Happy International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste - Sustainable lifestyle Challenge by Sofonie Dala. Day 2

Celebrating the 2nd International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, it is day 2!

Did you know that food loss and waste generates 8-10% of greenhouse gas emissions?

Reducing food waste at home is one of the best ways to transform your climate impact. Please use all your food. 

^{Our everyday motto is: "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.}

^{When it comes to nature and biodiversity, lifestyles have a huge impact – especially around} what we eat.

Our guest today will tell us about her diet, based on edible and medicinal plants and why does she throw the leftover away.

The video illustrates that people are unaware of how much they harm the environment by throwing food away. 

When food is thrown out, it eventually makes its way to landfills (which can themselves be a problem for the environment). Food that ends up in landfills produces a large amount of methane – a more powerful greenhouse gas than even CO2.

Exclusive interview with someone who throws leftover food

Good afternoon ma'am! 

Good afternoon. 

How are you doing? 

I'm fine, thanks. 

What are you doing now? 

I'm collecting kassava leaves. 

Is it a specific type of food? 

Yes it is. The cassava plants are very nutrients. I eat the leaves, the root that is cassava and the flour.

Talk about your lifestyle. Do you live a sustainable lifestyle?

I do not think so.

What do you eat?

Pap, rice, beans, spaghetti, bread, etc.

What type of drink do you consume?

Soda, juice and water.

When you finish eating, do you leave food on your plate?

Not always.

When you leave food on the plate where do you put it?

I feed animals, cats, dogs and  sometimes I throw them away.

Did you know that throwing food is harmful to the environment?

No I did not know.

Could you tell us what is the problem plaguing your country that bothers you so much that you would like it to be changed?

Poverty. There are many people dying of hunger, many street children begging. This is a big problem the country has.

The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste is an opportunity to call to action both the public (national or local authorities) and the private sector (businesses and individuals), to prioritise actions and move ahead with innovation to reduce food loss and waste towards restoring and building back better and resilient-ready, food systems.

Why is it important to reduce food loss and waste?

Globally, around 14 per cent of food produced is lost between harvest and retail, while an estimated 17 per cent of total global food production is wasted (11 per cent in households, 5 per cent in the food service and 2 per cent in retail).

Food loss and waste undermine the sustainability of our food systems. When food is lost or wasted, all the resources that were used to produce this food -, including water, land, energy, labour and capital - go to waste. In addition, the disposal of food loss and waste in landfills, leads to greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to climate change. Food loss and waste can also negatively impact food security and food availability, and contribute to increasing the cost of food.

Our food systems cannot be resilient if they are not sustainable. With nine years left to reach SDG goal 12, target 12.3; there is an urgent need to accelerate action to reduce food loss and waste. 

Key messages

There is never room for food loss and waste!  

Reducing food loss and waste, provides a powerful means to strengthen the sustainability of our food systems, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve planetary health. 

Recovery and redistribution make good use of surplus food and contribute to improving access to food for the food insecure, preventing food waste and ensuring economic, environmental and social benefits.  

Household food waste is a global challenge – occurring at comparable per person levels regardless of region or country income levels. Behavioural insights can help reduce waste at consumer level.

Measuring food loss and waste helps countries and companies to understand the scale of the problem, target hotspots, and track progress on Sustainable. 

Development Goal 12.3, halving food waste and reducing food loss across supply chains by 2030.

R Kelly accusers rejoice after singer convicted of sex trafficking

Accusers of R Kelly celebrated on Monday night after the disgraced star was convicted in Brooklyn federal court of multiple sex trafficking charges.

Wrexham neighbours rally round woman, 98, after burglary

Neighbours have presented a 98-year-old woman with gifts, after she was confronted by three burglars in her home.

The woman challenged the intruders before they escaped empty-handed from her house on Camberley Drive in Wrexham nearly two weeks ago.

North Wales Police said she was not injured, but the break-in would have “some physiological impact” on her.

Neighbours set up a fundraiser to “restore a little faith in humanity”.

Aided by local councillor Becca Martin and Acton Community Council, flowers were sent to the woman, along with an afternoon tea and shopping vouchers.

