Thai protesters use emoticons to stay ahead of police

Although Thailand has long dealt with street protests, these tactics are all new in Bangkok.

PHOTO: REUTERS PUBLISHED OCT 21, 2020, 

BANGKOK (BLOOMBERG) - In Thailand's democracy, emoticons and retweets are becoming the new ballots.

On Monday (Oct 19), protest organisers asked supporters on Facebook whether they should hold rallies that evening: The "Care" emoticon signalled "rest for one day," while the "Wow" emoticon was a vote to "keep going!" The majority on Facebook chose to continue the protests. A similar poll was also done on Twitter, using like and retweet buttons for the vote.

DIRECT DEMOCRACY
Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Telegram have emerged as the backbone of the youth-led movement posing an unprecedented challenge to King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Thailand's royalist establishment. Mirroring the "Be Water" tactics mastered by protesters in Hong Kong last year, the decentralised movement is using online forums to ask supporters to vote on when and where to rally - sometimes choosing multiple locations at once.

The moves have kept the police off balance: Authorities last week shut down parts of Bangkok and some mass transit stations in an unsuccessful bid to stop protesters from gathering. They've now held rallies each day since Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha issued an emergency decree to ban large gatherings.

And while police have arrested more than 70 people, including prominent leaders, others are lined up to take their place as protesters push for Prayut's resignation, a more democratic constitution and more accountability for a monarchy that holds more power and wealth than any institution in Thailand.

LEADERLESS SELF ORGANIZATION = ANARCHY
"We're already creating a headache for the government just by doing leaderless rallies to show them that people are against them," Arthitaya Pornprom, one of the protest organisers, said in a phone interview.

"We're showing them that even though the leaders are gone, the movement continues. Everybody's a leader."

POP-UP PROTESTORS

On Friday, protesters were able to use social media to gather at a new location within an hour after police thwarted their initial plans. Since then they've been regularly popping up at various locations for a short period of time before dispersing quickly to avoid crackdowns.

Although Thailand has long dealt with street protests, these tactics are all new in Bangkok. In previous years, police had to contend with demonstrators backed by major political figures who occupied streets or strategic locations like the international airport for days or weeks.

Now the movement is based in cyberspace, and authorities are struggling to stop it. The government on Monday asked internet and phone service providers to block access to messaging application Telegram, used by the protesters in recent days to coordinate plans.

Last month, a Cabinet minister filed a complaint against some social media platforms for non-compliance with requests to take down content that the government deemed "inappropriate."

Prayut, who has said the government's key task is to "protect the monarchy," on Tuesday ordered police to reconsider censorship of media outlets, a day after authorities said they would probe four news outlets that may have violated the emergency decree.

"Our job is to protect the country and eliminate ill-intentioned actions aimed at creating chaos and conflict in the country," Prayut told reporters after a cabinet meeting. It approved a special Parliament session starting Oct 26 to discuss the protests, though it still needs the King's approval to go ahead.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

Any ban on platforms like Facebook would upset more than 50 million active users in Thailand - equivalent to more than 70 per cent of the population - who use social media to chat, shop and follow current events. Past government threats to take legal action against social media giants haven't materialised, even though some posts and pages have been removed or blocked.

"The government has found it hard to suppress this kind of leaderless, cyber-organising movement," said David Streckfuss, a scholar of Southeast Asian politics and an author of a book on Thailand's lese majeste laws.

"They could shut down social media - they have the power to do that. But it'll come at a price. The current economic situation is bad enough, and many businesses rely on social media. They'd make the economic situation even worse, prompting more movement against it."

The protests have already weighed on the country's stocks and currency as concerns mount that a prolonged standoff may erode company earnings and delay an economic recovery. The benchmark stock index, the worst performer in Asia this year, closed near a six-month low on Tuesday while the baht fell 0.3 per cent to 31.271 to a dollar, extending losses this year to 4.2 per cent.

For their part, protest organisers like Arthitaya are set to keep going.

"We're gaining momentum for the movement more than before so we have to keep holding rallies," she said.

"The anger from the protesters will continue to increase. If the government keeps stepping up its crackdown, more people will come out."

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

Thai protesters take to streets in new show of defiance

Thai Parliament to decide on special meeting as protesters rally

'We have to speak out': Thai students defy protest ban

Thai protesters set to defy ban with rallies outside Bangkok, PM Prayut says he won't resign

Thailand cracks down on protesters: A timeline of events

CRIMINAL CAPITAL$M 

OxyContin maker Purdue reaches plea deal in opioid probe: sources

By Mike Spector



NEW YORK (Reuters) - Purdue Pharma LP has reached an agreement to plead guilty to criminal charges over handling of its addictive prescription opioid OxyContin, in a deal with U.S. prosecutors that effectively sidesteps paying billions of dollars in penalties and stops short of criminally charging its executives or wealthy Sackler family owners, people familiar with the matter said.

