This share prices have a 15 minute delay and are shown in the local time of the market in which the quote is displayed. Santander to convert its office space in Miami into 41-story tower with combined office and retail space Construction will have the highest international standards for sustainable construction and office and retail space to third-party tenants. Santander Private Banking operates a hub in Miami which has been providing best-in-class services for global private banking clients for more than 40 years. Santander Private Banking has a long-established presence in the city, where it operates as a hub providing best-in-class services for global private banking clients for more than 40 years. The Miami market remains a key connection point between North America, Latin America and Europe, and Santander remains committed to having a presence in this international technology and financial hub. 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Volume 3 - 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/ffunb.2022.1085624 Peptidyl compounds produced by filamentous fungi which are nonribosomal peptides (NRPs) and ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) are rich sources of bioactive compounds with a wide variety of structures Some of these peptidyl compounds are useful as pharmaceuticals and pesticides their low production often becomes an obstacle and various approaches have been challenged to overcome this weakness we summarize the successful attempts to increase the production of NRPs and RiPPs in filamentous fungi and present our perspectives on how to improve it further Fungal natural products or secondary metabolites are valuable sources for pharmaceutical compounds because they have a wide range of structures with unexpected unique bonds and modifications which are often difficult to chemically synthesize are examples of clinically used bioactive compounds produced by filamentous fungi are a major group of fungal natural products and they are further classified by their biosynthetic pathways into nonribosomal peptides (NRPs) and ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) The former is not synthesized via ribosomes but several amino acid residues are concatenated and cyclized by a large enzyme of thousands or more kilodaltons called nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) the backbone peptides for RiPPs are encoded in their corresponding precursor genes which are translated by ribosomes in the same manner as ordinary proteins and further modified through such as methylation NRPs and RiPPs are expected to be designed and modified by altering the genes responsible for their synthesis; this aspect makes them more attractive targets for drug discovery there are still many difficulties in making fungal NRPs and RiPPs available in the industry One of the main issues is their low production It is not unusual that a fungal cyclic peptide cannot be produced in more than 0.1 mg/L yield even though the corresponding biosynthetic genes are overexpressed we summarize the current advances in the production of fungal peptidyl compounds and discuss perspectives to overcome their low production based on recent achievements Figure 1 Examples of (A) nonribosomal peptides (NRPs) and (B) ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) produced by filamentous fungi the major known bioactivities are described for each compound the precursor protein sequences are shown below the corresponding compounds where the endoplasmic reticulum signal peptide However, there are three severe drawbacks to applying random mutagenesis to filamentous fungi: large colony size, slow growth, and the requirement of homokaryon isolation (Tamano and Yoshimi, 2021) an approach involving knockout of the targeted gene(s) by recombination and subsequent functional studies is more suitable for improving the production of fungal natural products than random mutagenesis we describe what has been accomplished to increase NRP production yield by reverse genetics increased production by cpcA overexpression is consistent with previous research In addition to modifying gene regulation, increasing gene copy number is also effective. Increasing the copy number of penicillin BGC by recombination caused an increase in penicillin production (Nijland et al., 2010). Interestingly, the industrial strain of Penicillium rubens used for mass production, which was bred via random mutagenesis, has been proven to have multiple penicillin BGCs (Fierro et al., 1995; Van den Berg, 2011) The same strategy of BGC copy number increase could be applied to heterologous production optimizing the cell physiology and metabolic pathways involved in NRP biosynthesis is a good approach for improving the production of secondary metabolites Let us explain using penicillin as an example Penicillin is synthesized by three enzymes: δ-(l-α-aminoadipyl)-L-cysteinyl-D-valine synthetase (ACVS) ACVS is an NRPS and concatenates three amino acids IPNS then forms the β-lactam structure in the intermediate and IAT confers a phenyl residue to generate the final product finding such loci at several positions on a chromosome is useful when considering the introduction of several copies of BGC to the heterologous host because the BGCs of filamentous fungal NRPs generally reach dozens of kilobases in length their transfer to other strains requires much labor and a longer period if the original strain is difficult to genetically modify heterologous production to improve NRP production is a challenge a considerable amount of time and effort was required to obtain a sufficient amount of the compound for identification because asperipin-2a was produced only in a solid maize medium with a < 0.01 mg/kg yield in the original producer strain The water-soluble properties of dikaritins make them further difficult to prepare because such compounds cannot be concentrated by water-insoluble organic solvents such as ethyl acetate and chloroform; in that sense asperipin-2a was still better because it could be extracted by n-butanol increasing the production of dikaritins is crucial for obtaining sufficient amounts of compounds to identify absolute structures they did so not by heterologous expression but by deleting the corresponding genes in the producing strain These results and our experiences strongly imply that there are one or more hindrances to the heterologous production of fungal RiPPs even though the corresponding genes are expressed Heterologous production of ustiloxin and asperipin-2a With the increasing number of repeats in the ustiloxin precursor protein compound production increased quadratically and not linearly the transcript level of the precursor gene increased linearly with an increasing number of repeats This result suggests that the transcript of the precursor gene is stabilized via a highly repeated structure in a feedback manner by an unknown mechanism compound production increased quadratically because the factor of repeat number was multiplied by the factor of the linearly increasing transcript level We do not yet know how the repeated structure of the precursor gene or protein regulates its transcript level The secondary structure of the highly repeated mRNA may be more stable than that of the unrepeated mRNA although we could not find any meaningful secondary structure of such mRNAs by computational prediction The translated protein product might function as a chaperone or RNA-binding protein to protect its transcript the repetitive structure of the ustiloxin precursor protein contributes to compound production not just as abundant substrates but also as a stabilizer for its transcript Although this phenomenon has been confirmed only in ustiloxin biosynthesis to date when attempting to produce sufficient amounts of dikaritins it might be better to maintain the repetitive structure or even increase the repeat number in dikaritin precursor genes overexpression of the precursor protein gene We described successful attempts to increase the production of NRPs and RiPPs in filamentous fungi through reverse genetics and heterologous production (Figure 2) there is still a large hindrance to introducing an entire BGC of NRP or RiPP into other host strains because it is generally large approximately dozens of kilobases; preparing such a long gene either by cloning or by artificial gene synthesis it is laborious to express biosynthetic genes for an NRP or RiPP in a heterologous manner when they are located at different loci in the genome Genetic techniques to conjugate several DNA fragments instantly are anticipated to overcome this difficulty Figure 2 Summary of approaches to improve the production of NRPs and RiPPs in filamentous fungi penicillin production was improved using the localization information of biosynthetic enzymes we will be able to improve their production by optimizing the localization of biosynthetic enzymes in cells and how the compounds are synthesized in cells and by which transporter(s) they are transported from one organelle to another; we are currently working on this Additionally, in NRPs containing non-proteogenic amino acids such as ornithine (Sheridan et al., 2015) metabolic modification to enhance biosynthesis of non-proteogenic amino acids is likely to increase NRP production NRPS requires post-translational modification via 4’-phosphopantetheinylation improving 4’-phosphopantetheine biosynthesis by metabolic modification would be useful Although no successful attempts have been reported to date this strategy has the potential to be effective we will be able to take this shortcut to genetically modify filamentous fungal strains to produce target compounds in high yields The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author All authors listed have made a substantial direct and intellectual contribution to the work We thank Editage for English language editing The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher Natural products from filamentous fungi and production by heterologous expression Autophagy deficiency promotes beta-lactam production in Penicillium chrysogenum Biosynthetic investigation of phomopsins reveals a widespread pathway for ribosomal natural products in ascomycetes Industrial production of beta-lactam antibiotics PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar The penicillin gene cluster is amplified in tandem repeats linked by conserved hexanucleotide sequences a vintage model with a cutting-edge profile in biotechnology CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Gene family encoding the major toxins of lethal Amanita mushrooms First heterologous reconstruction of a complete functional fungal biosynthetic multigene cluster Improvement of Aspergillus nidulans penicillin production by targeting AcvA to peroxisomes Structure and localization of cyclosporin synthetase the key enzyme of cyclosporin biosynthesis in Tolypocladium inflatum Fleming’s penicillin producing strain is not Penicillium chrysogenum but P A novel family of cyclic oligopeptides derived from ribosomal peptide synthesis of an in planta-induced gene Highly accurate protein structure prediction with AlphaFold MIBiG 2.0: a repository for biosynthetic gene clusters of known function PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar the host-selective cyclic peptide toxin from the oat pathogen Cochliobolus victoriae results in 2-fold enhanced penicillin production by Penicillium chrysogenum Ustiloxin: A phytotoxin and a mycotoxin from false smut balls on rice panicles Kosalková K. The global regulator LaeA controls penicillin biosynthesis but not roquefortine c synthesis in Penicillium chrysogenum Colocalization of amanitin and a candidate toxin-processing prolyl oligopeptidase in amanita basidiocarps Identification of new signalling peptides through a genome-wide survey of 250 fungal secretomes Redox-sensitive homodimerization of Pex11p: A proposed mechanism to regulate peroxisomal division Key role of LaeA and velvet complex proteins on expression of β-lactam and PR-toxin genes in Penicillium chrysogenum: Cross-talk regulation of secondary metabolite pathways Further enhancement of FR901469 productivity by co-overexpression of cpcA Genome sequence of fungal species No.11243 which produces the antifungal antibiotic FR901469 Identification of a putative FR901469 biosynthesis gene cluster in fungal sp 11243 and enhancement of the productivity by overexpressing the transcription factor gene frbF Single-step fermentative production of the cholesterol-lowering drug pravastatin via reprogramming of Penicillium chrysogenum Peroxisomes are required for efficient penicillin biosynthesis in Penicillium chrysogenum Class of cyclic ribosomal peptide synthetic genes in filamentous fungi Determining cell type abundance and expression from bulk tissues with digital cytometry Nonlinear biosynthetic gene cluster dose effect on penicillin production by Penicillium chrysogenum Secondary metabolism in fungi: Does chromosomal location matter PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar The cross-pathway control gene of Neurospora crassa encodes a protein similar to GCN4 of yeast and the DNA-binding domain of the oncogene v-jun-encoded protein A self-sacrificing n-methyltransferase is the precursor of the fungal natural product omphalotin Engineering of Aspergillus niger for the production of secondary metabolites Heterologous expression system in Aspergillus oryzae for fungal biosynthetic gene clusters of secondary metabolites Expression of PEX11beta mediates peroxisome proliferation in the absence of extracellular stimuli Endogenous cross-talk of fungal metabolites CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Subcellular