Arab countries allied with Israel ‘hostages of the conflict and its upheavals’

Issued on: 12/05/2021 - 

Palestinians clean Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque compound following renewed clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police. © Ahmad Gharabli, AFP

Text by: Marc DAOU

Arab countries that have normalised or eased relations with Israel have been uncomfortably witnessing the new escalation of tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, which began last week. Given the situation, their diplomatic strategies have come under fire from many quarters. Karim Sader, a political scientist specialising in the Gulf countries, explains.

With the risk of a conflagration in the Middle East, where tension is not subsiding in Israel and the Palestinian territories, calls for calm from the international community have multiplied in recent days. But for now, they have had no effect on the escalation of violence.

While the US and European countries were swift to express dismay over this outbreak of violence after several days of clashes in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem, the reactions of Arab diplomats have come under scrutiny.

Specifically, observers are watching the responses from those nations that have recently normalised relations with Israel, such as Sudan, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – a rapprochement which, when it happened, provoked shock in the Arab world.

Understandably, Arab countries are uncomfortable with the images of clashes coming from the Al-Aqsa plaza, the holiest place for Jews and the location of the the Al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest site for Muslims after Mecca and the Prophet’s mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia.

The Emirates and Bahrain condemned the May 7 raid by Israeli security forces on the mosque and the crackdown on worshippers. Abu Dhabi also called on Israeli authorities to “take responsibility for a de-escalation” of violence.

Morocco, for its part, said it was following developments with “deep concern”, adding that King Mohammed VI considered “these violations inadmissible and fueling tensions”.

Saudi Arabia, which has not yet normalised relations but has given its Gulf allies the green light to move closer to the Jewish state, rejected “Israel’s strategy of evicting dozens of Palestinians from their homes”, referring to the threat of expulsion of Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem, which sparked the outbreak of violence.

These reactions were moderate in comparison to those of Iran and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said he would do “everything he can to mobilize the world, especially the Muslim world, to put an end to terrorism and the Israeli occupation”.

Public opinion sympathetic to Palestinians

For Karim Sader, a political scientist and consultant specialising in the Gulf countries, the countries that have initiated a rapprochement with Israel are under fire because of the strong emotions triggered by the violence on the mosque plaza. These nations are equally uncomfortable because the escalation of violence has put the Israeli-Palestinian conflict back on the regional agenda.

“By going through a period of tension and escalation in recent days, the Israeli-Palestinian issue, which has been low on the list of diplomatic priorities of the Gulf countries for several years, has once again become an embarrassing element for those involved in this process,” he told FRANCE 24.

“And when a holy place of Islam is at the heart of tensions, these countries are forced to react, but in terms that, because of their diplomatic approach, do not have the same rhetoric, nor the same weight as those of non-Arab powers, namely Turkey and Iran, which are at the forefront of reviving the Palestinian cause,” he added.

According to Sader, the protests that took place in Morocco and other countries and the discontent that can be perceived in the Gulf societies, “not in the street because of the closure of the political space but on social networks”, remind concerned Arab leaders “that the issue of the fate and rights of the Palestinians is still not resolved and that the public opinion is still sympathetic to [the Palestinians]”.

Rabat protesters defying ban in solidarity with Palestinians in Jerusalem pic.twitter.com/WURDqyYS1N— Mosa'ab Elshamy (@mosaaberizing) May 10, 2021

“This mobilisation and this anger are also proof of the fragility of the reconciliation processes and, by extension, proof that there is unlikely to be a peace agreement as long as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict persists,” he said.

“The 2002 Arab peace initiative, rejected by Israel, invariably linked the resolution of this conflict to coexistence between the peoples and a peace agreement. The Abraham Accords [the 2020 joint statement between Israel, the US and the UAE], on the other hand, sought to bypass these issues, with the ambition, and to some extent the naivety, of achieving political rapprochement with Israel without taking into consideration the Palestinian question.”

The 2002 initiative, which was endorsed by the Arab League at the Beirut Summit, proposed a peace that went so far as to envisage normalised relations with Israel. That was in exchange for the formation of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital and a “just solution” to the question of Palestinian refugees.

Saudis ‘ready to reconsider’?

On a security level, Sader said, because of the deterioration of the situation in the region, the countries that are most committed to the normalisation process – as evidenced by sending an ambassador to Israel, as the United Arab Emirates did – find themselves “hostage to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its upheavals”, in the sense that “Israeli nationals and interests in the countries concerned are becoming potential targets for acts of retaliation”.

Nevertheless, unless there is a fatal escalation that jeopardizes the balance in the holy sites of Jerusalem, the situation is not likely to interrupt the existing rapprochement processes, experts say. That is particularly true for Qatar. On the other hand, these events “are likely to push some regional players, such as the Saudis, to reconsider their thinking”.