In a far-reaching agreement set to be unveiled on Wednesday, Purdue has formally admitted to criminal conduct related to distribution of its painkillers and agreed to pay $225 million to resolve U.S. Justice Department investigations.

Prosecutors are preparing to impose significant penalties exceeding $8 billion against Purdue, though the lion’s share will go largely unpaid, the people sai

Purdue has agreed to pay $225 million toward a $2 billion criminal forfeiture, with the Justice Department foregoing the rest so long as the company completes a bankruptcy reorganization transforming itself into a “public benefit company” or similar entity that steers the unpaid portion to thousands of U.S. communities suing it over the opioid crisis.

A $3.54 billion criminal fine and $2.8 billion civil penalty are likely to receive cents on the dollar as they compete with trillions of dollars of other claims from those communities and other creditors in Purdue’s bankruptcy proceedings, the people said.

Members of the billionaire Sackler family who own Purdue have agreed to pay a separate $225 million civil penalty for allegedly causing false claims related to the company’s opioids to be made to government healthcare programs such as Medicare, the people said.

Neither the Sacklers nor any Purdue executives are expected to be criminally charged. The agreement does not release any individuals associated with Purdue from potential criminal liability. A separate Justice Department criminal investigation scrutinizing individuals remains ongoing, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Purdue conspired to engage in criminal conduct over the years that kept medically questionable prescriptions of its opioids flowing, prosecutors are expected to allege. The Stamford, Connecticut-based company has agreed to plead guilty to three felonies, two of them violations of a federal anti-kickback law and another charge under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the people said.

Representatives for Purdue, its Sackler family owners and the Justice Department had no immediate comment or did not immediately respond to requests.

Reporting by Mike Spector; editing by Edward Tobin

Purdue Pharma to pay $8.3bn, plead guilty to settle opioid probes

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma pleads guilty to three felony charges and agrees to pay $8.3bn to settle federal probes into its role in fuelling the US opioid crisis.

In a far-reaching agreement unveiled on Wednesday, Purdue formally admitted to criminal conduct related to the distribution of its painkillers including OxyContin [File: George Frey/Reuters]

21 Oct 2020

Purdue Pharma LP agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges over the handling of its addictive prescription opioid OxyContin, in a deal with United States prosecutors that effectively sidestepped paying billions of dollars in penalties and stopped short of criminally charging its executives or wealthy Sackler family owners.

In a far-reaching agreement unveiled on Wednesday, Purdue formally admitted to criminal conduct related to the distribution of its painkillers and agreed to pay $225m to resolve US Justice Department investigations.

KEEP READING

Mexico president wants US evidence against ex-defence chief

US charges former Mexican minister with drug trafficking

Opioid drugmaker Mallinckrodt files for US bankruptcy protection

Several killed in ‘gang war’ at Rohingya camps in Bangladesh

Prosecutors imposed significant penalties exceeding $8bn against Purdue, though the lion’s share will go largely unpaid.

Purdue agreed to pay $225m towards a $2bn criminal forfeiture, with the Justice Department foregoing the rest if the company completes a bankruptcy reorganisation dissolving itself and shifting assets to a “public benefit company,” or similar entity that steers the unpaid portion to thousands of US communities suing it over the opioid crisis.

A $3.54bn criminal fine and $2.8bn civil penalty are likely to receive cents on the dollar as they compete with trillions of dollars of other claims from those communities and other creditors in Purdue’s bankruptcy proceedings, according to court documents and people familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters news agency.

Members of the billionaire Sackler family who own Purdue agreed to pay a separate $225m civil penalty for allegedly causing false claims for OxyContin to be made to government healthcare programmes such as Medicare, according to court records.

Neither the Sacklers nor any Purdue executives were criminally charged. The agreement does not release any individuals associated with Purdue from potential criminal liability. A separate Justice Department criminal investigation scrutinising individuals is continuing, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Purdue conspired to engage in criminal conduct over the years that kept medically questionable prescriptions of its opioids flowing, prosecutors said. The Stamford, Connecticut-based company has agreed to plead guilty to three felonies, two of them violations of a federal anti-kickback law and another charge of defrauding the US and violating the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Representatives for Purdue, its Sackler family owners and the Justice Department had no immediate comment or did not immediately respond to requests.