localization of fungal specialized metabolites PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Biosynthetic studies of phomopsins unveil posttranslational installation of dehydroamino acids by UstYa family proteins Metabolic engineering techniques to increase the productivity of primary and secondary metabolites within filamentous fungi Transcriptional profiling of cross pathway control in Neurospora crassa and comparative analysis of the Gcn4 and CPC1 regulons Peptides derived from Kex2-processed repeat proteins are widely distributed and highly diverse in the fungi kingdom MIDDAS-m: Motif-independent de novo detection of secondary metabolite gene clusters through the integration of genome sequencing and transcriptome data Tandem repeats in precursor protein stabilize transcript levels and production levels of the fungal ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide ustiloxin b Characterization of the biosynthetic gene cluster for the ribosomally synthesized cyclic peptide ustiloxin b in Aspergillus flavus Van den Berg M Impact of the Penicillium chrysogenum genome on industrial production of metabolites Nonribosomal peptides in fungal cell factories: From genome mining to optimized heterologous production doi: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2019.107449 and application of pathway specific transcription factors in Aspergillus biosynthetic gene clusters Machine learning for cluster analysis of localization microscopy data Amplification of an MFS transporter encoding gene penT significantly stimulates penicillin production and enhances the sensitivity of Penicillium chrysogenum to phenylacetic acid Unveiling the biosynthetic pathway of the ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide ustiloxin b in filamentous fungi Heterologous production of asperipin-2a: Proposal for sequential oxidative macrocyclization by a fungi-specific DUF3328 oxidase The regulation of BbLaeA on the production of beauvericin and bassiatin in Beauveria bassiana Multi-level machine learning prediction of protein-protein interactions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptide (RiPP) Citation: Umemura M and Tamano K (2022) How to improve the production of peptidyl compounds in filamentous fungi Received: 31 October 2022; Accepted: 02 December 2022;Published: 22 December 2022 Copyright © 2022 Umemura and Tamano. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Koichi Tamano, dGFtYW5vLWtAYWlzdC5nby5qcA== Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish Sign in to listen to groundbreaking journalism MANILA, Philippines – The Court of Appeals (CA) has denied the application for protective writs of red-tagged environmental activists Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano leading a dissenting justice to say it was “uncharacteristic for. this Court to simply fold their arms and ignore the palpable threats.” The CA former special 8th division ruled by split decision to deny the petition for the writs of amparo and habeas data to Castro and Tamano the two young activists who declared in a military-organized press conference that it was the army which abducted them The court ruled that the activists “failed to sufficiently identify that the perpetrators of their abduction are affiliated with the Philippine military or any of the government agencies.” would have acted like a restraining order against members of the 70th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army and the privileges of the writ of habeas data would have prevented members of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) from red-tagging the two But justices of the CA division won the vote to deny the privileges. This is after conducting hearings as ordered by the Supreme Court which already granted the activists temporary protection order in October 2023 which is rarely extended to activists these days it’s the CA that should conduct a full hearing to decide whether the full protection will be granted Castro and Tamano were abducted in Bataan on September 2 The military claims the pair voluntarily surrendered as “rebel returnees” on September 12 and were presented in a press conference on September 15 “The records are bereft of any proof linking the actual abductors to any agency of the government,” said the decision dated August 2 and penned by Associate Justice Lorenza Bordios with full concurrences from Associate Justices Fernanda Lampas Peralta and Jaime Fortunato Caringal Associate Justice Rex Bernardo Pascual concurred and dissented The full dissenter was Associate Justice Emily San Gaspar-Gito who said “It would be uncharacteristic for the courts to simply fold their arms and ignore the palpable threats to petitioners’ life liberty and security and just wait for the irreversible to happen to them.” The CA division for this case said that Castro and Tamano failed to prove that they were subjected “to any form of threat to their life or security during the latter’s stay at the military camp of the 70th Infantry Battalion,” or from September 12 to 15 The CA also said the two “miserably failed to prove the existence of an imminent or continuing threat” since being released on September 15 Castro and Tamano have continued their activism work or labeling them as armed communist rebels Dissenting justice San Gaspar-Gito pointed out the Supreme Court’s landmark decision, made public in May 2024, that declared for the first time that red-tagging is a threat to life “The danger of further harm against petitioners is real considering that they have recently been victims of enforced disappearance which is the subject of the instant Petition,” said the justice’s dissenting opinion The dissenting justice questioned why the military could not account for the days that the activists were missing or from their abduction on September 2 to their supposed surrender on September 12 The army claimed that informants and operatives named “Bea” and “Bert” accompanied Castro and Tamano to their headquarters after the surrender But Bea and Bert were not presented as witnesses  “Despite the vast machinery and resources of the State witnesses for the respondents could muster only vague and tentative answers,” said Justice San Gaspar-Gito it’s Castro and Tamano who should prove their accusations against the army and that they “cannot be permitted to fumble in the dark the State should have done due diligence in investigating what happened to Castro and Tamano from September 2 to September 12 The local police identified the registered owner of the vehicle that was used in the two’s abduction but “neither tracing nor probing was done” by the police or the military In an earlier case of abduction of two activists from Cebu, the independent Commission on Human Rights (CHR) traced a vehicle, and a person, involved in the abduction to the army’s intelligence service There is no known update to that investigation as the Philippine military pivoted to external security mostly over a territorial dispute with China The majority justices said that “assuming that public officials…failed to exercise extraordinary diligence the same does not justify the granting of the privilege of the writ of amparo and habeas data.” The NTF-ELCAC held a press conference on Monday, August 12, to hail the decision as a win “against a foregone ideology.” Castro and Tamano had already been indicted for slander or grave oral defamation for their accusations against the military The NTF-ELCAC’s original perjury complaint was dismissed But asked on Monday whether a case will be filed against Castro and Tamano after the CA decision Assistant Solicitor General Angelita Miranda said: “At this point in time I don’t want to say whatever legal actions we will do “The future actions will be revealed in due time…We’re going to resort to all legal means,” said Miranda lawyer of Castro and Tamano said: “We believe that the Honorable Court of Appeals committed reversible errors We will file the appropriate remedy.” “If the respondents will not be held accountable and responsible to the petitioners’ abduction state impunity is exacerbated necessarily signaling to society that perpetrators can evade accountability and justice Addressing these heinous acts is not merely a matter of legal obligation but a moral imperative,” said Castro and Tamano in a manifestation submitted to the CA after their hearings were conducted This share prices have a 15 minute delay and are shown in the local time of the market in which the quote is displayed Santander reports profit of €6,059 million (+16%) in the first half of the year and upgrades 2024 targets • Fully-loaded CET1 increased to 12.5% after adding 20 basis points in the last quarter • TNAV plus cash dividend per share increased 12% • Net interest income increased 12% to a record €23,457 million with good commercial dynamics and higher customer activity in all global businesses • Efficiency improved significantly to 41.6% (-2.6 percentage points) driven by the bank’s transformation towards a simpler with costs stable for the fourth consecutive quarter in constant euros • Loan-loss provisions rose 8% due to the expected normalization in Consumer with a good performance in Retail thanks to lower provisions in Europe with cost of risk in line with the target for the year at 1.2% attributable profit reached a record high at €3,207 million • Santander has upgraded three 2024 targets: high-single digit revenue growth (from mid-single digit); an efficiency of c.42% (from below 43%); RoTE of over 16% (from 16%); cost of risk of c.1.2%; and fully-loaded CET1 above 12% Santander achieved an attributable profit of €6,059 million in the first half of 2024 up 16% in current euros versus the same period last year as strong growth in net interest income in all the global businesses and regions more than offset the expected year-on-year growth in provisions The group continued to increase profitability and shareholder value creation with a return on tangible equity (RoTE) of 15.9% or 16.3% if the impact of the temporary banking levy in Spain which was registered in full in the first quarter (€335 million) was distributed evenly across the year; earnings per share (EPS) of €0.37 and tangible net asset value (TNAV) per share of €4.94 at the end of the first half Including the cash dividend paid in November 2023 and the final dividend paid in May total value creation (TNAV plus cash dividend per share) increased 12% As a result of the strong momentum within the business Santander has upgraded its 2024 targets and is now expecting high-single digit revenue growth for the year (an increase from its previous target of mid-single digit growth); an efficiency ratio of c.42% (from below 43%); and RoTE of over 16% (from 16%) The targets of cost of risk at c.1.2% and fully-loaded CET1 above 12% after Basel III implementation are maintained We have grown revenue by 10% in the first half supported by all five of our global businesses with costs broadly flat for the last four quarters leading to earnings per share growth of 19% and the successful execution of our transformation continue to deliver sustainable {{#each tagBeans}}#{{this.title}}{{/each}} Volume 2 - 2021 | https://doi.org/10.3389/ffunb.2021.743070 In recent years, next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) technology has been widely used for genome and transcriptomic analysis (Goodwin et al., 2016). Noteworthy, NGS devices enabled high-throughput sequencing at a much lower cost as compared to conventional Sanger sequencing (Reuter et al., 2015). The impact of post-sequencing analytical tools to precisely annotate genes cannot be understated (Gene Ontology Consortium, 2021) industrial strains of filamentous fungi other than type strains have been subjected to genome sequencing by NGS and the specific genes involved in the biosynthesis of many target metabolites can now be predicted in industrial strains technology based on genomic information has in fact become applicable to industrial strains enhancing industrial productivities of target metabolites by metabolic engineering can be attained High-throughput screening is also difficult owing to large colony formation The time taken to construct mutants via recombination is longer because several days are required for spore formation using agar culture research aiming to overcome these drawbacks has been performed for many years Several progresses have been reported and are briefly introduced at the next two sections a single HR event is sufficient for the cassette to be inserted into the chromosome Recently, the newly discovered editing technology, CRISPR/Cas9, has been applied to modify fungal genomes (reviewed in Jiang et al., 2021) gene disruption and overexpression occur via a targeted double strand DNA break followed by genome editing a selectable marker is introduced into the target gene; for gene overexpression a DNA cassette composed of a selectable marker and constitutive high-expression promoter is introduced to a locus just upstream of the start codon of the gene multiple mutation events are possible in a single genome with essentially no limitation By combining the use of these selectable markers strains genetically engineered at multiple genomic locations can be constructed Outline of industrial strain improvement of filamentous fungi for enhancing productivity of a target metabolite Genomic information coupled with new techniques to genetically engineer filamentous fungi has led to tremendous progress in strain improvement in recent years the development of new techniques focused on increasing efficiency and moving to high throughput mutant construction is required the application of flux balance