Month: January 2023

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The West, Debt and Other Takeaways From Chinese Foreign Minister’s Africa Trip

China’s new Foreign Minister Qin Gang wrapped up his first international tour to Africa this week, during which he visited five diverse countries — Ethiopia, Gabon, Benin, Angola and Egypt — and stressed that China does not see the continent as an arena for a power struggle between the West and Beijing.

“Africa should be a big stage for the international cooperation, not an arena for major-force rivalry,” Qin, who was previously ambassador to the United States, said at a press conference on his first stop, in Addis Ababa.

“The China-United States relationship should not be about a competitive one or a zero-sum game that enlarges one's own gain at the expense of the other," he said. "Otherwise, it will only hurt both sides and even the world.”

For more than three decades it’s been a tradition that the top Chinese diplomat’s first foreign trip is to Africa. President Xi Jinping, who’s entering his second decade in power, has invested heavily in the continent through his Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, which has expanded since its initial inception and includes Chinese investments in projects that build land and sea trade routes to continents around the world.

Some analysts say the U.S. is now playing catch-up with China in Africa, a resource-rich region with a growing population. In December, U.S. President Joe Biden hosted a summit of African leaders in Washington, and the past year has seen a flurry of visits to the continent by top U.S. officials.

“I think America has politically prioritized Africa at a later stage in the contemporary game than what China has. ... Is America late to the game? It’s certainly later than China,” said Lauren Johnston, a China-Africa researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs.

Ethiopia

In Addis Ababa, the seat of the African Union, Qin opened the new Chinese-built $80 million African Centers for Disease Control — part of China’s “health silk road” — to great fanfare.

It was originally envisioned as a collaboration between the U.S., China and Africa. But relations between Washington and Beijing soured under the Trump administration, with the U.S. voicing concerns about the risk of China spying and stealing genomic data. Beijing called the allegations “ridiculous.”

The Trump administration also pulled the U.S. out of the World Health Organization. The three-country partnership for the African CDC collapsed and the agreement was recrafted as one between China and the African Union.

Paul Nantulya, research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, told VOA the inauguration of the building was “a very important message that China was sending about China’s commitment to infectious-disease control on the continent — so a big diplomatic win there.”

Ethiopia was also an important stop for the ambassador, Nantulya noted, because the two-year war in Tigray has been detrimental to Chinese business interests and hundreds of Chinese workers had to be evacuated. Beijing had even tried its hand at a peacemaker role, though it was the African Union that eventually secured a cease-fire late last year. During his trip, Qin pledged support for reconstruction efforts now underway in the region.

Ethiopia is highly indebted to China, owing $13.7 billion, and it was reported during the visit that Qin announced a partial forgiveness of the debt. The amount of forgiven debt was undisclosed.

“There was no publication of what was agreed in terms of debt relief. There was just talk of debt relief, and China has a tradition of having only offered debt relief for non-interest-paying loans, which are very small,” Johnston said. “If it’s something much more than just interest-free loans, then it could be much bigger and important.”

The West has frequently accused China of practicing “debt trap diplomacy” by trying to gain leverage over indebted developing countries. Qin rejected that in Addis Ababa, asserting that “China has always been committed to helping Africa ease its debt burden.”

He said China actively participated in the Group of 20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative, signed agreements or reached agreements with 19 African countries on debt relief and suspended the most debt service payments among G-20 members.

Increasing engagement

Qin’s visit to Gabon and Benin surprised some China watchers, but Nantulya said it was part of China’s increasing engagement with Francophone West Africa.

He noted that China is currently building — as it did for the African Union in Addis Ababa — the new Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) headquarters.

In Benin, Qin said, “My proposal is that we work together to promote synergy between Benin’s strategic development plan and the Belt and Road Initiative … in order to identify more fields of action and growth rates for our cooperation. I am thinking for example of infrastructure, agriculture, human resources training, manufacturing, and peace and security.”

In Luanda, Qin marked the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Angola.

“Angola is a critically important security partner of China, but at the same time also highly indebted. About 40% of Angola’s debt is owed to China, so the source of discussions that Ambassador Qin must have had in Ethiopia, he must have had the same discussions with the Angolan government,” surmised Nantulya.

Egypt is strategically important to China because of the Suez Canal and its numerous investments there, including in the new administrative capital being built outside Cairo. Besides meeting with Egyptian government officials, Qin held meetings with the Arab League.

At a press conference afterward, he addressed the Israel-Palestinian conflict, saying Israel should “stop all incitements and provocations, and should refrain from any unilateral action that may lead to the deterioration of the situation.”

Johnston said the hard tone of Qin’s comments was somewhat surprising and may signal that he’ll be a different kind of foreign minister than his predecessors.

“When he was ambassador to the U.S., he was known for being somewhat strident in some of his statements," said Johnston. "Maybe’s he’s come away from the U.S. with his own perspective from engaging in those policy circles … maybe he has some quite different angles and views on global diplomacy based even on that.”

