A new report published on Tuesday found "institutional failings" in the UK to seriously investigate claims of child sex abuse against the now-deceased Labour peer Lord Janner.

The report was carried out by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. Its aim was not to determine whether Janner was innocent or guilty, but rather to examine the handling of complaints against him.

The report was scathing and found that Leicestershire police committed a "serious and inexcusable failure" to investigate properly the allegations against Janner.

The report particularly criticized a decision by the Leicestershire police not to pass on statements by two anonymous witnesses, called JA-A19 and JA-A6, onto the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in 2002.

The report said there was a "culture of disbelief" at the Leicestershire police during that period, and that the failure to pass on the statements to the CPS could have been due to "complacency, incompetence or undue deference to a prominent public figure."

Prof. Alexis Jay, the inquiry’s chair, said the original police investigation “insufficiently investigated JA-A19 and JA-A6’s complaints. The police were too quick to dismiss JA-A19 as someone who lacked credibility and put too little emphasis on looking for evidence that might support his allegations. JA-A6’s complaint was shut down without any proper investigations being carried out. The decision not to submit JA-A19 and JA-A6’s statements about Lord Janner to the Crown Prosecution Service was a significant and unjustifiable failing.”

The report also condemned Leicestershire country council saying its staff were aware and had concerns about Janner’s association with a child in its care, "such that further inquiries about the nature of the association were necessary."

Janner was not initially arrested, and the panel said further inquiries should have been made as to whether he should have been arrested.

Janner was eventually charged in 2015 with 22 offenses of indecent assault and buggery relating to nine separate complainants, concerning events that took place between the 1960s and 1980s, against children aged between eight and 16.

He died later in 2015, which closed the criminal case against him.

Chief Constable of Leicestershire Police Simon Cole said: "On behalf of Leicestershire Police, firstly, I would like to reiterate the wholehearted apology I gave in February 2020 to any complainant whose allegations during earlier police investigations into Lord Janner were not responded to as they should have been.

"It is fair and correct to say that the allegations could and should have been investigated more thoroughly, and Lord Janner could and should have faced prosecution earlier than 2015."/agencies

Afghanistan's economy may contract up to 30% this year with falling imports, a depreciating Afghani, and accelerating inflation, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report on Tuesday.

"Afghanistan has sustained multiple shocks in the aftermath of the Taliban’s return to power," the IMF said in Regional Economic Outlook for Middle East and Central Asia.


"With nonhumanitarian aid halted and foreign assets largely frozen, Afghanistan’s aid-dependent economy faces severe fiscal and balance-of-payments crises. Cash shortages and the loss of correspondent banking relationships have crippled Afghan banks," it added.


The IMF said the turmoil in Afghanistan, coupled by the pandemic and drought, has pushed the country's fragile economy into a crisis that includes a falling output, paralyzed banks, and rising poverty.

It warned that the drop in living standards threatens to push millions into poverty and it could lead to a humanitarian crisis.

"The crisis in Afghanistan is impoverishing millions, especially women and vulnerable groups and has already displaced thousands of Afghans internally. This can set off a wave of refugees, the main channel of outward spillovers to the region," the report said.


"The turmoil in Afghanistan is expected to generate important economic and security spillovers to the region and beyond. It has fueled internal displacement and could trigger a surge in refugees to neighboring countries, Turkey, and Europe," it added.

The IMF has also increased its growth outlook for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which is now forecast to expand 4.1% in 2021 and 2022 – up 0.1 and 0.4 percentage points, respectively, from its previous projections made in April.

It estimates inflation in the MENA region to average 12.9% this year and 8.8% next year – also up 0.1 and 0.2 percentage points, respectively, from April projections./aa

US tech company Apple unveiled Monday new product models that include MacBook Pro, M1 chip, AirPods, HomePod, and software.

The new MacBook Pro is powered by the all-new M1 Pro and M1 Max – the first pro chips designed for the Mac, California-based firm said in a statement.

Available in 14- and 16-inch models, MacBook Pro has Liquid Retina XDR display, a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, while Apple argued it has the best audio system in a notebook.

Designed for developers, photographers, filmmakers, 3D artists, scientists, and music producers, the new models will start from $1,999 and will be available on Oct. 26.

The company has also updated its Final Cut Pro software for professional video editors and its professional music creation software Logic Pro that allows users to mix and export songs in Dolby Atmos.

Apple said in another statement that the new M1 Pro and M1 Max chips are the most powerful the Silicon Valley firm has ever built.

M1 Pro and M1 Max delivers up to 70% faster CPU performance than the traditional M1 chip, while the GPU in M1 Pro is up to two times faster than M1, and M1 Max is up to four times faster than M1, it added.

