'Fox and Friends' Says Trump Courts 'Anarchy' With Call for Election Protests: 'There Is No Proof' of Fraud

© TheWrap Brian Kilmeade

The hosts of Fox News' "Fox & Friends" said Monday that outgoing president Donald Trump is courting "anarchy" with his call for post-election protests.

Ainsley Earhardt outlined the concerns Republicans — particularly the strongest of Trump's base — are highlighting as they back Trump's baseless assertion that widespread fraud led to the election of President-elect Joe Biden. Trump's supporters and allies, as Earhardt noted, have pointed to worries over the possibility of phony votes being attributed to dead people or mail-in ballot fraud.

"That's the case that Donald Trump and his lawyers have put out. They said there's all this evidence but they haven't really produced the evidence," countered Steve Doocy.

Also read: Georgia Secretary of State Says Trump 'Pushed' Him Into 'Not Appropriate' Call About Vote Counts (Video)

Video: Raffensperger responds after release of Trump call (Associated Press)

He noted that in the audio of a call between Trump and the Georgia secretary of state published over the weekend, Trump raised the possibility of "thousands of dead people" voting. Secretary Brad Raffensperger pointed out that the president had incorrect data and the state had already looked into those claims and found nothing to back them up.

Co-host Brian Kilmeade said that what he's most worried about is "the protest the president is calling for on Tuesday and Wednesday."

He explained, "I mean, this is the type of anarchy that doesn't work for anybody — Republicans or Democrats — in the big picture and I just think it's up to the president's legal team to produce what they are telling them they have. For example, if they have thousands — if they have 200 dead people voting in Nevada, can I see the names?"

Watch below.

(1) Bobby Lewis on Twitter: "@revrrlewis  Ainsley Earhardt says that all the hearsay Republicans keep hearing from other Republicans makes Republicans "feel like it was rigged," the implication being that Biden didn't actually win because Republicans don't feel like that's what happened. https://t.co/6xJCG5jmpQ" / Twitter

Civil rights group sues Proud Boys over 'racist attack' on DC church

A legal organization specializing in civil rights cases announced Monday that it was suing the Proud Boys and one of its founders, Enrique Tarrio, over vandalism of a historically Black church in Washington, D.C.

Washington, DC, police on Monday arrested Henry "Enrique" Tarrio and charged him for allegedly burning a Black Lives Matter banner taken from a Black church last month during a previous "Stop the Steal" rally.

© Getty Images Civil rights group sues Proud Boys over 'racist attack' on DC church

In court filings posted to Twitter, the president of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law revealed that the group was representing the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church, one of the city's oldest churches built in 1886.

"We are suing the Proud Boys and their members for the racist attack on Metropolitan AME church in Washington DC. This attack was one of several levied against churches targeted for their support of the Black Lives Matter movement," wrote the committee's president, Kristen Clarke, who added: "The Proud Boys are NOT above the law."

The suit, which also names unidentified members of the Proud Boys organization, centers around an incident that occurred in December when numerous individuals purportedly involved with the Proud Boys ripped down a sign bearing the words "Black Lives Matter" from the AME church.

Another historically-Black church, the Asbury United Methodist Church, saw a banner torn down by others apparently affiliated with or supporting the Proud Boys. Both incidents were caught on video and shared widely on social media.

An all-male right-wing group, the Proud Boys are known for targeting left-leaning protesters, particularly those protesting police brutality and racism, with counterdemonstrations that frequently result in violence.

The incidents were condemned at the time by Asbury United Methodist's pastor, the Rev. Ianther Mills, as well as D.C.'s mayor, Muriel Bowser (D).

"Last night demonstrators who were part of the MAGA gatherings tore down our Black Lives Matter sign and literally burned it in the street," said Mills in December. "Seeing this act on video made me both indignant and determined to fight the evil that has reared its ugly head. We had been so confident that no one would ever vandalize the church, but it has happened."

"DC's faith-based organizations are at the very heart of our community, giving us hope in the face of darkness. They embody our DC values of love and inclusivity. An attack on them is an attack on all of us," Bowser added at the time.

As Georgia votes, Trump tries to destroy America's faith in democracy

Desperate, deluded and dangerous, President Donald Trump drove America deeper into a political abyss on Monday night in his zeal to steal an election he lost and to destroy faith in the democracy that fairly ejected him from office.

