ALBERTA

NDP Opposition bill against coal mining in Rockies can proceed to legislature: committee

By Bob Weber The Canadian Press
Posted April 13, 2021 

View image in full screenIn this March 28, 2017, file photo, a dump truck hauls coal at Contura Energy's Eagle Butte Mine near Gillette, Wyo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Mead Gruver, File

An Opposition bill that would preserve Alberta’s Rocky Mountains from open-pit coal mines could be debated in the legislature after a government-dominated committee on Tuesday gave unanimous consent for it to move forward.

NDP Leader Rachel Notley, the bill’s sponsor, immediately challenged government members to approve a motion to debate the bill next Monday instead of letting it die on the order paper.

“Are they just going through the motions or are they really prepared to do what it takes and stand up for and represent the views of their constituents?” Notley asked after a meeting of the committee that screens private members’ bills and decides which of them goes ahead.

READ MORE: Alberta Opposition says private member’s bill would protect mountains from coal mines

Earlier in the day, the committee voted unanimously to send Notley’s proposed Eastern Slopes Protection Act to the legislature for further debate. All six United Conservative members and four New Democrats supported the recommendation.

Committee clerk Warren Huffman confirmed it’s the first Opposition-sponsored private member’s bill the committee hasn’t rejected since the UCP came to power.

1:52 Alberta government cancels some coal leases after public outcry – Jan 19, 2021

The bill calls for the cancellation of leases issued after the government scrapped a policy last May that once protected a vast swath of summits and foothills down the western spine of the province.

If passed, the bill would also stop the province’s energy regulator from issuing development permits. Open-pit mines would be permanently prohibited in the most environmentally sensitive areas and mines elsewhere would not receive the go-ahead until a land-use plan for the region was developed.

The government has already sold coal exploration leases for vast tracts of the area, a landscape close to the hearts of many Albertans and the source of much of the province’s fresh water. Public backlash forced it to reinstate the policy and stop sales, but drilling and road-building continue on leases already sold.

5:29 Red flags and mistrust flare up over Alberta government coal flip-flop – Feb 9, 2021

Notley said that backlash was probably behind Tuesday’s recommendation.

"EVEN UCP MEMBERS HAD TO UNDERSTAND THE DEGREE TO WHICH THEIR OWN CONSTITUENTS DON'T WANT TO SEE THIS HAPPEN."

But she said that under current scheduling, the bill wouldn’t come before the house before the end of the sitting and would quietly disappear.

She said the NDP will ask for a unanimous vote to move the bill up for debate.

“They can absolutely do that if they truly want to give voice to their constituents’ concerns.”

READ MORE: Lethbridge man faces $600 fine for trespassing while filming anti-coal video

A government spokesman was not immediately able to say if the New Democrat request would be granted

The government is asking Albertans to complete a survey on how, or if, they want development on the land in question. It has also struck a committee to seek input. It is expected to report in November.

2:07 Alberta government appoints independent committee for coal policy feedback – Mar 29, 2021

That’s not quick enough, said Notley.

“While that so-called consultation is winding its way down whatever road it may take, development and exploration is ongoing, jeopardizing the very integrity that so many Albertans are desperate to see us protect.”

While some coal companies have said they will suspend this summer’s exploration program, others have not, saying their leases require them to complete work within two years.

Cabin Ridge Project Ltd. plans to drill 96 holes in its leases north of Coleman, Alta., near the British Columbia boundary. That work is to begin in May.

Resistance to Alberta's COVID-19 health restrictions is growing, experts warn


Premier Jason Kenney, now facing an unprecedented revolt within the ranks of his UCP caucus over the current restrictions

© Jason Franson/The Canadian Press Supporters try to tear down the fence as police struggle with them outside GraceLife Church near Edmonton on Sunday. The church has been fenced off by police and Alberta Health Services in an effort to enforce COVID-19…

A church west of Edmonton, the scene of a large protest Sunday after it was forcibly closed by Alberta Health Services last week, has become emblematic of a widening fissure in Alberta.