The 3rd generation of AirPods comes with a new design and feature extended battery life that has up to six hours of listening time, and up to 30 hours with its charging case. New AirPods will be in stores as of Oct. 26 for a price tag of $179.

"Users can enjoy spatial audio featuring Dolby Atmos in Apple Music, movies, and tv shows, along with dynamic head tracking, across Apple devices. The new AirPods are resistant to sweat and water, and feature a force sensor for easy and intuitive control of music and phone calls," another statement said.

Apple's smart speaker HomePod mini now has three more colors – yellow, orange and blue along with existing colors of white and space gray – and it has smart home capabilities, built-in privacy and security features, and Siri intelligence.

HomePod mini's new colors will hit the shelves for $99 next month, and it will have seamless integration across its products and services.

Apple Music Voice Plan, a new subscription for Apple Music and designed around Siri, will cost $4.99 per month, giving access to a catalog of 90 million songs, personalized mixes, genre stations, and Apple Music Radio./aa

Facebook said it is planning to create 10,000 new high-skilled jobs in the EU over the next five years to build the next computing platform metaverse.

US-based global social media and networking service firm said metaverse, the new phase of interconnected virtual experiences using technologies like virtual and augmented reality, will create a greater sense of virtual presence.

It will enable online interaction that will be much closer to the experience of interacting in person, according to a blog post published on Sunday.

Facebook said no single company will own and operate the metaverse, but it will be open and interoperable like the internet.

"As we begin the journey of bringing the metaverse to life, the need for highly specialized engineers is one of Facebook’s most pressing priorities," Nick Clegg, vice president of global affairs, and Javier Olivan, vice president of central products, wrote.

"Europe is hugely important to Facebook. From the thousands of employees in the EU to the millions of businesses using our apps and tools every day, Europe is a big part of our success, as Facebook is invested in the success of European companies and the wider economy," they added.

Facebook said the EU has advantages for tech companies to invest, as European companies are at the cutting edge of several fields.

Some of the examples Facebook provided include German biotech for developing the first-ever MRNA vaccine, a coalition of European banks for leading the future of finance, and Spain seeing record levels of investment in startups from online grocery delivery to neuroelectronics./agencies

The number of rain-related deaths in different parts of India rose to 54 on Tuesday, authorities said.

In the southern state of Kerala, 38 deaths have been reported so far, according to the State Disaster Management Authority.

At least 11 people died in the northwestern state of Uttarakhand on Tuesday, taking the statewide death toll to 16 as incessant rain continues for the second day.

“Eleven deaths in rain related-incidents were reported on Tuesday, while many people are feared trapped in rubble following cloudbursts and landslides,” the Press Trust of India news agency quoted Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami as saying.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the Uttarakhand chief minister and discussed the latest situation in the state.

According to an official statement, Modi assured Dhami that all possible help will be extended to the state.

The India Meteorological Department has also issued a red alert for Uttarakhand with a forecast of “heavy” to “very heavy” rainfall in the state in the next 3-4 days.

According to the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, at least 90 houses have been destroyed in the rains, while 702 have been partially damaged./aa

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday reiterated his call for a “fairer world,” criticizing the institutions in charge of ensuring peace and justice, as they have “failed once again” in the pandemic response.

In a video message sent to the opening session of the TRT World Forum 2021, Erdogan said: “The need for reform in the United Nations and other international organizations can no longer be disregarded”.

The Turkish leader said that the COVID-19 pandemic has been dominating the world agenda over the past two years.

“The pandemic’s aftershocks are still being felt in a number of areas, particularly in the economy.

“Obviously, it will take time to get back to normal life after such a massive crisis,” he said, further saying that the world will never be the same again with “the contradictions and paradoxes of the global system” brought out as never before.

“In the face of this crisis, which threatens the future of all humanity, the institutions in charge of ensuring peace and justice in the world have failed once again,” he told TRT World Forum.

He stressed that underdeveloped countries and poor segments of the society have been abandoned to their fate, while protectionism in trade has intensified and supply chains have been disrupted.

Islamophobia

Erdogan also pointed out that the hate crimes in western countries have “reached a terrifying level” with the economic difficulties.

“While the concept of social state has been gravely harmed, income disparities have grown, animosity towards Islam and anti-immigrant sentiments have surged once again,” he said.

The Turkish president also criticized European politicians who exploit the “animosity towards Islam” to “win votes”.

“As a politician who has been drawing attention to these threats for many years, our concerns have grown further as a result of what we have witnessed,” he stated.

