World

Desperate for Cash, Afghans Toil in Mines That Are Deadlier Than Ever

Published

2 years ago

March 29, 2022

CHINARAK COAL MINE, Afghanistan — Choking on mud, Mir Abdul Hadi emerged from the slender mine shaft with a sack of coal hanging heavy on his again and his pores and skin stained black. For hours he had hacked away on the coal at the hours of darkness tunnel, terrified it would collapse on him, and now he was relieved to step again into daylight.

Mr. Hadi, a 29-year-old former authorities soldier, was amongst 1000’s who flocked to northern Afghanistan’s notoriously harmful mines after the Taliban seized energy final 12 months — determined to scrape out a dwelling amid an economic system in ruins.

The backbreaking work affords a couple of {dollars} a day, simply sufficient to purchase bread and tea for his household to outlive. Nevertheless it comes at a steep value: Since he arrived in October, three mines on this mountain have caved in. The newest collapse final month killed 10 miners, all of whom suffocated after being trapped inside a mine shaft for days.

“That evening I needed to go away this job, to by no means come again to the mines,” Mr. Hadi mentioned. “However then I went dwelling and noticed there was nothing to eat.”

For greater than six months, Afghanistan has been gripped by a devastating financial disaster that has worn out incomes, despatched meals costs hovering and left thousands and thousands hungry. Now, determined to make ends meet, many Afghans are going to more and more drastic lengths to outlive.

Households in rural areas have repaid money owed with youngsters they can’t afford to feed, promoting them to better-off households or native bosses. Within the northwestern metropolis of Herat, males have offered their kidneys on the black market. And alongside the Iranian border, 1000’s in search of work overseas have endured brutal beatings by safety forces.

Within the Chinarak mines of Baghlan Province, a mountainous slice of northern Afghanistan, 3 times as many males have come to work in latest months than earlier than the Taliban takeover, based on mine operators. They’re former troopers and policemen, NGO employees and shopkeepers, among the many thousands and thousands who’ve misplaced their incomes in latest months.

For many years, the casual mining operation has been a dangerous possibility for impoverished villagers determined to earn a couple of {dollars} a day. Round 200 folks have died within the mines since coal was found right here 50 years in the past, based on village elders.

However the mines have change into much more lethal for the reason that Taliban seized energy, miners say. In contrast to the earlier authorities, the Taliban haven’t provided engineers to watch poisonous fuel, or timber to help tunnels that stretch for a whole lot of yards. The result’s a lethal mixture of much less structurally sound mines and inexperienced miners who can’t spot indicators of hazard.

“The financial state of affairs is forcing everybody right here, however they know they may die. It’s extra harmful than ever,” mentioned one miner, Baz Mohammad, 35, who has labored within the mines since he was 15. “If I had some cash, I wouldn’t keep right here for one more second.”

The work at Chinarak begins at daybreak, when the style of smoke from wood-burning stoves hangs heavy within the air and the morning fog paints the foothills in a cloudlike haze. Carrying shovels and pickaxes, miners make their approach down the winding path of reddish clay to the coal-filled mountain.

From the bottom of the mountain, a path of blackened earth — an indication of coal — zigzags throughout its face like a treasure map. Strapping on headlamps, the lads duck into mine openings scattered throughout the hillside and crawl by way of subterranean tunnels that stretch so far as 300 yards.

Sitting on a boulder exterior one mine, Zahir Kazimi, 33, mentioned he may barely transfer his physique after his first day on the mines in January. A tailor by commerce, Mr. Kazimi went to work in stitching retailers on the age of 13 — decided to save lots of up the cash to marry a woman he favored. A decade later, he married and opened his personal tailor store. He was joyful then, he mentioned.

However after the Taliban seized energy, his as soon as regular stream of shoppers dried up, and shortly his financial savings did, too. So he took his brother’s donkey to the mines and joined the throng of sweaty males with black mud caked into their pores and skin. Twelve hours later, he returned dwelling together with his again aching and cursing himself for getting married in any respect — if he had been single, he wouldn’t should earn a lot to feed 4 mouths at dwelling.

“For those who come right here and work, you may get some cash to purchase meals for your loved ones. If not, they’ll go hungry,” Mr. Kazimi mentioned. “There is no such thing as a different strategy to go. We should work.”

Standing exterior a mine’s entrance, Mr. Hadi, the previous soldier, wiped his hand on his shirt and checked out his calloused palm. His father, a farmer, all the time chided him to go to high school as a baby, dreaming that in the future his son may change into a district governor or a commander. For some time, Mr. Hadi hoped he may, too. At 18, he joined the Afghan Nationwide Military and earned a good wage.