© Evan Vucci/AP President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally for Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., and David Perdue, at Dalton Regional Airport, Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, in Dalton, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The President spewed lies, conspiracy theories and nonsensically false claims of vote fraud before an angry crowd in Georgia on a trip scheduled to help two Republicans in toss up run-offs Tuesday set to seal the Senate balance of power.

But as usual, and as it has been for the last four years, including during the fast-worsening pandemic that he ignored, the outgoing President's primary concern was himself.

"By the way, there is no way we lost Georgia, that was a rigged election," Trump said in the first, inaccurate words out of his mouth after disembarking from his Marine One helicopter, before broadening his disinformation to the November 3 election as a whole.

"When you win in a landslide and they steal it and it's rigged, it is not acceptable," Trump said in an embittered screed, rooted in false claims that he prevailed in an election President-elect Joe Biden won 306-232 in the Electoral College.

Though he often wove GOP Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue into his remarks -- and warned of the dangers of a Democratic monopoly of power in Washington if they lost -- the President's appearance was essentially a wild, on-stage prime-time TV version of Saturday's call in which he leaned on Georgia state officials to conjure votes out of thin air in order to discredit Biden's already certified Peach State victory -- a flagrant and possibly unlawful abuse of power.

The President's rants on Monday night contrasted sharply with the stunning point-by-point denunciation of his case by a top GOP election official who used facts and evidence to dismiss false claims of electoral corruption.

"This is all easily, provably false. Yet the President persists," Gabriel Sterling, the voting systems implementation manager for the Georgia secretary of state's office, said in a calm, reasoned news conference on Monday.

Trump created a nightmarish picture of a ranting, demagogic commander-in-chief, wallowing in fantasies of the political fringe -- a frightening prospect since he retains the awesome powers of the presidency for another 15 days.

But he failed to explain how exactly he planned to overturn the constitutional process that will make Biden president, an omission that will bolster the impression he's doing everything he can to tear down America's faith in democracy in a final act of revenge.

Capitol Hill Republicans chose Trump over democracy

Trump and Republican acolytes who are trying to thwart the certification of the election by Congress on Wednesday are essentially trying to pull a massive con trick on the American people. After scores of Republican-appointed judges, the US Supreme Court and GOP state officials summarily rejected his false claims of fraud, they are arguing that their constitutional larceny is justified because millions of Trump voters believe their lies about a stolen election.

The logical extension of Trump's case and comments, since he has not offered credible evidence of a rigged election, is that when Republicans lose, it must be because Democrats cheated -- whatever the truth of the situation.

There are some in the party who still stand for truth. In an extraordinary act, Sterling -- a state government official who was unknown on the national stage before November -- went on national TV to contradict the President.

"The reason I'm having to stand here today is because there are people in positions of authority and respect who have said their votes didn't count, and it's not true," he said.

Sterling is an example of the many courageous and principled Republican officials who stood firm in defense of America's democratic system and who, unlike Trump, didn't prioritize their own political goals or personal vanity over preserving faith in that system.

His integrity -- and willingness to stand up to a powerful President threatening vengeance against party members who cross him -- contrasts with the expediency of Trump's Republican allies on Capitol Hill.

More than a dozen Republican senators and scores of GOP House members have said they are planning to raise objections to the election during the normally pro forma joint session of Congress on Wednesday to count the votes of the Electoral College.

Loeffler, hours before appearing with Trump at the election-eve rally, who is desperate to win favor with Trump's base, said she would join their number.

Trump's wild call stirs concern in Washington

The shock waves of tapes of Trump's call on Saturday with Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger did convince some Washington Republicans to reinforce their warnings that the President was doing deep damage to the republic.

His actions have effectively split the party in two between factions who support democracy and the Constitution, and those who are willing to trash core American principles out of loyalty to a lawless President.

Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, who is shielded from Trump's wrath by previously deciding not to run for reelection, called his call with Raffensperger "a new low in this whole futile and sorry episode" and condemned the "relentless pressure, disinformation, and attacks" from Trump.

The No. 3 House Republican, Rep. Liz Cheney -- who is breaking with her leadership colleagues -- told CNN the call was "deeply troubling." House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, however, said in the friendly confines of Fox News that Trump was simply concerned about the "integrity" of elections.