‘Rallied round’

Ms Martin said: “The community came together after hearing the story and everybody rallied round.

“Because of her age, you’d hate to think of something like that happening to your grandparents.

“Some of the local residents wanted to donate or do something nice and asked if I’d mind setting it up as a central point of contact.

“I love how the community has rallied round.”

IMAGE SOURCE,LDRS

image caption,The woman received shopping vouchers, an afternoon tea and flowers

Police said the “brief confrontation” happened after the woman overheard the intruders throwing furniture around in an attempt to find valuable items.

After the incident, Insp Luke Hughes said: “I am absolutely shocked and appalled that this disgusting offence took place.

“How dare you prey on an elderly victim in this way – you need to know that we will do all that we possibly can to locate you and ensure you get the appropriate justice.

“You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

North Wales Police said its inquiries into the incident were ongoing and no arrests have been made.

Anyone with information has been asked to contact the force.

…………………………………………………

‘First signs of stabilisation’ in fuel supply crisis, says Shapps, urging people to return to ‘normal buying habits’

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says the sooner people return to their normal habits and stop panic buying petrol and diesel, the sooner the fuel supply emergency will start to ease, as he acknowledges Brexit as a factor in the crisis.

The first “very tentative signs of stabilisation” are being seen on petrol forecourts, the transport secretary has said, following days of long queues and closed pumps at some filling stations across the country.

G

Grant Shapps said the sooner people returned to their normal habits and stopped panic buying petrol and diesel, the sooner the fuel supply crisis would start to ease.

He said queues are likely to continue in the coming days, but fuel levels on forecourts are beginning to increase.

“A lot of petrol is now being transferred into people’s cars and there are now the first very tentative signs of stabilisation in the forecourt storage which won’t be reflected in the queues as yet, but it’s the first time we’ve seen more petrol in the petrol stations itself,” said the cabinet minister.

“The sooner we can all return to our normal buying habits, the sooner the situation will return to normal.

“We all need to play our part and certainly don’t do things like bring water bottles to petrol stations, it is dangerous and extremely unhelpful.”

Responding to criticism that government action – such as putting the Army on standby to deliver fuel where it is needed the most – has been slow, the cabinet minister said “numerous different measures” had been put in place since April to remedy the supply crisis which has been caused by a shortage of fuel tanker drivers.

Denying the government had ignored warnings for months about a looming driver shortage, Mr Shapps said: “We have already put 18 different steps in place, which I should say stretch right the way back to the spring.”

He said as a result of the measures put in place the system was just about coping until last weekend, and would have continued to, but for the “stampede” in panic buying.

“Unfortunately, as we have seen with toilet rolls and other things, once people start to pursue a particular item it can quickly escalate… There is almost nothing you can do to the supply system to prevent it,” he said.

“But there is only so much petrol you can transfer into tanks. That is starting to work its way through.”

Mr Shapps said the primary cause of the shortages had been the cancellation of HGV driver testing last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, which he said had delayed 30,000 drivers from taking their tests.

However, he also acknowledged the role of Brexit in the crisis for the first time.

“Brexit I hear mentioned a lot and it no doubt will have been a factor,” he said.

“On the other hand, it has actually helped us to change rules to be able to test more drivers more quickly. So, it has actually worked in both ways.”

Army tanker drivers have been put on a state of readiness should they need to be deployed to ease the chaos on fuel supply chains.

Motorists are still facing long queues at filling stations, with fights reportedly breaking out on some forecourts as petrol pumps run dry and limits on sales are imposed.

Under the government’s emergency 10-point plan for dealing with fuel crises, fuel sales could be rationed and forecourt opening hours limited to try and tackle panic buying.

There have been calls for key workers including healthcare staff and teachers to be given priority access to petrol pumps, as desperate drivers are held-up in mile-long queues at stations.

The British Medical Association has warned essential services could be hit and the NASUWT teachers’ union has said there is a risk of further disruption to children’s education – if staff are unable to get to work.

Despite government appeals to motorists to fill up as normal, the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) said on Tuesday there is little sign of that happening – with social media driving the dash to the pumps.

