TOPLINE A relative of a journalist working for German broadcaster Deutsche Welle has been killed as the Taliban is carrying out “door-to-door” manhunts in an effort to round up journalists and people who worked for the previous Afghan government or Western forces, a U.N. threat assessment has warned, escalating fears of reprisals despite the group vowing <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/17/transcript-of-talibans-first-press-conference-in-kabul" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">amnesty</a> for Afghans working for the previous government and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/17/taliban-seek-no-revenge-and-all-afghans-will-be-forgiven" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">independence</a> for journalists.   



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h2>



The Taliban “shot dead” and seriously injured two family members of a journalist working for DW in a door-to-door manhunt, the German broadcaster&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dw.com/en/relative-of-dw-journalist-killed-by-the-taliban/a-58912975" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;Thursday night.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The Taliban has raided the homes of at least three journalists with the broadcaster and is likely involved in the kidnapping and shooting of other journalists in Afghanistan, DW said in a statement.



DW’s director general Peter Limbourg said “it is evident that the Taliban are already carrying out organized searches for journalists” in Kabul and other provinces and urged, alongside other media organizations,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dw.com/en/dw-urges-german-government-to-help-afghan-staff/a-58890960" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">governments</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://rsf.org/en/news/rsf-seeks-un-security-council-meeting-plight-journalists-afghanistan" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">international</a>&nbsp;organizations to take swift action to ensure the safety of journalists in Afghanistan.&nbsp;



It comes as the Taliban is intensifying efforts to round up Afghan “collaborators” with suspected ties to the previous government and Western forces,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dw.com/en/taliban-hunting-down-afghans-on-blacklist-report/a-58914571" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">according</a>&nbsp;to a confidential U.N. intelligence report written by the RHIPTO Norwegian Center for Global Analyses and seen by news outlets.



Christian Nellemann, who leads the group,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/20/taliban-un-report-afghanistan-door-to-door-revenge" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">told</a>&nbsp;AFP the Taliban is “targeting the families of those who refuse to give themselves up,” prosecuting and punishing them instead in apparent accordance with Sharia law.



“We expect both individuals previously working with NATO and U.S. forces and their allies, alongside with their family members to be exposed to torture and executions,” Nellemann said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h2>



The Taliban swiftly retook Kabul and much of Afghanistan after the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2021/04/13/biden-plans-to-pull-all-troops-from-afghanistan-by-911/?sh=68b8a9492f51">withdrawal</a>&nbsp;of U.S. forces, sparking an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210816-western-powers-scramble-to-evacuate-from-afghanistan" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">exodus</a>&nbsp;of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-rescue-staff-taliban-afghanistan/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">diplomatic</a>&nbsp;staff, foreign nationals and some&nbsp;<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/8/16/taliban-says-afghanistan-war-over-as-president-diplomats-flee" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">local Afghan staff</a>. Thousands of Afghans have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/08/16/us-forces-resort-to-aerial-firing-as-chaos-unfolds-at-kabul-airport/?sh=5a8fa52565d0">crowded</a>&nbsp;Kabul airport in the aftermath of the takeover in an attempt to flee and the State Department&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2021/08/18/us-says-it-cannot-ensure-safe-passage-to-kabuls-airport-despite-taliban-pledge/?sh=4d7f64ea72b7">said</a>&nbsp;it could not guarantee Americans could reach the airport safely. NATO&nbsp;<a href="https://news.sky.com/story/afghanistan-taliban-urge-people-to-leave-kabul-airport-after-12-people-killed-there-since-sunday-12384959" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">officials</a>&nbsp;said at least 12 have died in and around the airport since Sunday. The Taliban—which brutally ruled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001 and harshly restricted rights for women and many other groups—said it would respect women’s rights “within the limits of Islam.” As with vows of amnesty, there are already reports of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/afghan-women-bankers-forced-roles-taliban-takes-control-2021-08-13/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rollbacks to women’s rights</a>&nbsp;in some cities.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/joewalsh/2021/08/17/who-runs-the-taliban-these-are-some-of-the-groups-top-leaders/?sh=5974d2a81a14">Who Runs The Taliban? These Are Some Of The Group’s Top Leaders.</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/graisondangor/2021/08/18/taliban-is-letting-un-work-continue-so-far-officials-say/?sh=23bc7aab62a5">Taliban Is Letting U.N. Work Continue So Far, Officials Say</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)



<a href="https://www.dw.com/en/taliban-hunting-down-afghans-on-blacklist-report/a-58914571" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Taliban hunting down Afghans on blacklist — report</a>&nbsp;(DW)



<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-58271797" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Afghanistan: Taliban carrying out door-to-door manhunt, report says</a> (BBC)



By Robert Hart, Forbes Staff

AFGHANISTAN-CONFLICT

Taliban Kill Journalist’s Relative In Intensifying ‘Door-To-Door’ Hunt For Media And ‘Collaborators’ With Previous Afghan Government Or U.S., NATO Forces

TOPLINE: American gymnast Simone Biles has withdrawn from Thursday’s individual all-around gymnastics final at the Tokyo Olympic Games to focus on her mental health, USA Gymnastics announced on Wednesday, a decision that comes just a day after the four-time Olympic gold medalist had to withdraw from the team event.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h3>



In a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/USAGym/status/1420266286441922562" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">statement issued on Twitter</a>, USA Gymnastics said Biles’ decision to withdraw was taken following further medical evaluation and it backed the champion gymnast for prioritizing her well-being.



