Malaysian court halts Myanmar deportation after outcry

© Mohd RASFAN Activists are making a last-ditch attempt to stop the deportation of 1,200 Myanmar detainees on navy ships

BY M. JEGATHESAN (AFP) 

A Malaysian court ordered a temporary halt to a controversial plan to deport 1,200 Myanmar detainees to their homeland Tuesday weeks after a coup, following a last-ditch legal challenge.

The migrants, including members of vulnerable minorities, had already been taken in buses and trucks to a military base on Malaysia's west coast to be loaded onto waiting Myanmar navy ships.

The United States and the United Nations had criticised the plan, while rights groups said there were asylum seekers among those due to be repatriated.

Rights groups Amnesty International and Asylum Access had lodged a court challenge, arguing Malaysia would be in breach of its international duties by sending vulnerable people back to a country where they could be in danger.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered a halt to the repatriation to allow a hearing to take place on Wednesday into the groups' bid to stop the deportations, their lawyer New Sin Yew told AFP.

Amnesty International Malaysia's executive director, Katrina Jorene Maliamauv, said that "the government must respect the court order and ensure that not one of the 1,200 individuals is deported today".

She called on authorities to grant the UN refugee agency access to the migrants set to be deported, so they can assess whether any should be granted refugee status.

"It's important to note that the stay of execution granted by the court does not mean the 1,200 are safe from being deported. They are facing life-threatening risks," she added.

"We urge the government to reconsider its plans to send this group of vulnerable people back to Myanmar."

- 'Could be tortured' -

Earlier, dozens of buses and trucks carrying the migrants and escorted by police cars arrived at the naval base in Lumut, according to AFP journalists at the scene.

The Myanmar military seized power at the start of February and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, triggering a series of massive protests.

Malaysia initially expressed "serious concern" at the coup -- but just days later, news emerged it had accepted an offer from the Myanmar junta to send warships to repatriate the detainees.

Officials insist those being sent back have committed offences such as overstaying their visas and no members of the persecuted Rohingya minority -- not recognised as citizens in Myanmar -- are among them.

But the detainees include members of the Christian Chin minority and people from conflict-riven Kachin and Shan states, according to Lilianne Fan, international director of the Geutanyoe Foundation, which works with refugees.

Malaysian authorities have blocked the UN refugee agency from immigration detention centres since late 2019, meaning they have not been able to determine who should be granted refugee status.

James Bawi Thang Bik, chairman of the Malaysia-based Alliance of Chin Refugees, said he was "shocked" to learn Chin were among those to be deported.

"They are refugees who came from a conflict area," he told AFP.

Malaysia is home to millions of migrants from poorer parts of Asia who work in low-pay jobs such as construction. As well as Myanmar, they come from countries including Bangladesh and Indonesia.



Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/malaysian-court-halts-myanmar-deportation-after-outcry/article/585931#ixzz6nHKbDAQY

French dance music superstars Daft Punk split
BY ERIC RANDOLPH (AFP) 

One of the era's defining dancefloor acts hung up their helmets on Monday, as electronic music stars Daft Punk announced their retirement in typically enigmatic fashion with a video showing one of them exploding in a desert.

The French duo released an eight-minute clip titled "Epilogue", using footage from their cult 2006 film "Electroma" in which one of the robots sets other to self-destruct mode.

After the explosion, a cutaway reads "1993-2021" with two robot hands making a circle around a sunset.

Their publicist, Kathryn Frazier, confirmed the news to AFP by email, without giving a reason for the split.

From "Da Funk" in 1995 to "Get Lucky" in 2013, Daft Punk became the torch-bearers for French house music across the globe, winning six Grammy awards and pioneering the monumental sound-and-light shows that came to characterise the electronic dance movement (EDM) of recent years.

They did so while almost never revealing their faces -- the ubiquitous helmets became another much-copied trope of EDM stars, but also afforded Thomas Bangalter, 46, and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, 47, freedom from the fame that quickly encircled them.

"We have daily lives that are a lot more normal... than the lives of artists who have the same level of fame as us, but who might be attached to being physically recognised," Bangalter said in a 2015 BBC documentary.

- 'A flawless legacy' -

Monday's announcement set off a wave of tributes to Daft Punk's hit-making influence.

"They always cultivated a taste for the paradoxical," electro pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre told AFP, praising the duo's "extremely elegant manner of saying goodbye to their fans".


