Latest news with #activists
Daily Mail
9 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Here we go again! Defiant Majorcans vow this year's summer holiday protests will be bigger than last years as the mass tourism from Brits is making their lives 'unbearable'
Thousands of defiant anti-tourism protesters have vowed to bring the streets of Majorca to a standstill after they called for another major anti-tourist demonstration. The Spanish island's capital of Palma - a holiday hotspot popular among Brits- will be clogged on Sunday, June 15 as representatives of 60 groups today announced the protest. The move comes as Spain finds itself struggling to balance the promotion of tourism and addressing citizens' concerns over a housing crisis that they say has been fuelled by holidaymakers. The demonstration will be led by campaign group 'Menys Turisme, Mes Vida' (Less tourism, more life), which claims that the everyday life of locals has become 'unbearable' thanks to foreign holidaymakers. They have accused both the Balearic Islands' government of ignoring the pleas for drastic changes in their current tourism model. The platform is asking the island's residents to take to the streets to demand a change in the economic model and what they describe as 'touristification.' This will be the third major protest of its kind but the activists say they are getting nowhere despite calls to clampdown on tourists. The demonstration in Palma will be held simultaneously with similar marches in Ibiza, Barcelona, Donosti and other major Spanish cities. 'We stand for the right to a dignified life and to demand an end to touristification', said Jaume Pujol, spokesman for Menys Turisme, Més Vida. The group today also criticised the local government, accusing them of promoting policies that have aggravated the mass tourism crisis. They also warned that, with the start of the tourist season, 'unbearable situations' are already being repeated on the island, including road closures due to tourist events and genera; saturation of public spaces and markets. Menys Turisme, Mes Vida also argued that their island is 'not for sale' and that 'it is urgent to put limits' on a tourism model that they consider increasingly destructive. It comes a month after tens of thousands of furious Spaniards took to the streets across the country to demand a solution to the cost of living crisis they say has been exacerbated by tourism. The demonstrations on April 5 took place across major Spanish towns and cities including Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga and Palma. According to organizers, 30,000 people took to the streets of Malaga - a seaside town in the south of Spain - as they demanded solutions to the housing crisis, with banners reading: 'Houses for the people of Málaga. Hotels for tourists, affordable rents.' But police reported that around 5,000 demonstrators took part in the Malaga march. Residents were photographed holding banners with the slogan: 'Houses for the people of Málaga. Hotels for tourists'. Some also hung posters from their balconies and windows with messages saying: 'Housing is a right, not a business'. Meanwhile in Madrid, around 15,000 people gathered in the capital's neighbourhood of Atocha and marched towards Plaza de Espana shouting slogans like: 'Landlords are thieves' and 'Madrid will be the tomb of rentals'. Angry renters pointed to instances of international hedge funds buying up properties, often with the aim of renting them to foreign tourists. The question has become so politically charged that Barcelona's city government pledged last year to phase out all its 10,000 permits for short-term rentals, many of them advertised on platforms like Airbnb, by 2028. Marchers in Madrid last month chanted 'Get Airbnb out of our neighborhoods' and held up signs against short-term rentals. 'No more leaving our neighborhoods, our homes, or even our cities every five or seven years,' said Valeria Racu, spokesperson for the Madrid tenants' union, in a statement at the start of the demonstration. 'We're calling on the half-million households whose contracts expire in 2025 to stay home and resist,' she added. Incomes in Spain have failed to keep up with rising housing costs, especially for younger people in a country with chronically high unemployment Irate activists aired their grievances to the angry mobs filling the streets, taking aim at the 'touristification' of resorts along Spain's coasts. In the southern city of Murcia, 500 people chanted: 'We will not tolerate one more eviction'. Up north in Santander, a city on Spain's Atlantic coast, residents demanded public houses. 'No houses without people, no people without houses,' 'everyone under a roof, housing is a right', those in attendance chanted. A generation of young people say they have to stay with their parents or spend big just to share an apartment, with little chance of saving enough to one day purchase a home. High housing costs mean even those with traditionally well-paying jobs are struggling to make ends meet. According to Spain's central bank, almost 40% of Spanish families who rent spend nearly half of their income on housing. In April last year the government said it would scrap its so-called 'golden visa' programme granting residency rights to foreigners who make large investments in real estate in the country, which the Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said would help make access to affordable housing 'a right instead of a speculative business'. The average rent in Spain has almost doubled in the last 10 years. The price per square meter rose from 7.2 euros in 2014 to 13 euros last year, according to real estate website Idealista. The increase is bigger in Madrid and Barcelona. Incomes have failed to keep up, especially for younger people in a country with chronically high unemployment. Spain does not have the public housing that other European nations have invested in to cushion struggling renters from a market that is pricing them out. Spain was rocked by mass demonstrations last summer, as tens of thousands of fed up locals filled the streets to protest mass tourism. Anti-tourism campaigners have long been contesting the current tourism model, claiming that many locals have been priced out by holidaymakers, expats and foreign buyers. Last year, Spain saw a record-breaking number of tourists, with over 15 million visitors flocking to the island of Mallorca alone. In response, protestors took to the streets across Spain, leaving countless visitors fuming after paying hundreds of pounds to enjoy their holidays abroad. Actions included marches on the street with protesters chanting 'tourists go home', as well as demonstrations on beaches which saw locals boo and jeer at sun-soaked tourists. In one particular instance, up to 50,000 locals descended onto the streets of the Mallorca capital Palma. Meanwhile in Barcelona, some 2,800 people marched along a waterfront district of Barcelona to demand a new economic model that would reduce the millions of tourists that visit every year. Protesters carried signs reading 'Barcelona is not for sale,' and, 'Tourists go home,' before some used water guns on tourists eating outdoors at restaurants in popular tourist hotspots. Chants of 'Tourists out of our neighbourhood' rang out as some stopped in front of the entrances to hotels.
