Pressure

3 things to watch for in Russia’s presidential election – other than Putin’s win, that is

Retrieved on: 
星期三, 三月 13, 2024

While the result may be a foregone conclusion, the election offers an important glimpse into the Kremlin’s domestic challenges as it continues a war against Ukraine that recently entered its third year.

Key Points: 
  • While the result may be a foregone conclusion, the election offers an important glimpse into the Kremlin’s domestic challenges as it continues a war against Ukraine that recently entered its third year.
  • As an expert on Russian politics, I have identified three key developments worth paying attention to during and after the upcoming election.

1. Don’t mention the war (too much)

  • With Russian domestic media and politics all but gutted of dissenting voices, the war has become the organizing principle of post-2022 Russian politics, shaping all major policies and decisions.
  • Yet, while the context of the war looms large, its role is largely implicit rather than occupying center stage.
  • There are relatively few ardent supporters of the war, outweighed by a more general sense of fatigue among the public.
  • Yet the war is putting pressure on the government’s ability to juggle ensuring a disengaged population and bolstering support for a grinding war that demands unprecedented resources.
  • That choice surprised some insiders, who expected Putin to weave his announcement into a high-profile, choreographed event focusing on domestic achievements and not the ongoing war.

2. Pressure to deliver results for Putin

  • For officials, the election is a litmus test for their ability to muster administrative resources and deliver Putin an electoral windfall.
  • Most reports suggest the Kremlin is hoping to engineer that the turnout is at least 70%, with around 80% of the vote for Putin – which would surpass his 76.7% share from 2018.
  • For observers of Russian politics, what will be of interest is not the result itself, but how the result is produced during wartime conditions.
  • Moreover, political disengagement and the certainty of a Putin victory means that interest in voting is at an all-time low.

3. Silencing political opposition

  • The death of longtime Putin critic Alexei Navalny in February 2024 was a huge blow to the opposition but is representative of the state of political repression in Russia.
  • Since 2018, some 116,000 Russians have faced political repression.
  • Yet the scale of public mourning for Navalny and the enthusiasm for Nadezhdin reveal that despite draconian wartime censorship and repression, there remains a sizable bloc of Russians eager for authentic political alternatives.


Adam Lenton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Colonial statues in Africa have been removed, returned and torn down again – why it’s such a complex history

Retrieved on: 
星期三, 三月 13, 2024

It also ignited debates about historical symbols of oppression, such as statues of figures associated with racial injustices.

Key Points: 
  • It also ignited debates about historical symbols of oppression, such as statues of figures associated with racial injustices.
  • These debates presented colonial statues in Africa as having been contested and toppled for many years, ever since African states gained independence.
  • As a scholar of African heritage, I recently published a study examining colonial statues and how they have been regarded in postcolonial Africa.

Colonial statues at independence (1950s-1980)

  • As African countries gained independence from the 1950s to the 1980s, colonial statues faced three main fates: recycling; defacement or toppling; and on-site preservation.
  • Recycling involved relocating statues from former colonies to former colonial metropolises.
  • The reasons for these repatriations were multiple and included the desire to keep alive memory of colonial times and to feed colonial nostalgia.
  • Some African leaders at independence were pro-Europe, having been educated there or having worked there during colonial times.

The empires strike back (1990s-2000s)

  • It’s easy to see why: the millions of US dollars in aid that Belgium gives the DRC every year.
  • However, this statue of Livingstone can also be seen as an international event, linked to colonial monuments built with France’s cooperation.
  • This is notably the case of the 2006 Savorgnan de Brazza memorial erected in Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of Congo.

Renewed contestations (from the 2010s)

  • Such protests have accelerated in recent years and have become more visible, thanks to social networks.
  • The most famous case is the Rhodes Must Fall movement.
  • This movement opposed neoliberal economic systems which had failed to respond to fundamental change, especially in areas such as education.

A complex issue

  • While acknowledging successes in removing colonial statues, it is important not to overlook the substantial support for (neo)colonial monuments all over Africa.
  • Such support can be explained by pressure from former colonial powers and the links of elites with these countries.


Sophia Labadi has received funding from the Humboldt Foundation and the Fritz Thyssen Foundation.

Is my water safe to drink? Expert advice for residents of South African cities

Retrieved on: 
星期三, 三月 13, 2024

In early March 2024 the residents of Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city and the economic capital of the country, were hit by extended cuts in water supplies. This was a new low after months of continuous deterioration. Professor in the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand Craig Sheridan sets out the risks this poses to drinking water in the city. What can get into my water that will make me sick?You can have chemicals in the water that are toxic, or you can have pathogenic organisms which can make you ill.