Biles—who won gold in the all-around event in Rio—was scheduled to defend her title in the finals on Thursday.&nbsp;



American gymnast Jade Carey, who ranked ninth in the all-around prelims, will take Biles’ spot in the finals, USA Gymnastics added.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-watch-for">WHAT TO WATCH FOR</h3>



Apart from the all-around individual event, Biles is in the finals of the four other gymnastics disciplines. The finals of the Vault and Uneven Bars are scheduled to take place on Sunday, the Floor final is scheduled for Monday and the Beam final is on Tuesday. It is unclear if Biles will be able to participate in any of these events.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-crucial-quote">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h3>



“We wholeheartedly support Simone&#8217;s decision and applaud her bravery in prioritising her wellbeing. Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many,” USA Gymnastics said.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">BIG NUMBER</h3>



19. That’s the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/simone-biles-medals-tokyo-2021-b1891221.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">total number</a>&nbsp;of gold medals Biles has won in world events—including the Olympics—making her the most successful gymnast in history. Her achievements also include three silver and three bronze medals at the world level, taking her total medal tally up to 25.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">KEY BACKGROUND</h3>



Biles, widely considered the greatest gymnast of all time,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2021/07/27/simone-biles-pulls-out-of-gymnastics-team-finals-in-huge-blow-to-gold-medal-hopes-for-team-usa/?sh=336c9d364628">pulled out</a>&nbsp;of the team gymnastics final on Tuesday after a vault attempt. Despite her absence, the U.S. team managed to put together a strong performance and managed to secure a silver medal, with the Russian Olympic Committee winning gold. After the event, Biles&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/07/27/simone-biles-says-she-pulled-out-of-olympic-team-gymnastics-over-her-mental-health/?sh=6a5b4b81725e">said</a>&nbsp;she pulled out of the event to focus on her mental health, telling reporters she feared she would injure herself because she wasn’t in the right headspace to perform the risky gymnastics moves in her routine. The star gymnast’s decision to open up about her mental health challenged has earned her praise with fellow athletes and other public figures expressing their support. Former first lady Michelle Obama&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/MichelleObama/status/1420202408215564288" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>&nbsp;her support for Biles late on Tuesday night saying “we are proud of you and we are rooting for you.” Swimming legend Michael Phelps, who holds the all-time record for Olympic gold medals,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/07/28/michael-phelps-simone-biles/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said</a>&nbsp;Biles’s struggles “broke his heart.” The swimmer who has opened about his own struggles with depression said on Tuesday: “We carry a lot of weight on our shoulders, and it is challenging especially when the lights are on us.” Biles’ Rio 2016 teammate Aly Raisman&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Aly_Raisman/status/1420020980198649860" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">congratulated</a>&nbsp;the U.S. Team for winning silver and simply&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/Aly_Raisman/status/1420062022461534215" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>&nbsp;“Love you” at Biles.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">FURTHER READING</h3>



<a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/57973716" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Simone Biles out of individual all-around final</a>&nbsp;(BBC News)



<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/2021/07/28/michael-phelps-simone-biles/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Michael Phelps: Simone Biles situation ‘broke my heart’ but could raise mental health awareness</a>&nbsp;(Washington Post)



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/07/27/simone-biles-says-she-pulled-out-of-olympic-team-gymnastics-over-her-mental-health/?sh=6a5b4b81725e">Simone Biles Says She Pulled Out Of Olympic Team Gymnastics Over Her Mental Health</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)

Gymnastics – Artistic – Olympics: Day 4

Simone Biles Withdraws From Individual All-Around Final As Support Pours In

TOPLINE After President Joe Biden was sworn into office, his administration immediately began undoing his Trump’s policies and beefing up the federal government’s response to the coronavirus through a slew of executive actions and orders.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h4>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Biden issued a mask and social distancing mandate on all federal lands for federal employees and contractors.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>The Biden administration extended eviction and foreclosure moratoriums until March 31 and will continue to suspend student loan repayments until September.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Biden rejoined the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Accord, both of which Donald Trump exited during his presidency.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Through an executive action, Biden revoked permits for the Keystone XL Pipeline and put a temporary moratorium on oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, moves hailed by environmental and indigenous activists.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Biden revoked Trump’s attempt to exclude non-citizens from being counted in the U.S. Census, which affects representation in Congress and the allocation of federal grant money.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Biden reversed Trump’s travel ban from several Muslim-majority countries, including Syria, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen, and told the State Department to start allowing visa applications from these countries again.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Biden ended the National Emergency Declaration that allowed the Trump administration to divert money from the Pentagon to construct the border wall.&nbsp;</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Biden sent a sweeping immigration reform bill to Congress that includes an eight-year path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and immediate green cards for DREAMers.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Biden&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2021/01/20/biden-executive-order-overturns-trump-diversity-training-ban/4236891001/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reversed&nbsp;</a>Trump’s ban on diversity training at federal agencies and federal contractors.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>The 1776 Commission, the Trump’s administration’s rebuttal of the New York Times 1619 Project, was dismantled and the website was immediately taken down.</li></ul>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://twitter.com/loganmcdonald/status/1351941117672124420?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1351941117672124420%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1&#038;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fembedly.forbes.com%2Fwidgets%2Fmedia.html%3Ftype%3Dtext2Fhtmlkey%3D3ce26dc7e3454db5820ba084d28b4935schema%3Dtwitterurl%3Dhttps3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2F_loganmcdonald%2Fstatus%2F13519411176721244203Fs3D20image%3D
</div></figure>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Michael Pack, who oversaw Voice Of America, Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty as CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/biden-administration-asks-agency-for-global-media-ceo-michael-pack-to-resign" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">resigned&nbsp;</a>Wednesday at the request of the incoming Biden administration.&nbsp;</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>The Biden administration asked National Labor Relations Board general counsel Peter Robb, a Trump-appointee, to resign, Bloomberg Law&nbsp;<a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/biden-moves-to-oust-top-labor-board-attorney-robb" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>.</li></ul>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">CHIEF CRITICS</h3>