Source: Voice of America

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South Korea Ends Indoor Mask Rule, But Seoul Residents Skeptical

South Korea on Friday announced an end to its indoor mask mandate, one of the country’s last major pandemic restrictions.
Health authorities said as of Jan. 30, face coverings will no longer be required indoors, except in hospitals, pharmacies, and on public transportation.
The move was made because a winter spike in COVID-19 cases is on the decline and the overall pandemic situation is under control, authorities said.
“Of course, there may be some increase in cases after changing the mandatory mask rule, but given the current situation in Korea we are not expecting a major spike,” said Jee Young-mee, the commissioner of the Korean Disease Control and Prevention Agency.
The announcement came exactly three years after South Korea reported its first COVID-19 case.
South Korea is the world’s last remaining developed country to lift its indoor mask rule and one of just a handful of nations where masks are still expected to be worn in nearly every public setting.
In Seoul, the densely populated metropolitan area where nearly half the country lives, many residents say they disagree with lifting the mask mandate.
“It’s too early,” said Kim Da-young, a 30-year-old nursing student, who said she fears a spike in COVID-19 cases. “I’m still nervous about taking off my mask, so I’ll keep wearing it.”
According to an opinion poll released earlier this month, 66% of South Koreans will continue to wear masks even after the mandate is lifted. Several polls suggest a large percentage of South Koreans do not ever anticipate a situation in which masks are not needed.
In Seoul, masks have become an expected part of daily life – and not just in crowded indoor settings. The vast majority of residents wear masks while walking outside. Many even keep the masks on when riding alone in an automobile, jogging on an empty path, or sitting on a park bench away from others.
Many residents say there’s little reason to take a mask off, if they have to put it back on to get on a bus or train. Others cite personal circumstances, such as living with older family members who are more susceptible to even mild diseases. South Korea has one of the world’s oldest populations.
Seoul resident Choi Seo-hyun said she is worried about spreading COVID-19 to her 2-month-old daughter.
“Even if I go out without the baby, I think I’ll still wear [the mask],” said Choi, who also cited fears about the seasonal flu.
“People have been wearing masks for a while, so I understand why they want to take them off. But wouldn’t it still be a little dangerous to take it off indoors?” she asked.
Widespread mask-wearing is seen as one of the main reasons South Korea was able to prevent the level of mass COVID-19 deaths seen in other countries, while at the same time avoiding mass lockdowns.
Other factors include the country’s quick and effective system of contact tracing, which has now ended, and an affordable national health care system.
South Korea has also quickly adjusted its COVID-19 policies as conditions changed. Almost all pandemic restrictions have been lifted, except for a seven-day isolation guideline for those who test positive at an official testing center.
The country has also imposed new rules for visitors from China, which has seen a massive spike in cases after abandoning its zero-COVID policy.

Source: Voice of America

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WHO: No Evidence COVID-19 Vaccines Increase Risk of Strokes in Older People

The World Health Organization says there is no evidence that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines increase the risk of strokes in older people.
WHO officials say there is no basis to the recent concerns raised by the media and science communities about the safety of the mRNA booster shots. They say the concerns, which are related to one U.S. data system that monitors safety, presented misinformation about deaths related to COVID-19 infection.
Kate O’Brien, WHO director of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals, said other U.S. and national vaccine safety monitoring systems have not found further evidence that mRNA vaccines lead to strokes.
“At this point in time, the best evidence is that there is no true association between the booster doses of Pfizer in the older adults and strokes,” she said. “And, again, there is an ongoing, unending system to continuously monitor safety, not only for COVID vaccine and dose-by-dose, but also for all other vaccines.”
O’Brien said COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective at preventing hospitalization, severe disease, or death, but less effective at stopping people from getting infected and transmitting the disease.
She noted it is particularly important that people in high priority groups receive all their recommended doses. They include people over age 60, those who have underlying medical conditions or are immunocompromised, pregnant women and health workers.
“For the strains that we have circulating in the world now, the omicron strains, the first booster dose actually improves the performance of your primary series for protection against the severe end of the disease spectrum,” O’Brien said. “So, you actually need three doses to get that optimal protection from vaccines.”
O’Brien said there is no direct evidence of the performance of the monovalent or bivalent vaccines on the XBB.1.5 strain of COVID-19. Since there currently is no data on whether the newer bivalent vaccines are more effective than ancestral vaccines, she said the WHO recommends both for booster doses.

Source: Voice of America

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JA Solar élu Meilleure marque d’EPV de la région MENA pour la troisième année consécutive

PÉKIN, 19 janvier 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Le Sommet mondial des énergies de l’avenir 2023 s’est tenu du 16 au 18 janvier à l’ADNEC d’Abou Dabi, où JA Solar, leader mondial de la fabrication de produits d’EPV à haute performance, a présenté ses modèles DeepBlue 3.0, DeepBlue 3.0 Pro et DeepBlue 4.0 X au stand 8130, attirant l’attention de beaucoup de visiteurs. Dans l’après-midi du 16 janvier, EuPD Research, un institut de recherche énergétique de renommée internationale, a décerné à JA Solar le prix de la meilleure marque d’EPV de la région MENA 2023. C’est la troisième année consécutive que JA Solar reçoit ce prix, qui est l’un des plus prestigieux dans l’industrie mondiale de l’énergie photovoltaïque (EPV).

