A lethal bird flu outbreak that has been circling the globe since 2021 peaked in Japan this week, as an agriculture ministry official said the country plans to cull more than 10 million chickens. The H5N1 strain now sweeping Japan is uniquely contagious and deadly. It poses such high risk to farmed birds, such as chickens and turkeys, that a single infection on a farm condemns the entire flock to be killed. 

Around the globe, record-breaking death tolls due to the virus are becoming the norm. There has been a global death toll of more than 140 million so far is still cause for deep concern. The result has been loss of income for farmers, and soaring prices for poultry and eggs – both essential sources of affordable protein.

“In terms of the numbers of birds, farms, and countries affected, the number of birds that have been killed and the duration of the outbreak, the current epidemic is truly the largest we’ve seen in history,” says Ian Brown, chair of the joint World Organisation for Animal Health and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN’s Scientific Network on Animal Influenza. 

Europe is in the midst of its worst-ever spate of bird flu infections with 2,500 outbreaks on farms stretching across 37 countries from October 2021-September 2022. Some 50 million birds have been culled across the continent, although the vast majority of poultry infections occurred in France. More than twelve months since the virus was first detected in late 2021, infections have remained consistently high and show little sign of slowing. In fact, they seem to be gathering pace – European data shows that in autumn 2022 the epidemic was more virulent than the same time the previous year and the number of infected farms 35 percent higher.  

 In the US, more states than ever before have reported instances of bird flu with an all-time high of nearly 58 million poultry affected as of January 2023. 

The bird flu virus was first detected among domestic waterfowl in Southern China in 1996. The H5N1 strain currently circulating originated among wild birds whose migration patterns have accelerated its global propagation. The rate of reproduction is high; one bird is able to infect up to 100 others.

In Scotland, the coast provides a haven for migratory and sea birds and a crucial habitat for many endangered species. Great skuas currently have a total population of just 16,000, more than half of which inhabit the northwest coast. When numbers of the seabird started to die off in the summer of 2021 it was the first indicator that the H5N1 virus had arrived.  

Claire Smith, policy officer for UK bird protection charity the RSPB, said deaths among great skuas, gannets, gulls, geese and even eagles continued through summer, then impacting both migratory and domestic species. By July, the Scottish government had closed off access to some seabird islands.

 “There were just dead birds everywhere,” Smith says. 

  many species around the world have suffered similar decimation. Populations of penguins in South Africa, dalmatian pelicans in the Balkans and cranes in Israel have diminished.  In the UK, birdlife that wouldn’t normally be prone to bird flu, such as barn owls and kestrels, have recently been infected. “The theory,” Smith says, “is that lots of big poultry operations have rodents, and the rodents aren’t necessarily dying of bird flu but are carrying the virus on their fur, then those barn owls and kestrels are catching them.” 

Against a backdrop of environmental threats such as climate change, many may never recover their numbers. “It’s not dramatic to say there are some endangered species of wild birds that could become extinct,” Brown says.  As human life has been said to be entering an age of pandemics in the wake of Covid, the same is now true for birds. “We are facing a continuous threat that these outbreaks might occur every four or five years,” says Brown.

This outbreak marks the first time bird flu has been detected in Latin America with outbreaks in Columbia, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, and Ecuador, posing a potential risk to farmed and wild birds including the unique species that inhabit the Galapagos. 

Human infections are also rare and mild, although a handful of cases have been reported. “At the moment, it does not have a high ability to spread and infect people, but we can’t assume that will always be the case,” says Brown. “These viruses change and mutate over time.” 

Largest global bird flu outbreak ‘in history’ shows no sign of slowing (france24.com)

Refugees from Afghanistan may be escaping Taliban rule. Those from Turkey, Iraq and Syria may be fleeing wars. Economic migrants from Tunisia, Egypt, Bangladesh, Algeria and Morocco are determined to reach the EU to escape poverty, earn living wages and build a better life. Yet the EU welcomes them all with razor wire and refugee camps.

Around 1800 kilometres of border walls and fences have been built on the perimeter of the EU in the past decade. The hefty prices include cameras, heat sensors, drones, armed vehicles and guards to patrol and keep the migrants and asylum seekers out.

Serbia is constructing a fence on its border with North Macedonia and plans another to prevent crossings from Bulgaria. 

Greece is planning to extend its high-tech 40-kilometre-long, 5-metre-high steel, concrete and barbed wire fence on the border with Turkey by a further 140 kilometres.

Over the past two years Poland, Lithuania and Latvia have fortified their borders with Belarus by erecting fences of steel and barbed wire at a cost of more than half a billion euros.

