Sex workers give red light to leaving famed Amsterdam district

Yahoo – AFP, Jan HENNOP, July 30, 2019

Sex workers give red light to leaving famed Amsterdam district

Amsterdam (AFP) - Bathed in red neon light, hundreds of prostitutes ply their trade from behind windows in the narrow canalside streets of Amsterdam – and that's how they want it to stay.

The Dutch capital's first female mayor has vowed to clean up the notorious red light district and possibly even close some of the famed window booths, but sex workers say they won't move.

"I have one thing to say to all these people who call us vulnerable, and that is that they don't know us at all," said Felicia Anna, chairwoman of Red Light United, a newly-formed union for window-frame sex workers.

"All it shows to me and to all my colleagues here is that these people who talk about us this way, really don't know us," the 33-year-old, who declined to give her real name, told AFP.

The area is one of the biggest tourist draws in a city that attracted around 18 million visitors last year.

But rising crime and the sheer number of visitors have contributed to huge problems in the area, once called a "square kilometre of misery" by police.

Mayor Femke Halsema listed "disruptive behaviour and a disrespectful attitude to the sex workers in the windows" as key problems, along with a "major increase in unlicensed, underground prostitution."

'Circus animals'

The green-left mayor has put forward four options to change the red light district, in what she says is a bid to curb crime and human trafficking, and to make life more pleasant for people who live there.

The first is to literally draw curtains over the window booths so people cannot see the sex workers from the street.

The second option is to move some window booths to other areas of the city, while the more radical option three is to close down and move all of them.

However the fourth option is to actually increase the number of window brothels in the red light district from the current level of 330, and possibly also create a "sex hotel", on the grounds that it will help sex workers trapped in the unlicensed sector to move to the licensed industry.

People who live in the area broadly back the changes. One resident of the Wallen neighbourhood, more commonly known as the Red Light district, told AFP "the women are treated worse than circus animals."

"Many residents would rather see the window frames closed and moved elsewhere," he said.

'Creates a stigma'

But those in the industry are not so keen.

"Our research among 170 sex workers behind the windows showed clearly that 93 percent of them do not want to move away from the red light district," said Romanian-born Anna.

"From the four scenarios for sex workers, only number four is in our benefit," she said. "We don't support the first three."

She disputed the mayor's claims that many women working in the red light district are vulnerable.

"Calling us victims and vulnerable to trafficking is not in our benefit. This creates a stigma around us... stop talking about us this way."

People involved in the sex trade admit there are problems, particularly with the sheer number of tourists, but say that shutting the red light district windows or moving are not the answer.

"Of the scenarios, we think the fourth one is of course the best," said Masten Stavast, who owns some 27 of the windows and rooms which he rents out to sex workers.

"Amsterdam is a small place and lately it has been way too busy here in the streets," his son and business partner Dave Kroeke agreed.

"Something has to change," he said.

'Still traumatised'

Recently, residents, business owners and off-duty sex workers met city officials, including Halsema, to discuss and exchange ideas on her proposals, which are slated for further talks in the city council in September.

Most told AFP that a previous plan by the council to concentrate window prostitution in a small area around the Wallen's two canals failed.

But residents also said that mass tourism in the Wallen caused great inconvenience -- and in at least one case, physical harm.

In a scene all too familiar with locals, Gijs, a 47-year-old academic who asked to be identified only by his first name, said he was assaulted by a British tourist near his front door.

"The guy stumbled in front of my bicycle and I crashed into his leg," after which he was surrounded by a group of drunken tourists on a canal bridge.

"The last thing I saw was the man wrapping a jersey around his fist like a boxing glove, before punching me in the jaw," he said.

"I'm still traumatised."

Dubai ruler's wife seeks UK forced marriage protection order for children

Yahoo – AFP, Robin MILLARD, 30 July 2019

Jordanian royal Princess Haya has long championed causes close to her
heart including youth and education

The estranged wife of the ruler of Dubai has applied for a UK forced marriage protection order relating to their children, a London court heard Tuesday.