The Republican insurrection will fail because Democrats control the House and there is not a majority in the Senate to reject the election results. But the entire stunt will deeply damage the legitimacy of Biden's new presidency in the eyes of Trump voters at a moment of deep national crisis.

During his speech Monday, Trump publicly leaned on Vice President Mike Pence to come "through" when he presides over the certification of Biden's victory, although his role is purely ceremonial and he does not have power to change the election result.

Alarm at the President's behavior and the lasting damage it will wreak on Capitol Hill prompted a group of 170 CEOs on Monday to warn that the election was over and that a peaceful transfer of power was vital.

Washington, meanwhile, is bracing for the arrival of thousands of Trump supporters ahead of mass rallies meant to intimidate the lawmakers who will gather for the formal certification of the election.

The President is now expected to address one of the rallies himself, a factor that will likely further hike concern over rising tensions that have prompted city authorities to call in the National Guard.

Washington, DC, police on Monday arrested Henry "Enrique" Tarrio and charged him for allegedly burning a Black Lives Matter banner taken from a Black church last month during a previous "Stop the Steal" rally.


A nervous night for Georgia Republicans

Republican strategists viewed Trump's arrival in Georgia in the eve of what looks like two neck-and-neck races with dread, wondering whether he would stick to the script.

The fear was that the President's assaults on the integrity of the election process would simply convince his supporters -- who the GOP needs to show up in large numbers on Tuesday -- that the election was already rigged.

"If you're a Georgia voter, if you want your values reflected by your election officials, I strongly beg and encourage you, go vote tomorrow. Do not let anybody discourage you. Do not self-suppress your own vote. Do not make a self-fulfilling prophecy out of doing this. Don't let anybody steal your vote that way," Sterling said.

On the other hand, the President, who enjoys an almost mystical connection with his base voters, has a strong record of lifting Republican candidates in one-off elections.

He offered a strong endorsement of both Loeffler and Perdue and frequently lambasted their opponents.

If Republicans win one of the two seats on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will retain a narrow majority in the chamber and have the ability to serve as a roadblock to Biden's ambitious agenda.

But if Democrats welcome Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock to the Senate, Vice President Kamala Harris will be able to cast the deciding vote on tied bills once she takes office alongside the new President on January 20.

Biden made his own visit to Georgia on Monday in a bid to build on strong early vote numbers among Democrats in the Senate run-offs.

"By electing Jon and the Reverend, you'll be voting to get the states the resources they need to get the vaccines distributed," Biden said. "It's a shame what's happening now. It's a literal shame."

The President-elect argued that only two new Democratic senators would ensure new stimulus checks for Americans, join in reviving the economy hammered by Covid-19's rampage and forge unity.

Trump did little to offer assurances that Tuesday's election would be fair.

That was left to Sterling, the top state election official.

"Everybody's vote is going to count. Everybody's vote did count."

Fox host Lou Dobbs complained that he couldn't find 'actual proof' of voter fraud - but kept pushing the discredited theory anyway

© Fox Business Lou Dobbs introducing "Lou Dobbs Tonight" on Fox Business on Monday. Fox Business

The Fox Business host Lou Dobbs said Monday that he was unable to find proof of any election fraud in 2020 — but he continued to push such claims anyway.

Speaking with Ed Rollins, the director of a pro-Trump PAC, he openly wondered why "we have had a devil of a time finding actual proof" of election fraud.

Rollins said it was because pro-Trump factions had yet to have their day in court. But 60 out of 61 cases attempting to overturn Biden's win have failed.

Fox Business previously had to walk back some specific election-related claims on Dobbs' show after a legal threat from the voting-technology company Smartmatic.
Fox Business did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Fox Business host Lou Dobbs complained on his show on Monday that he could not find any proof to support his claims of election fraud - which he went on to falsely perpetuate.

The commentator was on "Lou Dobbs Tonight" with the former Ronald Reagan campaign director and pro-Trump PAC director Ed Rollins for a segment alleging a vast conspiracy to bring down President Donald Trump.

"Eight weeks from the election and we still don't have verifiable, tangible support for the crimes that everyone knows were committed," Dobbs said.

"We know that's the case in Nevada," he added. "We know it's the case in Pennsylvania and a number of other states, but we have had a devil of a time finding actual proof."


Asked by Dobbs why this was, Rollins argued that "we haven't been able to get it before the courts" and that "no one's going to take this case up."

Both theories are not true.

