New Zealand backs drone project to protect endangered dolphins
By Praveen Menon
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand's government said on Friday that it was backing a new project that uses drone technology to understand and protect the endangered Māui dolphins in the country.
Maui dolphins live in a small stretch of ocean off the west coast of New Zealand's North Island and current estimates suggest that only 63 dolphins older than one year remain, raising concerns that they may soon become extinct.
The new Māui Drone Project is a one-year collaboration between the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), non-profit wildlife technology organisation MAUI63 and WWF-New Zealand.
The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is capable of finding and tracking Māui dolphins using artificial intelligence.
The technology has the potential to compile detailed data on the habitats, population size and distribution and behaviour of the dolphins, along with many other types of marine species such as other dolphins, seabirds, and whales, officials said.
"There has been unfortunately for many years disputes over how to best protect Maui dolphins," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said after announcing the initiative, adding that the government has stepped in to fund the project and help protect the dolphins. "But we need everyone to come together."
Fishing companies Moana New Zealand and Sanford Limited are also supporting the project. The government has already moved to restrict fishing around the areas Maui dolphins frequent.
“By advancing our understanding of how Māui dolphins behave during the day and throughout the year this project will help us ensure the measures our Government has already put in place to protect our Māui dolphins are robust and appropriate,” said Oceans and Fisheries Minister David Parker.
The drone ensures dolphins remain undisturbed as they fly at an altitude of over 120 metres (394 feet).
(Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
Friday, February 26, 2021
Europe-bound migrants found amid broken glass, toxic ash
MADRID — Something seemed wrong to the guard inspecting sealed bags of toxic ash in the port of Melilla, one of Spain’s two small territories in North Africa. So he pulled a knife, cut the bag open and found a motionless leg, confirming his suspicion that a person was inside.
MADRID — Something seemed wrong to the guard inspecting sealed bags of toxic ash in the port of Melilla, one of Spain’s two small territories in North Africa. So he pulled a knife, cut the bag open and found a motionless leg, confirming his suspicion that a person was inside.
© Provided by The Canadian Press
He lifted and dropped the leg a few times, with no reaction. A few moments passed. Suddenly the leg pulled back, and a young man emerged from the ashes — frightened and disoriented, but alive.
The disturbing scene from a video released Monday by Spain’s Civil Guard highlighted the great lengths and risks that migrants and asylum seekers take in their desperate attempts to reach Europe.
The survivor was among 41 people found hiding amid cargo in Melilla’s port area on Friday, attempting to sneak aboard a ship that would take them across the Mediterranean Sea to mainland Spain.
Four of them were discovered buried in recycling containers beneath glass bottles, some broken with sharp edges.
Surrounded by Morocco, the tiny enclaves of Melilla and nearby Ceuta have been a target for many African migrants for years. But the two territories fall outside the Schengen area of free mobility across much of Europe, so many of them become trapped in their effort to reach European soil.
The port of Melilla, where trucks and containers begin a trip to Spain that can take up to seven hours, gives many a way to escape. Some try to enter the fenced area of the harbour by swimming there or by hiding underneath vehicles, jumping onto them when they slow down or stop at the gates of the port.
Others try to climb the perimeter fences and walls, sometimes falling and getting seriously injured.
With the help of search dogs and microphones to detect heartbeats, police often find people hiding amid the cargo, from containers to cement mixers. This year alone, the Civil Guard said it has identified 1,781 migrants trespassing in Melilla port’s security perimeter; last year, the number was 11,700.
Still, discoveries like those last week are unsettling for the most experienced officers.
“We’ll never get used to it,” said Juan Antonio Martín, a spokesman with the Civil Guard in Melilla.
Because the border between Spain’s North African territories and Morocco has been closed since the pandemic began in March, it is more difficult for migrants to slip in. According to Spain’s Interior Ministry, nearly 1,500 people crossed illegally into Melilla last year, down from more than 5,800 in 2019.
But those who tried to leave Melilla last week were already in the enclave, Martín said. They were unable to take the passenger ferries or the flights to reach the mainland, either because they didn’t have travel documents or because they entered Spain illegally in the first place.
Their nationality was not released, but the spokesperson said most were of Moroccan origin.
While Morocco’s closure of the land border with Ceuta and Melilla came on the heels of years of stepping up border security, which had already led to a big drop in illegal crossings, Spain’s Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean have emerged as the main landing point for people fleeing North and West Africa to Europe.
Last year, some 23,000 people reached the archipelago, most of them plucked from the waters by Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service, and more than 500 died or disappeared in the attempt.
And there, too, rescuers sometimes faced the unthinkable. In December, Spain’s El País newspaper reported how a 14-year-old from Nigeria spent two weeks clinging to an oil tanker’s rudder before he was found by a patrol boat near the port of Las Palmas, Gran Canaria island.
—-
Brito reported from Barcelona, Spain.
Renata Brito And Aritz Parra, The Associated Press
He lifted and dropped the leg a few times, with no reaction. A few moments passed. Suddenly the leg pulled back, and a young man emerged from the ashes — frightened and disoriented, but alive.
The disturbing scene from a video released Monday by Spain’s Civil Guard highlighted the great lengths and risks that migrants and asylum seekers take in their desperate attempts to reach Europe.
The survivor was among 41 people found hiding amid cargo in Melilla’s port area on Friday, attempting to sneak aboard a ship that would take them across the Mediterranean Sea to mainland Spain.
Four of them were discovered buried in recycling containers beneath glass bottles, some broken with sharp edges.
Surrounded by Morocco, the tiny enclaves of Melilla and nearby Ceuta have been a target for many African migrants for years. But the two territories fall outside the Schengen area of free mobility across much of Europe, so many of them become trapped in their effort to reach European soil.