“As soon as the tanker arrives at a filling station people on social media are advising that a tanker has arrived and it is like bees to a honeypot,” its chairman Brian Madderson told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

“Everyone flocks there and within a few hours it is out again.”

…………………………………………

Haiti polls postponed after electoral body is dissolved

General elections scheduled for November in Haiti have been postponed indefinitely after the country’s prime minister dismissed all members of the body which organises elections.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry said he would appoint a new electoral council, but has not said when he would do so.

It is the fourth time the election has been postponed.

Haiti has been torn apart by a fierce power struggle triggered by the killing of President Jovenel Moïse in July.

Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who was named by President Moïse just two days before the killing, ordered the dissolution of the nine-member Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) on Monday.

A decree to that effect was published in Haiti’s official gazette.

What role does the council play?

The Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) is Haiti’s electoral commission and the body responsible for organising presidential and parliamentary elections.

Its role includes ensuring that elections are held feely and fairly.

The most recent controversy involving the CEP started in July 2020, when all nine members of the CEP resigned.

They did so in protest at attempts by then-President Moïse to change the 1987 constitution to strengthen the role of the presidency and lessen that of parliament.

IMAGE SOURCE,AFP

image captionThe CEP organises and schedules elections

President Moïse wanted to put those changes to the Haitian people in a referendum, which would have fallen to the CEP to organise.

But the CEP members argued that Haiti’s 1987 constitution did not allow the use of a referendum to change the constitution, and stepped down rather than organise a referendum they deemed unconstitutional.

President Moïse then proceeded to appoint nine new members to the CEP but Haiti’s Supreme Court refused to swear them in, arguing that their appointment had been “irregular”.

The president bypassed the Supreme Court and proceeded with the instalment of his chosen CEP but questions about its legitimacy has dogged its members ever since.

What about the elections?

Earlier this year, the CEP had scheduled the constitutional referendum and the parliamentary and presidential elections for 26 September 2021.

But following the killing of President Moïse by mercenaries on 7 July, the polls were postponed to 7 November.

• .Haiti president’s assassination: What we know so far

Following the dismissal of all the CEP’s members on Monday, new CEP members will have to be appointed and a new election date set.

Prime Minister Henry did not set a deadline for the instalment of a new CEP, but only said that “sufficient time” would be allowed for its members to be chosen.

What next?

The CEP was deeply unpopular with many Haitians and the dismissal of its members has been welcomed by some.

André Michel of the opposition grouping Popular and Democratic Sector, described it on Twitter as “an important step” which would open the door to the appointment of a new “credible and legitimate” CEP.

But the renewed delay of the elections is also likely to throw Haiti into even more uncertainty at a time of extreme crisis.

Not only is the country without a president, it is also recovering from a devastating earthquake in August which killed more than 2,200 people.

IMAGE SOURCE,EPA

image caption Opposition spokesman André Michel welcomed the dismissal of the CEP members

While the constitutional referendum proposed by the late President Moïse was unpopular with many, there was general agreement that general elections needed to be held as soon as possible – not just to replace Mr Moïse, but also to have a functioning legislative.

The mandates of the members of parliament expired in January 2020 and, before his killing, Mr Moïse had been ruling by decree.

The situation in the Senate is not much better, where only 10 out of 30 senators still have a valid mandate.

……………………………………………

Patrick George Zaki: Egypt rights activist goes on trial over article

Patrick George Zaki is a researcher on gender issues for the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR).

He was arrested in February 2020 at Cairo airport upon his return from Italy, where he had been studying.

He denies the charge and local rights groups say he is being prosecuted simply for expressing his opinion.

Italy’s government has urged Egyptian authorities to release Mr Zaki, but it has so far resisted formal calls by lawmakers to grant him Italian citizenship out of concern that it could have a negative effect on his case.

Relations between the two countries have been strained since the Italian student Giulio Regeni was kidnapped, tortured and murdered in Cairo five years ago. A judge in Rome said in May that four senior Egyptian security officials should face trial over the killing.

