Eleven captured for failed maritime 'invasion' of Venezuela

Venezuelan Presidency/AFP/File / Marcelo GarciaA handout picture released by the Venezuelan Presidency shows on May 4, 2020, passports of US citizens arrested by security forces in relation to a failed maritime 'invasion'

Eleven alleged "terrorists" were arrested on Sunday in connection with the failed maritime "invasion" of Venezuela, authorities said, bringing the total captured to more than 40.

"Captured today #10May 2020, another three terrorist mercenaries in Colonia Tovar," about an hour from Caracas, tweeted armed forces chief Admiral Remigio Ceballos.

Hours later, state television reported that military personnel had captured an additional eight "terrorists" in the northern coastal state of Vargas.

The arrests came after another three alleged "mercenaries" were arrested Saturday, according to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

"We have been meticulously looking for all those involved and we are going to capture them all," Maduro announced during a television address.

The botched invasion attempt -- which Maduro has compared to the Bay of Pigs incident in 1961 -- saw men landing in early May at Macuto, less than an hour from Caracas. In total, 45 people have been arrested.

Eight attackers were reportedly killed in the incident.

Among the detainees are two former US soldiers, Luke Denman, 34, and Airan Berry, 41, who have been imprisoned and charged with "terrorism, conspiracy, illicit trafficking of weapons of war and (criminal) association." They could face between 25 to 30 years in prison.

The others implicated in the case are Venezuelans.

The left-wing Maduro government claims the plan was to remove him from power and allow opposition leader Juan Guaido -- recognized as the interim president by the United States and 50 other nations -- to take control.

Maduro has said he believes US President Donald Trump was involved in the operation, with Guaido as his accomplice.

Trump has strongly denied the accusations.

Despite Maduro's accusations against him, Guaido has not been charged with any alleged crimes.

U.S. offers bankrupt refiner $10 million cap on biofuel obligation: filing

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Trump administration has offered to place a $10 million cap on Philadelphia Energy Solutions’ biofuel blending obligations, effectively slashing the bankrupt refiner’s regulatory liability by more than 70%, according to a proposed settlement between the two parties dated earlier this week.

The deal is intended to free up more cash for the company to pay off its list of creditors, according to the filing.

It marks the second time the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Donald Trump has agreed to waive significant portions of PES’s obligations under the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard, a law that requires refiners to blend biofuels like ethanol into the fuel pool or buy credits from those that do.

Under the agreement, PES - which entered into bankruptcy after a catastrophic fire last summer - will have to hand over 161,830,963 biofuel blending credits, called RINs, or pay up to $10 million to meet its obligations, whichever comes first, the filing said. The cost of those credits had previously been estimated at $35 million, according to court documents.

The agreement “can reduce the $35 million RINs Retirement Obligation Reserve to $10 million on the Effective Date, which makes funds available to satisfy the creditors’ claims promptly,” the filing said.

RINs, or Renewable Identification Numbers, are used by oil refiners to show compliance with the RFS and are generated with every gallon of biofuel produced.

Trump’s EPA had previously waived some $350 million in biofuels compliance costs for PES after its initial bankruptcy in 2018. That deal allowed PES to briefly exit bankruptcy before the 2019 fire triggered its latest collapse.

PES blended little to no biofuels itself, which meant it was required to buy credits to comply with the RFS. Before its 2018 bankruptcy, however, the refiner took a large short position in the RIN market by opting to delay its purchases of those credits, and even sold some of the credits it had on hand, ballooning its exposure when it went bust.

The shut 335,000 barrel-per-day Philadelphia refinery site will be sold for $252 million and redeveloped under a plan approved in bankruptcy court earlier this year. The sale ended months of uncertainty over whether the idled plant would be restarted.

Reporting by Stephanie Kelly; additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Paul Simao

For cops who kill, special Supreme Court protection

The U.S. high court’s continual refinement of an obscure legal doctrine has made it harder to hold police accountable when accused of using excessive force.

A REUTERS SPECIAL INVESTIGATION
MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATION
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-police-immunity-scotus/

When cops kill, redress is rare - except in famous cases

By LAWRENCE HURLEY and ANDREA JANUTA Filed May 8, 2020

TWO SIDES OF THE STREET: Police and protesters squared off after an officer shot and killed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, fueling national debate about police tactics. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

The 2014 shooting death of black teen Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, prompted angry protests and trained a national spotlight on a perceived lack of police accountability for violent encounters with the public.