“The Emirates are certainly in an uncomfortable position today, but they can lie low because, unlike Saudi Arabia, guardian of the holy places of Islam, their role has a less symbolic scope in the region and because they have a certain flexibility in terms of diplomacy,” Sader said.

“This situation could, however, make the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, who has so far agreed to follow the advice of his father, reconsider his own stance,” Sader continued. “The king has been advising his son not to rush into an official honeymoon with the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which has engaged in a tacit détente with the kingdom. The crown prince has the latitude to decide not to follow the same path as his neighbours, as doing so could backfire on him.”

This article was translated from the original in French

ALL VIOLENCE IS STATE VIOLENCE

Thousands march in Colombia as

 anti-government protests enter third week


Issued on: 13/05/2021 - 04:54

Demonstrators take to the streets in anti-government protests in Bogota, 

Colombia, May 12, 2021. © Reuters

Text by: NEWS WIRES|

Video by: FRANCE 24

Union members, students, pensioners and workers marched in anti-government protests around Colombia on Wednesday, as President Ivan Duque urged citizens to reject violence and stereotypes about demonstrators and police alike.

The sometimes deadly demonstrations were initially fueled in late April by outrage at a now-canceled tax plan. But protesters’ demands have expanded to include an end to police violence, economic support as the COVID-19 pandemic batters incomes, and the withdrawal of a health reform.

Duque has offered dialogue, but many protesters have voiced skepticism government promises will lead to change and talks with union and student leaders have so far proved fruitless.

Smaller demonstrations and road blockades have continued daily around the country, leading to shortages of goods, stymieing the export of half a million 60 kilo bags of top crop coffee, and requiring the importation of tens of thousands of barrels of fuel from neighboring Ecuador.

“It is unjust to paint everyone who expresses themselves peacefully in the streets as a vandal or as a terrorist or as a criminal,” Duque said during a meeting with dozens of youth leaders in Bogota. “It is also unjust to generalize the behavior of all the members of the security forces.”


The comments were more conciliatory than Duque’s discourse earlier in the protests, when he decried incidents of looting and attacks on police.



The human rights ombudsman has received reports of more than 40 civilian deaths amid the protests, though it has said at least seven are unrelated to the marches themselves. One police officer was also killed.

Local and international rights groups allege the death toll may be higher and have blamed the police. So far three officers face murder charges.

In the western city of Cali, a hub of protest violence, a group of about 100 young people blocked a central highway.

“The government is censuring us, killing us, forcing a health reform, a pension reform,” said 19-year-old university student John, who declined to give his last name. “We will resist until there’s a change.”

In capital Bogota thousands marched to central Bolivar Square and the mayor urged people to return home early as demonstrators blocked mass transit routes.

Nurse Paula Garcia, 22, was confident the health reform – which critics say does not do enough to ensure the wider access to healthcare they are demanding – can be stopped after the tax reform’s withdrawal.

“If we unite, we can succeed,” she said.

Many Latin American countries – already deeply unequal and politically volatile – have been hit hard by the pandemic, which has rolled back recent anti-poverty strides.

Unemployment in Colombia reached nearly 17% in urban areas in April and the country looks set to lose its investment-grade credit rating amid falls in the value of its public debt, stock market, and peso currency.

Finance minister Jose Manuel Restrepo, who attended Duque’s meeting with youth leaders, said acts of vandalism and road blockades had cost the economy about $1.6 billion, while agriculture minister Rodolfo Zea said blockades had halted transport of 700,000 tonnes of food.

Protests have been successful at putting pressure on the government but unions want clear rules before entering talks, Francisco Maltes, president of the Central Union of Workers (CUT) said in a video posted on Facebook.

The protests go beyond the anger at inequality and the impact of COVID-19 seen elsewhere in the region, said Gimena Sanchez, Director for the Andes at the Washington Office on Latin America.

Colombia has struggled with decades of bloody civil strife and drug violence that a 2016 peace agreement has diminished but not ended.

“The Colombia protests are not just about COVID, they are about anger towards Duque for police repression from 2019 onwards, not advancing the 2016 peace accord, rising massacres and killings of social leaders and the perception by middle and working class Colombians that the government is only interested in advancing the economic and political elites’ agendas,” she said.

(REUTERS)

Colombia’s protesters keep pressure as President Duque urges rejection of violence after deaths




Video by: Simone BRUNO

Colombian union members, pensioners, students and workers took to the streets on Wednesday on a mass anti-government protest, making it the latest in demonstrations that have been going on for two weeks. These began due to a now-cancelled tax reform, but protesters demands have grown to include more economic support, the withdraw of a health reform and the end to police violence, as FRANCE 24’s Simone Bruno reports from the Bogota.

Thousands demand an end to police violence in Colombia in nationwide antigovernment protests

Issued on: 13/05/2021 


The protest movement in Colombia has entered its 3rd week, with no sign on abating. Human rights monitors say at least 42 people have died since the national street movement began. Demonstrators initially took to the streets to voice their anger over new taxes, but they are now focusing their anger on police, demanding its violence to stop. The government has offered to sit down with the movement’s leaders, but the latter say now is not the time for dialogue.