However jobless and broke after the previous authorities collapsed, he offered the massive carpet in his front room and used the cash to purchase a donkey he may take to the mines. Contained in the darkish tunnels, he works by way of the ache that shoots by way of his again and arms as he slams a pickax into the wall of coal over and time and again.

The labor is grueling, he says, however even worse is the concern: the concern of choking on poisonous fuel, the concern that the rock hitting your again is the beginning of a collapse, the concern of being buried alive with no hope of rescue.

“Each time I am going within the tunnel, I’m afraid,” Mr. Hadi mentioned. “Once I’m selecting coal, I’m all the time telling myself that is the final one for right this moment.”

By noon at Chinarak, the mines are buzzing with a whole lot of miners — some previous males of their 60s, some youngsters barely 10. As they work, the sounds echo down the mountain: the thuds of males dropping satchels of coal on the bottom. The hiss of coal pouring out of the luggage. The clucks from youngsters coaxing donkeys carrying a great deal of coal down the mountain.

The coal is unloaded onto vehicles that head down the tough highway to a Taliban checkpoint, a single-story constructing that overlooks a big riverbed and the mountain vary’s snow-covered peaks. The constructing as soon as belonged to businessmen who operated these mines in mafia-like preparations with the earlier authorities. At the moment, vehicles of coal leaving the mines could be taxed first by these firms, after which once more by the Taliban, who levied casual taxes to fund their insurgency.

Since seizing energy, Taliban officers say they’ve pushed out these strongmen and “nationalized” the mining business. Abid Atullah, the Taliban’s supervisor of mines within the Nahrain district, mentioned they collected $16,000 to $30,000 in tax income from the Chinarak mines every day — a modest however welcome income stream for the cash-strapped authorities.

Nonetheless, miners complain concerning the lack of presidency help. For months, their petitions to the native authorities to supply engineers, oxygen tanks, toxic-gas meters and picket help beams have gone unanswered, they are saying. Some who informally run the mines have bought the timber themselves — slicing miners’ day by day wages by round 40 p.c to afford it. Others have forgone it, forcing miners to dig narrower tunnels which might be tougher to work in and never structurally sound.

The collapse of a mine final month epitomized the heightened dangers: Miners mentioned inexperienced employees had prolonged the tunnel too far, and that there weren’t any beams to help it. For 2 days, almost everybody on the mountain helped attempt to break by way of the wall of earth that trapped almost two dozen miners inside, pushed by the lads’s muffled cries for assist. Seventeen hours in, their voices pale because the oxygen ran out. Nobody made it.

Their destiny haunts the lads who should maintain returning.

Rising from a mine entrance, Taza, 30, slammed the bag of coal on the bottom and set free a loud cough. A policeman beneath the previous authorities, and a father of six, he started working within the mines in September, regardless of all of the horrific tales he grew up with about what number of methods there have been to die there.

Weeks later, he realized the risks for himself: Inside a tunnel, he started to really feel scorching and his head oddly heavy. Inside minutes his lungs seized up — a symptom of inhaling the poisonous fuel that was slowly filling the tunnel. Dropping his sack of coal, he dashed to the mine’s entrance and collapsed on the bottom.

Just a few days later, he went again to the mountain.

“I don’t have another possibility,” he mentioned. “My children are hungry.”

Christina Goldbaum and Yaqoob Akbary reported from Chinarak, Afghanistan. Najim Rahim contributed reporting from Houston, and Sami Sahak from Los Angeles.

World

Flatulent cows and pigs will face a carbon tax in Denmark, a world first

Published

1 hour ago

June 26, 2024

Press Room

Flatulent cows and pigs will face a carbon tax in Denmark, a world first

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark will tax livestock farmers for the greenhouse gases emitted by their cows, sheep and pigs from 2030, the first country in the world to do so as it targets a major source of methane emissions, one of the most potent gases contributing to global warming.

The aim is to reduce Danish greenhouse gas emissions by 70% from 1990 levels by 2030, said Taxation Minister Jeppe Bruus.

As of 2030, Danish livestock farmers will be taxed 300 kroner ($43) per ton of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2030. The tax will increase to 750 kroner ($108) by 2035. However, because of an income tax deduction of 60%, the actual cost per ton will start at 120 kroner ($17.3) and increase to 300 kroner by 2035.

