Latest news with #British-owned
Scotsman
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
Readers Letters: Trans extremists shut down hopes of reasoned discussion
Calm discussion, not insults, is needed in the gender debate, says reader Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Marie G (Letters, 17 May) postulates that 'biological determination was rejected by feminists and society at large years ago'. I would hazard a guess that that statement is untrue for the majority of both feminists and the public. However, I do agree that we are all more than our biology. She goes on to say that 'trans exclusionary' women can't accept that trans women are not the same as men, so we should not fear them in our spaces. I counter that trans extremists can't accept that trans women are not the same as biological women, hence the Supreme Court ruling. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The vandalism of Millicent Fawcett's statue and the flagrantly aggressive nature of signs on the trans rights demos such as 'Decapitate TERFS', 'The only good TERF is a dead TERF' and to burn certain women as witches, all feed in to a narrative of misogyny that compounds that difference all the more clearly. Trans rights protesters in Edinburgh (Picture: Jeff) It should never have needed the Supreme Court to define what a woman is, but the attempted wholesale cultural appropriation of women and womanhood by trans extremist ideology and the lack of those in authority to call it out, pushed ordinary women into that course of action. Trans and non-binary people make up less than 0.5 per cent of the population and as such they completely deserve the protections they have under the Equality Act 2010. However, an ideology has been disproportionately pushed into schools, organisations and institutions, which is not trying to help people understand or reduce discrimination but actually attempting to change the common meaning and understanding of language and biology, dictating how people speak and behave and generally shut down public discourse. Cloaked as 'social justice', this is neither healthy, democratic or justifiable. With the clarity of the Supreme Court ruling, hopefully extremist voices will quieten and we can have reasoned discussion about how to accommodate the distinct but differing needs of both women and those living as a gender different to their biology. Rona McCall, Strath, Gairloch Clueless Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad What an utter disgrace. We have a government which thinks it is sensible to give away the strategic British-owned Chagos Islands to people whose claim upon them is tenuous to say the least. Not only that; it endangers our (and the US) forces in the Middle East and the Indian Ocean. Add to that a 'deal' with the EU in which we held the ace of UK nuclear defence for which the EU was desperate and from which Keir Starmer could have demanded free trade at the very least. Oh, no. He has given up our fishing grounds to people who have no right to them. No wonder Ursula von der Leyen was grinning like a Cheshire cat at the meeting in London. She probably couldn't believe any leader of the UK could be quite so dim as to agree to 12 years of EU access to our fishing. And what do we get out of it? Oh, yes. We have to allow EU inspectors into our farms and follow EU rules. And maybe (but probably not), go through a different channel when we reach EU airports. Who cares? Has anyone ever had a more inept, clueless national leader, apart from the various separatists in Scotland, of course? Except that they don't really count, of course. Dave Anderson, Aberdeen Brutal acts According to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the criticism of his government's actions in Gaza by Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney shows 'they are on the wrong side of humanity'. However, former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert has described the Netanyahu government as 'a gang of thugs'. What are the facts? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Israeli air force has mercilessly bombed residences, hospitals and warehouses. Gaza has no anti-air defence and practically no military means to strike back. Israel has killed over 50,000 innocents, maimed and wounded thousands more and celebrates a terrorist act which used booby-trapped pagers to blind hundreds of people. The Netanyahu regime has starved the people of Gaza, withholding food and water – and medical supplies. It has forcibly evicted thousands of people from their homes, which have then been blown up. Israel is not 'defending itself', it's practising ethnic cleansing, or genocide. Words of criticism from Nato leaders such as Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy count for nothing. Stopping all arms supplies, sanctions, an economic blockade, and as a last resort, military action against Israel is what is required. William Loneskie, Oxton, Lauder, Berwickshire Only solution The misguided words of Gerald Edwards and Lewis Finnie (Letters May 23) in defence of the extreme right-wing Israeli Government's actions in Gaza and the West Bank are not helpful. Of course the atrocious actions of Hamas terrorists on 7 October 2023 must be condemned but parroting the propaganda of an Israeli Prime Minister intent on employing totally overwhelming military force to annihilate the Palestinian people will not resolve decades of conflict arising from the forced creation of a legitimate Israeli state. Do either of these gentlemen truly believe that if the remaining Israeli hostages were handed over 'tomorrow' Israel would not only hand over its thousands of Palestinian 'hostages' ('detainees' held without trial) but would cease its decades of persecution of the Palestinian people and prevent Palestinian land from being forcibly taken by 'illegal settlers'? Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad As in Northern Ireland where sensible voices thankfully prevailed (although some fanatics might have preferred the British Army to have adopted similar tactics to the IDF) the fighting will not cease until both parties are brought together to negotiate a lasting peace, preferably in the form of a two-state solution. Long-term peace will not be secured until Israel's allies stop supplying weapons (it is not a serious argument to compare Iran-supplied rocket-launchers with Western-guided F-35 fighter jets) to the rabid regime that is the current Israeli government and maximise their combined political efforts to end the 'carnage' of an out-of-control 'Israeli Devastation Force'. This is not a war between two regular armies and to criticise governments, including the UK Government, for belatedly moving in a morally necessitated and logically sound direction to end the conflict and mass-suffering is to effectively condone the genocidal slaughter of innocent women and children. Stan Grodynski, Longniddry, East Lothian Action needed Regarding The Scotsman's editorial on the Scottish Government's Just transition Commission report urging the need for a plan for oil and gas workers (23 May), the concerns raised by offshore workers highlight a challenge we absolutely must solve. The skills gap is often cited, but equally critical is the readiness gap we are facing, with a lack of coordinated systems to support the move into new roles. Without visibility of future opportunities, adaptation of skills, and an aligned industry and government-wide strategy, we risk sidelining a highly experienced workforce who could be one of our strongest assets in a net-zero future. A just transition needs more than ambition. It needs action that matches the pace of change on the ground. Alex Spencer COO, OPITO, Aberdeen Squeeze rich Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Keir Starmer and his cabinet, in particular Rachel Reeves, have been dragged, kicking and screaming, into a reluctant U-turn on the Winter Fuel Payment (your report, 23 May). Significantly, most of the pressure has come from their own increasingly restless and disillusioned backbenchers. To set an £11,500 threshold on this payment simply accentuates their reluctance and, quite frankly, is a sick joke, at which nobody is laughing. In my opinion, this payment should be open to all pensioners, as it was previously, irrespective of their means. Those who don't need it can always donate it to charity. One crying out source of taxes, which is strangely ignored, is the ultra rich, among whom are the self-styled patriotic millionaires. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A wealth tax, more appropriate for a Labour government, would, at a stroke, solve any tax problem, and more than cover a universal Winter Fuel Payment. Whatever else it might achieve, it would go some way to restoring the so called 'grey vote' to support Labour. Ian Petrie, Edinburgh Lesson learned? The Scotsman carries an article on the reintroduction of lynx to the Scottish countryside, stating that they would be retained in a sealed area as allowing them to roam free would cause predation of sheep and lambs (23 May). In that case why were sea eagles reintroduced and allowed to fly free? A popular meal for them is lambs, to the extent that some have taken to nesting close to farms for a quick easy meal. C Lowson, Fareham, Hants Making rules Jill Stephenson speculates that Scotland, as an independent country in the EU, would be subject to the 'demands' of the Common Fisheries Policy (Letters, 23 May). But an independent Scotland would, with its fellow EU members, write the EU rules. Scotland would no longer be a rule-taker, as it was when the UK was in the EU, but one of the EU rule-makers – including on the CFP. E Campbell, Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire Write to The Scotsman Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
The Star
13-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Colonial land feud boils over