• ‘Tortured’ student’s plight drawn by street artist
• Egypt accused of extrajudicial executions cover-up

Mr Zaki had been studying for a master’s degree in Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Bologna when he decided to return to Egypt for a short family visit.

The 30-year-old’s lawyers said he was detained at Cairo International Airport by the National Security Agency and held him incommunicado for 24 hours.

The lawyers also alleged that he was allegedly subjected to torture, including with electric shocks, while being questioned about his activism and the EIPR, which is one of Egypt’s leading human rights organisations. The Egyptian government has denied that security forces torture or mistreat detainees.

The following day, prosecutors in the Nile Delta city of Mansoura ordered Mr Zaki’s detention pending investigation on terrorism-related charges.

Mr Zaki was eventually indicted on charges of “spreading false news inside and outside of the country”, based on an opinion piece published on the Daraj news website in July 2019.

The EIPR said the article – entitled Displacement, Killing and Restriction: A Week’s Diaries of Egypt’s Copts – described his experiences as a Coptic Egyptian and his views on current events affecting the religious minority.

Mr Zaki pleaded not guilty to the charge during a brief hearing at a state security court in Mansoura on 14 September, when the judge decided to postpone the trial for two weeks, according to the EIPR.

The EIPR and nine other human rights organisations had said in a joint statement issued the previous day that Mr Zaki was being detained “without legal justification” and that his trial represented “an infringement on the rights of all Egyptians to freedom of expression, and the rights of Christian Egyptians in particular to demand their right to equality both socially and in front of the law”.

They added that they could not “ignore the irony” that the trial came after the launch of the government’s human rights strategy, during which President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi called for all beliefs to be respected.

Mr Sisi led the military’s overthrow of Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohammed Morsi, in 2013 following mass protests. Since then, he has overseen what rights groups say is an unprecedented crackdown on dissent that has led to the detention of tens of thousands of people.

……………………………………………………

R. Kelly: The history of allegations against him

For more than two decades, R&B singer R. Kelly had faced allegations of sexual abuse.

The accounts went back to the start of his career in the 1990s, with many centring on the predatory pursuit of teenage girls.

He has now been found guilty of eight counts of sex trafficking and one of racketeering in a New York court and will be sentenced in May.

Kelly is separately facing trial in Chicago on child sex images and obstruction charges. He is also due to face sex abuse charges in Illinois and Minnesota.

Kelly was himself the victim of child sex abuse, and detailed in his autobiography how he was raped by a female family member when he was eight years old.

Here is a history of the accusations against him.

1994: Marries Aaliyah

The star, then aged 27, wed 15-year-old singer Aaliyah at a secret ceremony in Chicago.

Vibe magazine later discovered Aaliyah had lied about her age on the wedding certificate, listing herself as 18. The marriage was annulled in February 1995.

A former tour manager for Kelly testified at his trial that he bribed a government worker in 1994 to obtain a fake ID for Aaliyah – so the singers could marry.

For the rest of her career, Aaliyah dodged questions about the nature of her relationship. “When people ask me, I tell them, ‘Hey, don’t believe all that mess,'” she told one interviewer. “We’re close and people took it the wrong way.”

IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES

image caption,Kelly wrote and produced Aaliyah’s debut album, calling it Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number

Kelly rarely spoke about Aaliyah after she died in a plane crash in 2001. She is not mentioned in his autobiography, where an author’s note explains “certain episodes could not be included for complicated reasons”.

In a 2016 interview with GQ magazine, he described their relationship as “best, best, best, best friends”, but declined to comment on their marriage, saying: “I will never have that conversation with anyone. Out of respect for Aaliyah, and her mother and father who have asked me not to personally.”

1996: Sued for emotional distress

Tiffany Hawkins sued R. Kelly for the “personal injuries and emotional distress” she suffered during a three-year relationship with the star.

In court documents, she said she began having sex with Kelly in 1991, when she was 15 and he was 24, and the relationship ended when she turned 18. According to the Chicago Sun Times, Ms Hawkins sought $10m in damages but accepted a fraction of that amount ($250,000) when the case was settled in 1998.