Le Moyen-Orient dispose d’avantages naturels qui lui permettent de développer l’énergie solaire grâce à d’importantes ressources d’ensoleillement, et son environnement naturel entraîne des exigences strictes en matière de qualité et de performance des modules. Les modules de la série DeepBlue de JA Solar, qui affichent une puissance élevée, un rendement élevé, une capacité de production d’énergie élevée et une grande fiabilité, peuvent créer plus de valeur pour les clients, et le volume d’expédition figure parmi les plus hauts du secteur dans plusieurs pays du Moyen-Orient.

Au cours des dernières années, JA Solar a été reconnu « Meilleure marque d’EPV » par l’EuPD Research dans plusieurs marchés d’Europe, notamment en Allemagne, en France, en Pologne, en Italie, aux Pays-Bas et en Suisse, mais aussi dans des pays comme le Mexique, le Chili, l’Australie et le Vietnam. Ses produits continuent d’être bien reçus et appréciés par les utilisateurs du monde entier. L’attribution du prix de la meilleure marque d’EPV pour la région MENA 2023 illustre les avantages de la technologie et de la qualité des produits de JA Solar et confirme sa position de leader à long terme sur le marché mondial de l’EPV.

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Report on the Sustainability Governance Practices of the 30 Largest Global Banks Comes Up With Interesting Findings

LONDON, Jan. 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Morrow Sodali and Nestor Advisors – A Morrow Sodali Company, are pleased to announce the publication of “Governance of sustainability in the largest global banks: A study of the top 30 European and North American banks”.

This Report examines the sustainability governance practices of the 30 largest European and North American banks. In preparing the Report, we reviewed various publicly available documentation and also interviewed representatives from fifteen leading banks, including nine board chairs, other board members and senior executives. Interviewees shed light on different practices, and why banks chose to pursue them. The resulting Report compares the banks across several data points and analyzes these findings against a double index of sustainability and financial performance.

Stilpon Nestor, the Report’s leading author stated, “Sustainability is one of the big issues facing banks and their leadership. Shareholders and various stakeholders, including regulators, expect banks to be proactive in sustainability. On the strategy side, the “greening of the book” is the big challenge, especially in markets with big “brown” sectors. On the risk side, some regulators expect banks to integrate sustainability risk within the core risk management framework and its key categories. They also expect a clear sustainability perspective in the risk appetite framework. In order to deliver in these areas, global banks have reshaped existing governance and organizational arrangements and have developed some new ones. Our Report examines these arrangements and comes up with interesting, sometimes counterintuitive, findings.”

Among these findings, the issue of board skills in relation to sustainability was highlighted. All of the banks we interviewed do not see having sustainability experts on the board as a priority. Their priority is to make their existing board members more cognizant in the sustainability area. In that sense, they emphasize the development of director skills.

How does a board structure itself to address sustainability? In many cases, this is done by setting up a new committee. However, structure often reflects the level of maturity of the issues in a bank. One interesting finding of the Report is that banks further advanced in the “maturity spectrum” have done away with special committees and discuss sustainability as part of the general strategy and risk appetite.

Another key finding relates to the role of management in ensuring all business functions strengthen their capabilities to understand sustainability. This is an issue that touches upon all business areas of a bank, whether it is a corporate, retail or private bank, as well as risk, finance and internal audit functions. That is why most global banks have created senior management committees to oversee this transversal work. The seniority of the members of this committee is key. In 50% of the banks, the CEOs themselves are heading this senior coordinating committee.

Most banks have also included sustainability parameters in their executive remuneration approach. The Report finds that in the best performing ones, sustainability considerations have a relatively significant “weight” among other factors in determining variable compensation.

We hope you find this study insightful, and that the findings will be helpful from the perspective of all stakeholders. Click here to request the Report in full.

ABOUT MORROW SODALI

Morrow Sodali is a leading provider of strategic advice and shareholder services to corporate clients around the world. The firm provides corporate boards and executives with strategic advice and services relating to corporate governance, ESG, shareholder and bondholder communication and engagement, capital markets intelligence, proxy solicitation, shareholder activism and mergers and acquisitions.

From headquarters in New York and London, and offices and partners in major capital markets, Morrow Sodali serves over 1,000 corporate clients in 80+ countries, including many of the world’s largest multinational corporations. In addition to listed and private companies, its clients include financial institutions, mutual funds, ETFs, stock exchanges and membership associations.

For more information, please visit morrowsodali.com.