Right-wing pundits&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/dominicholden/status/1351983032673173504?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">questioned&nbsp;</a>Biden’s vow to unify the country amid the flurry of executive orders. Biden’s actions don’t “add much oomph to his ‘unity’ message,” GOP Strategist Karl Rove&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/dominicholden/status/1351983032673173504?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">said&nbsp;</a>in a&nbsp;Fox News&nbsp;interview.



Republican lawmakers took aim at Biden’s priorities. Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), an outspoken supporter of the Keystone XL Pipeline, said Biden was costing 10,000 blue-collar jobs and making the U.S. “less energy secure.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">FIRST DAY: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Biden?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Biden</a> fires opening shot on Texas energy workers. ExecOrder revokes <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KeystoneXL?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KeystoneXL</a> pipeline permit. Kills 10,000 blue-collar jobs, many in Texas. Makes U.S. less energy secure. Russia &amp; Middle East cheering. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BidenKillsJobs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BidenKillsJobs</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BidenTargetsTX?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BidenTargetsTX</a>&mdash; Kevin Brady (@RepKevinBrady) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepKevinBrady/status/1351983718131503109?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 20, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



GOP Biden&#8217;s immigration plan sparked immediate criticism from GOP members of Congress. “A mass amnesty with no safeguards and no strings attached is a nonstarter,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h3>



The official White House website, WhiteHouse.gov, also got some new accessibility changes. The new site has dark mode and a toggle to make the font larger.



-by Rachel Sandler, Forbes Staff

Joe Biden Sworn In As 46th President Of The United States At U.S. Capitol Inauguration Ceremony

Here Are All The Actions Biden Took On His First Day In Office

TOPLINE Twitter has permanently suspended President Donald Trump’s account, the company announced Friday, a striking move that comes as the social media network faced growing pressure to remove him following the deadly Capitol riots earlier this week.



<figure class="wp-block-gallery columns-1 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex"><ul class="blocks-gallery-grid"><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-1024x683.jpg" alt="" data-id="48752" data-full-url="https://www.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-scaled.jpg" data-link="https://www.forbesafrica.com/current-affairs/2020/11/04/twitter-flags-trump-tweet-baselessly-accusing-biden-of-trying-to-steal-the-election/attachment/president-donald-trump-holds-election-night-event-at-the-white-house/" class="wp-image-48752" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/GettyImages-1283816163-1-600x400.jpg 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="blocks-gallery-item__caption">WASHINGTON, DC &#8211; NOVEMBER 04: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on election night in the East Room of the White House in the early morning hours of November 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></li></ul></figure>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">KEY FACTS</h4>



Twitter said it decided to ban the president “due to the risk of further incitement of violence” after a review of his recent tweets.



Though Twitter has long been criticized for not doing enough to stem the spread of misinformation and hate speech on Trump’s account, the last few days have ratcheted up pressure from prominent figures in tech, Democrats, as well as Twitter’s own employees, for a permanent ban.



Up until this point, Twitter had only locked Trump’s account for 12 hours over tweets where he said he “loved” the rioters and explained the insurrection as “things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously &amp; viciously stripped away.”



After the suspension expired, Trump used Twitter to call his supporters “American Patriots,” say the MAGA movement will have a “GIANT VOICE long into the future” and indicate he would skip Joe Biden’s inauguration.



Twitter said those tweets prompted the ban because they are being interpreted by his supporters as a veiled plan to “continue to support, empower, and shield those who believe he won the election,” especially considering “plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating on and off-Twitter.”



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://twitter.com/TwitterSafety/status/1347684877634838528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1347684877634838528%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&#038;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fembedly.forbes.com%2Fwidgets%2Fmedia.html%3Ftype%3Dtext2Fhtmlkey%3Dcfc0fb0733504c77aa4a6ac07caaffc7schema%3Dtwitterurl%3Dhttps3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FTwitterSafety%2Fstatus%2F13476848776348385283Fs3D20image%3D
</div></figure>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">CRUCIAL QUOTE</h4>



“President Trump’s statement that he will not be attending the Inauguration is being received by a number of his supporters as further confirmation that the election was not legitimate and is seen as him disavowing his previous claim made via two Tweets (<a href="https://twitter.com/DanScavino/status/1347103015493361664" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">1</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/DanScavino/status/1347103016311259136" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2</a>) by his Deputy Chief of Staff, Dan Scavino, that there would be an ‘orderly transition’ on January 20th,” Twitter said in its assessment of his final tweets.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">CHIEF CRITIC</h4>



Trump immediately tweeted from the @POTUS account that Twitter’s employees were coordinating with Democrats and the “Radical Left” to silence him. But moments later Twitter removed those posts.