A DISPUTE between a British-owned tea plantation and a local community in western Kenya has come to the boil in what could be a sign of turbulent times ahead for tea producers facing a growing backlash over colonial-era injustices. On the rolling green hills of the Sitoi estate in Nandi county, more than 100 residents are occupying 140ha of land, picking tea and living in huts made of mud and rusty iron sheets while grazing their cattle. They say the land was gifted to them in 1986 by Eastern Produce Kenya. EPK, which is majority owned by London-listed Camellia Plc, says the gift was for 82ha, not the 222ha that the local Kimasas farmers' cooperative claims. Kimasas chairman Daniel Biwott said his grandfather lived on the land before it was seized by British colonists around 1905 and that reclaiming the disputed land would right a historical wrong. 'Nothing has happened all these years,' said Biwott, standing among knee-high bushes where he, his father and his grandfather once worked as EPK employees. 'This is the time to solve it.' The standoff follows several violent incidents at estates in Kenya, the world's fourth-leading tea producer. In January, a farm belonging to Sri Lankan-owned Browns Plantations was attacked and more than 100 eucalyptus trees uprooted, according to the Kenya Tea Growers Association (KTGA). A worker walks inside the Chemomi Tea Factory owned by the Eastern Produce Kenya in Mosine village of Nandi County. — Reuters The industry group said in a statement that 'criminal gangs who appear to enjoy political cover' were behind the 'Zimbabwe-like illegal land invasion' of Sitoi, referring to seizures of white-owned farms in the early 2000s. It said EPK was losing over US$200,000 per month and the incidents threaten an industry that accounts for nearly a quarter of Kenya's export revenues and supports five million livelihoods. Several people working on land issues said the attacks reflect broader frustration with a failure to remedy colonial land grabs. 'I have tried hard to use the legal system,' said Joel Kimutai Bosek, a lawyer who has brought litigation against tea companies and the UK government on behalf of local communities without success. 'I think the new or coming generation will be more aggressive.' Few remedies During the colonial era from 1895-1963, British authorities seized vast tracts of land, much of which became tea plantations, according to a 2021 UN report. Awareness of historical injustices has grown since 2010, when Kenya established the National Land Commission (NLC) to address the issue, said Samuel Tororei, who was a commissioner until 2019. But Tororei said the commission's effectiveness was undermined by its limited mandate and an 'unholy marriage' between tea companies and political elites. Under Kenya's 2010 constitution, tea companies' previous 999-year leases were reduced to 99 years but activists complain the government has not used its ownership of the land to extract meaningful concessions in land or money for local communities. 'The underlying cause of tension is that you have overseas owners of large-scale plantations which are based on land that was taken from the community,' said Guy Chambers, managing director from 2015-2022 of Britain's James Finlay, which had tea estates in Kenya until 2023. Tea is processed at the Chemomi Tea Factory owned by the Eastern Produce Kenya in Mosine village of Nandi County. — Reuters Kenyan government spokesmen did not respond to requests for comment. The companies say they comply with Kenyan law and accuse some politicians of exploiting historical tensions to undermine their land tenures and advance personal business interests. Other community attempts to reclaim land have yielded little. Legal options are constrained by statutes of limitations and official immunities, the UN report said. The private equity firm Chambers runs and a community group in the tea-growing county of Kericho jointly bid last year for estates belonging to CVC Capital-owned Lipton in an arrangement that would have fully transferred control to the community within two decades. Lipton eventually sold to Browns. A spokesman for Lipton said it chose the best bidder who could help raise standards in the industry. Browns did not respond to a request for comment. In a 2019 report, the NLC called on the British government to apologise to communities in Kericho and provide reparations. The British government has not directly responded to that call. Asked for comment, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: 'We are concerned by the attacks on tea farms in Nandi and are in contact with the Kenyan authorities.' 'Dangerous precedent' EPK first acquired land in Nandi in 1948. It said the current dispute is not over a historical land injustice but rather a gift made on a 'willing donor, willing donee basis'. The NLC found in 2019 that all 222ha belonged to Kimasas. EPK contested that in court, saying Kimasas' evidence was forged. As litigation proceeded, more than 200 people, including a national lawmaker from the area, overran the disputed plot on Aug 3, 2023 and began plucking tea. A court issued an injunction the following day, ordering them to leave. Eastern Produce Kenya tea pickers loading their produce on a truck in Mosine village of Nandi County. — Reuters Most did, but many then returned. In January, squatters attacked a company car and employees, EPK said. The company said police have not enforced the injunction, while the public prosecutor's office told it that any prosecutions risked interfering with the civil case. 'If we allow this kind of situation where the younger generations now start saying they don't have enough and they want more, then it is a dangerous precedent that should be stopped at all costs,' said EPK general manager Peter Goin. Police and prosecutor's office did not respond to requests for comment. Biwott said Kimasas felt justified occupying the land because there was no final ruling against it. — Reuters