The port of Melilla, where trucks and containers begin a trip to Spain that can take up to seven hours, gives many a way to escape. Some try to enter the fenced area of the harbour by swimming there or by hiding underneath vehicles, jumping onto them when they slow down or stop at the gates of the port.
Others try to climb the perimeter fences and walls, sometimes falling and getting seriously injured.
With the help of search dogs and microphones to detect heartbeats, police often find people hiding amid the cargo, from containers to cement mixers. This year alone, the Civil Guard said it has identified 1,781 migrants trespassing in Melilla port’s security perimeter; last year, the number was 11,700.
Still, discoveries like those last week are unsettling for the most experienced officers.
“We’ll never get used to it,” said Juan Antonio Martín, a spokesman with the Civil Guard in Melilla.
Because the border between Spain’s North African territories and Morocco has been closed since the pandemic began in March, it is more difficult for migrants to slip in. According to Spain’s Interior Ministry, nearly 1,500 people crossed illegally into Melilla last year, down from more than 5,800 in 2019.
But those who tried to leave Melilla last week were already in the enclave, Martín said. They were unable to take the passenger ferries or the flights to reach the mainland, either because they didn’t have travel documents or because they entered Spain illegally in the first place.
Their nationality was not released, but the spokesperson said most were of Moroccan origin.
While Morocco’s closure of the land border with Ceuta and Melilla came on the heels of years of stepping up border security, which had already led to a big drop in illegal crossings, Spain’s Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean have emerged as the main landing point for people fleeing North and West Africa to Europe.
Last year, some 23,000 people reached the archipelago, most of them plucked from the waters by Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service, and more than 500 died or disappeared in the attempt.
And there, too, rescuers sometimes faced the unthinkable. In December, Spain’s El País newspaper reported how a 14-year-old from Nigeria spent two weeks clinging to an oil tanker’s rudder before he was found by a patrol boat near the port of Las Palmas, Gran Canaria island.
—-
Brito reported from Barcelona, Spain.
Renata Brito And Aritz Parra, The Associated Press
NATIONALIZE PG&E
Wildfire victims sue former PG&E executives alleging neglect
“PG&E has been a terror, T-E-R-R-O-R, to the people of California,"
SAN RAMON, Calif. — A trust representing more than 80,000 victims of deadly wildfires ignited by Pacific Gas and Electric’s rickety electrical grid is suing nearly two dozen of the utility’s former executives and board members, alleging they neglected their duty to ensure the equipment wouldn’t kill people.
© Provided by The Canadian Press
The complaint filed Wednesday in San Francisco Superior Court is an offshoot of a $13.5 billion settlement that PG&E reached with the wildfire victims while the utility was mired in bankruptcy from January 2019 through June last year.
As part of that deal, PG&E granted the victims the right to go after the utility's hierarchy leading up to and during a series of wind-driven wildfires that killed more than 100 people and destroyed more than 25,000 homes and businesses in Northern California in 2017 and 2018.
John Trotter, the trustee overseeing the $13.5 billion settlement, is now following through with an action that targets a litany of former executives and board members.
The list includes two of PG&E's former chief executives, Anthony Earley and Geisha Williams, who were paid millions of dollars during their reigns. The company is now being run by a former Michigan utility executive, Patricia Poppe, with a board of directors that was overhauled during PG&E's bankruptcy case.
PG&E acknowledged the lawsuit without commenting directly on the allegations. “We remain focused on reducing wildfire risk across our service area and making our electric system more resilient to the climate-driven challenges we all face in California," the company said in a statement.
The wildfire victims' lawsuit is seeking to tap into the $200 million to $400 million in liability insurance that PG&E secured for the former executives and board members, said Frank Pitre, the lawyer handling the case. He told The Associated Press that he hopes to resolve the lawsuit within the next year to help wildfire victims still struggling to rebuild their lives.
If the lawsuit is successful, it could help make up for a roughly $1 billion shortfall that the wildfire victims' trust faces because half of the promised settlement consisted of PG&E stock that is currently worth less than what was hoped for when the deal was struck toward the end of 2019.
Trotter acknowledged the problem in a Jan. 26 letter to the wildfire victims — many of whom had balked at a settlement that required half of the promised $13.5 billion to come in stock in a company with a history of negligence.
But none of the PG&E shares have been been sold by the trust so far, leaving time for the stock to rebound.
PG&E's stock price closed at $11.41 on Wednesday. The shares have ranged from a low of $3.55 to $25.19 during the tumultuous past two years.
The complaint against PG&E's former executives and board members seeks to tie them to acts for which the utility has already accepted responsibility.
That includes the company pleading guilty to 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter for causing a 2018 wildfire that wiped out the town of Paradise, California, along with the surrounding area. PG&E was fined $4 million in that case, the maximum penalty allowed.
“If there was ever a corporation that deserved to go to prison, it's PG&E,” Butte County Judge Michael Deems said at the time of the utility's sentencing eight months ago.
Deems' condemnation is included in the wildfire victims' lawsuit alongside scorching criticism from U.S. District Judge William Alsup, who is overseeing PG&E's probation in another criminal case. That case stemmed from the utility's neglect of natural gas lines that blew up an entire neighbourhood in a San Francisco Bay Area suburb in 2010.
Alsup has repeatedly ripped PG&E for not doing more to maintain its power lines in recent years, including during a court hearing earlier this month cited in the victims' lawsuit.
“PG&E has been a terror, T-E-R-R-O-R, to the people of California," Alsup said during the Feb. 3 hearing.
Pitre said it's time to hold people hired to manage and oversee the company responsible for PG&E's recklessness. “We are talking about a massive dereliction of duty."
Michael Liedtke, The Associat
The complaint filed Wednesday in San Francisco Superior Court is an offshoot of a $13.5 billion settlement that PG&E reached with the wildfire victims while the utility was mired in bankruptcy from January 2019 through June last year.