Key Points: 


In early March 2024 the residents of Johannesburg, South Africa’s largest city and the economic capital of the country, were hit by extended cuts in water supplies. This was a new low after months of continuous deterioration. Professor in the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand Craig Sheridan sets out the risks this poses to drinking water in the city.

What can get into my water that will make me sick?

  • You can have chemicals in the water that are toxic, or you can have pathogenic organisms which can make you ill.
  • As a general rule, South Africa’s water works are able to remove almost all chemicals such that the water is safe to drink.
  • The water treatment works also disinfect the water, killing harmful bacteria and viruses.

Is my tap water safe to drink?

  • And if the water has residual chlorine in it, that means the supply to your home is good.
  • Unfortunately, this relies on drinking water treatment works functioning properly, which is not always the case.
  • The department of water and sanitation runs an auditing process of the water treatment works and the water they supply.

My water supply has been interrupted a lot. Is my tap water safe to drink?

  • If there is no water in the pipe, and there is an underground sewage leak near the water pipe, or contaminated storm water near the pipe, there’s a real possibility that contaminated water can enter the pipe.
  • As water supply returns, this “first flush” down the pipe has the potential to contain contaminants.
  • If your water remains brown or discoloured, report it and drink purified water.

I get my water from a mobile water tanker. Is this safe to drink?

  • But there are far too many instances of
    unscrupulous, roaming water tanker suppliers selling water, especially in areas with no access to safe tap water.
  • Since water supplies have become less dependable, the state has turned to businesses to supply water to communities.
  • If this is the case, it is sensible to purify the water.

What are the diseases that make drinking water unsafe? How are they spread?

  • When water is sent to a laboratory for testing, the first test is for an organism called Escherichia coli, or E. coli.
  • But if it is found in the water, there is absolute certainty that the water has been contaminated with faecal matter which has not been properly treated.
  • This is why it is used as a screening tool for more serious diseases which are also spread through faecal matter.
  • It is highly contagious and can spread by contact mainly from drinking contaminated water, food or from unwashed hands.

If I store water in bottles, how long before it’s unsafe to drink?

  • How warm is the water?
  • Water safety cannot be fully assured without analysing the actual water.
  • At the Centre of Water Research and Development we are doing research partly funded through the Water Research Commission to develop test strips to give a rapid analysis of drinking water quality that can easily be understood by the general public.

Is purifying water difficult?


At the University of the Witwatersrand we commissioned a short animation in all of South Africa’s 11 official languages as well as French and Portuguese on how to prevent cholera transmission and how to purify your water to ensure you stay safe. We have also shared guidance on how to purify your water to make it safe.
Craig Sheridan receives funding from The Claude Leon Foundation, the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), The Water JPI, The BMBF, FORMAS and the Water Research Commission. Craig Sheridan is a member of the South African Institution of Chemical Engineers (SAIChE), the Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), and the International Water Association (IWA).

Israel-Hamas conflict: Ramadan brings fresh fears of escalation on both Gaza Strip and West Bank

Retrieved on: 
星期三, 三月 13, 2024

A sea corridor has been opened between Cyprus and Gaza and the first shipments of aid are arriving from Europe.

Key Points: 
  • A sea corridor has been opened between Cyprus and Gaza and the first shipments of aid are arriving from Europe.
  • But it’s thought that it will be difficult to get a sufficient amount of food, fuel and medicine in by sea.
  • Ramadan is a central event in the Islamic holy calendar, commemorating Muhammad’s first revelation of what would later become the Qur'an.
  • The death toll, according to the Gaza health ministry, has topped 31,000 with nearly 73,000 more people injured.

West Bank

  • Instead of being bustling with activity, the narrow alleys of the Old City were almost empty, with many local shops closed.
  • According to Surah 17 in the Qur'an, Muhammad ascended to heaven from the site of Al-Aqsa after his miraculous night journey from Mecca.
  • The holy site is traditionally visited by tens of thousands of Muslim pilgrims each day as part of their Ramadan celebrations.
  • That instantly resulted in scuffles at one of the shrine’s entrances, with Israeli officers using batons on the Palestinian crowd.


Carlo Aldrovandi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

‘Applying for a home felt harder than applying for a job’: NZ private rentals won’t solve need for emergency housing

Retrieved on: 
星期三, 三月 13, 2024

Established in 2016, the emergency housing programme – short-term housing for people with nowhere to stay – was meant to be a stop-gap measure.