Although carbon dioxide typically gets more attention for its role in climate change, methane traps about 87 times more heat on a 20-year timescale, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Levels of methane, which is emitted from sources including landfills, oil and natural gas systems and livestock, have increased particularly quickly since 2020. Livestock account for about 32% of human-caused methane emissions, says the U.N. Environment Program.

“We will take a big step closer in becoming climate neutral in 2045,” Bruus said, adding Denmark “will be the first country in the world to introduce a real CO2 tax on agriculture” and hoped other countries would follow suit.

New Zealand had passed a similar law due to take effect in 2025. However, the legislation was removed from the statute book on Wednesday after hefty criticism from farmers and a change of government at the 2023 election from a center-left ruling bloc to a center-right one. New Zealand said it would exclude agriculture from its emissions trading scheme in favor of exploring other ways to reduce methane.

In Denmark, the deal was reached late Monday between the center-right government and representatives of farmers, the industry, unions, among others, and presented Tuesday.

Denmark’s move comes after months of protests by farmers across Europe against climate change mitigation measures and regulations that they say are driving them to bankruptcy.

The Danish Society for Nature Conservation, the largest nature conservation and environmental organization in Denmark, described the tax agreement as “a historic compromise.”

“We have succeeded in landing a compromise on a CO2 tax, which lays the groundwork for a restructured food industry -– also on the other side of 2030,” its head Maria Reumert Gjerding said after the talks in which they took part.

A typical Danish cow produces 6 metric tons (6.6 tons) of CO2 equivalent per year. Denmark, which is a large dairy and pork exporter, also will tax pigs although cows produce far higher emissions than pigs.

The tax is to be approved in the 179-seat Folketing, or parliament, but the bill is expected to pass after the broad-based consensus.

According to Statistic Denmark, there were as of June 30, 2022, 1,484,377 cows in the Scandinavian country, a slight drop compared to the previous year.

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Read more of AP’s climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment

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Associated Press writer Charlotte Graham-McLay in Wellington, New Zealand, contributed to this report.

World

Evan Gershkovich's closed-door trial on espionage charges begins in Russia, where a conviction is expected

Published

2 hours ago

June 26, 2024

Press Room

Evan Gershkovich's closed-door trial on espionage charges begins in Russia, where a conviction is expected

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s trial in Russia on espionage charges is starting Wednesday behind closed doors in the city of Yekaterinburg.

Gershkovich, 32, was arrested in March 2023 in Yekaterinburg on espionage charges, with Russian authorities alleging he was gathering secret information for the CIA, a claim he, his employer and the U.S. government deny.

“Evan Gershkovich is facing a false and baseless charge. … The Russian regime’s smearing of Evan is repugnant, disgusting and based on calculated and transparent lies. Journalism is not a crime,” Wall Street Journal publisher Almar Latour and chief editor Emma Tucker said after his trial date was announced. “We had hoped to avoid this moment and now expect the U.S. government to redouble efforts to get Evan released.”

He is the first known Western journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in post-Soviet Russia.

WSJ REPORTER EVAN GERSHKOVICH SET TO BEGIN ESPIONAGE TRIAL ON JUNE 26

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage in a courtroom in Yekaterinburg, Russia, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. (AP)

The journalist appeared in the courtroom Wednesday morning in a glass cage, with his head shaven, according to The Associated Press.

Gershkovich’s appeals seeking his release have thus far been rejected.

“Evan has displayed remarkable resilience and strength in the face of this grim situation,” U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy said on the anniversary of Gershkovich’s arrest.

If convicted, which is expected, Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in prison. Russian courts convict more than 99% of defendants and prosecutors can appeal sentences that they believe to be light. Prosecutors can even appeal acquittals.

The Russian Prosecutor General’s office said Gershkovich is accused of gathering secret information on orders from the CIA about Uralvagonzavod, a plant that produces and repairs military equipment about 90 miles north of Yekaterinburg.

Gershkovich dressed in black in Moscow court box

If convicted, Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in prison. (NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP via Getty Images)

Another American detained in Russia, American corporate security executive Paul Whelan, was arrested in Moscow for espionage in 2018 and is serving a 16-year sentence.

Gershkovich’s arrest came about a year after Russian President Vladimir Putin pushed laws that drew concerns about journalism in the country, criminalizing criticism of the war against Ukraine and statements viewed by officials as discrediting the military.

Foreign journalists largely left the country after the laws passed. Many gradually moved back in subsequent months, but concerns still remained about whether Russian authorities would take action against them.

Several Western reporters have been forced to leave following Gershkovich’s arrest because Russia would not renew their visas.

