I grew up in Nepal’s capital watching the Himalayas. Ever since I left, I’ve missed sweeping, panoramic views of some of the highest mountain peaks on Earth.

Each time I visit Kathmandu, I hope to catch a glimpse of the dramatic mountain range. But these days, there’s usually no luck.

The main culprit is severe air pollution that hangs as haze above the region.

And it’s happening even during the spring and autumn months, which once offered clear skies.

Just last April, the international flight I was in had to circle in the sky nearly 20 times before landing in Kathmandu, because of the hazy weather impacting visibility at the airport.

The hotel I checked in at was at a reasonable height from which mountains are visible on a clear day – but there was no such day during my two-week stay.

Even from the major vantage point of Nagarkot, just outside Kathmandu, all that could be seen was haze, as if the mountains did not exist.

“I no longer brand the place for views of ‘sunrise, sunset and Himalayas’ as I did in the past,” said Yogendra Shakya, who has been operating a hotel at Nagarkot since 1996.

“Since you can’t have those things mostly now because of the haze, I have rebranded it with history and culture as there are those tourism products as well here.”

During an earlier trip a year ago, I was hopeful I would be able to see the mighty Himalayan peaks on a trek in the mesmerising Annapurna region – but had hardly any luck there either.

View of the Himalayas on an increasingly rare clear day from the Nagarkot vantage point

The hazy view from the same vantage point during my most recent visit

Scientists say hazy conditions in the region are becoming increasingly intense and lasting longer, reducing visibility significantly.

Haze is formed by a combination of pollutants like dust and smoke particles from fires, reducing visibility to less than 5,000m (16,400ft). It remains stagnant in the sky during the dry season – which now lasts longer due to climate change.

June to September is the region’s rainy season, when Monsoon clouds rather than haze keep the mountains covered and visibility low.

Traditionally, March to May and October to November were the best times for business because that was when skies remained clear and visibility was best.

But with rising temperatures and a lack of rain, and worsening air pollution, the spring months are now seeing thick haze with low visibility. Those conditions are beginning as early as December.

‘No sighting means no business’

Lucky Chhetri, a pioneering female trekking guide in Nepal, said hazy conditions had led to a 40% decrease in business.

“In one case last year, we had to compensate a group of trekkers as our guides could not show them the Himalayas due to the hazy conditions,” she added

An Australian tourist who has visited Nepal more than a dozen times since 1986 described not seeing the mountains as a “major let-down”.

“It wasn’t like this 10 years ago but now the haze seems to have taken over and it is extraordinarily disappointing for visitors like me,” said John Carrol.

Krishna Acharya, the provincial chair of the Trekking Agents Association of Nepal in the western Gandaki province, says the trekking industry is in deep trouble.

“Our member trekking operators are getting depressed because no sighting of the Himalayas means no business. Many of them are even considering changing professions,” he told the BBC.

Trekking guide Lucky Chhetri says business is down because of the hazy condition

On the Indian side, near the central Himalayas, hoteliers and tour operators say haze is now denser and returns quicker than before.

“We have long dry spells and then a heavy downpour, unlike in the past. So with infrequent rain the haze persists for much longer,” said Malika Virdi, who heads a community-run tourism business in the state of Uttarakhand.

However, Ms Virdi says tourists are persistent – with many who didn’t catch the mountain range returning to try their luck again.

The western Himalayas in Pakistan have been relatively less affected by the haze because the mountains are relatively far from cities.

But locals say that even the ranges that were once easily visible from places like Peshawar and Gilgit are often no longer seen.

“The sheet of haze remains hanging for a longer period and we don’t see the mountains that we could in the past,” said Asif Shuja, the former head of Pakistan’s environmental protection agency.

Hazes and dust storms increasing

South Asian cities regularly top lists of places with highest levels of air pollution in the world.

Public health across the region has been badly impacted by the toxic air, which frequently causes travel disruption and school closures.

Vehicular and industrial emissions, dust from infrastructure construction and dry gravel roads as well as the open burning of waste are major sources of air pollution year-round.

This is compounded by soot from massive forest fires – which are increasing due to a longer dry season – and the burning of crop residues after the harvest by farmers in northern India, Pakistan and Nepal.

Weather conditions keeping warmer air above cooler air trap these pollutants and limit vertical air movement – preventing pollution from dispersing.

“Hazes and dust storms are increasing in South Asia, and this trend is projected to continue due to climate change and other factors,” Dr Someshwor Das from the South Asia Meteorological Association told the BBC.

In 2024, the number of hazy days recorded at the airport in Pokhara, a major tourism hub in western Nepal, was 168 – up from 23 in 2020 and 84 in 2021, according to Nepal’s department of hydrology and meteorology.

The Fishtail mountain in Nepal on a clear day

The same mountain range covered in haze, taken from roughly the same location

Experts believe the Himalayas are probably the worst affected mountain range in the world given their location in a populous and polluted region.

This could mean the scintillating view of the Himalayas could now largely be limited to photographs, paintings and postcards.

“We are left to do business with guilt when we are unable to show our clients the mountains that they pay us for,” said trekking leader Ms Chhetri.

“And there is nothing we can do about the haze.”

– Navin Singh Khadka

(Environment correspondent, BBC World Service)

On Wednesday, a cache of dazzling jewels linked to the Buddha’s mortal remains, which have been hailed as one of the most astonishing archaeological finds of the modern era, will go under the hammer at Sotheby’s in Hong Kong.

For over a century these relics, unearthed from a dusty mound in northern India in 1898, have sat largely unseen, cradled by a private British collection.

Now, as the gems prepare to leave the custody of their keepers, they are stirring not just collectors’ appetites but also some unease.

They come from a glittering hoard of nearly 1,800 pearls, rubies, topaz, sapphires, and patterned gold sheets, first glimpsed deep inside a brick chamber in present-day Uttar Pradesh in India, near the Buddha’s birthplace.

Their discovery – alongside bone fragments identified by an inscribed urn as belonging to the Buddha himself – reverberated through the world of archaeology. Nicolas Chow, chairman of Sotheby’s Asia and worldwide head of Asian Art, believes this is “among the most extraordinary archaeological discoveries of all time”.

Yet as these relics now face the glare of the auction room, experts tell the BBC that a question hangs heavy: can the sale of treasures so intimately woven into India’s sacred past be considered ethical?

William Claxton Peppé, an English estate manager, excavated the stupa and found the jewels

In 1898, William Claxton Peppé, an English estate manager, excavated a stupa at Piprahwa, just south of Lumbini, where the Buddha is believed to have been born. He uncovered relics inscribed and consecrated nearly 2,000 years ago.

Historians agree these relics, intact until then, are the heritage of both the Buddha’s Sakya clan descendants and Buddhists worldwide. The bone relics have since been distributed to countries such as Thailand, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, where they continue to be venerated.