Since then, the “Black Lives Matter” movement – sparked by the killing of black teen Trayvon Martin by civilian George Zimmerman in Florida in 2012 – has become closely associated with critiques of overly aggressive policing, particularly against black people. Heightened public awareness, enhanced by the increasing prevalence of cellphone video, has kept the issue front and center through a series of incidents that have made national headlines in recent years.

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For cops who kill, special Supreme Court protection


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These high-profile cases – unlike most excessive force lawsuits against police that Reuters reviewed – are outliers, resulting in generous settlement offers and sometimes even criminal charges before police had any recourse to claiming qualified immunity.

Killing of rare river dolphins sparks poaching fears in Bangladesh lockdown

The rare Ganges river dolphin is found in the river systems of Nepal, Bangladesh and India

The gutted carcass of a freshwater dolphin has been found in a river sanctuary in Bangladesh, officials said Sunday, sparking fears fishermen are taking advantage of the virus lockdown to poach the endangered creatures.

Locals in the southeastern town of Raojan found the remains of the 62-inch (157-centimetre) long Ganges river dolphin on the banks of the Halda River, fishery department official Abdullah al Mamun told AFP.

It had suffered a sharp and deep incision from its neck to tail and layers of its body fat—from which oil is extracted for use in traditional medicines—were missing, he said.

The dolphin is the second to be found dead in the same sanctuary since Bangladesh imposed its lockdown to tackle the coronavirus, said Manzoorul Kibria, coordinator of the Halda River Research Laboratory (HRRL).

Bangladesh prohibits the killing of Ganges dolphins, which are categorised as endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature's "Red List" of threatened species.

A local official, who asked to remain anonymous, said locals were starting to trawl the Halda river, as understaffed police who usually patrol the region were busy enforcing the lockdown in Raojan.

"They are trying to make a living by catching fish illegally," local forestry department head Yasin Nawaz said, adding that the same nets also often caught dolphins.

Once the creatures are trapped, they prove easy pickings for poachers who sell their fat and oil, Kibria said.

"Many local villagers believe dolphin fat can cure diseases. It fetches a good price."

Kibria added he feared the latest death could be the start of a "killing spree" of the rare creature.

The Ganges river dolphin is found in the river systems of Nepal, Bangladesh and India and has a population of between 1,200 to 1,800, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

They can weigh up to 100 kilograms (220 pounds) and grow to 2.6 meters (eight feet) long, are known for their long beaks which have 28 sharp teeth on both sides of their jaws.

The Halda river is home to around 170 dolphins, according to HRRL.Oil spill threatens rare Bangladesh dolphin breeding zone

© 2020 AFP

Rise in German virus infections spurs concern

Coronavirus. Credit: European Centers for Disease Control

Germany's coronavirus spread appears to be picking up speed again, official data showed Sunday, just days after Chancellor Angela Merkel said the country could gradually return to normal.

The Robert Koch Institute for public health said Germany's closely watched reproduction rate (R0) had climbed to 1.1, meaning 10 people with COVID-19 infect on average 11 others.

The RKI has warned that for the infection rate to be deemed under control and slowing down, R0 has to stay below one.

As recently as Wednesday, Germany's number stood at 0.65.

But since then the country has reported clusters of new cases at slaughterhouses and at care homes for the elderly.

The RKI cautioned that it was too soon to draw conclusions but said the number of new infections "would need to be watched very closely in the coming days".

The latest data raised alarm after Merkel only on Wednesday declared that Germany had left the "first phase" of the pandemic behind it and federal states announced relaxations of social restrictions.

Most shops and playgrounds have reopened, children are gradually returning to classrooms and states are to varying degrees reopening restaurants, gyms and places of worship.

German local authorities have however agreed to pull an "emergency brake" and reimpose social curbs if the infection rate rises above 50 cases per 100,000 residents over a week.

That has already happened in at least three districts in recent days, according to the RKI.

Football, slaughterhouses
In Germany's most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia, there has been a spike in cases at a slaughterhouse in the district of Coesfeld, where around 200 of the 1,200 employees have tested positive for the virus.

Many of them are foreign workers from eastern Europe who lived in shared housing.

The regional government has ordered workers at all of the state's slaughterhouses to undergo testing. It has also delayed the loosening of some confinement measures in the district.