Law enforcement and health officials say defiance of public health restrictions intended to contain the spread of COVID-19 is growing in the province.

On Sunday, hundreds of protesters gathered outside GraceLife Church in Parkland County. RCMP officers stood guard as the crowd shouted, sang and prayed. Police made arrests as part of a chain-link fence erected around the property was pulled down.

Some prayed for the church to reopen. Others shouted that the pandemic was fake — made up by the government — or held signs calling for the province to "end the lockdown."

Premier Jason Kenney, now facing an unprecedented revolt within the ranks of his UCP caucus over the current restrictions, has repeatedly warned that rule-breakers have become a stubborn obstacle in Alberta's bid to contain the virus. Further enforcement measures may be necessary, Kenney has said.

After a protest Monday at the legislature, Kenney said on Twitter it is "increasingly clear" that many people involved in protests are "unhinged conspiracy theorists."

"Their words and actions are unacceptable," Kenney said. "Reasonable people can disagree about the best way to respond to the threat of this pandemic. But spreading misinformation, conspiracy theories, and making threats is beyond the pale."

Compliance problems have plagued the Alberta government's response to the pandemic since the beginning in March 2020. There have been illegal parties and crammed church services. Shoppers have marched through malls unmasked.

Alberta has been contending with a surge in infection rates driven by variants of concern. On Monday, the province recorded 1,136 new cases, including 679 cases of variant strains. There were 14,849 active COVID-19 cases and 390 Albertans in hospital, including 90 in intensive care.

And yet, signals of resistance have become more visible as the third wave takes hold.

Some restaurants ordered to close dine-in service have refused to comply. Some gyms are flouting the rules, ignoring restrictions on capacity, masking and distancing.

Last Thursday, four vehicles rented by AHS workers visiting the northern community of La Crete were pelted with eggs, prompting a warning from the mayor about the dangers of misinformation around the pandemic and growing hostility toward health workers.

'Brunt of the frustration'

The union that represents RCMP officers says members faced unfair backlash over enforcement at GraceLife, but that the Alberta controversy is part of a concerning trend across the country.

"Against the backdrop of increasingly challenging conditions and varying degrees of public health orders, RCMP members continue to uphold the law, including enforcement of public health orders intended to combat the spread of COVID-19, too often under unfair criticism," Brian Sauvé, president of the National Police Federation, said in a statement Friday.

"We ask those with concerns to direct their attention and protest to relevant lawmakers or policy-makers — in this case, Alberta Health Services and the Alberta Health Act — rather than toward our professional, dedicated members."

RCMP Sgt. Kevin Halwa, an Alberta director for the police federation, said it's been a difficult year for officers on the front lines, and the situation is worsening.

"Unfortunately, the membership sometimes gets the brunt of the frustration of the public because they're the faces that they see," Halwa said.

"No matter where you are in the country, people are getting, for lack of a better word, COVID fatigue."

Alberta RCMP declined to be interviewed.

'Harassment, threats and disrespect'

In an emailed statement, AHS said it was aware that some Albertans are "actively disobeying public health measures" but reiterated that enforcement remains a last resort.

"The demands on our teams have grown significantly since the beginning of the pandemic," reads the statement.

"Our inspectors have often been the targets of harassment, threats and disrespect while carrying out their duties."

AHS said its public health officers work in co-operation with police and peace officers, but issuing tickets, fines and criminal charges is under the jurisdiction of local law enforcement and revoking business permits falls under the jurisdiction of local governments.

"It is only when significant risk is identified or continued non-compliance is noted that AHS resorts to enforcement action."

The political revolt

Lorian Hardcastle, an associate professor in the faculty of law and Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary, said Albertans are breaking the rules for different reasons.

Some feel their personal freedoms have been violated. Others — driven by misinformation — are skeptical of the health threat posed by the virus. A third group, Hardcastle said, is desperate to protect their livelihoods.

But there is a new threat to compliance, she said: The political revolt within the Kenney government will further erode confidence in the public health system.