ABOUT NESTOR ADVISORS

Nestor Advisors is the specialized board and governance advisory subsidiary of Morrow Sodali. We are a global advisory firm specializing in corporate governance, sustainability and organizational design, and work with the boards and senior management of financial institutions, companies and not-for-profit organizations to improve decision making, organizational structures, controls and incentives.

Fully integrated with Morrow Sodali, the two companies provide the firm’s global client base with a comprehensive suite of advisory services relating to corporate governance, ESG, sustainability and stakeholder engagement.

Our services span a broad spectrum including holistic assessments yielding a significant redesign of a company’s governance system, board evaluations, group governance, board training, risk management, and the development of specific policies and controls. Whatever the scope, our services are always closely tailored to our clients’ needs.

For more information, please visit nestoradvisors.com.

CONTACTS

Elena Cargnello
Corporate Director, Marketing
e.cargnello@morrowsodali.com
+44 (0)20 4513 6913

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8732968

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SOFAR lance des solutions photovoltaïques C&I de 100 à 125 kW à l’échelle mondiale lors du WFES 2023

ABU DHABI, EAU, 19 janvier 2023 /PRNewswire/ — SOFAR, premier fournisseur mondial de solutions photovoltaïques et de stockage d’énergie, lance officiellement le tout nouvel onduleur à l’échelle mondiale – SOFAR 100-125KTL-G4 au World Future Energy Summit.

SOFAR a dévoilé sa dernière solution d’onduleur à chaînes 100-125KTL-G4, optimisée pour la C&I et les petites installations solaires, qui comprend l’intégration d’un courant ultra-élevé, une installation facile et une protection intelligente à la pointe du secteur. Le produit se caractérise par plusieurs MPPT de 10*40 A plus un courant ultra-élevé, parfaitement compatibles avec des modules de puissance élevée et différentes conceptions de toit, assurant ainsi un coût actualisé de l’énergie inférieur et des rendements plus élevés. Pesant moins de 75 kg, l’onduleur est facile à installer sans coûts de main-d’œuvre supplémentaires. En outre, la plate-forme de surveillance dans le nuage rend possible une exploitation et une maintenance sans soucis. L’onduleur est également opérationnel pour le balayage de courbe AFCI et I-V, et dispose d’une protection IP65 avec un effet anti-corrosion C5, qui est résistante aux conditions difficiles du Moyen-Orient et de l’Afrique.

Outre le lancement du nouveau produit, SOFAR présente également diverses solutions de stockage d’énergie et de services d’utilité publique, parmi lesquelles 255KTL-HV-TRO. Spécifiquement conçu pour les projets de taille industrielle au sol, le produit dispose d’une récupération PID et d’une protection IP66 avec une efficacité maximale allant jusqu’à 99,02 %, visant à offrir de faibles coûts d’exploitation et de maintenance, des performances stables et l’efficacité d’un système maximisée. L’onduleur SOFAR de 255 kW a remporté une commande totale de plus de 1 GW pour une énergie photovoltaïque à taille industrielle en Chine en 2022.

Après le lancement de 100-125KTL-G4, SOFAR a signé un accord de distribution de 510 MW avec Noon Energy, Almajd, Nanosun et Beacon.

« Le Moyen-Orient-Afrique est l’un des marchés les plus attrayants du secteur des énergies renouvelables. SOFAR estime que cette année verra une croissance régulière du marché photovoltaïque au Moyen-Orient et en Afrique. « SOFAR se consacrera à l’innovation technologique continue et offrira les solutions les plus compétitives pour les clients à l’avenir, a déclaré Jesse Lau, responsable de SOFAR Moyen-Orient et Afrique. »

À propos de SOFAR

SOFAR est un fournisseur mondial de solutions photovoltaïques et de stockage d’énergie. Il s’engage à être le leader des solutions énergétiques numériques. Cette société soutient la transition vers l’énergie renouvelable grâce à un portefeuille complet comprenant des onduleurs photovoltaïques de 1 à 255 kW, des onduleurs hybrides de 3 à 20 kW, un système de stockage de batterie et des solutions intelligentes de gestion de l’énergie pour des applications résidentielles, de C&I et de taille industrielle. SOFAR a toujours insisté sur l’innovation indépendante et a établi un réseau mondial de R&D avec trois centres dédiés. En tant que marque d’énergie solaire à la croissance la plus rapide au monde, SOFAR est devenue la TOP 5 des fournisseurs mondiaux d’onduleurs hybrides.

Pour en savoir plus sur SOFAR, consultez le site : https://www.sofarsolar.com/.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1985588/SOFAR_100_125KTL_G4.jpg

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Huawei Cloud figure parmi les finalistes du prix Franz Edelman

SHENZHEN, Chine, 19 janvier 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Le 17 janvier 2023, les six finalistes du concours Franz Edelman ont été annoncés. Parmi eux, Huawei Cloud, qui se distingue de la concurrence par sa technologie pionnière d’ordonnancement des ressources cloud et ses excellentes performances sur le marché. Le prix Franz Edelman est décerné chaque année par l’Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) pour récompenser les réalisations dans le domaine des sciences de la gestion. Huawei Cloud est la première entreprise de cloud computing à être présélectionnée pour sa technologie d’ordonnancement au cours des 50 dernières années.