"Eternally grateful," tweeted Christine and the Queens singer Chris.

Star music producer Marc Ronson also hailed the "gorgeous French robots", writing on Twitter: "Daft Punk left the game with a flawless legacy."

Daft Punk in five songs
Cléa PÉCULIER, AFP

Despite endless rumours of an imminent new tour or album, Daft Punk had been quiet for several years.

Their last album, 2013's "Random Access Memories", was a phenomenal success, winning them four Grammies the following year including record of the year for "Get Lucky", the millions-selling lead single featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers.

But the much hoped-for return to touring never took place.

They showed up one more time for the Grammies in 2017.

Despite the Twittersphere erupting in excitement last month amid rumours they would appear alongside The Weeknd for the Super Bowl half-time show, that did not materialise.

- 'Daft punky thrash' -

Bangalter and Homem-Christo met at school in Paris before an inauspicious start in music with the rock band Darlin', which also featured a future member of the French indie band Phoenix.

One review in the British music press dismissed the band as "daft punky thrash" -- which struck a chord with them.

Reemerging as an electronic outfit, they met with instant success.

Early singles "Da Funk" and "Around the World" became club fixtures, and led to massive sales for their debut album "Homework" in 1997.

It was in the video for "Around the World" that they first donned the helmets that would become their signature look.

Daft Punk were known for their spectacular life shows
Karl Walter, GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File

It mirrored the tight control they exercised over every part of their career, which included ownership of their master recordings.

They followed up with the even more successful "Discovery" in 2001, which spawned the hits "One More Time" and "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger".

There were some distinctively left-field choices in the years that followed, including producing the 2003 film "Interstella 5555" by Japanese anime master Leiji Matsumoto, which featured music from "Discovery".

If their next album in 2005, a more sombre "Human After All", received mixed reviews, these were quickly forgotten amid the euphoria of their live shows over the next two years.

This included a headline appearance at US festival Coachella in 2006, performed inside a giant LED pyramid. EDM fans still speak about it with an almost religious reverence.

In 2010, they released a soundtrack to the Disney reboot of Tron, which picked up a Grammy nomination.

But no one predicted the massive success of "Random Access Memories", for which they gave up their usual makeshift home rig for a full commercial studio -- and used entirely live instruments.

The resulting work dominated album-of-the-year lists and helped lift their total worldwide sales to 12 million.

In December, Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas told music website The Needle Drop that he'd been "trying to do something" with Daft Punk after collaborating with them on their 2013 single "Instant Crush".

But he was told they were "not doing music right now", with one of the duo "focused on video stuff" and the other "obsessing with ancient aliens or something".


Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/french-dance-music-superstars-daft-punk-split/article/585926#ixzz6nHHZw0Md

NON BINDING FEEL GOOD MOTION Canadian MPs say China's treatment of Uighurs is 'genocide' BY AFP     Canadian MPs voted Monday to label Beijing's treatment of Uighurs in Xinjiang as genocide, a move angrily slammed by China as a "malicious provocation." Rights groups believe at least one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities have been incarcerated in camps in the northwestern region, where China is also accused of forcibly sterilizing women and imposing forced labor. The motion "Uighurs in China have been and are being subject to genocide" passed unanimously in the Canadian House of Commons, and ministers called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to officially label it as such. The motion also called for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics to be moved if the "genocide" continues. The United States has already used the label, with the administration of former president Donald Trump slamming China in January for a "systematic attempt to destroy Uighurs." Trudeau had said Friday that there were significant reports of abuses coming out of Xinjiang. And following a G7 meeting, he said Canada was consulting with its international allies on the use of the term "genocide" for the treatment of Uighurs. Beijing hit back Tuesday, calling the motion a "shameful act" and "malicious provocation against the 1.4 billion people of China." "Canada's attempt to contain China's development through passing the Xinjiang-related motion will not succeed," the Chinese embassy in Ottawa said in a statement. The embassy accused "hypocritical and shameless" Canadian lawmakers of "using the excuse of human rights to engage in political manipulation on Xinjiang." - Deteriorating ties - The growing calls for action in Canada echo complaints about China's human rights record in other Western nations, including the United States where President Joe Biden is seeking to rebuild alliances to maintain pressure on Beijing. The new president has already criticized Beijing on its human rights situation, especially the abuses in Xinjiang, including in a marathon two-hour call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. After initially denying the existence of the camps in Xinjiang, China later defended them as vocational training centers aimed at reducing the appeal of Islamic extremism. Beijing had said Monday that its treatment of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet has "stood out as shining examples of China's human rights progress." And Foreign Minister Wang Yi later told the UN Human Rights Council via videolink that "there has never been so-called genocide, forced labor or religious oppression in Xinjiang." Relations between China and Canada have deteriorated in recent years. Ties soured in late 2018 over the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a US warrant, and China's detention of two Canadians -- former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor -- in what Ottawa has called retaliation. The two men have had virtually no contact with the outside world since being detained on spying charges .