“Are the relics of the Buddha a commodity that can be treated like a work of art to be sold on the market?” wonders Naman Ahuja, a Delhi-based art historian. “And since they aren’t, how is the seller ethically authorised to auction them?

“Since the seller is termed the ‘custodian’, I would like to ask – custodian on whose behalf? Does custodianship permit them now to sell these relics?”

Chris Peppé, great-grandson of William, told the BBC the family looked into donating the relics, but all options presented problems and an auction seemed the “fairest and most transparent way to transfer these relics to Buddhists”.

Julian King, Sotheby’s international specialist and head of sale, Himalayan Art, New York told the BBC the auction house had made a thorough review of the jewels.

“As is the case with any important items and collectibles that are offered for sale at Sotheby’s, we conducted requisite due diligence, including in relation to authenticity and provenance, legality and other considerations in line with our policies and industry standards for artworks and treasures,” King said.

Ashley Thompson, of Soas University of London, and curator Conan Cheong, both experts in Southeast Asian art, have more questions. In a joint statement they told the BBC: “Other ethical questions raised by the sale are: should human remains be traded? And who gets to decide what are human remains or not? For many Buddhist practitioners around the world, the gems on sale are part and parcel of the bones and ash.”

The sale of the relics has also sparked concern among Buddhist leaders.

“The Buddha teaches us not to take other people’s possessions without permission,” Amal Abeyawardene of London-based British MahaBodhi Society, told the BBC. “Historical records indicate that the Sakyamuni clan were granted custody of these relics, as the Buddha emanated from their community. Their wish was for these relics to be preserved alongside adornments, such as these gems, so that they may be venerated in perpetuity by the Buddha’s followers.”

The jewels were unearthed from this stupa in Piprahwa, northern India in 1898

Chris Peppé has written that the jewels passed from his great-uncle to his cousin, and in 2013 came to him and two other cousins. That’s when he began researching their discovery by his great-grandfather.

The Los Angeles-based television director and film editor wrote he had found 1898 newspaper reports – from Reuters to the New York Tribune – announcing the find of Buddha’s remains.

“The colonisation of India by the British had been a source of some cultural shame for me [and continues to be] but, amidst the treasure hunters who hauled their finds back to England, there had also been people focused on the pursuit of knowledge,” Chris Peppé writes.

He noted his research revealed a lot about his ancestors who he had dismissed as “prejudiced Victorians from a bygone era”.

“I learned that Willie Peppé’s first wife chose to travel around India for her honeymoon and loved the country and its culture. Sadly, she died from an unspecified illness. I learned that my grandmother was outraged at the land laws that applied to Indian women.

“And I learned that the excavation of the stupa was an attempt by Willie Peppé to provide work for his tenant farmers who had fallen victim to the famine of 1897.”

The jewels are considered among the most extraordinary archaeological finds of all time

He writes his great-grandfather’s “technical diagrams of ramps and pulleys suggest that he was also a trained engineer who couldn’t resist a project”.

William Peppé handed the gems, relics and reliquaries to the colonial Indian government: the bone relics went to the Buddhist King of Siam (Rama V). Five relic urns, a stone chest and most other relics were sent to the Indian Museum in Kolkata – then the Imperial Museum of Calcutta.

Only a small “portion of duplicates”, which he was allowed to keep, remained in the Peppé family, he notes. (Sotheby’s notes say Peppé was allowed to keep approximately one-fifth of the discovery.)

Sources told the BBC the auction house considers the “duplicates” to be original items considered surplus to those donated, which the “Indian government permitted Peppé to retain”.

Over the past six years years, the gems have featured in major exhibitions, including one at The Met in 2023. The Peppé family has also launched a website to “share our research”.

Four containers made of steatite (a type of stone) and one made of rock crystal were found inside a sandstone box at the Piprahwa stupa

Some scholars argue Buddha relics should never be treated as market commodities.

“The Sotheby’s auction transforms these highly sacred materials into saleable objects, in continuation of acts of colonial violence which extracted them from a stupa and called them ‘gems’ and ‘objects of interest to Europeans’, creating a false division with the ash and bone fragments they were consecrated with,” say Thompson and Cheong.

Chris Peppé told the BBC that in all the monasteries he had visited “no Buddhists regard these as corporeal relics”.

“A few Buddhist academics at western universities have recently offered a convoluted, fact-defying logic whereby they may be regarded as such. It’s an academic construct that is not shared by Buddhists in general who are familiar with the details of the find,” he said.

Peppé said the family “looked into donation [of the relics] to temples and museums and they all presented different problems on closer scrutiny”.

“An auction seems the fairest and most transparent way to transfer these relics to Buddhists and we are confident that Sotheby’s will achieve that.”

Some also point to The Koh-i-Noor, seized by the British East India Company and now part of the Crown Jewels, with many Indians viewing it as stolen. Should the Buddha’s jewels be next?

“Repatriation, I believe, is seldom necessary,” says Ahuja. “Such rare and sacred relics that are unique and which define a land’s cultural history, however, deserve the government’s exceptional attention.”

– Soutik Biswas

(India correspondent – BBC News)

EU offers “zero duty” exports for over 700 listed Sri Lankan products including apparels, rubber and fish products, bicycles, toys, tea and spices, electrical parts and few others to the EU market. That means, though our present basket is limited, over 700 Sri Lankan products can be sold in the EU market at subsidised “zero duty” prices, hopefully gaining increasing volumes. But who gains on increased value on sales?

With heavy corruption across geographical borders including money laundering, this is one major question that is not being asked and answered in detail by the government nor by the manufacturers. What is manufactured here for exports are exclusive “orders” from “Brands” received by product manufacturing companies through “Suppliers” on quoted and agreed prices. They not only have agreed prices, but agreed deadlines in handing over the finished product with pre-defined quality standards. What it means is, a “supplier” brings an order from a global “brand” and a manufacturing company with BOI-SL approval located in Sri Lanka that accepts the order is paid for its manufacture. That product is sold in a consumer market including the EU by its “brand” at a price fixed by the “brand”.

Once the supplier takes over the product from the Sri Lankan manufacturer, we don’t have anything to do with its sales in any consumer market. In simpler language, we don’t have anything to do with the product, once it leaves Colombo port. This too is important. The “zero duty” export concession is provided to listed Sri Lankan products and not to Sri Lanka. It is therefore enjoyed by the “brand” that owns the “product label”, perhaps with a share to the “supplier” on pre-agreed terms. May be, the SL manufacturer too gets “something” through the “supplier”, but that is wholly unofficial and out of public gaze. But for sure, that does not reach Sri Lanka and is not Sri Lanka’s gain.