Forbes
9 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
EU Employment Committee Draft Opinion Opposes Reductions In Sustainability Reporting
JUNE 26: People walk by an European flag (Photo by) The future of sustainability reporting in the European Union is in peril as legislators debate the Omnibus Simplification Package. The current proposal includes significant changes to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directives. As the legislative process unfolds in the Parliament, members are submitting proposed amendments through various committees. In the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, a draft opinion expresses clear opposition to any reductions to the CSRD or the CSDDD. From 2020 - 2024, a trilogy of directives were passed by the EU to force businesses to address climate change and report greenhouse gas missions. The Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities created a classification system for business and investors to know what activities are considered green or climate friendly. The CSRD created requirements for businesses to report GHG emissions and other environmental, social, and governance actions. The CSDDD, also known as the CS3D, created legal liability for companies in relation to their supply chain. While the gains excited activists, the cost of these proposals on businesses and the broader impact on the EU economy became a theme during the 2024 European Parliament elections. The shift to the right in EU politics embolden opponents to the European Green Deal directives. As a result, the Commission proposed a package of new directives to 'reduce the burden' on businesses. The Omnibus Simplification Package was officially adopted by the Commission in February. The proposal is being debated in the Council and the Parliament. In the Parliament, the debate is public and working through multiple committees, giving interest parties and MEPs the opportunity to voice their opinions. The Committee on Legal Affairs, known as JURI, is the primary committee that will produce the legislation that will be sent to the full Parliament for a vote. However, related committees will draft opinions to be considered during the process. Each committee designates a rapporteur to lead the drafting. The Parliament states that a 'rapporteur is appointed in the responsible parliamentary committee to draft a report on proposals of a legislative or budgetary nature, or other issues. In drafting their report, rapporteurs may consult with relevant experts and stakeholders. They are also responsible for the drafting of compromise amendments and negotiations with shadow rapporteurs.' The amendments change the Commission's language in the Omnibus Simplification Package, not the original CSRD and CSDDD. Rather than offering sweeping amendments that encompass every change a MEP or Party wants to see, every change to every subparagraph is offered in a separate amendment. This results in a high volume of amendments. The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, known as ECON, and the Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety, known as ENVI, posted 987 amendments proposed by their respective members. In the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, known as EMPL, the committee chose to post a draft opinion by the rapporteur before posting amendments by members. Committee members have until June 3 to offer amendments before the June 4 vote. European Parliament The draft opinion was submitted by MEP Li Andersson of The Left, rapporteur for the opinion. The draft included language that directly criticizes the Commission and objects to changes. While the opinion is may not be adopted as the final committee draft, and will likely have minimal impact on the final vote, the language will certainly excite activists and like minded MEPs. In the 'short justification' included in opinions to provide context for canges, Andersson made her opposition to the changes clear. "The current Commission proposal risks watering down the core elements of this newly established sustainability reporting and due diligence framework. Although the aim of simplification in terms of reporting duties for companies is laudable… simplification cannot mean broad sweeping deregulation that changes the entire purposes of the previous directives. Dismantling core parts of the legislation risks not only creating regulatory uncertainty for companies, barring proper access to justice for those harmed, but also hampers the availability of quality, comparable and granular sustainability data that is much called for by investors and business partners alike…" Of the MEP's 49 proposed amendments, 40 simply delete language proposed the Omnibus Simplification