An outbreak of COVID-19 at a slaughterhouse in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein has likewise pushed the district of Steinburg over the infection threshold.

In the eastern state of Thuringia, Greiz district has reported a jump in infections among residents and employees of several care homes and a geriatrics hospital.

There were also fresh fears for the planned restart of the Bundesliga football season on May 16 after second-tier Dynamo Dresden were ordered to go into quarantine over two coronavirus cases.

Protests

Despite the rising concerns, some Germans believe the country is not moving fast enough in easing the confinement measures.

Thousand of people took to streets in cities nationwide at the weekend to protest against the remaining restrictions, such as wearing a mask on public transport and limiting social contacts.

Tensions rose at a rally in Berlin on Saturday, where hundreds of protesters chanted "Freedom, Freedom" and some threw bottles at police. Several dozen people were taken into custody.

In Munich, where some 3,000 protesters gathered on Saturday, police criticised participants for not sticking to social distancing rules.

The demos, which have grown larger in recent weeks, have mostly attracted a mix of far-right and far-left sympathisers.

But they are increasingly becoming more mainstream.

A well-known politician from the liberal Free Democrats party (FDP), Thomas Kemmerich, came under fire for joining a protest in Thuringia state that was also attended by members of the far-right AfD party.

Germany's confirmed coronavirus cases rise by 357 to 169,575: RKI
FILE PHOTO: A member of medical personnel refills a disinfectant dispenser as employees of meat marketer "Westfleisch" wait in line to get tested for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a provisional testing center at the premises of a "Westfleisch" meat factory, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Hamm, Germany, May 10, 2020. REUTERS/Leon Kuegeler

BERLIN (Reuters) - The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 357 to 169,575, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Monday.

The reported death toll rose by 22 to 7,417, the tally showed.

Reporting by Berlin Newsroom; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman

Women harder hit than men from coronavirus in Quebec 

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Women in the Canadian province of Quebec have been harder hit by the coronavirus than men, according to the province's health services.

Contrary to trends in other countries where men have been most affected, women account for 59.7 percent of the people infected by the virus in Quebec, and 54 percent of the deaths, the Quebec National Institute of Public Health reported over the weekend.

The institute said there were 36,986 confirmed coronavirus cases in the province and 2,786 deaths.

The institute offered no explanation for why women were more affected than men, but a large majority of nurses and caregivers of the elderly are women.

The age group most affected by the virus was 30- to 49-year-olds, who accounted for 28 percent of those infected.

People between the ages of 80 and 89 accounted for 40 percent of the deaths, followed by 33.4 percent among people 90 and older.

According to the institute, Quebec has a death rate of 326 per million inhabitants, placing it behind Spain (566), Italy (500) and Britain (465), but ahead of Canada as a whole (124).

Canada PM 'worried' about situation in Montreal

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© 2020 AFP

With fewer humans to fear, flamingos flock to Albania lagoon

by Hektor Pustina MAY 10, 2020

In this Saturday May 2, 2020 photo flamingos fly in Narta Lagoon, about 140 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of the Albanian capital of Tirana. Home confinement rules have angered and anguished some people in Albania, but humans getting their wings clipped during the coronavirus pandemic is allowing flamingos and other birds to flourish in a coastal lagoon by the Adriatic Sea. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina)

Home confinement rules have upset some people in Albania, but humans getting their wings clipped during the coronavirus pandemic has allowed flamingos and other birds to flourish in a coastal lagoon by the Adriatic Sea.

Local officials and residents say the flamingo population is up to about 3,000 at Narta Lagoon, an important waterfowl habitat that greater flamingos returned to in recent years after a long absence. Bird watchers also have noticed more pelicans, herons and other species this spring at the 28-square-kilometer (10-square-mile) lagoon, which is 145 kilometers (90 miles) south of Tirana, the capital.

"Isn't that beautiful to see fearless flamingos all around?" Dhimiter Konomi, part of a local group that manages commercial fishing in Narta Lagoon, said as the big, long-necked birds stood in the shallow water.

Operations halting at a nearby saltworks and reduced human activity of all types during the pandemic explains why birds are flocking to the lagoon, said Nexhip Hysolokaj, a regional biodiversity expert. Flamingos are "a very delicate species," and not having vehicles or visitors around suits them, he said.