Princess Haya, 45, a wife of 70-year-old United Arab Emirates Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, has applied for the order, as well as for wardship of their children, and a non-molestation order relating to herself, the High Court heard.

The couple are locked in a legal battle in London over the welfare of their two children.

At a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, judge Andrew McFarlane allowed media to report that Princess Haya, a Jordanian royal, had made the applications.

The court also heard that Sheikh Mohammed has applied to the High Court for the summary return of the children to Dubai.

Distinct from arranged marriages, forced marriages, in UK law, are those without the full and free consent of both parties.

A forced marriage protection order can be used to help someone who is being forced into marriage or who has been subjected to one, according to the government's official leaflet on the orders.

They can be applied for by the person in question, a relevant third party or anyone else with the permission of the court.

Applications must include details of how the applicant wants to be protected by the court, with the leaflet giving the example of stopping a person from being taken out of the UK to enter into a marriage without consent.

Foreign media excluded

After a previous hearing held in private in London, the couple issued a statement relating to the nature of the case.

"These proceedings are concerned with the welfare of the two children of their marriage and do not concern divorce or finances," it said.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum (L) did not attend the court 

proceedings on Tuesday

It said the preliminary case management hearing would "deal with issues relating to how to proceed to a final hearing to determine the welfare issues".

Judge McFarlane -- who presides over the family division of the High Court of England and Wales -- decided Tuesday that only accredited journalists with media based within the jurisdiction of England and Wales were allowed to sit in on the proceedings.

Reporters from media organisations not based in the UK were in attendance but were told they could not hear the proceedings.

Princess Haya is a daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan and a half-sister of King Abdullah II of Jordan.

The princess was in court for the proceedings while Sheikh Mohammed was not.

She left the court accompanied by her lawyer Fiona Shackleton who represented Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, in his divorce from Diana, princess of Wales.

Sheikh Mohammed is being represented by Helen Ward, who acted for Guy Ritchie in his divorce from pop star Madonna and for former Formula One motor racing supremo Bernie Ecclestone in his divorce.

A small anti-Sheikh Mohammed demonstration took place outside the courts complex.

The two-day preliminary hearing is set to continue on Wednesday.

Princess Haya is locked in a legal battle with the ruler of Dubai over the welfare of their two children

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum (L) did not attend the court proceedings on Tuesday.

Princess Haya, who is battling her husband, Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, in a UK court, is the third princess who has sought to escape the Gulf emirate in recent years https://t.co/u2kIiH02Kc pic.twitter.com/Pbf5LGygPD

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 31 juli 2019

Princess Haya of Jordan -- embroiled in a bitter legal battle with her husband the ruler of Dubai -- has received support from her brother in the form of a photo on Twitterhttps://t.co/GhS2xMO2oJ

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 1 augustus 2019

French NGO files suit over Notre-Dame lead risks

Yahoo – AFP, Joseph Schmid, July 29, 2019

Hundreds of tonnes of lead in the roof and steeple at Notre-Dame cathedral in
Paris melted during the devasting fire on April 15 (AFP Photo/Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD)

Paris (AFP) - Pressure rose on French authorities Monday after an environmental group said it had filed a lawsuit accusing officials of failing to quickly contain the risks of lead poisoning after the fire that ravaged Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris last April.

Worries about exposure to the toxic metal emerged shortly after the disaster, which saw hundreds of tonnes of lead in the church roof and steeple melt during the blaze.

That dispersed lead particles into the air that later settled on streets and buildings in surrounding neighbourhoods, though officials had insisted there was no danger to residents.

But last Thursday, city officials indefinitely shut two schools near the gothic landmark after tests revealed high levels of lead pollution on a shared playground.

Cleanup work at Notre-Dame was also halted after the top government official in the Paris region acknowledged that anti-contamination measures were insufficient.

The moves came in the wake of a media report alleging that authorities had covered up tests showing high lead pollution levels in nearby schools.