As part of that deal, PG&E granted the victims the right to go after the utility's hierarchy leading up to and during a series of wind-driven wildfires that killed more than 100 people and destroyed more than 25,000 homes and businesses in Northern California in 2017 and 2018.
John Trotter, the trustee overseeing the $13.5 billion settlement, is now following through with an action that targets a litany of former executives and board members.
The list includes two of PG&E's former chief executives, Anthony Earley and Geisha Williams, who were paid millions of dollars during their reigns. The company is now being run by a former Michigan utility executive, Patricia Poppe, with a board of directors that was overhauled during PG&E's bankruptcy case.
PG&E acknowledged the lawsuit without commenting directly on the allegations. “We remain focused on reducing wildfire risk across our service area and making our electric system more resilient to the climate-driven challenges we all face in California," the company said in a statement.
The wildfire victims' lawsuit is seeking to tap into the $200 million to $400 million in liability insurance that PG&E secured for the former executives and board members, said Frank Pitre, the lawyer handling the case. He told The Associated Press that he hopes to resolve the lawsuit within the next year to help wildfire victims still struggling to rebuild their lives.
If the lawsuit is successful, it could help make up for a roughly $1 billion shortfall that the wildfire victims' trust faces because half of the promised settlement consisted of PG&E stock that is currently worth less than what was hoped for when the deal was struck toward the end of 2019.
Trotter acknowledged the problem in a Jan. 26 letter to the wildfire victims — many of whom had balked at a settlement that required half of the promised $13.5 billion to come in stock in a company with a history of negligence.
But none of the PG&E shares have been been sold by the trust so far, leaving time for the stock to rebound.
PG&E's stock price closed at $11.41 on Wednesday. The shares have ranged from a low of $3.55 to $25.19 during the tumultuous past two years.
The complaint against PG&E's former executives and board members seeks to tie them to acts for which the utility has already accepted responsibility.
That includes the company pleading guilty to 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter for causing a 2018 wildfire that wiped out the town of Paradise, California, along with the surrounding area. PG&E was fined $4 million in that case, the maximum penalty allowed.
“If there was ever a corporation that deserved to go to prison, it's PG&E,” Butte County Judge Michael Deems said at the time of the utility's sentencing eight months ago.
Deems' condemnation is included in the wildfire victims' lawsuit alongside scorching criticism from U.S. District Judge William Alsup, who is overseeing PG&E's probation in another criminal case. That case stemmed from the utility's neglect of natural gas lines that blew up an entire neighbourhood in a San Francisco Bay Area suburb in 2010.
Alsup has repeatedly ripped PG&E for not doing more to maintain its power lines in recent years, including during a court hearing earlier this month cited in the victims' lawsuit.
“PG&E has been a terror, T-E-R-R-O-R, to the people of California," Alsup said during the Feb. 3 hearing.
Pitre said it's time to hold people hired to manage and oversee the company responsible for PG&E's recklessness. “We are talking about a massive dereliction of duty."
Michael Liedtke, The Associat
Washington court strikes down law that made unintentional possession of drugs a crime
"RCW 69.50.4013, also known to as simple drug possession, is no longer an arrestable offense. It also cannot be used as a legal basis to seize an individual,"
Cameron Jenkins
The Washington Supreme Court this week struck down a law that made it a felony to unknowingly possess illegal drugs in the state.
A majority of justices ruled Thursday that the "strict liability" drug possession law, which made any illegal drug possession a felony, was unconstitutional.
"The court correctly recognized the injustice of convicting people for innocent conduct," Richard Lechich, who argued the case before the court, told The Seattle Times. "While the decision cannot rectify the harm this law caused to so many communities, particularly communities of color, it at least puts an end to it."
The state initially adopted the "strict liability" law in the 1950s and upheld it as "simple possession" in two instances since then. On Thursday, the justices decided that a felony conviction in a case where a person may have obtained drugs through "innocent, passive conduct" was a harsh penalty.
Mark Middaugh, who represented the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers in a friend-of-the-court brief, told the Times that the old law had been used previously against communities of color and he hopes that the new ruling can be applied retroactively for people who were previously convicted of "simple possession."
"This is a huge ruling that is going to involve thousands and thousands of cases," Middaugh said.
The Seattle Police Department said it would follow the ruling immediately, saying officers would not arrest people, or confiscate drugs, under the simple possession law.
"RCW 69.50.4013, also known to as simple drug possession, is no longer an arrestable offense. It also cannot be used as a legal basis to seize an individual," the department said in a press release.
CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
EU states back plan to expose big companies' tax avoidanceDaniel Boffey in Brussels Provided by The Guardian
The EU has moved to force multinational companies to publish a breakdown of the tax they pay in each of the bloc’s member states and in tax havens such as Seychelles, piling pressure on the UK government to follow suit.
Country-by-country reporting is designed to shine a light on how some of the world’s biggest companies – such as Apple, Facebook and Google – avoid paying an estimated $500bn (£358bn) a year in taxes by shifting their profits from higher-tax countries such as the UK, France and Germany to zero-tax or low-tax jurisdictions including Ireland, Luxembourg and Malta
.
© Photograph: Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images Country-by-country reporting is designed to highlight how companies such as Apple, Facebook and Google avoid paying an estimated $500bn a year in taxes by shifting their profits.
A majority of EU countries backed legislation at a meeting of ministers on Thursday, in what campaigners said was a “landmark” moment, five years after the regulation was first proposed.
Negotiations will now open with the European parliament, which wants to broaden the scope of the regulation. MEPs want multinationals to make public their profits and tax paid in any country, rather than just member states or a blacklist of EU tax havens, as the price for operating in the bloc.
The decision by the member states to move forward with the proposal, first tabled by the European commission after the 2014 LuxLeaks scandal exposed the sweetheart deals being offered by Luxembourg, was celebrated by senior MEPs who have campaigned for reform.