La façon de maximiser l’utilisation des ressources cloud sans compromettre la qualité du service reste un défi crucial pour l’industrie du cloud. La technologie d’ordonnancement des ressources cloud de Huawei Cloud, à la pointe de l’industrie, fournit une solution qui augmente l’utilisation des ressources du réseau de médias de plus de 30 % grâce à ses algorithmes innovants. L’amélioration de la qualité de service (QoS) s’est traduite par une multiplication par dix de l’activité de livestreaming au cours des deux dernières années.

Des scientifiques de haut niveau et des algorithmes innovants pour résoudre les problèmes de l’industrie

Huawei Cloud a chargé 39 scientifiques répartis dans 16 centres de recherche en Chine et à l’étranger de mener des recherches sur la planification des ressources cloud. Yuan Xiaoming, scientifique en chef du Huawei Cloud Algorithm Innovation Lab, a collaboré avec des experts du domaine du livestreaming pour œuvrer à l’optimisation de l’utilisation des ressources et à la garantie de la qualité du service dans le cadre de la facturation de la bande passante au 95e centile. Les scientifiques ont développé des algorithmes pour les problèmes hors ligne et en ligne, respectivement. Au cours du processus de résolution des problèmes, ils ont rencontré deux difficultés :

Tout d’abord, en raison de la fonction de coût non convexe et non lisse du modèle mathématique, la minimisation du coût de la facturation de la bande passante au 95e centile s’avère un problème complexe. Deuxièmement, Huawei Cloud Live implique plus de 2 800 nœuds périphériques. Par conséquent, on compte 120 milliards de variables binaires et continues dans les modèles mathématiques correspondants.

En outre, il est difficile de développer un algorithme capable de fournir un schéma d’ordonnancement précis en quelques millisecondes dans les scénarios d’ordonnancement de réseaux de médias du monde réel.

Pour décrire précisément ces problèmes, les experts ont élaboré une série de modèles de programmation mathématique, qui constituent un paradigme pour les recherches futures. Les experts ont également effectué une analyse approfondie de la structure et des caractéristiques mathématiques des modèles. Ils ont fractionné les problèmes en sous-problèmes, pour lesquels ils ont développé des algorithmes conjuguant facilité de résolution et de mise en œuvre, efficacité et stabilité. Les résultats d’expériences numériques montrent que ces algorithmes améliorent l’utilisation du réseau de médias de plus de 30 % et fournissent également de meilleurs indicateurs de qualité de service, tels qu’un taux de réussite plus élevé pour l’extraction du flux, un gel des images plus court en 100 secondes et un délai plus court avant la lecture de la première image.

Huawei Cloud permet également à de nombreux autres aspects de l’ordonnancement d’atteindre de nouveaux sommets, notamment grâce à son algorithme MKSP du plus court chemin, leader du secteur, et à sa collaboration avec le réseau fédérateur Huawei (une caractéristique unique dans le secteur) et les services cloud avancés. La recherche liée à l’ordonnancement a donné lieu à 30 brevets et 6 articles de recherche.

Le système d’ordonnancement du réseau de médias de Huawei Cloud alimente la croissance du livestreaming

Le système d’ordonnancement du réseau de médias de Huawei Cloud, qui résout les problèmes auxquels le secteur est confronté depuis longtemps, a été adopté par les principales plateformes de livestreaming de Chine, telles que Douyu et Huya. Huawei Cloud a mis au point un modèle de trafic réseau et un schéma d’ordonnancement, qui tiennent compte des fluctuations du trafic, afin de garantir le bon déroulement du livestreaming des événements clés. Grâce à Huawei Cloud, plus de 60 événements sportifs internationaux ont été diffusés en direct avec succès. La solution de livestreaming de Huawei Cloud offre une qualité de service de pointe, avec notamment un taux de réussite de 100 % pour l’extraction des flux, une latence de bout en bout de 2 à 3 secondes, une latence inférieure à 800 millisecondes pour le service Low Latency Live et un démarrage de la lecture des vidéos en direct en quelques secondes sans gel des images. La quantité de ressources média fournies par Huawei Cloud et destinées aux principales plateformes de livestreaming en Chine a été multipliée par 10 au cours des deux dernières années.