A perfect storm: What's behind the Colombia protests?

Albinson Linares, 

Noticias Telemundo / NBC

13/5/2021`

Colombia has been roiled by nationwide, antigovernment protests for more than two weeks, with the city of Cali emerging as the epicenter.

© Provided by NBC News

The demonstrations were initially sparked by anger over pandemic-related tax reforms, but have since intensified and spread, tapping into long-simmering fury over police violence amid growing inequality and disparity.

At least 42 people have died so far, according to Colombia's human rights ombudsman.

The president, Iván Duque, has blamed "drug trafficking mafias" for the acts of vandalism and offered a reward of up to 10 million Colombian pesos (about $2,600) to those who help identify and capture the perpetrators.

Social media, however, has made it possible to document the repression by security forces, particularly from the Colombian Mobile Anti-Riot Squad (ESMAD), which has been singled out for various incidents, such as the death of 18-year-old Dilan Cruz during a November 2019 national strike, and more recently the death of Nicolás Guerrero, a 21-year-old activist who was shot in the head during demonstrations in Cali.

"There are completely unarmed people in the marches and they are confronted with officers armed to the teeth, practically military, and that has shocked the Colombian community in Florida, and throughout the world," said Carlos Naranjo, 37, an activist and member of the group Colombianos en Miami, or Colombians in Miami.
How did the demonstrations start?

The National Unemployment Committee, made up of unions and labor organizations, called for protests on April 28 against a tax reform proposed by Duque to address a deficit as a result of the pandemic. The proposal would have raised taxes on household products like milk, eggs and meat as well as gasoline and utilities. Those who earn more than 2.4 million Colombian pesos (about $624) a month would have had to declare income taxes starting in 2022.

The proposal generated outrage from unions and politicians, who said it would hurt the middle class and the most vulnerable.

The moment that sparked the most controversy was when Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla, one of those behind the proposal, mistakenly said during an interview that a dozen eggs cost 1,800 Colombian pesos, instead of 4,300. Many took it as proof of the disconnect between the ruling class and the reality that the country's working class live in.

The call for the strike was successful with huge marches in multiple cities that continue today. The protests now include demands for the government to solve the health care crisis, the scarceness of vaccines in the country, and the ever-deepening poverty and inequality.


Duration 1:01 Anti-government protests in Colombia enter third week with no sign of easing


What happened to the tax proposal?

Tax reform was proposed because the government needs to raise 25 billion pesos (about $6.85 billion) to correct its economic imbalance.

Lower and middle-class citizens have been outraged that they have to contribute to these new state revenues through taxes. The pandemic and lockdowns have affected people's incomes. Poverty in 2020 rose to 42.5 percent, up from 36 percent the previous year. In March the unemployment rate reached 14 percent, up from 12.6 percent in the same period last year.

Because of pressure from the protests, Duque withdrew the reform on May 2 and said he would seek a new plan through consensus. The next day, the finance minister resigned.

"The situation in Colombia is difficult, like everywhere else, but it can be easily solved if the government really cared about taxing people with money," said James A. Robinson, director of the Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts at the University of Chicago.

Why do the demonstrations continue?

Researchers have pointed out that inequality and undelivered promises on social issues are an explosive mix during moments of crisis. The conflict between guerrilla groups and the government made Colombia the scene of a low intensity war for over half a century.

The tax reform was the catalyst for the social unrest that has been fueled by violence, unemployment, noncompliance with a peace agreement, mismanagement of the pandemic and hunger.

"The causes of the mobilization range from poverty, the constant assassinations of social leaders, and problems that have not been resolved," said Juan Pablo Madrid-Malo, coordinator of the Foundation for Press Freedom in Colombia.

Robinson, of the University of Chicago, says the peace deal with the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia has created a space for new leftist politics to emerge that is more inclusive. "This is different," he said.

Duque's government began negotiations with the committee last week.

Police abuses

Human rights organizations have kept their own tally on the death count and called on the government to stop the use of excessive force.

In recent days, several cases of police abuse have been captured on video, including that of 17-year-old Marcelo Agredo, who kicked a policeman in Cali and was shot while fleeing. Agredo, a high school student, died shortly after.

Nicolás Guerrero, 27, a graffiti artist known as Flex, was also protesting in Cali when he died on the Puente del Comercio. A live broadcast on social media showed how his body was lying on the floor after shots were heard. The protesters hold ESMAD responsible for his death.

Santiago Murillo, 19, was returning home in Ibagué and was shot in the chest and killed as he went through a protest. He was two blocks from his house and the event was also recorded on video.

The United Nations and the European Union have warned about excessive use of force by police.