Opposition

The settlement had already come under fire before its unveiling from Democrats on Capitol Hill calling for Purdue and its Sackler family owners to face more severe consequences for their alleged roles in the opioid crisis, criticism that followed Reuters reporting details of the looming agreement.

Dozens of state attorney-generals, meanwhile, oppose a plan that would essentially put government litigants in charge of a restructured company continuing to sell OxyContin.

Purdue reaped more than $30bn from sales of OxyContin over the years, enriching Sackler family members while funnelling illegal kickbacks to doctors and pharmacies, US and state officials have alleged.

The cases against Purdue and the Sacklers reflect an attempt by officials to hold accountable alleged perpetrators of an epidemic that has killed more than 400,000 people since 1999, prompting the administration of US President Donald Trump to declare it a public health emergency.

Purdue’s misconduct included paying illegal kickbacks to doctors and to a vendor called Practice Fusion that created a software alert designed to push the drugmaker’s opioids on physicians, prosecutors said. Practice Fusion earlier this year entered a deferred prosecution agreement and admitted that it received kickbacks from an opioid company, which Reuters reported was Purdue.

Purdue also ignored doctors suspected of improperly prescribing opioids that were flagged by its internal controls, and failed to report OxyContin prescriptions from these physicians to the Drug Enforcement Administration as legally required, officials said.

Purdue, which filed for bankruptcy protection last year under an onslaught of litigation, has proposed settling thousands of lawsuits in a deal it values at more than $10bn. That is contingent on donations of opioid reversal and addiction treatment medications it has under development and a $3bn cash contribution from the Sacklers. The Sacklers would cede control of Purdue.

The part of that plan reshaping Purdue as a public benefit company is no longer assured, said people familiar with the matter. Attorney-generals from two dozen states and Washington, DC, last week said it would improperly entangle them with a restructured Purdue’s continued OxyContin sales while they attempt to hold alleged perpetrators of the opioid crisis accountable.

Purdue asked its bankruptcy judge on Wednesday to approve the plea agreement, including the $225 million payment it owes.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx grabs rocks from asteroid in historic mission

This NASA file image obtained August 11, 2020 shows an artist's rendering of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft descending towards asteroid Bennu to collect a sample of the asteroid's surface. 

File: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University / AFP]

21 Oct 2020



A NASA spacecraft touched down on the rugged surface of the Bennu asteroid on Tuesday, grabbing a sample of rocks dating back to the birth of the solar system to bring home.

It was a first for the United States – only Japan has previously secured asteroid samples.
KEEP READINGNASA says Artemis Accords envision ‘Star Trek’ future for moonNASA’s Perseverance Rover lifts off to MarsNASA astronauts’ historic return on SpaceX capsuleNASA’s OSIRIS-REx poised to reach out and touch an asteroid

The so-called “Touch-And-Go” manoeuvre was managed by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver, Colorado, where at 6.12pm (22:12 GMT) on Tuesday an announcer said: “Touchdown declared. Sampling is in progress,” and scientists erupted in celebration.

Seconds later, the Lockheed mission operator Estelle Church confirmed the spacecraft had eased away from the space rock after making contact, announcing: “Sample collection is complete and the back-away burn has executed.”

The historic mission was 12 years in the making and rested on a critical 16-second period where the minivan-sized OSIRIS-REx spacecraft extended its 11-foot (3.35-metre) robotic arm towards a flat patch of gravel near Bennu’s north pole and plucked the sample of rocks – NASA’s first handful of pristine asteroid rocks.

The probe will send back images of the sample collection on Wednesday and throughout the week so scientists can examine how much material was retrieved and determine whether the probe will need to make another collection attempt.


  

This mosaic image of asteroid Bennu was composed of 12 PolyCam images collected on December 2, 2018 by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a range of 15 miles (24 km) [NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona/Handout via Reuters]Scientists want at least 2 ounces (60 grams) and, ideally, closer to 4 pounds (2 kilogrammes) of Bennu’s black, crumbly, carbon-rich material – thought to contain the building blocks of the solar system. The asteroid is located more than 200 million miles (321.9 million kms) from Earth.

NASA’s science mission chief, Thomas Zurbuchen, likened Bennu to the Rosetta Stone: “Something that’s out there and tells the history of our entire Earth, of the solar system, during the last billions of years.”
‘Exactly perfect’

If a successful collection is confirmed, the spacecraft will begin its journey back towards Earth, arriving in 2023.

“Everything went just exactly perfect,” Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator from the University of Arizona, Tucson, said on a NASA live feed from Lockheed’s mission support building. “We have overcome the amazing challenges that this asteroid has thrown at us, and the spacecraft appears to have operated flawlessly.”