En adhérant à la stratégie « Everything as a Service », Huawei Cloud exploitera sa technologie d’ordonnancement de pointe pour créer davantage de valeur pour des secteurs tels que l’énergie, le transport, la logistique et le commerce de détail.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1985475/image_845932_7964590.jpg

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New research reveals shifting identities of global fishing fleet to help bolster fisheries management

Scientific study fuses multiple data sources to advance global understanding of vessel identity and behavior

WASHINGTON, D.C., Jan. 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A new study published today in Science Advances combines a decade’s worth of satellite vessel tracking data with identification information from more than 40 public registries to determine where and when vessels responsible for most of the world’s industrial fishing change their country of registration, a practice known as “reflagging”, and identify hotspots of potential unauthorized fishing and activity of foreign-owned vessels.

Using big data processing and a compilation of global datasets, researchers from Global Fishing Watch, the Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab from Duke University, and Stockholm Resilience Centre were able to track and analyze 35,000 commercial fishing and support vessels to reveal their changing identities and enable the reconstruction of vessel histories to demonstrate reflagging patterns.

The study, “Tracking Elusive and Shifting Identities of the Global Fishing Fleet” found that close to 20 percent of high seas fishing is carried out by vessels that are either internationally unregulated or not publicly authorized, with large concentrations of these ships operating in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean and the western Indian Ocean.

The data used in the study is intended to complement the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ Global Record of Fishing Vessels, Refrigerated Transport Vessels and Supply Vessels, a flagship transparency initiative which serves as the official database of information on vessels used for fishing and fishing-related activities. Together with the International Maritime Organization’s ship identification number scheme, these resources can provide fisheries authorities with the information needed to adequately monitor vessel activity, implement flag State responsibilities, and inform responsible fisheries management.

“Until now, we’ve had limited information linking together the identity and activity of specific vessels,” said Jaeyoon Park, senior data scientist at Global Fishing Watch and lead author of the study. “When a vessel’s identity is changed, it makes tracking them all the more difficult, allowing bad actors the opportunity to take advantage of information gaps and avoid oversight. We need to close that loophole.”

Of the 116 States involved in reflagging, the study found that one-fifth of them were responsible for about 80 percent of this practice over the past decade, with most reflagging occurring in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Pacific Islands. The study found that reflagging takes place in just a few ports—Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Busan, Zhoushan, and Kaohsiung have the highest activity. Vessels are often reflagged to States that are unrelated to the ports in which they are changing their registrations. This means that a vessel can change its flag from one country to another without ever having to enter port in either of those countries.

While there are legitimate reasons for a vessel to change its identity, abusive reflagging, or “flag hopping,” is one way that operators avoid oversight. The study found that fleets with prevalent reflagging are over five times more likely to be composed of vessels under foreign ownership which are often registered to “flags of convenience,” defined by the International Transport Workers’ Federation as countries that offer foreign shipowners the ability to register, or fly the flag, of their own State.

While reflagging and foreign ownership are lawful, when not properly regulated and monitored, they can indicate a risk of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. IUU fishing accounts for as much as 20 percent of the global seafood catch with annual losses valued at up to $23.5 billion.

“Knowing the identities of vessels fishing the high seas is critical for uncovering the connection between the potential IUU fishing behavior and vessels that repeatedly change their name, flag State or registered owner,” said co-author Gabrielle Carmine, a doctoral candidate at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. “This analysis could be used to help monitor fisheries more effectively and for accountability in the use and protection of marine biodiversity.”

The study also identified concentrations of fishing activity by foreign-owned vessels, which are focused in parts of the high seas and certain national waters, including the southwest Pacific, the northwest Indian Ocean, Argentina and the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), and West Africa where vessels are typically owned by China, Chinese Taipei, and Spain. The hotspots in this study correspond to the areas in which multiple nongovernmental organizations have called for better governance systems.

“By synthesizing more than 100 billion GPS positions with consolidated identity information from 200,000 vessels, we were able to reveal patterns about vessel activity from the past decade,” added Park. “This study represents a major step forward in our ability to enhance monitoring efforts and help authorities direct enforcement resources.”

The data used in this study will be periodically updated and shared publicly to help enable better understanding of vessel behavior and bolster international fisheries management.

Notes to the editor:

  • Download data visualizations, video, and figures from the paper here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11T-UNkRQmlktINuTw5ufurNFuzAIxTu8?usp=share_link
  • Data visualization caption: Data analysis in this study’s assessment of fishing compliance revealed hotspots of fishing activity by foreign-owned vessels in the southwest Pacific, the west Indian oceans, and certain national waters.
  • About vessel identity data: The data used to determine vessel identities in this study were based on public registries. A lack of vessel identity information exists at the national level, while the high seas are predominantly covered by registries published by regional fisheries management organizations. The identity data used in this study has more extensive coverage for vessels that are 24 meters and longer, as these vessels are more likely to be registered to national or international public registries than smaller ones.
  • About AIS data: First developed as a collision-avoidance system, AIS is essential to vessel and crew safety. But AIS is easily manipulated, as it can simply be switched off or allow the transmission of false information, such as a vessel’s name, type or location. Currently there is no global mandate for all fishing vessels to broadcast on AIS. And due to the varying quality of satellite reception by region, there is also unequal coverage of AIS data throughout the world. Most vessels larger than 24 meters are equipped with AIS while only a small fraction of vessels smaller than 24 meters use AIS, resulting in limitations in AIS data.
  • Paper citation: J. Park, J. Van Osdel, J. Turner, C. M. Farthing, N. A. Miller, H. L. Linder, G. Ortuño Crespo, G. Carmine, D. A. Kroodsma, Tracking elusive and shifting identities of the global fishing fleet. Sci. Adv. 9, eabp8200 (2023).
  • Download the data at: https://globalfishingwatch.org/data-download/datasets/public-vessel-identity:v20230118 