What are we as a country expected to comply with, to continue with this GSP+ that brings us no economic benefits? First qualification is, Sri Lanka has to remain below the “Upper Middle Income” (UMI) category of countries. Thereafter, Sri Lankan government has to ensure implementation of 27 International Conventions that cover human rights, labour standards and rights, environmental protection and good governance. This does not mean ratification of “conventions” that SL has done in most instances, but also effectively implementing them with new laws and legal amendments where necessary.

Beyond economics, this requirement in effectively and sustainably democratising the Sri Lankan society is definitely worth complying with. Yet, all through past years when EU GSP+ was effective and in operation, neither SL governments nor the EU were serious about any of the 27 international conventions the EU imposed on SL to implement. The EU has sent 03 or 04 GSP+ Review Missions to Sri Lanka during these 17 or 18 years, that met numerous agencies, groups and individuals including the Head of State, relevant ministers, Opposition Leader and politicians, private sector trade unions and funded civil society activists in Colombo. All such review missions left Sri Lanka with a nod for an extension of GSP+ though with reservations at times on delays in implementation, except in 2010 when the EU was under pressure from Tamil Diaspora groups after the civil war was declared over in 2009 May.

This suspension was effective till 2017 for 07 whole years. The new government elected in January 2015 thereafter re-applied for GSP+ in 2016 June. What is important to note is that, during the 07 years SL was denied the “comfort” of “zero tariff” exports to Europe, Sri Lanka’s exports did not drop. According to the “Brief on International Trade” published by the Department of Commerce in October 2021, during the 02 years after the withdrawal of GSP+ the value of Sri Lankan products sold in European markets totalled 01.8 billion Euro. A little more than what it was in 2016, the year before the GSP+ suspension. Surprisingly, the value of merchandise from Sri Lanka sold in European markets during the next few years increased to around 02 billion Euros, before SL regained GSP+ in 2017. It only means, with or without EU GSP+, Sri Lankan products would be there in the EU market.

What needs to be stressed is, 10 plus years of EU GSP+ in full operation (that excludes the suspension), private sector labour that manufacture all Sri Lankan products in the EU markets, have not gained even the basic right to association and therefore not even collective bargaining, except in 01 factory out of over 1,600 factories. Repeal of the notorious repressive law, the PTA that was promised to be repealed way back in 2017 by the then government, is now said to take few more months if it does happen under the present regime and the EU Review Mission seems “okay” with it too. Environmental safety is under an axe with continued deforestation no matter who the government is. Breakdown in law, organised crime and mega corruption that involves the State hierarchy as well, would speak volumes about what “good governance” goes through despite EU monitoring of EU GSP+ with regular extensions.   

End of the day, if the EU is not serious about having their conditions implemented, and if Sri Lankan governments can go on dragging their promises for democratisation over decades with no economic gains either, we are only wasting our tariff and tax incomes in billions doled out as annual incentives topping up free infrastructure provided to foreign direct investors, expecting them to provide us with much wanted forex. We need something more than a forensic audit to see how much we have lost as incentives given to export manufacture, a seriously corrupt sector most do not speak about.

That’s a wee bit about EU GSP+ and we Sri Lankans for now.

– Kusal Perera
2025 May 02                

The majority of the iPhones bound for the US market in the coming months will be made in India, while Vietnam will be a major production hub for items like iPads and Apple Watches, chief executive Tim Cook says.

It comes as the technology giant estimated that US import taxes could add about $900m (£677.5m) to its costs in the current quarter, despite Trump’s decision to spare key electronics from the new tariffs.

The Trump administration has repeatedly said it wants Apple to move production to America.

The estimate comes as firms around the world are scrambling to respond to the huge shifts in global trade triggered by Washington’s trade policies.

On a call with investors on Thursday to discuss the firm’s financial performance, the Apple boss seemed keen to draw attention to its investments in the US.

Mr Cook opened the discussion with a reminder of the company’s plans to invest $500bn across several US states over the next four years.

Made in India

He also said Apple is shifting its supply chain for US-bound products away from China, but it is India and Vietnam that are poised to be major beneficiaries of that move.

“We do expect the majority of iPhones sold in US will have India as their country of origin,” Mr Cook said.

Meanwhile, Vietnam will be the chief manufacturing hub “for almost all iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and AirPods product sold in the US.”

China will remain the country of origin for the vast majority of total products sold outside the US, he added.

Apple shares had plummeted after Trump announced his administration would levy “reciprocal tariffs” on products imported to the United States, with the aim of persuading companies to manufacture more in the US.

But his administration faced significant pressure to moderate its plans. Shortly after the tariffs went into effect, it announced that certain electronics, including phones and computers, would be exempted.

Uncertainty reigns

For now, trade turmoil has left Apple’s sales unscathed.

The company said revenues for the first three months of the year rose 5% from the same period last year, to $95.4bn.

Designed in US, made in China: Why Apple is stuck

Trump tells business chiefs he needs ‘little bit of time’ as US economy shrinks

Trump calls Bezos as Amazon says no plan to show tariff price rises

Amazon, another tech giant whose results were being closely watched for signs of tariff damage, likewise said sales were holding up, rising 8% year-on-year in its North America e-commerce business in the most recent quarter.

It forecast similar growth in the months ahead.

“Obviously no one of us knows exactly where tariffs will settle or when,” said Amazon boss Andy Jassy, while noting that the firm has emerged from periods of disruption – like the pandemic – stronger than before.

“We’re often able to weather challenging conditions better than others,” he said. “I’m optimistic this could happen again.”

New positioning

The shift of the iPhone supply chain to India was “impressive” according to Patrick Moorhead, chief executive of Moor Insights & Strategy.

“This is a marked change from what [Cook] said a few years back when he said that only China can build iPhones,” Mr Moorhead said.

“There is lots of progress that Apple must show here but it’s a pretty good start,” he said.

Amazon is also repositioning itself to increase resilience in the face of the tariffs.

The company said it working to make sure it had a diversity of sellers and Mr Jassy said he felt the firm was well-positioned for the months ahead, pointing to the firm’s scale and its role supplying everyday essentials.

For now, it said sales had not been hurt by the tariff turmoil. If anything, executives said the business may have benefited from some customers starting to stockpile.

Overall sales jumped 9% to $155.7bn in the first three months of 2025, compared with the same period last year, while profits surged more than 60% year-on-year to roughly $17bn.

Lily Jamali – North America Technology Correspondent

Natalie Sherman- Business reporter

(BBC News)

The power is out and nothing is working. How am I supposed to get through the day?

That was the question faced by millions of people on Monday across Spain and Portugal during the worst electricity blackout in their history.

We ask people who spent the day without electricity about what helped them get on with life and what outage essentials they were missing.

Cash

People form a queue at a cash point in Madrid

Paying with phone and card has become the norm, but in cities across Spain and Portugal, queues formed at cash machines – at least the ones that were still working – as shops switched away from card payments.

“We managed to pay for our coffees with card when the outage first started, [but later] we didn’t have any cash so we couldn’t buy a thing,” Ed Rowe, 26, in Madrid told the BBC.