"The relevent authorities, including the diocese... neglected to assist residents, visitors and workers, allowing them to be exposed to the toxic fallout," the Robin des Bois (Robin Hood) NGO said in the lawsuit filed on Friday.

It accuses health agencies, government officials and the city of Paris of "deliberately putting people in danger" by not immediately taking measures to limit exposure to the contamination.

Ingesting lead particles can cause neurological defects as well as nervous system and kidney problems, in particular in children, who are more likely to touch contaminated objects and to put their fingers in their mouths.

Workers cleaning Notre-Dame must wear protective suits 

and masks at the site to limit exposure to lead 

contamination (AFP Photo/Rafael Yaghobzadeh)

Worrying levels

Around 180 children had been attending a summer holiday club at the nursery and primary schools on the Rue Saint-Benoit, before they were shut.

French investigative website Mediapart reported this month that high levels of lead had been detected in schools and daycare centres surrounding Notre-Dame.

Mediapart said the authorities had waited until a month after the fire before conducting tests in the 10 schools and daycares within 500 metres of the monument on the Ile de la Cite island in central Paris.

One test result, at the private Sainte-Catherine primary school, showed 698 microgrammes of lead per square metre, 10 times higher than the 70-microgramme level considered potentially dangerous, it said.

Prefect Michel Cadot, the government's top official for the Paris region, told reporters last week that strict controls should have been in place in the heavily contaminated interior of the cathedral, as well as in surrounding areas.

Cadot said the square in front of the cathedral, usually bustling with thousands of tourists and pilgrims, would be cleaned with a high-powered system that had been tested on a small area close to church.

The cathedral as well as the square in front and other nearby areas have been off-limits since the fire.

Products believed to contain lead are placed in a bin in the grounds of the Paris 

cathedral during the clean up (AFP Photo/Rafael Yaghobzadeh)

'No visibility'

Parents and local officials have stepped up their criticism of how authorities have addressed the potential risks following the decision to close the schools, more than three months after the disaster.

Paris officials have vowed a "deep clean" of all schools near Notre-Dame, with walls and furniture to be wiped and playgrounds hosed down while most children are away during the summer holidays.

They have also rejected claims of withholding or playing down the test findings, saying the high lead levels detected at nearby schools have been posted on the municipal website.

But outside the two schools closed last Thursday, several parents seethed at the notice informing them of the closures, which made no mention of lead risks.

"She told me, 'We don't have any visibility'," Lamine, the father of two boys, told AFP after he spoke with a city agent posted outside the school.

Florence Berthout, mayor of the city's Fifth Arrondissement, where the schools are located, has urged Mayor Anne Hidalgo to protectively block access to all schools within 500 metres of the site.

Cadot added last week that "all precautions must be taken" at the cathedral itself to protect the workers clearing and shoring up the gutted 850-year-old building, which is still in danger of collapsing.

Report alleges ethical abuses at UN agency for Palestinians

Yahoo – AFP, Joe Dyke, July 29, 2019

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said it is cooperating fully
with the investigation into allegations of mismanagement and abuses of authority
at the highest level of the agency (AFP Photo/MOHAMMED ABED)

Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - An internal ethics report has alleged mismanagement and abuses of authority at the highest levels of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees even as the organisation faced an unprecedented crisis after US funding cuts.

The allegations included in the confidential report by the agency's ethics department are now being scrutinised by UN investigators.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said it is cooperating fully with the investigation and that it cannot comment in detail because the probe is ongoing.

AFP has obtained a copy of the report which describes "credible and corroborated" allegations of serious ethical abuses, including involving UNRWA's top official, Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl.

It says the allegations include senior management engaging in "sexual misconduct, nepotism, retaliation, discrimination and other abuses of authority, for personal gain, to suppress legitimate dissent, and to otherwise achieve their personal objectives."

One senior official named in the report has left the organisation due to "inappropriate behaviour" linked to the investigation, UNRWA said, while another has resigned for what the agency called "personal reasons."

