EV BATTERIES ARE DANGEROUS
Batteries exploding in burning abandoned Illinois building

By DON BABWIN

June 30, 2021

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Firefighters work the scene of an industrial fire Tuesday, June 29, 2021, in Morris, Ill. Lithium batteries have been noisily exploding inside a burning abandoned paper mill in northern Illinois and firefighters are letting the blaze burn out because they fear trying to extinguish it could trigger more explosions, officials said Wednesday. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune via AP)

CHICAGO (AP) — Lithium batteries exploded loudly overnight inside a burning former paper mill in northern Illinois that officials had believed was long abandoned, and fire officials have decided to let the blaze burn out because they fear trying to extinguish it could trigger more explosions.

The fire that started in Morris Tuesday prompted city officials to order the evacuation of 3,000-4,000 people in some 950 nearby homes, a school, church and small businesses.

On Wednesday, as thick, black smoke continued to billow from the building, Police Chief Alicia Steffes said the evacuation order would remain in place until at least 9 p.m. and “might be extended.”

Police are stationed throughout the area to prevent people from entering, although anyone who can prove they live there may return to retrieve essential medicine, she said.

Fire Chief Tracey Steffes said thus far air quality tests were “coming back favorable,” but he cautioned that changing weather conditions and other factors could cause the air quality to deteriorate.

Mayor Chris Brown urged anyone experiencing respiratory problems to contact their physicians.

The fire chief said he’s gathering information from fire departments and other experts on how to fight the fire in a building that — to the surprise of his department and other city agencies — was being used to store nearly 100 tons of lithium batteries ranging in size from cellphone batteries to large car batteries.

Steffes’ firefighters stopped using water on the blaze minutes after they arrived when they discovered the batteries because water and firefighting foam can cause batteries to explode. And he said while he has heard some ideas on how to battle the blaze — road salt has been suggested — he won’t send crews to battle the fire because of the unknowns about what’s inside.

“I don’t know 100% what was stored in that building, only what they’re telling us what was stored in that building,” he said.

Further, Steffes said that while his department and other agencies have fought fires at buildings that contain lithium batteries, he had thus far found nobody with fires that involve so many batteries. He said the battery explosions overnight could be heard across the city.

The mayor said the city didn’t know the building was being used to store batteries until it caught fire, and that he knows very little about the company that owns them.

“The name of the company is Superior Battery ... and we didn’t know they existed until yesterday afternoon,” said Brown. Apparently nobody else at City Hall did either, because there’s no record of a business license or any communication between the company and any city department, he said.

Barely concealing his anger at the very serious danger his firefighters were in, Steffe suggested that he couldn’t trust any information coming from the company as a result

“We had no way of knowing they were doing business ... there,” said Steffes, adding a company official told him they had occupied the building for about a year. Steffes said the paper mill had been vacant for decades.

No information was immediately available on Superior Battery. The fire chief said company representatives were not invited to Wednesday’s news conference.

The mayor said the police department will conduct an investigation about the storage of the batteries and that other agencies, including the state fire marshal and the Illinois Attorney General’s office, have already been contacted.

Morris is about 70 miles (115 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.

The Morris fire came two weeks after an explosion and massive blaze at a chemical plant near Rockton, an Illinois town along the Wisconsin border, forced the evacuation of hundreds of homes for several days. Nobody at the plant or the surrounding community was injured by the June 13 fire that officials later determined was started accidentally during maintenance work.

AS IF THEY WERE NOT SCARY ENOUGH

Supermassive black holes could host giant, swirling gas 'tsunamis'

© Provided by Live Science This artist's visualization shows a supermassive black hole surrounded by dust and gas forming tsunamis on its outer edges.

Could gas escaping the gravitational grasp of supermassive black holes be forming "tsunamis" in space?

In a new, NASA-funded study, astrophysicists used computer simulations to model the environment around supermassive black holes in deep space. They found that there could be massive, tsunami-like structures forming near these black holes that are essentially massive, swirling walls of gas that have narrowly escaped the intense gravitational pull of the black hole. They even think that supermassive black holes could host the largest tsunami-like structures in the universe.

"What governs phenomena here on Earth are the laws of physics that can explain things in outer space and even very far outside the black hole," Daniel Proga, an astrophysicist at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada (UNLV), said in a NASA statement.

Gallery: Black Holes of the Universe

In this study, researchers took a close look at the strange environment around supermassive black holes and how gases and radiation interact there.