Kelly’s spokeswoman said she had “no knowledge” of the accusations.

IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES

image caption,Kelly continued to release successful songs, and win major awards, as accusations accumulated around him

2001: Sued by intern

Tracy Sampson sued R. Kelly, accusing him of inducing her “into an indecent sexual relationship” when she was 17.

The woman, a former intern at Epic Records, said she was “treated as his personal sex object and cast aside”.

“He often tried to control every aspect of my life including who I would see and where I would go,” she said. The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum, according to the New York Post.

April/May 2002: Two more court cases

Kelly is sued by Patrice Jones, a Chicago woman who claimed he impregnated her when she was under age, and that she was forced to have an abortion.

Montina Woods also sued Kelly, alleging that he videotaped them having sex without her knowledge. The recording was allegedly circulated on a “sex tape” sold by bootleggers under the title R. Kelly Triple-X.

The star settled both cases out of court, paying undisclosed sums in return for non-disclosure agreements.

June 2002: Charged over child abuse videos

The star is charged with 21 counts of making child sexual abuse videos involving various sexual acts.

Chicago police accused him of taping the acts and enticing a minor to participate in them. All the charges related to one girl, born in September 1984.

His arrest stemmed from a video that was sent anonymously to the Chicago Sun Times earlier in the year. They passed it on to police, who verified its authenticity with help from FBI forensic experts.

Kelly, who posted $750,000 bail, immediately denied the charges in an interview with MTV and later pleaded not guilty in court.

It took six years for the case to come to trial, during which time Kelly released his wildly successful Trapped In The Closet album and was nominated for an Image Award by the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), prompting widespread criticism.

The jury eventually concluded they could not prove that the girl on the tape was a minor, and Kelly was found not guilty on all counts.

2002-2004: Arrest prompts further charges

Kelly was charged with a further 12 counts of producing child sexual abuse images in Florida, where he was arrested at his holiday home.

These charges came after police seized a camera during the arrest, which allegedly contained images of the star having sex with an underage girl.

The charges were dropped when a judge agreed with Kelly’s defence team that police lacked sufficient evidence to justify a search.

2017: Allegations of a “cult”

A long and detailed Buzzfeed report accused R. Kelly of trapping six women in a sex “cult”.

The article alleged that Kelly seduced young women when they approached him for help with their music careers, before taking control of their lives – dictating “what they eat, how they dress, when they bathe, when they sleep, and how they engage in sexual encounters that he records”.

The star also confiscated the women’s mobile phones, the report said, barring contact with friends and family.

The allegations came from three former employees and the parents of several women, who said their daughters had all but vanished.

2017-2018: Victims approach the press

Buzzfeed’s report prompted further allegations.

Jerhonda Pace broke a non-disclosure agreement to speak about having sex with Kelly while she was underage. Another woman, Kitti Jones, claimed the star starved her, coerced her into sexual encounters with other women and physically abused her. Ms Pace would go on to testify against Kelly in the 2021 trial.

Ms Kitti, along with other members of R. Kelly’s inner circle, also spoke to a BBC Three documentary in March 2018. One former friend and collaborator, Lovell Jones, said Kelly asked him to scout out women “that looked young” at parties, and claimed that it was “common knowledge” that the singer preferred young girls.

2018: #MuteRKelly, staff departures and new court case

The #MuteRKelly campaign lobbied record label RCA to sever ties with the singer. They also targeted concert promoters, ticket sellers and streaming services – with Spotify, Apple Music and Pandora all agreeing to demote Kelly’s songs from their playlists (a decision that was later reversed).

Around the same time, the star’s lawyer, publicist and personal assistant all quit – although attorney Linda Mensch said her departure was “unrelated to any allegations related to Mr Kelly’s social life”.

Kelly continued to perform live despite protests outside his shows, and was filmed saying the campaign against him was “too late”.

“Only God can mute me,” he sang defiantly on a song called I Admit. “Am I supposed to go to jail or lose my career because of your opinion?”

Meanwhile, the star was sued by a former partner who said he “intentionally” infected her with a sexually transmitted disease.