Global Fishing Watch is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing ocean governance through increased transparency of human activity at sea. By creating and publicly sharing map visualizations, data and analysis tools, we aim to enable scientific research and transform the way our ocean is managed. We believe human activity at sea should be public knowledge in order to safeguard the global ocean for the common good of all.

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Lisa Tossey
Global Fishing Watch
+1-302-448-6638
lisa.tossey@globalfishingwatch.org

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Singer-songwriter David Crosby Dies at 81

David Crosby, one of the most influential rock singers of the 1960s and '70s with the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, has died at age 81, Variety reported Thursday, citing a statement from Crosby's wife.

"It is with great sadness after a long illness, that our beloved David (Croz) Crosby has passed away," Variety quoted his wife, Jan Dance, as saying in the statement.

Crosby's UK-based representatives could not immediately be reached for comment by Reuters.

Crosby was a founding member of two revered rock bands: the country- and folk-influenced Byrds, for whom he co-wrote the hit "Eight Miles High," and CSNY, who defined the smooth side of the Woodstock generation's music. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of both groups.

Musically, Crosby stood out for his intricate vocal harmonies, unorthodox open tunings on guitar and incisive songwriting. His work with both the Byrds and CSN/CSNY blended rock and folk in new ways, and their music became a part of the soundtrack for the hippie era.

"I don’t know what to say other than I’m heartbroken to hear about David Crosby. David was an unbelievable talent — such a great singer and songwriter. And a wonderful person," Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson said on Twitter.

Personally, Crosby was the embodiment of the credo "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll," and a 2014 Rolling Stone magazine article tagged him "rock's unlikeliest survivor."

Tragedies, illnesses

In addition to drug addictions that ultimately led to a transplant to replace a liver worn out by decades of excess, his tumultuous life included a serious motorcycle accident, the death of a girlfriend, and battles against hepatitis C and diabetes.

"I’m concerned that the time I’ve got here is so short, and I’m pissed at myself, deeply, for the 10 years — at least — of time that I wasted just getting smashed," Crosby told the Los Angeles Times in July 2019. "I'm ashamed of that."

He fell "as low as a human being can go," Crosby told the Times.

He also managed to alienate many of his famous former bandmates for which he often expressed remorse in recent years.

His drug habits and often abrasive personality contributed to the demise of CSNY, and the members eventually quit speaking to each other. In the 2019 documentary "David Crosby: Remember My Name," he made clear he hoped they could work together again but conceded the others "really dislike me, strongly."

Crosby fathered six children — two as a sperm donor to rocker Melissa Etheridge's partner and another who was placed for adoption at birth and did not meet Crosby until he was in his 30s. That son, James Raymond, would eventually become his musical collaborator.

"Thank you @thedavidcrosby I will miss you my friend," Etheridge said on Twitter alongside a photo of the two of them.

Looking back at the turbulent 1960s and his life, Crosby told Time magazine in 2006: "We were right about civil rights; we were right about human rights; we were right about peace being better than war. ... But I think we didn't know our butt from a hole in the ground about drugs and that bit us pretty hard."

Music was 'joyous'

Crosby was born August 14, 1941, in Los Angeles. His father was a cinematographer who won a Golden Globe for "High Noon" in 1952, and his mother exposed him to the Weavers, a folk group, and to classical music.

As a teenager, Crosby wrote, playing music "was absolutely joyous to me. I always loved it. I always will love it."

After a stay in New York's Greenwich Village music scene, Crosby was back in California in 1963 and helped Roger McGuinn start the Byrds, whose first hit, a cover of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man," came in 1965, followed by "Turn! Turn! Turn!"

Crosby was kicked out of the Byrds because the band did not want to play his songs, with the flashpoint being "Triad," about a menage a trois, and disputes over onstage political rants.

Crosby and Stephen Stills, whose band with Neil Young, Buffalo Springfield, had fallen apart, then began playing together. Graham Nash of the Hollies, who met Crosby in 1966 and went on to become his closest collaborator and a closer friend, joined them. Their first album, "Crosby, Stills and Nash," was a big seller in 1969 with such songs as "Marrakesh Express," "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" and "Guinnevere."

Guitarist and singer-songwriter Young fell in with them that year, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young came to be considered one of the greatest amalgams of talent in rock history.