Sven Giegold, the financial and economic policy spokesperson of the Greens group in the European parliament, said he hoped the move would put pressure on the UK to follow suit.
The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, can exercise powers under the Finance Act 2016 to make multinationals’ country-by-country reporting data public in the UK but the government has said it will only do so if there is an international agreement on the issue.
“This is the breakthrough for fair corporate taxation everywhere in Europe,” Giegold said. “Public country-by-country reporting is a minimum transparency requirement for companies with maximum effect for the common good.
“If large companies have to disclose their profits and taxes paid per country, tax trickery is hardly possible any more. This is a strong barrier against tax avoidance.
“This is a real test case for the new EU-UK cooperation agreement, where both sides agreed to work together on tax matters. It would be a very positive sign for future cooperation if the UK will join the EU in this bold step towards greater corporate tax transparency.”
The backing given to the measure by a qualified majority of member states follows years of disappointment for tax activists. At a meeting of ministers on Thursday, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Sweden, Czech Republic, Hungary and Cyprus had again sought to block the proposal by voting against it or abstaining.
A breakthrough was achieved, however, when Slovenia and Austria joined Finland, Greece, Denmark, Estonia, Romania, Poland, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, France, Bulgaria and Belgium in supporting it.
“I am happy to say that we got great support today, by a large majority of member states,” Portugal’s minister of economy and digital transition, Pedro Siza Vieira, said after the meeting. “We still have a few steps to take in the legislative process, but we can take these steps quickly.”
Oxfam hailed the agreement, describing it as “an important first step towards greater corporate tax transparency”.
Concerns remain, however, over a six-year reporting exemption for “commercially sensitive information” in the proposal backed by the member states. The regulation will also apply only to companies with an annual consolidated turnover above €750m (£650m), excluding nine in 10 multinationals, Oxfam said.
A majority of EU countries backed legislation at a meeting of ministers on Thursday, in what campaigners said was a “landmark” moment, five years after the regulation was first proposed.
Negotiations will now open with the European parliament, which wants to broaden the scope of the regulation. MEPs want multinationals to make public their profits and tax paid in any country, rather than just member states or a blacklist of EU tax havens, as the price for operating in the bloc.
The decision by the member states to move forward with the proposal, first tabled by the European commission after the 2014 LuxLeaks scandal exposed the sweetheart deals being offered by Luxembourg, was celebrated by senior MEPs who have campaigned for reform.
Sven Giegold, the financial and economic policy spokesperson of the Greens group in the European parliament, said he hoped the move would put pressure on the UK to follow suit.
The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, can exercise powers under the Finance Act 2016 to make multinationals’ country-by-country reporting data public in the UK but the government has said it will only do so if there is an international agreement on the issue.
“This is the breakthrough for fair corporate taxation everywhere in Europe,” Giegold said. “Public country-by-country reporting is a minimum transparency requirement for companies with maximum effect for the common good.
“If large companies have to disclose their profits and taxes paid per country, tax trickery is hardly possible any more. This is a strong barrier against tax avoidance.
“This is a real test case for the new EU-UK cooperation agreement, where both sides agreed to work together on tax matters. It would be a very positive sign for future cooperation if the UK will join the EU in this bold step towards greater corporate tax transparency.”
The backing given to the measure by a qualified majority of member states follows years of disappointment for tax activists. At a meeting of ministers on Thursday, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Sweden, Czech Republic, Hungary and Cyprus had again sought to block the proposal by voting against it or abstaining.
A breakthrough was achieved, however, when Slovenia and Austria joined Finland, Greece, Denmark, Estonia, Romania, Poland, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, France, Bulgaria and Belgium in supporting it.
“I am happy to say that we got great support today, by a large majority of member states,” Portugal’s minister of economy and digital transition, Pedro Siza Vieira, said after the meeting. “We still have a few steps to take in the legislative process, but we can take these steps quickly.”
Oxfam hailed the agreement, describing it as “an important first step towards greater corporate tax transparency”.
Concerns remain, however, over a six-year reporting exemption for “commercially sensitive information” in the proposal backed by the member states. The regulation will also apply only to companies with an annual consolidated turnover above €750m (£650m), excluding nine in 10 multinationals, Oxfam said.
US drops key obstacle to global digital tax: Treasury
AFP
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told her G20 colleagues Friday that Washington is dropping a push for a controversial provision in a global digital tax, opening the door to a likely agreement.
© Nicholas Kamm US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced a shift in the US position on a global digital tax, clearing the way for a likely deal
The US shift -- part of a broader repositioning by President Joe Biden from the "America First" agenda of former President Donald Trump -- prompted immediate praise from Germany and France, which said a deal was now "within reach" following the US pivot.
Yellen announced at the G20 finance ministers meeting that US officials "will engage robustly" in the talks and "is no longer advocating for 'safe harbor' implementation of Pillar 1," a Treasury official told AFP.
The Trump administration had insisted on a so-called safe harbor clause in the OECD tax that effectively would have allowed big tech companies to comply voluntarily, blocking progress on a deal.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has been working on a multilateral agreement that would include a global minimum corporate tax rate on tech giants.
The aim is to find a common solution to address the policy dilemma of how to tax profits earned in one country by a company headquartered in another that offers more favorable tax treatment.
European officials said the US shift was an important breakthrough.
"This is a giant step forward on our path towards an agreement among the participating states by the summer," German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said in a statement following virtual talks with his G20 counterparts.
French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said a deal should be reached by summer, calling for negotiations to be "concluded without delay."
France in 2019 approved a tax on tech firms like Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google, which were accused of moving their profits offshore.
Paris suspended collection of the digital services tax through the end of 2020 amid the OECD talks.
But the measure had drawn sharp criticism from the Trump administration, which had planned to enact tariffs on French goods, but called off the levies in early January before leaving Washington.
