With the current sanctions between Europe and Russia there was massive opportunity for African producers to develop their trading relationships with Russia, Managing Director at the Catalyze – International Events, Rex Bowden said in an interview after the 27th World Food Moscow exhibition held from 17-20 September in Moscow.

While EU states and Turkey have been banned from exporting some key food and beverage products to the Russian Federation, a number of African countries have identified this market opportunity. South Africa and Egypt, as examples, have had a constant growth in trade to Russia over the past five years, whereas that of other countries around the world have decreased dramatically, he explained.

According to Bowden, “Africa fresh produce is also growing due to massive international demand and there has been a steady growth in the output in Africa. All these factors point towards continued growth into Russia from African countries.”

The World Food Moscow exhibition has been acknowledged as the best platform for introducing new products to the Russian market. The African countries that participated in this year exhibition include South Africa, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda.

These African countries have shown their preparedness to cooperate and are still looking at the possibility to boost exports of agricultural products especially fruits and vegetables to Russian food market to help fill in the gap after President Vladimir Putin slapped sanctions that severely limit food imports from those EU countries.

For instance, Egypt exported $26.8 billion worth of goods globally. Egyptian food companies have spotted a huge opportunity to get their products to lucrative market in Russia. In 2017, Egyptian exports to Russia increased by 30% according to Russian Trade and Industry Ministry. The future looks great for Egyptian produce in the Russian food market.

As with all exporters, there are still some key challenges such as competition from other African producing countries, namely South Africa and Morocco. Ethiopia specializes in flowers while Kenya export coffee and tea. Over the past few years, South Africa and Egypt have been the biggest represented countries at World Food Moscow. Egyptian food producers showcased fruit, vegetables, confectionery, tea, coffee and a range of meat produce. West Africa, with its tropical fruits, has missed the World Food Moscow.

“Russia has a huge and fantastic consumer base for agricultural products from Africa. Be it fresh tropical fruits and vegetables, or the processed ones, dried or canned. In fact, the African exporters have keen interests in the Russian market but face many challenges in getting their goods delivered to consumers in Russia,” Rex Essenowo, Member of the Board of Trustees, Nigerians in Diaspora Europe (NIDO) and Senior Executive of Asian Africa Trade, a Moscow based business lobbying NGO, told The Exchange.

As western sanctions on Russia loom, agricultural ministries and export promotion agencies in West African countries should come out boldly to help their farmers to perform better by utilizing these new market opportunities in Russia. There is absolutely no need complaining about lack of information. It’s time to make a good use of their foreign missions and the strength of resources to find market entry, Essenowo suggested.

South Africa’s Economic Counsellor at the Diplomatic Representative Office in Moscow, Moloko Leshaba, said that “South Africa has continued to see positive growth in exports to the Russia in a number of products. Bottled wines have been growing at more than 10 percent in the last four years, increasing the number of South African wine brands in the country.”

He, however, observed that “Russia is actively looking for alternative suppliers of food and beverages to mitigate the effects of sanctions. South African companies have the opportunity to expand into a receptive market in Russia.”

Philip Mundia Githiora, who is the Minister Counsellor at the Kenyan Embassy in Moscow, pointed out explicitly that Russia offers a large market for Kenyan agricultural products and that Kenya already exports some agricultural products including cut-flowers, tea and coffee to the Russian Federation.

He explained to in an interview that “a preferential trade agreement with Kenya in particular and Africa in general would be a positive step because such agreements hasten the progress of trade negotiations, leads to the achievement of timely, substantial reduction in barriers to trade, particularly agriculture, non-tariff barriers, and dispute settlement procedures, and stimulate economic growth and development.”

During the 2nd Uganda-Russia Intergovernmental Commission meeting that took place in May 2018, Ugandan Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Johnson Agara Olwa, urged Russian investors to consider investing in coffee, tea and fruits among other products that Uganda can expose to Russian consumers.

The Ugandan delegation to the meeting, aimed at finding ways for improving trade and strengthening relations between the two countries, comprised both government officials and business representatives.

As far back as 2014, the African diplomatic community in the Russian Federation has asked the Russian government for an initiative to waive its import tariffs on or grant special preference for African agricultural exports to Russia.

“This might help potential African exporters looking to transact agro-business or searching to export fruits and vegetables to Russia’s burgeoning market under new preferential trade agreements, a significant step that will strengthen Russia-African trade relations,” an out-spoken African Ambassador told me in an interview by phone and asked that his name be withheld.

According to the Association of Russian Agricultural Products Importers, Russia has a long-term partnership agreement with South Africa and other African countries. South Africa was granted by the Russian government a preferential status in 2003, thus provided a realization of double increase export of SA fruits to Russia.

The Exchange investigations indicate that the Association is currently working with government authorities on removal of artificial barriers for import of fruits and vegetables from foreign countries to Russia.

The Association, representing the biggest and reliable importers covering about 60-70% of Russian fresh produce market, provides an excellent opportunity for African companies to enter Russian market. It is very simple method: exporters have to formulate their possibilities, confirm their export-ready potentials and send all these and other relevant details such as profile of the exporting companies.

The World Food Moscow exhibition embraces the entire food market and has 11 sectored areas: meat and poultry, fish and seafood, frozen products and semi-processed foods, fruits and vegetables, confectionery and baked goods, groceries and snacks, preservation, fat-and-oil products and dairy products.

The World Food Moscow, launched in 1991, is recognized as an exhibition primarily by Russia’s professional visitors and attracts representatives from the wholesale and retail trade. There were over 2,500 exhibitors from 62 countries and almost 50,000 visitors to the World Food Moscow. *Kester Kenn Klomegah writes frequently about Russia, Africa and BRICS.

With November 4, 2018, the date for re-imposition of U.S. sanctions against Iran drawing closer, uncertainty about how much of global oil supply will be affected is running high. Mixed signals are coming from some of Iran’s biggest oil customers. Analysts fear that uncertainty is likely to linger on even after the sanctions become effective. There is a need to understand the motive behind the US decision.

There is growing consensus that the US decision is based on achieving three key objectives: 1) weakening Iran economically to stop it from becoming a regional power. Both the US and Israel have learnt that an economically strong Iran is the biggest hurdle in maintaining their hegemony in the region, 2) by creating rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the US also succeed in selling more arms to Saudi Arabia, which has been brainwashed to an extent where the monarch considers Iran a bigger threat as compared to Israel and 3) the biggest beneficiary of high oil price is the US that has attained the status of largest oil producing country.

According to energy sector analysts, if crude price plunge below US$50/barrel most of the US shale companies will go bankrupt. It is on record that in the past when crude price touched US$147/barrel the number of active rigs rose to around 1,600. When the price plunged to less than US$40/barrel the number of active rigs declined to less than 600.

One of the objectives of western media is to keep the level of uncertainty high by promoting geopolitical crises. By keeping level of uncertainty high, speculators are facilitated and one thing has been proved without any doubt that even the hawkish statements of the US present keeps oil prices volatile.

This volatility also keeps many economic super powers subservient to the US. There are credible evidences that the association of Japanese refiners has suspended its crude oil purchases from Iran and South Korean refiners have also stopped buying Iranian crude in the hope that Washington will grant the heavily import-dependent nation a sanction waiver.

Reportedly, India’s largest refiners have not ordered any Iranian crude for November deliveries, which suggest that India might follow other countries buying oil from Iran. One can’t ignore a fact that the deadline for purchasing oil cargoes for November delivery is still a couple of weeks away. Earlier, India had indicated to use its currency to settle oil transactions with Iran.

The European Union has come up with a mechanism to continue buying oil and oil products from Iran, but analysts are skeptical about how effective it will be. The mechanism basically means transactions will use the barter principle rather than money—a mechanism the USSR used during the Cold war. Since a transaction is a transaction, with or without money, the U.S. could expand sanctions to cover barter deals also.

Some close observers of the situation warn that despite all the rhetoric from Washington, things in Iran are not as bad as being portrayed by the western media. The country has the resources to withstand the crisis. Reportedly Iran has enough to handle 1.85 million bpd in exports, and Iranian insurers are sure to provide coverage, the uncertainties continue.

After entering into different controversies, the US president has hit Saudi monarch below the belt by saying that its rule could no last beyond two weeks without the US support. Analysts say that after facing defeat in Syria and Iraq, the US seems adamant at dragging Saudi Arabia into some proxy war and putting all the blame on Iran.

A new proxy wars in Arabian Peninsula in making, US president showing disregard to different agreements, Iran being portrayed a phantom to sell arms to Saudi Arabia

Putting education on the list of priorities in any country is a sign of healthy society. Democratic countries around the world are in a race for upgrading their education systems. At elections times, parties compete with each other on the issue and how much their proposed government is planning to invest on education.

In Iran however education and investing on modern systems has no place on the list of regime’s priorities. In fact many children are deprived of their undeniable right to education. Last week schools officially opened in Iran. But a large number of children were deprived from attending simply because their parents had to choose between sending them to school or to the job market. Children have been forced to share the burden of helping their parents cope with Iran’s crazy economy.

There are anywhere between three to seven million street children according to the Iranian regime’s official figures.

The Workers’ House or the Coordination Center of the Iranian Workers’ Councils states: “The current situation, in particular wages are under the poverty line or the failure to pay workers’ salaries for long periods of time, has worsen their distress as they now have concerns over not being able to afford their children’s stationary supplies nor the cost of their education. This concern has become so serious that the children of these families, despite the dissatisfaction of their parents, are forced to drop out of school and enter the labor market in order to help out with living expenses,” the state-run ILNA news agency reported.