UNRWA said in response to AFP questions that it "is probably among the most scrutinised UN agencies in view of the nature of the conflict and complex and politicised environment it is working in."

"Over the past 18 months, UNRWA has faced immense financial and political pressure, but its entire staff body has steered it, serving 5.4 million Palestine refugees through the most unprecedented financial crisis in its near 70 years of history," it said.

The report was sent to the United Nations secretary general in December and UN investigators have since visited UNRWA's offices in Jerusalem and Amman, collecting information related to the allegations, sources familiar with the matter said.

Krahenbuhl said in a statement to AFP that "if the current investigation... were to present findings that require corrective measures or other management actions, we will not hesitate to take them."

'Nepotism'

UNRWA was set up in the years after more than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled their lands during the 1948 war surrounding the creation of Israel.

It provides vital schooling and medical services to millions of impoverished refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and the Palestinian territories.

It employs around 30,000 people, mostly Palestinians, and its UN mandate is set to be debated later this year.

The report paints a picture of a small number of mostly foreign senior leaders centralising power and influence while disregarding UN checks and balances.

Pierre Krahenbuhl, Commissioner General for the United Nations Relief and 

Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (AFP Photo/THOMAS COEX)

Krahenbuhl himself is alleged to have been romantically involved with a colleague who was appointed in 2015 to a newly created role of senior advisor to the commissioner-general after an "extreme fast-track" process, the report says.

This enabled her to join him on business class flights across the globe, the report claims.

In 2018 the United States suspended and later cut all funding for UNRWA, causing a financial crisis that threatened to see its schools and hospitals closed.

US President Donald Trump's administration, along with Israel, accuses UNRWA of perpetuating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The agency disputes that and says the services it provides would otherwise not be available to Palestinians.

Trump's Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt said Monday that he was "extremely concerned" about allegations against UNRWA and demanded a full UN probe.

"UNRWA's model is broken/unsustainable & based on an endless expanding # of beneficiaries," he wrote on Twitter.

After the crisis began, Krahenbuhl established a fund-raising unit outside of the traditional mechanisms but it "reportedly raised only modest amounts," the report says.

At the same time, it enabled him to continue travelling with his partner, it says.

Separately, a Krahenbuhl deputy is accused of manipulating the system to find a well-paid job for her husband during the 2018 financial crisis.

Her management style is alleged to have included bullying, cutting those she disliked out of decision-making and avoiding checks and balances, it says.

The deputy left UNRWA last Thursday for what the agency said was "personal reasons".

She could not be reached for comment.

Another senior official is described in the report as bullying staff and acting like a "gangster" and a "thug".

UNRWA said the official was recently "separated from the agency as a result of inappropriate behaviour" linked to the investigation.

He could not be reached for comment.

'Warnings ignored'

A senior UNRWA staffer was fired in early July after what she said was several years of trying to raise ethical concerns.

UNRWA said she was "separated" following a different investigation unrelated to the internal report, calling it a "stand-alone case of misconduct".

She claimed she was fired for retaliation and is appealing.

Documents seen by AFP show multiple times she raised concerns over potential mismanagement, including employees allegedly being promoted beyond their qualifications and supposed nepotism.

She told AFP she met directly with Krahenbuhl, but nothing was done.

"Most of the time it felt like working for a private company not the United Nations where we are supposed to comply with strict rules and regulations", she said.

US financier Epstein found injured in cell after possible suicide attempt: media

France24 – AFP, 25 July 2019

Jeffrey Epstein, in this undated handout from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's
Department, has been accused of sexually assaulting minors Palm Beach County
Sheriff's Department/AFP/File

New York (AFP) - Disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein, who is accused of trafficking underage girls for sex, was found unconscious in his New York jail cell after a possible suicide attempt, US media reported Thursday.

Epstein -- a convicted pedophile -- was discovered on Tuesday at a federal jail with marks on his neck, anonymous law enforcement sources told multiple media outlets including The New York Times.

The 66-year-old, who has befriended countless celebrities and politicians over the years, was taken from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan to hospital and the injuries are not believed to be serious, media reports said.