analysis based on metabolism modeling and other multi-omics analysis will allow engineers to more accurately identify bottleneck genes Continued progress in development of new experimental microbiology and molecular biology techniques as well as bioinformatic tools related to metabolic engineering is required to attain the efficient productivity improvements needed by society up until now and from now on All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version Brown (National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research USA) for his critical reading of the manuscript as well as his helpful suggestions We also thank Editage for English language editing Impact of Aspergillus oryzae genomics on industrial production of metabolites Uncovering the repertoire of fungal secondary metabolites: from Fleming's laboratory to the International Space Station Species-specific PCR to describe local-scale distributions of four cryptic species in the Penicillium chrysogenum complex How a fungus shapes biotechnology: 100 years of Aspergillus niger research Gene Ontology Consortium The Gene Ontology resource: enriching a GOld mine PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Genetic transformation of the filamentous yeast Cloning and molecular characterization of the acetamidase-encoding gene (amdS) from Aspergillus oryzae Coming of age: ten years of next-generation sequencing technologies Plasmid-encoded hygromycin B resistance: the sequence of hygromycin B phosphotransferase gene and its expression in Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae The AUR1 gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes dominant resistance to the antifungal agent aureobasidin A (LY295337) Aspergillus terreus as an industrial filamentous fungus for pharmaceutical biotechnology Nonhomologous chromosomal integration of foreign DNA is completely dependent on MUS-53 (human Lig4 homolog) in Neurospora Applications of CRISPR/Cas9 in the synthesis of secondary metabolites in filamentous fungi Advances in genetic engineering technology and its application in the industrial fungus Aspergillus oryzae Overexpression and purification of Aspergillus aculeatus beta-mannosidase and analysis of the integrated gene in Aspergillus oryzae Utilization of the TEF1-alpha gene (TEF1) promoter for expression of polygalacturonase genes Pyrithiamine resistance gene (ptrA) of Aspergillus oryzae: cloning characterization and application as a dominant selectable marker for transformation Diversifying of chemical structure of native Monascus pigments Genomics of Aspergillus oryzae: learning from the history of Koji mold and exploration of its future Observation of EGFP-visualized nuclei and distribution of vacuoles in Aspergillus oryzae arpA null mutant Increased enzyme production under liquid culture conditions in the industrial fungus Aspergillus oryzae by disruption of the genes encoding cell wall α-1,3-glucan synthase A defect of LigD (human Lig4 homolog) for nonhomologous end joining significantly improves efficiency of gene-targeting in Aspergillus oryzae Highly efficient gene replacements in Neurospora strains deficient for nonhomologous end-joining PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Efficient gene disruption in the koji-mold Aspergillus sojae using a novel variation of the positive-negative method Enhanced gene targeting frequency in ku70 and ku80 disruption mutants of Aspergillus sojae and Aspergillus oryzae Development of an efficient gene-targeting system in Aspergillus luchuensis by deletion of the non-homologous end joining system Enhancing microbial metabolite and enzyme production: current strategies and challenges PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Increased production of fatty acids and triglycerides in Aspergillus oryzae by enhancing expressions of fatty acid synthesis-related genes Increased production of free fatty acids in Aspergillus oryzae by disruption of a predicted acyl-CoA synthetase gene The beta-1,3-exoglucanase gene exgA (exg1) of Aspergillus oryzae is required to catabolize extracellular glucan and is induced in growth on a solid surface Identification and characterization of genes responsible for biosynthesis of kojic acid an industrially important compound from Aspergillus oryzae Transformation of Aspergillus niger with the homologous nitrate reductase gene van Hartingsveldt Development of a homologous transformation system for Aspergillus niger based on the pyrG gene Dynamic metabolomics for engineering biology: accelerating learning cycles for bioproduction Transformation of Aspergillus nidulans with a cloned oligomycin-resistant ATP synthase subunit 9 gene CRISPR/Cas9 mediated targeted mutagenesis of the fast growing cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus UTEX (2973) Improvement of free fatty acid secretory productivity in Aspergillus oryzae by comprehensive analysis on time-series gene expression CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Self-excising Cre/mutant lox marker recycling system for multiple gene integrations and consecutive gene deletions in Aspergillus oryzae Citation: Tamano K and Yoshimi A (2021) Metabolic Engineering Techniques to Increase the Productivity of Primary and Secondary Metabolites Within Filamentous Fungi Received: 17 July 2021; Accepted: 20 October 2021; Published: 01 December 2021 Copyright © 2021 Tamano and Yoshimi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) *Correspondence: Koichi Tamano, dGFtYW5vLWtAYWlzdC5nby5qcA== MANILA, Philippines – Young environmental activists Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano filed fresh legal actions to continue their quest for accountability against their alleged military abductors the two activists filed a set of criminal complaints with the Office of the Ombudsman against National Security Council assistant director general Jonathan Malaya and military and police officers for alleged violation of the following: They also filed a set of administrative complaints against the respondents that include grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service Castro and Tamano’s fresh complaints stem from their ordeal under the hands of the Armed Forces of the Philippines The voluntary surrender tactic used against activists was not new because the government particularly during Rodrigo Duterte’s administration liked to present “surrenderees” to encourage testimonies against militant groups But when they were presented, Castro and Tamano went off-script to belie claims they had surrendered and said that they were instead abducted by the military which blindsided the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict the two activists were slapped with a perjury complaint Department of Justice prosecutors dismissed the perjury claim but indicted Castro and Tamano with slander or grave oral defamation the two young activists also filed a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court (SC) — a legal remedy used to ask for a review of another court’s decision or grave abuse of discretion The two are challenging the Court of Appeals’ (CA) decision that denied them the privilege of writs of amparo and habeas data which is usually a protection order in the form of a restraining order while habeas data compels the government to destroy information that could cause harm it is respectfully prayed that this Honorable Court reverse and set aside its decision dated August 2 and grant the privileges of Writ of Amparo and Writ of Habeas Data in favor of Petitioners Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano,” the petition read The CA denied the two activists the privileges of the two writs in a decision dated August 6 and denied the two motions for reconsideration in October the CA determines if the judiciary will grant petitioners the privileges of writs the SC granted the petition for writ by Castro and Tamano then the High Court ordered the CA to conduct a hearing to determine if the privileges would be granted the SC said the two proved by substantial evidence their allegations which merited the protection of their freedoms through the legal remedies It added that it found that the elements of enforced disappearance were present since the petitioners were forcibly taken on September 2 the two activists are back at the High Court where they first secured their victories against their alleged abductors Absorption Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata | Photo: Arik Sultan One thing that cannot be said of Pnina Tamano-Shata is that she's "all right." You either get her She just made history by becoming the first cabinet minister of Ethiopian descent in Israel's history Speaking to Israel Hayom in her new office at the Ministry Aliyah and Integration she does two things that indicate her management style: first she looks for the office cleaner to thank her personally for her work  Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter having covered her work in the Knesset for the past seven years Tamano-Shata bursts out laughing: "I'm a minister I told my staff that we needed to go back to an office in the Knesset It's not easy to move from the Knesset to a ministerial office I'm called 'the minister' … It doesn't come naturally," she says "I know where I come from and where I started Tamano-Shata does not intend to let the current ministry staff go and bring in her own people She believes that she should be working with professionals who are familiar with the ministry because I fight against racism and discrimination They think it comes from feelings of oppression or anger But most of my battles stem from love for this society Even though I come from the Ethiopian sector I'm first of all the minister for all new olim [immigrants] and everyone has a place around the fire," she says would not be a minister if she hadn't left the politician who put her on his Knesset list Q: How did Lapid respond when you told him you were leaving Yesh Atid to join the government with Benny Gantz I was a young member of Yesh Atid and he always treated me very well I had a strong relationship with him even when I wasn't in the Knesset "But if it came down to Lapid and Yesh Atid or the interests of the public it was absolutely clear to me what I'd choose I didn't see myself voting against a unity government "I was really downcast when Blue and White split up and I talked about that at faction meetings I said that no one should think they were more moral than I was This is because holding a fourth election would be the least moral thing for the people Lapid asked her over and the two had a long talk about what she was planning to do Q: Was Yesh Atid just a political springboard I liked [Benny] Gantz's first speech a lot a speech in which he talked about connecting the fringes and unity Blue and White's results in the last three elections spoke for themselves." Q: Blue and White was run by a "cockpit." How did you feel about the quartet of Gantz "I didn't like what they called the 'cockpit.' The militaristic name put women off a bit There was something macho about the cockpit that I couldn't connect to and the same went for a lot of other female party members four people making decisions rather than one simply didn't work the discourse in Blue and White is much more open which is the biggest difference you see in faction meetings Q: What about everyone who is disappointed in Gantz the ones who voted for him because he promised not to join the government of a prime minister under criminal indictment they need to understand that the alternative was to drag the country into another election Leadership requires brave decisions and opting for the public good the voice of that public spirit was the voice of the objectors but that doesn't mean that they were the majority Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories  The first time Tamano-Shata saw Gantz was 35 years ago had just arrived in Israel after an exhausting trip from Ethiopia via Sudan He was the deputy commander of the IDF's Shaldag Unit a covert evacuation of Ethiopian Jews from Sudan in 1984 "The penny didn't drop for me until the AIPAC conference last year when Benny and I were there together," she says "When my father saw the military plane that came to take us to Israel he was frightened and ran back to the desert with me I remember that the soldiers brought us candy and bags of water I realized that my mother and sisters weren't there I'd stand at the entrance to the temporary housing at the immigrant absorption center in Pardes Hanna and pray that Mom would come back They didn't get to Israel until a year later "Benny Gantz was a beloved figure in the Ethiopian community which appreciates military figures who contribute to the country I don't feel as if he's speaking to them because of me I appreciate him for giving 40 years of his life to our country -- him and Gabi Ashkenazi both "People talk about Gantz being a 'political corpse,' but he and Ashkenazi were both willing to become actual corpses for the sake of the rest of us They commanded so many soldiers from all sectors of society they are familiar with the different parts of society." Tamano-Shata is considered a ground-breaker and a leader in the Ethiopian community in Israel She is the granddaughter of Kais Shato Maharat who comes from a long line of prominent spiritual leaders among Ethiopian Jewry a sixth-generation descendant of Abba Meheri Sutal a Jewish monk who lived and worked in Ethiopia in the 19th century and served as the spiritual leader for the Beta Israel community She has positive memories of her early time in Israel "My entire life I've felt as Israeli as it's possible to be I studied at the