After the province announced last week that it would reinstate harsher pandemic restrictions, 16 MLAs signed a letter of protest.

Speaker Nathan Cooper apologized Monday for signing the letter but almost half of the party's 40 backbenchers continue to publicly condemn the return to stricter health restrictions.

"Seeing other people breaking the rules emboldens others to do the same," Hardcastle said.

"If I live in a town and my own MLA is speaking out against the restrictions, then I think compliance is likely to be lower in those areas.

"The effect of those MLAs speaking out against the restrictions will be to undermine them."
'Particularly dangerous'

The growing defiance against the rules is driven by a "toxic stew of misinformation," said Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an associate professor of infectious diseases at the University of Alberta.

Saxinger said politicians casting doubt on the pandemic response will only further strengthen a growing mistrust of the provincial health response.

There is no easy solution to overcoming these doubts and half-truths, but the fractured messaging and growing divide in public opinion comes at a particularly distressing time, she said.

"It's emblematic of the polarization that we've seen all along. It just seems to be very exaggerated right now in a time that it's particularly dangerous."

Variants, now dominating Alberta's surging infection rates, are more transmissible and possibly more harmful. With front-line health care at risk, increased enforcement may be the only answer, Saxinger said.

"Enforce the rules so that even if people aren't agreeing with them, they have a reason to obey them."

Enbridge opens 10.5-megawatt solar facility near Burdett, Alberta

© Courtesy: Enbridge Alberta Solar One entered service earlier this month.

One of Alberta's major energy transportation companies has officially opened a new 10.5-megawatt solar facility in southern Alberta, after work started in 2017.

Alberta Solar One is a $20-million project located near the village of Burdett, made possible through a partnership between Enbridge and Morgan Solar.

"It will produce the equivalent energy needs of about 3,000 homes, and it will offset emissions equivalent to about 12,000 tonnes of carbon (per year)," said technical manager of commercial development Lauren Andre.

But the energy won't be used to power homes -- Enbridge will be using the power generated through Alberta Solar One to offset its pipeline projects.

"Since we have significant pipeline operations in the province, we obviously consume quite a bit of energy, and so the energy that's produced from this facility is offsetting a portion of that power load with clean, renewable, emission free energy," Andre explained.

Peter Casurella, executive director of the Southgrow regional initiative, says they have been pushing for more renewable energy in southern Alberta since 2007.

"Everybody in the world who works renewable energy know southern Alberta is a good destination for investments. We have all the natural advantages, we've got very, very high solar potential."

Casurella said an influx of solar projects such as Alberta Solar One is good news.

"There's over $2 billion worth of projects being built right now in our area," he said. "That $2 billion is for (approximately) a dozen projects, and there's another hundred being applied for."

Read more: Edmonton city council votes 7-6 to allow large solar farm project to go ahead

Casurella added going solar is a benefit to municipalities that have been dealing with government cut-backs and abandonment of taxation by oil and gas companies.

"All of our rural municipalities are dealing with huge revenue shortfalls right now," he said. "This is a very timely set of investments that are replacing that lost revenue."

As for Enbridge, it plans to use this recent project as a stepping stone to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, and plan on expanding its operations.

“We have two small solar projects in the United States, there’s one in New Jersey and one in Pennsylvania,” Andre explained.

“Those projects are directly connected to gas-compressor stations. We’re looking at doing more of these types of projects along our crude pipeline and gas pipeline operations as well.”

CANADA; HEWERS OF WOOD
Lumber prices hit a record high after soaring more than 250% in the past year
wdaniel@businessinsider.com (Will Daniel) 

© Ana Johansson/Getty Images Ana Johansson/Getty Images

Spot lumber prices hit a record high of nearly $1200 per thousand board feet on Tuesday.
Prices have soared more than 250% in the past year alone.

Rising lumber costs added more than $24,000 to the price of the average new single-family home.

Spot lumber prices hit a record high of nearly $1200 per thousand board feet on Tuesday.