Guards are also investigating whether Epstein was the victim of a possible assault -- or if he injured himself in a bid to be transferred out of the jail -- as they piece together what happened.

Prison officials, lawyers for Epstein, and prosecutors were not immediately available for comment when contacted by AFP.

The wealthy hedge fund manager was denied bail last week after appearing at a New York court charged with one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors.

He denies the charges and faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted.

In the ruling, Judge Richard Berman cited Epstein's ownership of a private jet, along with a fake Austrian passport and $70,000 in cash found in his house, as evidence that the financier could skip bail.

Epstein's lawyers had argued that he should be allowed to remain at his home, fitted with an electronic ankle bracelet and with his building under police video surveillance.

Prosecutors say Epstein sexually exploited dozens of underage teenagers, some as young as 14 years old, at his homes in Manhattan and Palm Beach, Florida, between 2002 and 2005.

They claim that Epstein was "well aware that many of the victims were minors."

The girls were paid hundreds of dollars in cash to massage him, perform sexual acts and to recruit other girls, prosecutors allege.

They say that Epstein had an army of recruiters often not much older than their targets who would approach vulnerable teens.

Trump, Clinton and British prince

Once recruited, the girls' names were entered into a "little black book."

Alleged victim Jennifer Araoz, 32, told NBC News that she was recruited by a woman outside her New York high school in 2001 to meet Epstein at his Manhattan townhouse. She said that in the fall of 2002, Epstein raped her.

Epstein is also accused of paying off possible co-conspirators to "influence" them, US media have reported.

New York prosecutors said they had obtained financial records showing Epstein wired $350,000, just days after reports broke of a secret plea deal he negotiated a decade ago, news reports said.

Epstein, whose friends have included President Donald Trump, former president Bill Clinton and Britain's Prince Andrew, was convicted previously of paying young girls for sexual massages at his Palm Beach mansion.

But he avoided federal prosecution under the plea deal that required Epstein to admit to a single state charge of soliciting prostitution from a minor and register as a sex offender.

He served just 13 months in a county jail before being released in 2009.

Earlier this month, Alex Acosta resigned as US labor secretary amid a backlash over the deal that he negotiated with Epstein while he was a federal prosecutor in Florida.

Epstein is next due to appear in court on July 31.

Related Articles:

US hedge fund billionaire charged with sex trafficking minors

“The Battle (in the old energy) is Over”, Laguna Hills, California, US(4), July 13–14, 2019 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - New

Louvre museum removes Sackler name amid opioid controversy

Yahoo – AFP, July 17, 2019

Paris's iconic Louvre is believed to be the first museum in the world to remove
the Sackler name over the opioid crisis (AFP Photo/Ludovic MARIN)

Paris (AFP) - The Louvre museum in Paris has removed the name of the Sackler family from one of its wings, amid a controversy that has seen the billionaire donors accused of pushing a highly-addictive opioid blamed for tens of thousands of deaths.

An AFP reporter on Wednesday saw that masking tape had been put in place to hide the Sackler name on plaques in the rooms of what had been the Sackler Wing of Oriental Antiquities, which houses artefacts from the ancient Near East.

A museum spokesperson could not say when the tape had been put in place. The wing had been given the name due to a $3.6 million donation made by the Sackler family in 1996.

Louvre president Jean-Luc Martinez said on RTL television on Tuesday that the rooms no longer carried the name as such a tribute lasted a maximum of 20 years after the donation.

This would mean that the Sackler wing should not have been named after the family for several years. But the Louvre spokesperson declined to comment when asked why the name had not been removed three years ago.

American group PAIN (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now), backed by American photographer Nancy Goldin, a former opioid addict, had urged the museum to rename the Sackler Wing.

The Louvre was the latest in a string of museums to face criticism over links to the Sackler family and their company Purdue Pharma, whose painkiller OxyContin is now subject to more than 1,000 lawsuits over its role in the US opioid crisis.

