Outside Havana, a combine belonging to a private Vietnamese company is harvesting rice, directly farming Cuban land — in a first — to help address acute food shortages in the country. The Cuban government has granted Agri VAM, a subsidiary of Vietnam’s Fujinuco Group, 1,000 hectares (2,470 acres) of arable land in Los Palacios, 118 kilometers …
Vietnamese rice grower helps tackle Cuba’s food shortage Read More »
The first World Humanoid Robot Games began on Friday in Beijing with over 500 androids alternating between jerky tumbles and glimpses of real power as they compete in events from the 100-metre hurdles to kung fu.Hundreds of robotics teams from 16 countries are going for gold at the Chinese capital’s National Speed Skating Oval, built …
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The cutting down of an olive tree planted in memory of a young French Jewish man tortured to death in 2006 stirred outrage in France on Friday, with President Emmanuel Macron vowing punishment over an act of antisemitic “hatred”.Politicians across the political spectrum condemned the act as an attack against the memory of Ilan Halimi, who was kidnapped by a gang of around 20 youths in January 2006 and tortured in a low-income housing estate in the Paris suburb of Bagneux. Found three weeks later, the 23-year-old died on the way to hospital.An olive tree, planted in 2011 in Halimi’s memory, was felled, probably with a chainsaw, earlier this week in the northern Paris suburb of Epinay-sur-Seine. The incident stoked fresh concerns about an increase in antisemitic acts and hate crimes in France as international tensions mount over Gaza.Fresh flowers have been left at the memorial stone next to the tree stump, according to an AFP journalist.”Every effort will be made to punish this act of hatred,” Macron said on X, adding France’s fight against antisemitism will be “uncompromising”.”The nation will not forget this son of France who died because he was Jewish.”Prime Minister Francois Bayrou called the tree “a living bulwark against oblivion”.”The never-ending fight against the deadly poison of hatred is our primary duty,” he added.Officials pledged to plant a new tree “as soon as possible”.”It is not just a tree that has been cut down, it is a hope that has been sabotaged,” France’s chief rabbi Haim Korsia said before praying in front of the memorial with other members of the Jewish community.- ‘Murdered his memory’ – France’s Jewish community — one of the largest in the world — says the number of antisemitic acts has surged following the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023 which was followed by Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip and aid blockade.In 2006, Halimi’s murder struck horror into France’s Jewish people and stirred debate about antisemitism in France. Police at the time initially refused to consider the murder a hate crime, and tens of thousands took to the street to demand justice.Yonathan Arfi, president of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF), said the felling of the tree was “extremely painful”.”There is nothing more cowardly, and those who have murdered his memory are no better than those who took his life 20 years ago,” Arfi told AFP.”This is not just another antisemitic act, it is a way for antisemites to shout that they are here more than ever.” Herve Chevreau, the mayor of Epinay-sur-Seine, filed a criminal complaint.Paris police chief Laurent Nunez condemned what he called a “despicable act” and said an investigation had been launched.Halimi was lured by a 17-year-old girl to a housing estate basement in the suburbs, where he was attacked and subdued with ether. Held prisoner for ransom, Halimi was tortured for 24 days before he was found naked, bound and gagged on February 13, 2006. Youssouf Fofana, the head of the gang dubbed the “Barbarians”, was sentenced to life in prison. The son of Ivorian immigrants, Fofana had recruited followers among youths from Paris’s bleak immigrant suburbs.Two other trees planted in tribute to Halimi were vandalised and sawn down in 2019 in the southern suburb of Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois, where Halimi was found dying near a railway track.Reported antisemitic acts in France surged from 436 in 2022 to 1,676 in 2023, before dipping to 1,570 last year, according to the interior ministry.hr-grd-jdy-meh-as/rmb
Baker Eid Ahmed just can’t get away from Saudi Arabia’s notorious heat: he makes bread next to a sweltering oven for 13 hours a day, only to step outside into summer temperatures that can soar past 45C.Armed with an ice-cold water bottle and a wet cloth, the 35-year-old Egyptian was doing his best to stay cool while wearing his mandatory mask and hair cap. “It’s hot outside, but inside, it’s like fire,” he said, shoving a board loaded with flatbreads into a large wood-fired oven.”Standing here in front of the fire is like hell,” he added as customers waited in the shade outside the small Riyadh bakery.In arid Saudi Arabia, summer temperatures regularly reach 50C, leaving streets empty for much of the day.To protect labourers, the kingdom bans work under direct sunlight and outside during the hours of most intense heat from mid-June until mid-September.But these rules do little for indoor workers, many of whom, like Ahmed, have no choice but to toil near manmade sources of heat even at midday — the hottest time of the day, which also coincides with busy lunch breaks.”Here by the fire, I suffer on both sides,” he said, caught between the oven and the bakery’s door, which does not shut properly and allows in hot air from outside.In June, Human Rights Watch called on Gulf countries to extend protections for workers toiling in the heat, considering current measures “insufficient”.A spokesperson for the human resources and social development ministry told AFP the kingdom had “clear occupational safety and health regulations to protect workers from heat stress across all sectors”.The ministry “conducts targeted inspection campaigns, acts on public reports through its hotline and mobile app, and enforces penalties for non-compliance”, they added.Ahmed left Egypt five years ago after he was offered 3,000 riyals ($800) to work in Riyadh — a sum the struggling baker could not refuse.”I keep working and I endure for the sake of my family”, who now have a better life thanks to his higher pay, he said.He works from 11:00 am to midnight, but fatigue sets in early.”By midday, I’m completely exhausted,” he said.He cannot walk after his shift and has to “lie down for at least 30 minutes to get back to normal”.- Heat exhaustion -Across the city, workers in bakeries, restaurants and laundries labour near indoor sources of heat all day long.Karim Elgendy, who heads the Carboun Institute think tank, warned they were just as exposed to health risks as those working outdoors.”Exposure to direct sunlight at 40C temperatures for an hour is comparable to being in front of an oven at 200C for a similar period,” Elgendy said, warning that heat exhaustion and excessive sweating “can lead to severe dehydration, which puts pressure on vital organs”.People working by an oven should take frequent breaks away from the heat, he added.But Hani al-Duaisi, who manages a grilled chicken shop, said that was impossible as the restaurant was packed with customers for most of the day.Along with three employees, the 26-year-old Yemeni toils in a cramped kitchen packed with a grill, a charcoal stove and large pots filled with steaming rice.”Even if you turn 10 air conditioners on, it won’t cool the kitchen,” he said, wiping away some sweat.Nearby, some customers began complaining about slightly delayed orders.”I feel like people outside live in one world, and we live in another,” said Duaisi.”Our world here is hell.”