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">The president tweeted this from the <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> account but the tweets have already been taken down by Twitter. <a href="https://t.co/pRqpFw8hYY">pic.twitter.com/pRqpFw8hYY</a>&mdash; Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) <a href="https://twitter.com/yashar/status/1347718683351601152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 9, 2021</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div></figure>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">KEY BACKGROUND</h4>



Trump’s Twitter account was his primary way of communicating with the world. He’s used it to announce policies, go after critics, spread falsehoods and, most recently, promote conspiracy theories about election fraud. But after years of pressure to clean up its platform, Twitter began cracking down on Trump this year by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/facebook-twitter-keep-fact-checking-trump-voting-mail-he-s-n1241339" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">fact-checking</a>&nbsp;false tweets about mail-in voting, Covid-19 and the election results. The company’s actions angered Trump so much he launched a crusade against tech’s legal shield, Section 230, claiming that social media companies are biased against conservatives.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">TANGENT</h4>



Trump isn’t the only person who got permanently suspended in the wake of the deadly insurrection attempt at the U.S. Capitol. Twitter also <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2021/01/08/twitter-bans-sidney-powell-mike-flynn-for-sharing-qanon-conspiracy-theories/?sh=1eea67932d66">removed </a>several accounts that pushed QAnon conspiracy theories, including Sidney Powell, Mike Flynn, and former 8kun administrator Ron Watkins.



-By Rachel Sandler, Forbes Staff

Twitter Permanently Suspends President Donald Trump’s Twitter Account

Twitter Permanently Bans Trump

When Victor Terry answered a call from State Farm CEO Michael Tipsord and chief administrator Mary Schmidt in June, he wasn’t expecting the news he received. “To hear them say, ‘Victor, we want to make you our first chief diversity officer,’ was really a moment that’s hard to describe,” says Terry, then an area vice president. “We had already experienced the murder of George Floyd and everything that unfolded Memorial Day weekend, but I didn’t see that coming.”



Perhaps he should have: A seat in the C-suite signals a company’s commitment to the area the role represents. In appointing Terry as CDO, State Farm did just that for diversity and inclusion. But it wasn’t the only organization to mint a new chief diversity officer this past year.



According to an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/whos-reaching-c-suite-2020-16-roles-have-momentum-george-anders/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">analysis of nearly 100,000 U.S. C-suite appointments</a>&nbsp;by LinkedIn, while overall C-level hiring declined 18% year-over-year, some roles, such as that of diversity chief, saw great growth. CDO appointments increased at a rate of 84% as a proportion of total C-suite hires in 2020 as compared to 2019—more than any other C-level role—with Terry, as well as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sonymusic.com/sonymusic/sony-music-group-appoints-tiffany-r-warren-executive-vice-president-chief-diversity-and-inclusion-officer/#:~:text=New%20York%2C%20October%2014%2C%202020,Chief%20Diversity%20and%20Inclusion%20Officer" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sony Music’s Tiffany R. Warren</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pressroom.ups.com/pressroom/ContentDetailsViewer.page?ConceptType=PressReleases&amp;id=1607452098783-458" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UPS’ Charlene Thomas</a>, being among those tapped to serve as their companies’ firsts.



Recent years have seen C-suites expand to encompass titles beyond the traditional CFO, CMO, COO and, of course, CEO. And while some newcomers have been sector-specific—think, <a href="https://investors.virgingalactic.com/news/news-details/2020/Virgin-Galactic-Announces-Michael-Colglazier-as-Chief-Executive-Officer-in-Preparation-for-Commercial-Service/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Virgin Galactic’s chief space officer</a>, Michael Colglazier, named in July—most mirror the state of business and, more broadly, the world. “We’re going through a crisis, but at the same time, C-suites and boards are saying, ‘We need to reset,’” says Radhika Papandreou, senior client partner at Korn Ferry. “They need to make sure they have the right talent to not only recover, but to use the recovery as an opportunity to innovate.” And so it’s no wonder so many chief diversity officers made their debuts in 2020 amid the national reckoning on racial injustice.



For Terry, who had spent the better part of his 23 years with the insurer driving diversity and inclusion through its African American employee resource group, his appointment meant formalizing the organization’s efforts, facilitating company-wide conversations about race and creating a D&amp;I governance council. “This group is charged with refining and shaping our enterprise strategy,” Terry says. “While I have the formal title, and it’s something where I have a high degree of ownership and accountability, the truth of the matter is for any diversity and inclusion initiative to be successful, it has to live in the business, it has to be integrated into everything that we do.”