The pro-Democratic lawyer Marc Elias, whose platform Democratic Docket has been tallying the challenges, reported as of Tuesday that Trump and his allies had made 61 legal challenges to President-elect Joe Biden in state courts and the Supreme Court. All but one were lost.

The pair also lamented a lack of support for Trump from the Republican Party and even from within the White House, even though 140 Republicans in the House and 12 in the Senate are expected to support moves to challenge Congress when it meets Wednesday to certify the election results.

Dobbs opened his show - the first of 2021 - by making a claim of "an ongoing, substantial and vigorous conspiracy that has spanned more than four years in an effort to block and overthrow President Trump."

Read more: OPINION: Trump's sad implosion is a good sign for Biden's agenda

He has been one of Trump's staunchest defenders - and had already had to walk back earlier false claims of election fraud relating to a voting-technology company.

He had claimed inaccurately that Smartmatic had connections to Dominion, another voting-technology company. The claimed association of the two has been central to widespread conspiracy theories about the election.

But after a legal warning from Smartmatic, Dobbs' show broadcast a long segment in which his earlier claims about the company were disavowed, as detailed by The Washington Post.

In Monday's segment, Dobbs made no mention of the companies but continued to falsely say "fraudulent votes" had been cast to hand Biden a sham victory.

Fox Business did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Canadian toymaker Spin Master buys iconic Rubik's Cube puzzle for US$50M

TORONTO — Canadian toymaker Spin Master Corp. has solved the Rubik's Cube, completing a US$50-million acquisition of the legendary multi-coloured cube. 

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The Toronto-based company, which includes Paw Patrol, Hatchimals and Gund among its brands, announced its plan to purchase Rubik's Brand Ltd. last fall.

Spin Master said Tuesday it will continue the 3D puzzle's legacy, with plans for further innovation across the entire Rubik's portfolio and expanded distribution through the company's global footprint.

The Rubik's Cube is just the latest toy to be added to Spin Master's growing cupboard of games.

The company has acquired 22 toy brands since its launch in 1994, with 12 of those scooped up since its initial public offering in 2015.

"The Rubik's Cube is an iconic puzzle that has permeated pop culture and captivated fans for more than 40 years," Spin Master's vice-president of marketing and games Elizabeth LoVecchio said in a statement when the acquisition was announced in October.

Hungarian puzzle enthusiast Erno Rubik invented the toy in 1974. It became a commercial success after it launched globally in 1980.

Erno Rubik said in the fall statement that he's excited Spin Master will fulfil his vision of "nurturing smarter, future generations through play.'"

A Rubik's Cube is a colourful cube made up of smaller cubes that rotate around a central core.

The big cube begins with each of its faces made up of squares of the same colour — usually three by three by three.

The challenge is to give the cubes a spin and then try to get them back to their original configuration — a surprisingly difficult thing to do given the number of possible configurations.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 5, 2021.

Comp

Agnico Eagle bulks up Arctic presence with purchase of troubled TMAC mine

Toronto-based Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. has agreed to buy a faltering gold mine in Nunavut just weeks after the federal government blocked a Chinese company’s offer for the goldfield on national security grounds.

Agnico will pay $2.20 per share to purchase TMAC Resources Inc., which started producing gold at its Hope Bay Mine in Nunavut in 2017 but has never met performance or output expectations.

The cash deal, valued at $286 million in equity, represents about $60 million more, or a 26 per cent premium, to what China’s state-owned Shandong Gold Group offered for TMAC earlier this year, and a 66 per cent premium to TMAC’s 20-day volume weighted average trading price.

The deal is expected to close swiftly, as early as the end of the month according to the parties, and shines a light on the rising development of natural resources in Canada’s Arctic region. In the past decade or so, Agnico has built three gold mines in Nunavut, and adding TMAC’s mine further cements its status as the dominant player in the region, where various resource companies are prospecting.

“We didn’t buy it for synergies,” Sean Boyd, chief executive of Agnico Eagle, told the Financial Post. “We bought it because we think there’s a potential to find a lot more gold, in a part of the world we already know, and it’s already got infrastructure up and running.”

The property represents the smallest mine in Agnico’s portfolio of scattered operations, mostly in Canada, but also in Mexico and Finland. Boyd said it would attribute capital to explore the geological potential of the land based on the merits.