Tzfira seminary in a program for gifted Ethiopian students and then I went on to the Carmit seminary at the Ort Academic College in Jerusalem "At age 12 I'd go help my mother at her work I even helped her when I was a law student in Kiryat Ono Respecting your parents is a primary value in our community "She didn't like it that I came with her because she didn't want me to get used to that kind of work She taught me not to look down on any work or any person but she wanted me to understand that no one is fated to work as a cleaner and I needed to have my own ambitions an operations manager at Mekorot National Water Company "They both made it very clear that despite my [ministerial] appointment Tahel even looked into how old I could be and still give birth and told me not to be selfish and have another child by age 45 I have the privilege of having a husband who is a strong father and gives our lives balance He loves his privacy and the publicity is hard for him Tamano-Shata holds a law degree from Ono Academic College and an MA in public policy from Tel Aviv University She has worked as a legal correspondent for Israel Television and served as a board member of the Society of Authors She started out in public service at age 18 when she worked with Ethiopian youth at risk She served in the IDF Home Front Command as a sergeant in the operations room she became an activist on behalf of women's empowerment and against racism and discrimination she was one of the leaders of the Ethiopian protest movement She has been awarded the Martin Luther King Jr Award as well as the Social Friendship Award from the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews Tamano-Shata became the first Ethiopian Israeli woman to serve in the Knesset she established a Knesset lobby to battle violence against women and served as chairwoman of the Knesset lobby for the mentally ill She was also active on the Special Committee for the Rights of the Child and fought for children's issues as well as on behalf of at-risk youth She helped pass a law to protect children from teachers and teaching staff accused of sexual abuse and or violence In 2014 she visited Ofek Prison and discovered that 40% of the minors imprisoned there came from the Ethiopian sector She highlighted the issue for public discussion she spearheaded the government decision to establish the Palmor Commission to counter racism against Ethiopian Israelis One of her major achievements was securing a change in blood donation rules that discriminated against Israelis born in Ethiopia she was the keynote speaker at the annual ceremony in Mount Herzl honoring the memories of the thousands of victims of Operation Moses Grief is handled mostly through thunderous silence but I also understand that our generation must commemorate the dead it is obvious that Tamano-Shata's aliyah story will influence her work as the Aliyah and Integration minister "Only someone who has made aliyah can understand what it means to be a new immigrant What it means to feel excited about every new step in this country hearing Hebrew for the first time and every new word [they learn] what it means to experience racism personally "I feel that I've arrived at places that are definitely privileged -- being a lawyer I can understand the heterogeneity of Israeli society and connect to people." Q: Would you have been willing to take a different portfolio "If I hadn't been offered the Aliyah and Integration portfolio I wouldn't have taken a portfolio that didn't suit me." Q: How well do you think Ethiopian immigrants have integrated into Israeli society that there's one side who needs to integrate and the issue of accepting others should be a top priority in the school system from a young age "Different skin color has led to some tough challenges of racism and discrimination We've come far in terms of confronting racism but I can't say that the battle is nearing an end The state doesn't treat the Ethiopian population like it did in 2015 when the first rioting broke out and more attention was paid to that sector I intend to take action to keep the government collectively responsible when it comes to discrimination." Q: The public mostly remembers the violent images from the protests -- cars being burned violence in these protests is almost unavoidable When people have their backs against the wall and certainly when we're talking about young people I remember tearing up in Rabin Square in 2015 "My battles were fought from a place of faith in the Jewish people But when an entire generation is screaming its heart out and thousands are calling for change Kids in the Ethiopian community need to feel equal Q: You don't condemn the violence at the protests In [2015] there was serious violence from all sides The police came in with horses and tear gas and that fired up the protesters in very little time "Former Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan made a very wise decision about the protest in Rabin Square in 2018 – he sent in as few forces as possible and a demonstration by 20,000 was held completely peacefully I called him and thanked him for the decision which only showed that … when you treat the Ethiopian community with acceptance Q: There is more violence against women among Ethiopians than the population at large "Violence against women has nothing to do with status or ethnicity or finances There are some sectors where it needs to be addressed more who are taking a stand against violence against women and joining virtual protests Q: What have you accomplished since you started your new job That there is no air conditioning in immigrant absorption centers That's the first thing I took care of: I added fans and air conditioning units the ministry oversees 74 housing facilities for new immigrant residents age 80 and over 13,000 people who need to be taken care of I'm increasing my supervision over these facilities "I also asked the cabinet to approve regulations that would make it possible to open Hebrew classes in accordance with 'purple tag' restrictions The classes can't be shut down because of coronavirus "I started the job the same week as 111 people made aliyah from the Ukraine And after this interview I'm going to welcome 119 from Ethiopia." I want as many Jews as possible to want to come home We need to make sure they feel at home from the very start." Jewish Agency Chairman Major General (Res.) Doron Almog met with new Olim soldiers.. "I know there's a lot of responsibility on me the scale and nature of the tragedy in the Lapu Lapu festival that killed 11 feel alien... Analysis  Archaeology Blogpost Business & Finance Culture Exclusive Explainer Environment Features Health In Brief Jewish World Judea and Samaria Lifestyle Cyber & Internet Sports Diplomacy  Iran & The Gulf Gaza Strip Politics Shopping Terms of use Privacy Policy Submissions Contact Us The first issue of Israel Hayom appeared on July 30 Israel Hayom was founded on the belief that the Israeli public deserves better more balanced and more accurate journalism [contact-form-7 id=”508379″ html_id=”isrh_form_Newsletter_en” title=”newsletter_subscribe”] FICTAP national chairperson Estrelita ‘Neng’ Tamano was conferred as an honorary chairman of the Philippine Jaycee Senate Foundation a non-profit organization that promotes ‘service to humanity’ and other social work programs.  Tamano was present at an induction and turnover ceremony hosted by the JCI Senate Philippines on January 10 at the Manila Hotel She is the first ever female to be given such a recognition and only the fourth honorary chairperson since the establishment of the Philippine Jaycee Senate Foundation kapag nag-umpisa ka nang Jaycee– by heart talagang Jaycee ka hanggang pagtanda mo,” said Tamano when she spoke with GMA Regional TV News after receiving the conferment.  I'm willing to impart my resources to the Philippine Jaycee Foundation because they are well-experienced sa mga project na makakatulong sa ating bayan especially sa mga professionals,” she added.  She recommended that the foundation puts more focus on encouraging outstanding young leaders “especially in the countryside.” “Talagang ine-encourage yung outstanding young men para ma-train yung young leaders natin… Karamihan kasi yung mga Jaycees andun lang sa urban areas ire-request ko na kung pwede mag-train rin ng mga Jaycees sa countryside i-train ang young generation to maintain ang kultura natin na pagtulong sa kapwa,” Tamano explained suggesting that there needs to be more sustained efforts to increase the foundation’s reach on a regional level.  Tamano is also the incumbent chairperson of the Federation of International Cable TV Associations of the Philippines or FICTAP the largest non-profit organization of Cable TV operators in the Philippines “It’s an additional sa aking mga ginagawa– as FICTAP chairman more on cable TV and telecommunications ito [PH Jaycee Senate Foundation] naman ay kawang-gawa,” she concluded The JCI Senate Foundation is comprised of JCI 'Senators,' the highest title the organization can bestow upon a member for their exceptional works and valuable contributions.  It is a non-stock and not-for-profit group that promotes the Jaycee Creed to provide "Service to Humanity is the Best Work of Life."  gmaregionaltv.com is home to the latest stories produced by news teams of GMA Regional TV from stations in key areas across the Philippines gmaregionaltv@gmanetwork.com About us Advertise with us (JTA) — To immigrate to Israel from Ethiopia Pnina Tamano-Shata’s family had to trek on foot through the desert to Sudan in the middle of a famine the truck bringing her mother and two of her sisters to the airfield broke down It wasn’t until the plane doors closed that Tamano-Shata realized that they would not be traveling with her It would be a year before she saw her mother again But Tamano-Shata still describes the experience in magical terms as Israel’s immigration and absorption minister she was tasked with deciding whether to allow immigration to Israel during the pandemic last year said recently in a Zoom interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency using the Hebrew term for Jewish immigration and connects it to Israel’s present challenges The first Ethiopian Jew to serve in an Israeli Cabinet the secret 1984 mission to bring Jews who had crossed the border into Sudan to Israel “Our dream came true,” she said in a 2018 video “I felt Israeli the moment my foot touched this country.” as the official in charge of Israel’s immigration system she wants to make sure that those arriving during the pandemic would feel the same magic a quasi-governmental organization that assists with immigration aliyah dropped 40 percent through the pandemic “I know what difficulties there are in coming to Israel to a new country and a new language,” she said Tamano-Shata made sure immigrants could make it to Israel despite global travel restrictions she worked with immigration-promoting groups like Nefesh b’Nefesh to allow immigrants to nonetheless enter the country And she exempted immigrants from a ban on people older than 70 flying into the country She said the exemption allowed some Holocaust survivors to immigrate to Israel She also tried to ease the acclimation of immigrants after they landed She got the government to fund half the salaries of new immigrants as a hiring incentive for employers who were already squeezed by pandemic shutdowns She expanded free Hebrew classes for immigrants from two-and-a-half years to 10 years She made sure that the new immigrants were eligible for pandemic-related grants and loans When the Health Ministry said it offered counseling in French she made sure services in those languages were actually available And she ensured that immigrant children were among those eligible to attend in-person classes during the pandemic their socialization during remote school would be daunting “How could they study with Zoom if they don’t have the language Meeting Israelis was critical to acclimation “Olim are missing contact with the public,” she said Tamano-Shata is a throwback to a period of Israeli history when celebrations of the very act of aliyah were commonplace a tradition that has diminished to the point that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly has told associates that he was not enthusiastic about Jews from other countries arriving because they would likely bring their liberal politics with them a member of the centrist Blue and White Party headed by Defense Minister Benny Gantz that’s far from the only problem with Netanyahu she emerged as a youth activist in the central Israeli city of Petach Tikva where her family had settled and where she still lives with her husband and two kids She advocated on behalf of the Ethiopian-Israeli community at university then worked as a TV reporter before being elected to Israel’s parliament Blue and White came close to replacing Netanyahu’s Likud as Israel’s ruling party but later joined Netanyahu’s coalition in order to help fight the pandemic Now Blue and White is fighting just to make it into Knesset in Tuesday’s election — the fourth Israeli election in two years The latest polls show it just squeaking by which would mean Tamano-Shata gets another term as a lawmaker Blue and White sees her compelling story and her activism on behalf of immigrants as a means of getting enough votes to survive Tamano-Shata beamed a message of hopefulness seeking to revive the quality that helped propel Gantz and Blue and White to its brief moment of glory And she made sure to emphasize her policy differences with Netanyahu — slamming him for slamming the recent Israeli Supreme Court decision expanding recognition of non-Orthodox Jewish conversion “There should be more opportunities for conversion There are no monopolies on Judaism,” she said noting that there are elements of the Orthodox rabbinate who once stood in the way of Ethiopian immigration we want their comment on aliyah and absorption issues The Diaspora is not waiting for the government of Israel Tamano-Shata is an embodiment of that argument — as the first Ethiopian Israeli to take a leading position in Israel’s government She recognizes how significant that achievement is but says she is more defined by her Jewishness — her own aliyah “When I saw Kamala Harris” being sworn in as vice president “it made me so emotional knowing that her parents fought for civil rights in the time of Martin Luther King To see a black woman as vice president is so important to all little girls of color throughout the world,” she said but my first identity is Jewish — you can’t not say that being a Black woman influenced me I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward American Jews need independent news they can trust At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S rising antisemitism and polarized discourse This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs Copyright © 2025 The Forward Association, Inc. All rights reserved. Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site. Several military type anti-personal devices were also discovered during the course of the search.  New Jersey State Police Bomb/Arson Unit immediately examined these devices and determined them to be inert.  Macalbe was processed and lodged into the Monmouth County jail on 600,000.00 bail no 10%.  This investigation is still ongoing. NBN hopes the recent rise in numbers means that it’s turning a corner. The organization acknowledges, however, that in some places the arrival of masses of American immigrants has created tensions. Israeli Immigration and Absorption Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata and Nefesh B'Nefesh Executive Director Rabbi Yehoshua Fass at a briefing in New York City on Monday, May 23. While would-be tourists to Israel faced a seemingly unending stream of obstacles over the pandemic’s first two years, one group of travelers to the Jewish state grew larger in 2021 — those who were coming to stay.  That was one of the takeaways from a briefing on Monday by Israeli Immigration and Absorption Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata and Nefesh B’Nefesh (NBN), which promotes and facilitates aliyah, or Jewish immigration to Israel, from North America. The group has existed for two decades and has long tried to meaningfully increase aliyah numbers from the U.S. and Canada, which have remained at the same level for at least a decade.  Now, NBN hopes the recent rise in numbers means that it’s turning a corner. The organization acknowledges, however, that in some places the arrival of masses of American immigrants has created tensions, leading some school principals, for example, to segregate American students into separate classes. “There’s an issue of fast-tracking people who want to hit the ground running,” Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, NBN’s executive director, said at the briefing. “Because they’re coming out of choice, people feel that they want to contribute. They’re doing this ideologically, so how do we make sure they can contribute as fast as possible?” For at least the past decade, North American aliyah has remained at a rate of roughly 3,200 per year — a much smaller percentage of American Jews than, say, French Jews who move to Israel. But after barely dipping in 2020, numbers spiked to more than 4,200 last year, an increase of nearly 33% over pre-pandemic numbers.  “People who feel that they can continue and sustain their employment, that that was their barrier — now they’re able to move and they can live anywhere,” he said, adding that adjusting to the pandemic also meant that “we all had to somehow be creative and find a visceral way of connecting to our families. And if that had been the barrier, now people feel that they can somehow maintain their relationship and use technology.” Increased American aliyah has come with its pitfalls. Fass cited a school in the central Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, a popular destination for Orthodox Americans, whose students are 80% native English speakers. When he mentioned that in a recent meeting with Israeli school principals, “They were bemoaning the fact that they have too many Americans in their schools,” and that some have begun segregating the Americans, Tamano-Shata cut in, in Hebrew, and said, “That’s against our policy.” “Our policy is integration, integration, integration,” said Tamano-Shata, who is herself an immigrant from Ethiopia, recalling that similar tensions arose in the past surrounding Ethiopian-Israeli students. Switching to English, she said, “We believe that if we want to help the children acclimate quicker, we need to integrate with other children.” One of the ways Fass hopes to perpetuate the upward trend in North American aliyah is by targeting specific professions, like tech workers who can fill a shortage of coders in Israel, or doctors who can address anticipated gaps in the medical system. The organization, along with Tamano-Shata’s ministry, is also trying to address new immigrants’ mental health challenges.  Fass acknowledged that, absent a crisis, American aliyah numbers won’t jump to the level of the recent Ukrainian aliyah. But he added that spikes in immigration that are driven by crises are temporary in nature, whereas he hopes to see a steadier increase of those who move to Israel by choice. The question now is, after more than 20 years, whether that’s about to happen. “The people who are not running away from something — how do we sustain it?” he told eJP. “Right now, the network we have with employers and businesses that want Americans to come, that happens only after multiple years of them experiencing this influx.” Copyright © 2025 · eJewishPhilanthropy · All Rights Reserved The philanthropy news you need to stay up to date, delivered daily in a must-read newsletter. Enter your email to gain access to our exclusive contentDon’t worry, if you are already subscribed you won’t receive our newsletters twice Support non-profit journalism and perspectives from around the world. See all those languages? The Lingua project at Global Voices works to bring down barriers to understanding through translation. Israel has just appointed its first black minister, Pnina Tamano-Shata the community still faces discrimination and racism in Israel It has been a remarkable journey for Tamano-Shata, who was appointed minister of immigration and integration on May 1, 2020. Born in Ethiopia, in what's known as the Falasha or Beta Israel community she spent her first few years in a refugee camp in Sudan At the age of three, she was repatriated to Israel as part of a clandestine transfer operation organized by Tel Aviv with the support of Washington, known as Operation Moses She was among 7,000 Ethiopian Jews who arrived in Israel between November 20 studied law and worked as a journalist and lawyer She also became involved in civil society groups becoming vice-president of the National Association of Ethiopian Students in 2004 and a member of the executive committee of Transparency International from 2015 to 2018 She then started a political career and was elected to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, where she served as a representative of the secular party, Yesh Atid Her social and political commitment earned her recognition in Israel as well as abroad. In 2016 she won the Unsung Award prize, awarded by the Drum Major Institute an American nongovernmental organization that fights for human rights and racial equality The ultimate recognition came in May 2020 after she was reelected to Knesset on March 2, then appointed minister of immigration and integration. When asked about her appointment, she said: Je suis ravie et fière d’assumer le poste de ministre de l’immigration et de l’intégration c’est un point de repère et la fermeture d’un cercle pour cette fillette de trois ans qui a immigré en Israël sans mère lors d’un voyage à pied dans le désert; en grandissant en Israël et dans les luttes que j’ai menées et que je mène toujours pour la communauté l’acceptation de l’autre et contre la discrimination et le racisme; jusqu’à ma mission publique à l’intérieur et à l’extérieur des murs de la Knesset et aujourd’hui au statut de ministre de l’immigration et de l’intégration L’immigration est l’âme et le cœur battant de l’État d’Israël Je travaillerai avec diligence pour encourager l’immigration de tous les pays du monde et pour diriger la réforme du processus d’absorption des immigrants en Israël I am delighted and proud to take on the role of minister of immigration and integration it is a landmark and the closing of a circle for this 3-year-old girl who immigrated to Israel without a mother crossing the desert on foot; growing up in Israel and in the struggles that I have led and that I still lead for the community acceptance of others and against discrimination and racism; up to my public mission inside and outside the walls of the Knesset and today to the role of minister of immigration and integration Immigration is the beating heart and soul of the State of Israel I will work diligently to encourage immigration from countries all over world and to lead the reform of the immigrant absorption process in Israel numerous scandals bear witness to widespread racism against black people of which Tamano-Shata herself was a victim: lors d’une opération nationale de collecte le centre israélien de transfusion sanguine fait jeter tous les dons des immigrants d’Éthiopie de crainte qu’ils ne soient porteurs du sida la communauté falasha [Juifs éthiopiens] organise un immense rassemblement à Jérusalem Ces heurts ne font cependant pas changer les choses puisqu’en 2013 alors qu’elle [Tamano-Shata] est députée et décide de faire un don de sang lors d’une opération de don organisée par le Magen David Adom dans l’enceinte du Parlement à Jérusalem filmée et enregistrée par une caméra vidéo lui explique que « selon les directives du ministère de la Santé il n’est pas possible d’accepter le sang spécial d’origine juive éthiopienne » La députée s’insurge lors d’une interview sur la chaîne de télévision privée « 10 » contre « cet affront fait à toute une communauté en raison de la couleur de sa peau » the Israeli blood transfusion centre threw away all the donations from Ethiopian immigrants for fear that they may be carriers of AIDS the Ethiopian Jewish community organised a huge rally in Jerusalem outside the Prime Minister's office which descended into clashes with the police whilst Tamano-Shata was a member of parliament she decided to donate blood as part of a donation campaign organised by the Magen David Adom [Israel's national blood bank service] within the parliament building in Jerusalem An official from the organisation was filmed on camera explaining to Tamano-Shata that “according to the Ministry of Health's guidelines it is not possible to accept blood of Ethiopian Jewish origin” The MP protested during an interview on the private television channel 10 against ‘this affront to an entire community based on the colour of our skin.’ Another far-reaching scandal was that the forced contraception of Ethiopian women that was revealed in 2013, as this article explains: le gouvernement a nié qu’il avait mis en place un système de contraception concernant les immigrées éthiopiennes les forçant à accepter une injection de l’agent contraceptif Depo-Provera si elles voulaient entrer sur le territoire israélien L'Association pour les droits civiques en Israël (ACRI) a demandé une enquête ainsi que la fin de ces injections Le directeur général du ministère de la santé a donné l’ordre d’arrêter ces injections contraceptives Les juifs d’Ethiopie ou falashas sont des citoyens israéliens ont longtemps été mis à l’écart des autres communautés juives the government denied that it had implemented a contraceptive system for Ethiopian immigrant women forcing them to accept an injection of the contraceptive agent Depo-Provera if they wanted to enter Israeli territory The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) called for an investigation and an end to these injections The director general of the Ministry of Health ordered for these contraceptive injections to stop The Ethiopian Jews or Falashas are Israeli citizens and have long been segregated from other Jewish communities Another example of the violence and racism suffered by the Ethiopian Jews is the case of Damascus Pakada, an Israeli soldier born in Ethiopia. One day in April 2015, he was returning home in military uniform to celebrate his birthday. He was arrested and beaten by two police officers and At the time, President Reuven Rivlin admitted that Israel had committed serious errors that had traumatized Jews of Ethiopian origin: Les manifestants de Jérusalem et de Tel-Aviv ont révélé une plaie ouverte et vive au coeur de la société israélienne Nous devons nous pencher directement sur cette plaie ouverte nous n'avons pas assez ouvert les yeux et nous n'avons pas assez tendu l'oreille The protesters in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv have revealed an open bleeding wound in the heart of Israeli society we did not open our eyes enough and we did not listen enough Despite these scandals and the statements from Rivlin, anti-Falasha and anti-black racism continue, as reported in July 2019 by the French union activist onze Noirs israéliens ont trouvé la mort dans une