Diversity officers aren’t the only chiefs who have been in demand as a result of the events of 2020. When the coronavirus pandemic forced countless companies to embrace remote work overnight, chief revenue officers found themselves more reliant than ever before on marketing and technology to maintain healthy bottom lines. Some corporations consolidated these functions under the role of chief growth officer.&nbsp;



“You can have such a rigid split that it’s hard for everyone to cooperate and work together, to build the kinds of projects that are multi-teamed,” says George Anders, senior editor at large at LinkedIn and author of the study. “Having a chief growth officer provides a way that someone can look over the walls and see how all the pieces fit together.”



Chief growth officers were hired at a rate of 46% in 2020—second only to CDOs—after several years of steadily gaining steam, with such <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/we-found-57-routes-c-suite-youre-problem-fixer-step-right-anders/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">appointments increasing 42%</a> from 2015 to 2019. Gap and eBay were among those organizations to tap their first CGOs, naming <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201124005379/en/Gap-Inc.-Appoints-New-Chief-Growth-Officer-and-New-President-and-CEO-of-Banana-Republic" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Asheesh Saksena</a> and <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ebay-names-julie-loeger-global-chief-growth-officer-301183002.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Julie Loeger</a> in November and December. Meanwhile, Mars Wrigley expanded the responsibilities associated with its existing global growth officer role upon promoting <a href="https://www.mars.com/news-and-stories/press-releases/mars-wrigley-introduces-new-chief-growth-officer" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cathryn Sleight</a> to the job in July.



sumer behaviors and tastes have changed amid Covid-19, having all of these areas under one umbrella has paid dividends, chief among them partnerships with food delivery services DoorDash and goPuff, and the acquisitions of Kind and Nature’s Bakery.



But that’s not to say Sleight works in a silo. In fact, she often finds herself collaborating with one of her more traditional counterparts: the CFO. “We need to make sure that the programs we put in place have strong ROIs and are delivering the right level of growth to ensure we capture our fair share of the profit pools,” she says. “Working things through together, you get much better solutions.”



If the state of the C-suite is a reflection of the state of the world, it should come as no surprise that chief medical officer appointments increased in 2020. While it certainly isn’t a new position—or at least not in hospitals and healthcare companies, where it’s long been commonplace—and its growth rate wasn’t as high as that of CDOs and CGOs—LinkedIn pegs it at 4%—the coronavirus pandemic has spurred its expansion into new industries. PepsiCo and Tyson tapped <a href="https://www.pepsico.com/news/press-release/pepsico-appoints-dr.-pietro-antonio-tataranni-as-chief-medical-officer" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Pietro Antonio Tataranni</a> and <a href="https://ir.tyson.com/news/news-details/2020/Tyson-Foods-Launches-New-Nationwide-COVID-Monitoring-Strategy-Expands-Health-Staff/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dr. Claudia Coplein</a> for their newly created chief medical officer roles in November and December, and <a href="https://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/press-release/1459/royal-caribbean-group-names-dr-calvin-johnson-global-head-public-health-and-chief-medical-officer/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Royal Caribbean hired Dr. Calvin Johnson</a> as its first CMO and global head of public health in July.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“I don’t think these were knee-jerk reactions to what we’ve gone through. Some of this had already been thought about in board and C-suites—the pandemic accelerated the decisions.”-Radhika Papandreou, senior client partner, Korn Ferry</blockquote>



“Truth be told, if you’d asked me a few months earlier, I would not have believed you,” says Dr. Johnson of his appointment. “In a word, it was the pandemic. It literally stopped Royal in its tracks.”



The travel and hospitality industry has been hard hit by Covid-19, and cruise companies, including Royal Caribbean, were among the first to feel its effect, their common spaces and close quarters ideal settings for outbreaks. While Royal Caribbean did have healthcare infrastructure in place, as well as individuals to oversee it on a part-time basis, it didn’t have a dedicated leader, let alone one who had the ear of the CEO.



“A lot of C-level titles are created when companies have a crisis,” Anders says. “In 2019, we saw a lot of tech companies creating chief people officers. That happened to coincide with a sense that some tech companies were having a hard time getting the human side of their companies right.”



Like all medical chiefs, Dr. Johnson is responsible for delivering care to patients, in his case passengers and crew. He oversees more than 60 medical sites on ships sailing all around the world. During a global public health crisis, this means being in constant communication with his fellow executives. “Normal crew movement, which before wouldn’t necessarily have to have medical or public health involvement, now does because it involves ensuring the crew coming on board isn’t coming on with the virus. It is testing, screening and educating, from a prevention perspective,” Dr. Johnson says. “For crew rotating off, it’s ensuring they’re not taking the virus off and into the community.”



Would Royal Caribbean have needed a chief medical officer had it not been for Covid-19? It’s hard to say. But as reactive as the appointment—and that of this year’s other C-suite recruits—may have been, it’s not likely to result in a transient tenure. “I don’t think these were knee-jerk reactions to what we’ve gone through,” says Papandreou. “Some of this had already been thought about inboard and C-suites—the pandemic accelerated the decisions.”



-by Vicky Valet, Forbes Staff

Businesswoman looks across city at sunrise

The New C-Suite: How 2020 Shaped Corporate America’s Executive Ranks

What birthed the civil rights movement? The question is still widely debated, but within this decades-long fight to eradicate racial discrimination, there’s one event not found in most history books—the horrific lynching of Emmett Till. Just a few months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus, the brutal murder of a 14-year-old Black boy was already making an impact.