"They have found food and calmness, and that has likely helped them increase the numbers," Hysolokaj said.

In this Saturday May 2, 2020 photo flamingos fly in Narta Lagoon, about 140 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of the Albanian capital of Tirana. Home confinement rules have angered and anguished some people in Albania, but humans getting their wings clipped during the coronavirus pandemic is allowing flamingos and other birds to flourish in a coastal lagoon by the Adriatic Sea. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina)

In this Saturday May 2, 2020 photo flamingos fly in Narta Lagoon, about 140 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of the Albanian capital of Tirana. Home confinement rules have angered and anguished some people in Albania, but humans getting their wings clipped during the coronavirus pandemic is allowing flamingos and other birds to flourish in a coastal lagoon by the Adriatic Sea. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina)

In this Saturday May 2, 2020 photo flamingos gather in Narta Lagoon, about 140 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of the Albanian capital of Tirana. Home confinement rules have angered and anguished some people in Albania, but humans getting their wings clipped during the coronavirus pandemic is allowing flamingos and other birds to flourish in a coastal lagoon by the Adriatic Sea. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina)

Researchers plan to study the flamingos to see if the coronavirus-induced calm is conducive to establishing the lagoon as a place where they can nest and breed.

Konomi says a lagoon crowded with feathered life is a treasure that could boost tourism.

But Hysolokaj is less keen to attract conventional tourists to the lagoon, which is part of a protected landscape of sand dunes, wetlands, islands and beaches that supports diverse fauna as well as birds. He described it as the "lung" of Vlora, the nearest city.

"There should be a stable but alternative tourism, naturally letting campers come, beaches used, with environmental biking, educational paths and more because it's so close to Vlora," Hysolokaj said.Birds in paradise: Albania's flamingos flourish in virus lockdown

© 2020 The Associated Press.

The role of European policy for improving power plant fuel efficiency

by University of Chicago MAY 9, 2020

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A new study published in the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists investigates the impact of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), the largest international cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions in the world, on power plant fuel efficiency.

In "The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and Fuel Efficiency of Fossil Fuel Power Plants in Germany" author Robert Germeshausen studies German power plants and finds that a reduction in fuel use by fossil fuel power plants due to the introduction of the EU ETS translates into reductions in total annual carbon emissions of about 1.5 to 2 percent within the German power sector.

To put this improvement into context, this decrease in fuel input on average is equivalent to a reduction of around four to six million tons in annual carbon emissions. The results point to the role of actual investment in generation technology to improve fuel efficiency as Germeshausen finds positive effects on large investments in machinery.

The power sector is central to climate protection strategies, including those in Germany, where it accounts for around 40 percent of total annual carbon emissions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change states that reducing the carbon intensity of electricity generation (also known as decarbonizing) is a key component of cost-effective mitigation strategies. "Hence, understanding the effects of existing climate policies on the power sector is crucial for the further development of policies to achieve mitigation targets efficiently," writes Germeshausen.

The EU ETS puts a price on greenhouse gas emissions from regulated installations to achieve emission reductions and to provide incentives for investments in low-carbon technologies. Germeshausen utilizes administrative annual plant-level data covering around 85 percent of fossil fuel electricity generation in Germany from 2003 to 2012. Germany's electricity generation fleet consists of a variety of hard coal, lignite, nuclear, and natural gas power plants as well as renewable energy installations.

Germeshausen draws conclusions on the effect of carbon pricing on the optimal input combination in electricity generation and also on fuel efficiency improvements as a measure to reduce carbon emissions in the power sector. He additionally analyzes potential effects on labor efficiency, investments in machinery, and utilization of power plants.

Unlike previous studies on productivity and efficiency effects from policies and regulation in the electricity generation sector, which focus mainly on the effects of deregulation on productivity and efficiency, this study differs with respect to the nature of the influence. 

"Understanding the impacts on regulated entities is crucial for the assessment and the further development of mitigation policies such as emission trading schemes," Germeshausen writes. Given the high variable cost share of fuel in power generation, the introduction of a carbon price may provide carbon intensive power plants with an incentive to improve fuel efficiency.

Germeshausen finds that the ETS negatively impacts the capacity factor, i.e., carbon intensive plants produce less output in relation to their potential output compared to less carbon intensive plants. "Thus, the effect should be interpreted as a positive net effect on fuel efficiency, exceeding a potential negative fuel efficiency effect from decreased utilization of carbon intensive power plants."