Supermassive black holes sometimes have large disks of gas and matter that swirl around them, feeding them over time in a combined system known as an active galactic nucleus. These systems, which often shoot out jets of material, emit bright, shining X-rays above the disk, just out of gravitational reach of the black hole. This X-ray radiation pushes winds that stream out of the center of the system. This is called an "outflow."

This X-ray radiation could also help to explain denser, gaseous regions in the environment around supermassive black holes called "clouds," the researchers think.

"These clouds are 10 times hotter than the surface of the sun and moving at the speed of the solar wind, so they are rather exotic objects that you would not want an airplane to fly through," lead author Tim Waters, a postdoctoral researcher at UNLV who is also a guest scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, said in the same statement.

The team showed with computer simulations how, far enough away from the black hole to be outside of its reach, the atmosphere of the disk spinning around the black hole can start to form waves of gas and matter. With the addition of the outflow winds that are pushed out by X-ray radiation, these waves can grow into massive tsunamis. These swirling waves of gas can stretch up to 10 light-years above the disk, the researchers found. Once these tsunami-like structures form, they are no longer under the influence of the black hole's gravity, according to the statement.

In these simulations, the researchers showed how bright X-ray radiation close to a black hole seeps into pockets of hot gas in the outer atmosphere of the disk. These bubbles of hot plasma expand into nearby, cooler gas at the edges of the disk, helping to spur the tsunami-like structures. The bubbles also block the outflow wind and spiral off into separate structures up to a light-year in size. These side structures are known as Kármán vortex streets, which are weather patterns that also occur on Earth (though on Earth, this pattern of swirling vortexes looks quite different.)

Kármán vortex streets are named for the Hungarian-American physicist Theodore von Kármán, whose name also marks the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and space.

This research goes against previous theories that have suggested that clouds of hot gas near an active galactic nucleus form spontaneously because of fluid instability, according to the statement. This study also contradicts the previous notion that magnetic fields are necessary to move cooler gas from a disk around a supermassive black hole.

While no satellites currently operational can confirm their work, the team hopes to bolster their findings with future research and hopefully telescopic observations. Additionally, observations of plasma near active galactic nuclei from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton space telescope are consistent with this team's findings, according to the statement from NASA.

This work was published June 15 in the Astrophysical Journal.

Email Chelsea Gohd at cgohd@space.com or follow her on Twitter @chelsea_gohd. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Mississauga hydrogen bus pilot moves forward; future depends on Ottawa

The 40-foot bus comes to a stop on Derry Road. It barely makes a sound.

LED headlights wink like eyes squinting in low light, glass windshield and metal roof melt into one another. With its rounded edges and seamless joints, the hydrogen bus is the iPhone of municipal transit vehicles, and the City of Mississauga wants to see them gliding along its streets in the years to come.

The ultra-modern bus stands in contrast to some of MiWay’s diesel fleet, currently nearing the end of the road. For these beleaguered buses, the past 12 years have meant people sticking gum to the floor or putting muddy shoes on the seats. They have belched smog into the air, the vibration of combustion engines shaking the floors as they work overtime.

This loud, grimey public transit experience is one Mississauga wants to leave in the past. MiWay, its transit agency, hopes sleek and comfortable modern buses powered by the lightest element on the planet will pave the way for future expansion.

To achieve this, Mississauga is pushing forward a first-of-its-kind Canadian pilot for hydrogen transit. It plans to prove the fuel is a viable successor to diesel and an alternative to the battery-powered electric buses Brampton, among other jurisdictions, is piloting.

A range of companies have been brought together by the Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC) to bring the project to life. MiWay, which has wanted to demonstrate hydrogen buses for years, is the champion transit agency, alongside New Flyer Industries, tasked with providing and maintaining 10 buses for the project. Ballard Power Systems will develop fuel stacks (used to create the electricity that moves the bus), while Cummins (formerly Hydrogenics based in Mississauga) will work alongside Enbridge in Markham to deliver hydrogen for Mississauga to power its buses.

The pilot is MiWay’s second attempt to put hydrogen buses on the road, after its previous plan was scuppered by the PCs after the 2018 election.

The scheme had been built on the Liberal cap-in-trade program, a system mandating companies to purchase additional carbon allowances if they exceeded specific emissions. In order to avoid paying penalties, CRH - a cement company with operations in Mississauga - had partnered with MiWay to produce hydrogen from its emissions. When the cap-in-trade program was scrapped by the incoming PC government, CRH no longer needed to produce hydrogen with MiWay and the plan crumbled.