Accusations of violence and human rights abuses by the country's security forces are not new. Various organizations have denounced cases such as that of Dilan Cruz, who was shot in the head during a demonstration put down by members of ESMAD on Nov. 23, 2019; the death of nine young people during a fire at a police station in Soachá on Sept. 4, 2020; and at least 13 homicides allegedly committed by the forces of order last Sept. 9-10 in Bogotá.

"The demonstrations are taking other directions, not only because the power of citizen mobilization, but also because of the needs that afflict the country. One of these is police violence," said Sebastián Lanz, co-director of Temblores, an organization that has recorded more 1,200 cases of police violence and over 800 arbitrary arrests during the protests.

Lanz says that these detentions are irregular and "completely illegal" because people are transferred to centers where there are no public prosecutors to verify the human rights situation of the detainees. He says this is why "nobody knows what is going on in there."

What happens in Cali?

The city of Cali, in the country's southwest, with 2.2 million people, has been militarized since the government's order.

Analysts agree that Cali's geographic location makes it a hotspot for protests because of its proximity to areas affected by the conflict among guerrillas, paramilitaries and the military as well as drug trafficking and the displacement of people.

According to official data from 2019, Cali was the most dangerous city in the country, with 45.1 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.

Alfredo Mondragón, a human rights activist who lives in Cali, says the city has an economic structure that focuses primarily on services with few major industries. Displaced people from marginalized communities have been settling in the North and the South and they have a cultural tradition of Indigenous resistance.

"When you add to that the economic problems of the pandemic, a kind of social bomb is generated," Mondragón said.

Many protesters say they will continue to take to the streets because of their disagreement with government policies.

"In several areas the police shoot with firearms, and the plainclothes policemen appear in vans firing," said Michel Adolfo Torres Carmona, a protester from Cali. "There are many missing people. But we must continue the fight. The world must know what they are doing to us."

A version of this story was first published in Noticias Telemundo

#ENDCUBAEMBARGO

Cuba rolls out two Covid-19 vaccines still in clinical trials

Issued on: 13/05/2021 - 

Faced with a surge in coronavirus cases, Cuba this week started immunizing members of the public, using two locally-produced vaccines that have yet to complete clinical trials.

The island nation of 11.2 million inhabitants recorded 1,207 new daily cases on Wednesday—a near record for Cuba—as inhabitants of Havana and other provinces received their first dose of Abdala, one of two candidate shots in Phase II trials.

“A slight sensation of warmth during the injection” but “all is well,” Cecilia Reyes, 69, one of the first Abdala recipients, said of the experience.

The rollout began with the blessing of the health ministry as authorities eye official approval of the Abdala and Soberana 2 vaccines by Cuba’s drug authority by June.

The communist state, which has stated it wants to vaccinate all inhabitants this year, has been relatively unscathed by the Covid-19 pandemic, with over 119,000 reported cases and 768 deaths to date.

Under American sanctions, Cuba has a long tradition of making its own vaccines, dating back to the 1980s.

Nearly 80 percent of its vaccines are produced locally, and Cuba is working on five coronavirus candidate vaccines. If one of them gets the green light, it will be the first coronavirus vaccine developed in Latin America.

>> Cuba may soon become smallest country to develop its own Covid-19 jabs

Cuba has not bought or sought coronavirus vaccines from elsewhere.

In March, the country started vaccinating health care workers with Abdala and Soberana 2.

Abdala has completed its Phase III trial, but the results are still being analyzed. Soberana 2 is due to complete the final trial phase within days.

Phase II results, the authorities say, showed positive results in terms of efficacy and safety.

Initially, the government had planned to roll out its vaccine program to the public in June, after authorization.

“If it were not for this epidemical situation, (the authorities) would have waited longer,” said molecular biologist and researcher Amilcar Perez-Riverol of the Sao Paulo University, referring to the new infection surge.

Health Minister Jose Angel Portal said between 1.7 million of the 2.1 million inhabitants of Havana, the epicenter of the outbreak, will be vaccinated between now and August.

Of the island’s total population, 22.6 percent should have received both shots by June, 33.5 percent by July, and 70 percent by August, he said.

Any criticism of Cuba’s decision to jump the gun will become moot if the trial results come back positive, said Perez-Riverol, pointing to Russia and China which had also put home-made vaccines to use before trials were completed.

(AFP)

ZOMBIE MINKS

Denmark incinerates minks culled over virus fears
In one grim turn of events, one mass grave saw dead minks that had been buried too shallow rising out of the ground.

Issued on: 13/05/2021 

All 15 million of Denmark's minks were killed after it emerged they carried a virus strain that experts feared could avert vaccines Mikkel Berg Pedersen Ritzau Scanpix/Scanpix

Copenhagen (AFP)

Denmark on Thursday kicked off the grisly task of unearthing and incinerating minks that were hastily buried after a mass culling sparked by fears of a mutated coronavirus strain, authorities said.