It is estimated that ten million Iranians are illiterate and another 15 million semi-literate.
Media reports are filled with warnings that Iranian children are rapidly dropping out of school to help feed their starving families. “It appears that if things stay as they are, drop-out numbers, especially for girls, will rise. As things are, low-income families, especially in deprived regions, prefer to just ‘survive’. So they must choose between eating enough and continuing their children’s education, and naturally, they will choose survival. On the one hand, living costs and education costs have multiplied, and on the other hand, free education plans have become a thing of the past. In such conditions, there are few low-income families who can pay the cost of their children’s education, especially girls. The red alarm is already shining for a few months. While salaries are still 70 percent behind the increase of life costs, education should be free for everyone and students from low-income families should receive subsidies for stationeries and other educational assistance tools. Otherwise, soon we will face a high rate of illiterates and half illiterates,” reported the state-run news agency Ilna on September 21th.

An Iranian official said on June 14th that “in Iran, one in every four students drops out and the reason is mainly a lack of stationaries… in a place where the school can collapse at any minute, you can’t talk much about education and now it’s a little difficult to talk about education.”

Cost of going to school sky rising

“Stationery prices have increased 100 percent this year and there are no Iranian-made items… Families and students go shopping but eventually leave the stores with tearful eyes because of the prices,” Quds website wrote on September 14th.

Isna news agency published an article on September 9th titled “Favoritism for Managers, Costs for Families,” revealed another aspect of corruption in Iranian schools: “One of the major costs for families in the back-to-school season is the purchase of new outfits, which is done through wrong channels and inflicts exorbitant costs on families… In recent years, pre-made uniforms are in parts put aside and schools choose special uniforms for their students based on the principal’s personal taste… A major part of the uniforms are created through unlicensed dressmaking shops and they receive these orders because of their connections with the school’s principal.”

Ruling “elite” children attend luxury schools

To add insult to injury, there are reports that children of the “elite” pay substantially for their education in upper-class private schools run by former Revolutionary Guards and high-level clerics. These schools only accept children of Iranian regime’s officials. As an example the former President Mohammad Khatami runs the most expensive one. He charges students who enroll in his school 37 million Tomans a year. Running second is Imam Sadegh School belonging to Mohammad Reza Mahdavi-Kani former head of the regime’s Assembly of Experts tasked with choosing the next leader should Ali Khamenei die. Imam Sadegh School charges its students 25 million Tomans. In the chaotic state of Iran’s currency, Rial, it is very difficult to convert it to foreign currencies such as US dollar because the rate changes by the hour. It suffices to say that no ordinary citizen can ever image sending his child to such schools.

According to the Iranian regime’s constitution section 30, elementary and secondary education must be free for all citizens. But that is not true. Education is another area in which the Iranian regime’s current and former officials are competing to make more money.

Hassan Rouhani’s military budget for this year shows a 40 percent jump. With Iran’s failing economy the cut had to come from somewhere and it came from areas such as education, public welfare and environment.

The mullahs’ regime will not stop spending on foreign wars and suppression at home. Iranian people have no option but to continue their protests for a regime change. Maryam Rajavi, President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in her message for school opening day 2018 said: “The solution lies in the hands of a generation risen in this path demanding the regime’s overthrow. As the Iranian Resistance’s Leader Massoud Rajavi has said, “The days of Khomeini’s heirs and the brutal mullahs are numbered. The dawn of freedom and justice is on the horizon.”

*Reza Shafiee is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI). He tweets @shafiee_shafiee

Among the many challenges India faces, the most underappreciated is the ongoing mental health crisis. Mental illness is actually India’s ticking bomb. The National Mental Health Survey of India (2016), the largest exercise to count the numbers of those affected by mental disorders, reported that one of every ten adults experiences a clinically significant condition. Nearly 90% of these people have received no care at all in the past years. The suvey further estimates that 13.7 percent of the Indian population above the age of 18 suffers from mental morbidity, requiring active intervention. It also suggests that one in every 20 Indians suffers from depression and nearly one percent of Indians suffer from high suicidal risks.

The importance of emotional and mental health in the overall well-being of an individual and its impact on the national economy and growth is being increasingly acknowledged. At present, the mentally-ill account for nearly 6.5 percent of the country’s population and it is estimated that by 2020 this number will increase to a staggering 20 percent. Further, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that nearly 56 million Indians, that is, 4.5 percent of India’s population, suffer from depression. Another thirty-eight million Indians, or three percent of India’s population, suffer from anxiety disorders including panic attacks, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Particularly worrying is the intensity of mental disorders in the adolescents. Half of all mental illness starts by the age of 14, but most cases go undetected and untreated. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-29-year-olds.depression is the third leading item in the burden of disease among adolescents Fortunately, there is a growing from the earliest ages, in order to cope with the challenges of today’s world.

The pathetic state of mental health care in the country coupled with government’s apathy is a cause of great concern. A plausible reason is the sheer scale of the problem. Hence, nobody wants to discuss the elephant in the room. However, the nation cannot afford to ignore the stark reality.

There are only about 43 mental hospitals in the country, and most of them are in disarray. Six states, mainly in the northern and eastern regions with a combined population of 56 million people, do not have a single mental hospital. Most government –run mental hospitals lack essential infrastructure, treatment facilities and have a sickening ambience. Visiting private clinics and sustaining the treatment, which is usually a long, drawn-out affair, is an expensive proposition for most families.

The Key facts

• One in six people are aged 10–19 years.
• Mental health conditions account for 16% of the global burden of disease and injury in people aged 10–19 years.
• Half of all mental health conditions start by 14 years of age but most cases are undetected and untreated.
• Globally, depression is one of the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents.
• Suicide is the third leading cause of death in 15–19 year olds.
• The consequences of not addressing adolescent mental health conditions extend to adulthood, impairing both physical and mental health and limiting opportunities to lead fulfilling lives as adults.
• Mental health promotion and prevention are key to helping adolescents thrive.

According to a Ministry of Health and Family Welfare report, India faces a treatment gap of 50-70 percent for mental health care. The government data highlights the dismal number of mental healthcare professionals in India; 3,800 psychiatrists and just 898 clinical psychologists. A large number of them are situated in urban areas. The WHO reports that there are only three psychiatrists per million people in India, while in other Commonwealth countries, the ratio is 5.6 psychiatrists for the same. By this estimate, India is short of 66,200 psychiatrists.

Mental health care accounts for 0.16 percent of the total Union Health Budget, which is less than that of Bangladesh, which spends 0.44 percent. A developed nation’s expenditure on the same amounts to an average of 4 percent. India must find better ways to parlay its impressive economic growth into faster progress in this critical area as maintaining an ignorant stance on the issue will not help in its resolve.

A survey conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in collaboration with WHO across 11 centres in the country, involving 3,000 people from each city found that 95 percent of those with mental-health problems remain deprived of treatment due to stigma, shame and getting shunned from societies. Three age groups are particularly vulnerable to depression: pregnant or post-partum women, the youth and the elderly.

With resources tight an effective method for successfully tackling mental illness is a major expansion of online psychiatric resources such as virtual clinics and web-based psychotherapies.

The economic consequences of poor mental health are quite significant. The cognitive symptoms of depression like difficulties in concentrating, making decisions and remembering cause significant impairment in work function and productivity. A World Economic Forum-Harvard School of Public Health study estimated that the cumulative global impact of mental disorders in terms of lost economic output will amount to $16.3 trillion between 2011 and 2030. In India, mental illness is estimated to cost $1.03 trillion (22 percent of the economic output) during 2012-2030. Estimates suggest that by 2025,38.1m years of healthy life will be lost to mental illness in India (23% increase).

The fact is that poor mental health is just as bad as or maybe even worse than any kind of physical injury. Left untreated, it can lead to debilitating, life-altering conditions. Medical science has progressed enough to be able to cure, or at least control, nearly all of the mental-health problems with a combination of drugs, therapy and community support. Individuals can lead fulfilling and productive lives while performing day-to-day activities such as going to school, raising a family and pursuing a career.

Although mental illness is experienced by a significant portion of the population, it is still seen as a taboo. Depression is so deeply stigmatised that people adopt enforced silence and social isolation. In villages, there are dreadful, recorded cases of patients being locked up in homes during the day, being tied to trees or even being flogged to exorcise evil spirits. Stories of extreme barbarity abound in tribal cultures. In some societies, family honour is so paramount that the notion of seeking psychiatric help more regularly is considered to be anathema to them. Recognition and acknowledgement, rather than denial and ignorance are the need of the hour.

Many a time, mental-health problems are either looked down upon or trivialised. These man-made barriers deprive people of their dignity. We need to shift the paradigm of how we view and address mental illness at a systemic level. Tragically, support networks for the mentally ill are woefully inadequate. There is an urgent need for an ambience of empathy, awareness and acceptance of these people so that prejudices dissipate and patients are able to overcome the stigma and shame.
India’s Mental Health Care Act is a very progressive legislation, and is the equivalent of a bill of rights for people with mental disorders. Fundamentally, the Act treats mental disorders on the same plane =as physical health problems thus stripping it of all stigmatizations. Mental health issues get the same priority as physical disorders Conceptually, it transforms the focus of mental health legislations from supposedly protecting society and families by relegating people with mental disorders to second-class citizens, to emphasizing the provision of affordable and quality care, financed by the government, through the primary care system.

There have been some encouraging innovations in India, led by voluntary organisations that are both impactful and replicable. Dr Vikram Patel, who is a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and co-founder of the Goa-based mental health research non-profit ‘Sangath’, has been at the forefront of community mental health programmes in central India.
It deploys health workers, some with no background in mental health. The mission tasks community-based workers to provide low intensity psychosocial interventions and raise mental health awareness and provide “psychological first-aid.” Since they are drawn from the same community, they are able to empathise with the patients. The next stage consists of mental health professionals. The programme uses Primary Health Centres for screening people with mental illnesses.

According to Patel, mental-health support workers can be trained at a modest cost. Given the limited availability of mental-health professionals, such first-aid approaches can be suitably and successfully adapted to community needs with limited resources. The senior therapists can be given basic training in general medicine, psychology, psychiatry, psychopharmacology, social work and patient management.