CUTRIC now says there is another option to push hydrogen in Mississauga through new federal funding streams. MiWay, CUTRIC and its various partners are in the process of writing a funding proposal that will be sent to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Natural Resources Canada.

A Mississauga staff report says the proposal will be submitted by the end of June. The value of the request is unclear, but an October cost estimate suggested $11 million to help purchase 10 buses and $7 million to subsidize hydrogen fuel before fleet expansion brings economies of scale.

If it is successful in securing help from Ottawa, Mississauga plans to run 10 forty-foot hydrogen buses from its Malton transit facility.

“The 10 buses to start with are a fleet demonstrator that will help them learn everything they need to know about the training, the facility, the fueling and all the things that for sure will go wrong in a first deployment,” Josipa Petrunic, executive director and CEO of CUTRIC, said during a recent panel discussion at CUTRIC’s annual Low Carbon Smart Mobility conference. “You cannot easily deploy one or two buses in any meaningful way for hydrogen. The fundamental issue is you can’t build fueling supply change, you can’t plan for your facility and it’s not scalable, so it’s kind of a waste of taxpayer dollars.”

MiWay’s potential investment in 10 hydrogen buses would allow the transit service to scale its zero-emissions fleet in the future. Its fuelling infrastructure would need incremental changes rather than a complete overhaul to support new vehicles.

Geoff Marinoff, director of MiWay, previously told The Pointer hydrogen buses cost roughly $1.1 million more than their diesel counterparts, totallying $1.7 million per bus. He said the plan is for Mississauga to budget its standard $600,000 unit cost and ask Ottawa to fund the difference.

Video: WATonoBus is the first self-driving shuttle bus at a Canadian university (cbc.ca)


Despite initial barriers to setting up a hydrogen bus network, the system has a slew of benefits on paper.

Unlike battery-powered buses, which can require lengthy breaks to charge, hydrogen models can be refueled in roughly 10 minutes (compared to five minutes for diesel buses). The vehicles also boast significant mileage on a single tank: a test in Orange County, California, showed they could travel 560 kilometres in one go, compared to the 250 kilometres average MiWay buses currently travel. If these figures hold true in Canada’s frosty winter climate, hydrogen buses could sidestep the need for on-street infrastructure that battery-powered buses require. Mississauga could begin to directly swap out its diesel buses for hydrogen without streetscape changes.

“The Malton facility does not currently meet the energy requirements to operate battery-electric buses,” a June Mississauga staff report explains. “MiWay also does not own all of the on-street infrastructure such as stations and terminals, therefore opportunity charging is limited.”

All of this is yet to be set in stone, waiting for a funding commitment from other levels of government. Councillors in Mississauga have approved less than $50,000 so far for MiWay to participate in a feasibility study led by CUTRIC to determine what is required to potentially fully transition its fleet to hydrogen power. The study began in April 2021 and is expected to be finished by April 2022.

The success of the pilot project is inextricably linked to Mississauga’s environmental goals. According to Mississauga’s 2019 climate change master plan, 67 percent of the City’s emissions come from its transit fleet, meaning lowering the municipality’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions can only be achieved through changes to how its buses run.

In October, Marinoff told councillors the City had to immediately end its purchase of diesel buses to avoid missing its goals. Mississauga plans to reduce its emissions to 40 percent of 1990 levels by 2030, dropping to 80 percent by the year 2050.

“In order to meet the City’s GHG target, MiWay cannot purchase any conventional diesel buses moving forward, and will be required to purchase hybrid-electric and electric buses with little to no emissions,” an October report signed off by MiWay’s director states.

During CUTRIC’s recent conference, Stephen Bacchus, MiWay transit fleet manager, said a second and more onerous transition was on the horizon. To meet climate targets, hybrid buses alone will not be enough to carry Mississauga’s ambitions. Bacchus says 2028 is a preliminary estimation for when MiWay will need to move to the exclusive purchase of zero emissions buses to achieve the City’s GHG goals.

Although it is still early, a range of companies and stakeholders are hanging their hopes on Mississauga’s hydrogen trial.

The technology allows MiWay to avoid building on-street charging infrastructure. It will also play a key role in Mississauga’s hopes of lowering its carbon emissions and provide a smooth, modern bus that could even attract leisure transit users in the City.