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/canadian-mps-call-china-s-uighur-treatment-genocide/article/585912#ixzz6nHFKh6Ke

Western countries step up pressure on Myanmar junta as protesters defy warnings


(Reuters) - The European Union said it is considering sanctions on Myanmar while the United States penalised two more generals for links to the military coup, as Western countries sought to press the junta to avoid a violent crackdown after weeks of protests.

Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing called for energy to be put into reviving the ailing economy, state media reported, a day after a general strike shut businesses and huge crowds gathered despite a warning from authorities that confrontation could get people killed.

U.N. Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews said millions had marched on Monday in a “breathtaking” turnout, despite the junta’s threat.

“The generals are losing their power to intimidate and with it, their power. It is past time for them to stand down, as the people of Myanmar stand up,” Andrews said on Twitter.

Crowds gathered again on Tuesday though in much smaller numbers. There were no reports of confrontations with security forces.

Overnight, EU governments showed support for those seeking to reverse the Feb. 1 coup and the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi

“We are not prepared to stand by and watch,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in Brussels, adding that sanctions could follow if diplomacy failed.

The European Union is considering sanctions that would target businesses owned by the army, but the bloc ruled out any curtailing of its trade preferences to avoid hurting poor workers.

The security forces have shown more restraint since the coup than in earlier confrontations with those pushing for democracy in almost half a century of direct military rule.

Even so, three protesters have been killed - two shot dead in the second city of Mandalay on Saturday, and a woman who died on Friday after being shot more than a week earlier in the capital, Naypyitaw.

The army has said one policeman died of injuries sustained during the protests. It has accused protesters of provoking violence.

Virginia lawmakers approve bill ending capital punishment

BY KAREN GRAHAM 

Richmond - State lawmakers gave final approval on Monday to legislation that will end capital punishment in Virginia, a dramatic turnaround for a state that has executed more people than any other, dating back to Colonial time

The House bill advanced to Governor Ralph Northam's desk on Monday on a 22-16 vote. Republican Sen. Jill Vogel joined with Democrats in the chamber in voting for passage. Later Monday, the House voted 57-43 to approve the Senate version, which is identical to the House bill.

Governor Northam has already said he would sign the legislation, abolishing capital punishment in Virginia, making the state the 23rd to end the death penalty, reports The Guardian.

Only two people remain on Virginia's death row. Anthony Juniper was sentenced to death in the 2004 slayings of his ex-girlfriend, two of her children, and her brother, according to the Associated Press. Thomas Porter was sentenced to die for the 2005 killing of a Norfolk police officer.

Once the legislation is signed, their sentences will be converted to life in prison without parole.

"Over Virginia’s long history, this Commonwealth has executed more people than any other state. And, like many other states, Virginia has come too close to executing an innocent person. It’s time we stop this machinery of death," said Northam and Democratic leaders of the House and Senate in a prepared statement, per the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Virginia's long history of executions

Historically, Virginia has executed over 1,400 people, more than any other state, with the first recorded execution in what is now the United States, taking place in Jamestown Colony in Virginia. Captain George Kendall was executed for treason.

In 1612, Virginia Governor Sir Thomas Dale enacted the Divine, Moral and Martial Laws, which provided the death penalty for even minor offenses such as stealing grapes, killing chickens, and trading with Indians.

There were a number of ways executions were performed, although the preferred method was hanging. Three people convicted of piracy in 1700 and gibbeted, four pirates were hanged in chains in 1720, and a female slave was burned in 1737.



The Herb Garden at Old Donation Episcopal Church, Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA, showing the memorial stone to Grace Sherwood. The stone was dedicated July 10, 2014.
PumpkinSky

Here's an interesting story. In 1706, Grace Sherwood, a 46-year-old midwife was charged with being a witch. She lived in what today is the rural Pungo neighborhood in Virginia Beach, and she later became known as “The Witch of Pungo.”