Package, leaving the existing language in original directives intact. This includes the employee thresholds for companies to fall under reporting requirements. Three proposed amendments include language that is worth highlighting. The first proposed amendment addresses the first paragraph of the Omnibus in which the Commission states their reason for the changes. The Commission references 'A simpler and faster Europe: Communication on implementation and simplification' sent on February 11 in which they outline their vision. Andersson, and many like minded individuals, took issue with the process used and the need for action. Original language as proposed by the Commission: '… the European Commission set out a vision for an implementation and simplification agenda that delivers fast and visible improvements for people and business on the ground. This requires more than an incremental approach and the Union must take bold action to achieve this goal…' Andersson's Proposed Amendment: "…the European Commission set out a vision for an implementation and simplification agenda, which is leading to unpredictability and legal uncertainty by rolling back on legal obligations recently adopted at Union level under the guise of reducing administrative burden. The consequences of such an agenda will have rippling effects, with increasing political risks particularly for first movers. In order to safeguard the ambition of the current legal acquis, it is important to oppose such measures." The second proposed amendment addresses the second paragraph in which the Commission states their goals. Andersson not only takes issue with, what some perceive as, an overbearing approach by the Commission, but also addresses concerns relating to the process used. Those concerns have resulted in an investigation by the European Ombudsman, although they are unlikely to impact the final result. Original language as proposed by the Commission: "In the context of the Commission's commitment to reduce reporting burdens and enhance competitiveness, it is necessary to amend Directives 2006/43/EC3 , 2013/34/EU4 , (EU) 2022/24645 and (EU) 2024/1760 of the European Parliament and of the Council, whilst maintaining the policy objectives of the European Green Deal, and the Sustainable Finance Action Plan." Andersson's Proposed Amendment: 'In the context of the Commission's commitment to reduce reporting burdens and enhance competitiveness, the Comission (sic) has declared that it is necessary to amend Directives 2006/43/EC3 , 2013/34/EU4 , (EU) 2022/24645 and (EU) 2024/1760 of the, without conducting any impact assessment and limiting public consultation to a closed-door stakeholder event.' A major theme in the push for simplification is the impact sustainability reporting could have on small and medium-sized enterprises. In addition to the high cost on businesses that are required to comply with sustainability reporting requirements, businesses interests also expressed concerns that the costs will adversely impact SMEs that are not required to report, but are indirectly forced to gather information in the course of doing business with large companies. The Commission has made it clear they want to prevent SMEs from being forced to pay to gather data beyond minimum requirements. Original language as proposed by the Commission: "Member States shall ensure that, for the mapping provided for in paragraph 2, point (a), companies do not seek to obtain information from direct business partners with fewer than 500 employees that exceeds the information specified in the standards for voluntary use referred to in Article 29a of Directive 2013/34/EU…" Andersson's Proposed Amendment: 'Where necessary in the light of resource and knowledge constraints of an SME that is a business partner of a company, Member States shall ensure that companies provide targeted and proportionate support. Support may include financial support, providing or enabling access to capacity building or training, or support in upgrading management systems or facilitating the upgrading of such systems in order to support the identification of adverse impacts.' The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs has placed the draft opinion on the June 4 meeting agenda. Committee members have until June 3 to offer their own amendments. Given the amendments proposed in other committees, expect conflicting opinions to be stated. The draft opinion will be sent to the Committee on Legal Affairs for consideration. The final vote in the Parliament is expected to take place on October 13. The Commission, Council, and Parliament will then meet to negotiate the final changes to the sustainability reporting requirements. They are expected to be approved in December.