“In essence this project links all of the hydrogen technology developers in the Canadian ecosystem,” Stephanie Laubenstein, director of sales and business development for New Flyer, said during CUTRIC’s conference. “We’re very excited to be a part of it.”

Email: isaac.callan@thepointer.com
Isaac Callan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Pointer

26 fires in Okanagan, Shuswap, Revelstoke, Similkameen and West Kootenay regions

Doyle Potenteau - Yesterday 


© BC Wildfire ServiceAn aerial view of the Gultch Creek wildfire burning southeast of Chase, B.C., on Friday, July 2, 2021. The fire is estimated to be one hectare in size.

Twenty-six wildfires are currently burning in B.C.’s Okanagan, Shuswap, Revelstoke, Similkameen and West Kootenay regions.

Most of the wildfires are considered new, having been discovered either on July 1st or 2nd, with BC Wildfire equally portioning shares of the causes as either lightning, person or unknown.

Currently, most of the wildfires are listed as being small, with only a handful being bigger than a hectare. Notably, four fires are considered under control, while another two are considered being held.

Read more: Lytton wildfire: Preliminary reports of at least 2 deaths, coroner says

The biggest fire in the combined area is the Derickson Lake fire, burning in Graystokes Provincial Park east of Kelowna. That fire, discovered on June 29, is listed at 1,140 hectares.

Also in Graystokes Park, the Long Loch fire is now at 60 hectares after being previously listed at 100 hectares, That fire was also discovered June 29, and along with the nearby Derickson Lake fire, is considered out of control.


A third fire, the Hilda Creek fire, was listed at two hectares on Thursday, but is now considered extinguished.


On Friday, provincial fire officials said there were 136 wildfires across B.C., with most burning in the Interior, courtesy of a storm cell with lightning that tracked through the area.

The director of provincial operations for BC Wildfire, Cliff Chapman, said there were nine fires of note — a marker indicating serious fires.

Read more: ‘He chose to stay to fight the fire’: Lytton, B.C. resident says her dad saved homes

“Yesterday, we saw the storm system track in the late afternoon to the southeast of the province,” said Chapman. “And then additionally, it started to move into the Interior, around Kamloops, as the evening progressed.

“We saw 12,000 lightning strikes roughly (on Canada Day). Many of those lightning strikes were hitting near communities.”

Video: Retardant dropped on wildfire near Monte Lake, B.C.

Chapman added there were 70 new confirmed fires, "mostly focused in the Southern Cariboo, Interior and southeast of the province."

He also noted that none of those grew bigger than 100 hectares.

"Saying that, we do expect to pick up additional fires from the lightning activity yesterday," he said. "Likely to see somewhere in that same neighbourhood, 70 fires, for today and we are anticipating the potential for additional lightning."

Video: Will there be more lightning in the B.C. Interior forecast?

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Boxer Pacquiao backs corruption claims with missing public funds allegation
By Karen Lema

© Reuters/Erik de Castro FILE PHOTO: Philippine Senator and boxer Manny Pacquiao speaks during the Congressional confirmation hearing of Environment Secretary Regina Lopez at the Senate in Manila

MANILA (Reuters) - More than 10 billion pesos ($204 million) in pandemic aid intended for poor Philippine families is unaccounted for, boxer-turned-senator Manny Pacquiao said on Saturday, adding this was just one of the discoveries in his corruption investigation.

Pacquiao on Thursday accepted Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's challenge to show evidence of corruption in his government, and the boxing superstar said his findings about missing funds were the tip of the iceberg.

"That is just one of the things I have discovered. It has only been three days since I accepted your challenge to present proof," said Pacquiao, who found himself in Duterte's crosshairs after he railed at alleged corruption in government as well as the president's friendly relationship with China.

Irene Dumlao, spokesperson at the Department of Social Welfare and Development which is overseeing the distribution of cash aid, said the agency would cooperate with any investigation.

"There are many families who are hungry and yet billions and billions of money are being stolen in government," Pacquiao said in a virtual briefing, pointing to documents on his desk.

Pacquiao, 42, had long been among Duterte's strongest supporters, but is seen as a possible contender when the leader's six-year term ends next year.

"You should not be mad at me," Pacquiao told the president before leaving the country to prepare for a fight next month. "I only wanted to help."

Pacquiao alleged the intended beneficiaries of 10.4 billion pesos worth of cash aid did not receive anything, but records showed they did. "Where did the money go?" he asked.