The robotic arm’s collection device, shaped like an oversized shower head, is designed to release pressurised gas to kick up debris.


The spacecraft launched in 2016 from Kennedy Space Center for the journey to Bennu. It has been in orbit around the asteroid for nearly two years preparing for the Touch and Go manoeuvre.

Bennu, which is more than 4.5 billion years old, was selected as a target because scientists believe it is a small fragment of what was once a much larger space rock that broke off during a collision between two asteroids early on in the history of the solar system.

“Asteroids are like time capsules floating in space that can provide a fossil record of the birth of our solar system,” Lori Glaze, NASA’s director of Planetary Science, told Al Jazeera. “They can provide valuable information about how planets, like our own, came to be.”

Thanks to data collected from orbit, the NASA team has determined two key discoveries: first, that between 5 and 10 percent of Bennu’s mass is water, and second, that its surface is littered with carbon-rich molecules. Atomic-level analysis of samples from Bennu could help scientists better understand what role asteroids played in bringing water to the Earth and seeding it with the prebiotic material that provided the building blocks for life.

Studying that material could also help scientists discover whether life exists elsewhere in the solar system, as well.

“If this kind of chemistry is happening in the early solar system, it probably happened in other solar systems as well,” Lauretta, OSIRIS-Rex’s principal investigator, told Al Jazeera in an interview ahead of Tuesday’s breakthrough. “It helps us assess the likelihood of the origin of life occurring throughout the galaxy and, ultimately, throughout the universe.”

Japan expects samples from its second asteroid mission – in the milligramMEs at most – to land in the Australian desert in December.

EXCLUSIVE

Elizabeth Warren blasts the EPA for neglecting environmental justice

Grist / ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images

By Zoya Teirstein on Oct 21, 2020 

Climate change and environmental degradation don’t affect all Americans equally. Extreme heat, flooding, drought, and other consequences of our warming planet tend to hit low-income and nonwhite communities hardest. And pollution from highways and industry activity has long affected those communities most, too. These patterns are known as environmental injustice.

In 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency under President Obama established a tool called EJSCREEN to literally map the factors that create environmental injustice. The map shows how 11 environmental indicators — things like “proximity to a Superfund site” or “lead paint indicator” — affect any given zip code in the U.S., overlaid with general demographic information about each area. (Disclosure: EJSCREEN was co-created by Lisa Garcia, the senior advisor to the administrator for environmental justice at the EPA under Obama. Garcia is now the Fix program director at Grist; she played no role in assigning or editing this article.) In recent years, some states — namely California, New York, Washington, and Maryland — developed their own, more comprehensive mapping tools, often based on EJSCREEN, to help them figure out where to direct attention and resources.

A tool like EJSCREEN could play a crucial role in helping to administer an environmental justice–informed climate plan like the $2 trillion plan Democratic nominee Joe Biden is proposing. Biden has promised to devote 40 percent of the benefits of his plan to disadvantaged communities, and his plan actually describes a tool that sounds quite a bit like EJSCREEN. Such a tool could help guide federal and state decisions around permitting for factories and power plants, funding for climate resiliency projects, and state environmental regulations.

The problem is, the Trump administration has been neglecting EJSCREEN and the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice, which houses it. President Trump’s fiscal budget for 2021 proposed a 71 percent cut to the EPA’s environmental justice program. And EJSCREEN itself has limitations. Namely, the tool doesn’t provide a granular view of the environmental issues facing communities, and the federal government does not incorporate the tool’s findings into its decision-making process. Critics of the tool also say it fails to accurately represent the unique suite of environmental justice issues that each state represents, as it uses the same 11 indicators to evaluate the entire country. What’s more, EJSCREEN doesn’t currently take climate change into account.

In a scathing letter to EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler shared exclusively with Grist, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts expressed concern about the way the EPA has handled matters related to environmental justice, including EJSCREEN. “The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has highlighted the public health impacts of environmental injustices, such as the placement of pipelines and factories that expose low-income communities to more pollution, which disproportionately affects communities of color,” Warren wrote in the letter. “In order to combat these injustices, we must identify and help these communities, and the EPA has existing tools to do so that remain unused.”

“Will you commit to provide us, in no later than 2 months, with a staff-level briefing on your plan to improve the EJSCREEN program and expand its use in federal environmental decision-making?” Warren asked Wheeler. It’s unlikely that the EPA head will agree to her request. But on Wednesday, a pair of progressive think tanks unveiled a roadmap to a new, more effective national equity mapping program to improve on EJSCREEN.