She was accused of using her powers to cause a neighbor to miscarry and dunked into the Lynhaven River - where she floated, proving she was guilty. She was the only person to be tried for witchcraft using the "dunking stool," and of course, if she had drowned, it would have proven her innocence.
But seeing as she didn't drown, Sherwood may have been jailed until 1714. On July 10, 2006, then Gov. Timothy M. Kaine gave an informal pardon to Grace Sherwood, who 300 years ago became Virginia’s only person convicted as a witch tried by water.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/politics/virginia-lawmakers-approve-bill-ending-capital-punishment/article/585904#ixzz6nHClUbpP

Denver plane engine fire consistent with metal fatigue in fan blade, say investigators

US reveals preliminary results of inquiry into Pratt & Whitney engine fire that led to grounding of dozens of Boeing 777s around the world

The damaged starboard engine of United Airlines flight 328 after it caught fire over Denver on Saturday. Photograph: NTSB/Reuters

Reuters

Tue 23 Feb 2021 05.11 GM

Metal fatigue in the fan blades may have been behind the engine failure of a Boeing jet in Denver at the weekend, the US National Transportation Safety Board has said.

The Pratt & Whitney engine caught fire shortly after take off on a United Airlines Boeing 777-200, during a flight from Denver to Honolulu, with 231 passengers and 10 crew onboard. Pilots issued a mayday call and returned to Denver.

The next day, dozens of 777 planes were grounded after Boeing said those with Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines should not be used until full inspections could be carried out.

The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Robert Sumwalt, said on Monday a preliminary assessment suggested the damage was consistent with metal fatigue and that the blade would be examined on Tuesday at a Pratt & Whitney laboratory under the supervision of NTSB investigators.

UK bans some Boeing 777s from airspace after engine fire over Denver

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Sumwalt said it was not clear whether Saturday’s failure of the PW4000 engine was consistent with another engine failure on another Hawaii-bound United flight in February 2018 that was attributed to a fatigue fracture in a fan blade

“What is important that we really truly understand the facts, circumstances and conditions around this particular event before we can compare it to any other event,” Sumwalt said.

In another incident on the same engine type on a Japan Airlines 777 in December 2020, Japan’s Transport Safety Board reported it found two damaged fan blades, one with a metal fatigue crack.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) planned to issue an emergency airworthiness directive soon that will require stepped-up inspections of the fan blades for fatigue.

After the February 2018 United engine failure was attributed to fan-blade fatigue, the FAA ordered inspections every 6,500 cycles.

Sumwalt said the United incident was not considered an uncontained engine failure because the containment ring contained the parts as they were flying out. There was minor damage to the aircraft body but no structural damage, he said.

The NTSB will look into why the engine cowling separated from the plane and also why there was a fire despite indications fuel to the engine had been turned off, Sumwalt added.

Georgian police arrest top opposition leader, use tear gas in party HQ raid

Critics accuse the country's richest man Ivanishvili of persecuting political opponents and creating a corrupt system where private interests permeate politics.

BY IRAKLI METREVELI (AFP) 

Georgian police on Tuesday arrested a top opposition leader and used tear gas in a violent raid on his party headquarters, further deepening a political crisis sparked by last year's disputed parliamentary elections.

Live television footage showed Nika Melia, the leader of the United National Movement, the country's main opposition party, being dragged from his party headquarters to be placed in pre-trial detention.

Meanwhile hundreds of riot police used tear gas against his supporters and the leaders of all of the country's opposition parties, who have been camped out in the building since Wednesday, the live pictures on Mtavari TV showed.

Scores of opposition supporters were detained.

One of the UNM leaders, Giorgi Pataraia, told AFP that police "stole computer servers" from UNM headquarters.

Georgia's interior ministry said in a statement that "police used proportional force and special means" in the police operation.

"Shocked by the scenes at UNM headquarters this morning," British ambassador Mark Clayton wrote on Twitter.

"Violence and chaos in Tbilisi are the last thing Georgia needs right now. I urge all sides to act with restraint, now and in the coming days."

- 'Broken democracy' -

Georgia has been in the grip of a political crisis since last October's parliamentary elections, which opposition parties have denounced as rigged after the ruling Georgian Dream party claimed victory.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia resigned over Georgian Dream's plans to arrest Melia.