His model envisages the involvement of primary care based counsellors and community based workers to reduce the burden of depression in the population. There is no longer any doubt about whether community health workers can be trained and supervised to deliver clinically effective psychosocial interventions. The challenge before us now is how to go beyond pilots and research studies and scale these innovations up in routine health care. Involvement of the social, health and education sectors in comprehensive, integrated, evidence-based programmes for the mental health of young people is vital for strneghtening the overall healthcare framework at the grassroots level.

Mental healthcare initiatives are presently focused on a narrow biomedical approach that tends to ignore socio-cultural contexts.Community mental-health services can offer a mix of clinical, psychological and social services to people with severe, moderate and mild mental illnesses. Also, counselling can make a profound difference and build resilience to cope with despair. Providing psychoeducation to the patients’ families can also help. Unfortunately, in recent decades, academic psychologists have largely forsaken psychoanalysis and made themselves over as biologists. There is need for strengthening the cadre of behavioral health therapists.

Prevention must begin with people being made aware of the early warning signs and symptoms of mental illness. Parents and teachers can help build life skills of children and adolescents to help them cope with everyday challenges at home and at school. Psychosocial support can be provided in schools and other community settings

Training for health workers to enable them to detect and manage mental health disorders can be put in place, improved or expanded. Such programmes should also cover peers, parents and teachers so that they know how to support their friends, children and students overcome mental stress and neurotic problems.

There is a need for more open discussion and dialogue on this subject with the general public, and not just expert’s .this can help create a more inclusive environment for people with mental illness.
With simple yet effective steps, we can turn the situation around and build a more accommodating environment for those struggling with mental distress.

On October 9, 2018, a lot of videos appeared in Twitter on the plight of Syrian citizens in the notorious al-Rukban refugee camp.

The lack of necessary means of subsistence threatens more than 70,000 residents of this camp with a humanitarian disaster. It was consistently stated that the situation of the refugees in death al-Rukban remains a cause of great concern, but Washington does not allow any humanitarian convoys to arrive at this territory. Namely, the United States imposed a ban on entering the 55-kilometer zone around its base for Syrian government agencies and humanitarian organizations.

As a result, the Syrian government and the Center for the Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides are deprived of the opportunity to organize the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syrian citizens in the al-Rukban. Thus, the entire responsibility for the plight of more than 70 thousand refugees lays squarely with the military command of the US Army.

The fact is that the specified refugee camp is located near the American military base in the area of at-Tanf, not far from the Iraqi, Jordanian and Syrian border 260 kilometers east of Damascus.

It is not profitable for CENTCOM to let independent representatives getting into the camp as the conditions in it gave the US SOF ample opportunity to use IDP’s fate for issues not related to the Syrian refugee problem, in fact, to manipulate them, recruit them into the ranks of the opposition, train them and prepare them to fight B. Assad’s government. This information was confirmed by the “Lebanon free news” correspondents spoke with one of the American military personnel, captain Robert Harris, who served on the al-Tanf base in 2017 and subsequently commissioned because of severe illness after serving in Syria.

Washington has repeatedly been called upon to provide immediate, unimpeded access to facilitate the provision of humanitarian relief to the affected populations of al-Rukban camp, as well as to ensure the withdrawal of refugees to the places of their permanent residence and to liquidate al-Tanf military base, but efforts remain unsuccessful.

*Bassim Alkhalili holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism

The business case for making our economy more sustainable is clear. Globally, transitioning to a circular economy – where materials are reused, re-manufactured or recycled-could significantly reduce carbon emissions and deliver over US$1 trillion in material cost savings by 2025. The benefits for Asia and the Pacific would be huge. But to make this happen, the region needs to reconcile its need for economic growth with its ambition for sustainable business.

Today, the way we consume is wasteful. We extract resources, use them to produce goods and services, often wastefully, and then sell them and discard them. However, resources can only stretch so far. By 2050, the global population will reach 10 billion. In the next decade, 2.5 billion new middle-class consumers will enter the fray. If we are to meet their demands and protect the planet, we must disconnect prosperity and well-being from inefficient resource use and extraction. And create a circular economy, making the shift to extending product lifetimes, reusing and recycling in order to turn waste into wealth.

These imperatives underpin the 5th Green Industry Conference held in Bangkok this week, hosted by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in partnership with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Royal Thai government. High-level policymakers, captains of industry and scientists gathered to discuss solutions on how to engineer waste and pollution out of our economy, keep products and materials in use for longer and regenerate the natural system in which we live.

The goal is to embed sustainability into industries which we depend on for our jobs, prosperity and well-being. Action in Asia and the Pacific could make a major difference. Sixty percent of the world’s fastmoving consumer goods are manufactured in the region. Five Asia-Pacific countries account for over half of the plastic in the world’s oceans. The region’s material footprint per unit of Gross Domestic Product is twice the world average and the amount of solid waste generated by Asian cities is expected to double by 2025.

If companies could build circular supply chains to reduce material use and increase the rate of reuse, repair, remanufacture and recycling – powered by renewable energy – the value of materials could be maximized. This would cushion businesses, manufacturing industries in particular, from the volatility of commodity prices by decoupling production from finite supplies of primary resources. This is increasingly important as many elements vital for industrial production could become scarce in the coming decades.

With these goals in mind, the United Nations is working with governments and businesses to support innovation and upgrade production technologies to use less materials, energy and water. UNIDO is engaged across industrial sectors, from food production to textiles, from automotive to construction. Over the past twenty-five years, its network of Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production Centres has helped thousands of businesses to “green” their processes and their products. The Global Cleantech initiative has supported entrepreneurs to produce greener building materials. Industrial renewable energy use is being accelerated by the Global Network of Sustainable Energy Centres. New business models such as chemical leasing help reduce chemical emissions. And the creation of eco-industrial parks has contributed to the sustainable development of our towns and cities.

In Asia and the Pacific, the UN is intensifying its efforts to reducing and banning single use plastics. The Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy is implementing programmes to reduce plastics consumption, marine litter and electronics waste, and encourage sustainable procurement practices. UNESCAP is identifying opportunities in Asian cities to return plastic resources into the production cycle by linking waste pickers in the informal economy with local authorities to recover plastic waste and reduce pollution.

The 5th Green Industry Conference is an opportunity to give scale to these efforts. The gap between our ambition for sustainability and many business practices is significant. So it’s essential for best practice to be shared, common approaches coordinated, and success stories replicated. We need to learn from each other’s businesses to innovate, sharpen our rules and increase consumer awareness. Let’s step up our efforts to build a circular economy in Asia and the Pacific.

*Mr. LI Yong is Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Mr. Hongjoo Hahm is Officer-in-Charge of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is such an established feature of today’s Middle East that it comes as something of a surprise to realize that it is less than a hundred years old.  It was only in 1932 that Abdul Aziz ibn Saud emerged from many years of political and military struggle against other local chieftains and the Ottoman empire and was able to name the area that he had conquered “Saudi Arabia”, and proclaim himself monarch.

It was doubtless with an eye to the eventual centenary celebrations of the monarchy and the kingdom that in April 2016 Saudi’s dynamic young crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman (known as MBS), launched Saudi Vision 2030, an ambitious plan to revitalize the nation. If it succeeds, by 2032 Saudi Arabia will have been transformed from its current dependency on oil revenues into a modern, liberalized, thriving, entrepreneurial society, its prosperity underpinned by flourishing industrial, financial, economic and commercial sectors.

Saudi Vision 2030 has been described as a “neo-liberal blueprint”. It envisages, among hundreds of initiatives, privatizing entire sectors of the economy, cutting subsidies, courting investors at home and abroad, streamlining government services, and going public with the national oil company, Saudi Aramco.

In its two-year review of Saudi Vision 2030, issued in May 2018, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) declared that Saudi Arabia was making “good progress” in implementing reforms likely to help spur economic growth.

The basic aim of Vision 2030 – to lower Saudi Arabia’s dependency on oil by creating new revenue streams – was fostered by the oil price collapse of 2014-15, which forced the government to declare a deficit budget in 2016. For many years the Saudi economy had been dependent on, and sustained by, oil. Oil income accounted for some 90% of export earnings and 87% of budget revenues. This clearly left the kingdom highly vulnerable to fluctuations in the price of oil.

It was a document produced in 2015 by the business consulting firm McKinsey, “Saudi Arabia Beyond Oil”, that laid the foundations of Vision 2030 by proposing how the kingdom might redirect its economy away from oil dependence and build a sustainable economy.

What those proposals could not adequately tackle, however, was the temptations that a rebound in oil prices might have on the diversification program. Vision 2030 got off to a flying start in its first two years, but by 2018 oil prices had soared from their low of $30 a barrel to $80 – nowhere near the heady days of 2008, when they topped $145 per barrel, but significant enough.

The result, one authoritative economic source suggests, is that the Saudi government, no longer hemorrhaging money from foreign exchange reserves, has fallen back on an old habit of acting with less urgency when times are good for the oil industry. Now that it has extra oil revenue it is slowing down reform efforts a little, while still moving toward a positive current account balance.

“The primary challenges for the government,” said the IMF’s mission chief for the kingdom, Tim Callen, “are to sustain the implementation of reforms, achieve the fiscal targets it has set, and resist the temptation to re-expand government spending in line with higher oil prices.”

Britain’s prime minister Theresa May included Riyadh in her first overseas trip after triggering Brexit – the UK’s decision to leave the European Union – disregarding criticism from human rights and left-wing activists who want Britain to cut military ties with the Saudis over allegations of war crimes in Yemen. She has personal experience of the importance of Britain’s relationship with the Saudis from the six years she spent as home secretary, where part of her brief was to oversee the operations of MI5, the UK’s domestic security service. Over the years, Saudi intelligence has provided information that has helped thwart a number of major terrorist attacks against Britain, including the plot to blow up a number of flights from Heathrow to the US.