The company stock fell 2.3 per cent to $93.95 on Tuesday. Meanwhile, TMAC stock jumped 38 per cent to $2.18 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Boyd said the company would move slowly. TMAC has long faced operational issues with its mill that have prevented it from recovering the expected amount of gold from its ore, and is currently operating at 40 per cent of its previous capacity. A report last year suggested the operations need $600 million in investment.

TMAC also had roughly $167 million in debt, and about $71.5 million in cash at the end of the third quarter.

Still, the purchase price represents about one per cent of Agnico’s $23.3 billion market cap, and the Hope Bay mine, even at its reduced operating level, could add 100,000 ounces, or roughly five per cent, to Agnico’s expected 2021 gold production of two million ounces.

“We come into it with our eyes wide open because we know Nunavut is not an easy place to do business,” said Boyd, adding that his senior team plans to travel to Hope Bay on Wednesday to assess the property again.

Fahad Tariq, an analyst with Credit Suisse Group AG, wrote that Agnico should be able to use its cash and available credit to purchase TMAC and retire its debt, calling it a “relatively small” deal.

“Agnico’s management team has consistently communicated that the company’s M&A strategy is to acquire earlier stage projects with geological potential (so it can leverage its technical capabilities), with a preference for Canada,” Tariq wrote. “Hope Bay meets this criteria, with exploration upside from an 80 kilometre greenstone belt.”

Still, the deal also highlights how Chinese mining companies’ patient investment horizon has sometimes worked to its advantage.

In March, when Shandong made its offer for TMAC, Boyd said Agnico was focused on ramping up operations at its Amaruq mine, which had launched in Nunavut in 2019, but the company faced talent shortages.

The coronavirus pandemic was also just beginning at the time, and gold prices wobbled not long after the deal was announced. But roughly nine months later, optimism about gold prices is once again rising amid low-interest rates in the U.S., and Agnico agreed to pay roughly $60 million more for the same asset.

Spot gold was up 0.3 per cent at US$1,947.18 per ounce Tuesday.

China deal blocked by Ottawa

In December, the federal government had blocked Shandong’s deal on unspecified national security grounds, with several commentators suggesting that the purchase could raise questions about Canada’s Arctic sovereignty.

As a result of global warming and a longer shipping season, marine traffic through Canada’s Arctic waters has reached record levels and the region increasingly holds commercial and potentially military significance.

In December, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Ottawa released a statement to the National Post, saying it was “wrong” for the Canadian government to block the deal, calling it a “politicization of normal economic co-operation” between the two countries.

“The Canadian side should provide a fair, open and non-discriminatory market environment for enterprises from all countries, including China,” the statement said.

But tensions between the two countries have been fraught ever since Canadian authorities arrested Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Ltd., in December 2018, who faces accusations in the U.S. of violating Iran sanctions.

In apparent retaliation, China arrested two Canadian citizens, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, on espionage charges; and has applied trade restrictions on a range of Canadian exports including canola and pork.

The Chinese embassy was not immediately available for comment.
Arctic Challenges

Meanwhile, TMAC, a single asset company, always faced long odds by opening its first mine in Nunavut. With little available infrastructure, developments costs remain high: When operational challenges with its mill led to lower than expected gold production, the company’s debt quickly piled up and its investments in expansion and exploration suffered.

“I think the big thing for Agnico is there’s no rush to spend a bunch of capital,” Jason Neal, the chief executive of TMAC Resources, told the Financial Post Tuesday. “They can make some incremental improvements.”

Neal, a former investment banker, will leave TMAC once the deal is finalized. He serves on the board of one junior gold mining company but has no immediate plans for another executive role.

Neal added that TMAC has spent little on exploration because of its challenges with the mill. But recently, in the reduced state, the mill has recovered gold more in line with initial expectations, and has been generating cash.

There are challenges for Agnico, too. In September and October, there were coronavirus outbreaks at the mine site, and workers from the local communities were all terminated by the company earlier this year.

Boyd said there was no rush to invest until after Agnico’s technical team assessed the situation.

“We look at this more as a call on the geological upside on that belt and trend,” he said. “We’re certainly happy that there’s built infrastructure … we’ll try and optimize the opportunity.”

Chinese cities reportedly go dark as country faces shortage of coal, a major Australian export

Several major Chinese cities have reportedly gone dark as authorities limit power usage, citing a shortage of coal.

