AMMO, Inc. Investors: Please contact the Portnoy Law Firm to recover your losses. November 29, 2024 Deadline to file Lead Plaintiff MotionJillian Kestler-D’Amours Jude Chery has heard talk of armed gangs for most of his life. The 30-year-old Haitian activist remembers that he started to learn the names of powerful gang leaders even as a child in primary school. In the decades since, new gangs have formed, and new gang leaders — including some with international profiles — have taken over, as Haiti experienced multiple waves of political upheaval and uncertainty. Now, the Caribbean nation is in the grips of a period of deadly gang violence and instability that many Haitians say is the worst they have ever seen. Yet for Haiti’s children — the millions caught in the crossfire, no longer able to attend school, or pushed to join the armed gangs amid crippling poverty — the situation is especially dire. The United Nations child rights agency UNICEF estimates that between 30 and 50 percent of the country’s gang members are now children. “Our youth should be worrying about how to study, how to innovate, how to do research, how to contribute to society,” Chery told Al Jazeera in a phone interview from the capital Port-au-Prince. “But us in Haiti, we have other worries as youth: It’s about what to eat. Can I go outside today? We live each day, 24 hours a day, hoping to see tomorrow.” ‘Institutional limbo’ For decades, armed gangs with connections to Haiti’s political and business elites have used violence to gain control of territory and exert pressure on their rivals. With funding from wealthy backers, as well as money gathered through drug trafficking, kidnappings and other illicit activities, Haiti’s gangs filled a void caused by years of political instability and accrued power. But it was the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise that created an opening for the gangs to strengthen their authority. No federal elections have been held in years, and faith in the state has plummeted. Haiti continues to undergo a shaky political transition, as it seeks to fill the power vacuum created by Moise’s killing. But experts say the gangs — now believed to control at least 80 percent of Port-au-Prince — have become even more emboldened. The gangs are “probably stronger than ever”, said Romain Le Cour, a senior expert at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, a research group in Geneva. They have maintained their firepower as well as territorial and economic strength even as a United Nations-backed, multinational police force led by Kenya was deployed earlier this year to try to restore stability, he explained. This month, the gangs again captured global attention after passenger planes were hit by gunfire at the airport in Port-au-Prince, prompting international airlines to suspend flights into the city and isolating the country further. The incidents came amid an internal power struggle. On November 11, Haiti’s transitional presidential council, which is tasked with rebuilding Haitian democracy, abruptly dismissed the country’s interim prime minister and appointed a replacement, highlighting ongoing political dysfunction. Against that backdrop, Le Cour told Al Jazeera that the gangs’ propaganda has been especially effective. Haitian political leaders as well as international bodies have so far failed to stem the violence, which has paralysed large swaths of Port-au-Prince. Hundreds of thousands of people are displaced, and the country faces a humanitarian crisis. The gangs are able “to capitalise on their discourse”, Le Cour said, “that the government, the state, the international community, everybody is unwilling, unable, incapable of ... doing anything to take Haiti forward. “Their argument resonates so deeply right now because, in front of them, there is no one left.” Out of school, out of options That stark reality has pushed some Haitian children and youth, particularly from impoverished areas of Port-au-Prince and communities under gang control, to join the armed groups. Some enlist under threats of violence against them and their families, while others hope to get money, food or a means of protection. Often, they join simply because they have no alternatives. Children carry out a variety of tasks within the gangs, from acting as lookouts to taking part in attacks or transporting drugs, weapons and ammunition. Girls are also recruited to clean and cook for gang members. Many are subjected to rape and sexual violence as a means of control. Robert Fatton, a professor at the University of Virginia and an expert on Haiti, said for youth in the country’s slums, “there is a certain appeal to [becoming] a big man with a weapon”. “It gives you a sense, to put it crudely, of ‘manhood’ and a sense that you can do something with your life — however violent that might be,” he told Al Jazeera. But Fatton said socioeconomic hardships are a large part of the reason children and youth end up participating in armed groups. “There are no jobs. They are stuck in poverty. They live in horrible conditions, so the gangs are the alternative.” Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere. In 2021, the UN Development Programme estimated (PDF) that more than six million Haitians lived below the poverty line and survived on less than $2.41 a day. The recent surge in violence has made a dire situation worse. More than 700,000 people have been displaced from their homes, while access to healthcare, food and other basic services is severely limited. Half of those who have been displaced in recent months are children, according to the UN. In late September, the World Food Programme also said that about 5.4 million Haitians faced acute hunger, with children particularly hard hit. One in six Haitian kids now lives “one step away from famine”, the humanitarian nonprofit Save the Children said. Meanwhile, more than 900 schools have been forced to close, leaving hundreds of thousands of children out of the classroom. The UN’s humanitarian agency said these kids face a heightened risk of gang recruitment and could “experience ‘lost years’, growing