In a policy memo titled “Designing a New National Equity Mapping Program,” Evergreen (an environmental policy group started by a bunch of former Jay Inslee campaign staffers) and the progressive policy shop Demos propose a federal mapping tool that builds on the gains that states have made in recent years. The groups suggest that the federal government should use such a tool to identify disadvantaged communities, using a definition of “disadvantaged” that not only takes the multiple environmental burdens that a community faces into account, but also considers the health and economic well-being of the people who live there. In other words, the government should recognize that environmental burdens don’t exist in a vacuum; they pile up in a cumulative fashion.

The new and improved mapping tool, the memo says, should be updated every three years to make sure it includes the best available data. “The Map, at its core, is an accountability tool,” Evergreen and Demos say. “The federal government must face the harms that discriminatory policies have caused and track whether current policies are remedying those harms or exacerbating them.” And the memo says that any federal mapping program should include not only climate data, but also granular information on race and other social demographic indicators.

In a statement expressing support for the policy memo, Warren said, “The federal government can and must better identify at-risk communities, prioritize resources to support them, and remediate historic injustices.”

HISTORIC ACCEPTANCE OF LGBTQ RITES

Pope says homosexuals should be covered by civil union laws



By Philip Pullella


ROME (Reuters) - Pope Francis says in a new film released on Wednesday that homosexuals should be protected by civil union laws, in some of the clearest language he has used on the rights of gay people.

“Homosexual people have a right to be in a family. They are children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out or be made miserable over it,” he says in the documentary “Francesco” by Oscar-nominated director Evgeny Afineevsky.

“What we have to create is a civil union law. That way they are legally covered. I stood up for that,” he said.

The pope appeared to be referring to when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires and opposed legislation to approve same sex marriages but supported some kind of legal protection for the rights of gay couples.

According to papal biographer Austen Ivereigh, his comments in the film released on Wednesday were some of the clearest language the pope has used on the subject since his election in 2013.

The pope spoke in a section of the film about Andrea Rubera, a gay man who with his partner adopted three children.

Rubera says in the film that he went to a morning Mass the pope said in his Vatican residence and gave him a letter explaining his situation.

He told the pope that he and his partner wanted to bring the children up as Catholics in the local parish but did not know how they would be received. It was not clear in which country Rubera lives.

Rubera said the pope telephoned him several days later, telling him he was moved by the letter and urging the couple to introduce their children to the parish but to be ready for opposition.

The film shows Rubera giving the letter to the pope. He says he and his partner took the pope’s advice and are happy they did.


Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Gareth Jones and Giles Elgood

Jewish director sends message of hope in Pope Francis film

By Philip Pullella

ROME (Reuters) - After tackling war in Syria, Oscar-nominated Evgeny Afineevsky wanted his next documentary to send a message of hope, so he chose as its subject the only world leader he believes capable of uniting humanity: Pope Francis.

Afineevsky, a Russia-born Jew, depicts Francis as the great connector, and “Francesco”, which premiered at the Rome Film Festival on Wednesday, places the pope at the heart of a narrative that casts a wide net over some of the world’s most pressing problems.

“The main thread of this movie is more about us as human beings, who are creating disasters every day. And he (the pope) is the one who is connecting us through these threads,” Afineevsky, now a U.S. citizen, said in an interview.

Using the coronavirus as a launch pad, the two-hour film starts with footage of a deserted, rain slicked St. Peter’s Square on the evening of March 27, when Francis led a surreal and solitary prayer service for relief from the rapidly spreading pandemic.

It then cuts to empty streets the world over to drive home the pope’s message that “we are all in the same boat”.

Afineevsky was nominated for an Oscar in 2016 for “Winter on Fire”, about the popular uprising in Ukraine. After “Cries from Syria”, a subsequent film on the civil war there, “brought me to the darkest side of humanity,” he felt compelled to produce something uplifting.

“Just like Pope Francis brings attention to the horrible situation that we as humanity have created, I wanted to find hope, light and love and give this hope to people. Through his (the pope’s) actions, I found this,” he said.

“It’s the story of us, and him helping us, understand these things.”

The film tackles other topical issues such as the growing rich-poor gap, racism, climate change, sexual abuse, migration, human trafficking, political polarisation and relations between Christians, Moslems and Jews.

The viewer sees them through the pope’s eyes, his pronouncements, his writings, his Tweets, his trips, and newspaper headlines. It also features Afineevsky’s interviews with Francis and appearances by Catholic Church experts, refugees, sex abuse victims, a homosexual couple, a Holocaust survivor, rabbis and Moslems.