Failure of global system

Erdogan said they were “disappointed to see that a historic opportunity to ensure global peace and justice has been squandered.”

“Unfortunately, we were unable to properly capitalize on the coronavirus pandemic in terms of cooperation and solidarity, although it reminded us once again that we are one big family.”

Over 4.9 million have lost their lives due to the coronavirus pandemic since it started in December 2019, according to the US’ Johns Hopkins University.

Erdogan asserted that it would be a “simplistic and flawed approach” to attribute up to 5 million fatalities globally to the “virus or poor healthcare”.

“The existing system, which defends the powerful over the vulnerable, supports exploitation over sharing, and encourages greed, selfishness, and avarice over contentment, is the most crucial reason for the emergence of this picture,” he said.

The current system, Erdogan said, has failed to produce “justice and stability” for a long time. “It is impossible for this system to continue in its current structure, in which the Islamic world has no say, the demands of Africa, Latin America, and South Asia are ignored, and only the interests of the five most powerful countries are taken into account.”

He reiterated that “the need for reform in the United Nations and other international organizations can no longer be disregarded.”

Recalling Turkey’s call for reform for many years with the motto “The World is Bigger Than Five,” the president said: “We have recently shared our tangible proposals on this with our nation and the rest of the world, declaring that ‘a fairer world is possible’.”

Turkey proposed a “principled, comprehensive, strategic, and applicable model” for the UN to ensure equal representation, Erdogan said, adding that he was pleased to witness during the talks at the UN General Assembly’s 76th session that his country’s efforts were “reciprocated”.

“We are determined to take this struggle, which we are waging on behalf of all oppressed people and victims, to a much higher level,” he stressed.

“We will continue to wage this struggle until a global order is established, which puts people in the center, prioritizes justice and equity, and where the right is powerful rather than the powerful being right,” Erdogan said./aa

While the global economy is emerging from the coronavirus pandemic, ongoing supply chain disruptions risk global growth.

Problems in the supply chain such as rising raw material prices, computer chip shortage, port congestion, and shortage of truck drivers threaten the global economy.

Moody's Analytics senior economist Tim Uy told Anadolu Agency that the current supply chain disruptions will continue.

"There are bottlenecks in every link of the chain – whether it be shipping, ports, trucks, rail, air or warehouses – leading to delivery time delays reaching historic highs in some places," he said.

Pointing to myriad reasons for this, Uy said the truck driver shortage, issues with the asymmetric reopening of different countries around the world, and high energy prices are some of them.

"It is unlikely that the global supply chain disruptions completely clear until 2023 at the earliest," he stressed, as various countries are seeing disruptions get worse and are acting on it.

"The White House working with private companies to clear port congestion in LA and Long Beach, the UK government moving to hire additional drivers to mitigate the truck driver shortage – but it will take some time before these measures bear fruit," he explained.

The supply chain, which was interrupted last year due to the pandemic and the quarantine measures, is struggling to recover while facing booming demand with the vaccination and ease of measures.

This chaos in the supply chain is limiting the ability of manufacturers and distributors to meet growing demand as they cannot supply and produce as before the pandemic.

Last year, COVID-19 disrupted the supply of some goods with causing factory closures, layoffs for workers and halting production. This coincided with a sharp decline in consumer demand for many products, pushing economies around the world into a deep recession.

Global demand for goods has quickly bounced back, driven by the rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines, high levels of government support, and changing spending habits.

As Christmas holiday is coming and willingness of people to spend in developed countries grows, demand continues to boost. But on the supply side, problems are also climbing for reasons that go beyond the pandemic.

The COVID-19 continues to reduce the capacity of factories in Asia, making shipping and logistics more costly. Extreme weather events due to the global warming are also causing more disruption.

While the power shortages in China have hit production adversely, the lack of truck drivers in the UK hinders distribution. In countries such as the US and Germany, there is concern about the port congestion.

Shipping container shortage, the scarcity of critical raw materials such as rubber, timber, steel and semiconductors, and the lack of basic workforce, including truck drivers, which have worsened during the pandemic period, are among causes for supply chain disruption.

The incompatibility of measures to curb the coronavirus by countries around the world also complicates the case as related restrictions are loosened more in the US, while strict measures still continue in Asia.

This situation makes it difficult to take transport workers to the ports and centers where they are needed in the global labor market.

Supply bottlenecks are already implying impediment in economic recovery in some countries, with experts warning that supply chain woes "will get worse before they get better".

Problems in the supply chain are expected to limit production globally until next year.