Key Points: 
  • Established in 2016, the emergency housing programme – short-term housing for people with nowhere to stay – was meant to be a stop-gap measure.
  • People seeking access to emergency housing will need to prove they have made “a reasonable effort” to secure a home in the private rental sector.
  • Our research on the factors that shape people’s housing outcomes, experiences and journeys shows the private rental sector can often exacerbate housing precarity.

Housing discrimination is widespread

  • Our survey of 800 residents across seven neighbourhoods in Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch revealed experiences of housing discrimination are widespread in Aotearoa New Zealand.
  • Nearly half of all renters reported directly experiencing discrimination when trying to rent a home.
  • Read more:
    As NZ struggles to resolve its long-running housing crisis, investors should be taxed for keeping homes empty

    When asked for examples to illustrate their experiences of discrimination, renters and owners alike provided stories of struggling to secure private rental housing at some point in their lives.

The instability of renting

  • This situation is made worse by the instability of rental housing.
  • Our survey results show a mere 12% of private rental tenants have lived in only one home over the past ten years.
  • This stands in stark contrast to 47% of owner-occupiers but also 39% of public housing tenants.
  • It takes time and effort to secure a home, especially one that is affordable and suitable for a household’s needs.

Private rental sector is not a solution

  • Recent research in Aotearoa and the United Kingdom has shown private renting adversely affects renters’ health and wellbeing.
  • Moreover, a Western Australian initiative to require public housing applicants to prove they had tried to get a private rental was dismantled following a 2004 inquiry.
  • Responding to the emergency housing crisis with greater reliance on the private rental sector amounts to fighting fire with fire.


Jessica Terruhn receives funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment for the WERO research programme. She is affiliated with Renters United. Francis L Collins receives funding from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. He has previously received other funding from Te Apārangi Royal Society of New Zealand.

Rediscovering Gems: British Museum exhibition exposes hypocrisy of new loan agreements for looted objects

Retrieved on: 
星期三, 三月 13, 2024

The British Museum’s latest exhibition, Rediscovering Gems, displays a range of prized ancient Roman and Greek artefacts.

Key Points: 
  • The British Museum’s latest exhibition, Rediscovering Gems, displays a range of prized ancient Roman and Greek artefacts.
  • The exhibition stemmed from an announcement last year that numerous pieces from the museum’s collection were missing, stolen or damaged.
  • While the British Museum celebrates recovered items in its new exhibition, it has continuously refused to return historically looted items in its own collection back to countries of origin.

From irony to hypocrisy

  • The objects will remain with the Asante for three to six years before having to be legally returned to the British Museum.
  • Read more:
    V&A's decision to loan looted Asante gold back to Ghana has implications for other British museums

    And herein lies the hypocrisy of Rediscovering gems.

  • The opening of Rediscovering gems displays an open embrace of institutional hypocrisy.
  • There is no legal barrier preventing the amendment of laws enabling the permanent restitution of historically looted objects.

Beyond the British Museum

  • As well as continuing to pile pressure on the British Museum and UK lawmakers, I would argue that community stakeholders and national leaders should look beyond most national museums which are prohibited by law from returning objects to countries of origin.
  • This includes the Science Museum Group, Kew Gardens and Wallace Collection.
  • As well as striking the loan agreement with the British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum, Asante representatives also struck a deal with the Fowler Museum at the University of California in Los Angeles.
  • The British Museum declined a request from The Conversation to comment on this story.


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Nathan Bossoh does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

China’s green steel push could crush Australia’s dirty iron ore exports

Retrieved on: 
星期三, 三月 13, 2024

But the Australian iron ore industry faces a major challenge as its biggest customers – China’s steel mills – move to drastically reduce their carbon footprint.

Key Points: 
  • But the Australian iron ore industry faces a major challenge as its biggest customers – China’s steel mills – move to drastically reduce their carbon footprint.
  • Most of Australia’s current iron ore exports are not classed as high grade.
  • Typically, the lower the iron content of an ore is, the more energy is required to refine it.

Iron ore’s biggest customer cleans up its act

  • Australia shipped 736 million tonnes – more than 80% of iron ore exports – to China in 2022.
  • Last year, China’s steel mills made up the majority of global steel production.
  • But they were also a major polluter, accounting for about 15% of China’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

Australian ore doesn’t make the grade

  • Reducing the use of low-grade ore has become a priority for Chinese steel mills, significantly affecting iron ore’s demand profile.
  • Much of the iron ore exported by competing nations like Brazil and Guinea is high-grade, containing more than 65% iron.