This close alliance was heavily emphasised when MBS paid a three-day visit to Britain in March 2018. The visit achieved a significant result. The UK and Saudi Arabia agreed to set up a new bilateral government body, to be known as The Strategic Partnership Council. Its remit will be to assist in the roll-out of Vision 2030, and to promote British involvement in Saudi’s rapidly developing service sectors.

Vision 2030 has started its long journey. There are certainly obstacles ahead, but also enormous opportunities. For example, Saudi Arabia has vast, untapped mineral reserves with an estimated value of $1.3 trillion – more than the individual economies of most of the world’s nations. Those include substantial deposits of uranium, gold and copper. Moreover the kingdom is undertaking massive construction projects, including the $20 billion Riyadh metro project, new cities like Qiddiya, the planned home for a nascent Saudi entertainment industry, and Neom, a special economic zone that will function as an urban-scale tech incubator.

In reviewing the progress of Vision 2030 recently, US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said that what encourages him more than the grand plans, is the system of highly detailed benchmarks the Saudis have established to measure their progress. The kingdom, he said, is monitoring criteria from the increase in average life expectancy to the number of peer-reviewed articles by Saudi scientists that appear in international journals.

“That’s the level of precision with which they are trying to manage this incredible transition of their country,” he said. “I think they have a very, very high probability of succeeding.”

On October 12, King Mohammed VI officially opened Parliament with a colourful series of events steeped in tradition. The State Opening is the only regular event to unite the two elements of legislature – the House of Councilors and the House Of Representatives. The opening of the Parliament takes place each year on the second Friday of October.

On this occasion King Mohammed VI delivered a speech before the members of both Houses of announcing the official opening of the 1st session of the 3rd legislative year of the 10th legislature.

Here follows the full text of the royal message:

“Praise be to God,

May peace and blessings be upon the Prophet, His Kith and Kin

Ladies and Gentlemen, Distinguished Members of Parliament,

It is always a pleasure for me to meet with the representatives of the nation for this annual event provided for by the Constitution.

This parliamentary year is special in that it coincides with a period for which the motto is ‘the spirit of responsibility and hard work’.

The instructions I have given and the measures I have advocated, particularly through the State of the Nation Address and the 20 August Address, require comprehensive mobilization and collective action. Everyone should carry out his or her mission in full, making sure convictions and differences are respected.

As parliamentarians – whether you belong to a party in power or are a member of the opposition – you have the noble, yet crucial, responsibility of contributing to the current reform dynamic in the country.

Within this respected institution, you form a single, integrated family. There is no difference between you, as is symbolized by your identical Moroccan attire, regardless of your social background or political affiliation. The national interest is the same, and so are the challenges. What counts most is the outcome of your collective work.

I am keen to make sure political parties and organizations are supported and incentivized so they can revisit their work methods. This should contribute to enhancing the performance of political parties and organizations in addition to improving legislation and public policies.

For this reason, I recommend increasing public finance for political parties. Part of that financing should go to qualified people hired to work in fields relating to reflection, analysis and innovation.

Distinguished Members of Parliament,

National mobilization and teamwork require a healthy environment as well as greater solidarity between the various social strata.

This is what I am seeking to achieve through reforms and the economic and social measures taken to improve the living conditions of all Moroccans and reduce social and spatial disparities.
Morocco – by the Grace of God – has been and will continue to be the land of solidarity and social cohesion, be it in families, neighborhoods or society in general.

In old towns, for instance, the facades and doors of houses were and still are identical. It is only once inside that one can tell the material status of families.

That is because the cohesion and unity of Moroccans goes beyond mere appearance. They stem from the values of brotherhood and concord which are deeply ingrained in our hearts as well as from solidarity, in good times and bad.

Consolidating these bonds, which have always brought Moroccans together, means a great deal to me. This is something I seek to achieve through the implementation of effective social policies and by facilitating and encouraging solidarity-based initiatives at various levels.

To this end, I call for regulations to be simplified in order to encourage various forms of donation, volunteer work and charity, and to support social initiatives and socially responsible businesses.
New mechanisms should also be put in place to engage the private sector in tackling social issues and contributing to better services to citizens, be it through social responsibility or public-private partnerships in this area.

Honorable Members of Parliament,

The important instructions I have given in connection with employment, education, vocational training and military service are meant to benefit citizens, especially young people, and to enable them to help serve their country.

As for military service, it enhances the sense of belonging to the homeland.

It also gives access to training which opens up opportunities for the professional and social integration of qualified conscripts who demonstrate a sense of responsibility and commitment.

With regard to performing military service, it must be emphasized that all the Moroccan citizens concerned – without exception – are equal, regardless of social background, diploma or education.

Distinguished Members of Parliament,

Youth employment is one of my foremost concerns. I believe there are a number of sectors which can contribute to creating more job opportunities.

Vocational training is a powerful lever for employment, provided it receives the attention it deserves and so long as it is given a new status as well as a broader scope.

It is necessary to work on creating more bridges and links between vocational training programs and general education courses within a unified, integrated system. There should also be a balance between theoretical training, on the one hand, and practical, workplace training, on the other.
In addition to the role played by vocational training in preparing people for the job market, the agricultural sector can constitute a more dynamic source of employment opportunities and be instrumental in improving living conditions and consolidating stability in rural areas.

I therefore recommend that we build on what has been accomplished in the agricultural sector and create more employment and income-generating opportunities, especially for youths in rural areas.

The aim is to establish and consolidate a rural middle class and to make sure it plays a balancing role and serves as a lever for the achievement of economic and social development, just like the middle class does in cities.

I am aware of the increasing fragmentation of agricultural lands and of the adverse impact this phenomenon has on productivity. However, for young people to remain on their land, they need to be able to find jobs.

I therefore urge the government to come up with innovative mechanisms in order to continue incentivizing farmers to become more actively involved in productive agricultural cooperatives and groupings, and to seek training in the agricultural field.

In parallel, I call for improved access to land, making it more easily available to investors, whether they are individuals or businesses. This should increase production, boost productivity and stimulate employment. Efforts should also be made to preserve the agricultural character of the plots concerned.

Thought should also been given to the best ways to do justice to smallholders, particularly with regard to the marketing of their produce, and to address rigorously the issue of speculation and the multiplicity of intermediaries.

Moreover, using communal agricultural land (sulaliyat) for investment projects in farming should serve as a powerful lever for improved economic and social conditions, especially for rights holders.

This should make it possible to secure at least one million additional hectares of this land.

As is the case with the ownership system applied to communal land in irrigated areas, it is necessary to find appropriate legal and administrative mechanisms to facilitate rights holders’ ownership of some of the fallow land.

This must be done according to specific conditions that take into account the actual implementation of projects, the need to curb the excessive fragmentation of agricultural land and the provision of the technical and financial support needed.

In the same vein, to stimulate employment, we should consider the possibility of having quality initiatives and global leaders involved in some sectors and professions – such as the health care sector – which are not currently accessible to foreigners, provided the said projects contribute to the transfer of know-how and create employment opportunities for young Moroccans with the right qualifications.

Indeed, growing interest is being shown by many of the world’s leading clinics and hospitals that wish to invest in our country.

There are tempting incentives which induce some students to remain abroad after completing their studies. I believe, however, that the initiative we are launching will help provide the right conditions for Moroccans with skills to come back to work in their country and create healthy competition, which will ultimately improve service provision.

Distinguished Members of Parliament,

Last year, I called from this rostrum for our national development model to be reconsidered and for a new approach to be devised to help address the needs of citizens – a model that would enable us to reduce gaps and disparities, achieve social and spatial justice and keep up with changes at home and abroad.

Accordingly, some of the institutions and agencies concerned, as well as a number of stakeholders and bodies have kindly prepared proposals and carried out studies to this effect.

Through initiatives and reforms launched this year, I have sought to pave the way for future action, provide certain guidelines and create fresh momentum. Special emphasis has been laid on urgent issues on which there is a national consensus and about which we cannot afford to procrastinate, such as education and training, employment and youth issues, public support and social protection.

It is quite natural for there to be ample reflection and extensive dialogue on such an issue, which is crucially important for Morocco’s future. I believe, however, that this major project is now ready and that we need to move on to making concrete proposals. This should be done within the next three months.

In this respect, I have decided to set up a special committee whose mission will be to collect and sort out proposals and to draw conclusions therefrom, using a comprehensive strategic and instructive format. I expect the said committee to report to me on the proposed new development model, specifying the objectives targeted, the proposed options for change and the means for actual implementation.

Honorable Members of Parliament,

The stakes involved and the challenges facing our country are as diverse as they are intertwined.

There can be no wait-and-see attitudes or narrow calculations about them.

Morocco must be a country of opportunity, not of opportunists. All citizens, without exception, should be given the same chance to serve their country, and all citizens must benefit, on an equal footing, from the country’s resources and from opportunities for growth and advancement.

More than ever, Morocco needs true patriots who have the homeland’s interests at heart, who care about the citizens and who seek to bring Moroccans together rather than divide them; it needs honest officials who shoulder their responsibility with dedication and selflessness.

I therefore want you to rise to the occasion. This requires a genuine sense of patriotism, collective mobilization and a clear will to put the homeland and the citizens above all else.

Almighty God says: “Our Lord, truly you know what we conceal and what we reveal: for nothing whatever is hidden from Allah, whether on earth or in heaven”. True is the Word of God. “

It was in May 2010 that former President of Spain, José Maria Aznar, brought together a high level group in Paris to launch a project aimed specifically at supporting Israel as a legitimate democratic sovereign nation. A fundamental purpose of the initiative was to affirm that Israel is an integral part of the Western world and of crucial importance to its future.

Who are these people, prepared to take so unfashionable and therefore so courageous a stand? It is a glittering list of men and women in all walks of life, almost none of them Jewish, who have reached positions of eminence in their own fields.

The current list of members of the Friends of Israel Initiative includes four former Heads of State, three former Heads of Government, and seven former government ministers, as well as a former ambassador, State Governor, head of a national intelligence agency and military commander, together with people still active in the academic, journalist and business fields. A number of original members of the group have subsequently been appointed to official or governmental posts, and have therefore withdrawn for the time being from active involvement.