($1 = 49.1000 Philippine pesos)

(Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by David Holmes)

CRIMINAL CRYPTO CAPITALI$M

Hundreds of companies around the world paralyzed by ransomware attack

A successful ransomware attack on a single company has spread to at least 200 organizations, according to cybersecurity firm Huntress Labs, making it one of the single largest criminal ransomware sprees in history.

© Provided by NBC News

The attack, first revealed Friday afternoon, is believed to be affiliated with the prolific ransomware gang REvil and perpetuated through Kaseya, an international company that remotely controls programs for companies that, in turn, manage internet services for businesses.

Kaseya announced Friday afternoon it was attacked by hackers and warned all its customers to immediately stop using its service. Nearly 40 of its customers were hacked, Kaseya said late Friday night.

Since those Kaseya customers manage hundreds or thousands of businesses, it is unclear how many will fall victim to ransomware over the weekend. But the number's at least already around 200, said John Hammond, a senior security researcher at Huntress, which is helping with Kaseya's response. That number expected to rise.


The timing, just ahead of Fourth of July weekend, is unlikely to be a coincidence. Ransomware hackers often time their attacks to start at the beginning of a holiday or weekend to minimize the number of cybersecurity professionals who might be able to quickly jump on and stop the malicious software's spread.

Because of the interconnected nature of internet services, the attack quickly spread internationally. One of Sweden's largest grocery chains, Coop, has temporarily closed almost all of its nearly 800 stores because it was caught in the attack, a Coop spokesperson said in an email Saturday.


Video: White House warns companies about major surge in ransomware attacks (CNBC)

Alex Dittemore, the founder of SoCal Computers, a small company that manages online services for about a dozen California businesses, said his company and all its clients were locked Friday with the ransomware. He keeps backups for all of them, he said, but hasn't begun to restore their computers until Kaseya provides more guidance on when it was first infected with ransomware.

"One of the things that's a little frustrating right now is that there's not a lot of news coming down from Kaseya. We're all in a holding pattern, just hanging tight," he said.

"I've got 300, 400 people on Tuesday that are expecting to come back to work," Dittemore said. "It would be nice if we could get some kind of decryption key or golden bullet."

Computers at the local Teamsters 2010, a customer of Dittemore, were totally locked up, said that branch's vice president, Mary Higgins. The national Teamsters were not affected, a spokesperson said.

The malicious software used to encrypt victims' computers appears similar to the type normally used by REvil, a ransomware gang largely composed of Russian-speakers, multiple researchers have found. In the past, REvil has attempted "supply chain" compromises, where a hacker goes after a target that is connected to multiple organizations, in the hopes that one successful compromise will lead to many more.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency announced Friday evening that it is "taking action to understand and address" the attack.

Eric Goldstein, CISA's executive assistant director for cybersecurity, said his agency and the FBI have begun assessing the scenario.

“CISA is closely monitoring this situation and we are working with the FBI to gather information about its impact," Goldstein said in an emailed statement.

"We encourage all who might be affected to employ the recommended mitigations and for users to follow Kaseya's guidance," he said.

EXPLAINER: Ransomware and its role in supply chain attacks

Another holiday weekend in the U.S., another ransomware attack that has paralyzed businesses around the world.

This time it's affecting an untold number of small and big companies that use IT software from a company called Kaseya.

High-profile ransomware attacks in May hit the world’s largest meat-packing company and the biggest U.S. fuel pipeline, underscoring how gangs of extortionist hackers can disrupt the economy and put lives and livelihoods at risk.

WHAT IS RANSOMWARE? HOW DOES IT WORK?

Ransomware scrambles the target organization’s data with encryption. The criminals leave instructions on infected computers for negotiating ransom payments. Once paid, they provide decryption keys for unlocking those files.

Ransomware crooks have also expanded into data-theft blackmail. Before triggering encryption, they sometimes quietly copy sensitive files and threaten to post them publicly unless they get their ransom payments.

WHAT'S A SUPPLY-CHAIN ATTACK?

The latest attack affecting Kaseya customers combines a ransomware operation with what's known as a supply-chain attack, which typically involves sneaking malicious code into a software update automatically pushed out to thousands of organizations.

Kaseya says the ransomware affected its product for remotely monitoring networks; but because many of its clients are providers of broader IT management services, a large number of organizations is likely to be affected.

“What makes this attack stand out is the trickle-down effect, from the managed service provider to the small business,” said John Hammond of the security firm Huntress Labs. “Kaseya handles large enterprise all the way to small businesses globally, so ultimately, it has the potential to spread to any size or scale business.”

