China are having widespread impacts on people, industry and farming. River and reservoir levels have fallen, factories have shut because of electricity shortages and huge areas of crops have been damaged. The situation could have worldwide repercussions, causing further disruption to supply chains and exacerbating the global food crisis.

    People in large parts of China have been experiencing two months of extreme heat. Hundreds of places have reported temperatures of more than 40°C (104°F), and many records have been broken. Subway stations have set up rest areas where people can recover from the heat.

    On 18 August, the temperature in Chongqing in Sichuan province reached 45°C (113°F), the highest ever recorded in China outside the desert-dominated region of Xinjiang. On 20 August, the temperature in the city didn’t fall below 34.9°C (94.8°F), the highest minimum temperature ever recorded in China in August. The maximum temperature was 43.7°C (110.7°F).

    It is the longest and hottest heatwave in China since national records began in 1961. According to weather historian Maximiliano Herrera, who monitors extreme temperatures around the world, it is the most severe heatwave recorded anywhere.

    “This combines the most extreme intensity with the most extreme length with an incredibly huge area all at the same time,” he says. “There is nothing in world climatic history which is even minimally comparable to what is happening in China.”

    Together with the extreme heat, low rainfall in parts of China has led to rivers falling to low levels, with 66 drying up completely. In parts of the Yangtze, water levels are the lowest since records began in 1865. In a few places, local water supplies have run out and drinking water has had to be trucked in. On 19 August, China announced a national drought alert for the first time in nine years.

    Hydroelectricity generation has fallen because of the low water levels. Sichuan has been especially affected because it normally gets 80 per cent of its electricity from hydropower. Thousands of factories in the province have had to cease operations because of electricity shortages amid high demand for air conditioning. Offices and shopping malls were also told to reduce lighting and air conditioning to save power.

    In Sichuan alone, 47,000 hectares of crops are reported to have been lost and another 433,000 hectares damaged. The agriculture ministry has said it will try to increase rainfall by seeding clouds. It remains scientifically unclear whether cloud seeding makes a significant difference.

    China is far from the only place affected by drought. Europe is having what may be its worst drought in 500 years. There is also a drought in the Horn of Africa, and across much of the US and Mexico.

    Lower crop yields in these regions could worsen the global food crisis. Global food prices hit record levels even before Russia invaded Ukraine, and though they have fallen since March, they remain higher than in previous years. However, China has built up large grain reserves in recent years, so it can make up for some shortfall.

    According to a 2021 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, droughts have been increasing as a result of global warming and will become more frequent and severe as the planet continues to warm.

    ▻https://www.newscientist.com/article/2334921-heatwave-in-china-is-the-most-severe-ever-recorded-in-the-worl

    #Chine #sécheresse #changement_climatique #climat #vague_de_chaleur #chaleur

    CDB_77
    • @cdb_77
      CDB_77

      Chinese city dims lights as record heatwave hits energy supplies

      Highs of over 40C in Chengdu dry up hydropower reservoirs and raise demand for air conditioning

      A provincial capital in south-west China has dimmed outdoor advertisements, subway lighting and building signs to save energy as the area struggles with a power crunch triggered by record-high temperatures.

      Temperatures rose past 40C (104F) in Sichuan province this week, fuelling massive demand for air conditioning and drying up reservoirs in a region reliant on dams for most of its electricity.

      Factories including a joint venture with the Japanese car maker Toyota in the provincial capital, Chengdu, have been forced to halt work, while millions in another city, Dazho, grappled with rolling power cuts.

      “Hot and muggy weather has caused the city’s electricity supply for production and daily life to be pushed to its limit,” Chengdu’s urban management authorities said in a notice on social media on Thursday.

      Faced with a “most severe situation”, the city, which is home to more than 20 million people, had ordered landscape illumination and outdoor advertising lights to be switched off in notices issued Tuesday, the statement said. Building name signs will also be darkened.

      Chengdu metro said in a video on China’s Weibo social media platform that it would also turn off advertisement lights and “optimise” the temperature in stations to save energy.

      Photos circulating on Weibo showed dimmed lights on metro platforms, walkways and in malls, with commuters walking in partial darkness.

      China has suffered a series of heatwaves and record-breaking temperatures this summer. By Friday, the national meteorological administration had issued red-level heat warnings for eight consecutive days, bringing the total to 30 days since June. The heat is expected to continue in some areas for the next 10 days.

      On Thursday, the south-western city of Chongqing registered a record high of 45C, state media reported, hitting a record 11 consecutive days above 40C. As of Friday, Hangzhou had also experienced a record 30 days of high temperatures, the national meteorological administration said.

      Multiple heat records have been broken and a worsening drought has reduced water levels in the country’s largest lake by 75%. On Thursday morning, the total area of Poyang lake in Jiangxi province had reduced by more than 2,200 sq km, to 737 sq km.