On August 28, 1955, the Chicago-born teenager was visiting family in Money, Mississippi when he was accused of flirting with a white female cashier, Carolyn Bryant, at a local grocery store and targeted by local white men. The group—including the husband of the cashier, Roy Bryant, and his half-brother, J.W. Milam—would later kidnap, bludgeon and shoot Till in the head before tying his lifeless body to a cotton gin fan with barbed wire and throwing him in the Tallahassee River.



This wasn’t the first time a Black man would be a victim of racially motivated lynching—and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. But Mamie Till-Mobley didn’t want her son’s death to be in vain. Despite being so horribly disfigured that he was barely recognizable as a human, Mrs. Till-Mobley insisted on a funeral with an open casket. “Let the people see what they did to my boy,” she famously declared.



For the 100,000 people who attended Till’s funeral, viewing his body “was like looking into a mirror,” says filmmaker Keith Beauchamp, who made a 2005 documentary about the case. If that wasn’t chilling enough, two Black publications,&nbsp;Jet&nbsp;magazine and the&nbsp;Chicago Defender, later published graphic photos of Till’s deformed face alongside a handsome portrait of the martyred teen.



But the momentum behind Till’s death didn’t last. A month after Till’s lynching, Bryant and Milam were tried before an all-white, all-male jury, and quickly acquitted. Until her death in 2003, Till’s mother fought tirelessly to get politicians, law enforcement, journalists and other activists to help find justice for the crime, but she never received redemption for her son in her lifetime.&nbsp;Now 65 years later, Till’s death has found new meaning with the killing of George Floyd.



“We should never forget that we’ve never had justice in his case,” says former United States Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy. He certainly won’t. Espy’s family, which owned Century Burial Association in Greenwood, Mississippi, was involved in the initial process of recovering Till’s body before it was eventually sent to a white-owned funeral home and later flown to Chicago, where the funeral services took place.



Espy, echoing the late <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/opinion/john-lewis-civil-rights-america.html" target="_blank">John Lewis’ sentiment</a> that “Emmett Till was my George Floyd,” has also woken up to the fact that he’s been alive for two seemingly disparate eras that somehow are not too different. The parallels between the deaths of these two Black men, Espy says, are undeniable.



To Beauchamp, Floyd’s death brings even more meaning to Till’s. “I’ve always known that Emmett Till was the [civil rights movement] catalyst, but I didn’t know the importance of this case until now,” he says. “We have never put the story into context and identified it in the same manner that we see today. When I saw Emmett Till [in that&nbsp;Jet&nbsp;magazine], I felt vulnerable. I felt that way again when I saw George Floyd. These people are unintentional martyrs.”



For many, the two are also undeniable heroes. Much of what happened to Till helped form the basis of Espy’s current campaign to represent Mississippi in the Senate. A big part of his agenda is addressing the state’s racist history still reflected in existing monuments, like the statue of James Zachariah George, a prominent member of the Mississippi Constitutional Convention of 1890 who stripped voting rights for Black people. “I want to take that statue down,” says Espy. “He was the architect of doom in Mississippi.”&nbsp;



Meanwhile, in response to vandalism that destroyed various Emmett Till landmarks in 2014, the leaders behind the Emmett Till Interpretive Center helped launch the Emmett Till Memorial Project, a virtual tour led by executive director Patrick Weems and University of Kansas professor and Remembering Emmett Till author Dave Tell.



The center also enlisted architects to convert the Tallahatchie County Courthouse where the murder trial took place into a museum and educational center. The ongoing $7.5 million restoration project, led by Belinda Stewart Architects, began in 2007. Financial support came from former Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and Morgan Freeman’s Tallahatchie River Foundation.



“The courtroom was a literal standing example of injustice,” says Benjamin Saulsberry, the museum’s director. “We wanted it to have functionality. It gives that juxtaposition of where we have been and where we’re trying to go. We have the responsibility of taking truth and using truth to come together and build new narrative and new stories.”



It might have been “a story that was supposed to be forgotten,” says Beauchamp, but the filmmaker is proud to be among the people preserving it. His relentless efforts to uncover the truth about Till’s case in the early 1990s helped him form a close relationship with Mamie Till-Mobley before she passed. She gave him her blessing to conduct a series of in-depth interviews with some of the murder witnesses, including Till’s family members, Reverend Wheeler Parker Jr. and Simeon Wright, which Beauchamp would eventually compile for his 2005 documentary, The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till. Filmmaking was never part of his long term plan—“my parents gave me the funds they set aside for me to go to law school with,” he says—but the urge to tell Till’s story sparked the new passion.



In 2004, the Department of Justice tapped Beauchamp to help assist in the investigation tied to the first reopening of Till’s case, forcing Beauchamp to turn over much of his findings and omit them from documentary inclusion. His participation in the case failed to yield any new charges, but Beauchamp isn’t ready to quit: Along with Whoopi Goldberg and producers Frederick Zollo, Barbara Broccoli and Thomas Levine, he’s now coproducing a feature film based on Till’s saga. “I’m using as it my activism tool,” Beauchamp says, and this time he’s not holding anything back.