Yellen had signaled the likely US shift during her January Senate confirmation hearing, saying she supported efforts to ensure corporations pay their "fair share" and to remove incentives for companies to offshore activities.
In November, some 75 major tech players, including Google and Facebook, backed a French initiative committing them to making a "fair tax contribution" in countries where they operate.
Without an accord, companies face the risk of a proliferation of national laws that could have led to double taxation.
hs-jmb
The US shift -- part of a broader repositioning by President Joe Biden from the "America First" agenda of former President Donald Trump -- prompted immediate praise from Germany and France, which said a deal was now "within reach" following the US pivot.
Yellen announced at the G20 finance ministers meeting that US officials "will engage robustly" in the talks and "is no longer advocating for 'safe harbor' implementation of Pillar 1," a Treasury official told AFP.
The Trump administration had insisted on a so-called safe harbor clause in the OECD tax that effectively would have allowed big tech companies to comply voluntarily, blocking progress on a deal.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has been working on a multilateral agreement that would include a global minimum corporate tax rate on tech giants.
The aim is to find a common solution to address the policy dilemma of how to tax profits earned in one country by a company headquartered in another that offers more favorable tax treatment.
European officials said the US shift was an important breakthrough.
"This is a giant step forward on our path towards an agreement among the participating states by the summer," German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said in a statement following virtual talks with his G20 counterparts.
French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said a deal should be reached by summer, calling for negotiations to be "concluded without delay."
France in 2019 approved a tax on tech firms like Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google, which were accused of moving their profits offshore.
Paris suspended collection of the digital services tax through the end of 2020 amid the OECD talks.
But the measure had drawn sharp criticism from the Trump administration, which had planned to enact tariffs on French goods, but called off the levies in early January before leaving Washington.
Yellen had signaled the likely US shift during her January Senate confirmation hearing, saying she supported efforts to ensure corporations pay their "fair share" and to remove incentives for companies to offshore activities.
In November, some 75 major tech players, including Google and Facebook, backed a French initiative committing them to making a "fair tax contribution" in countries where they operate.
Without an accord, companies face the risk of a proliferation of national laws that could have led to double taxation.
hs-jmb
MOBBED UP
Two more Toronto tow trucks torched in ongoing industry turf war
Driving .ca
Lorraine Complains: As tow truck operators go to war, who can you trust?
Last week, a Toronto cop was charged for a third time as part of an anti-corruption investigation alleging his involvement in a tow truck ‘consortium’ that used inside information and stolen police radios to get a leg up on competitors seeking to be first on the scene of collisions.
Criminality in the GTA towing industry was the subject of the York Regional Police-led Project Platinum, a far-reaching probe into allegations of fraud, arson, shootings and murders connected to a bloody turf war between rival factions.
Two more Toronto tow trucks torched in ongoing industry turf war
Driving .ca
© Provided by Driving.ca Toronto Police radio
Police are investigating after two tow trucks were set alight late Tuesday in east Toronto.
Just after 11:45 p.m., Toronto Police and fire were called to a burning tow truck in a parking lot on Victoria Park Ave. near Parma Ct. While en route, emergency crews encountered a second tow truck on fire parked behind a strip mall on Sunrise Ave. and Victoria Park, one block north of the first fire.
Police have yet to confirm if the fires are related, or identify suspects. These two fires are the latest in a series of incidents linked to a violent turf war battling for control of Toronto’s lucrative collision tow business.
Tuesday’s fires come nearly a month after gunmen opened fire on tow trucks parked along the 401 at Avenue Rd. and Leslie St. — just days after a tow truck was torched in a driveway in Whitchurch-Stouffville . Earlier in January, another tow truck was set on fire in a driveway in Ajax .
RELATED
Toronto-area tow company owner hit with charges in OPP corruption investigation
Police are investigating after two tow trucks were set alight late Tuesday in east Toronto.
Just after 11:45 p.m., Toronto Police and fire were called to a burning tow truck in a parking lot on Victoria Park Ave. near Parma Ct. While en route, emergency crews encountered a second tow truck on fire parked behind a strip mall on Sunrise Ave. and Victoria Park, one block north of the first fire.
Police have yet to confirm if the fires are related, or identify suspects. These two fires are the latest in a series of incidents linked to a violent turf war battling for control of Toronto’s lucrative collision tow business.
Tuesday’s fires come nearly a month after gunmen opened fire on tow trucks parked along the 401 at Avenue Rd. and Leslie St. — just days after a tow truck was torched in a driveway in Whitchurch-Stouffville . Earlier in January, another tow truck was set on fire in a driveway in Ajax .
RELATED
Toronto-area tow company owner hit with charges in OPP corruption investigation
Lorraine Complains: As tow truck operators go to war, who can you trust?
Last week, a Toronto cop was charged for a third time as part of an anti-corruption investigation alleging his involvement in a tow truck ‘consortium’ that used inside information and stolen police radios to get a leg up on competitors seeking to be first on the scene of collisions.
Criminality in the GTA towing industry was the subject of the York Regional Police-led Project Platinum, a far-reaching probe into allegations of fraud, arson, shootings and murders connected to a bloody turf war between rival factions.
QATAR DOES TRUMP A FAVOUR
Al Jazeera launches right-wing media platform aimed at American conservatives
Where the extreme right gathers now: Welcome to Telegram, Gab and other shadowy online platforms
The first Rightly show will be called Right Now with Stephen Kent , according to Politico. He currently presents Beltway Banthas: Star Wars, Politics & More, a podcast about the intersection of fandom and politics.
Kent also has a book deal with Center Street, a conservative book company that has published works by far-right authors including Donald Trump Jr and Corey Lewandowski.
Neither Al Jazeera nor Kent immediately responded to requests for comment. Kent retweeted news of the platform on Tuesday morning.