News of the plan sparked outrage among the opposition and warnings from the ex-Soviet country's Western allies.

Last week, a court in Tbilisi ordered Melia placed in pre-trial detention after he refused to pay an increased bail fee ahead of hearings in a case related to anti-government demonstrations in 2019.

He has been charged with "organising mass violence" during the protests and faces up to nine years in prison

Melia, 41, rejects the case as politically motivated.

The detention order has raised the stakes in the crisis over the disputed elections.

Opposition members have refused to take up their seats in the new parliament, in a boycott that weighs heavily on the ruling party's political legitimacy.

They have demanded a new poll.

Georgia's new Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, who was confirmed by parliament on Monday, said in an address to lawmakers his government would proceed with Melia's arrest, saying the politician "will not manage to hide from justice".

Garibashvili is a loyal lieutenant of the powerful oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili who is widely seen as the man in charge in Georgia, despite having no official political role.

Analysts said the spiralling political crisis in Georgia is fraught with serious consequences for the fledgling democracy and is unlikely to be resolved without a greater diplomatic engagement from Tbilisi's Western allies.

Matthew Bryza, a senior fellow at a US think tank, the Atlantic Council, said Georgia's "backward movement in terms of democracy" under Georgian Dream reached the point where "opposition parties say they can't take their seats in parliament because the democratic system in Georgia is broken."

"Without a greater Western mediation, the situation could become very dangerous," said the former diplomat who had coordinated the US Caucasus policy in the administration of ex-president George W. Bush.

The United States and the European Union have expressed concerns over plans to arrest Melia, calling on Georgia's government to resolve the crisis peacefully and ensure its judicial system stays free of political bias.

In power since 2012, Georgian Dream has seen its popularity fall over its failure to address economic stagnation and perceived backsliding on commitments to democracy.

Critics accuse the country's richest man Ivanishvili of persecuting political opponents and creating a corrupt system where private interests permeate politics.


Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/georgian-police-arrest-top-opposition-leader-use-tear-gas-in-party-hq-raid/article/585930#ixzz6nHAMeScP

Climate-friendly foam building insulation may do more harm than good

GREEN SCIENCE POLICY INSTITUTE

Research News

 

The use of the polymeric flame retardant PolyFR in "eco-friendly" foam plastic building insulation may be harmful to human health and the environment, according to a new commentary in Environmental Science & Technology. The authors' analysis identifies several points during the lifecycle of foam insulation that may expose workers, communities, and ecosystems to PolyFR and its potentially toxic breakdown products.

With the climate crisis fueling demand for energy-efficient insulation, the production of PolyFR is increasing rapidly. That's because this flame retardant is added to all foam plastic building insulation in North America to comply with flammability codes, replacing the flame retardant hexabromocyclododecane that has been globally phased out due to its toxicity and persistence. PolyFR is commonly assumed to be safe. However, the authors question that assumption.

The presumed safety of PolyFR hinges on the claim that as a large molecule called a polymer, it has few opportunities for release from foam insulation. But the authors' analysis shows that in fact, PolyFR in building insulation has significant opportunities for release into the environment during manufacturing, installation, and disposal of foam insulation. Once released, the PolyFR may break down into harmful chemicals that can end up in people and ecosystems.

"Since so much PolyFR is being used and so little is known about its release into the environment, we need to have realistic assessments of the potential for PolyFR across its life cycle to harm human and environmental health," said Miriam Diamond, Professor at University of Toronto and corresponding author of the study.

PolyFR is a polymer made from butadiene and styrene, which are both carcinogens. Bromine is added making it a brominated flame retardant--such flame retardants studied in the past were found to be toxic and many have been phased out of use.

A greater understanding of the potential for health harm associated with the increasing production of PolyFR, as well as its eventual breakdown and disposal, is needed to protect workers, fenceline communities near waste disposal sites, and others exposed throughout this flame retardant's lifecycle.

Importantly, alternative insulation materials already exist which do not require the use of potentially hazardous flame retardants. Inherently flame-resistant mineral fibers, such as glass wool or stone wool, can be used instead. Also, the fire safety benefit of adding flame retardants should be established before such chemicals are used.