The record mark comes after a historic run for lumber in 2020 and the beginning of 2021. Prices have soared more than 250% in the past year and roughly 348% from March 30, 2020 five-year lows.

The rising lumber costs have added more than $24,000 to the price of the average new single-family home, and nearly $9,000 to the price of a multifamily home in the past year alone, according to data from the National Association of Homebuilders.

Sales of newly built, single-family homes also fell 18.2% in February, partly due to lumber costs, according to newly released data from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Census Bureau.

Lumber's rise hasn't been all bad news for the markets, however. As a result of rising lumber prices, shares of timber companies have surged in the past six months.

Vancouver-based Canfor saw its stock jump some 107% during the period while shares of West Fraser Timber and Weyerhaeuser jumped roughly 80% and 30%, respectively.

A number of factors have combined to create the perfect storm for rising lumber prices over the past few years, starting in 2019 when weak demand and severe weather conditions caused timber suppliers to close mills and reduce output.

"In North America, lumber demand was impacted by severe weather early in 2019...tepid demand, combined with excess inventory levels heading into 2019, resulted in significant downward pricing pressure throughout most of the year," Canfor's management wrote in a 2019 statement to investors.

"In response to the muted demand and elevated log costs in BC, a number of temporary and permanent sawmill curtailments were announced across the industry throughout 2019," management added.

Then in 2020, interest rates were cut and demand for new homes and lumber soared due to the new stay-at-home dynamic.

A plague of pine beetles in British Columbia also destroyed enough trees to build millions of single-family homes throughout the year, Bloomberg reported.

All of this led to a supply and demand imbalance which has caused a sustained rise in lumber costs.

Devin Stockfish, the CEO of Weyerhaeuser, said last month he expects lumber prices will remain elevated "for the foreseeable future," per Bloomberg.

The National Association of Homebuilders has been pressing the Biden administration, federal agencies, and Congress to step in and address lumber supply shortages.

The association sent a letter to President Biden in late January after his election and has since lobbied Congress, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, and the US Forest Service in hopes of breaking the lumber pricing trend.

So far though their efforts haven't been fruitful and lumber prices continue to rise.

The phrase “hewers of wood and drawers of water” comes from the Bible, but it was the Canadian economist Harold Innis who used it in his 1930 book, The Fur Trade in Canada, to describe our traditional economic dependence on resource production.

WHY THEY SUPPORT SOCIALISM
Gen Z is going to have a hard time getting rich

hhoffower@businessinsider.com (Hillary Hoffower) 

Gen Z will earn a third less on stock and bond investments than past generations, Credit Suisse found.

They can expect average annualized returns of just 2%, according to the bank's investment returns yearbook.

Another obstacle for Gen Z: they've been the most unemployed during the pandemic.

Gen Z is walking a rocky road to getting rich.

They're set to earn less than previous generations on stocks and bonds, according to Credit Suisse's global investment returns yearbook.

In fact, the generation can expect average annual real returns of just 2% on their investment portfolios - a third less than the 5%-plus real returns that millennials, Gen X, and baby boomers have seen. Credit Suisse's analysis took in average investment returns since 1900 and forecasted them going forward for Gen Z.

The yearbook acknowledges that marked deflation could increase bond returns, The Economist reported, but it said inflation is more of a concern. What the report calls a "low-return world" is yet another another financial obstacle for the generation, who may be on track to repeat millennials' money problems.

A December Bank of America Research report called "OK Zoomer" found that the pandemic will impact Gen Z's financial and professional future in the same way that the Great Recession did for millennials.

"Like the financial crisis in 2008 to 2009 for millennials, Covid will challenge and impede Gen Z's career and earning potential," the report reads, adding that a significant portion of Gen Z is entering adulthood in the midst of a recession, just as a cohort of millennials did. "Like a decade ago, the economic cost of this recession is likely to hit the youngest and least experienced generation the most."