“All the restaurants that were open were cash only.”

Grace O’Leary, 32, who also lives in Spain’s capital, said she and her mum were counting coins to see if she had enough money to buy wine from a corner shop.

“Cash, apparently, is in fact, king.”

Jaime Giorgio, 28, was lucky enough to have some cash on him, which allowed him to buy food and other essentials.

“In Madrid it was quite chaotic, there was no tube and you couldn’t take out any cash.

“I had cash, but my flatmate didn’t, so I had to lend him money to buy things.”

Radio

This windup radio allowed the Buschschluters to tune into radio station

The power cut also led to an information blackout, as people spent the day without internet, WhatsApp, calls, and TV.

“The complete loss of communication was the most confusing and concerning thing… we were only left to speculate as to the cause and piece together news from people in the neighbourhood,” said Daniel Clegg from Barcelona.

The 42-year-old said the absence of information led him to looking at the sky to see if planes were still flying.

For Siegfried and Christine Buschschluter, an old windup transistor radio helped tune in to local radio stations to find out what was happening after their phones stopped working and power went off at their rural home outside Spain’s capital.

Christine, 82, explained: “You had to keep on winding and winding.

“It was quite a strange situation. I was born in Berlin during the war and it reminded me of those days when my parents tried to get some news – it took me back.”

The couple reckon the outage will lead to boom in demand for battery-operated radios.

And it is also on Daniel’s shopping list. “Essential kit for back to basics communication and staying informed that I completely neglected to remember.”

Tinned food

Jaime Giorgio walked across Madrid to take essentials to his family

Microwaves, air fryers and some hobs and ovens all demand electricity.

But on Monday food that does not require electricity to heat or prepare it were in demand.

In supermarkets, shoppers formed long queues and panic-bought essentials – echoing scenes from the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We bought a lot of food that wasn’t going to go off, like tuna in cans, just in case,” says actor Jaime.

“The outage only lasted a day and now we have so much food, but most of it isn’t going to go bad, as it is easily preserved.”

Lesley Elder, in town Fortuna in south-eastern Spain, said: “Trying to find food you don’t need to heat up, that was more difficult than we thought.

“So we ended up having ham and cheese for dinner.”

She adds a little gas stove to heat up food in a pan would have been helpful.

Candles and torches

People turned to candles to light up their homes

Across the Iberian peninsula, people turned to candles to light up dark spaces.

Richard, who lives in the Spanish city of Alcala de Henares, said not a single street light was on when night fell.

“People were finding their way around by torchlight. It was quite surreal seeing the view from my window totally black especially as I live next to a dual carriageway,” he said.

“In my spare time, I make candles and luckily I had a few going spare so I could see in the dark.”

Sarah Baxter, from Barcelona, said she even used a candle stovetop to heat up food.

“We could heat beans and rice, and bring water to a boil for instant potatoes,” she said.

“It was much safer than a propane camping stove inside the apartment.”

Although candles and naked flames can pose a fire risk.

Powerbank

People queued outside shops selling power banks in Madrid

With no power people relied on having battery in their devices.

In Madrid, people queued outside tech shops to get their hands on a power bank.

Luckily for Sarah she had a solar charger that kept her phone charged through ten hours of blackout, and helped her elderly neighbour do the same.

Lesley says her Kindle ran out of battery. “No TV, no Scrabble puzzle on my phone. So having a couple of books would have been helpful,” she said.

Ed, sitting on his balcony during the blackout, enjoyed being away from his devices

But for others, not having access to the internet and their devices was a relief.

“Everyone relies on technology so much that it’s quite a nice reminder you can be more independent,” said Ed.

“You don’t have to be connected with everyone all the time,” said his flatmate Hannah Steiner, 23. “I was having a good time with my flatmates.”

Sara Francisco, 24, from Leiria, in central Portugal, said: “I feel this thing that happened was important to make us be more aware and be more conscious about our habits.”

– André Rhoden-Paul

(BBC News)

This clean and people centric “new culture” promised, lacked “transparency” from day one. Lack of transparency leads to lack of communication and accountability too. My personal experience with this NPP government to this day, is their total refusal to even acknowledge a letter addressed to the President, the Prime Minister and Ministers. Refusal to acknowledge letters of request to meet with President, the PM and Ministers, is strictly adhered to when requests come from individuals and organisations outside their politics.

Absence of transparency and accountability in this JVP/NPP government seems incomparably greater than what it was with previous governments, accused of corruption and waste. No major figures in previous governments ignored letters and requests for meetings. They at least acknowledged, even if an appointment was not granted. They rarely refused to meet with trade union leaders whatever political colour, with professional associations and with social organisations and activists.

Beyond that, JVP/NPP leadership’s denial of publishing information was evident when they ignored Opposition requests for names of former government MPs whom they accused without naming to be tabled in parliament, for recommending foreign liquor licenses. To date, those names have not been tabled in parliament and the accusation remains a mere slander. Just 02 months since forming the government, the JVP/NPP leadership got directly involved in one of the largest corruptions to date, releasing 323 containers without inspection by Customs that were “red flagged” and therefore mandated to be physically checked by Customs Officers before release. The Deputy Minister of Ports Janith Kodithuwakku accepted in parliament the responsibility of the government in releasing them without inspection. A clear violation of law and screaming “corruption”. How people-centric and how “clean” was that beginning for a “new political culture”?

Sadly, for the people, the Opposition in parliament has failed to hold the government and Minister of Ports Bimal Rathnayake fully responsible in providing all details about the illegally released 323 containers. Seriousness of this extremely arrogant, high-handed and no doubt corrupt act of the government is mentioned in the public statement made by the Customs Trade Union Alliance (CTUA) on the issue. They clearly say, they would not take responsibility “if these particular containers are found to contain low-quality medicines rejected by the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA), cosmetic items deemed unfit for use, illegal cigarettes, other illegal imports, drugs or even weapons.”

Timidity of the parliamentary Opposition is one major factor that allows this JVP/NPP leadership, though novice in governance to stubbornly hold back all information they fear would adversely affect them, if made public. Timid and naïve, the Opposition even allows the JVP/NPP government to go without tabling the 07 Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) the government signed with India during the most recent official visit of Indian PM Narendra Modi. When asked for these MoUs to be tabled in parliament, the callous response was by Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath who said, if the Opposition wants them, they could request under the RTI Act. This 57-year-old senior politician Vijitha Herath had been a MP from October 2000 and a cabinet minister in President Kumaratunge’s government in 2004-2005. Thus, he cannot be ignorant about rights and privileges of MPs and the responsibility of a government in providing free access to documents a government sign on behalf of Citizens of Sri Lanka. He cannot be as stupid as he sounded, asking MPs to use the RTI Act to have access to the MoUs signed, though a lady Attorney as a JVP/NPP MP kept yelling in a TV panel discussion, the Opposition should request for the MoUs via the RTI Act. How naïve the Opposition is, was proved when they allowed the government to go free with that invalid, irresponsible response.