"Making buildings more energy-efficient is a key part of tackling the climate crisis," said co-author Arlene Blum, Executive Director of the Green Science Policy Institute. "But we need to be careful not to create new health and environmental problems along the way. A 'green building' with potentially hazardous insulation isn't a green building at all."

###

Novice drivers talking on hand-held smartphones are more likely to run red-lights

Young novice drivers who speak into hand-held smartphones while driving are also likely to drive while under the influence of drink or drugs

LERO

Research News

 

Young novice drivers who speak into hand-held smartphones while driving are also likely to drive while under the influence of drink or drugs, according to researchers at Lero, the Science Foundation Ireland Research Centre for Software.

The study "Smartphone Use While Driving: An Investigation of Young Novice Driver (YND) Behaviour," also found that speaking on a hand-held phone is strongly correlated with high-risk driving behaviours such as overtaking on the inside of the car ahead, speeding, driving without a valid licence and driving while intoxicated.

Lero researchers, surveyed 700 German Young Novice Drivers (YNDs), with an average age of just over 21. While the data relates to Germany, it may point to young drivers' risky driving behaviour in other motorised countries, enabling road safety authorities to target information campaigns designed for younger drivers, the authors believe.

Dr Darren Shannon of Lero and University of Limerick said car crashes are the leading cause of death for those between the ages of 15-29, according to the World Health Organisation, with smartphone use acting as a significant contributory factor.

"The data also indicates a moderately-strong effect between talking on a hand-held phone and speeding more than 20 km/h over the speed limit in urban areas. Speeding in built-up areas is moderately correlated with reading notifications, sending texts, or voice messages.

"There is a strong association between those who speak on their phone and those who engage in risky activity with potentially fatal consequences, such as intoxicated driving, ignoring red traffic lights, and driving with more passengers than seatbelts," added Dr Shannon, a specialised vehicle collision researcher with the Emerging Risk Group (ERG), Kemmy Business School, UL.

Lero's Dr Martin Mullins said the work carried out by the team points to the prevalence of certain attitudes in young people who drive while using mobile phones. In Germany, for example, the research shows that a sizeable number of novice motorists deliberately disobey the law by hiding their phones while driving.

"These attitudes have implications for the safety of other road users. Our work allows for road safety authorities to accurately target information campaigns designed for younger drivers. Targeted campaigns should increase awareness that all smartphone-related activities can significantly increase the risk of a crash or near-crash event.

"We don't just see policymakers as responsible. Carmakers are making their cars seem like a place of entertainment. This may have induced a false perception that behaviours like changing the music while driving are perceived as safe, and should instead engage in efforts to reduce this type of behaviour," added Dr Mullins, Co-Leader of the ERG at UL.

Lero researcher and PhD student Tim Jannusch of Institute for Insurance Studies of TH Köln said that the overall high percentage of Young Novice Drivers using their phone for music-related activities may suggest that they might perceive music-related activities as less dangerous.

"This could be attributed to the fact that drivers are allowed to use the car stereo while driving, which implies that changing or searching for music is safe. Nevertheless, changing music while driving, like reading or writing text messages, can cause cognitive, visual and physical distraction and significantly increase the risk for road traffic collisions," said Mr Jannusch.

Dr Shannon said policymakers could use their results for public information policy development, and to tailor financial penalties for those engaging in smartphone behaviour linked to dangerous driving. "Our findings can also be used in a Usage-based Insurance (UBI) context to financially incentivise safer driving," he added.

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Brookfield and partners formally launch hostile bid for Inter Pipeline

CALGARY — Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. and its partners have formally launched a hostile bid to acquire Inter Pipeline Ltd., nearly two weeks after its public interest was rebuffed.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Brookfield says the offer to acquire the stake in Inter Pipeline it doesn't already own is contained in documents filed with Canadian securities regulators.

Brookfield Infrastructure is offering $16.50 per share in cash or 0.206 of a Brookfield Infrastructure Corp. class A exchangeable share. The maximum cash available under the plan is $4.9 billion.

The fully financed offer that implies a value for Inter Pipeline of $7.1 billion expires on June 7.

Brookfield said it has previously discussed prices with Inter "in the range of $17 to $18.25'' per share but would need to study its books to "substantiate'' its growth potential and commercialization objectives for the company's $4-billion Heartland Petrochemical Complex, under construction near Edmonton, before increasing its offer.

Calgary-based Inter Pipeline has initiated a review of strategic alternatives in response to the hostile takeover bid.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 22, 2021.