New technologies


A number of new and emerging steelmaking technologies offer the promise of significantly lower emissions. But common to all of them is a need for higher-grade iron ore than Australia produces. There are four new steelmaking technologies in use or under construction by a number of Chinese steel corporations, including the world’s biggest steelmaker – China Baowu Group. These include:
hydrogen-enriched carbon recycling and oxygen furnace (HyCROF)
hydrogen reduction and electric smelting process (HyRESP)
hydrogen metallurgy
green hydrogen zero carbon fluidized bed iron making technology.
Here’s how these technologies could help China reduce its carbon emissions:

Increased use of steel scraps

  • Overall demand for iron ore could be reduced by the increasing availability and use of steel scraps or “recycled steel”, such as scrapped vehicles, white goods and machinery.
  • Using one tonne of recycled steel for steelmaking saves 1.4 tonnes of iron ore and avoids about 1.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

New tariffs on carbon

  • This legislation acts as a carbon tariff on imports to the EU, initially aimed at carbon-intensive products such as steel.
  • EU importers of steel products will be required to pay an import carbon tax, at a price set by the EU, based on the differences in carbon emissions between traditional steel mills and the EU’s emission benchmarks.

What lies ahead

  • Reduced demand for Australia’s low-grade iron ore could put pressure on its producers’ revenue, or even force some smaller iron ore miners to shut down.
  • Australia is abundant in magnetite, an ore type which differs in composition from hematite or “direct shipping ore” (DSO).
  • This process is energy intensive, but could become economically viable if we continue to see rapid uptake of renewable energy.
  • Decisions made by Australia’s major iron ore producers and political leaders will shape the outcome of this global shift.


Charlie Huang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

As Erdoğan hints at retirement, how has his rule shaped Turkey?

Retrieved on: 
星期三, 三月 13, 2024

The statement, made at a meeting for the Turkish Youth Foundation, was not an official announcement by any means.

Key Points: 
  • The statement, made at a meeting for the Turkish Youth Foundation, was not an official announcement by any means.
  • Rather, it was what appeared to be a frank statement communicated to a young party audience.
  • Mincing words is not usually Erdoğan’s style; he can be quite direct and candid, which has been one of the key appeals of his charismatic personality.
  • Understandably, response to the speech, both within and outside of Turkey, has so far been somewhat muted.

Erdoğan’s legacy

  • It is perhaps too early to judge Erdoğan’s political legacy comprehensively.
  • But his impact on the nation’s trajectory, its regional standing, social structures and government institutions has been undeniable.
  • The two sides had a falling out and Erdoğan accused the movement of being behind the failed coup in 2016.
  • From 2002 until the early 2010s, Turkey’s economy experienced unprecedented growth, fueled by increased foreign investment and large scale projects.
  • The economic success of these years lifted millions into the middle class and led to higher living standards overall.

A Post-Erdoğan era?

  • His son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, once touted as a clear frontrunner in the race to succeed him, has since left active politics.
  • If a new president continues much of the similar policies and has a non-disruptive approach, then a peaceful transition is plausible.
  • But Erdoğan’s party failing to concede a loss, or his voter base failing to recognize the results, may lead to a turbulent transition.


Yasar Bukan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

EQS-News: Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG: MM reports Annual Results 2023

Retrieved on: 
星期三, 三月 13, 2024

The difficult general conditions were reflected in particular in the weak result and volume development in the division MM Board & Paper.

Key Points: 
  • The difficult general conditions were reflected in particular in the weak result and volume development in the division MM Board & Paper.
  • With demand expected to recover only slowly, MM has focussed on safeguarding and gaining volumes at reasonable margins.
  • A volume- and price-related decline in the division MM Board & Paper, was offset by an acquisition-related increase in the division MM Packaging.
  • The Annual Report 2023 will be available as of April 3, 2024.

Halfords Group PLC: Trading Update: Financial Year 2024

Retrieved on: 
星期三, 三月 13, 2024

Halfords Group plc (“Halfords” or the “Group”), the UK’s leading provider of Motoring and Cycling services and products, today issues the following trading update.

Key Points: 
  • Halfords Group plc (“Halfords” or the “Group”), the UK’s leading provider of Motoring and Cycling services and products, today issues the following trading update.
  • At our Q3 trading update on 25 January 2024 we indicated that we expected Underlying Profit Before Tax1 (“PBT”) for the 52-week period ending 29 March 2024 to be between £48m and £53m, assuming markets did not weaken further in Q4.
  • Since that update, we have seen a further material weakening in three of our four core markets (i.e.
  • Cycling, Retail Motoring and Consumer Tyres), resulting in a significant drop in like-for-like (“LFL”) revenue growth in our Retail business.