All 15 million of Denmark's minks were killed last year after it emerged they were carrying a virus strain that experts feared could avert vaccines.

Some were buried in November in two mass graves in west Denmark, sparking fears that their decomposing carcasses could pollute surrounding areas.

The government called on them to be dug up and incinerated once the risk of contagion had subsided.

On Thursday, teams started digging up some of the 13,000 tonnes (29 million pounds) of mink carcasses due to be unearthed, which were then transported to the nearby Maabjerg Energy Center (MEC) for incineration.

"I am relieved to see how the whole thing is going according to plan," agriculture minister Rasmus Prehn said in a post to Twitter.

The MEC warned that a foul odour from the carcasses may emanate in the area as they are transported and unloaded, but that burning them at a high temperature should eliminate the smell once they reach the incinerators.

Denmark was the world's largest exporter of mink fur before it culled its entire mink population last year after some were found to be carrying a mutated coronavirus variant.

Health authorities worried that vaccines may not work against the so-called Cluster 5 variant, which was declared wiped out in November.

The government banned mink breeding until January 2022, but it has come under fire for its culling program.

Once the mass gassing programme had already begun, a court challenge to the order found that the executive's decision had no legal basis, leading to the resignation of the previous agriculture minister.

Adding to the scandal, it was later revealed that the disposal of the dead animals could cause phosphorus and nitrogen to be released into the soil surrounding mass graves due to the decomposition process.

In one grim turn of events, one mass grave saw dead minks that had been buried too shallow rising out of the ground.

Mink are the only animal confirmed to be capable both of contracting the strain and of passing it to humans.

A NONTRANSPHOBIC POLITICIAN
'Enormous privilege': 23-year-old nonbinary mayor takes office in historic first

Jo Yurcaba 
NBC 12/5/2021

Owen Hurcum took office Monday as the world’s first known nonbinary mayor.

16 AND 17 YEAR OLDS ARE NOW ALLOWED TO VOTE IN WALES

© Provided by NBC News

Hurcum, 23, is genderqueer and agender, and was elected unanimously last year by the City Council in Bangor, Wales, after serving as deputy mayor for a year, North Wales Live reported. Hurcum, who uses gender neutral pronouns, didn’t take office until Monday due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hurcum shared a photo Monday wearing a traditional mayoral chain, and thanked the city.

“It is an enormous privilege to have been elected by my fellow City Council members to the office of Mayor of Bangor,” Hurcum said in a statement to NBC News. “I don't take this lightly and I will work as hard as I can in the role to give back everything to the City that has given me so much. I might only be 23 but I have a wealth of experience at local government and a fantastic team behind me so I know we are set up to face the challenges ahead.”

Hurcum added that representation “is more than just putting on the chain, but I'm glad to have received thousands of positive messages from Non-Binary people the world over saying what it means to see me in this role.”

Hurcum told North Wales Live they moved to Bangor, which has a population of about 18,000, about five years ago to attend Bangor University.

"Within a week, I fell in love with it and tried to throw myself into the city's culture,” they said last year.

Hurcum became interested in politics while attending university, North Wales Live reported. Prior to becoming deputy mayor, they served as a city councilor for four years.

Hurcum also ran for Senedd, the Welsh Parliament, in the spring, but stepped down in March, saying the Welsh Plaid Cymru party * for which they were running provides a platform for those who promote transphobia.

*IT IS A WELSH INDEPENDENCE PARTY

They specifically called out Senedd member Helen Mary Jones, who has described herself as a “gender-critical feminist,” according to the BBC. Hurcum said Jones retweeted “transphobic” Twitter accounts that have sent them “verbally abusive” messages.

“She has made no effort to learn about our community and why her retweets are so damaging,” Hurcum wrote on Twitter in March.

A few days later, Jones issued an apology and closed her Twitter account, the BBC reported.

"I specifically recognize that some of the accounts I follow and retweet have shared content which is unacceptable and transphobic and I very much regret the impact of this on individuals as well as the trans community more broadly," she said in a statement. “None more so than the trans community. For this, I sincerely apologize to the trans community for the pain and hurt I have caused. I am still learning."

In a response at the time, Hurcum welcomed the apology, but told NBC News the Plaid Cymru party is “still a ways away from winning mine and our communities’ trust back.”

Hurcum joins the growing list of transgender and nonbinary elected officials worldwide. In 1999, New Zealand elected Georgina Beyer, the world’s first trans member of parliament. Tony Briffa became Australia’s first openly intersex mayor in 2011.

More recently, Oklahoma state Rep. Mauree Turner became the first publicly nonbinary U.S. state representative in 2020. Three years prior, Danica Roem became the first openly trans person elected to a U.S. state house.

Hurcum wrote on Twitter that they’ll “be wanting to use my term to promote Bangor as much as I can, bring in investment and interest and celebrate the multi cultural community that makes our city the greatness that it is.”