The Guardian noted that privately, some Al Jazeera staff wondered how Rightly would square with the network’s previously stated commitments to giving voice to marginalized communities.
Al Jazeera launches right-wing media platform aimed at American conservatives
WHERE WILL THE LEFT WING OF THE BBC GO NOW?
Shari Kulha
Al Jazeera is pivoting to the right with a new platform for conservative audiences, a sea change from its original intent of becoming a go-to source for liberal news and ideas. The Qatar-based news network is launching Rightly, for Republicans who “feel left out of mainstream media,” Politico reported , and will be led by a former Fox News journalist
Shari Kulha
Al Jazeera is pivoting to the right with a new platform for conservative audiences, a sea change from its original intent of becoming a go-to source for liberal news and ideas. The Qatar-based news network is launching Rightly, for Republicans who “feel left out of mainstream media,” Politico reported , and will be led by a former Fox News journalist
.
© Provided by National Post The Al Jazeera TV news studio in Doha, Qatar, in a 2015 file photo.
In 2013, Qatar-based Al Jazeera launched its left-leaning Al Jazeera America news channel and website. The state-backed network closed the TV channel three years later, but its AJPlus video network and its international channel – Al Jazeera English – are still popular in the U.S., the Guardian says .
In launching on Thursday, Al Jazeera will join a move to the right by many news outlets, though to less of an extreme than many conservative U.S. news sources.
Former Fox news staffer Scott Norvell will be Rightly’s editor-in-chief. Fox News has swung even further right to combat oncoming ultra-conservative TV channels NewsMax and One America News. He was said to have taken Fox’s Heat Street website to the right when it was onstream in 2016 and 2017.
“Scott Norvell played a part in transitioning Heat Street from libertarian, youth-oriented site as originally envisaged to pro-Trump alt-right Breitbart clone,” a former Heat Street staffer told the Guardian, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Norvell did not respond to a request for comment.
In 2013, Qatar-based Al Jazeera launched its left-leaning Al Jazeera America news channel and website. The state-backed network closed the TV channel three years later, but its AJPlus video network and its international channel – Al Jazeera English – are still popular in the U.S., the Guardian says .
In launching on Thursday, Al Jazeera will join a move to the right by many news outlets, though to less of an extreme than many conservative U.S. news sources.
Former Fox news staffer Scott Norvell will be Rightly’s editor-in-chief. Fox News has swung even further right to combat oncoming ultra-conservative TV channels NewsMax and One America News. He was said to have taken Fox’s Heat Street website to the right when it was onstream in 2016 and 2017.
“Scott Norvell played a part in transitioning Heat Street from libertarian, youth-oriented site as originally envisaged to pro-Trump alt-right Breitbart clone,” a former Heat Street staffer told the Guardian, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Norvell did not respond to a request for comment.
Where the extreme right gathers now: Welcome to Telegram, Gab and other shadowy online platforms
The first Rightly show will be called Right Now with Stephen Kent , according to Politico. He currently presents Beltway Banthas: Star Wars, Politics & More, a podcast about the intersection of fandom and politics.
Kent also has a book deal with Center Street, a conservative book company that has published works by far-right authors including Donald Trump Jr and Corey Lewandowski.
Neither Al Jazeera nor Kent immediately responded to requests for comment. Kent retweeted news of the platform on Tuesday morning.
The Guardian noted that privately, some Al Jazeera staff wondered how Rightly would square with the network’s previously stated commitments to giving voice to marginalized communities.
Pamela A. Smith has been named as the first Black woman to lead the U.S. Park Police in the agency's 230-year history.
© NPS Pamela A. Smith Chief of the U.S. Park Police is seen here in an undated file photo provided by National Park Service.
Smith, a 23-year veteran of the Park Police, officially takes over on Sunday.
The appointment comes as the nation has seen a racial reckoning unfold over the past year and massive protests decrying racism and police brutality against people of color.
"I have dedicated my career to the professionalism of law enforcement, and it is my highest honor and privilege to serve as Chief of Police," Smith said in a statement. "Today's officers face many challenges, and I firmly believe challenges present opportunities. I look forward to leading this exemplary team as we carry out our mission with honesty and integrity."
Smith, a 23-year veteran of the Park Police, officially takes over on Sunday.
The appointment comes as the nation has seen a racial reckoning unfold over the past year and massive protests decrying racism and police brutality against people of color.
"I have dedicated my career to the professionalism of law enforcement, and it is my highest honor and privilege to serve as Chief of Police," Smith said in a statement. "Today's officers face many challenges, and I firmly believe challenges present opportunities. I look forward to leading this exemplary team as we carry out our mission with honesty and integrity."
She has already announced that within 90 days she'll start a program where Park Police officers will have to wear body cameras, starting at the agency's field office in San Francisco. Officers across the country will be wearing them by the end of the year, she added.
"This is one of the many steps we must take to continue to build trust and credibility with the public we have been entrusted to serve," Smith said.
However, she didn't commit to releasing camera footage to the public.
"In order to obtain any footage, a request for a recording can be made through the Freedom of Information act and will be processed in accordance with applicable laws and policies, including the Privacy Act," Smith told ABC Washington, D.C., affiliateWJLA.MORE: America's national parks face existential crisis over race
U.S. Park Police officers have been involved in two high-profile incidents in recent years.
In 2017, the agency came under fire for the shooting death of Bijan Ghaisar in Virginia.
"During the time of the incident I served as a commander of the New York field office, and therefore I have not yet had the opportunity to be briefed [on the Ghaisar case], but that will be my first priority," Smith said per WJLA.
In June, the agency once again came under scrutiny after officers, along with D.C. National Guard troops, violently cleared out protesters from Lafayette Square near the White House so Donald Trump could walk to St. John's Church for a photo-op where he held up a Bible.