confrontation avec la police les mises en examen d’Israéliens-Éthiopiens ont progressé de 90 % depuis 2015 et 90 % des jeunes Noirs passant devant un tribunal sont condamnés contre un tiers seulement des autres Israéliens eleven black Israelis have died during confrontations with the police According to the Association of Ethiopian Jews prosecutions of Israeli-Ethiopians have increased by 90% since 2015 90% of young black people who appear in court are convicted compared to only a third of other Israelis After the announcement of Tamano-Shata's appointment as the new minister many Israelis shared their feelings on social media For Chely Lobatón,Tamano-Shata's presence is the only good thing about the new government: Pnina Tamano-Shata getting the Aliyah and Integration Ministry is one of the few good things about the incoming government. As Israel's first black cabinet member and an Ethiopian immigrant herself, I hope it means easier absorption for African Jews. https://t.co/zu7U5BCiGO — Chely Lobatón (@chelylobaton) May 28, 2020 #Russie-#Israel /Nouveau cabinet israélien: le ministère de l'Aliyah et de l'Intégration échoit à Pnina Tamano-Shata ce portefeuille revenait à une personnalité politique russophone un nvl ambassadeur devait ê nommé à Moscou — Igor Delanoë (@IgorDelanoe) May 18, 2020 #Russia- #Israel / New Israeli cabinet: the Ministry of Aliyah (Immigration) and Integration passes to Pnina Tamano-Shata this portfolio belonged to a Russian-speaking political figure a new ambassador should be appointed to Moscow Ironically, the former minister of immigration and integration, Sofa Landver, who is of Russian origin and Tamano-Shata replaced, said in 2012 “You should say thank you to us for welcoming you,” in response to a previous wave of demonstrations by young Israeli-Ethiopians ERROR: SECURITY TIMEOUT - Please copy your message to a backup location Global Voices stands out as one of the earliest and strongest examples of how media committed to building community and defending human rights can positively influence how people experience events happening beyond their own communities and national borders Please consider making a donation to help us continue this work Donate now Authors, please log in » Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Stay up to date about Global Voices and our mission. See our Privacy Policy for details. Newsletter powered by Mailchimp (Privacy Policy and Terms) Global Voices is supported by the efforts of our volunteer contributors, foundations, donors and mission-related services. For more information please read our Fundraising Ethics Policy Special thanks to our many sponsors and funders Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata meets with new immigrants from Ukraine | Photo: David Peretz "Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata," calls out a man with a heavy Ethiopian accent Why aren't the murderers of our Tigrayan brothers being stopped Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram "I went over to him a few times and explained to him that his protest was justified but he should choose another location and we should be together I am his representative and he sees me as the address for his grievances." "The first Ethiopian minister" is a title that carries a lot of weight a friend ponders the twist of fate – the politician who said that the state prefers white immigrants and doesn't like Blacks has become the aliyah and integration minister She probably thought she would bring a few Ethiopians to Israel and then Tamano-Shata doesn't agree with the analysis When I took up my position at the Ministry of Aliyah I made it very clear that I would be a minister for everyone I'm a loyal servant of the people of Israel who must return home Do you know what it means for someone who was a new immigrant herself to be responsible for the absorption and immigration of others Think about our journey to the Land of Israel All of the Keisim (spiritual leaders) with their white robes It's not something I can forget," she says "Now that girl has the responsibility and the ability to influence the Jewish people and I'm bringing my brothers and sisters from Ukraine and working for them with the same commitment with which I work for immigrants from Ethiopia," she continues after returning from a visit to Poland and Ukraine Tamano-Shata is holding a Zoom call with emissaries of the Aliyah and Integration Ministry Dozens of emissaries are operating throughout Eastern Europe and working day and night to get Jews away from the hell of war one can see they are red-eyed and exhausted But as soon as they start to get into the details of their work I accompany the minister to a hotel to meet new immigrants who arrived in Israel in recent weeks Tamano-Shata tells them that she is there for them to help them deal with every problem all fearful for the fate of those who have been left behind can't hold in her emotions and bursts out in tears Tamano-Shata stops talking and walks up to her "It's difficult to get them out of Ukraine," the minister explains "Every minibus driver demands thousands of dollars per journey and it doesn't end there It's an ongoing operation that sometimes takes place under fire and demands enormous resources The Jewish world has donated tens of millions of dollars in the past month More than 10,000 new immigrants have passed through the Aliyah Ministry's booths at Ben Gurion Airport I told the ministry's employees to be in contact with all the hotels and have them prepare so that it didn't just drop on them overnight," she explains Q: How do you cope with voices such as that of journalist Avri Gilad who differentiated between Ethiopian and Ukrainian immigrants and wrote that it's natural we prefer to absorb those who will become an asset and a growth engine within a short time rather than those who will require long-term care "New immigrants are the country's strongest growth engine and economically Where would we be without the doctors who came here in the 1990s I don't want to see immigration just on a cost-benefit basis as  'quality aliyah.' We have to see aliyah first and foremost as a commitment There have always been those who opposed immigration from Ethiopia and said it would be difficult for new immigrants from Ethiopia to be absorbed looking at it from a historical perspective Hundreds and even thousands of academics have made a huge contribution to society do you think anyone would renounce a particular ethnic community in Israel and say 'Send them back?' I don't think our society would look like it does today without the richness and diversity that results from aliyah." "Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic We're happy for every immigrant that arrives Even if it's a case like the immigrant from France who fulfilled a lifelong dream and made aliyah on his 100th birthday and then died here that night We are a special and unique country and no one has the right to close the State of Israel to Jews from anywhere in the world." Tamano-Shata's busy schedule takes us to Jerusalem's International Convention Center where Chabad is organizing a Bar Mitzvah for orphans from Ukraine whose parents were killed in the war Quite a few politicians are taking part in the event "I don't forget that at the end of the day politics has to serve the public interest," says Tamano-Shata "Often the choice by politicians to speak only to their base has a detrimental effect on the fabric of Israeli society That doesn't mean I believe in shutting people up but the overall good of society is more important than party political interests." Q: Is that why you defected from Yesh Atid to Blue and White in contrast to everything your base wanted Did you think it was for the better for the general public "I chose unity over division because I knew it was a much better thing for Israel Unity is the foundation of the Ethiopian community Look back at the situation at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic After three election campaigns plagued with hatred and division we couldn't go to another election campaign that was splitting the people and corrupting us morally Q: And now that you have experienced the 'other side,' in your view is former coalition chairwoman Idit Silman a politician playing to her base I'm in favor of women doing what they believe in and what they want I've seen Silman occasionally frustrated and on the verge of exploding I had a feeling where she was headed a week before she actually left when she said she wouldn't sit with someone like [Health Minister] Nitzan Horowitz It was clear to me that she was signaling her way out I still think it isn't in the public's interest for there to be elections every few months A country simply can't function that way." elections are the appropriate democratic process We are already talking about a government that leans But as long as I can continue doing what I went into politics to do Q: It's now 40 years since Operation Moses; how is it that transition camps fill up anew every time they empty out A lot of people wonder whether the immigrants waiting in Ethiopia to make aliyah are in fact Jewish "We're talking about anusim (forced converts) there was a very difficult period of droughts A lot of Jewish families pretended to be Christians to survive Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories "People always doubted [the Judaism of Ethiopians] even when people threatened to boycott him because he recognized Ethiopian Jewry Twenty or 30 years ago those eligible under the Law of Return came here but their descendants weren't brought here "Do you understand what it's like when you're told your father and mother will be allowed to make aliyah The Ethiopians' naiveté and lack of understanding were taken advantage of They were told that in a month or two the children would come I'm the solution and that's what I tell other ministers involved but we're here to right the injustices that we have committed as a state." Q: If we're talking about rectifying historic injustices does it not bother you that Nitzan Horowitz buried the report on the kidnapping of Yemenite children As someone who made aliyah without her mother and waited for her for years and knows intimately the feeling of a family that has been torn apart because of aliyah "My entire struggle comes from a place of great love for this country and its people," says Tamano-Shata "But when I hear about experiments done on babies and that if Ethiopian children are given to mohels [ritual circumcisers] as cannon fodder for them to train on you can imagine what kind of feeling that awakens in me as a mother who went through a complex brit milah [circumcision] with her son There's also the issue of the 23,000 blood donations that were thrown away and the criminal files opened against our youths I received countless notifications that Amir Haskel had been arrested but nobody called me about the fact that the police had beaten up three Ethiopian youths I'll continue to say difficult things about Israel and racism I don't have the privilege just to shout from the stands I've seen the data – there is no community that has become involved in Israeli the way the Ethiopian community has." Q: How do you explain the outburst in 2019 after the death of Solomon Teka There were statements on the fringes that were post-Zionist – quotes from the American activist Malcolm X and a feeling of disenfranchisement from Israel but I don't forget for a moment that we are an integral part of Israeli society and of the People of Israel I'm happy to see that in recent years our youth has developed a deep connection to our culture That is the foundation for a stable connection to the traditions of our fathers but we don't need to look for role models from another people overseas Ethiopian Jewry has deep roots and traditions our young artists are proud of our culture does that does it sound like what I want?" Tamano-Shata says "Where do you think I can influence society the most and create unity among the people," she asks NBN23: The start-up blazing a trail in basketball  Technology is becoming a key part of sport for players and fans alike, and NBN23's Swish APP is taking basketball to another level CEO Javier Bosch founded this Valencia-based company in 2015 to fulfil his wish to boost support for amateur basketball by bringing it up to speed with the professional game through digitalization That’s when he began brainstorming ideas and developing products like Competition where you can generate an online report showing everything that happened in the game; and Performance a tracking tool for players to analyse their individual game in detail Those products laid the foundations for other innovative projects like InGame APP created for basketball fans to enjoy the sport through the Internet Swish APP took a giant leap during the pandemic crossing more borders than ever to bring NBN23’ presence to over 65 countries not to mention collaboration with the NBA’s JR.NBA programme and its global tournaments NBN23’s place in the final came from its idea to enhance the Fieeld touchscreen device for visually-impaired people to enjoy football adding a bluetooth tracking system to the stadium NBN23 is committed to environmental protection. It has stopped using paper to prevent deforestation and reduce the impact of climate change. It also promotes recycling and the use of sustainable products Its work both on and off the court has the backing of organizations like Santander and such leading figures in basketball as ‘Chacho’ Rodríguez no podemos ofrecerte este contenido en el idioma seleccionado puedes seguir consultando esta información en el idioma disponible Swiss