Till’s cousin Deborah Watts, cofounder and executive director of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation, welcomes champions like Beauchamp. “Emmett’s murder impacted so many people,” says Watts. “Bob Dylan did a song. The NAACP used his story to tie in to voting rights. This is a huge part of the legacy and we appreciate the different efforts across genres as long as it’s honorable and as long as it’s the truth.”



Watts was just a toddler when Till was killed and the truth about her cousin’s death was originally too much for her to face. She recalls ripping up commemorative journals of Till, created by photojournalist Ernest Withers, out of anger and grief. Now, in some original copies spared from her rage, she recognizes the significance. “It’s a valuable piece of history right now.” It’s also a reminder of the work she still needs to accomplish and the promises she made to Till’s mother to keep his legacy alive. That vow inspired the birth of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation in 2005 and its continuing efforts to preserve his memory.



Watts acknowledges that little progress has been made since 1955. The recent Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act her foundation bolstered is making its way through Congress, but not much has changed about the case that was reopened for the second time in 2018 following Carolyn Bryant Donham’s admission that the allegations she made against Till were false, in Timothy Tyson’s 2017 book, The Blood of Emmett Till.



Despite this new revelation, one very bitter reality remains: Till’s actual murderers were never convicted. (They are protected by the double jeopardy clause, which precludes them from being tried again.) Donham, the white female cashier considered to be an accomplice to his death, is still alive (had he lived, Till would be just 79 today), and her record remains clean. Can she even be charged 65 years later? Some experts say an obstruction of justice charge could still be viable.



Ahead of the 65th anniversary of Till’s murder, on August 28, Watts and the team at the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation are hard at work. The group is behind a year-long #JusticeForEmmettTill campaign and petition supported by many celebrities, most notably actor Taye Diggs. It encourages the public to press for indictment and charges linked to Till’s case as it remains open and unresolved.



Watts, of course, wants full justice. But she also has a plan that doesn’t require litigation: “We&#8217;re asking for an apology to our family from the federal government, the Department of Justice, the state of Mississippi and its local authorities,” she says. And perhaps, above all, an apology from Carolyn Bryant Donham.



Even if that happens, she says, there will still be work to be done. The fight for Black justice didn’t begin with Emmett Till—and it doesn’t end with him. But his undeserving death that galvanized a civil rights movement warrants the resurfaced attention during a new, budding awakening. Black Lives Matter is only strengthened by holding his legacy close.



“Emmett Till is Anne Frank to Black America,” says Beauchamp. “His death serves as a reminder of injustice as well as hope and change.”



&#8211;Brianne Garrett, Forbes Staff

Emmett Till

‘Emmett Till Is Anne Frank To Black America’