They previously told North Wales Live that they also want to sell Bangor as a destination.

“I really want to work on bringing more funds to improve the high street, push for more green spaces and promote the interconnected communities between the university and the city itself,” they said.

Study suggests neonic pesticides harming monarch butterfly eggs

A recently published study suggests that one of the world's most common pesticides may be contributing to the decline of one of its most-loved butterflies.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

University of Guelph researcher Ryan Norris conducted one of the first real-world studies on monarch butterflies and so-called neonic pesticides. He says the chemical seems to reduce the number of eggs that successfully hatch.

"It's the first field evidence that neonics can have a negative impact on larval survival of monarchs," Norris said in an interview Wednesday.

Monarchs undergo one of nature's most remarkable migrations, fluttering all the way from Canada to Mexico and back. But their numbers have declined more that 80 per cent over the last two decades and scientists are trying to find out why.

Neonicotinoid pesticides are widely applied to common crops such as corn and often drift onto other plants, including milkweed, which monarchs depend on for nesting and food. Monarchs actually prefer milkweed growing alongside or within cultivated fields, Norris said.

"We don't know why. But that's where they get hit the hardest (with neonics)."

The research, published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, involved Norris and his colleagues working with a farmer near Halton, Ont. The farmer planted one half of a small plot with corn seed that had only been treated with a fungicide and the other half with corn that had been coated with clothianidin, a common neonic.

Milkweed was deliberately planted along with the corn to attract monarchs.

Over two years, the scientists found that monarch eggs on the neonic plot had a three per cent less chance of successfully hatching. It sounds small, said Norris, but with the large number of eggs monarchs lay, it adds up to big numbers.

"(That) could easily mean millions of larvae that are dying each year because of the neonics."

Neonics are increasingly implicated in plummeting numbers of pollinators such as bees. The chemicals are banned in the European Union and in some U.S. states.

In 2018, Health Canada proposed to tightly restrict the use of neonics, including a ban on all outdoor applications of clothianidin. It is currently re-evaluating that stance and is expected to announce an updated decision next spring.

Millions of monarchs migrate each winter to a small area of mountaintop forest in central Mexico, where scientists estimate their population by measuring the area of trees turned orange by the clustering butterflies. That area has shrunk to just over two hectares, down 26 per cent from last year, says the Centre for Biological Diversity.

Monarchs are considered a species of special concern in both Canada and Mexico.

The black-and-orange butterflies face many threats other than pesticides, Norris said, but pesticides seem to be part of the problem.

"This is yet another piece of evidence of how neonics can influence the biodiversity on our landscape," he said. "They are having a serious negative impact."

Although monarchs aren't important pollinators, that's not the only measure of a species' value, Norris suggested.

"Monarchs, in many people's minds, represent butterflies," he said. "When they think butterflies, they think monarchs.

"They serve a really important role as a connection for people to butterflies and to nature."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 13, 2021.

Quebec's location and energy alternatives give it options if Line 5 closes: expert

QUEBEC — While political and business leaders across the country scramble to avoid a shutdown of Enbridge Inc.'s Line 5 pipeline, Quebec could be spared the most serious consequences if the oil stops flowing.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, backed by environmentalists and Indigenous groups, says the pipeline that runs under Lake Huron and Lake Michigan is vulnerable to a catastrophic spill. She ordered the critical piece of energy infrastructure closed by May 12.

Federal Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan said in a recent statement “Line 5 does not just affect one province or one region — it supports our entire country."

The Canadian government has filed a brief in connection with the legal dispute between Michigan and Enbridge. The Canadian and U.S. chambers of commerce have also joined forces with their counterparts in Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin by filing a joint brief in court arguing against Whitmer's bid to shut down the cross-border pipeline.

"It remains the safest, most efficient way to transport fuel to refineries and markets and is a reliable source of energy for Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Ontario and Quebec," O'Regan said, adding that close to half of Quebec’s fuel supply derives from that pipeline.

But Suncor's refinery in Montreal and Valero's refinery in Lévis, Que., south of Quebec City, say they have contingency plans in place. And Pierre-Olivier Pineau, chair in energy sector management at HEC business school in Montreal, says Quebecers wouldn’t be seriously impacted if Line 5 were to close.

“If there’s such a strong political reaction in Canada, it’s because to the contrary of Quebec, other provinces don’t have options,” Pineau said.

Shutting down Line 5, Pineau explained, would be like going back in time. In 2015, before Enbridge received the authorization to operate their pipeline in Quebec, Valero and Suncor received crude oil by boat, rail or from the pipeline between Portland, Maine, and Montreal.

If Line 5 is closed, then Quebec's refineries could be served by those three other options, he said.

Suncor and Valero didn't want to give details about where they would look to fill the gap left by Line 5. Marina Binotto, spokeswoman for Valero, says the location of Lévis’s refinery along the St. Lawrence River is key when it comes to diversifying fuel suppliers.