Analysts said prices of the commodity in the country have shot up due to the reported crunch and some tie the shortages and blackouts to the unofficial ban on Australian coal.

Chinese authorities have not tied the blackouts to tensions with Australia or the coal restrictions. They instead attribute the restrictions on power use to exceptionally high demand and routine maintenance.

© Provided by CNBC Staff members of quarantine service take a sample of coal imported from Australia in port of Rizhao, Shandong province.

SINGAPORE — Several major Chinese cities have reportedly gone dark as authorities limit power usage, citing a shortage of coal.

Analysts said prices of the commodity in the country have shot up due to the reported crunch. The reports also follow rising trade tensions between Beijing and Canberra, leading some analysts to tie the coal shortages and blackouts to the unofficial ban on Australian coal.

Relations between the two nations soured last year after Australia supported an international inquiry into China's handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Coal is just one in a growing list of Australian goods that China is targeting, as a result of their escalating dispute.

Last year, China told its power plants to limit the amount of coal imports from other countries to keep a lid on prices.

Beijing reportedly lifted those restrictions later, but didn't remove curbs on coal imports from Australia. China also reportedly gave state-owned utilities and steel mills verbal notice to stop importing Australian coal.

China is the world's largest coal consumer and its greatest source of coal imports was Australia. Coal is the energy source that the world's second largest economy predominantly relies on — even as it has committed to a renewable energy plan. China is the second-biggest buyer of Australia's thermal coal, a variety used to generate power.

Coal restrictions leading to blackouts?

Prices of coal in China have shot up as a result of the shortage and research firm Wood Mackenzie predicts they will remain high during the peak winter demand period.

"China's thermal coal market is in chaos, with prices rocketing after daily price index releases were suspended on 3 December," research firm Wood Mackenzie said.

The report said power rationing "has already commenced" in Hunan and Zhejiang provinces due to the shortages, and there is "little scope" for increased production from Chinese producers.

Concerns about the availability of electricity for ordinary Chinese spiked in December. A widely shared online article listed planned blackouts by the Shanghai State Grid for different parts of Shanghai on Dec. 22.

Other regions have also restricted electricity use, the Shanghai State Grid added.

Some cities, primarily those in southern China, have imposed limits on off-peak electricity usage for factories since mid-December, according to a report last week by the South China Morning Post. In the tech hub of Shenzhen, there have been week-long blackouts in different areas, the report said.

It was not immediately clear whether any of the blackouts actually happened, or to what extent.

Senior economist Marcel Thieliant at research firm Capital Economics said the blackouts are "underlining that China is willing to go to great lengths to harm Australia."

Coal trade is the biggest long-term risk to dry bulk shipping: Analyst


Chinese authorities have not tied the blackouts to tensions with Australia or the coal restrictions. They instead attribute the restrictions on power use to exceptionally high demand and routine maintenance.

China has used 11% more electricity this December than last year, the National Development and Reform Commission said in December. The department is the country's top economic planning body.

The commission said the rapid economic recovery, cold winter weather and limited supply have prompted some regions to restrict power use. China's November coal imports fell 44% from last year, according to data from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

As temperatures are set to remain low, the commission said it expects national electricity demand to rise.

A shift in coal flows

China is now turning to alternative sources for coal.

Analysts noted that could lead to a shift in trade flows as Australia's coal, one of the country's largest exports, becomes the latest casualty in the trade fight. But experts say the developments will have limited impact on overall demand for Australian coal as it will simply find other markets.

"Trade flows will shift, as Australian coals look for new homes and higher volumes of non-Australia coking coals move to China," said Wood Mackenzie in a recent note. Coking coals are a variety of coal used to produce steel.

Correspondingly, shifts in other trade flows of coal will occur, with China's import data showing increased coal imports from Mongolia, Canada and Russia, the research firm said.

Last month, China signed a deal with Indonesia to buy $1.5 billion worth of thermal coal.

Still, China is short of coal, said Wood Mackenzie, with some mills surviving on stockpiles and Mongolian coal prices increasing as the Chinese switch over.

"We suspect that China will continue (and probably intensify) its long-running efforts to reduce reliance on imported coal more generally in the coming years, though it will perhaps take some time to bear fruit," according to a report by Capital Economics.

Next year, there will still be great pressure on China's three main coal-producing regions to ensure supply, a national coal industry association said in a Dec. 1 report in the Economic Observer, a Chinese financial news outlet.