Founded out of a sense of deep concern about the unprecedented campaign of delegitimization against Israel waged by the enemies of the Jewish state and supported by numerous international institutions, the key aim of the Initiative is to counter the growing efforts of bodies like BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) and its followers to isolate the State of Israel and eventually overthrow it. The Friends of Israel Initiative is committed to disseminating its members’ vision of Israel as a democratic, open, and advanced nation like any other, and to insist that it should be perceived and treated as such.

The Initiative maintains that Israel is a sovereign democracy which like all others is, of course, capable of making mistakes. Nonetheless, it asserts, this should not be used as an excuse to question Israel’s right to exist, its legitimacy, or its basic rights as an independent state.

The body’s major project for 2015 was to prepare a full and carefully reasoned report aimed at changing the perception that many have about Israel. Sometimes, as the Prologue to the report explained, ”it is because people don’t know better; sometimes it is the result of extremely biased opinions in the media. We want to introduce some rationality when talking about Israel and because of that, this report highlights the many positive aspects of a dynamic, vibrant, and promising Israel, yet without keeping silent about some controversial issues. In any case, what we want is for the reader to feel and see the positive effect of having Israel, a strong Israel, at our side. Having a secure Israel means more security for us; having a prosperous Israel enriches us all. Thinking the opposite is simply wrong as this report demonstrates with clarity and simplicity.”

The document, entitled “Israel: A Vital Asset of the West”, was launched at a meeting in the UK’s House of Commons in November 2015.

The same year the Initiative sponsored a new major enterprise – the High Level Military Group (HLMG). HLMG consists of military leaders and officials from NATO and other democratic countries. Its mandate is to address the implications for western warfare of fighting enemies who disregard the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC), but exploit other nations’ adherence to it.

A few months later the Initiative sponsored a new High Level Home Front Group (HLHFG), made up of top intelligence, counter terrorism and police officials from the US, UK, Spain, Netherlands, Australia, Italy, and Colombia. Its remit was to evaluate the Israeli experience in preventing and stopping indiscriminate attacks in cities, as well as the recruitment of terrorists, so as to assist other nations facing similar threats.

At the initial launch of the Friends of Israel Initiative in Washington in September 2010, José Maria Aznar explained the motivation behind the new organization.

“Israel is under a new kind of attack,” he said. “Not conventional war as in 1948, ‘56, ‘67 or ‘73. Not terrorism as we saw in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. But a new kind of attack …to present Israel internationally as an illegitimate state, as a barbarian state, a state that should be isolated and converted into a pariah state…

“Let me be clear. We don’t want in any case to defend any particular Israeli government or any particular set of policies or any particular party. Israel’s institutions are mature enough to defend their choices. We want to stand up for the right of Israel to exist. Judeo-Christian values form the roots of our civilization. Delegitimising Israel undermines our identity, warps our values and put at risk what we are and who we are…

“Is it craziness for a group of mostly Europeans and non-Jews, to say: Enough. Stop this nonsense of making Israel responsible for all the problems in the region, if not beyond? Enough of the short sightedness which refuses to see Israel as a corner stone of our Western civilization? Defending Israel today means strengthening the West…”

These are sentiments that ought to have commanded widespread support within the Western community of nations. They combine reason with the most basic appeal of all – self-preservation. Yet Aznar’s message evoked little response at the time from opinion leaders the world over, and the real achievements of the body he founded remain generally unrecognized.

There are none so blind as those who will not see.

The radical attack on our constitutional right to protest in Washington, DC needs to be stopped. The National Park Service (NPS) has published proposed rules that would curtail First Amendment rights to assemble, petition the government and exercise free speech in the nation’s capital. Together, we can stop this proposal from going forward.

Popular Resistance submitted comments to the National Park Service and is working in coalition with numerous organizations in Washington, DC to protect our constitutional rights. We will be joining with other organizations in submitting coalition comments. We need everyone to participate, submit a comment this weekend, the deadline is Monday.

Tell the NPS why protest in Washington, DC is important, your experience with protest and why these new restrictions will make it difficult to exercise your constitutional rights. Your comment will be the evidence courts will consider in reviewing these proposed rules.

Submit your comment here. The deadline is Monday, October 15th. More specifics are provided below. Please act today.

This is part of the effort to curtail dissent in the United States

The proposal would result in people being charged fees if they hold a protest. That means in order to exercise your constitutional right, the government can charge you for the police barricades, the Park Service police time and even their overtime. And, if you hold a concert with your protest where people make speeches, play music or use spoken word, you can be charged for that exercise of Free Speech as well.

While the “pay to play” rules have gotten some attention in the media, that is just the beginning of the restrictions. The area around the White House would basically be off-limits as they would close the walkway and sidewalk in front of it. This area that was used by suffragists to appeal to President Wilson for the right to vote would no longer be available. There are hundreds of protests every year around the White House as this iconic spot has been used for protests on civil rights, opposition to war, protection of the environment, urging climate justice, for economic fairness and so much more. It is used to get the attention of the president to use the presidential power to pardon, as we did in the campaign for Chelsea Manning directed at President Obama.

In this time of immediate news coverage and the ability to use social media for breaking news as it happens, NPS proposed restricting “spontaneous demonstrations.” Rather than the current rule, which presumes a permit is granted if it is not denied within 24 hours, the NPS would now put such requests in limbo and have until the last minute to deny the permit. And even if a permit is granted, the proposed rules would allow a permit to be revoked for any infraction of the permit.

Under international law, no authorization should be required to assemble peacefully, and a system of prior notification should only be intended to allow authorities to facilitate protests and peaceful assemblies. This standard would be a standard consistent with the US Constitution which forbids the abridgment of the rights to assemble, petition the government and to speak freely. The permit process already violates international law, making it more restrictive moves the United States further into the territory of a rogue nation that ignores the law even though it ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1992.

The proposed rules would also limit the size of signs and banners in many parts of the city and asks whether more parks should be labeled as parks that do not allow protest. And, in response to the Occupy protests, the NPS would limit vigils and encampments to one month — letting the people in power know that long-term protests are only a short-term threat.

Read the twelve ways that the proposed protest rules would restrict our constitutional right to protest in our call to action.

Protests are increasing and will continue

Protests have been escalating in the United States since the 2009 economic collapse. That collapse was followed by a wide range of protests at banks and the Federal Reserve as well as in state capitals across the country. That was followed by the sustained multi-month protest of the Occupy encampments in hundreds of cities across the country. Out of police violence and killings of black people came the Black Lives Matter movement, and out of the poverty wages of low wage workers came Our Walmart and Fight for $15. As the US moved to become the largest oil and gas producing nation in the world — at a time when climate change science said we should build no oil and gas infrastructure — protests across the country against pipelines, compressor stations, export terminals and other infrastructure grew. This climaxed in the No DAPL protest at Standing Rock, and continues to build.

There has been a dramatic increase in protests since President Trump was elected president. In the last year, one-fifth of people in the United States say they have participated in a protest, rally or other First Amendment event. A recent poll found, “One in five Americans have protested in the streets or participated in political rallies since the beginning of 2016. Of those, 19 percent said they had never before joined a march or a political gathering.”

This is a time to be protecting constitutional rights, not curtailing them. People understand the government is not listening to them or meeting their needs and are protesting in order to be heard as they face economic insecurity – high debt and low pay.

Efforts to curtail protest are a sign that the movement is having an impact. We are building our power and are getting more organized. We have the power to stop these unconstitutional restrictions on our right to protest.

We urge you to join us in taking action today. Submit a comment explaining why the right to protest matters to you. It can brief or long or somewhere in between.

Together we can keep building a movement for transformational change. Economic, racial and environmental justice as well as an end to war can be achieved. We are closer than we realize, efforts to stop us are a sign that the power structure is afraid of the people organizing to demand change.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he would maintain pressure on Saudi Arabia over human rights despite a diplomatic row between the two nations, and brushed off suggestions he had botched ties with Riyadh.

In August, Saudi Arabia froze new trade with Canada, expelled envoy Dennis Horak and ordered all Saudi students home after the Canadian embassy issued a tweet urging the immediate release of women’s rights activists.

Horak told Reuters on Wednesday that Ottawa had not done enough to deepen ties with Riyadh and had made mistakes that helped prompt the dispute.

“The former ambassador should have known that we have been engaged in a significant diplomatic effort with Saudi Arabia for many years now on … the issue of human rights. We continue to bring it up any time I have the opportunity to meet with Saudi leadership,” Trudeau told reporters in Yerevan, Armenia, on Friday.

“We will continue to be clear and strong in speaking up for human rights around the world,” he added in televised remarks on the sidelines of a summit of French-speaking nations.

Trudeau also reiterated that Ottawa would not scrap a 2014 contract that the Canadian unit of US weapons maker General Dynamics Corp won to supply Saudi Arabia with light-armored vehicles. The deal is worth up to $13 billion.

By Camelia Entekhabifard*

The US mission at the UN suddenly became the center of attention nearly two years ago when Nikki Haley took office as US ambassador. She was not the first woman to serve there, but she has certainly been the most controversial. Her resignation last week came as a surprise to most American politicians, and as a relief to UN diplomats.

The UN is a bureaucratic place; diplomacy and negotiation take precedence. Haley shook that up by insisting that the US was the world’s leading power, and everyone else should follow. Her style, rather than making the UN a place of unity, made it a scene of division. Her stand against the Palestinians, recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and withdrawing the US from the UN Human Rights Council, all put the US in a difficult position. Her style was aggressive, which many at the UN, including US allies, considered unfriendly and pushy.

The world is used to seeing US policy and diplomacy shaped and developed in Washington and at the White House, not at the UN in New York. Haley’s misinterpretation of the purpose of the UN has damaged US diplomacy. The aim of the US was to increase pressure on Iran over its behavior in the region. Haley’s methods, overtly political rather than diplomatic, achieved the opposite, paralyzed the Security Council and caused trouble for the US.