Gen Z was hit hardest in the workforce



Video: Latest unemployment claims still surpass worst weeks of Great Recession (NBC News)

Gen Z been been impacted the most in the workforce, facing the highest unemployment rates.

They entered a job market crippled by a 14.7% unemployment rate in May - greater than the 10% unemployment rate the Great Recession saw at its 2009 peak. Those ages 20 to 24 had an unemployment rate of nearly 27% when the unemployment peaked last April according to data from the St. Louis Fed, more than any other generation.

Recessions typically hit younger workers hardest in the short-term, but can reap long-term consequences.

"The way a recession can really hurt people just starting out can have lasting effects," Heidi Shierholz, a senior economist and the director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute, previously told Insider. "There's a lot of evidence that the first postgrad job you get sets the stage in some important way for later."

Recession graduates typically see stagnated wages that can last up to 15 years, Stanford research shows. That was the case for the oldest millennials graduating into the Great Recession, who in 2016 saw wealth levels 34% lower than that of previous generations at the same age, per the St. Louis Fed.

A follow-up study showed that by 2019, this cohort had narrowed that wealth deficit down to 11%. Such financial catch-up could be an optimistic sign for Gen Z in terms of regaining any ground lost building wealth during the pandemic.

However, millennials have had a 5%-plus annualized investment return on their side. With a projected 2% annual return for Gen Z, building wealth may be even harder to do.
There's more to building wealth

Of course, stocks and bonds are just two asset classes. There are other ways Gen Z can build wealth, such as investing in real estate or by becoming successful entrepreneurs. Many Gen Zers have already embarked on an entrepreneurial path as early as their teen years, which could go a long way in wealth creation.

But the pandemic has caused a housing frenzy that led to depleted inventory and inflated housing prices, making it more difficult to buy real estate - and build wealth through it. And while more prospective new businesses were formed in 2020 than ever before, almost a third of existing small businesses were wiped out by the pandemic. Altogether, the pandemic could ultimately cause Gen Z to potentially lose $10 trillion in earnings.

Within the next decade, Gen Z's income will rise to such a point that they'll effectively take over the economy, but their wealth could well be far behind previous generations by the time they get the

Lebanon to ask Russia for help restoring port, building power plants

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Lebanese Prime Minister designate Saad al-Hariri intends to ask Russia for economic assistance during a visit to Moscow later this week, the RIA news agency cited his special representative as saying on Tuesday.© Reuters/MOHAMED AZAKIR Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri speaks after meeting with Lebanon's President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda

Hariri will seek Moscow's help restoring the port in Beirut, devastated by a huge chemical explosion last August, and building electric power stations, RIA said.

The explosion killed 200 people and caused billions of dollars worth of damage, further weakening an economy already facing meltdown as a banking crisis sent the value of the Lebanese pound plunging against the U.S. dollar.

Last week, German companies including Hamburg Port Consulting presented a multi-billion-dollar plan to rebuild the port and neighbouring districts, while French container shipping group CMA CGM also said it was pursuing a plan to restore the port.

Neither project can advance until Lebanon's leaders break a political deadlock which has prevented the formation of a new government and stalled economic reforms, which Western countries say must come before aid or investment flows.

Hariri, a three-time prime minister, resigned in 2019 after nationwide protests against a political elite which demonstrators blamed for pushing the country into crisis.

He was nominated prime minister again in October but remains at loggerheads with President Michel Aoun and has been unable to form a new government.

RIA quoted Hariri's envoy, George Shaaban, as saying he would seek Russian support to help address electricity shortages.

"There is a need to build new power plants that will be able to supply the country with 24-hour electricity... We will look to Russia and its possible assistance to Lebanon, both in these sectors and others," Shaaban added.

Hariri will also discuss the possibility of Russia supplying vaccines against the coronavirus, he said.

(Reporting by Polina Devitt; Writing by Alexander Marrow and Dominic Evans; Editing by Alison Williams and Nick Macfie)

U.S. energy secretary says state incentives could boost clean energy standard

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Tuesday that chances of getting through Congress a mechanism called a clean energy standard, which aims to help boost low-carbon power technology, could improve if it includes incentives for U.S. states.