up without the skills needed for their future and survival”. “I’ve never seen a deeper crisis in Haiti in my life,” Fatton said of the overall situation befalling the country. Noting that he grew up during the rule of Haitian dictators Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier and his son Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, he added: “I don’t think the situation even in those dark days is as bad as now.” Challenge of reintegration Yet despite these challenges, Haitian rights advocates are trying to support children in need. Emmanuel Camille heads KPTSL, a group that defends the rights of Haitian children. He painted a dire picture of daily life for all children in the country, from a lack of access to education, food and healthcare, to a general absence of safety and security. “In terms of education, health, nutrition, social justice,” he told Al Jazeera, “I can say that we’re dragging children into hell.” Camille said trying to get children out of armed groups is especially challenging. The first step, he explained, is to get them and their families out of their physical environment — the neighbourhood, town or city, for instance, where they fell in with armed groups. “We need to sever the link between the child and their previous environment to hopefully give them a better life,” he said. But relocation alone will not solve the problem. The children also need a re-education plan tailored to their specific needs, as well as psychological support and economic assistance for their families, Camille said. In 2019, Chery himself founded a volunteer group called AVRED-Haiti to help support the reintegration of people who spent time in prison, including youth who had served in gangs. He also said reintegration is difficult when children go back to their homes in gang-controlled areas: Most end up going back to stealing or rejoining an armed group. “There’s nothing we can do about it because they have other concerns that we can’t address,” he told Al Jazeera. Chery added that “the best way to fight insecurity or banditry in Haiti” is for the state to address the basic needs of its citizens: food, housing, employment and poverty. “That would bring many more solutions in the long term.” Urgency grows The need to address those root causes appears more urgent than ever as Haiti plunges deeper into catastrophe. The UN warned on Wednesday that at least 150 people were killed, 92 were injured and about 20,000 others were forcibly displaced in a single week amid violent confrontations between armed gang members and Haitian police. In one particularly violent episode, gang members launched a coordinated attack on the Port-au-Prince suburb of Petion-Ville. Police fought back alongside armed residents — some part of a vigilante movement known as Bwa Kale — and more than two dozen suspected gang members were killed. Camille said two child gang members who attended activities organised by KPTSL were among the casualties. They were aged eight and 17. “At all levels, there needs to be justice — very strong justice — to change this situation,” he said of the crisis Haiti faces. “All we want is to offer children a chance,” Camille added. “Right now, children are living like adults. They don’t have a life. They aren’t treated like human beings.” Courtesy: aljazeera
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Asahi Kasei receives governmental support to expand manufacturing capacity for green hydrogen production equipment in Japan Asahi Kasei has received governmental support for the expansion of its manufacturing capacity for cell frames and membranes of alkaline water electrolyzers for the production of green hydrogen at its plant site in Kawasaki, Japan. The purpose is to establish a stable domestic manufacturing supply chain for technologies that contribute to achieving the country’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. Driven by expectations for green hydrogen as a clean energy alternative to fossil fuels, the annual installed capacity of water electrolyzers globally is forecasted to reach 31 GW by 2030. As such, the manufacturing capacity for electrolyzers and related components needs to be scaled up in order to keep pace with the expanding demand for the production of hydrogen. For decades, Japan has been a leader in the field of technology for hydrogen production and utilization. Green hydrogen is one important cornerstone of the country’s “Green Transformation (GX)” strategy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. As one part of this strategy, the “GX Supply Chain Construction Support Project” aims at establishing a world’s first domestic manufacturing supply chain for cutting-edge technologies that will contribute to achieving Japan’s climate goals, while nurturing economic growth. Increasing annual production capacity to 2 GW Asahi Kasei is a comprehensive manufacturer and provider of alkaline water electrolyzers for the production of hydrogen. Within the abovementioned governmental program, Asahi Kasei proposed to build new plants for both cell frames and membranes for electrolysis having manufacturing capacity of at least 2 GW each at the company’s plant site in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, by 2028. On December 18, the Japanese Government adopted this proposal for financial support. The total capital investment for this project is estimated to be approximately ¥35 billion, and Asahi Kasei expects to receive a subsidy of up to ¥11.4 billion through this initiative. Including the current manufacturing capacity for Asahi Kasei’s ion-exchange membrane chlor-alkali electrolysis process, this expansion will raise the company’s total annual capacity for cell frames and membranes to more than 3 GW. Asahi Kasei aims to create synergies between its two electrolysis businesses by establishing a system that can respond to both the uncertain expansion of the hydrogen market and the growing demand in the chlor-alkali electrolysis business, which has earned a high level of trust and market share from customers around the world. , Lead Executive Officer of Asahi Kasei