In recent months, galleries including New York's Guggenheim and Metropolitan Museum, and London's Tate and National Portrait Gallery, said they would stop accepting donations from the family.

But the Louvre is believed to be the first to actually remove the name, a move welcomed by a PAIN spokesperson while noting that the museum appeared unwilling to publicise it.

In 2017, 47,000 people died in the United States as a result of overdosing on opioids including prescription drugs, heroin and fentanyl, the Centers for Disease Control says.

There are hundreds of lawsuits in various US states against both Purdue and its owner the Sackler family, who are accused of pushing for the prescription of OxyContin despite knowing how addictive it is.

But worries about the medication are not confined to the US.

Last month, around 100 French doctors warned about the risk of a health crisis claiming there were "12 million people in France taking opioids" who had not been told about the potential for addiction and risk of overdose.

Photographer Nan Goldin leads a protest out of the Guggenheim Museum in

Manhattan, New York, against its funding by the Sackler family, the owners of

Oxycontin manufacturer Purdue. Photograph: Yana Paskova/The Guardian

Related Article:

Massive lawsuit says Sackler family broke laws to profit from opioids

Canadian province sues opioid makers, distributors

Oxycodone overdoses in the Netherlands soar as prescriptions rise

Painkiller overdose deaths up 5x among US women

Dutch Seroxat teen users to sue drug maker for side effects

Science & Spiritually Conference 2018, BC – Canada (4), June 16-17, 2018 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) (Text version “Predictions”)

".... Let me tell you what else is in the field. Two things: These are going to be things that exist now in the field and they are upcoming potentials. The reason I give you these potentials is so if they happen, just like the handshake, you might believe a little more in this process.

There will come a time when Big Pharma will fall over because of a growing higher consciousness of the public. [Applause in the audience] There is a consciousness growing here that begins to have a new respect for each other, so that abuse of women will no longer be tolerated. Things that never happened before will begin happening, like bishops and cardinals resigning. [All 34 bishops in the Catholic Church resigned May 2018 after the new wild card pope called them on their reaction to child abuse for years by their colleagues.] All the things my partner brought today [in the seminar] are actually happening now. Why should some of these drug companies fail? Because there will be a strong reaction from your general public when they realize there are companies that have policies that would keep a Human sick or let him die for money. [Applause in the audience] It would be unconscionable, and the potential grows stronger daily that it's going to happen. The trigger? It's coming. When it does, that industry will be in trouble. Not all pharma is this way, dear ones - understand this - but the ones who are will fall. ..."

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Dallas Texas, Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

US hedge fund billionaire charged with sex trafficking minors

Yahoo – AFP, July 8, 2019

Members of a protest group called "Hot Mess" hold up signs of Jeffrey Epstein as the
hedge fund billionaire appears in court to face sex trafficking charges (AFP Photo/
STEPHANIE KEITH)

New York (AFP) - Jeffrey Epstein, a hedge fund billionaire with ties to top politicians and celebrities, was charged on Monday with sexually exploiting dozens of young girls.

Epstein, 66, was arrested at an airport in New Jersey on Saturday after returning to the United States from Paris on a private jet.

In an indictment unsealed in US District Court for the Southern District of New York, he was charged with one count of sex trafficking of minors and one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors.

"(Epstein) sexually exploited and abused dozens of minor girls at his homes in Manhattan, New York, and Palm Beach, Florida, among other locations," the indictment said.

Some of the victims were as young as 14.

Epstein, a well-connected financier whose friends have included President Donald Trump and former president Bill Clinton, was convicted previously of paying young girls for sexual massages at his Palm Beach mansion.

But Epstein avoided federal prosecution in those cases with a 2007 plea deal negotiated by his lawyers with Alexander Acosta, now the labor secretary in the Trump administration.

Under the secret deal, he pleaded guilty to a state charge of soliciting prostitution from a minor and served 13 months in a county jail.

Acosta, who was the top federal prosecutor in Miami at the time, has been the target of a campaign demanding his resignation over the relatively light sentence handed down to the billionaire financier.