“We have access to a deepwater port, allowing us to be supplied by ships,” Binotto said. “It is always desirable to have flexibility in our sources and ways of supply.”

Sneh Seetal, a spokeswoman for Suncor, said the company and its refinery in Montreal "have contingency plans in place, but as it’s commercially sensitive, I can’t provide specifics." But she added that places such as Eastern Canada, Michigan and neighbouring states might have to import refined fuel products to fill any gaps and "this will come at a cost."

Quebec Energy Minister Jonatan Julien said in a statement on Tuesday the pipeline is a “crucial infrastructure” for the province and the government is in favour of keeping Line 5 in operation. Julien, however, also said Quebec “continues efforts to ensure the diversification of our sources of energy."

Michigan's governor and Enbridge have agreed to mediation sessions but Enbridge won’t budge. The company says it won’t cease operations unless ordered by a court, arguing that the pipeline is running safely and reliably.

An expert who studies the Great Lakes region disagrees.

David Schwab, a research oceanographer at Michigan Technological University, has been studying the Great Lakes for the past 45 years. He pointed to a 2013 investigation by the National Wildlife Federation, which revealed that the 68-year-old pipeline, which runs beneath the Straits of Mackinac and carries 540,000 barrels per day of propane and crude oil, was unsupported and vulnerable to strong water currents.

“What happened is over time, the sand, mud and certain sections of the pipeline have been washed away,” Schwab said in a recent interview. “If we were to try and build that pipeline today, would it even be allowed?”

Schwab argues that the aging pipeline is a catastrophe waiting to happen if nothing is done. The researcher conducted more than 800 simulated spills in 2016, which he said indicated that depending on weather conditions and currents, the oil could reach Canadian shores.

“The Straits of Mackinac is the worst place in the Great Lakes to have an oil spill,” Schwab said. “There are so many different places that the oil could go. It could go anywhere!”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on May 12, 2021.

— with files from The Associated Press.

Virginie Ann, The Canadian Press

Pandemic review panel concludes COVID-19 was preventable

https://wus-streaming-video-msn-com.akamaized.net/190e5524-9186-4f7a-b6e1-c84e97f21fcb/7b676dff-7d59-4dff-bafc-45e5c251_2250.mp4
Duration: 06:22

In an exclusive interview, former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark tells Power & Politics the COVID-19 could have been prevented had world leaders and the WHO acted faster to contain the spread of the virus.

CBC.COM

Elon Musk's U-turn on bitcoin hits Tesla and other crypto-linked stocks as hundreds of billions get wiped off the digital assets market
snagarajan@businessinsider.com (Shalini Nagarajan) 4 hrs ago

 Tesla CEO, Elon Musk. Joe Skipper/Reuters

Elon Musk's turnaround on bitcoin sent Tesla and other crypto-linked stocks lower on Thursday.

Crypto mining stocks like Riot Blockchain and Marathon Digital fell 13%.

The entire cryptocurrency market lost as much as $365 billion in value at one point on Thursday.

Stocks linked to cryptocurrencies slumped on Thursday after Elon Musk's sudden change of mind on bitcoin sent the popular digital asset 15% lower.

Tesla suspended vehicle purchases through bitcoin and will instead explore other digital currencies that are less energy-intensive, Musk announced Wednesday.

The entire cryptocurrency market shed around $365 billion to about $2.06 trillion as bitcoin, Ethereum's ether and Ripple's XRP fell sharply. The market recovered some losses later in the day as the value of combined digital assets rose to about $2.24 trillion.

Tesla's realization that bitcoin could be increasingly environmentally-damaging sent its shares 2.7% lower in Thursday's pre-market trading.

© @elonmusk/Twitter @elonmusk/Twitter

Major cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, which just went public last month, fell 5%. MicroStrategy, which holds around 90,000 bitcoins, plunged 10%, while Jack Dorsey's payments firm Square fell 2%.

Crypto-mining stocks were badly hurt too. Riot Blockchain and Marathon Digital Holdings fell 13%, while BitDigital fell 6%

.

Bitcoin mining is hugely energy intensive, requiring vast amounts of computing power. Alessandro Bianchi/Reuters

"All of a sudden, he's not so keen due to environmental concerns," Nigel Green, chief executive of investment firm deVere Group, said, and questioned why Musk didn't do more homework before Tesla invested $1.5 billion in bitcoin.

"Musk likes being known as a contrarian. He likes to go against the crowd in a high-profile way. Is his waning interest in bitcoin at a time when huge amounts of institutional investment from major Wall Street banks is pouring in, part of this?" Green said.

Musk's move to accept bitcoin payments for Tesla was one of the most legitimate catalysts for the cryptocurrency's rally this year. He recently tweeted a poll asking followers whether his EV-maker should accept payment in dogecoin. Although he has been a vocal advocate of cryptocurrencies, he has warned investors to be cautious.