2019: New documentary leads to charges

Over the course of six hour-long episodes, Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly presented the most comprehensive look yet at the allegations against the musician.

Two weeks after the programme was broadcast, Kelly was dropped by his record company. Planned concerts in the US and New Zealand were cancelled.

In February, celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti said he had obtained a video showing Kelly having sex with a 14-year-old girl. Weeks later, the star was charged in Chicago with 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. He pleaded not guilty and gave a histrionic TV interview.

Prosecutors later filed an additional 11 charges of sexual assault and abuse against a minor aged between 13 and 16.

The charging documents described sex and oral sex with a minor “by the use of force or threat of force”. The accuser was thought to be one of the women featured in Surviving R. Kelly, who said she met the singer during a previous trial.

July 2019: Sex Trafficking charges

IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS

image caption,R. Kelly appears for a hearing at Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago, Illinois, on 26 June

Kelly was hit with two separate federal indictments in Illinois and Brooklyn.

Combined, the allegations depicted an organised effort from the star and his associates to recruit and transport underage girls over state lines for illegal sexual purposes, including the production of child sex abuse images, as well as conspiracy to obstruct justice by destroying evidence and bribing or threatening witnesses.

August 2019: Bail denied

Appearing in court in New York, the star pleaded not guilty, but was denied bail on the grounds that he posed a flight risk.

Days later, prosecutors in Minnesota filed prostitution charges against the star, meaning he faced criminal cases in three US states.

The star’s application for bail was denied by a federal judge in Brooklyn. Magistrate Judge Steven L Tiscione said he was “extremely troubled” by the potential for witness tampering.

March 2020: Trial delayed

Kelly’s Chicago trial was delayed by six months, after prosecutors seized more than 100 electronic devices including smartphones, iPads and hard drives from a storage facility holding the star’s tour equipment.

Prosecutors also updated the charges against the star, to “add yet another victim” to the list of allegations. The new victim, referred to as “Minor Six”, met Kelly in the late 1990s at the age of 14 or 15.

Kelly pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

August 2020: Witness tampering

In August, three of Kelly’s associates were charged with attempting to intimidate, harass or pay off alleged victims in the racketeering case.

Prosecutors said one victim was offered $500,000 (£376,300) to buy her silence, although no money was ultimately exchanged. Another was threatened with the release of sexually explicit photos, and a third woke up to find her car had been set alight in her driveway.

The charges, filed in New York, did not indicate whether Kelly authorised the actions – and the star’s lawyer denied any involvement.

August-September 2020: Prison assault

Towards the end of August, Kelly was attacked in his sleep by a fellow inmate in Chicago’s Metropolitan Correctional Centre.

The star’s lawyer called for his immediate release, saying “the government cannot ensure his safety”. However, the request – along with numerous other attempts to get Kelly released on bail – was denied.

June 2021: Legal team replaced

Two months before his trial was due to begin, Kelly’s long-term lawyers asked to withdraw from the case.

Steve Greenberg and Michael Leonard said it was “impossible” to work alongside a pair of new lawyers the star had hired.

August 2021: Aaliyah relationship confirmed

In the last pre-trial hearing before Kelly’s trial, US District Judge Ann M Donnelly made a series of rulings to narrow down what evidence could be shown to jurors.

During the hearing, she asked one of the singer’s lawyers whether they denied the star had sexual relations with Aaliyah while she was underage.

According to the Associated Press, Thomas A Farinella “let out a deep sigh and responded, ‘No.'”

August-September 2021: Trial and guilty verdict

The trial began on 18 August in New York.

Read more about the trial:

• The testimony that convicted R. Kelly
• R Kelly trial: A look at the key moments

On 27 September, following two days of deliberation, the jury found the US star guilty on all nine counts.

Sentencing is due on 4 May and the disgraced 54-year-old could end up spending decades behind bars.

Gloria Allred, a lawyer who represented several victims, told reporters: “I’ve been practising law for 47 years. During this time, I’ve pursued many sexual predators who have committed crimes against women and children.

“Of all the predators that I have pursued, Mr Kelly is the worst.”

………………………………………………………………