Related Article:

“The Battle (in the old energy) is Over”, Laguna Hills, California, US(4), July 13–14, 2019 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - New

Deutsche Bank says to slash 18,000 jobs by 2022

Yahoo – AFP, Tom BARFIELD, July 7, 2019

Germany's biggest lender bank Deutsche Bank will slash around one in five of its
workforce, an unprecedented round of departures for the bank (AFP Photo/Boris Roessler)

Frankfurt am Main (AFP) - Germany's biggest lender Deutsche Bank said Sunday it would cut 18,000 jobs by 2022, as the former leading light of the country's financial sector looks to escape years of turmoil.

The slashing of around one in five of its workforce, to 74,000 employees, is an unprecedented round of departures for Deutsche.

The bank said the layoffs would reduce annual costs by six billion euros ($6.7 billion) over the same period.

"Today we have announced the most fundamental transformation of Deutsche Bank in decades," chief executive Christian Sewing said, dubbing the scheme "a restart for Deutsche Bank".

The lender did not immediately make clear where the axe would fall.

But with executives looking to find synergies in the integration of subsidiary Postbank and central infrastructure roles, many jobs are likely to go in home country Germany.

The new round of job cuts comes on top of some 6,000 already carried out over the past yer.

Bosses expect the restructuring plan to sap second-quarter results by some three billion euros this year, making for a net loss of 2.8 billion.

Over the whole year, Deutsche is likely to plunge back into the red after a brief flirtation with profitability in 2018.

The bank does not plan to pay out dividends this year or next.

Last chance?

The restructuring could be a last chance for Deutsche after much-hyped merger talks with crosstown rival Commerzbank fell through earlier this year.

Negotiations collapsed despite the backing of the finance ministry in Berlin, which feared seeing a vital link in the financing of the country's economy bought up from abroad.

Over the past four years, the firm's market capitalisation has fallen by 75 percent, making it a potential target for takeovers by bigger fish.

As markets closed Friday, Deutsche was worth 15 billion euros ($17 billion), placing it firmly at the back of the pack in a European industry dominated by the likes of HSBC (165 billion euros), Spain's Banco Santander (69 billion) and France's BNP Paribas (54 billion).

"Deutsche plays in the first division, and should lay the foundations for things to stay that way" over the weekend, urged economy minister Peter Altmaier in the tabloid-style Bild's Sunday edition.

Since he took the helm in early 2018, Sewing has attempted to refocus the sprawling group on stable revenue-generating business areas, including retail banking and so-called transaction banking for businesses.

Meanwhile Deutsche's focus has shifted from its attempt to compete with US-based global giants back to its home turf of Germany and Europe.

Investment banking burned

In particular, tough cuts to the former flagship investment banking unit have been on the agenda since May.

Sunday's announcements target the once-proud division.

Deutsche will stop almost all share trading activity, and is in talks with France's BNP Paribas to sell off some of its business and staff in the field.

On Friday, Garth Ritchie, the head of Deutsche's South African investment banking unit, was first out of the door.

The unit's business had fallen back by 20 percent in the first quarter of 2018 alone, and it was no longer bringing in the fat profits of former years.

Especially in the US, it was for years plagued by lawsuits and scandals, including some linked to the so-called "Panama Papers" leak of sensitive documents about offshore dealings.

On top of the rank-and-file cuts, Deutsche is also rebuilding its board, sending away compliance chief Sylvie Matherat and two other executives.

The group will also create a so-called "bad bank" unit to host some 74 billion euros of low-quality assets, notably those linked to derivatives transactions -- highly speculative financial products.

Deutsche's woes are a microcosm of a struggling German banking sector that was once widely envied.

Last year, more than 32,000 jobs were cut in the industry, or 5.4 percent of the total workforce of 565,000, according to Barkow Consulting figures.

Bosses complain that low interest rates in the eurozone, sluggish economic growth and competition from new online platforms are sapping their performance.