Footage of bombs in Syria, migrant boats sinking in the Mediterranean, typhoons in the Philippines, melting ice caps, the separation of families at the U.S. Mexican border, a refugee camp in Greece, and blacks killed by police in the United States, are interspersed with papal comments.

While positive in its overall evaluation, the film avoids the overt hagiography of documentaries of Francis made by religious groups.

It highlights the fact that he completely misjudged the scale and severity of the Church’s sexual abuse crisis, and that he later publicly recognised his mistake and apologised.

“It is beautiful to see a leader in his position, and just a humble human being, who is able to say: ‘I am sorry, I am wrong,’” Afineevsky said.


Reporting By Philip Pullella; editing by John Stonestreet

'Not even the pandemic' will stop Colombia protests, leaders say

By Nelson Bocanegra

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Thousands of union members, teachers, students and indigenous people are set to participate in a national strike in Colombia on Wednesday to protest the social and economic policies of President Ivan Duque, the killing of human rights activists and recent police violence.



FILE PHOTO: People participate in a demonstration called by Colombian indigenous people to demand the government to protect their territories, stop the assassinations of social leaders, and the implementation of a peace agreement, at a meeting called "Minga" in Bogota, Colombia October 19, 2020. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez/File Photo

The marches are the latest in a sporadic series of protests that began late last year, including September demonstrations against police brutality that led to 13 deaths.

The government has warned that crowds create a high risk of coronavirus infections. Colombia, which held more than five months of national lockdown to stem the virus, is set to top 1 million confirmed infections later this week.

Protesters are demanding a variety of government concessions, including a guaranteed income for those who lost their jobs because of coronavirus, more funding for health and education and steps to stop gender-based violence.

Protest leaders, including indigenous representatives, have also demanded a meeting with Duque to discuss the murders of activists, whose deaths the government attributes to criminal gangs and leftist rebels.

“We march jointly today for the negotiation of an emergency petition, which will include health, life, farmer production, the rights of women, of vulnerable populations,” said union head Diogenes Orjuela during a Tuesday press event with indigenous leaders.

Some 10,000 indigenous people have arrived in Bogota this week, principally from the country’s southwest, appealing for Duque to meet with them.

“Not even the pandemic will stop our movement,” said Hermes Pete, head of the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC). “There is no other path but to keep fighting.”

The marches’ crowds could be “tomorrow’s outbreaks,” Duque warned on his nightly television broadcast on Tuesday.

Business leaders have called for protests to be suspended on fears they could damage nascent recovery after lockdown. The government estimates the economy will contract 5.5% this year.

Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Steve Orlofsky

Analysis: Google antitrust case to turn on how search engine grew dominant - experts

By Paresh Dave, Jonathan Stempel

A Google sign is pictured on a Google building in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., October 20, 2020. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

OAKLAND, Calif./NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government’s antitrust case against Alphabet Inc’s Google appears strong, but could face an uphill battle from a business-friendly judiciary that may question whether a free search engine beloved by consumers has actually left them worse off, several legal experts said.

Google was accused in the long-anticipated lawsuit filed on Tuesday of harming competition in internet search and search advertising through distribution agreements and other restrictions that put its search tool front and center whenever consumers browsed the web.

To win, the U.S. Department of Justice must prove that Google gained or maintained monopoly power through abusive conduct, or something beyond competition on the merits.

Several legal experts said Google’s alleged misconduct appears similar to allegations the government leveled in the 1990s against Microsoft Corp. That landmark case was settled in 2002, and a consent decree required the maker of the Windows operating system to stop retaliating against computer makers that used non-Microsoft software.

Rebecca Haw Allensworth, a professor at Vanderbilt Law School, said the Justice Department appeared wise to offer credible and narrow arguments in its 59-page complaint.

“They are not jumping on the bandwagon of we have to restructure antitrust law for tech,” she said. “They are sticking to the existing law.”

Eleven U.S. states joined the government’s lawsuit, and New York Attorney General Letitia James said her state and six others may soon file their own lawsuit.

Experts said the federal government is unlikely to back away from the case, and in fact might press harder, if Democrat Joe Biden wins the presidency over Republican incumbent Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 election.

Google is expected to argue that the government overestimated the company’s power by defining its market too narrowly.

But some experts said Google’s ubiquity makes the case more likely to hinge on whether its dominance stems from consumers preferring it to rivals, or whether the Mountain View, California-based company steered them away from those rivals.

“We know Google has a large share of that market,” said John Lopatka, a law professor at Pennsylvania State University. “The question is why.”