Arab News
9 hours ago
- Business
- Arab News
Protecting our oceans is everyone's business
From June 9-13, France will host the third United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development (UNOC, or United Nations Ocean Conference). For this vitally important event, some 100 heads of state and government will converge, as well as tens of thousands of researchers, scientists, activists, and citizens from around the world. On this occasion, France's aim will be clear: protecting the oceans through tangible action. The oceans belong to all of us. They feed and protect our peoples. They inspire dreams and enable travel. They offer sustainable energy, the means to trade, resources, and infinite scientific knowledge. One in three people rely on the oceans for their livelihood, yet the oceans are in danger. They remain little known, with neither global governance nor the financing needed for their preservation. The numbers are worrying: More than 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in the oceans every year, according to a study in Science. More than one third of fish stocks suffer overfishing, while ocean acidification, rising sea levels, and the destruction of marine ecosystems increases, as direct consequences of climate change. We must act now. We must make sure that multilateral action is equal to the challenges of protecting the oceans. Ten years after COP21 and the Paris Agreement, which established a binding global framework to limit climate change, the third UN Ocean Conference is a historic opportunity. The 'Nice Ocean Agreements' will form a genuine international compact for conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, fully in line with the sustainable development goals adopted by the UN in 2015. To this end, the talks in Nice need to be very hands-on and action-focused, aiming for better governance, more financing, and greater knowledge of the seas. When it comes to governance, the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, or the BBNJ Agreement, is essential. The high seas, which represent more than 60 percent of the oceans, are currently the only space not governed by international law. The lack of oversight and common rules is causing a real social and environmental disaster, with massive hydrocarbon and plastic pollution, illegal and unregulated fishing techniques, and the taking of protected mammals. To end this legal vacuum, we need the BBNJ Agreement to be ratified by 60 countries so as to come into force. Saudi Arabia is a major stakeholder and a strategic partner when it comes to preserving the oceans. Patrick Maisonnave The protection of the oceans also requires public and private financing, and support for a sustainable blue economy. To continue enjoying the incredible economic opportunities offered by the oceans, we need to make sure marine resources can regenerate. In Nice, several commitments will be announced for global trade, shipping, tourism, and investment. Lastly, how can we protect what we know not — or know insufficiently? We need to enhance our knowledge of the oceans and share it more widely. Today, we are capable of mapping the surface of the moon or of Mars, but the depths of the oceans — which cover 70 percent of Earth's surface — remain unknown. Together, we need to put science, innovation, and education in order to better understand the oceans and raise public awareness. In the context of ever faster climate change and overexploitation of marine resources, the oceans are not just one more issue: They are everyone's business. We must not forget our shared responsibility in the context of challenges to multilateralism. The oceans join us all together and are central to our future. Together, we can make the third UN Ocean Conference a turning point for our peoples, for future generations and for our planet. France will be delighted to welcome Saudi Arabia, along with more than 100 countries, to tackle those challenges together. Saudi Arabia has more than 2,600 km of coastline and is located at the crossroads of three continents. In the framework of Vision 2030, the sea is an incomparable resource for diversifying the economy: connectivity, transport and logistics, tourism, fisheries, and many more. The sustainable use of this resource is strategic. The Saudis have shown their determination to implement policies in line with Sustainable Development Goal 14: Establishing regulatory agencies to protect biodiversity; enforcing regulations on fisheries; increasing the number of protected areas in line with the Kunming-Montreal Protocol; and supporting scientific data collection and research. We must take action together to make the third UN Ocean Conference a turning point, and allow the implementation of the BBNJ Agreement. Saudi Arabia is a major stakeholder and a strategic partner when it comes to preserving the oceans, seas, and marine resources, and ensuring that they are used in a sustainable way. Its commitment will be decisive.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Freedom Flotilla activists ready to brave risks and deliver aid to Gaza despite earlier drone attack
Activists from a human rights organization trying to sail to the Gaza Strip to deliver aid gathered in Sicily on Saturday, saying they were aware of the risks involved in their mission, but stressing they would go ahead regardless. Their last attempt to bring aid to Gaza was foiled by a drone attack off Malta. (AP Video/Gaetano Pulvirenti)
The Guardian
14 hours ago
- General
- The Guardian
A dystopian surveillance fear has become reality in Texas