At the time, Park Police said it and other agencies used smoke canisters and pepper balls to disperse the crowd.MORE: Police use munitions to forcibly push back peaceful protesters for Trump church visit
Smith has served as a patrol officer, field training officer, executive lieutenant to the chief of police, and was the first woman to lead the New York Field Office.
Smith's "commitment to policing as public service and her willingness to listen and collaborate make her the right person to lead the U.S. Park Police at this pivotal moment in our country," Shawn Benge, deputy director exercising the delegated authority of the National Park Service director, said in a statement.
The Park Police -- the country's oldest federal law enforcement agency, established in 1791 and run by the NPS -- includes about 560 employees who protect parks and landmarks in San Francisco, New York and Washington, D.C.
"This is one of the many steps we must take to continue to build trust and credibility with the public we have been entrusted to serve," Smith said.
However, she didn't commit to releasing camera footage to the public.
"In order to obtain any footage, a request for a recording can be made through the Freedom of Information act and will be processed in accordance with applicable laws and policies, including the Privacy Act," Smith told ABC Washington, D.C., affiliateWJLA.MORE: America's national parks face existential crisis over race
U.S. Park Police officers have been involved in two high-profile incidents in recent years.
In 2017, the agency came under fire for the shooting death of Bijan Ghaisar in Virginia.
"During the time of the incident I served as a commander of the New York field office, and therefore I have not yet had the opportunity to be briefed [on the Ghaisar case], but that will be my first priority," Smith said per WJLA.
In June, the agency once again came under scrutiny after officers, along with D.C. National Guard troops, violently cleared out protesters from Lafayette Square near the White House so Donald Trump could walk to St. John's Church for a photo-op where he held up a Bible.
At the time, Park Police said it and other agencies used smoke canisters and pepper balls to disperse the crowd.MORE: Police use munitions to forcibly push back peaceful protesters for Trump church visit
Smith has served as a patrol officer, field training officer, executive lieutenant to the chief of police, and was the first woman to lead the New York Field Office.
Smith's "commitment to policing as public service and her willingness to listen and collaborate make her the right person to lead the U.S. Park Police at this pivotal moment in our country," Shawn Benge, deputy director exercising the delegated authority of the National Park Service director, said in a statement.
The Park Police -- the country's oldest federal law enforcement agency, established in 1791 and run by the NPS -- includes about 560 employees who protect parks and landmarks in San Francisco, New York and Washington, D.C.
Health Canada approves AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine
OTTAWA — Health Canada decided Friday to authorize the AstraZeneca vaccine and the first half million doses of it will be shipped to Canada next week.
OTTAWA — Health Canada decided Friday to authorize the AstraZeneca vaccine and the first half million doses of it will be shipped to Canada next week.
© Provided by The Canadian Press
The regulatory team reviewing COVID-19 vaccines said the one by AstraZeneca is both safe and effective and can be used immediately on people over the age of 18.
"This is very encouraging news," said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. "It means more people vaccinated, and sooner."
AstraZeneca joins the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines on the list of those authorized in Canada. Clinical trials showed it to be less effective at preventing infection than the first two, but it is still keeping people from getting very sick or dying, said Dr. Supriya Sharma, the chief medical adviser at Health Canada.
Pfizer and Moderna both reported being 95 per cent effective at preventing COVID-19 infections in patients who received the vaccine, compared to those who received a placebo. AstraZeneca was 62 per cent effective.
But Sharma said the "key numbers" to examine when looking at all the vaccines Canada has approved or is reviewing is whether they prevented serious illness and death.
"If you look across all the clinical trials of the tens of thousands of people that were involved, the number of cases of people that died from COVID-19, that got vaccine was zero," she said. "The number of people that were hospitalized because their COVID-19 disease was so severe was zero. The number of people that died because of an adverse event or an effect of the vaccine was zero."
It's not entirely clear yet how provinces and territories will incorporate the AstraZeneca vaccine into their vaccination programs, but because it is can be shipped and stored in refrigerators instead of freezers, it is a more flexible option.
Sharma said AstraZeneca's review process included not only the clinical trial data submitted by the company but also evidence of how the vaccine has been working in the real world. Millions of people in more than 50 countries have now received the vaccine since it was first approved at the end of December.
Canada anticipated getting enough vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna to vaccinate three million people by the end of March, 14.5 million people by the end of June, and all 38 million Canadians by the end of September.
The addition of AstraZeneca should quicken that pace.
Canada is getting 24 million doses by September, and as many as one million by the end of March. That includes 20 million directly from AstraZeneca, and made in the United States, between April and September. Another 1.9 million doses made in South Korea and delivered via the vaccine sharing initiative known as COVAX are to come by the end of June, and the first 500,000 of those could be delivered in the next month.
Procurement Minister Anita Anand also said a deal to get another two million doses from the Serum Institute of India was finalized Thursday. Verity Pharmaceuticals, which is facilitating the Serum Institute's application in Canada, said Friday the first 500,000 will come next week, followed by one million in mid-April, and the rest in early May.
AstraZeneca vaccines are to be given in two doses between four and 12 weeks apart. Sharma said there is some indication that waiting longer provokes a better response, but that data is not yet complete.
There have been some concerns raised about the AstraZeneca vaccine in recent weeks, including how well it works against variants and whether there is enough data to show it works on older individuals.
Several European countries, including Germany and France, limited AstraZeneca to people under the age of 65. Sharma said there were a limited number of people over 65 involved in the clinical trials, but that data, coupled with the real-world experience in the United Kingdom, shows strong evidence seniors are protected.
"When we do the authorization, the question is, for somebody 65 years of age and older, with the benefits of getting the vaccine versus not getting the vaccine, would the benefits outweigh the risk," she said. "And the answer to that was yes based on all the information that we have.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization will issue guidance for how best to use the vaccine in the next few days, said Sharma. Provinces can then determine how they will incorporate it into their planning.