Hungary spent €1.64bn erecting steel and razor-wire barriers on its borders with Serbia and Croatia.

The new militarised borders are unlikely to stop the refugees. If the fences can’t be scaled with ladders, they can be walked around: the wall on the Polish-Belarusian border maybe 186 kilometres long, but that leaves 232 kilometres of the border unfenced. The barriers do force would-be migrants to take more dangerous routes. The long journeys of asylum seekers include dangerous crossings of seas or rivers, sleeping rough in cold and heat, and abuse by people smugglers. According to the Missing Migrants Project, more than 25,000 people have gone missing in the Mediterranean alone since 2014.

They also permit higher profits for smugglers and traffickers of people. 

 The war in Ukraine drove four times as many refugees into the EU in 2022 than the conflict in Syria did in 2015-16. In contrast, the status of Ukrainian refugees is regulated.

Over 4.8 million of them, mostly women and children, have registered for the EU’s temporary protection scheme or other national programmes, including over 1m in Poland and Germany, and over 100,000 in the Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, the UK, Bulgaria and France. The EU’s Temporary Protection Directive allows Ukrainians to move freely between member states, gives them instant rights to live and work, and offers access to benefits like housing and medical care for up to three years. While migrants are a net cost in the short run, in the long run they are taxpayers. Some will assimilate and settle in the EU, thus helping relieve its worker shortage and demographic crisis.

Why not adopt the same policies for others? Governments can provide asylum-seekers with temporary accommodation, legal pathways to obtain jobs, language classes and modest financial support. Once employed or in school, the young men – most of these migrants are young men – can productively contribute to the host society. The fears that natives lose jobs to migrants are largely overstated, because migrants tend to take less desirable jobs. Moreover, they create new jobs within and outside diaspora communities – in other words, groups of migrants in host countries who have come from the same original culture.

Local diasporas and personal sponsors can be asked to support new migrants and bear some responsibility for their housing, language training and employment. With more support and mentoring available, migrants will be better able to assimilate into the EU culture.

The new Slovenian government is removing a 143-kilometre razor-wired border fence with Croatia, built during the 2015-16 refugee crisis, due to its ineffectiveness. Let’s hope that other countries will follow.

Opinion | Fortress Europe Is Cruel, Misguided, and Doomed to Fail | Common Dreams

 “While House Republicans want to make huge cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid because of their ‘serious concern’ about the deficit, they voted to provide over a trillion dollars in tax breaks to large corporations and the top one percent,” Bernie Sanders said in a statement Friday. “The situation has become so absurd that over a third of the largest and most profitable corporations in our country pay nothing in federal income taxes.”

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which former President Donald Trump signed into law in December 2017, slashed the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and authorized a slew of other giveaways that made it easier for large businesses and wealthy individuals to lower their tax bills.

A study released Friday by the Government Accountability Office found that “average effective tax rates—the percentage of income paid after tax breaks—among profitable large corporations fell from 16% in 2014 to 9% in 2018.”

According to the GAO, the share of profitable large corporations that owed $0 in federal income taxes after credits rose from around 22% in 2014 to 34% in 2018.

“Each year from 2014-2018, about half of large corporations and a quarter of profitable ones didn’t owe federal taxes,” the GAO noted. “For example, profitable corporations may not owe taxes due to prior years’ losses.”

Another separate analyses from outside organizations such as the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) have identified such corporations. In 2021, ITEP found that at least 55 large U.S. corporations including Nike, FedEx, HP, and Kinder Morgan paid $0 in federal taxes on 2020 profits.

Steve Wamhoff, ITEP’s federal policy director, wrote in a blog post on Friday that the GAO’s new study confirms that “the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was an unprecedented gift to corporations.”

34% of Big, Profitable US Corporations Paid $0 in Federal Taxes in 1st Year of Trump Tax Law (commondreams.org)

 The largest military and defence corporations of NATO member states have seen a 21.5% boost in market value in 2022 amid the military operation in Ukraine and rearmament in Western Europe, Moscow daily Vedomosti reported on Wednesday.

The newspaper was citing data from Defence News and Trading View analytics.

The corporations’ combined market capitalization increased from $579 billion in December 2021 to $703 billion in December 2022, according to the estimates.

The ranking included 25 companies with a capitalization of over $1 billion which are traded on the stock market and have military products dominating in their revenues, and are also actively involved in arms supplies to Ukraine.

Authors of the report name German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall as the top gainer over the last 12 months, with a 122% surge in share price. French drone and missile producer Thales saw its market value rise 54%. American defence contractor Northrop Grumman was up 44%, while stock in HIMARS rocket launchers maker Lockheed Martin gained 42%.