Shubha Ghosh, a law professor at Syracuse University, said the government alleges Google is blocking more consumer-friendly search engines, such as ones that do not collect user data to personalize ads, from gaining popularity. But he said Google could argue simply that its search engine was effective at generating results that consumers want, and was “not meant to be exclusionary.”

Or, as Lopatka put it: “It could say, we were an admired scrappy firm and we did really good work, and that’s why we became as dominant as we are.”

Skyrocketing prices often show that customers have been hurt by anticompetitive behavior.

But Google provides its search services for free, adding to the Justice Department’s challenges.

“The trend in judicial doctrine in Supreme Court decisions involving dominant firms has been to give big companies broad freedom to choose business strategies they prefer,” said William Kovacic, a law professor at George Washington University and former chair of the Federal Trade Commission. “If you’re a plaintiff, including a government plaintiff, that’s hard to overcome -- not impossible, just very difficult,” he added.

Experts said that even if the Justice Department proved Google was a monopoly and abused its monopoly power, a court might struggle to fashion measures to improve competition in searches.

“Making a search engine isn’t easy,” said Chris Sagers, a law professor at Cleveland State University. “It seems extraordinarily unlikely any other firm is going to challenge Google meaningfully.”

Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Paresh Dave; Editing by Greg Mitchell and Leslie Adler

'Digit' robot for sale and ready to perform manual labor

by Bob Yirka , Tech Xplore
  

Credit: Agility

Robot maker Agility, a spinoff created by researchers from Oregon State University, has announced that parties interested in purchasing one of its Digit robots can now do so. The human-like robot has been engineered to perform manual labor, such as removing boxes from shelves and loading them onto a truck. The robot can be purchased directly from Agility for $250,000.

Most of the robots that have been built in recent years are for research purposes. Scientists all over the world are striving to give them more and better capabilities. On their web page, the team at Agility claim that it is time for robots to start getting out of the research lab and into the real world where they can start doing useful things. They note that Digit has been engineered to do just that, and it is ready right now, for customers.

Digit is vaguely human-shaped. It has two arms and two legs and can walk around. Its toeless feet are flat and its knees bend backward compared to humans. Also, it has no head or hands. But it does have strength and durability, and a computer that allows it to carry out tasks autonomously and without a tether. Digit looks the part of a robot ready to perform laborious tasks. Its frame is thick metal and it moves like a person who does manual labor. It can bend over and pick up a box, carry it to a desired destination (including climbing stairs if need be) and leave it there, repeatedly.

 

The team at Agility notes that current events make Digit ideal for businesses looking to replace human laborers with robot laborers. Human labor in the U.S. and other parts of the world, they note, is in short supply due to a variety of factors, not least of which is the current COVID-19 pandemic. They also note that Digit has been engineered to work in the real world; users do not need to alter the work environment to suit its needs; it can work anywhere human beings are already working. The team at Agility also note that they aim to be in the robot-making and selling business long-term. They just recently received an infusion of $20 million in funding from a variety of investors. They also recently struck a deal with Ford Motor Company for robots that can be used to load and unload boxes from self-driving vehicles.




Bipedal robot Digit seen as final step in autonomous delivery system
More information: Agility Robotics: www.agilityrobotics.com/

Agility raises $20 million to build and deploy robots for work in human spaces: www.businesswire.com/news/home … Work-in-Human-Spaces

© 2020 Science X Network

Cathay Pacific to cut workforce by nearly a quarter

by Jerome Taylor, Su Xinqi

Cathay Pacific has become the latest airline to announce mass job losses

Cathay Pacific announced plans Wednesday to cut its workforce by nearly a quarter and close one of its short-haul airlines in an effort to survive the "devastating" impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.


Across the globe, airlines have been hammered as the pandemic has slashed international travel, and they face a long, hard winter after a much-hoped-for rebound failed to materialise.

Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's flag carrier, published a corporate restructuring plan on Wednesday that will lead to 8,500 job losses in total—nearly a quarter of its workforce—and one of its airlines to disappear completely.

"The global pandemic continues to have a devastating impact on aviation and the hard truth is we must fundamentally restructure the Group to survive," CEO Augustus Tang said in a statement.

Cathay said 5,300 redundancies would be made among the airline's Hong Kong-based employees with a further 600 overseas.

The remaining losses would come from a recruitment freeze and natural attrition.

Cathay Dragon, a subsidiary that primarily flies shorter-haul flights within Asia, will cease operations.

The company is seeking regulatory approval to absorb some of Dragon's routes into Cathay Pacific and its budget airline HK Express.