marine power company WinGD has signed an agreement with Mitsui E&S Diesel United (MESDU) part of Japanese shipbuilding company Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding group that will see WinGD engines being built at the latter’s main Tamano Works for the first time the agreement adds considerable engine-building capacity and enables WinGD to meet growing demand in the shipbuilding market WinGD engines have previously been built only at the company’s Aioi Factory which was acquired from IHI Group when the Diesel United business was sold to Mitsui E&S earlier this year which complements an earlier cooperation agreement signed with Diesel United in 2015 means that WinGD engines can now be built at both the Aioi and Tamano factories “Expanding in Japan in close collaboration with MESDU is a natural step as we see significant changes in vessel specifications from Japanese shipyards As new designs emerge for vessels using alternative fuels including methanol and ammonia as well as cutting edge LNG and hybrid technologies Mitsui E&S DU (MESDU) will now be ready to fulfill the increased demand for domestically built WinGD engines,” Rudolf Holtbecker “This agreement gives MITSUI E&S even more capacity to offer shipyards and shipowners the quality main engines that will power future generations of sustainable vessels We are happy to be able to deliver on WinGD’s efficient and reliable engine designs to support even more Japanese vessels through the energy transition,” Hiroyuki Takumi As well as WinGD’s existing diesel-fuelled X-Engines and LNG dual-fuel X-DF engines, the additional building capacity at the Tamano Factory will also be dedicated to X-DF-A ammonia-fuelled and X-DF-M methanol-fuelled engines which will be available for delivery from Q1 2025 Daily news and in-depth stories in your inbox The Pioneers of Offshore Engineering GustoMSC, part of NOV’s Marine and Construction business, is recognized for providing advanced design & engineering consultancy for mobile offshore units and reliable equipment. In close cooperation with our customers, we translate experience, science, and technical knowledge into realistic & innovative ideas. The performance of new and existing jack-ups, vessels […] Volume 5 - 2014 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2014.00718 Part of this article's content has been mentioned in: Cow Dung Is a Novel Feedstock for Fibrinolytic Enzyme Production from Newly Isolated Bacillus sp IND7 and Its Application in In Vitro Clot Lysis They play important roles in our daily lives The production methods used for useful metabolites and enzymes have improved since the time their importance was first established Strategy to increase production of primary (A) and secondary (B) metabolites if heterologous overexpression adversely affects the microorganisms the enzymes would not be produced or their inclusion bodies would form (only in case of E the genes involved in their syntheses are largely unknown conventional strategies such as random mutagenesis are still used predominantly despite the inefficiency in screening mutants showing enhanced production from randomly mutagenized clones Reverse genetics experiments such as gene knockout and successive complementation are necessary to confirm that the predicted genes function in synthesizing the product of interest If the genes involved in synthesizing secondary metabolites can be identified by these trials genetic modification could be used to increase metabolite production To predict which genes are involved in the synthesis of metabolites and enzymes as well as to estimate which genes are bottlenecks in their synthesis biologists sometimes need to analyze the enormous dataset generated by both genome sequencing and subsequent various experiments in the “Omics,” i.e. many biologists do not seem to be well versed in bioinformatics and the associated tasks involving programming it will be useful for them to master the usage of various software provided in packages or on websites It will also be meaningful to collaborate with other scientists or specialists of genomic information analysis the probability of creating mutant strains with increased ability for production would increase together with using the conventional “trial and error” strategy it is considered best that researchers in the field also challenge the use of the microbial metabolism simulation technology which will enable an increase in the yield of target primary metabolites in a more efficient manner The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest Genetic improvement of processes yielding microbial products Recombinant organisms for production of industrial products Accurate prediction of secondary metabolite gene clusters in filamentous fungi Genomics-driven discovery of PKS–NRPS hybrid metabolites from Aspergillus nidulans antiSMASH 2.0 - a versatile platform for genome mining of secondary metabolite producers a regulator of secondary metabolism in Aspergillus Fungal secondary metabolites - strategies to activate silent gene clusters A gene cluster containing two fungal polyketide synthases encodes the biosynthetic pathway for a polyketide Computational tools for metabolic engineering Production of recombinant proteins by microbes and higher organisms Polyketide synthases and nonribosomal peptide synthetases: the emerging view from bacterial genomics A historical perspective on the discovery of statins doi: 10.1146/annurev.micro.58.030603.123615 Evolutionary implications of bacterial polyketide synthases Synthetic biology and the development of tools for metabolic engineering Metabolic pathway gene clusters in filamentous fungi CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Engineering primary metabolic pathways of industrial micro-organisms SMURF: genomic mapping of fungal secondary metabolite clusters How to achieve high-level expression of microbial enzymes: strategies and perspectives Penicillin biosynthesis in Aspergillus oryzae and its overproduction by genetic engineering Kojic acid biosynthesis in Aspergillus oryzae is regulated by a Zn(II)(2)Cys(6) transcriptional activator and induced by kojic acid at the transcriptional level annotation and analysis of secondary metabolite biosynthesis gene clusters in bacterial and fungal genome sequences Progress and challenges in enzyme development for biomass utilization and secondary metabolites in pharmaceutical sciences Current topics in the biotechnological production of essential amino acids Towards commercial production of microbial surfactants prenylated quinoline-2-one alkaloids from Aspergillus nidulans Surfactin – a review on biosynthesis Google Scholar Metabolic engineering as an integrating platform for strain development Microbial production of fatty-acid-derived fuels and chemicals from plant biomass Stephanopoulos Metabolic Engineering: Principles and Methodologies Google Scholar Motif-independent prediction of a secondary metabolism gene cluster using comparative genomics: application to sequenced genomes of Aspergillus and ten other filamentous fungal species Identification of a novel polyketide synthase-nonribosomal peptide synthetase (PKS-NRPS) gene required for the biosynthesis of cyclopiazonic acid in Aspergillus oryzae Comparing methods for metabolic network analysis and an application to metabolic engineering Flux analysis and metabolomics for systematic metabolic engineering of microorganisms MIDDAS-M: motif-independent de novo detection of secondary metabolite gene clusters through the integration of genome sequencing and transcriptome data Characterization of the biosynthetic gene cluster for the ribosomally synthesized cyclic peptide ustiloxin B in Aspergillus flavus Stoichiometric flux balance models quantitatively predict growth and metabolic by-product secretion in wild-type Escherichia coli W3110 Cloning and analysis of the spinosad biosynthetic gene cluster of Saccharopolyspora spinosa CLUSEAN: a computer-based framework for the automated analysis of bacterial secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters Microbial production of amino acids and derived chemicals: synthetic biology approaches to strain development Secretory production of ricinoleic acid in fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe Suppression of ricinoleic acid toxicity by ptl2 overexpression in fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe Avermectin: biochemical and molecular basis of its biosynthesis and regulation Malic enzyme: the controlling activity for lipid production Overexpression of malic enzyme in Mucor circinelloides leads to a 2.5-fold increase in lipid accumulation Mathematical optimization applications in metabolic networks Citation: Tamano K (2014) Enhancing microbial metabolite and enzyme production: current strategies and challenges Received: 28 August 2013; Accepted: 01 December 2014; Published online: 18 December 2014 Copyright © 2014 Tamano. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited *Correspondence:dGFtYW5vLWtAYWlzdC5nby5qcA== vice president of the European Parliament and the special envoy on combating religious discrimination European commissioner for neighborhood and enlargement She will also meet Brussels’ Chief Rabbi Avraham Gigi.Tamano-Shata said that “most of the new immigrants have been absorbed into permanent housing in cooperation with the labor and employment services is integrating the new immigrants into the labor market through a variety of customized training programs We will do everything so that they will soon integrate into Israeli society “"I will share our vast experience from historical to 21st-century aliyah operations." This issue is preventing our website from loading properly. Please review the following troubleshooting tips or contact us at [email protected] By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us Create an FP account to save articles to read later ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN Downloadable PDFs are a benefit of an FP subscription This article is an Insider exclusive Contact us at [email protected] to learn about upgrade options unlocking the ability to gift this article When environmental activists Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro were presented at a September press conference after going missing two weeks earlier they were introduced by a military officer as communist rebels who had escaped and surrendered to authorities after realizing the error of their ways The military clearly expected them to go along with the story. But the activists stunned onlookers by saying they had actually been abducted by the military in retaliation for their work helping fishing communities affected by development around Manila Bay With their story out in the open and the military facing online ridicule Dyan Gumanao, an activist and development worker, was surprised by their bravery but not by their story. She and her partner, fellow activist Armand Dayoha, were abducted in January from a busy port in Cebu. In a video that quickly went viral the two were seen being forced into a SUV by black-clad masked men as several onlookers helplessly watched say they believe state forces were behind their abduction At least 16 activists and community organizers have been abducted since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr Most of these cases have received limited domestic and international attention especially in comparison with the deadly drug war and frequent killings of political critics under Marcos’s predecessor Enforced disappearances have been endemic in the Philippines since the military rule of Marcos’s father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., during which more than 900 people were abducted Many were activists and organizers targeted by the military or police for opposing the dictatorship the military has publicly vilified political opponents by labeling them without evidence as “communist rebels,” a practice known as “red-tagging” that often serves as a prelude to abduction who was largely unconcerned with how Western leaders viewed him has taken pains to restore the image of his family in the eyes of global observers Marcos reversed Duterte’s policy of courting closer ties with China in favor of bolstering his country’s longtime military alliance with the United States opening four bases this year for use by U.S troops in anticipation of potential conflicts in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait “We keep hearing that the human rights situation under Marcos is improving,” Dayoha said the Marcos administration is engaged in a war against critics.” Gumanao and Dayoha are far from alone. Tamano and Castro told me last month that their abductors had threatened them and forced them to surrender after days of interrogation and psychological torture Gumanao and Dayoha said they were blindfolded They believe they were brought to neighboring Negros by boat where they were interrogated for three days before being returned to Cebu They believe they were only released because the video of their abduction had received so much attention But instead of helping them to get answers government agencies have only antagonized them a former spokesperson for the government’s controversial anti-communist task force twice accused the couple of being communist rebels who had faked their abduction And a regional labor official told Gumanao that “it was hard to believe we were really abducted because When the couple sought help with their case from the country’s National Bureau of Investigation one official “scolded us and shouted at us,” accusing them of “painting [a negative] image of the Philippine government” by giving interviews to