Other notable mentions in the report include BAE Systems (+40%), Kongsberg Gruppen (+37%), General Dynamics (+24%), and Raytheon Technologies (+19%).

The report pointed out that the value of NATO’s military giants was soaring while the overall Western corporate sector sank by 16% last year, according to the S&P 1200 index, suggesting that arms manufacturers were likely the main beneficiaries of the political crisis in Europe.

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Dave C.

 Say you’re at war without saying you’re at war.

“Britain will provide Ukraine with main battle tanks, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters. The statement came after Poland said it would transfer German-made tanks to Kiev’s forces, with Berlin’s permission.

The spokesman said Sunak had asked Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to “work with partners” to go “further and faster with our support for Ukraine including the provision of tanks.”

A formal announcement will likely be made in conjunction with several of Britain’s NATO allies, as was the case when the US, France and Germany all announced together that they would send infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine.

Poland announced that it would supply Kiev with a number of German-made Leopard tanks, a decision that requires a green light from Berlin.

While the German government officially has no plans to donate any of its own Leopards, Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on Monday that he would not rule out such a step. Meanwhile, Kiev is confident that Germany’s apparent caution is illusory.

“Germany will do it anyway at a later date,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the Tagesschau news channel on Wednesday. “We have already seen this with the self-propelled howitzers, with the IRIS-T anti-aircraft system and most recently with the Marder and Patriot systems.”

According to Sky, an official announcement may be made by multiple countries on January 20, when the US-led ‘Contact Group’ for arming Ukraine is scheduled to meet next.

Warsaw intends to hand German-made tanks over to Ukraine, Polish President Andrzej Duda said during a visit to the country.

“A company of Leopard tanks will be transferred as part of coalition building. We want it to be an international company and we decided to put the first package in the form of tanks,” Duda told reporters in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.

Duda’s comments come just days after Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki said Warsaw was “considering” a handover of several Leopard 2 tanks to its southern neighbor. Morawiecki also said it would have to be a part of an effort by a “broader coalition of states” and that talks with Germany were “ongoing,” according to the outlet Rzeczpospolita.

While Czechia was the first NATO member to send tanks to Ukraine – turning over several T-72s in April 2022 – Poland has given Kiev the most armour. Duda said on Wednesday that 240 Polish T-72s had been delivered as part of “spectacular assistance” to Ukraine. Ukraine has repeatedly demanded western-made tanks.

So far, Berlin has agreed to give Kiev 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles and a US-made Patriot air defence battery, already an escalation from its previous deliveries.

Ukraine has sought a symbolic delivery of Leopards to open the gates for the eventual delivery of US tanks, Defence Minister Aleksey Reznikov told the US outlet Politico in October. Last week, Reznikov told Ukrainian TV that his country is “carrying out NATO’s mission” by shedding blood, so it is the West’s responsibility to provide the weapons.

The US and its allies provided almost $100 billion worth of weapons, equipment and ammunition to Ukraine in 2022, according to Russian Defence Ministry estimates. Moscow has repeatedly warned the West that its military aid to Kiev only prolongs the conflict and risks a direct confrontation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov  that the US and NATO are “definitely” taking part in the conflict, “although indirectly, by proxy.””

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Dave C.

  Which? the consumer champion found products like expensive dishwashers, TVs, and washing machines – which might be expected to last more than a decade – are “being abandoned” by brands.

A lack of software support from firms means devices do not get updated. Smart appliances could stop working properly after just two years because manufacturers are failing to provide tech updates. 

Which? looked at popular smart TVs, dishwashers, washing machines, smartphones, inkjet printers, smartwatches and fitness trackers. It found that hardly any brands even came close to matching their expected lifespan with their smart update policies.

 Ten humanitarian crises that didn’t make media headlines in 2022:

Angola – 3.8 million people do not have enough to eatMalawi – 37 percent of children are malnourishedCentral African Republic – 3.1 million people in need of humanitarian aidZambia – 50 percent of people live on 1.90 dollars a dayChad – Second highest maternal mortality rate in the worldBurundi – 50 percent of children under five are malnourishedZimbabwe – 7 million people need humanitarian aidMali – Eighth-highest child mortality rate in the worldCameroon – 3.9 million people in needNiger – 4.4 million people are acutely food insecure

On the 24th January, 2023, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists will announce the setting to The Doomsday Clock for 2023. It currently stands at one hundred seconds to Midnight.