Of course, for many hardcore Republicans she was the perfect representative, but they have little knowledge of how the UN functions. In fact Haley alienated Arab and Western allies, and gave the regime in Tehran room to maneuver.

Her methods, a sort of anti-diplomacy, did not suit the aims of US policy, and it was becoming increasingly clear that Haley was acting in parallel to the White House and in competition with prominent US policymakers such as John Bolton, the National Security Adviser, and Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State. It became clear in the end that she had no choice other than to resign.

The proof of this argument lies in the rumors about who may succeed Haley at the UN — the front runners are the current US ambassadors to Germany and Canada, suggesting that President Trump’s choice will be someone with a diplomatic background rather than a political one.

The US needs a representative at the UN who can present the American message in a way that wins the respect of other nations.

Meanwhile, there may be celebrations in Tehran, where the regime will be happy with Haley’s departure. They should be careful what they wish for.

In the end, Haley was noisy but harmless. Her successor may be more quiet, but considerably more destructive of Iran’s aims and ambitions.

* Camelia Entekhabifard is an Iranian-American journalist, political commentator and author of Camelia: Save Yourself By Telling the Truth (Seven Stories Press, 2008). Twitter: @CameliaFard

Panchayati Raj system plays an important role at grass-root level in the Indian democracy and has gradually been accepted an empowering tool for the people at large.People’s participation is very important for strengthening democracy not only at union o state level, but also at grass-root level. Participation of all is necessary, whether directly or indirectly, to make the system more accountable and transparent. It helps to promote and enhance the leadership qualities and self-confidence of people at the helm of affairs in the Municipalities and Panchayats. Involvement of people also ensures that the elected representatives work with full accountability.

A majority of the population of Jammu and Kashmir is unaware of the benefits of the said system. The bureaucratic delays, political interference, economic reasons and social pressures which made the Panchayati Raj dysfunctional can be controlled if the common man or woman comes to know about the system. The constructive and other social welfare works that are handed to the panchayats and ULBs by the government can improve the human develop indices and standards of living of people by a few notches higher. It will also increase the trust factor in a big way for the netizens of Kashmir and could be a step towards the national integration.

The vital question is of awareness about what change it can bring about in the lives of people. Ideally, we should be electing the best possible persons of the society as our leaders to man the Panchyats and ULBs. But, due to the prevailing situation and threats to life and property, it is understandable that not many would risk that effort. Hence, we have to make do with best possible choice available to us under the circumstances. People have to understand the essence of polls once the representatives are elected how beneficial would be their candidature for public causes. Once the elections are over, there would be a need to provide support to both the elected representatives and community members to understand the nuances of Panchayati Raj, their roles and significance in the whole process to make the elections a worthwhile exercise, which has taken a heavy toll in terms of human lives.

The funds of various schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MNREGA), the Pradhan Mantri (PMAY), the National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) and the mid-day meal scheme will be routed through Panchayats. Each panchayat will have Rs 50 lakh to Rs one crore funds available for local development. “Each panchayat will have an accountant for keeping books while an ombudsman will be appointed for transparency and accountability. The panchayats can levy taxes at local level as has been done in some parts of the country. Indeed, if used judiciously, the resources can act like oxygen to nourish people at the lowest, but surest level of governance and administration.

First phase of civic polls of Jammu and Kashmir is scheduled on 8th of October in which 1283 candidates are in the fray for 422 wards. As of now around 78 wards have witnessed only one nomination, which means the candidates would win uncontested. Out of the 78 uncontested wards, 15 are in northern Kashmir, 24 in central Kashmir, 30 in southern Kashmir and nine in Jammu division.

It is pertinent to mention that Government had been postponing these elections since 2016, when Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed triggering a wave of protest across Valley, which lasted for almost five months. Since the announcement of the elections on September 15, Southern Kashmir, which houses 50 per cent of the municipal wards, has turned into a volatile battleground with rampant killings and abductions and burning of Panchyat Ghars. On September 21, three police officers and civilians were killed by militants in Sopore town and seven Panchayat offices were set ablaze. A few days prior to the polls, two National Conference workers were shot dead in Srinagar.

Despite the threats and boycott calls, many youngsters are participating in the elections from the Valley and are ready to face challenges. Youngsters working with NGO’s which have been organising programs and conferences with different departments of the state and central governments are coming forward to participate in these elections.

“Nobody is against Hurriyat, but we have to understand that this is a noble cause. If contesting elections is not prohibited in Pakistan and Hafiz Sayed’s son can contest, why is it banned here,” Waseem Gul, 25, a law graduate said.. He is determined to win and believes that change can be brought through electoral politics alone. There are many courageous leaders in the Kashmir Valley who wish to break the vice-like grip of militant and the divisive forces for the sake of the betterment of their people. Referring to the forthcoming elections to the panchayat and urban local bodies in Jammu and Kashmir, the Home Minister of India said “90 per cent people of the state would like to get involved in the poll process, which the current government has started after a long break.” After being plagued by militancy for three decades, Jammu and Kashmir is crawling out of a devastated economy. The panchayat polls will become handy for the state government to declare the return of normalcy in the valley.

Security agencies are on their toes for the smooth conduct of polls. If there is a decent turnout and polls are peaceful, it will have a positive effect on electoral participation in Lok Sabha polls, scheduled for next year.

*Farooq Wani, Kashmir senior journalist and a political commentator

India produces enough food to meet the needs of its entire population, and has at its disposal arable land that has the potential to produce food surplus for export. Yet, it is unable to feed millions of its people, especially women and children. India ranks 100th among 119 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2017, where it has consistently ranked poorly. Indeed, the world’s zero-hunger goal appears to be slipping further into the future rather than getting ever closer.

Imagine a land mass greater than China. Now imagine that land is only used to produce food. Then suppose all the crops and produce from those 2.5bn acres are not eaten and left to rot. Imagine all of that – and you get an idea of the amount of food the world wastes every year. It is almost a third of the world’s . In terms of weight, it adds up to around 1.3bn tonnes. The case for action becomes even stronger when we consider that 1 in 9 people are malnourished worldwide.

Despite the fact that every twelfth Indian has to sleep on an empty stomach, the country wastes food worth a whopping Rs 58,000 crores in a year, about seven percent of its total food production. It is lost during harvest, or on the journey from farm to markets- in essence in production, processing, retailing and consumption Lack of cooling facilities is the major reason for crops perishing after harvest.

As you trudge through the mire of any government-run food auction yard, or mandi, you will find piles of supposedly fresh produce lying everywhere, rotting in the sun and competing with mangy dogs and scampering mice for your attention. A lack of education on post-harvest practices often results in poor quality control and food being damaged during handling. Better processing and recycling can feed 11 per cent of the world’s population.

One of the major ways of enhancing food security in India is by simply controlling wastage. . India is the second-largest producer of vegetables and fruits, but about 25-30 percent of it is wasted due to inadequate logistical support, lack of refrigerated storage, supply chain bottlenecks, poor transport and underdeveloped marketing channels. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) puts this figure at around 40 percent, worth around $8.3 billion.

Twenty-one million metric tonnes of wheat, which is almost equal to Australia’s annual production, rots each year due to improper storage. According to the Associated Chambers of Commerce, the country experiences a post-harvest loss of Rs 2 lakh crores annually. Less than 4 percent of India’s fresh produce is transported by cold-chains, compared to more than 90 percent in the UK. Better cold storage, improved infrastructure and education about food handling could help transform this situation.

The World Bank recently stated that nearly 60 percent of the country’s food subsidies do not reach the poor; they are syphoned off by the middlemen. Reforming the faltering public distribution system which mainly supplies subsidised grain to the poor and modernizing other areas, such as computerization of outlets and satellite control over the movement of transport vehicles can go a long way in plugging the leakages.

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) was set up in 1964 to offer impetus to price support systems, encourage nationwide distribution and maintain sufficient buffer of staples like wheat and rice but its performance has been woefully inadequate, in comparison to the needs of the country. Around one percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) gets shaved off annually in the form of food waste. The FCI has neither a warehouse capacity nor the manpower to manage this humongous stockpile of foodgrains.

Every year, the government purchases millions of tonnes of grain from the farmers to ensure that they get a good price for their produce, for numerous food subsidy programmes and to maintain an emergency buffer. The cruel truth, however, is that most of the produce is left out in the open, vulnerable to rain and attacks by rodents or stored in makeshift spaces, covered by tarpaulin sheets, thus increasing the chances of spoilage. Several countries are now using metal grain silos to guard against fungus attacks on the grain stock.

It is estimated that one million tonnes of onions vanish on their way from farms to markets, as do 2.2 million tonnes of tomatoes. Tomatoes get squished if they are packed into jute sacks. Overall, five million eggs crack or go bad due to lack of cold storage. Just three states of India—Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana—grow most of India’s grains and the food has to be transported to far-flung areas.

A study undertaken by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (2013) highlights that the underlying cause of post-harvest loss in the country is due to the lack of infrastructure for short-term storage, particularly at the farm level, as well as the lack of intermediate processing in the production catchments. If there are no proper roads linking fields to markets, farmers cannot easily sell their surplus produce, which may then spoil before it can be eaten. Improving road and rail capacity enables farmers to reach buyers and likewise, fertilisers and other agricultural inputs to reach farmers.

The Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata, has uncovered that only 10 percent of the perishable produce has access to cold storage facilities in India. These are mostly used for potatoes to meet India’s robust demand for chips. This, along with inappropriate supply chain management, has resulted in India becoming a significant contributor to food wastage both at pre and post-harvest levels. The study estimates that India needs storage facilities for another 370 million metric tonnes of perishable produce.

Added to the wastage of food, there is a depletion of precious resources involved in its production. According to the United Nations, India is estimated to use more than 230 cubic kilometres of fresh water annually, for producing food items that will be ultimately wasted. To put this into context, this amount of water is enough to provide drinking water to 100 million people every year. Besides this, nearly 300 million barrels of oil used in the process are also ultimately wasted.