It is common sense, the RTI Act is irrelevant for MPs. The government is bound to table that in parliament, at least when requested. IF the JVP/NPP leadership believes there is no such legal binding for now, they should at least now accept, the new “clean and people centric” political culture they promised, requires them to be transparent and accountable to “People”. Holds them responsible in establishing the tradition of providing all serious information to parliament. The Opposition should also know, the RTI Act No.12 of 2016, does not allow for any information related to national security and defence to be provided under Section 05.1(b)(i) of the Act. Thus, the RTI Act is of no relevance even to Citizens in requesting information regarding the MoU signed on defence corporation with India.

Though both signatories remain silent on details incorporated in the Defence MoU, Vikram Misri the Secretary to Foreign Affairs in New Delhi was quoted in the “Hindustani Times” of 06 April as having said, “A defence cooperation agreement finalised by India and Sri Lanka on Saturday, the first pact of its kind, will make existing initiatives more structured and lead to more joint exercises and potential defence industry collaboration”. What does the MoU specifically say about “defence industry collaboration”?

This JVP/NPP government of President AKD is now in an understanding with India on defence industry collaboration, an arms supplier to Israel for all its human massacres and tragedies in the Gaza. This same government is also accused of ignoring all complaints about illegal Israeli presence in our tourist sector, constructing illegal buildings for “Chabad Houses”. All this leads to compromising the “Sovereignty of the People” the Constitution says is “inalienable”.

Let me wind off saying, “People’s Sovereignty” therefore demands all information related to governance, out in public domain. MoUs signed with India to be tabled in parliament, forthwith.  Requires all information related to the 323 “red flagged” containers to be tabled in parliament. Claims of few million Rupees saved from fuel, from MPs salaries but not told how and where they would be used, is not transparency and accountability. President not going for Sinhala-Tamil New Year ceremonies, is not what ensures People’s Sovereignty guaranteed in the Constitution. We don’t accept a political culture without transparency and accountability as anything better and decent than what has been cultivated by corrupt regimes in the past.

“In the Republic of Sri Lanka sovereignty is in the People and is inalienable. Sovereignty includes the powers of government, fundamental rights and the franchise.”
Chapter I – The People, State & Sovereignty / Section 03 of the Sri Lanka Constitution.

Kusal Perera
2025 April 25

Snow leopards cannot growl. So when we step towards one of these fierce predators, she’s purring.

“Lovely,” as she’s called, was orphaned and rescued 12 years ago in Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan.

After years of relying on staff to feed her, she does not know how to hunt in the wild – and cannot be set free.

“If we release her, she would just go attack a farmer’s sheep and get killed,” Lovely’s caretaker, Tehzeeb Hussain, tells us.

Despite laws protecting them, between 221 to 450 snow leopards are killed each year, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) says, which has contributed to a 20% decline in the global population over the past two decades.

More than half of these deaths were in retaliation for the loss of livestock.

Now, scientists estimate that just 4,000 to 6,000 snow leopards are left in the wild – with roughly 300 of these in Pakistan, the third-largest population in the world.

To try and reverse these worrying trends, the WWF – with the help of Pakistan’s Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) – has developed cameras powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

Their aim is to detect a snow leopard’s presence and warn villagers via text message to move their livestock to safety.

The cameras operate using lithium batteries and solar panels

Tall, with a solar panel mounted on top, the cameras are positioned high among barren and rugged mountains at nearly 3,000m (9,843ft).

“Snow leopard territory,” says Asif Iqbal, a conservationist from WWF Pakistan. He walks us a few more steps and points to tracks on the ground: “These are pretty new.”

Asif hopes this means the camera has recorded more evidence that the AI software – which allows it to differentiate between humans, other animals and snow leopards – is working.

Trial and error

The WWF is currently testing 10 cameras, deployed across three villages in Gilgit-Baltistan. It has taken three years to train the AI model to detect these categories with impressive – if not perfect – accuracy.

Once we’re back down the mountain, Asif pulls up his computer and shows me a dashboard. There I am, in a series of GIFs. It correctly detects I’m a human. But as we scroll down the list, I come up again, and this time I’m listed as both a human and an animal. I’m wearing a thick white fleece, so I forgive the programme.

Then, Asif shows me the money shot. It’s a snow leopard, recorded a few nights prior, in night-vision. He pulls up another one from the week before. It’s a snow leopard raising its tail against a nearby rock. “It’s a mother leopard, looks like she’s marking her territory,” Asif says.

The cameras have been developed to detect a snow leopard’s presence and then warn villagers to move their livestock to safety

Setting up the cameras in rocky, high-altitude areas took a lot of trial and error. The WWF went through several types of batteries until it found one that could withstand the harsh winters. A specific paint was chosen to avoid reflecting light as animals pass by.

If the cellular service fails in the mountains, the device continues recording and capturing data locally. But the team has had to accept there are some problems they simply cannot solve.

While the camera lens is protected by a metallic box, they’ve had to replace solar panels damaged by landslides.

Doubt in the community

It is not just the technology that has caused problems. Getting the local community’s buy-in has also been a challenge. At first, some were suspicious and doubted whether the project could help them or the snow leopards.

“We noticed some of the wires had been cut,” Asif says. “People had thrown blankets over the cameras.”

The team also had to be mindful of the local culture and the emphasis on women’s privacy. Cameras had to be moved because women were walking by too often.

Some villages still have yet to sign consent and privacy forms, which means the technology cannot be rolled out in their area just yet. The WWF wants a binding promise that local farmers will not give poachers access to the footage.

Sitara says a snow leopard killed her sheep while they were grazing

Sitara lost all six of her sheep in January. She says she had taken them to graze on land above her home but that a snow leopard attacked them.

“It was three to four years of hard work raising those animals, and it all ended in one day,” she says.

The loss of her livelihood left her bedridden for several days. When asked if she is hopeful the AI cameras could help in the future, she replies: “My phone barely gets any service during the day, how can a text help?”

At a gathering of village elders, leaders of the Khyber village explain how attitudes have changed over the years, and that a growing proportion of their village understands the importance of snow leopards and their impact on the ecosystem.

According to the WWF, snow leopards hunt ibex and blue sheep, which stops these animals from overgrazing and helps to preserve grasslands so villagers can feed their livestock.

But not all are convinced. One local farmer questions the benefits of the animals.

“We used to have 40 to 50 sheep, now we’ve only got four or five, and the reason is the threat from snow leopards and from ibex eating the grass,” he says.

Climate change also has a part to play in why some feel threatened by snow leopards. Scientists say warming temperatures have led villagers to move their crops and livestock to higher areas in the mountains, encroaching on snow leopards’ own habitat, making livestock more of a target.