“Seoul could arm itself with tactical nuclear weapons if tensions with Pyongyang continue to grow, South Korean president, Yoon Suk-yeol, has said. It comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said  his country would develop a new intercontinental ballistic missile as the US and South Korea were seeking to “isolate and stifle” Pyongyang.

“If the [North Korean nuclear] problem becomes more serious, the Republic of Korea may deploy tactical nuclear weapons or come to possess its own nuclear weapons,” Yoon, who became president last year, said during a government meeting as quoted by local media.

“If that happens, it won’t take long, and with our science and technology, we could have [nuclear weapons] sooner as time passes,” Yoon added

The US pulled its nuclear forces from South Korea in 1991 following disarmament talks with Pyongyang and Moscow. Relations have since deteriorated, with North Korea stepping up missile tests last year and enshrining the right to use nuclear weapons into national law in September. The escalation has rattled Seoul, which is now seeking to strengthen its military alliance with the US and deepen cooperation with Japan.

Yoon said that the allies were discussing holding new joint military drills, including tabletop and computer simulations, as well as exercises involving the “delivery means for nuclear weapons.”

US President Joe Biden, however, denied that Washington was considering joint nuclear drills with South Korea.

Pyongyang has insisted that its launches are a response to US-South Korean exercises, which North Korea views as a national security threat.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has called for the country to develop a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and boost its nuclear arsenal amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, state-run media reported.

Pyongyang requires “overwhelming military power” to defend itself as Washington and “our undoubted enemy” Seoul try to “isolate and stifle” North Korea with US nuclear assets deployed in South Korean territory, Kim said on Sunday, according to the state-run KCNA news agency.

During a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK), the country’s leader insisted that a new ICBM capable of a “quick nuclear counter-strike” must be developed by North Korea.

Kim stressed the importance of “mass-producing tactical nuclear weapons,” saying “an exponential increase of the country’s nuclear arsenal” would be the “main orientation” of North Korea’s defence strategy in 2023, KCNA reported.

 Kim praised the country’s defence industry for delivering 30 new 600mm super-large multiple rocket launchers to the military. He described the nuclear-capable system as the country’s “core offensive weapon,” which can strike anywhere in South Korea with surprise and precision launches.

“We have declared our resolute will to respond with nuke for nuke and an all-out confrontation for an all-out confrontation,” he warned, as quoted by KCNA.

North Korea carried out a record number of missile tests in 2022, some of which involved ICBMs, according to calculations by Western media outlets. And it has already fired a short-range ballistic missile off its east coast in the early hours of the new year. Washington and Seoul have claimed that the North is gearing up for its nuclear test since 2017.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol warned that North Korea would continue with its nuclear and missile provocations, insisting that Seoul’s military should respond to such moves with clear retaliation, according to his office.

Tensions have been on the rise between the two neighbours since Yoon came to power in May and declared a “peace through strength” policy, which is based on further boosting military ties with the US. In late December, Seoul announced an increase in joint drills with the Americans, with 20 such exercises planned for the first half of 2023 alone.”

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Dave C

Academics analysed data in ExxonMobil’s internal documents and determined that its research predicted how burning fossil fuels would warm the planet even though the company publicly denied the link.

 United Nations agencies are calling for urgent action to protect the most vulnerable children in the 15 countries hardest hit by an unprecedented food and nutrition crisis.

Currently, more than 30 million children in the 15 worst-affected countries suffer from wasting – or acute malnutrition – and 8 million of these children are severely wasted, the deadliest form of undernutrition. 

“This situation is likely to deteriorate even further in 2023,” said QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. “…We need urgent action now to save lives, and to tackle the root causes of acute malnutrition, working together across all sectors.” 

“Today’s cascading crises are leaving millions of children wasted and have made it harder for them to access key services. Wasting is painful for the child, and in severe cases, can lead to death or permanent damage to children’s growth and development. We can and must turn this nutrition crisis around …” Catherine Russell, Executive Director, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

“More than 30 million children are acutely malnourished across the 15 worst-affected countries, so we must act now and we must act together. It is critical that we collaborate to strengthen social safety nets and food assistance to ensure Specialized Nutritious Foods are available to women and children who need them the most.” David Beasley, Executive Director, World Food Programme (WFP)

“The global food crisis is also a health crisis, and a vicious cycle: malnutrition leads to disease, and disease leads to malnutrition,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO).”Urgent support is needed now…”

https://reliefweb.int/attachments/ed013fbf-e0e0-4db0-b0f5-eb9850c6ef4f/FINAL_Jan12_GAP_PressRelease.pdf