"In any event, the more Musk and others mainstream Doge and other crypto, the more it will appreciate and the less crypto traders will want to use it as a means of payment, as opposed to a store of value," Eric Berman, senior legal editor of US Finance at Thomson Reuters Practical Law, said. "Financially, it would be like paying for goods and services with gold or oil - though slightly less cumbersome."
Read the original article on Business Insider

CRA's new audits on large corporations dropped significantly in years leading up to COVID-19 pandemic

OTTAWA – The number of audits launched by Canada Revenue Agency on large corporations dropped by over 30 per cent in the four years preceding the pandemic, much to the surprise of the NDP and tax experts.

CRA PUT THAT TIME AND EFFORT INTO TRACKING DOWN WAITERESSES FOR CHEATING ON REPORTING THEIR TIPS

“I’m disappointed,” said Toby Sanger of advocacy group Canadians for Tax Fairness. “We’ve been told for years and years that they’re focusing more in this area, but we haven’t seen all that much to show for it yet.”

According to documents tabled at the House of Commons at the NDP’s request, the number of new audits opened yearly by the CRA on large corporations dropped by nearly two thousand between 2016-2017 (6,281) and 2019-2020 (4,257).

The data also show that the number of large company audits that led to a tax reassessment worth more than $0 — in other words, audits that led to CRA claiming unpaid taxes — dropped very sharply from 5,127 to 2,059 during the same period.

In a statement, the agency said it was refocusing its audit targets from quantity to quality by focusing on the “big fish” and the suspected worst offenders, which generally takes longer but brings in more unpaid tax dollars in the end.

“We are performing fewer audits, but the audits that we are doing are producing greater results,” CRA spokesperson Etienne Biram said in a statement. The agency was not able to provide a breakdown of the average tax claim per audit over the years by deadline.

© Provided by National Post Data submitted by the CRA showed that of 30,000 audits on large companies launched since late 2015, only 18 were turned over to the CRA’s criminal investigations division.

CRA claiming $4.4B from Canadian companies and individuals suspected of tax evasion

The CRA is watching you: Auditors scouring social media for unreported income from influencers

But the new data shocked MP Matthew Green as well as tax experts consulted by the National Post, who did not expect to see the number of large company audits drop so significantly.

“I feel like the CRA has recognized that the bigger the fish they go after, the more resources these companies have to fight back. And it feels like they’ve just given up on fighting that fight when they can instead go after small business owners,” Green said in an interview.

In its most recent tax gap study, in which the CRA assessed how much tax revenue wasn’t declared to the government in a single year, the agency found that Canadian corporations were by far the largest contributors to the gap in 2014, with up to $11.4 billion in unpaid taxes.

Of that amount, big companies were the largest portion, having avoided paying between $6.7 billion and $7.9 billion.

“CRA’s own tax gap showed that it was larger businesses that are more likely to be dodging taxes in different ways, way more likely than small businesses. And they’ve talked a lot about doing this, but we haven’t seen much action on it at all,” Sanger said.

But CRA says that better data and analytics are allowing it to better target bigger tax evaders instead of having to cast a larger net in the hopes of catching major offenders.

“Our compliance programs are focusing on taxpayers who are most likely to not comply with their tax obligations. As we refine our tactics to focus on these taxpayers, it makes sense that the number of audits, as a whole, that are being performed will decrease,” Biram explained.

“We are focusing our audits on the segments of the population who often have complex tax arrangements resulting in lengthy and time consuming information gathering processes during the course of the audits,” he continued, adding that wealthy corporations are also more likely to “fight the CRA through increased litigation.”

The data submitted by CRA also showed that of the nearly 30,000 audits on large companies launched since November 2015, only 18 were turned over to the CRA’s criminal investigations division.

Since then, half the investigations have been abandoned and of the rest, only one has been referred to prosecutors.

“Whether or not a referral is accepted for criminal tax investigation is based on many factors, including the availability of evidence and the likelihood of a prosecution. Given that the standard of proof in criminal matters is ‘beyond a reasonable doubt,’ the evidentiary burden is very high in the criminal prosecution context,” Biram explained.

Denis Meunier, a former director general of CRA’s criminal investigations and compliance program division, said he’s cautiously happy to hear that the agency is focusing on big fish audits, though he wants to see proof that the efforts are in fact leading to more unpaid taxes being collected.

But he’s concerned by the fact that such a small number of large corporation audits end up on prosecutors’ desks and thinks there needs to be an independent review of CRA’s internal processes to understand why.

“Those numbers are very, very … I wouldn’t say troubling, but they raise a lot of questions about the process that leads to so few investigations,” Meunier said. “In my view, they need to do a review of what’s preventing higher level of deterrence through criminal investigations.”

• Email: cnardi@postmedia.com | Twitter: ChrisGNardi