- Global supply chain under pressure

In its latest report, Moody's stated that ongoing supply chain disruptions are challenging the resurgence of global trade. While global trade is expected to grow by 9-11% in 2021, Moody's said that supply chain bottlenecks will limit the recovery.

The increase in the freight prices of goods shipped from China to the US and Europe besides the lack of logistics personnel in those countries make it difficult for the goods to reach their final destinations, raising the cost and causing them to sit on the market shelves at higher prices.

Data from the UN Trade and Development Agency (UNCTAD) showed that shipping from China to South America earlier this year cost five times more than last year.

Freight prices on the routes between China and North America increased more than twice as well.

As reported by the US media, there are nearly 500 large container ships waiting to dock outside the ports in Asia, Europe, and North America.

Backlogs exacerbated by labor shortages and supply chain disruptions can take months to get through, leaving store shelves empty and consumers facing higher prices as they prepare for New Year's shopping, according to experts.

Problems in the supply chain are slowing down economic activity in China, the US, and Europe.

The Chinese economy, which grew 18.3% in the first quarter and 7.9% in the second quarter, lost its growth momentum and expanded 4.9% in the third quarter of this year.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) revised its global economic growth projection to 5.9% for 2021 and kept its forecast for 2022 stable at 4.9%, reflecting pandemic-induced longer-than-expected supply shortages and worsening pandemic dynamics.

German think tank The Kiel Institute for the World Economy pointed out that global industrial output climbed above pre-crisis levels in early 2021 but has stagnated since then.

The European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde also warned that the globalized nature of the eurozone economy is highly vulnerable to systemic shocks from supply chain disruptions, highlighting that bottlenecks hit the eurozone more than any other economy.

Supply chain bottlenecks bring along inflationary concerns in the US and Europe.

Rising inflation rates push central banks to cut their pandemic-period incentive policies, which affects global economic growth negatively.

Problems in the supply chain had a hold on some companies' sales and profits in the third quarter. The downward revision in the sales expectations of publicly traded companies also put their shares under more pressure.

Companies complain about rising material prices, extended delivery times due to delays in the supply chain and, in some cases, order cancellations.

As the world economy moves into the final phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies and consumers feel the global supply chain is under pressure.

The deepening energy crisis, especially in Europe, is causing serious damage and some surprising volatility in everything from transporting goods by train to growing vegetables in greenhouses.

Governments are trying to combat the higher gas and electricity prices that have plagued energy retailers and important sources of carbon dioxide. Energy shortages hit Europe as well as China and India, causing power cuts.

Experts point out that there is a history of worsening problems during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The global economic growth through giving priority to cheap goods production instead of supply chain flexibility and the creation of a single country-dependent supply chain may be the main problems, analysts argue.

Experts say that these problems will not be solved easily and that extending the working hours of employees in the logistics sector is a small step that targets only a part of the supply chain.

As study and work spaces continue to merge with living spaces and social distance is being incorporated into people's lifestyle, private space tends to be appreciated more -- even though prices may not be as favorable./agencies

Rents have been on the rise in major cities across Europe amid continent-wide trends affecting all accommodation types, according to an international rent index for the third quarter of this year.

Following a reversal of the rent cap (Mietendeckel) in Berlin, apartment rents surged year-on-year by a striking 22.36%, followed by Hamburg with 19.94%, the Icelandic capital Reykjavík with 14.7%, and Milan with 14.36%, according to the HousingAnywhere International Rent Index report for the third quarter of 2021.

As the third quarter is usually the peak rental season for students, normalizing mobility for them, young professionals, and tourists, as well as shortages in rental accommodation have become "painfully evident once again, driving up prices even further," said the report.

Berlin tenants feel heat of rising rent

It is no wonder why thousands in the German capital took part in a demonstration last month against high rents and displacement.

The Social Democratic, Greens, and Left parties had introduced a rule freezing rents for some 90% of Berlin apartments at the June 2019 rates for five years. However, Germany's highest court struck down the cap on rent prices in April as unconstitutional and void.

Post-pandemic trends reverse

"Undersupply of accessible rentals felt less severe in 2020 due to short-term rental properties becoming available for longer-term rental on top of global mobility restrictions. However, as predicted, we now see a reversal of this trend as both holiday rental and mobility are reviving," said Djordy Seelmann, the CEO of HousingAnywhere.

Noting that rents across major European cities could rise, Seelmann said: "Shortages will become even more pressing once all travel restrictions are lifted, and municipalities should look for counteracting measures as soon as possible."

In the third quarter of 2021, apartment rent spiked the most, followed by studios and private rooms.

This may indicate a preference by tenants for more independent space, which could be a result of the pandemic./agencies