But factors such as China's aim for peak carbon emissions in 10 years give companies less incentive to ramp up production.

Ex-chairman of China Huarong Asset Management sentenced to death

I STILL OPPOSE DEATH PENALTY EVEN FOR 1%

BEIJING (Reuters) -The former chairman of China Huarong Asset Management Co has been sentenced to death, a court in the northern city of Tianjin said on Tuesday, in one of the country's highest profile corruption cases

.

© Reuters/Bobby Yip China Huarong Asset Management Co Chairman Lai Xiaomin listens to a question from a reporter during the debut of the company at the Hong Kong Exchanges in Hong Kong

Lai Xiaomin was convicted of receiving or seeking bribes totalling 1.788 billion yuan ($276.72 million) from 2008 to 2018, when he was also a senior banking regulator, according to the Secondary Intermediate People's Court of Tianjin.

Lai, who was expelled from the ruling Communist Party in 2018, was also convicted on a charge of bigamy. 

AS IF CORRUPTION WAS NOT ENOUGH OF A MORAL CRIME

Reuters was unable to contact Lai or his lawyer for comment.


"Lai Xiaomin was lawless and extremely greedy," the court statement said.

Huarong said its Communist Party committee supports the verdict.

"The severe treatment of Lai Xiaomin reflects the strong determination of the Central Committee with President Xi Jinping as the core to administer the party and its zero tolerance in punishing corruption," the company said in a statement.

The court noted that most of the activity in question took place after the 18th Party Congress in late 2012, referring to an event that sparked a sweeping anti-corruption campaign by soon-to-be President Xi Jinping that became a hallmark of his first term.

"The social harm was huge and the crimes were extremely serious and he should be severely punished according to law," the court said.

(Reporting by Gabriel Crossley, Stella Qiu and Cheng LengEditing by Andrew Heavens, Raju Gopalakrishnan and David Goodman)

In kefir, microbial teamwork makes the dream work

To make kefir, it takes a team; A team of microbes

I LOVE KEFIR, FROM THE BALKANS, BEEN DRINKING IT FOREVER

EUROPEAN MOLECULAR BIOLOGY LABORATORY

Research New

 

To make kefir, it takes a team. A team of microbes.

That's the message of new research from EMBL and Cambridge University's Patil group and collaborators, published in Nature Microbiology today. Members of the group study kefir, one of the world's oldest fermented food products and increasingly considered to be a 'superfood' with many purported health benefits, including improved digestion and lower blood pressure and blood glucose levels. After studying 15 kefir samples, the researchers discovered to their surprise that the dominant species of Lactobacillus bacteria found in kefir grains cannot survive on their own in milk - the other key ingredient in kefir. However, when the species work together, feeding on each other's metabolites in the kefir culture, they each provide something another needs.

"Cooperation allows them to do something they couldn't do alone," says Kiran Patil, group leader and corresponding author of the paper. "It is particularly fascinating how L. kefiranofaciens, which dominates the kefir community, uses kefir grains to bind together all other microbes that it needs to survive - much like the ruling ring of the Lord of the Rings. One grain to bind them all."

A model for microbial interactions

Consumption of kefir originally became popular in Eastern Europe, Israel, and areas in and around Russia. It is composed of 'grains' that look like small pieces of cauliflower and have fermented in milk to produce a probiotic drink composed of bacteria and yeasts.

"People were storing milk in sheepskins and noticed these grains that emerged kept their milk from spoiling, so they could store it longer," says Sonja Blasche, a postdoc in the Patil group and joint first author of the paper. "Because milk spoils fairly easily, finding a way to store it longer was of huge value."

To make kefir, you need kefir grains. These can't be artificially made, but must come from another batch of kefir. The grains are added to milk to ferment and grow. Approximately 24 to 48 hours later (or, in the case of this research, 90 hours later), the kefir grains have consumed the nutrients available to them. The grains grow in size and number in this time and the kefir process is complete. The grains are removed and added to fresh milk to begin the process anew.

For scientists, however, kefir provides more than just a healthy beverage: it's an easy-to-culture model microbial community for studying metabolic interactions. And while kefir is quite similar to yogurt in many ways - both are fermented or cultured dairy products full of 'probiotics' - kefir's microbial community is far larger than yogurt's, including not just bacterial cultures but also yeast.

