Day: November 28, 2022

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Report accuses Swedish fashion chain of polluting water in Bangladesh

Bangladesh along with China is among the leading producers of fast fashion.

The consumption of clothes is 60% up from 2000 and every clothing item is on average worn only seven times before it ends up at a landfill site, according to the in-depth piece published in Aftonbladet

Nearly 100 billion new garments are produced every year.

Bangladesh in addition to low wages has yet another competitive advantage: cheap water.

Sharif Jamil, one of Bangladesh’s best-known environmental activists and leader of the organization Bapa, said only 30 inspectors in the crowded capital of Dhaka inspect thousands of factories for compliance.

They have neither the knowledge, the equipment nor the capacity, he said.

And the penalties for flouting rules are low and the corruption extreme, he added.

– Deep pockets

Several government ministers and dozens of parliamentarians and mayors own factories themselves.

The investigation reviewed eleven of the factories that manufacture clothes for H&M.

It confirmed that four of these discharged contaminated water.

The reporters involved in the investigation spoke to a large number of stakeholders, such as residents, factory employees, environmental activists, and government officials.

They also tracked down secret sewers and confirmed the emissions visually. In Bangladesh, the discharges have led to entire rivers being declared biologically dead.

H&M says that they have 35 employees working on sustainability in Bangladesh. None of these have been seen by locals.

The four factories associated with pollution are Sterling Denim and Mascotex near Dhaka; Taqwa Fabrics and Aswad Composite Mills located in Sreepur.

During the week, Aftonbladet contacted H&M for a response.

In a written reply, Shariful Hoque, water impact lead, said the clothing chain was taking the information seriously and has launched an internal investigation on the issue.

The company is producing clothes at three of the four factories named in the report.

“Although we are one of the few brands that share data and are approaching fully functional sewage treatment at our suppliers’ factories, we have not yet achieved 100 percent compliance,” Hoque added.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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Global health body renames monkeypox as mpox

“When the outbreak of monkeypox expanded earlier this year, racist and stigmatizing language online, in other settings, and in some communities was observed and reported to WHO,” the UN body said in a statement, noting that the decision was made after consultations with global experts.

Mpox will be adopted as the preferred term, replacing monkeypox, after a year-long transition period, it said, adding that this would ease concerns raised by experts about the confusion that the name change may cause during a global outbreak.

In several meetings, public and private, individuals and countries raised concerns and asked WHO to propose a way forward to change the name.

The WHO said that assigning names to new and, very exceptionally, to existing diseases is its responsibility under International Classification of Diseases (ICD) practices.

Also responsible for disease naming is the WHO Family of International Health-Related Classifications system through a consultative process that includes WHO member states.

Human monkeypox was given its name in 1970 after the virus that causes the disease was discovered in captive monkeys in 1958, decades before the WHO’s best practices on naming diseases were published in 2015.

Considerations in the guidelines include rational, scientific appropriateness, current usage, pronounceability, usability in different languages, absence of geographical or zoological references, and the ease of retrieval of historical, scientific information, said the WHO.

The new term mpox can be used in various languages.

If additional naming issues arise, these will be addressed via the same mechanism, the world health agency said.

The “WHO will adopt the term mpox in its communications and encourages others to follow these recommendations to minimize any ongoing negative impact of the current name and from the adoption of the new name,” it added.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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Comoros ex-president sentenced to life in prison for ‘high treason’

According to Tanzania Daily News, Sambi, who is a political nemesis of incumbent President Azali Assoumani, was sentenced by the State Security Court, a special judicial body whose rulings cannot be appealed, after he was convicted of selling passports to stateless people living in the Gulf.

“He betrayed the mission entrusted to him by the Comorians,” public prosecutor Ali Mohamed Djounaid accused in the court as he requested for a life sentence.

Sambi, 64, who led the tiny Indian Ocean archipelago nation between 2006 and 2011, enacted a law in 2008 allowing the sale of passport for high fees.

The controversial scheme was aimed to give nationality to the so-called Bidoon – an Arab minority numbering in tens of thousands who cannot obtain citizenship.

According to Djounaid, the former president embezzled a whopping $1.8 billion under the fraudulent scheme – more than the gross domestic product of the impoverished nation.

Local media quoted Emmanuel Sossa, a lawyer for civilian plaintiff as saying: “They gave thugs the right to sell Comorian nationality as if they were selling peanut.”

Sambi’s lawyer Jean- Gilles Halimi, however, refuted the accusations, saying no evidence had been provided for the missing monies or bank accounts had been put forward to suggest a crime.

Sambi refused to attend the trial on the grounds that there were no guarantees he would be judged fairly. He briefly appeared once with his defense asking the judge to recuse himself since he had previously sat on the panel that decided to indict him.

The former leader, who was originally charged for corruption, had already spent four years in prison before he faced a trial. He was previously placed under house arrest for allegedly disturbing public order.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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Turkish to be taught at South Korean university

Sungdo Kim, who teaches linguistics at Korea University in the capital Seoul, contacted the Anatolian Semiotic Research Association (ANASEM), which is headquartered in Balikesir, northwestern Türkiye, the governorship said in a statement.

Kim asked for help finding a lecturer to teach Turkish, for a course to be taught in both semesters.

Kim last summer attended an international semiotics workshop in Balikesir.

Sukru Kara, the deputy governor of Balikesir and ANASEM honorary head, said Turkish is a universal language. As it gains more popularity worldwide, it will be easier for other nations to recognize and learn Turkish culture, he said.

Mustafa Ozsari, the head of ANASEM, said that faculty members who speak advanced English and are experienced in teaching Turkish will be assigned to the South Korean university.

Source: Anadolu Agency