Despite being the world’s largest banana producer, India holds just 0.3 percent share of the global banana market. Production is fragmented compared to the large-scale commercial farms of its competitors, with small-hold farmers having little business or technical support.

The cost of delivering energy to remote, rural regions for running storage facilities is also quite steep and this means that even when storage facilities are built, they may not be able to function.

In recent years, numerous initiatives and interventions have been undertaken by the Indian government, and local and international actors to target food loss and wastage across the agricultural value chain. For instance, the Indian government is seeking to streamline and modernise agricultural value chains, through reformation of the PDS to reduce the waste and loss associated with the distribution and storage of foodgrains. The government is also extending support for the setting up of cold chain projects whereby 138 cold chain projects have been installed.

Studies have also indicated that on-farm interventions can also contribute towards reducing food losses and waste. For instance, a pilot study sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has revealed food loss reductions of around 60 percent during field trials, testing low-cost storage techniques and handling practices. Another study, undertaken in Punjab, which focused on the harvesting of ‘Kinnow’ (a citrus fruit), demonstrated how on-farm food losses decreased from ten percent to only two percent when a combination of harvesting techniques was used.

India has developed some modern supply chains linked to food processing companies, such as Nestlé, Pepsi, Unilever and Del Monte but these handle only a fraction of the country’s perishable food produce.

India needs to mobilise large-scale investments in cold storage methods, refrigerated transport and other modern logistics to modernise its food supply chain. Apart from this a strong will by the political class and an imaginative thinking on the part of the policy-makers is needed.

Even with concerns about addiction, side effects and the other risks of opioids dominating headlines, a study presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY® 2018 annual meeting found people expect to be prescribed opioids and perceive them to be the most effective form of pain relief after surgery. Interestingly, other research presented at the meeting found opioids led to complications such as increased pain, poorer quality of life and dependence following back surgery.

While opioids may effectively relieve pain after surgeries and procedures, they may not be the best option in all cases. Opioids can be highly addictive and carry some risks and side effects, such as sleepiness, constipation and nausea, as well as life-threatening shallow breathing and slowed heart rate, which may indicate an overdose.

“Patients often assume they will receive opioids for pain, believing they are superior, and therefore may pressure physicians to prescribe them after surgery,” said Nirmal B. Shah, D.O., lead author of the first study and an anesthesia resident at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia. “But research shows opioids often aren’t necessarily more effective. Clearly, we need to provide more education to bridge that gap and help patients understand that there are many options for pain relief after surgery, including other pain medications such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen.”

Patients expect opioids after surgery, study finds

In the first study, researchers set out to understand expectations of pain management after surgery. They gave a 13-question survey to 503 adults who were scheduled to have surgery for the back, ear-nose-and-throat, abdomen, or hip or knee replacement.

Everyone responded that they expected to receive pain medication after surgery:

• 77 percent expected opioids, such as morphine, fentanyl and dilaudid
• 37 percent expected acetaminophen, such as Tylenol
• 18 percent expected a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID), such as Motrin

The majority of patients believed opioids would be most effective, even if they didn’t expect to receive them: 94 percent of those who assumed they would get opioids thought they would be effective, as did 67.5 percent of those who didn’t expect to receive them. Only 35.6 percent of patients expecting to receive acetaminophen thought it would be effective and 53.1 percent of those expecting to receive NSAIDs thought they would be effective.

“In previous opioid research, we found only 10 percent of people were worried about respiratory problems and 40 percent were concerned about nausea or constipation,” said Dr. Shah. “We believe there is a lack of education and understanding of the dangerous side effects of these drugs, which contributes to the epidemic.”

Opioids associated with complications after back surgery, study finds

In the second study, researchers analyzed nine papers that assessed opioid use in managing pain after spinal fusion (back) surgery. Interestingly, many of the findings contradict the assumptions of the patients in the first study. Findings included:

• Those whose postsurgical pain was managed with opioids had higher postoperative pain scores and worse quality of life than those who managed their pain through non-medication regimens such as exercise.
• Those who used opioids before surgery were six times more likely to use opioids long-term after surgery.
• The longer patients used opioids prior to surgery, the longer they needed them after surgery.
• Opioid use before surgery was associated with increased risk of opioid dependence 12 months after surgery.
• Those who used opioids before surgery were more likely to have surgical site pain after the procedure.
• Those who used opioids to manage pain before surgery stayed in the hospital longer after surgery, and were more likely to be readmitted after they had been discharged.

“Our review suggests there hasn’t been much clinical emphasis on alternative methods to manage pain after back surgery,” said Ramneek Dhillon, M.Sc., lead author of the study and a medical student at the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Ohio. “While we looked at research on opioid use after spinal surgery, we believe these complications likely occur after other surgeries as well.”

Globally, the number of babies born through caesarean section (C-section) almost doubled between 2000 and 2015 – from 12% to 21% of all births – according to a Series of three papers published in The Lancet and launched at the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) World Congress in Brazil. While the life-saving surgery is still unavailable for many women and children in low-income countries and regions, the procedure is overused in many middle- and high-income settings.

C-section is a life-saving intervention for women and newborns when complications occur, such as bleeding, foetal distress, hypertensive disease, and babies in abnormal position. But, the surgery is not without risk for mother and child, and is associated with complications in future births.

It is estimated that 10-15% of births medically require a C-section due to complications, suggesting that average C-section use should lie between these levels. However, the Series authors estimate that more than one in four countries in 2015 had lower levels (28%, 47/169 countries), while most countries used C-section above the recommended level (63%, 106/169 countries). In at least 15 countries C-section use exceeds 40% [1].

“Pregnancy and labour are normal processes, which occur safely in most cases. The large increases in C-section use – mostly in richer settings for non-medical purposes – are concerning because of the associated risks for women and children. C-sections can create complications and side effects for mothers and babies, and we call on healthcare professionals, hospitals, funders, women and families to only intervene in this way when it is medically required,” says Series lead Dr Marleen Temmerman, Aga Khan University, Kenya and Ghent University, Belgium. “In cases where complications do occur, C-sections save lives, and we must increase accessibility in poorer regions, making C-sections universally available, but we should not overuse them.” [2]

Disparities in global C-section use

The Series tracks trends in C-section use globally and in nine regions based on data from 169 countries from WHO and UNICEF databases. Globally, C-section use has increased by 3.7% each year between 2000-2015 – rising from 12% of live births (16 million of 131.9 million) in 2000, to 21% of live births (29.7 million of 140.6 million) in 2015.

However, the pace of change varied substantially between regions. The South Asia region has seen the most rapid increase in use (6.1% per year), with C-section being underused in 2000 but being overused by 2015 (increasing from 7.2% of births via C-section to 18.1%). However, improvements have been slow across sub-Saharan Africa (around 2% per year), where C-section use has remained low (increasing from 3% to 4.1% of births in West and Central Africa, and from 4.6% to 6.2% in Eastern and Southern Africa).

C-section continues to be overused in North America, Western Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean, where rates increased by around 2% per year between 2000-2015. C-section use increased from 24.3% to 32% between 2000-2015 in North America, from 19.6% to 26.9% in Western Europe, and from 32.3% to 44.3% in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The authors found that the global increases in C-section use are attributed both to more births taking place in health institutions (about two-thirds of the increase) and to greater frequency of intervention through C-section in health facilities (one-third of the increase).

Looking at trends in Brazil and China where there is high use of C-section, the authors found that most C-sections were in low-risk pregnancies and in women who had previously had a C-section. In Brazil, particularly high levels of C-section use were seen in women who were highly educated, compared with less educated women (54.4% of births vs 19.4%). The Series is accompanied by a linked Comment from Gilberto Magalhães Occhi, the Minister of Health of Brazil which sets out the country’s strategies to optimise C-section use (see link at end of press release).

In the 10 countries with the highest number of births in 2010-2015, there were large differences in C-section use between regions – for example, differences between provinces in China ranged from 4% to 62%, and inter-state differences in India ranged from 7% to 49%. The USA, Bangladesh, and Brazil reported C-section use in more than 25% of births nationally, but some regions within these countries used C-section around twice as much as others [3].

There were also significant disparities within low- and middle-income countries, where the wealthiest women were six times more likely to have a C-section compared with the poorest women, and where C-section was 1.6 times more common in private facilities than public facilities. The authors suggest that this could be explained by persistent issues with shortages in health facilities and staff in vulnerable and rural populations.

In addition, in the UK C-section use has increased from 19.7% of births in 2000 to 26.2% in 2015 (country-level data is available in links at the end of the press release).

Harms associated with C-section overuse and underuse

C-section improves maternal, newborn and child survival when complications arise, and can also lower the risk of incontinence and prolapse.

However, there are short and long-term risks associated with C-sections for mothers and children, and there are no benefits of C-section in cases without a medical indication. In these instances, women and children can be harmed or die from the procedure, especially when there are not sufficient facilities, skills, and health care available.

Maternal death and disability is higher after C-section than vaginal birth. In particular, C-sections have a more complicated recovery for the mother, and lead to scarring of the womb, which is associated with bleeding, abnormal development of the placenta, ectopic pregnancy, stillbirth and preterm birth in subsequent pregnancies. The authors say that it is important to note that these are small but serious risks, but each of these risks increases as a woman has more C-sections.

There is emerging evidence that babies born via C-section have different hormonal, physical, bacterial and medical exposures during birth, which can subtly alter their health. While the long-term risks of this are not well-researched, the short-term effects include changes in immune development which can increase the risk of allergies and asthma and alter the bacteria in the gut.