Learning from kefir

While scientists know that microorganisms often live in communities and depend on their fellow community members for survival, mechanistic knowledge of this phenomenon has been quite limited. Laboratory models historically have been limited to two or three microbial species, so Kefir offered - as Kiran describes - a 'Goldilocks zone' of complexity that is not too small (around 40 species), yet not too unwieldy to study in detail.

Sonja started this research by gathering kefir samples from several places. While most samples were obtained in Germany, they're likely to have originated elsewhere, since kefir grains have been passed down over centuries.

"Our first step was to look at how the samples grow. Kefir microbial communities have many member species with individual growth patterns that adapt to their current environment. This means fast- and slow-growing species and some that alter their speed according to nutrient availability," Sonja says. "This is not unique to the kefir community. However, the kefir community had a lot of lead time for co-evolution to bring it to perfection, as they have stuck together for a long time already."

Cooperation is the key

Finding out the extent and the nature of the cooperation between kefir microbes was far from straightforward. To do this, the researchers combined a variety of state-of-the-art methods such as metabolomics (studying metabolites' chemical processes), transcriptomics (studying the genome-produced RNA transcripts), and mathematical modelling. This revealed not only key molecular interaction agents like amino acids, but also the contrasting species dynamics between the grains and the milk part of kefir.

"The kefir grain acts as a base camp for the kefir community, from which community members colonise the milk in a complex yet organised and cooperative manner," Kiran says. "We see this phenomenon in kefir, and then we see it's not limited to kefir. If you look at the whole world of microbiomes, cooperation is also a key to their structure and function."

In fact, in another paper from Kiran's group in collaboration with EMBL's Bork group, out today in Nature Ecology and Evolution, scientists combined data from thousands of microbial communities across the globe - from soil to the human gut - to understand similar cooperative relationships. In this second paper, the researchers used advanced metabolic modelling to show that the co-occurring groups of bacteria, groups that are frequently found together in different habitats, are either highly competitive or highly cooperative. This stark polarisation hasn't been observed before, and sheds light on evolutionary processes that shape microbial ecosystems. While both competitive and cooperative communities are prevalent, the cooperators seem to be more successful in terms of higher abundance and occupying diverse habitats. Stronger together.

###

Elephant ivory continues to be disguised and sold on eBay

Research from the University of Kent's Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) has found that elephant ivory is still being sold on the online marketplace eBay, despite its 10-year-old policy banning the trade in ivory

UNIVERSITY OF KENT

Research News

 

Research from the University of Kent's Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) has found that elephant ivory is still being sold on the online marketplace eBay, despite its 10-year-old policy banning the trade in ivory.

The trafficking of wildlife over the internet continues to be a problem, with the detection of illegal activity being challenging. Despite efforts of law enforcement, the demand for illegal wildlife products online has continued to increase. In some cases vendors have adopted the use of 'code words' to disguise the sale of illicit items.

Sofia Venturini and Dr David Roberts of DICE investigated the misrepresentation of materials in advertisement descriptions of netsuke being sold on eBay UK. Netsuke are carved objects, attached to the cord of the Japanese kimono and are often made of elephant ivory.

A comparison was made between the materials declared by the vendors and the authors' identification based on the images in the advertisements. As it was not ethically desirable to obtain the physical items for analysis, the researchers verified authentic elephant ivory by analysing the presence of Schreger lines (a unique pattern found in elephant ivory).

The researchers found that authentic elephant ivory was most frequently described as bone in listings of netsuke. Further, by returning a month later they found that only a small percentage (between 1.3% and 6.9%) of these netsuke made of elephant ivory had been removed by eBay. Over half had been sold, while among the items that remained unsold, half were relisted. If eBay was effectively enforcing its policy (introduced in 2008) on ivory, these items would have been removed.

Dr Roberts said: 'Despite eBay's strict policy on Animal and Wildlife Products, there is still an ongoing trade in ivory, mostly concealed as other non-restricted materials. While detecting illegal sales of ivory items can be particularly difficult as, for example, the word "ivory" can be used to describe a colour, companies like eBay have the resources and data that could be mobilised to tackle the challenge of illegal wildlife trade.'

###

Their research paper 'Disguising elephant ivory as other materials in the online trade' is published by Tropical Conservation Science. DOI: 10.1177/1940082920974604