© Reuters/KEVIN LAMARQUE U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm holds press briefing at the White House in Washington

An energy efficiency and clean energy standard is included in President Joe Biden's $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, but it is uncertain how much of the blueprint will make it through Congress, where Biden's fellow Democrats hold only slim majorities.

The standard, which sets deadlines for utilities to use power from clean energy sources, is a key part of Biden's policy to help curb climate change by decarbonizing the power sector by 2035. Nuclear energy and carbon capture and storage technologies would be part of the policy, Gina McCarthy, White House national climate adviser, told reporters this month.

That could help preserve at-risk power plants, perhaps including some existing coal-powered facilities, which could help win votes.

Granholm said it remains to be seen whether the standard could be passed through the Senate by regular order, meaning 60 votes in the 100-member chamber, or through a process called reconciliation, for which it would need only a simple majority.

"So much of it depends on how it is crafted," Granholm told the BNEF conference. There is "a way to consider crafting something that provides incentives to the states to be able to make that happen," Granholm said.

She did not provide further details but said the incentives could be similar to "Race to the Top" program in which states had access to competitive grants from the U.S. Education Department to help them meet high school education standards.

Several bills have a clean energy standard, including one sponsored by Representative Frank Pallone and two other Democrats in the U.S. House.

Biden's proposed budget last week provided money for the Energy Department to oversee a clean energy standard.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Executives call on Biden to slash greenhouse gas emissions to curb climate change

Emma Newburger 

4/13/2021

More than 300 businesses have called on President Joe Biden to nearly double U.S. targets to reduce planet-warming emissions below 2005 levels by 2030.

The push by leaders from companies like Google, Apple, Walmart and Unilever comes ahead of the global leaders' climate summit the Biden administration is hosting next week.

The Obama administration set out to cut emissions by up to 28% below 2005 levels by 2025, but former President Donald Trump halted federal efforts to meet that target.

© Provided by CNBC U.S. President Joe Biden joins a CEO Summit on Semiconductor and Supply Chain Resilience via video conference from the Roosevelt Room at the White House on April 12, 2021 in Washington, DC.

More than 300 businesses and investors are calling on President Joe Biden to nearly double U.S. targets to reduce planet-warming emissions below 2005 levels by 2030.

In a letter published Tuesday, corporate leaders from companies like Google, Apple, Walmart, Unilever and General Electric praised the Biden administration for rejoining the Paris climate accord and aggressively addressing climate change.

The push by executives of some of the country's largest companies to set a goal to slash emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other gases by at least 50% — a target in line with what environmental groups want — comes ahead of the global leaders' climate summit the administration is hosting April 22.

The White House plans to unveil a stricter emissions target for the Paris accord on or before the summit of world leaders. The Obama administration set out to cut emissions by up to 28% below 2005 levels by 2025, but former President Donald Trump halted federal efforts to meet that target and pulled the U.S. from the Paris accord.

The companies that signed the letter comprise more than $3 trillion in annual revenue and more than $1 trillion in assets. The letter indicates a shift by the private sector to address their own climate change impact and better align with the goals of the Biden administration, which has vowed to put the country on a path to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Biden's climate ambitions, including a sweeping infrastructure package that invests heavily in clean energy technologies, would be paid for largely by raising corporate tax rates, a move that could trigger objections from some of the very corporations who signed the letter.

The president has also promised to adopt new regulations for fossil fuel producers, automobiles and electric utilities. Signatories of the letter include utilities like PG&E Corp. and Exelon but no notable oil and gas companies.

"Many of us have set or are setting emissions reduction goals in line with climate science since the establishment of the Paris agreement," the letter said. "The private sector has purchased renewable energy at record rates and along with countless cities across the country, many have committed themselves to a net zero-emissions future."