When Douglas Stern wakes up in the morning, he looks over the beautiful hills of the Karoo, which cradle his livestock farm in the Eastern Cape. This land is close to his heart and defines his life.
On his bad days, he is haunted by the scenes he saw at numerous hydraulic fracturing sites in the United States of America in July. A local agricultural co-operative sponsored his trip to research hydraulic fracturing or fracking. In Pennsylvania, he saw heartache among people suffering from fracking, which is planned for the Karoo and many other parts of the country.
<div id="attachment_721" style="width: 484px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-721" class="size-large wp-image-721" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/006-1024x768.jpg" alt="" width="474" height="356" />Douglas Stern and his wife, Liz</div>
“They are gagged by the law because they are forced to sign non-disclosure agreements by the various companies’ lawyers, in return for a water supply to replace theirs, which is contaminated by gas. They [gas companies] hold this ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude. It seems they do what they like and won’t be held accountable, but I won’t let it happen here,” says a determined Stern.
Hydraulic fracturing involves horizontal drilling to create fissures. The insertion of pressurized water, sand and fracking fluids release the gas. Shale gas reserves require a high-volume hydraulic process which uses around 20 million liters of water per fracking incident. In short, it could damage the Karoo’s land and possibly its water.
Stern was born and bred in Graaff-Reinet. This land has been in his family since 1948; he inherited it, from his mother, in 1979. He gained an agricultural diploma from Grootfontein College in Middelburg. Farming is his life and he won’t allow gas companies to ruin it. In this part of the country, water is life. His daily water usage for domestic and farming purposes adds up to 1,512,600 liters.
“In my view, it’s the government’s responsibility to tell them to bug off. Our constitution is strong and allows us to earn an honest living and be exempt from such possible water contamination,” he says.
Derek Light, the epitome of a small-town attorney, represents the farmers of Graaff-Reinet, who see themselves as guardians of the Karoo. Many of Light’s 300 landowner clients refer to him as a saint, a humble man and a saviour. He also represents Agri-Eastern Cape, which brings his representation up to thousands of farmers and landowners. The Eastern Cape produces around a third of South Africa’s livestock.
The protestors want to stop the landscape from being littered with drilling rigs. That could happen if international energy companies are granted the rights to exploit gas. “Imagine well pads every three to five kilometres, for thousands of kilometres, which will be interlinked with roads. You’ll have a highway of pipelines all over the country to Mossel Bay, Coega, a Sasol plant or wherever you want it. You won’t recognize this country, it’ll be a wasteland,” he says.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignleft size-large wp-image-722" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/DSC_4530-680x1024.jpg" alt="" width="474" height="714" />
The protestors are not immune from criticism. Their critics ask whether their landownership is valid as they are not ‘traditional’ owners of the property. Light feels that this view is aimed at creating a divide between South Africans and that it has nothing to do with the scientific research in question.
“People tell us to wind our necks in. We’re saying, don’t come with false promises… We don’t want our land harmed to the detriment of all our people. But sadly, people are sometimes persuaded by their political views,” Light says.
It all began in October 2008, when the worried owners of Samara private game reserve, in the Karoo, approached Light. In a lengthy process, Light successfully opposed three of Sunset Energy’s applications for exploration rights before the local regulator, Petroleum Agency South Africa (PASA). Sunset Energy is the Australian subsidiary of South African Bundu Oil and Gas.
More clients approached Light after Falcon Oil and Gas—a Canadian company—applied for exploration rights elsewhere in the Karoo, spanning 30,000km2.
In January 2011, PASA accepted three of Shell’s applications for fracking in three areas in the eastern, central and western Karoo covering 90,000km2.
Light addressed landowners from around Graaff-Reinet. It drew the big names: multi-billionaire Johann Rupert, whose father was a founding member of the World Wildlife Foundation; and Dutch Princess Irene, a Karoo landowner. She even had a full audit conducted to prove that she has no links with Dutch company Shell.
“What had been a lonely fight for me and a handful of landowners suddenly entered the public domain and became big,” he says.
Light filed applications against Falcon Oil and Gas and the three Shell applications in March 2011. PASA directed objections against the five applications to regional committees to be adjudicated. It had been swamped with applications concerning parts of KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and the Free State.
On April 29, 2011, Susan Shabangu, Minister of the Department of Mineral Resources, placed a moratorium on all applications for six months and extended it for another six months to allow for investigation.
The process is determined by the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) of 2002. According to the act, the applicants should determine how the environment will be affected.
“I am satisfied that in law none of these companies have complied with their legal obligations in terms of the MPRDA. There are, in my view, shortcomings in the processes currently regulated, in that it’s certainly inadequate to deal with a situation of this magnitude. I have very little doubt in my mind that the courts will intervene if the applications are granted under the current circumstances,” says Light.
The government and South African citizens have an obligation to preserve their environment for future generations. While the moratorium passed in mid-February, the investigation’s findings are expected to be presented to cabinet by the end of July. Energy Minister Dipuo Peters is awaiting cabinet’s decision. She has conflicting views about fracking: while it could ensure energy supply security, it needs to be done safely.
“If we need 10 years to decide, then we need to take those 10 years,” says Light.
Light questions how fracking fits into South Africa’s long-term energy planning. Do the benefits outweigh the costs? He suggests the government considers the Mozambican offshore natural gas find as an affordable, alternative source.
Stern agrees: “The gas industry in the United States went from boom to bust. At the moment, gas is being produced at a loss because there’s an over-supply. South Africa can purchase gas far more cheaply than it can produce it.”
Light talks about the report by respected economist Tony Twine, who died in March, which was commissioned by Shell. “He had to make huge assumptions about the extent of the gas reserves in the Karoo; the price of gas when it comes into production in 10 to 15 years’ time; and the cost of producing it in South Africa. He [Twine] acknowledged that he had to make those assumptions, which rendered the report nonsense because you could equally make other assumptions,” says Light.
The protestors also claim that the industry in the US was regulated poorly; they made fatal errors and are now putting on the brakes so they can re-regulate.
According to Stern, incidents of water contamination and chemical spillage have been reported throughout the US. The claim from gas companies is that there is a natural barrier of impermeable rock between the area you frack and the ground water.
There is also concern about the chemicals that could be used. They sub-contract the process to other companies that want to protect trade secrets, which means that certain chemicals are undisclosed. Some of the chemicals are known carcinogens and toxic: simply put, hazardous to health.
Two recent studies, conducted in Denver by Petron and Howarth, suggest that 4% of the methane gas was leaking. According to Stern’s research conducted in the States, he found that 5% of wells were failing on an ongoing basis, which resulted in further leaking.
Countries should consider renewable energy sources like solar and wind power as clean, alternative energy sources, say Karoo farmers.
“We [farmers] are very conservative people in the Karoo with regard to our water because it is sacrosanct and we have droughts. As a consequence, I never use more than half of my borehole water capacity. My concern is that they will say to me, ‘But you’re not using the other 50%’,” says Stern.
“The rate of recharge is very low in the Karoo—scientists tell us it’s between 2-3%—and it could take decades or even hundreds of years to recharge when you take water in those volumes,” says Light.
Once exploration rights are granted, the applicants have to conduct a public participation meetings.
“We were appalled by how sly they were,” mentioned a Karoo farmer who was eager to talk and who had attended a public participation meeting.
“They didn’t even show their faces. They sat in amongst us like cowards. It’s a very large area we represent, so I don’t know every farmer within the district and neither does the next. Derek Light was standing in front of us, by himself, waiting for answers from representatives who, it seemed, didn’t even bother to show up. They wanted to see who they were up against.”
The country awaits cabinet’s final verdict. It’s a case of determined farmers versus equally determined international energy companies, who have deep pockets and big-city lawyers.

Tag: United States of America