Dismal year

The news of cuts was embraced by investors with Cathay's battered shares trading four percent up in afternoon trade.

But employees reacted with dismay, noting the proportion of jobs going was higher than many competitors.

Cathay Pacific has become the latest airline to announce mass job losses

Zuki Wong chairwoman of the Cathay Pacific Flight Attendants Union, said members were "severely disappointed".

"We all feel very sad because the colleagues being laid off are all very dear to us," she told reporters.

Hong Kong's government came to the rescue of Cathay with a taxpayer-funded bailout of US$5 billion earlier this summer.

But Cathay CEO Tang said the airline was burning through up to HK$2 billion ($260 million) in cash each month during the pandemic.

"This is simply unsustainable. The changes announced today will reduce our cash burn by about HK$500 million per month," he said.

Airline revenues plunged 80 percent in the first six months of the year, according to industry body IATA, but they still had fixed costs to cover—crew, maintenance, fuel, airport levies and now aircraft storage.

Repeated efforts to reassure passengers that air travel is safe have failed to make much of a difference while government restrictions, including quarantines of up to 14 days for returning passengers, have only added pressure.

Dozens of major airlines have slashed jobs in response.

Half capacity next year

Cathay, much like regional rival Singapore Airlines, has no domestic market to fall back on.

But even before the pandemic, Hong Kong's marquee carrier was in a tight spot.

Cathay Pacific expects to run at half its pre-pandemic capacity next year

Months of huge and disruptive democracy protests in the city last year led to a plunge in customers, especially from the lucrative mainland Chinese market.

The airline also found itself punished by authorities in Beijing because some of its employees joined or voiced support for the protests.

By the time the pandemic hit at the start of the year, Hong Kong was already in recession and Cathay Pacific in the red.

There is scant hope on the horizon.

In a note to investors on Monday that detailed its most optimistic scenario, Cathay Pacific said it expected to run at half its pre-pandemic capacity next year.

One of the biggest disappointments for airlines has been the absence of highly lucrative business class travellers who prefer now to rely on tele-conferencing rather than run the risk of catching the virus.

Airlines are hopeful that better testing procedures at airports and "travel bubbles" between countries might encourage more people to fly.

Work on the latter has been slow, especially as the virus surges for a second time in Europe and North America.

Last week, Hong Kong and Singapore announced plans for a "travel bubble".

Under the scheme, passengers who test negative for the virus will be able to travel on dedicated flights and not need to quarantine on arrival.


Explore furtherLow-cost airline HK Express resuming flights in August

© 2020 AFP

 

Settlement expansion announced in West Bank, first since Gulf deals

By The Palestine Monitor - October 15, 2020

Israel has approved the construction of 2,166 new illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, ending an eight-month hiatus on expansion.

The expansion announcement comes less than a month after the United Arab Emirates and Israel normalised diplomatic relations, of which a stipulation saw Israel pledge to halt annexation of parts of the West Bank.

Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Daifallah al-Fayez slammed the announcement in a statement, saying Israel’s plan is “a unilateral and illegal step that undermines the chances of a two-state solution”. 

Al-Fayez urged the international community to put pressure on Israel to end its illegal activities that undermine peace efforts.

Settlement construction in the West Bank is seen as a major obstacle for a feasible two-state solution, and is considered illegal under international law.

According to rights group Peace Now who monitors settlement activity in the West Bank, the uptick in settlements signals Israel’s rejection of Palestinian statehood and deals a blow to hopes of a wider Israeli-Arab peace.

“Far from a 'settlement freeze,’ the right has been complaining about, the expected settlement approvals announcement next week prove that the settlement enterprise under Netanyahu is moving ahead at full steam toward solidifying the de facto annexation of the West Bank,” the statement read.

It said about 2,000 more homes were expected to be approved on Thursday 15 October.

According to the group, there are currently around 650,000 settlers living illegally across 266 outposts and settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.  

Critics see the spike in expansion as driven by strong diplomatic relations between the Netanyahu government and US President Donald Trump whose administration has reversed decades of US policy in a swathe of controversial moves since his election in 2016.

Trump administration has said it no longer considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal, has recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in late 2017 and subsequently relocated their embassy to the divided city, cut funding to the Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, and closed down the Palestinian Liberation Organisation mission offices in Washington in response to the Palestinian Authority’s refusal to enter into US-led talks with Israel. 

In comments made during a meeting with European legislators on Tuesday, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said the last four years of the Trump administration have greatly harmed the Palestinians.

“If we are going to live another four years with President Trump, God help us, God help you and God help the whole world,” Shtayyeh warned.