Whether the villagers are convinced by the conservation message or not, the WWF tells us legal penalties have served as a strong deterrent in recent years. Three men were jailed in 2020 after killing a snow leopard in Hoper valley, about a two-hour drive from Khyber. One of them had posted photos of himself with the dead animal on social media.

While those involved in the camera project are hopeful their AI devices can have an impact, they know they cannot be the sole solution.

In September, they are going to start trialling smells, sounds and lights at the camera sites to try to deter snow leopards from moving onto nearby villages, putting themselves and livestock in jeopardy.

Their work tracking these “ghosts of the mountains” is not over yet.

– Azadeh Moshiri, Usman Zahid and Kamil Khan Dayan

(BBC News)

In an article he has written on the US tariffs, he says, “China and Sri Lanka are good friends, good brothers and good partners from history to present. Our cooperation has become a model of South-South cooperation. Under the new circumstances, China stands ready to work with all countries in the world including Sri Lanka, to firmly uphold multilateralism, oppose economic bullying and trade protectionism, jointly safeguard international fairness and justice, and strive to foster a stable global environment for development.”

“In this process, China will resolutely implement the important consensus reached between President Xi Jinping and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, bring greater opportunities to Sri Lanka through China’s high-quality development, and work together to jointly build a China-Sri Lanka community with a shared future for greater benefits of the people of the two countries and the region,” he adds.

The complete article is as follows : 

Uphold Solidarity and Cooperation to Build a China-Sri Lanka Community with a Shared Future

Recently, the US government, disregarding unanimous opposition from the international community, announced its decision to impose so-called “reciprocal tariffs” on all trading partners including China and Sri Lanka. This move was followed by repeated policy reversals, creating significant chaos and uncertainty on a global scale. Moreover, this uncertainty continues to accumulate, potentially causing broader turmoil and even triggering a global economic recession. 

By recklessly imposing tariffs on other countries, the US defies the fundamental laws of economics and market principles, disregards the balanced outcomes achieved through multilateral trade negotiations, ignores the fact that the US has long benefited substantially from international trade, and weaponizes tariffs to exert maximum pressure for selfish interests. This is a typical act of unilateralism, protectionism and economic bullying. Such actions not only directly infringes upon the legitimate rights and interests of global trade partners, but also pose unpredictable and severe consequences for the US economy itself. Currently, the US stock market is plunging, Treasury bonds are being sold off, and inflationary pressures are mounting, living costs and financial strain on ordinary Americans are increasing. Voices of opposition within the US against the excessive use of tariffs are growing louder.

As a matter of fact, the US and other Western developed countries have been the architects and long-time leaders of the global free trade system established after World War II. People in Global South countries, including China and Sri Lanka, have only been able to earn meagre foreign exchange earnings by working really hard to provide high-quality, low-priced commodities to developed countries like the US. Meanwhile, the US, by occupying the high end of the industrial chain, has earned substantial profits by exporting services, high-tech products and equipment. What’s more, many products manufactured by developing countries like China and Sri Lanka and exported to developed countries are essentially products of Western companies. 

The US and its ruling class are the primary beneficiaries of economic globalization, while the Global South countries have long called for reform of the unjust international political and economic order. However, the US repeatedly claims to be harmed by trade deficits, ignoring the role of imported goods in reducing its living costs and diversifying its consumers’ choices, not to mention the dominant position the US holds in service trade. Today, the US is wielding tariffs as a weapon to intimidate other countries, attempting to force “manufacturing re-shoring” through measures that defy basic economics. This approach is a case of repaying kindness with enmity—it harms others while failing to solve the US’s own problems. This approach undermines the development rights of countries around the world, especially those in the Global South, and runs counter to the principles of globalization. Such actions are doomed to fail. This approach has caused widespread disappointment and unease across the globe and has been encountered with unanimous opposition from the international community.

Openness and cooperation are the prevailing trends of history, and mutual benefit is the shared aspiration of all. For the majority of countries committed to development and revitalization—including Sri Lanka—a free and open multilateral trading system is of vital importance. A secure and stable international environment is indispensable, and the more cooperative and reliable economic and trade partners there are, the better. Looking back at history, the evolution of globalization has always advanced through twists and turns amid turbulence. Since the formation of the modern world system, depressions and wars have occasionally erected high walls between countries and continents. But the common pursuit of cooperation and prosperity of humanity has always broken through these barriers and brought global integration to new heights. 

A major country should have the responsibilities of a major country. It must not pursue profit at the expense of principles, nor should it bully the weak with its strength. As the second largest economy, the second largest market for consumer goods, and a firm supporter of the multilateral trading system, China has always believed that cooperation is the only right path to addressing global challenges, and multilateralism is the inevitable choice for overcoming the difficulties the world faces. There are no winners in trade or tariff wars. Protectionism is a dead end. Solidarity and cooperation is the right way forward for humanity. China will continue to work with the international community to firmly oppose the US’s reckless imposition of tariffs. 

Moreover, China will continue to advance high-standard opening up, and implement high-standard policies for trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, share development opportunities with the world to achieve mutual benefits, win-win outcomes and shared prosperity, and promote a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization. Since 2017, the negative list for foreign investment has been shortened from 93 to 29 items nationwide, and all restrictions on access in the manufacturing sector have been removed. In 2024, 59,000 foreign-invested companies were newly established in China, up by 9.9 percent year-on-year. China’s total import and export of goods reached RMB 10.3 trillion in the first quarter this year, of which exports exceeded RMB 6 trillion with a relatively fast growth of 6.9 percent. China is the world’s market and a source of opportunities for every country. In a world full of uncertainties, China will continue to seek joining hands rather than throwing punches, removing barriers rather than erecting walls, and promoting connectivity rather than decoupling. We will further expand the trade network, be an even stronger magnet for investment, and provide stability and positive energy to the world economy through high-quality development and high-standard opening up.

China and Sri Lanka are good friends, good brothers and good partners from history to present. Our cooperation has become a model of South-South cooperation. Under the new circumstances, China stands ready to work with all countries in the world including Sri Lanka, to firmly uphold multilateralism, oppose economic bullying and trade protectionism, jointly safeguard international fairness and justice, and strive to foster a stable global environment for development. In this process, China will resolutely implement the important consensus reached between President Xi Jinping and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, bring greater opportunities to Sri Lanka through China’s high-quality development, and work together to jointly build a China-Sri Lanka community with a shared future for greater benefits of the people of the two countries and the region.

Quite recently a media report said, the JVP led NPP does not anymore call for “nationalisation of private enterprises, does not oppose privatisation of State-Owned Enterprises, giving up on their earlier Marxist political stands on national economy” while another media report said, President Anura Kumara had assured the visiting IMF delegation, they would not deviate from the agreed IMF programme, thus leaving their “Left” politics aside.