media and the U.N Marcos has been eager to restore the country’s image after the Duterte years both to placate a global community horrified by the former president’s horrid rights record and to give Duterte’s loudest critics a larger stage as the Marcos and Duterte families jockey for power atop the country’s dynastic political system But most activists still operate in a climate of fear. Red-tagging by state authorities remains commonplace, and forced abductions are occurring at a faster rate under Marcos than they did under Duterte “There has been less attention directed toward the rule of law and justice in the Philippines,” said Dino de Leon the attorney representing Tamano and Castro While drug war killings have slowed since the early years of the Duterte presidency, they have not stopped—and only two people have been convicted in what the International Criminal Court estimates as between 5,000 and 30,000 extrajudicial killings “If they feel like they’re powerful enough and can get away with it who also represents the still-jailed de Lima Tamano and Castro are now facing perjury charges filed by the military They previously said they had expected retaliation after saying they had been forced to surrender embarrassing the military and anti-communist task force officials who had called the press conference De Leon said his clients only spoke under oath when they surrendered to the military under duress everyone can be held accountable for perjury through the barrel of a gun.” Tamano and Castro filed for a protection order from the country’s Supreme Court which usually acts on such filings within 24 to 72 hours Like many other victims of forced abduction, it’s hard for them not to feel the cards are stacked against them. The day after Tamano and Castro said the military had abducted them, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla accused them of following a “new playbook” of the communist movement by changing their story De Leon said he is worried that government agencies are being used by the military and the anti-communist task force “to sanitize their actions,” which was visible not only during the bloody killings of the Duterte administration but also in the impunity that remains under Marcos “That’s a testament to how weak our justice system is,” he said “We will continue to work within the justice system because it’s the only justice system that we have.” Nick Aspinwall is a journalist based in New York. 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Unlock powerful intelligence for your team. environmentalists Jonila Castro and Jhed Tamano planned to take a nighttime bus ride to Orion village along Manila Bay in the Philippines to protest construction threatening to displace residents a military SUV raced up from behind and a half dozen masked men jumped out to seize the pair who are around 5 feet tall and in their early 20s But they said they were quickly overpowered gagged and shoved inside the vehicle to be whisked away to an unknown location “I was actually thinking while we were in the car It’s a fear environmental activists across Southeast Asia can relate to Instances of harassment and abuse similar to Castro’s and Tamano’s ordeal occur with regularity in the region even as countries seek massive foreign investments to help them deal with the growing threat of climate change They were eventually released and have continued their work though they face defamation charges for saying the military is responsible for their abduction The London-based NGO Global Witness said 281 activists in the Philippines have been killed since 2012 at least 16 environmentalists were killed in Asia including 11 in the Philippines and three in Indonesia environmentalists are under threat in Cambodia “Defending the environment is a very dangerous activity in Southeast Asia,” said Lia Mai Torres the head of the secretariat at the Manila-based Asia Pacific Network of Environment Defenders We have bombings in our communities and militarization We have killings of farmers and indigenous people just for working on their land.” Castro and Tamano worked with AKAP KA Manila Bay advocating for coastal communities in Bataan province facing displacement from land reclamation The area surrounding the bay’s more than 770 square miles (2,000 square km) features the country’s largest cargo shipping hub including a rising number of tourism-focused businesses and new construction of upscale residences The two women say the development is having a devastating effect on the people of Bulacan province destroyed mangroves and forced more than 700 families to move Philippine military officials have denied any involvement in the pair’s abduction asserting instead that they were taken by the leftist New People’s Army “They kept on linking our organization to the communist organization,” Castro said The activists said they were freed 17 days after their capture when they agreed to “voluntarily surrender” to military authorities as communists this widely used tactic is known as “red-tagging” and is used to undermine or silence dissent Both Tamano and Castro said they would continue their environmental activism Joseph Akaravong was forced to flee the country when police issued a warrant for his arrest after he posted videos of villagers complaining about lost land to a hydropower dam Houayheuang “Muay” Xayabouly remains jailed after helping flood victims and alleging corruption you will not find publicly open environmental rights defenders anymore,” said Emilie Palamy Pradichit founder and executive director of Manushya Foundation a Bangkok-based feminist human rights organization “Everybody is very paranoid and we’re very very scared of repercussions by the government.” authorities in Preah Vihear province allegedly forced activist Hiem Kimhong to sign a statement on Feb 27 agreeing not to criticize them in interviews with RFA’s Khmer Service He has helped villagers fight to keep their land from developers and criticized local officials for their apparent inaction “If authorities can’t resolve the issue and people still complain Phuon “Keo” Keoraksmey is another Cambodian environmentalist who has been targeted by the government Several of its activists have been arrested and its founder Keoraksmey herself was detained four months after joining the group while marching to the prime minister’s residence to protest against development around the Boeung Tamok Lak in Phnom Penh She ended up serving 14 months for incitement Keoraksmey resumed her activism despite facing a second trial on plotting charges Keoraksmey said she takes strength in the quiet support from members of her community She said more people would speak out but for fear of being punished by their government local river vendors give me clams for free,” Keoraksmey said they say they admire my work and want to support our cause in their own way.”  Lao and Cambodian officials did not immediately respond to RFA requests for comment The arrests and harassment come as the region is facing a grave threat in climate change Roughly 77% of the people in Southeast Asia live along its 234,000-km coastline Many are susceptible to rapidly rising sea levels and more frequent extreme weather events The area’s resource-dependent economies also make them vulnerable to climate shifts. The Asian Development Bank said Southeast Asia faces larger potential losses from climate change than most regions noting the region’s GDP could fall by 11% by the end of this century The Philippines, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam are among the top 20 globally for climate-related loss events between 2000 and 2019, according to a study published in 2021 And yet in Vietnam authorities have arrested at least 12 people with a history of environmental activism mainly on what critics said are bogus tax evasion charges Many of the activists had actually helped Hanoi develop its climate policy which is widely regarded as ambitious and has attracted tens of billions of dollars in international support Pradichit at the Manushya Foundation said repressive governments such as Vietnam’s exploit environmentalists to secure grants from developed countries and international financial institutions “But once they secured the funding,” Pradichit said She said the activists are not necessarily pro-democracy or anti-state but authorities fear them for the type of open policy making they endorse access to information and consideration of environmental concerns in addition to profit A spokesperson for Vietnam’s Public Security Ministry said there is “absolutely no truth to the claim” the country is targeting environmental activists $15.5 billion in funds to transition away from fossil fuels under the Just Energy Transition Partnerships where wealthy countries help poorer ones prepare for climate change the push for clean energy in some cases contributes to pollution problems activists are fighting against A mining boom of minerals needed for batteries – including lithium nickel and cobalt – has incentivized “extractivist development models that put frontline communities at risk,” according to Hanna Hindstrom She said she has seen a “worrying rise in the criminalization of environmental campaigners in the region.” Donor countries for the Just Energy Transition Partnerships and similar projects should require governments to adhere to certain basic human rights and include local and indigenous communities in their project development efforts “We cannot have ‘just’ transitions without protecting environmental defenders,” she said Activists have appealed to donor countries to pressure governments to stop abusing environmental advocates said Torres of the Asia Pacific Network of Environment Defenders in Manila they always say that they sympathize with environmental defenders that they want to improve the situation,” Torres told RFA “But I think what’s lacking here is the political will to actually do something.” She said countries are reluctant to press the issue for fear of damaging their diplomatic relationships Filipinas Castro and Tamano spent eight days in captivity without their friends and family knowing what had happened to them they were forced to act as if they had voluntarily surrendered at a military camp in Bulacan the country’s Supreme Court issued a protection order and said their captivity was a clear violation of their rights But the Philippines Department of Justice recommended the two face defamation charges for taking “advantage of the benevolence of the [Philippine military] to embarrass and put them in a bad light.” Instead of listening and working with environmentalists the government is threatening and attacking its own people facing climate change and environmental problems is hard but it became harder because of the repression of the government.” Add your comment by filling out the form below in plain text Comments are approved by a moderator and can be edited in accordance with RFAs Terms of Use RFA is not responsible for the content of the postings be respectful of others' point of view and stick to the facts '#' : location.hash;window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery = location.search === '' && location.href.slice(0 location.href.length - window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash.length).indexOf('?') !== -1 '?' : location.search;if (window.history && window.history.replaceState) {var ogU = location.pathname + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash;history.replaceState(null "\/liveblog_entry\/absorption-minister-meets-with-new-york-city-mayor\/?__cf_chl_rt_tk=OX4UgMRx7DY1gdgT10cDklowW6Owi507C4wlU_nP42w-1746488340-1.0.1.1-c9LD2UL7vwC5agn3eEbL5gvFW12s6tXP8FHfj5oFQmw" + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash);cpo.onload = function() {history.replaceState(null ogU);}}document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(cpo);}()); Our Work Cafés speak to our commitment to banking innovation which brings together a free co-working area affords open access to Santander branches for customers and non-customers alike Though at first glance our Work Cafés may look like simple coffee houses they are much more — they are collaborative spaces open to everyone These innovative branches are part of our transformation to engage with people and businesses in a different way We have left behind the traditional banking model to pave the way for an innovative experience as a digital bank with branches As Santander's Executive Chair Ana Botín believes the aim of the Work Café is for customers to "want" They are a new way to engage with your local branch and get the financial solutions you need not to mention free WiFi in a co-working environment meeting rooms and events to help you grow personally and professionally you can do all this while enjoying a fine coffee prepared by one of our expert baristas and a wealth of sweet treats We have set up a channel in these open spaces that helps entrepreneurs and business people raise the profile of their enterprises They can advertise their services on our digital screens and bulletin board or in our virtual community head of this initiative: “The idea is to create a different more open environment without walls or stuffy routines but also our relationship with our colleagues" And the numbers don’t lie: there are now 237 Work Cafés worldwide (some 95 in Chile and 96 in Spain) Find your Work Café Argentina      Portugal Brazil              Spain Chile               UK Poland           US Mexico            Work Café is testament to our global scale and local presence where we share best practice between subsidiaries to implement in our markets This is the essence of our ONE Santander model