WSJ REPORTER EVAN GERSHKOVICH ORDERED TO STAND TRIAL IN RUSSIA ON CHARGE OF ‘GATHERING SECRET INFORMATION’

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is escorted from the Lefortovsky court in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Following Gershkovich’s arrest, many feared Russia was targeting Americans amid tensions with the U.S.

Russia has suggested a prisoner exchange for Gershkovich could potentially happen in the future, but such a swap is not possible until a verdict is reached in his case. Putin has floated the idea that he might be interested in freeing Vadim Krasikov, a Russian imprisoned in Germany for the assassination of a Chechen rebel leader.

In 2022, Russia and the U.S. worked out a swap that released WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was serving a 9 1/2-year sentence for cannabis possession in Russia, in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout, also known as “the Merchant of Death.”

The Biden administration would likely be sensitive when negotiating a swap for Gershkovich, not wanting to appear to be giving away too much after intense criticism of trading Bout for Griner.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

World

US journalist Gershkovich on trial in Russia over spying charges he denies

Published

2 hours ago

June 26, 2024

Press Room

US journalist Gershkovich on trial in Russia over spying charges he denies

American journalist Evan Gershkovich went on trial behind closed doors in Russia on charges of espionage 15 months after he was arrested in the city of Yekaterinburg.

The 32-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter appeared in a glass cage in the Yekaterinburg courtroom on Wednesday, with his head shaven clean and wearing a black-and-blue plaid shirt.

Gershkovich is accused by prosecutors of gathering secret information about Uralvagonzavod, a plant manufacturing tanks for Russia’s war in Ukraine, on the orders of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Prosecutor Mikael Ozdoyev claimed there was proof that Gershkovich “on the instructions of the CIA … collected secret information about the activities of a defence enterprise about the production and repair of military equipment in the Sverdlovsk region”.

The court said the next hearing will be held on August 13.

The US Embassy in Russia on Wednesday called for Gershkovich’s release and said the “Russian authorities have failed to provide any evidence supporting the charges against him, failed to justify his continued detention, and failed to explain why Evan’s work as a journalist constitutes a crime”.

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Today, a Russian court began closed-door proceedings in the case of Wall Street Journal reporter, Evan Gershkovich, who has been wrongfully detained by Russian authorities for more than a year. https://t.co/edWy9MGvPm
— Посольство США в РФ/ U.S. Embassy Russia (@USEmbRu) June 26, 2024

The Journal said the “secret trial” will “offer him few, if any, of the legal protections he would be accorded in the US and other Western countries”.

The reporter, his employer and the United States government vigorously deny the allegations, saying he was just doing his job, with accreditation from Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On Tuesday, the Journal’s editor-in-chief, Emma Tucker, wrote in a letter to readers that Russian judicial proceedings are “unfair to Evan and a continuation of this travesty of justice that already has gone on for far too long”.

Tucker said: “This bogus accusation of espionage will inevitably lead to a bogus conviction for an innocent man.”

If convicted, Gershkovich faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. A verdict could be months away because Russian trials often adjourn for weeks.

Tucker noted that even covering Gershkovich’s trial “presents challenges to us” and other media “over how to report responsibly on the proceedings and the allegations”.

“Let us be very clear, once again: Evan is a staff reporter of The Wall Street Journal. He was on assignment in Russia, where he was an accredited journalist,” she wrote.

The case, the US Embassy wrote on X, “is not about evidence, procedural norms or the rule of law. It is about the Kremlin using American citizens to achieve its political objectives”.

‘Hostage diplomacy’

The American-born son of immigrants from the Soviet Union, Gershkovich is the first Western journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in post-Soviet Russia.

His detention came about a year after President Vladimir Putin pushed through laws that chilled journalists, criminalising criticism of the war in Ukraine and statements seen as discrediting the military.

After his arrest on March 29, 2023, Gershkovich was held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison. His appeals for release have been repeatedly rejected.

The proceedings will take place behind closed doors, meaning that the media is excluded and no friends, family members or US embassy staff are allowed in to support him.

Putin has indicated that Russia is open to the idea of a prisoner exchange involving Gershkovich and others, claiming that contacts with the US have taken place, but that they must remain secret.

The US has in turn accused Russia of conducting “hostage diplomacy”.

It has designated Gershkovich and another jailed American, security executive Paul Whelan, arrested in Moscow for espionage in 2018, as “wrongfully detained”, thereby committing the government to assertively seek their release.

In its statement, the US Embassy said Russia should stop using people like Gershkovich and Whelan “as bargaining chips”. “They should both be released immediately,” it said.