“Given the increasing use of C-section, particularly cases that are not medically required, there is a crucial need to understand the health effects on women and children. Greater understanding of this is important to help inform decision making by families, physicians, and policy makers. C-section is a type of major surgery, which carries risks that require careful consideration. The growing use of C-sections for non-medical purposes could be introducing avoidable complications, and we advocate that C-section should only be used when it is medically required.” says Professor Jane Sandall, King’s College London, UK. [2]

Tackling overuse of C-section

Common reasons why women request C-sections include past negative experiences of vaginal birth, or fear of labour pain or of the effects of labour such as pelvic floor damage, urinary incontinence, reduced quality of sexual functioning. To address this, the authors recommend further research to study relaxation training, childbirth training workshops, educational lectures and brochures, and meeting with health professionals to promote supportive relationships, collaboration and respect.

For healthcare professionals, improved education, guidelines and communication, and second-opinion policies may also be helpful to address influences such as women’s requests, convenience, financial incentives, and fear of litigation. In particular, in some regions C-sections are seen as protective, and physicians are less likely to be sued if complications occur, than during vaginal delivery.

The authors warn that in many settings young physicians are becoming experts in C-section, while losing confidence in their abilities to assist in vaginal birth.

Clinical interventions are needed to reduce unnecessary C-sections, but there is a lack of research and investment in this area. Early evidence suggests that offering vaginal breech delivery to carefully selected women, and attempting vaginal birth for women who have previously had C-sections may be helpful in reducing C-section use. In addition, some evidence suggests that reducing the number of interventions involved in pregnancy may help reduce C-section use, and this could be achieved by midwifery-led care, planning labour in birth centres, or offering continuous labour support.

“Although there is almost universal consensus that C-section use has increased beyond the reasonable level of need in many countries, effective interventions to optimise use have proven elusive. Interventions should recognise previous birth experiences, consider the health effects of C-section, and provide emotional support. Interventions should provide a sense of empowerment for women, and will require meaningful conversations with health professionals, policymakers and advocacy groups to influence the discussion around maternity care.” says Dr Ana Pilar Betran, World Health Organization, Switzerland. [2]

Also published in The Lancet, a new position paper of FIGO: How to stop the Caesarean section epidemic. This linked Comment proposes six recommendations to reduce unnecessary C-sections, including informing women of the benefits and risks of C-sections, matching costs for C-section and vaginal birth in private and public hospitals, and ensuring hospitals publish their annual C-section rates. Emeritus Professor Gerard Visser, University Medical Centre, the Netherlands, and Chair of FIGO’s Committee Safe Motherhood and Newborn Health at FIGO writes: “Worldwide there is an alarming increase in caesarean section (CS) rates. The medical profession on its own cannot reverse this trend. Joint actions with governmental bodies, the health care insurance industry, and women’s groups are urgently needed to stop unnecessary CSs and enable women and families to be confident of receiving the most appropriate obstetric care for their individual circumstances.”

A Lancet editorial published alongside the Series says: “What is left unresolved are the tensions generated when women’s agency in choosing a caesarean section go against medical directives to intervene against them. Although the Lancet Series says that women’s demand is not a substantial driver of the current problem of overuse, efforts to reduce caesareans must, nevertheless, strongly respect women’s rights to choose the circumstances of birth. NICE guidance in the UK, for example, states that a woman should be offered a planned caesarean section if she so wishes. But it also says that practitioners can decline to provide one, and the new WHO guidance urges avoidance when caesarean is not indicated. What then? With this new Series we hope to spark more debate and research about implementing recommendations to reduce caesarean section use.”

An international research team discovered the first recorded “ultra-stripped supernova,” a rare, faint type of supernova that is believed to play a role in the formation of binary neutron star systems. These findings will advance our understanding of a wide variety of topics ranging from gravitational waves to the origin of precious metals like gold and platinum.

A collision between two neutron stars produces a variety of heavy elements, including precious metals. Such a collision also produces electromagnetic waves and gravitational waves like those observed in August 2017. Although these collisions have been observed, it was unknown how two neutron stars could form close enough together to eventually spiral down into each other and collide.

A neutron star is a dense, compact object left behind when a massive star sheds most of its outer mass in a supernova explosion. Thus a neutron star binary system must have started out as a binary system of two massive stars. But this posed a problem because it was believed the second explosion would expel most of the remaining mass and make the system unstable rather than forming a neutron star binary system.

A research team including Takashi Moriya at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) proposed a new formation hypothesis where the gravitational force of the neutron star formed during the first supernova strips most of the outer layer of the remaining star. When this “ultra-stripped” star then explodes, the supernova has much less ejecta and the system can remain stable. The team named this second type of supernova “ultra-stripped supernovae.”

Moriya simulated the light from ultra-stripped supernovae. His simulations predicted the explosion energy would be smaller than normal supernovae and that the brightness would peak at 5-10 days after the explosion. The team also speculated that there might be a diffuse helium envelope surrounding an ultra-stripped supernova.

Given these predictions, a team led by Kishalay De, a PhD student at California Institute of Technology, searched the data archive of the intermediate Palomar Transient Factory (iPTF) and found “iPTF14gqr,” a peculiar supernova for which the brightness evolution and spectroscopic features closely matched Moriya’s simulations, including hints of a diffuse helium envelope.

Moriya explains, “This is the first clear detection of a supernova which can result in the formation of a binary neutron star system. In addition to the observations of binary neutron stars by gravitational and electromagnetic waves, the detections of ultra-stripped supernovae will play an important role in understanding the birthplace of elements.”

Indian academics have launched a protest against a higher education textbook that states modern sciences such as aeronautics originated from ancient Hindu scriptures.

An online petition was submitted by a group of scientists and researchers against the decision of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to endorse Bharatiya Vidya Saar (India’s sea of knowledge) as a reference book for elective courses on ancient knowledge systems.

The book is published by Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, an institution which enjoys the support of India’s governing pro-Hindu, nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

It claims that theories of modern aeronautics are described in ancient Sanskrit text, with details on construction of airplanes, navigation, aviation fuel and pilot preparation.

“Soon we will stop laughing over such claims as this is becoming the new normal in today’s India,” said Amit Kumar, a New Delhi-based researcher a signatory of the petition.

Kumar told ucanews.com the attempt was part of “well planned agenda of the government” to “link rationality with mythology.”

The controversial textbook also said the theories on the speed of light and gravitation were accurately mentioned in Rigveda, an ancient Vedic Sanskrit hymn.

Among other claims are: that Newton’s First Law of Motion and other theories on motion are discussed in Sanskrit text and that an ancient sage named Rishi Agastya invented the electro-voltaic cell and the theory of electrolysis to decompose water into oxygen and hydrogen.

The electro-voltaic cell, or galvanic cell, is attributed to two Italian inventors, Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta working in the late 18th century, while the British scientist Michael Faraday is widely credited with the law of electrolysis in the early 19th century.

The AICTE plans to introduce the book in 3,000 technical colleges across the country.

Some 2,000 researchers, educators and non-academics have joined the online petition which is addressed to the council’s chair Anil Sahsrabuddhe.

“All these claims stem from misunderstanding or deliberate mistranslation of philosophical verses or ascribing an ancient origin to verses composed in the last century,” the complaint said asking the council to withdraw its endorsement.

Terming it “pseudo science”, the petition said such books “do a disservice to the goal of taking knowledge of ancient Indian sciences to students by spreading conspiracy theories and blatantly false information.”

In March this year, a Reuters report said that a committee appointed by the Narendra Modi government had been working for six months to prove Hindus were direct descendants of India’s first inhabitants. The reports also said that the committee was seeking to demonstrate that ancient Hindu scriptures were fact, not myth.

In 2014, months after Modi came to power, the prime minister claimed ancient Indians had knowledge of plastic surgery. For example, the elephant-headed god Ganesha was created by surgically placing the animal’s face on a human body, he said.

Suvaid Ahmad, a rights activist based in New Delhi, said “we are living in different and difficult times”.

“The only remedy is to raise your voice and make people aware of how science and history are being rewritten to suit a particular mindset. This is dangerous and merits concern,” he said.

He said that pro-Hindu educators have been advocating the removal of Urdu and Persian words from school textbooks as they think such words connect Indian culture with Muslim rulers, including the Mughal Empire, who ruled most of northern India from 1526-1857.

By Lex Radz

Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim claimed victory in a special election Saturday, setting the stage for his return to Parliament in a landslide win widely seen as a first step that could propel him to power, eventually replacing Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

Figures released by the Election Commission showed that Anwar received more than 71 percent of the total votes cast in a by-election battle for a parliamentary seat representing the coastal town of Port Dickson in Sembilan state, about 100 km (62 miles) south of Kuala Lumpur.

“I am, of course, extremely pleased and humbled by the result,” Anwar, 71, told supporters hours after the close of the polling.

“I just called and spoke to Tun Mahathir and he is glad,” he said, using a common honorific title for the 93-year-old Malaysian leader.

Anwar described his win by a huge margin as unexpected but convincing.

“This to my mind is an important milestone, a vote of confidence for the government and the reform agenda, and the prime minister,” he told reporters as about 1,000 supporters cheered at his campaign headquarters.

Anwar was the nation’s most famous political prisoner until he received a royal full-pardon in May this year, when the opposition alliance that he jointly led with Mahathir pulled off a stunning election victory, ushering then-Prime Minister Najib Razak’s political downfall.

More than 58 percent of the 75,770 registered voters turned out in the Port Dickson by-election that pitted seven candidates, including Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, an ex-aide who had accused Anwar of sodomy. Anwar received 31,016 votes, Saiful bagged 82, election officials said.

The by-election for the parliamentary seat took place after the incumbent, Danyal Balagopal Abdullah, resigned on Sept. 12 to give way to Anwar. Danyal is a member of the People’s Justice Party or PKR headed by Anwar.

Anwar, who was once the country’s former deputy prime minister, spent eight of the past 20 years in prison on what his supporters claimed were politically-motivated sodomy charges, including one that was orchestrated by Najib.

To defeat Najib, Anwar and Najib set aside their bitter feud. Mahathir had pledged during the campaign for the May general election that he would eventually hand over power to Anwar.