Their second performance together was the landmark Woodstock music festival in 1969, and their 1970 album "Deja Vu" contained the hits "Teach Your Children," "Woodstock" and one of Crosby's signature songs, "Almost Cut My Hair."

Girlfriend's death

As CSNY was taking off, Crosby was in a drug-fueled downward spiral caused by the 1969 death of girlfriend Christine Hinton in a car accident.

"I had no way to deal with that, nothing in my life had prepared me for that," wrote Crosby, who had added cocaine and heroin to his drug repertoire.

The next decade was a blur of drug arrests, album releases and women. "I was not into being monogamous — I made that plain to everybody concerned. I was a complete and utter pleasure-seeking sybarite," he wrote in his autobiography.

Crosby had a daughter with a girlfriend but soon left her for Jan Dance, who moved in with him in 1978. That relationship lasted and they had a son, Django, in 1995.

Crosby introduced Dance to heroin and the free-basing method of smoking cocaine. "We went down the tubes together, but we did it with our hearts intertwined," he wrote.

There were several failed attempts at rehab, and Crosby developed a reputation as a bloated, hapless addict. In 1985, Nash told Rolling Stone: "I've tried everything — extreme anger, extreme compassion. I've gotten 20 of his best friends in the same room with him. I've tried hanging out with him. I've tried not hanging out with him."

Crosby beat a series of drug charges but lost in Texas after being arrested with a drug pipe and gun at a club in Dallas and went to prison in 1985. The prison system required him to shave his trademark bushy mustache, but he found solace in playing in the prison band during his year of incarceration.

"Playing and singing straight was an unfamiliar feeling," he wrote. "I hadn't been onstage with a drug-free system in more than 25 years."

After his release, Crosby told People magazine he had beaten his addictions.

"Most people who go as far as I did with drugs are dead," he said. "Hard drugs will hook anyone. I don't care who you are. ... I have a Ph.D. in drugs."

He was also arrested on gun and marijuana charges in New York in 2004.

In 2014 he released "Croz," his first solo album since 1993, but his tour to promote the record was interrupted in February by heart surgery.

He continued recording and was an active presence on Twitter, in addition to writing an advice column in Rolling Stone.

In March 2021, The Guardian reported that Crosby sold the recorded music and publishing rights to his entire music catalog to Irving Azoff's Iconic Artists Group for an undisclosed sum. He was quoted as saying that the COVID-19 pandemic prevented him from playing concerts and that the widespread use of music streaming "stole my money."

Source: Voice of America

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Twinkle, Twinkle Fading Stars: Hiding in Our Brighter Skies

Every year, the night sky grows brighter, and the stars look dimmer.

A new study that analyzes data from more than 50,000 amateur stargazers finds that artificial lighting is making the night sky about 10% brighter each year.

That's a much faster rate of change than scientists had previously estimated looking at satellite data. The research, which includes data from 2011 to 2022, is published Thursday in the journal Science.

"We are losing, year by year, the possibility to see the stars," said Fabio Falchi, a physicist at the University of Santiago de Compostela, who was not involved in the study.

"If you can still see the dimmest stars, you are in a very dark place. But if you see only the brightest ones, you are in a very light-polluted place," he said.

As cities expand and put up more lights, "skyglow" or "artificial twilight," as the study authors call it, becomes more intense.

The 10% annual change "is a lot bigger than I expected — something you'll notice clearly within a lifetime," said Christopher Kyba, a study co-author and physicist at the German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam.

Kyba and his colleagues gave this example: A child is born where 250 stars are visible on a clear night. By the time that child turns 18, only 100 stars are still visible.

"This is real pollution, affecting people and wildlife," said Kyba, who said he hoped that policymakers would do more to curb light pollution. Some localities have set limits.

The study data from amateur stargazers in the nonprofit Globe at Night project was collected in a similar fashion. Volunteers look for the constellation Orion — remember the three stars of his belt — and match what they see in the night sky to a series of charts showing an increasing number of surrounding stars.

Prior studies of artificial lighting, which used satellite images of the Earth at night, had estimated the annual increase in sky brightness to be about 2% a year.

But the satellites used aren't able to detect light with wavelengths toward the blue end of the spectrum — including the light emitted by energy-efficient LED bulbs.

More than half of the new outdoor lights installed in the United States in the past decade have been LED lights, according to the researchers.

The satellites are also better at detecting light that scatters upward, like a spotlight, than light that scatters horizontally, like the glow of an illuminated billboard at night, said Kyba.

Skyglow disrupts human circadian rhythms, as well as other forms of life, said Georgetown biologist Emily Williams, who was not part of the study.

"Migratory songbirds normally use starlight to orient where they are in the sky at night," she said. "And when sea turtle babies hatch, they use light to orient toward the ocean — light pollution is a huge deal for them."

Part of what's being lost is a universal human experience, said Falchi, the physicist at University of Santiago de Compostela.

"The night sky has been, for all the generations before ours, a source of inspiration for art, science, literature," he said.

Source: Voice of America