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Scientists list four key actions to halt global warming

More information: Robert Germeshausen, The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and Fuel Efficiency of Fossil Fuel Power Plants in Germany, Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (2020). DOI: 10.1086/708894

Provided by University of Chicago 

Brazilian Amazon deforestation hits new Jan-Apr high

 Handout picture released by the Communication Department of the State of Mato Grosso showing deforestation in the Amazon basin in the municipality of Colniza, Matorosso state, Brazil, on August 29, 2019.

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon hit a new high in the first four months of the year, according to data released Friday, a worrying trend after the devastation caused by record fires last year.

A total of 1,202 square kilometers of forest (464 square miles)— an area more than 20 times the size of Manhattan—was wiped out in the Brazilian Amazon from January to April, according to data based on satellite images from Brazil's National Space Research Institute (INPE).

That is a 55-percent increase from last year, and the highest figure for the first four months of the year since monthly records records began in August 2015.

The numbers raise new questions about President Jair Bolsonaro's commitment to protecting the world's largest rainforest, more than 60 percent of which is in Brazil.

Bolsonaro, a far-right climate-change skeptic, drew scathing international criticism last year after he downplayed huge wildfires that devastated the Amazon from May to October.

The fires contributed to the loss of a total 10,123 square kilometers (3,900 square miles) of forest in the Brazilian Amazon for 2019, the first time that figure had crossed the 10,000 mark since 2008.

The trend for 2020 is all the more worrying given that fire season will only start in late May with dryer weather.

If the Amazon is hit by huge fires again, this year could be on track to break all records for deforestation.

The destruction is caused largely by illegal logging, mining and farming on protected lands. Felled trees are then left to dry and burn when the season begins, driving the fire problem.

Bolsonaro wants to open up more protected lands to economic activity, arguing Brazil's indigenous peoples should reap the benefits of the natural resources on their territory.

He issued a decree Thursday authorizing the army to fight wildfires and oversee environmental agencies' work from May 11 to June 10 this year.

Environmentalists responded that it would be better to increase staffing and budgets for the environmental agencies.

Brazil to deploy army to fight Amazon deforestation

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© 2020 AFP

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Understanding the impact of COVID-19 in pets and livestock

by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc

Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A new paper identifies the critical need for research on the ability of the COVID-19 virus to infect certain animal species, the transmissibility of infection between humans and those animals, and the impact infection could have on food security and the economy. The article, which focuses on companion animals, livestock and poultry, working animals such as military service dogs, and zoo species, is published in Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Disease.

The authors identify three urgent issues to consider: the potential for domesticated animals to transmit infection to humans and to contribute to community spread of disease; the impact on food security, economy, and trade if livestock and poultry are affected by coronavirus; and the effect on national security if the virus infects military service dogs and impairs their sense of smell, often used for tracking and to detect explosives and narcotics.

Tracey McNamara, DVM, DACVP, NAPf, Western University of Health Sciences (Pomona, CA), Juergen Richt, DVM Ph.D., Kansas State University (Manhattan, Kansas) and Larry Glickman, VMD, DrPH, Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN) coauthored the article entitled "A Critical Needs Assessment for Research in Companion Animals and Livestock Following the Pandemic of COVID-19 in Humans."

Stringent studies are needed, with robust data collection, and not just anecdotal evidence. Dogs, cats, lions, and tigers have all already tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Studies are needed on the transmissibility of the virus between animal species and between animals and humans, on the best diagnostic tests available for companion animals and livestock, and on how COVID-19 is expressed in animals.

"The potential for zoonotic SARS-CoV-2 to infect companion animals has been a topic of much discussion," says Stephen Higgs, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief of Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases and Director, Biosecurity Research Institute, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS. "With over 3 million cases of COVID-19 and over a quarter of a million deaths worldwide so far since January, it is vital that we understand the risks posed by domestic animals as a possible source for human infection. This review, brings all of what we know about SARS-CoV-2, pets, and other animals to our readership."Animals should not pose coronavirus threat to pet owners, farmers

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More information: Tracey McNamara et al, A Critical Needs Assessment for Research in Companion Animals and Livestock Following the Pandemic of COVID-19 in Humans, Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases (2020). DOI: 10.1089/vbz.2020.2650

Provided by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc 

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