Nearly every country is part of the Paris agreement, a landmark nonbinding accord among nearly 200 nations to reduce their planet-warming emissions. The U.S. is the world's second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

UN fears Myanmar heading towards Syria-style 'full-blown conflict'

By AFP
Published : Apr 13, 2021 

Citizens of Myanmar protesting on the streets of Yangon on Feb. 11. (AFP-Yonhap)

GENEVA (AFP) -- The UN rights chief warned Tuesday of possible crimes against humanity in Myanmar and said it seemed to be heading towards a massive conflict like the one ravaging Syria.

In a statement, the UN rights office urged countries to take immediate and decisive action to push the military leaders behind a February 1 coup in Myanmar to stop their "campaign of repression and slaughter of its people."

"I fear the situation in Myanmar is heading towards a full-blown conflict,"

Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in the statement.

"States must not allow the deadly mistakes of the past in Syria and elsewhere to be repeated."

Myanmar is in chaos and its economy paralysed since the military seized power from civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1.

A junta crackdown against dissent has resulted in the civilian death toll reaching at least 710 as of late Monday including 50 children, according to a local monitoring group.

Ethnic armed rebel groups have meanwhile stepped up attacks on the military and police in recent weeks, raising fears of Myanmar spiralling into broader civil conflict.

And the military has retaliated with air strikes that have reportedly displaced thousands of civilians.

"The military seems intent on intensifying its pitiless policy of violence against the people of Myanmar, using military-grade and indiscriminate weaponry," Bachelet said.

"There are clear echoes of Syria in 2011," she warned, referring to the start of a civil war that over the past decade has killed nearly 400,000 people and forced more than six million to flee the country.

"There too, we saw peaceful protests met with unnecessary and clearly disproportionate force," she said.

"The state's brutal, persistent repression of its own people led to some individuals taking up arms, followed by a downward and rapidly expanding spiral of violence all across the country."

- 'Horrific' -

Bachelet pointed out that her predecessor Navanethem Pillay had warned in 2011 "that the failure of the international community to respond with united resolve could be disastrous for Syria and beyond."

"The past 10 years have shown just how horrific the consequences have been for millions of civilians," she said.

Bachelet pointed to "credible reports" indicating that Myanmar's Tatmadaw military forces opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades,fragmentation grenades and mortar fire in the southern city of Bago late last week.

At least 82 anti-coup protesters were reportedly killed in the brutal crackdown.

Security forces also reportedly prevented medical personnel from helping the wounded and charged relatives a "fine" of around $90 to claim the bodies of those who were killed, the UN rights office said.

At the same time, it said, at least 3,080 people are currently detained across the country, while 23 people have reportedly been sentenced to death following secret trials, including four protesters and 19 others accused of political and criminal offences.

Bachelet urged the international community to take action.

"Statements of condemnation, and limited targeted sanctions, are clearly not enough," the former Chilean president said.

"States with influence need to urgently apply concerted pressure on the military in Myanmar to halt the commission of grave human rights violations and possible crimes against humanity against the people." (AF

 

India has authorized the Sputnik V shot. Russia says this mean its COVID-19 vaccine is now approved for 40% of the world's population.

Sinéad Baker 

An elderly resident receives a dose of the Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine in Gaza City. 

Fatima Shbair/Getty Images

• India has authorized Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for use on its population.
• Russia says this means the vaccine has been approved for use in 40% of the world's population.
• India is currently battling record cases of the coronavirus.

India has authorized Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine.

The news was confirmed by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which is responsible for marketing the vaccine abroad, announced that India approved the vaccine for use.

The RDIF says this means that Sputnik V is now authorized for use for 3 billion people, or 40% of the world's population. India's population is the second largest in the world, with about 1.4 billion people.

India is already using two vaccines: the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and another made by Indian firm Bharat Biotech.

Interim analysis of phase-3 data published in The Lancet in February found that Russia's vaccine is 91.6% effective. Russia has been giving it to its population since December.

India's coronavirus cases have been reaching record highs — the country has recorded more than 100,000 daily cases since April 7 — and the country is looking to increase its vaccination rate as it battles the surge.