Politico
12-05-2025
- Business
- Politico
Trump feels the heat from MAGA over ‘great gesture' of a luxury jet from Qatar
Laura Loomer has found her next target: axing President Donald Trump's acceptance of a luxury jet from the Qatari royal family. 'I'm hoping that it's not true,' Loomer, who helped instigate the firings of six White House national security officials last month, told POLITICO. 'If the initial reports are factual, I think it's concerning,' the hard-right activist and Trump ally said. 'Qatar is not our friend.' Her remarks came after ABC News reported Sunday that Qatar's royal family would make a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet available to Trump as Air Force One, after which it would be donated to his presidential library foundation for his use after leaving office. Asked if she would personally speak to Trump about her concerns, Loomer said, 'Look, I don't tell the president what to do. My posts are pretty viral in their own nature, so I think that message will probably [get to him]. I know that I'm not the only person who is a diehard Trump supporter who is concerned about whether or not this report is true.' Loomer said, 'I want to be clear in saying that I am eager to see what the president and his team at the White House are going to say about this.' It didn't take long for Trump to address the issue — and in starkly different terms than Loomer. On Monday morning, while attacking ABC as 'fake news' in a press conference, he defended the idea of accepting such a gift from Qatar. 'I think it's a great gesture from Qatar,' he said. 'I appreciate it very much. I would never be one to turn down that kind of an offer.' He also blamed the British-owned defense contractor Boeing, which he said has taken 'so long to build a new Air Force One' as a reason for accepting the jet. 'They said we would like to do something and if we can get a 747 as a contribution to our Defense Department to use,' he said. 'We give free things out, we'll take one too.' Loomer, after watching Trump's remarks, said, 'Look, I understand the reasoning about not wanting to burden the United States taxpayer with $400 million. But it's going to complicate foreign policy about the designation of the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization, which was promised and undelivered in the first Trump administration. It's kind of this elephant in the room as Trump goes to the Middle East.'
Straits Times
08-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
New Zealand Rugby posts $11.6 million loss despite record income
New Zealand Rugby posted a NZ$19.5 million ($11.60 million) net deficit for the 2024 financial year despite record income of NZ$285 million as the result of a 10% rise in expenditure. It is a third successive loss for the governing body of the nation's most popular sport following a NZ$8.9 million deficit in 2023 and a NZ$47 million loss in 2022. NZR blamed the loss on foreign currency hedging on sponsorship revenue and increased commercial investments but said its NZ$174.5 million reserves reflected a strong cash position. "Achieving a new high watermark of $285m income, healthy commercial revenue streams in what is a difficult international operating environment, and reinvesting into the game at all levels, are grounds for optimism," NZR chairman David Kirk said in a statement. "NZR retains an incredibly strong balance sheet which is vital for rugby in New Zealand and its ability to weather any major shocks." The settlement the body reached with INEOS last month after the British-owned multinational conglomerate pulled out halfway through its six-year sponsorship deal had no impact on 2024 revenues, NZR said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
08-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Rugby-New Zealand Rugby posts $11.6 million loss despite record income
(Reuters) -New Zealand Rugby posted a NZ$19.5 million ($11.60 million) net deficit for the 2024 financial year despite record income of NZ$285 million as the result of a 10% rise in expenditure. It is a third successive loss for the governing body of the nation's most popular sport following a NZ$8.9 million deficit in 2023 and a NZ$47 million loss in 2022. NZR blamed the loss on foreign currency hedging on sponsorship revenue and increased commercial investments but said its NZ$174.5 million reserves reflected a strong cash position. "Achieving a new high watermark of $285m income, healthy commercial revenue streams in what is a difficult international operating environment, and reinvesting into the game at all levels, are grounds for optimism," NZR chairman David Kirk said in a statement. "NZR retains an incredibly strong balance sheet which is vital for rugby in New Zealand and its ability to weather any major shocks." The settlement the body reached with INEOS last month after the British-owned multinational conglomerate pulled out halfway through its six-year sponsorship deal had no impact on 2024 revenues, NZR said. ($1 = 1.6810 New Zealand dollars) (Reporting Nick Mulvenney; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