The ruthless “revolutionary”

Rohana Wijeweera the unknown initiator of the JVP had his affiliations with the CP of Ceylon then through his paternal politics, that gave him the opportunity for higher studies in the USSR. He was, it is said, forced to leave Soviet Russia for his Beijing fancied politics, during the Soviet-China conflict in early ‘60s. That perhaps was reason for Wijeweera to join with Shanmugathasan’s CP (Beijing wing) on his return to Sri Lanka and to work with its youth federation.

In 1965 he broke off from Shanmugathasan’s politics and went on his own in organising a clandestine armed organisation, that subsequently was named the JVP (People’s Liberation Front). During the initial phase when Wijeweera was compelled to have a political programme to recruit youth, the famous “05 classes” he formulated, included one that strongly argued against the “Left Movement in Sri Lanka” and a crude history of “socialist revolutions” with interpretations that supported Wijeweera’s “single day armed revolution”. The fourth class was developed against “Indian expansionism”.

Let me stress. Clandestine or not, a political decision that commits for a very primitive armed “revolution” to take State power in just one day, can be nowhere near Marxism-Leninism. Not even close to “Narodnism” a political movement in rural Russia that emerged in late 19th Century borrowing Marxist slogans now and then, and “stood for agrarian politics in mobilising the peasantry to oust the Russian Tsar in a popular peasant uprising”. Adding a strong anti-Indian expansionist political call to its own, Wijeweera left no space whatever for “Left” politics, leave alone “Marxist-Leninism”. Left politics and Marxism-Leninism can never be racist to any degree at any time.

Their hardline anti-India and anti-Tamil racist politics were more than evident during their 88-90 savage insurgency, when they went on a killing spree of ordinary Sinhala citizens for supporting and voting at the initial ’88 PC elections and for selling products imported from India. They interpreted “Tamil nationalism” as divisive politics that stand for a separate “Thamil Eelam”. Thus, justifying their opposition to the Tamil nationalist demand for “power sharing” even to date.

This JVP was brutally crushed before end 1990 by State Security Forces. Entire leadership including Wijeweera and Gamanayake were eliminated after they were brought under the custody of the Security Forces, leaving district activists leaderless, scattered and still underground not knowing what they could do.

Democratic JVP and UNP’s RW

Over the years in early 1990’s, they began regrouping as a democratic group, while State
intelligence agencies were scouting for underground activists. After President Premadasa met with his tragic death in 1993 May, there apparently was a change in how President Wijetunge’s government led by PM Ranil Wickramasinghe accepted the regrouping of JVP for democratic politics, despite the JVP remaining proscribed. Perhaps the political reading of the ruling party leadership with Wickramsinghe was, JVP terror would come to an end, if the majority is brought to open politics, instead of rounding them up one by one. Nandana Gunathilake the General Secretary of the new JVP that was regrouping then in early 90’s, said in a public discussion recently, they knew they had to enter democratic politics to come out of trapped undercover, as people were not prepared to accept them as “revolutionaries”.

They entered parliamentary politics in 1994 August in alliance with SLFP dissident Ariya Bulegoda’s Sri Lanka Progressive Front (SLPF). They contested few districts including Hambantota and Matara. First elected JVP MP was from the Hambantota district. Elected on the preferential vote, he was not their choice. The new JVP leadership thus had a very ugly, rough tussle for many weeks with the elected candidate in forcing him to resign forthwith and the next two on the list as well, to have Nihal Galappaththy to be sworn in as the JVP MP.

For the November presidential elections in 1994, though contesting from SLPF, Galappaththy was presented to the public as the JVP candidate. JVP offered to withdraw him in favour of PA candidate Kumaratunge, if she undertakes in writing to abolish the executive presidency within 06 months from elections. She did provide a written undertaking as requested, but never bothered to look at it after she was elected with over 60 percent votes. For over 30 years thereafter, every political party at every election promised to abolish the presidency, but has not. Now as leader of the first political party to demand abolition of the Executive Presidency, Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) is sitting on that very chair, gradually glorifying the presidency in establishing his authority as Executive President.

It is quite clear now, politics of AKD is the decisive factor in this JVP/NPP government.
Evolving as its most attractive and effective platform speaker, AKD was also the political factor in the JVP leadership that reached out to the Sinhala urban middleclass in forming the NPP as a new democratic political platform.

He had the advantage of promoting colleagues like Vijitha Herath, Bimal Rathnayake, Vasantha Samarasinghe, Nalinda Jayatissa to the top leadership, who would be accepted within urban Sinhala middleclass circles. They are different to those like Somawansa, Weerawansa, Nandana and Tilvin from Kalutara district who were basically tied to lower social segments of the Southern Sinhala society, a fair distance away from the middleclass.

Racism & JVP

What is thus important is to know, it was not the NPP that diluted “Left” coinig in JVP rhetoric. Even during Somawansa’s leadership with AKD and his colleagues participating in decision making, the JVP never pushed for “Left” political positions as non-negotiable. Though they gave “Left” slogans loud voice in their May Day processions to impress workers, they never stood firm with “Left” slogans in parliamentary politics.

In 2001 September negotiating conditions for a “probationary” government with a desperate President Chandrika Kumaratunge, JVP’s first condition was halting discussions with the LTTE on power devolution and limiting the cabinet of ministers to 20 members. They were soft on ongoing IMF programme, proposing discussions with the IMF on “privatising State enterprises”, no different to where they stand on the Wickramasinghe agreed IMF programme. That “probationary” government never took shape with 15 MPs including 03 ministers of the Kumaratunge government crossing over to the opposition UNP.

Again, in 2004 April parliamentary elections, JVP joined President Kumaratunge’s UPFA on condition they would be given 04 ministries and 04 deputies including ministry of Agriculture, the portfolio held by AKD. The main condition once again remained the stalling of negotiations on devolution with LTTE. President Kumaratunge’s negotiations with LTTE for post-Tsunami relief, nevertheless led JVP to leave the government in June 2005.

A few months later, agreeing to Rajapaksa’s candidature at the November 2005 presidential elections, JVP signed a MoU with Mahinda Rajapaksa that said, “It is agreed to protect, defend and preserve the unitary nature of the Sri Lankan state under any solution to be presented, formed or formulated for the purpose of the resolution of the national question.”

All through their parliamentary political history since 1994, JVP has not been as firm on privatisation of State enterprises, and the IMF, as they have been against “devolution of power.” They have also stood firm and uncompromising on the “Unitary State” as no other Sinhala-Buddhist entity in the South. In fact, it was the JVP that went before the Supreme Court, appealing for the de-merger of the North-East Province. President AKD borrowing Rajapaksa’s post-war Sinhala-Buddhist phrase “This country has no minorities – all are Sri Lankans and equals”, leaves nothing “Left” nor “Marxist-Leninist” in JVP, and leaves no alternative for the NPP too, but to follow AKD, the “Pied Piper”.