      The drought is also drying up the critical Yangtze River, with water flow on its main trunk about 51% lower than the average over the last five years, state media outlet China News Service reported on Thursday.

      Sichuan’s power woes could also have ripple effects on the wider Chinese economy – the province is a key supplier of energy generated by hydropower, including to eastern industrial powerhouses like Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

      China is battling extreme weather on several fronts, with 17 people killed in a flash flood in the north-west of the country on Thursday after torrential rains.

      Meanwhile, weather authorities in the eastern Jiangsu province warned drivers of tire puncture risks on Friday as the surface temperatures of some roads were expected to hit 68C.

      The China Meteorological Administration earlier said the country was going through its longest period of sustained high temperatures since records began in 1961.

      Scientists say extreme weather across the world has become more frequent due to the climate crisis and that urgent global cooperation is needed to slow an impending disaster. The world’s two largest emitters are the US and China.

      But earlier this month Beijing announced it was freezing its cooperation with Washington on global heating in protest over a visit by the US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, to Taiwan.

      ▻https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/19/chinese-city-dims-lights-as-record-heatwave-hits-energy-supplies

      #énergie

      CDB_77
    • @cdb_77
      CDB_77

      China issues alert as drought and heatwave put crops at risk

      Local authorities told to take measures and ‘use every unit of water carefully’ in effort to save autumn harvest

      A drought in China is threatening food production, prompting the government to order local authorities to take all available measures to ensure crops survive the hottest summer on record.

      On Tuesday, four government departments issued an urgent joint emergency notice, warning that the autumn harvest was under “severe threat”. It urged local authorities to ensure “every unit of water … be used carefully”, and called for methods included staggered irrigation, the diversion of new water sources, and cloud seeding.

      A record-breaking heatwave combined with a months-long drought during the usual flood season has wreaked havoc across China’s usually water-rich south. It has dried up parts of the Yangtze River and dozens of tributaries, drastically affecting hydropower capacity and causing rolling blackouts and power rationing as demand for electricity spikes. There is now concern about future food supply.

      Even Pay, an analyst at Trivium China who specialises in agriculture, said her immediate concern was for fresh produce.

      “The kinds of fresh vegetables that supply the local markets where people buy their produce each day – that’s the category that is least likely to be in a major irrigation area, and which is not likely to be strategically prioritised in a national push to protect grain and oil feeds,” she said.

      Crop losses would also hit supply chains and exacerbate supply problems, Pay said, as a Chinese city’s produce supply was often grown close to that city, but would have to be sourced from further away and could rot on longer journeys.

      Pay said the concerns were mainly domestic, and that categories of food that would affect the global markets were “keeping pretty safe”. But she said attention should be paid to rapeseed if the drought was still going when crops are planted in the autumn.

      China is now relying more heavily on its own corn production – 4% of which was grown in drought affected Sichuan and Anhui – after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drastically destabilised global supplies.

      Pay added:“I think we’re going to start to see reports of livestock farmers getting hit. A lot of pig farmers have upscaled in recent years … There are big intensive vertical farms, and if the AC gets cut off [the pigs] are not going to be in good shape.”

      Pay was relatively optimistic about the measures announced on Tuesday, and its call for tailored local solutions. The order to divert water sources would probably help areas where water is inaccessible, she said, and subsidies have already been announced.

      “But we’ve now had 35 straight days of heat warnings. We have dry season water levels, or below typical dry season water levels. The conditions are very, very extreme and there’s no question that there will be some loss of crops.”

      Tuesday’s notice heavily emphasised that it came from the highest levels of government, partially titled “emergency notice on thoroughly implementing the spirit of general secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions”.

      “That’s a really important signal to localities that there is a very high degree of political will behind the push to do anything and everything possible to support farmers and ensure crops can be saved,” said Pay.

      It was also a sign of the pressure on China’s Communist party to avoid food price rises and inflation, as it prepares for its five-yearly congress meeting in the coming months.

      “It’s signalling to markets, anyone with the jitters, or thinking of stocking up on food, that: hey everybody is mobilised and we’re going to do everything we can,” said Pay. “It’s also signalling to local province and county level governments that they need to get out and be seen to do something even if there is nothing that can be done.”

      China has made climate crisis commitments to peak its carbon output before 2030, but – along with some European countries – has recently reprioritised coal production to stave off a global energy crisis.

      Pay said China was making big efforts in adaptability. She said the hydropower failure in Sichuan – where it contributes 80% of power supply – would probably lead to a fossil fuel-driven response in the short term before efforts to boost other renewable sources which had struggled to compete with cheap hydropower.

      “What’s happening this summer is going to be the base case for what a climate emergency looks like, and we’re likely to se a lot of policy research and redesign … and a lot more attention around water availability.”

      ▻https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/24/china-issues-alert-drought-heatwave-put-crops-at-risk
      #agriculture

      CDB_77
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