Canada's vaccine program is shifting into a higher gear after a month-long slowdown in deliveries due to production issues for Pfizer and Moderna. More than 300,000 people were vaccinated in the last week, almost one-fifth of the total doses injected since the first vaccinations began Dec. 14.
As of Friday afternoon about 700,000 people have received one dose and more than 500,000 are now fully vaccinated with two doses.
The AstraZeneca vaccine works differently than the other two already in use in Canada.
Both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna use messenger RNA technology, using RNA encoded with the piece of the SARS-CoV-2 virus known as the spike protein. The mRNA trains the body to fight off a COVID-19 infection.
AstraZeneca is a viral vector vaccine, which takes a cold virus, modifies it so it can't reproduce itself, and adds the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. When injected, it too provokes the body to develop infection-fighting antibodies and cells to fight the virus.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration was meeting Friday to decide whether to authorize the vaccine from Johnson and Johnson, and Sharma said Health Canada was expecting some final data on manufacturing from that company Friday.
An approval for it could soon follow.
A fifth vaccine from Novavax expects to report clinical trial data in April, paving the way for Health Canada to make a decision about it this spring.
Those two vaccines would add another 62 million doses to Canada's supply.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2021.
Mia Rabson and Stephanie Levitz, The Canadian Press
The regulatory team reviewing COVID-19 vaccines said the one by AstraZeneca is both safe and effective and can be used immediately on people over the age of 18.
"This is very encouraging news," said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. "It means more people vaccinated, and sooner."
AstraZeneca joins the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines on the list of those authorized in Canada. Clinical trials showed it to be less effective at preventing infection than the first two, but it is still keeping people from getting very sick or dying, said Dr. Supriya Sharma, the chief medical adviser at Health Canada.
Pfizer and Moderna both reported being 95 per cent effective at preventing COVID-19 infections in patients who received the vaccine, compared to those who received a placebo. AstraZeneca was 62 per cent effective.
But Sharma said the "key numbers" to examine when looking at all the vaccines Canada has approved or is reviewing is whether they prevented serious illness and death.
"If you look across all the clinical trials of the tens of thousands of people that were involved, the number of cases of people that died from COVID-19, that got vaccine was zero," she said. "The number of people that were hospitalized because their COVID-19 disease was so severe was zero. The number of people that died because of an adverse event or an effect of the vaccine was zero."
It's not entirely clear yet how provinces and territories will incorporate the AstraZeneca vaccine into their vaccination programs, but because it is can be shipped and stored in refrigerators instead of freezers, it is a more flexible option.
Sharma said AstraZeneca's review process included not only the clinical trial data submitted by the company but also evidence of how the vaccine has been working in the real world. Millions of people in more than 50 countries have now received the vaccine since it was first approved at the end of December.
Canada anticipated getting enough vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna to vaccinate three million people by the end of March, 14.5 million people by the end of June, and all 38 million Canadians by the end of September.
The addition of AstraZeneca should quicken that pace.
Canada is getting 24 million doses by September, and as many as one million by the end of March. That includes 20 million directly from AstraZeneca, and made in the United States, between April and September. Another 1.9 million doses made in South Korea and delivered via the vaccine sharing initiative known as COVAX are to come by the end of June, and the first 500,000 of those could be delivered in the next month.
Procurement Minister Anita Anand also said a deal to get another two million doses from the Serum Institute of India was finalized Thursday. Verity Pharmaceuticals, which is facilitating the Serum Institute's application in Canada, said Friday the first 500,000 will come next week, followed by one million in mid-April, and the rest in early May.
AstraZeneca vaccines are to be given in two doses between four and 12 weeks apart. Sharma said there is some indication that waiting longer provokes a better response, but that data is not yet complete.
There have been some concerns raised about the AstraZeneca vaccine in recent weeks, including how well it works against variants and whether there is enough data to show it works on older individuals.
Several European countries, including Germany and France, limited AstraZeneca to people under the age of 65. Sharma said there were a limited number of people over 65 involved in the clinical trials, but that data, coupled with the real-world experience in the United Kingdom, shows strong evidence seniors are protected.
"When we do the authorization, the question is, for somebody 65 years of age and older, with the benefits of getting the vaccine versus not getting the vaccine, would the benefits outweigh the risk," she said. "And the answer to that was yes based on all the information that we have.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization will issue guidance for how best to use the vaccine in the next few days, said Sharma. Provinces can then determine how they will incorporate it into their planning.
Canada's vaccine program is shifting into a higher gear after a month-long slowdown in deliveries due to production issues for Pfizer and Moderna. More than 300,000 people were vaccinated in the last week, almost one-fifth of the total doses injected since the first vaccinations began Dec. 14.
As of Friday afternoon about 700,000 people have received one dose and more than 500,000 are now fully vaccinated with two doses.
The AstraZeneca vaccine works differently than the other two already in use in Canada.
Both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna use messenger RNA technology, using RNA encoded with the piece of the SARS-CoV-2 virus known as the spike protein. The mRNA trains the body to fight off a COVID-19 infection.
AstraZeneca is a viral vector vaccine, which takes a cold virus, modifies it so it can't reproduce itself, and adds the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. When injected, it too provokes the body to develop infection-fighting antibodies and cells to fight the virus.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration was meeting Friday to decide whether to authorize the vaccine from Johnson and Johnson, and Sharma said Health Canada was expecting some final data on manufacturing from that company Friday.
An approval for it could soon follow.
A fifth vaccine from Novavax expects to report clinical trial data in April, paving the way for Health Canada to make a decision about it this spring.
Those two vaccines would add another 62 million doses to Canada's supply.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 26, 2021.
Mia Rabson and Stephanie Levitz, The Canadian Press
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