Hello and welcome to the latest edition of 'lo and behold, the dystopian thing that women and activists warned would happen ends up happening'. This time the issue is automated license plate readers (ALPRs), which capture (no prizes for guessing!) license plate data and allow law enforcement to build a picture of where a particular vehicle has been. There's no opting out of being tracked: if you drive, you should simply assume that these cameras, which are sometimes hidden in objects like traffic cones, are logging your movements. And you should assume that this license plate data can be combined with other surveillance data to paint a very detailed picture of your life. Privacy only exists for our billionaire overlords these days. The rest of us are just data points. There are obviously plenty of legitimate uses to ALPRs. Their proponents will wax lyrical about how they can help solve carjackings and kidnappings. But, like all technology, they are ripe for abuse. They are particularly ripe for abuse in an increasingly authoritarian US, full of lawmakers who want to control women's bodies. Back in 2022, a few months after Roe v Wade was overturned, the Guardian published a piece on ALPRs warning that 'an expanding web of license plate readers could be 'weaponized' against abortion'. It focused on a company called Flock, one of the big players in this space, which promises a 'holistic solution to crime'. Flock's technology could be used to 'criminalize people seeking reproductive health and further erode people's ability to move about their daily lives free from being tracked and traced', one expert told the Guardian at the time. Another civil rights expert warned that Flock, which has stated that it is happy to provide technology to help enact whatever laws have been passed, 'illustrates how surveillance isn't actually about benefiting society or protecting people – it's about enforcing the political goals of those in power'. Unfortunately, all these experts have been proved right. This week 404 Media reported that a Texas police officer used Flock to perform a nationwide search of more than 83,000 ALPR cameras while looking for a woman who had had an abortion. Abortion is almost entirely illegal in Texas but law enforcement reportedly looked at cameras in states such as Washington and Illinois where abortion is legal. Anti-abortion voices love to argue that they're not trying to control women, they're trying to protect women. Funnily enough this same talking point came up in this case. Sheriff Adam King of Johnson county, Texas, told 404 Media that the woman had self-administered the abortion 'and her family was worried that she was going to bleed to death, and we were trying to find her to get her to a hospital.' He added: 'We weren't trying to block her from leaving the state or whatever to get an abortion. It was about her safety.' Perhaps this was true in this case. Many of the details are still unclear so it's hard to tell. But even if this was purely benevolent surveillance, you can certainly see where all this is headed. 'This incident is undeniably a harbinger of more AI-enabled reproductive surveillance and investigations to come,' Ashley Emery, senior policy analyst in reproductive health and rights at the National Partnership for Women & Families, told 404 Media. 'Especially for women of color who are already over-surveilled and over-policed, the stakes couldn't be higher.' 'Texas is the land of freedom,' Governor Greg Abbott recently proclaimed. If you're a woman in Texas, however, 'freedom' seems to have quite a strange definition. Not only are you not allowed freedom over your reproductive decisions, a number of Texas city councils (some of which are composed entirely of male lawmakers) have been trying to pass travel bans that would stop Texans from driving to abortion appointments in other states. Abortion bans, attempted travel bans, and a network of surveillance technology that can be used to enforce these bans: this is what 'freedom' for women in Texas looks like. In the weeks and months after the 2023 Lahaina fire, 'one in six female fire survivors surveyed felt forced to engage in sexual acts in exchange for basic necessities such as food, clothing and housing', reports Nina Lakhani. 'Sexual violence has become so widespread in Darfur that many people chillingly speak about it as unavoidable,' Médecins Sans Frontières states in a horrifying update on the crisis. 'While Saudi Arabia celebrates being awarded the Fifa men's World Cup and meticulously promotes itself on the global stage as reformed, women who have dared to publicly call for more rights and freedoms have faced house arrest, jail and exile,' the Guardian reports. Saudi Arabia, it should be noted, has had a lot of help promoting itself as 'reformed' by the US media, which has run numerous puff pieces on Mohammed bin Salman – also known as the 'bone saw' prince. She was watering flowers when she was killed in an airstrike. The charred bodies of seven of Dr. Alaa al-Najjar's 10 children arrived at her hospital. Two others, including a seven-month-old, remain missing, presumably under the rubble. Despite pretending to be outraged about the slaughter in Gaza, the UK has sent its trade envoy to Israel to boost commercial links. Meanwhile US lawmakers are cheering the killing on. The percentage of mothers reporting 'excellent' mental health dropped from 38% in 2016 to 26% in 2023. This decline was observed across nearly every socioeconomic subgroup examined. Sign up to The Week in Patriarchy Get Arwa Mahdawi's weekly recap of the most important stories on feminism and sexism and those fighting for equality after newsletter promotion Pretty sure Pauline Al Said, who has been fined for stealing more than £1,000-worth of Le Creuset cookware, steaks, wine and gin, has taken a page out of the high-society scammer Anna Delvey's book. If you can grift your way to viral fame and a Netflix series then crime really does pay! (This should not be read as encouragement to do crime.) The lyrics include the following: 'Kathryn Bromwich from the Guardian states that Trans people make up roughly 0.5% of the UK population and are twice as likely to be victims of crime than cis people.' Nash told Attitude that she came out with the song because of JK Rowling's anti-trans activism. 'I just wanted it to be on record, in music history and in feminist history, for there to be somebody else in culture that is saying that I just don't believe that's feminism,' Nash told Attitude. The Euphoria actor, who has spoken out about being objectified by fans, is now selling soap made with her used bathwater. Un-brie-lievable. Here you go! You're welcome. Doug the Pug, a canine influencer with millions of followers, has received an honorary degree from the University of New Haven in Connecticut in 'Furensic Science'. He's already got an unofficial dogtorate in cuteness. Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