and Senior General Manager of its Green Solution Project, comments : “Looking ahead to the huge market that will emerge from a new hydrogen ecosystem while anticipating market expansion toward 2030, we aim to build the world’s largest water electrolysis equipment manufacturing capacity and supply system through further capital investment and alliances with partners built through existing businesses, including overseas. Through these efforts, we aim for a 20% share of the world’s major water electrolysis equipment markets, primarily in Europe, North America, and India, by around 2030, which will contribute to strengthening the green hydrogen supply base worldwide while raising the industrial competitiveness of Japan in the field of hydrogen.” Executive Officer of Asahi Kasei responsible for Ion Exchange Membranes, Microza & Water Processing, and Green Solution Project Business Development, comments : “Establishing a stable manufacturing supply chain for green hydrogen is another major step towards realizing a hydrogen society. We will work with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), which is promoting GX to the fullest extent, to become a leading global supplier in the field of water electrolysis, while leveraging our strong network in the ion-exchange membrane industry.” the latest news shaping the hydrogen market at Asahi Kasei receives governmental support to expand manufacturing capacity for green hydrogen production equipment in Japan, India-born Avaada Group Commits $12bn to Transform Rajasthan into a Global Renewable Energy Hub – Green Hydrogen and Ammonia included MUMBAI, India, Dec. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Avaada Group, a leading name... Solar step forward for green hydrogen Another advance has been made by experts in nano-scale chemistry to propel further development of sustainable and efficient generation of hydrogen from water using solar power. In a... Green Hydrogen Prices Will Remain Stubbornly High for Decades (Bloomberg) — Green hydrogen has been touted by politicians and business leaders alike as a key fuel for a carbon-free future. But it will remain far...
In an NBA Christmas tradition unlike any other, Wednesday saw ESPN’s Shams Charania kick off the league’s annual holiday showcase by reporting that Jimmy Butler wants out of Miami — but, importantly, did not go so far as to say Butler is “demanding” a trade, which may save the Heat star from getting fined by Adam Silver. But NBA stars wanting to change teams is nothing new. The twist in this saga is that in general, their organizations do not respond publicly to such rumors. In that respect, the Heat may have just given us a first for the league on the day after Christmas: A team posting a statement from their social media accounts in which their team president (in this case, Pat Riley) directly shoots down said trade rumors: Statement from Pat Riley "We usually don't comment on rumors, but all this speculation has become a distraction to the team and is not fair to the players and coaches. Therefore, we will make it clear - We are not trading Jimmy Butler." For those of you keeping score at home, that is now both the team (the Heat) and the agent for Butler (Bernie Lee) firing back at Shams’ reporting on this saga publicly despite — at least in theory — being on opposite sides in this dispute. The funniest part of this, though, despite its lack of real precedence, is that this somehow isn’t even the most unhinged quote Pat Riley has ever had the Heat issue to the press on his behalf. That honor will always go to his statement about Danny Ainge after the latter commented on then-Heat star LeBron James’ officiating complaints: Message from Pat Riley: " Danny Ainge needs to STFU." Yes, this is real. Delivered by Heat spokesman Tim Donovan. So if Shams doubles down on his reporting again, we know Riles is ready to escalate and put some four-letter words on Miami Heat letterhead, so the league’s lead insider better watch out. But why did Riley put this out now? Here’s the context... The Jimmy Butler trade rumors were starting to become a distraction for the Heat Riley’s statement comes amidst other Heat stakeholders starting to get asked about all the rumors around Butler’s status, Erik Spoelstra in response to the ongoing speculation around Jimmy Butler: “You have to compartmentalize in this business. We want Jimmy here. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. And it’s just unfortunate that you have to control or deal with a lot of the noise on the... pic.twitter.com/wt5TjpeEbz Bam Adebayo on the ongoing Jimmy Butler trade speculation: “You go out there and you win games. That’s how you keep the distractions out. You go out there and win games, do it together. They’ll handle everything behind closed doors. “Obviously, you have the business side of it.... pic.twitter.com/QENx9zhfJI With that in mind, it makes sense that Riley would try to quiet the noise around his team as they try to scratch and claw to remain above play-in territory in the Eastern Conference (they are currently in sixth place with a 14-13 overall record heading into a matchup with the Orlando Magic on Thursday night). And this should put a stop to all the whispers, because as we all know, NBA team executives have never , ever lied, so obviously Jimmy is staying put. However, if you don’t believe Riley and the Heat here, at the very least it doesn’t seem like Butler is moving imminently, if his agent’s latest tweet is any indication: You still need me to comment or can I go back to putting together these 35 self propelling non battery toys sitting on my floor because my wife is a millennial .... https://t.co/oln8IMTq07 Being forced to work over the holidays because of a Shams Charania tweet? Maybe player agents, team PR staffers, Pat Riley and NBA bloggers have more in common than we had previously realized. Pat, I’d love to get ergonomic keyboard recommendations! Can you have the Heat issue a statement with your favorites? I’m gonna put it on my list for next year so I’m ready for 2026 trade season.
3i Group rises Friday, still underperforms market