– Kusal Perera
2025, April 18

Towns in France and Belgium have been giving out free chickens for years to combat food waste – could the idea catch on elsewhere?

Around Easter in 2015, the small French village of Colmar started handing out free chickens to its residents. The aim of this experimental new scheme, launched by the waste collection department in the small village in north eastern France, was to reduce food waste.

The project had been in the works for some time. The then-president of Colmar Agglomération (a role similar to a mayor), Gilbert Meyer, had been reelected in 2014 with the slogan “one family, one hen”, which aimed to encourage residents to adopt a chicken. The following year the operation was launched, in partnership with two nearby chicken farms. Residents were encouraged to think of the free eggs – the effort put into raising a chicken would pay off quickly.

More than 200 homes in four municipalities signed up and were given two chickens each – either red chickens (Poulet Rouge) or Alsace chickens, an old and local breed.

Each household signed a pledge committing to raising the chickens, with the understanding that the waste department could conduct welfare spot checks on the animals at any time. Henhouses were not provided; it was up to the residents to build or buy their own. The department ensured that each home had enough space for the hens – between 8 and 10 sq m (86 and 108 sq ft).

The scheme was a success – and is still underway. “Over the years, other municipalities have joined and since 2022 all 20 municipalities of the agglomération have participated,” says Eric Straumann, current president of the Colmar Agglomération.

To date, 5,282 hens have been distributed to local residents, and applications are currently open for the next round of distribution in June 2025. Not only have the residents received a plentiful supply of free eggs, but food waste has also been averted from landfill as chickens are fed kitchen scraps which would otherwise be thrown away.

“Considering that a hen has a life expectancy of four years on average and that she consumes 150g (5.3oz) of bio-waste per day, we estimate that we have avoided 273.35 tonnes of bio-waste [since 2015],” says Straumann.

The small French village of Colmar has been handing out free chickens to its residents since 2015 (Credit: Getty Images)

Food waste contributes more methane emissions to the atmosphere than any other landfilled materials, due to its quick decay rate. In the US, around 58% of methane emissions released into the atmosphere from waste landfills are from food waste. Although shorter-lived in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide (CO2), methane has a global warming impact more than 80 times higher than CO2 over a 20-year period.

Around one third of food produced for humans is lost or wasted globally, amounting to 1.3 billion tonnes per year. Food loss and waste account for 8-10% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions – which is nearly five times the total emissions from the aviation sector.

Even though chicken owners in the UK have been advised to avoid to feeding the birds kitchen scraps due to concerns about spreading disease, it’s perfectly legal to do so elsewhere in the world, and it can have a meaningful impact on reducing food waste – and kickstart a cycle that benefits everyone.

“Proposed with the aim of reducing food waste, chickens make it possible to promote traditional circular economy practices that are still relevant today, particularly in villages, and which are now developing even in urban areas: chickens fed on our food waste in return provide us with fresh eggs,” says Straumann.

An additional benefit is that the chickens can teach children in Colmar about animals and the importance of protecting the natural world, he adds.

Colmar is not the only town to hand out free birds – nor was it the first to do so. In 2012 in another a small north-western French town called Pincé, ­two chickens were offered to each household to help them cut down on organic waste. “To begin with it was a joke, but then we realised it was a very good idea,” Lydie Pasteau, the mayor of Pincé, told local media at the time. A total of 31 families were given chickens, along with a bag of feed, with Pasteau calling the scheme a “surprising” success.

In Belgium, chickens have been handed out in the cities of Mouscron and Antwerp and the province of Limburg, although residents had to sign an agreement not to eat the chickens for at least two years. More than 2,500 families adopted hens in one year alone in Limburg, according to some reports, while in Mouscron, 50 pairs of chickens were given out in the second round of the scheme, after the initial giveaway was a success. Residents, who had to prove they had sufficient space in their gardens to keep the birds, were given basic instructions on chicken keeping.

Colmar residents have been left with a plentiful supply of eggs since 2015 (Credit: Alamy)

In theory, the scheme seems like a good idea, especially in parts of the world where eggs are either in shortage or very expensive. In California or New York, for example, a dozen eggs cost around $9 (£7). As some chicken breeds can lay up to 300 eggs every year, one chicken could lay up to $225 (£178) worth of eggs each year.

In practice though, Paul Behrens, a professor at the University of Oxford focusing on food systems, says there are some hurdles in the way: “I’m sure it could be done in the UK but I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” he says. “Bird flu is an ever-present worry. Current regulations mean you have to keep birds in fenced areas or indoors – this may again be a problem for animal welfare, or even disease spread if people don’t do this.”

The idea wouldn’t work well in the US either, says Mark Bomford, director of Yale University’s sustainable food programme. “I love chickens, but I don’t love the sound of this, especially in the US,” Bomford says.

The US is currently experiencing an egg shortage due to an outbreak of bird flu – and as a result egg prices have skyrocketed 36% compared to 2023 – but handing out free chickens would not be an “appropriate” response, Bomford says.

“Economically, steep inflation for a basic grocery item like eggs hurts the poor far more than it hurts the rich. To care for chickens you need feed, water, housing, space and free time,” he says. “Most people with lower incomes don’t have access to these things. By the time you have factored in all these costs, chickens are rarely ‘free’ and few people realise any net cost savings on eggs.”

One couple, however, did come up with a unique solution – renting chickens. Christine and Brian Templeton of Rent The Chicken in New Hampshire provide hens, feed and support for six months, allowing customers to collect fresh eggs at home. Business, the couple reports, is booming.

It’s important to temper egg expectations though, warns Behrens – industrial birds lay far more eggs than a home-kept healthy bird would. “Common and modern egg-laying birds are often in huge pain their entire lives, partly due to their genetics which are centred on providing as much ‘output’ as possible,” he says. “If you use older breeds and allow them to live a long, healthy life then you can avoid many of the most egregious animal welfare issues.”

“But people should then understand the tradeoff and expectations around that, you are having a much healthier bird in return for fewer eggs,” he says.

And from a food waste perspective, the ideal thing is to simply not waste the food in the first place – some researchers believe that composting can actually increase food waste.

“They think ‘oh, it’s okay as we compost’,” says Behrens. “Which is better than nothing but much worse than not wasting things in the first place. It could be even worse with chickens because you are getting eggs from them. People might waste even more than if they composted.”

But one unexpected benefit that was observed in Colmar – that had nothing to do with eggs or food waste – was the community the chickens created. Residents would bond over raising the chickens and would work with neighbours to care for the chickens when they went on holiday. “Residents have welcomed this operation since its launch,” says Straumann. “And that’s why all the municipalities in Colmar still participate in our programme today.”

– Lucy Sherriff

(BBC News)