Until now, the best-known recent supply-chain attack was attributed to elite Russian hackers and targeted software provider SolarWinds. But the motive was different; it was a massive intelligence operation targeting government agencies and others, not an attempt to extort money.

HOW DO RANSOMWARE GANGS OPERATE?

The criminal syndicates that dominate the ransomware business are mostly Russian-speaking and operate with near impunity out of Russia and allied countries. Though barely a blip three years ago, the syndicates have grown in sophistication and skill. They leverage dark web forums to organize and recruit while hiding their identities and movements with sophisticated tools and cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin that make payments — and their laundering — harder to track.

Most experts have tied the Kaseya attack to a group known as REvil, the same ransomware provider that the FBI linked to an attack on JBS SA, a major global meat processor, amid the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Active since April 2019, the group provides ransomware-as-a-service, meaning it develops the network-paralyzing software and leases it to so-called affiliates who infect targets and earn the lion’s share of ransoms.

WHO IS AFFECTED?

The scale of the attack affecting Kaseya is not yet clear, but it's already been blamed for closing stores across a grocery chain in Sweden because their cash registers weren’t working.

Last year alone in the U.S., ransomware gangs hit more than 100 federal, state and municipal agencies, upwards of 500 health care centers, 1,680 educational institutions and untold thousands of businesses, according to the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft. Dollar losses are in the tens of billions. Accurate numbers are elusive. Many victims shun reporting, fearing the reputational blight.

The Associated Press

Lebanese judge goes after top officials over port blast

BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese judge leading the investigation into last year’s massive explosion at Beirut’s port announced Friday he intends to pursue senior politicians and former and current security chiefs in the case, and requested permission for their prosecution, state media reported.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The move — two days before the 11-month anniversary of the horrific blast — was praised by families of the victims and survivors as a bold step by Bitar, whose predecessor was removed following legal challenges by two former ministers he had accused of negligence that led to the explosion.

Judge Tarek Bitar confirmed charges filed by his predecessor against outgoing Prime Minister Hassan Diab and summoned him for questioning, National News Agency reported. He did not set a date.

Bitar also asked the government and the interior ministry for permission to question two of Lebanon’s most prominent security chiefs — the head of General Security Directorate, Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, and the head of State Security, Maj. Gen. Tony Saliba.

Separately, he asked parliament to lift immunity for two legislators who were charged by his predecessor, and a former interior minister. Bitar also filed charges against former army commander Gen. Jean Kahwaji and former head of military intelligence Brig. Gen. Kameel Daher, as well as two other retired intelligence generals, and said he will also be pursuing judges.

Nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive material used in fertilizers that had been improperly stored in the port for years, exploded on Aug. 4, killing 211 people, injuring more than 6,000 and devastating nearby neighborhoods.

The blast was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded and was the most destructive single incident in Lebanon's troubled history.

William Noon, whose brother, Joe, a firefighter, was killed while extinguishing the massive fire that led to the port blast, said Bitar was starting to deliver on his promises.

“Today I felt that there is hope and that we are going somewhere,” he told The Associated Press, adding that the charges filed by Bitar were similar to those of his predecessor, an indication that those persons were apparently to blame.

Noon, however, said he expected interference from politicians, adding that the families plan to take to the streets if Bitar is not allowed to carry on with his work.

“Judge Tarek Bitar has taken a very courageous decision,” wrote Lebanese lawyer and activist Nizar Saghieh on Twitter. “He is opening again the battle of (lifting) immunities against influential people.”

It was not immediately clear if Diab would accept to be questioned by Bitar, after declining to be interrogated by the former prosecutor, Fadi Sawwan, last December. In an interview with the AP late last year, Diab, who had resigned following the explosion, said he was being singled out and charged while others knew more, calling it “diabolical.”

He formally asked parliament to lift immunity of three lawmakers: former Finance Minster Ali Hassan Khalil, former Minister of Public Works Ghazi Zeiter and former Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk. He also asked the bar association for permission to question former Public Works Minister Youssef Fenianos.

NNA said they will be questioned over possible intentional crimes of killing and negligence. Families of the victims and survivors of the blast have accused the ruling political class of corruption and negligence that led to the explosion of ammonium nitrates,

Khalil and Zeiter are members of the bloc of Lebanon’s powerful Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and along with Fenianos are strong allies of the group Hezbollah.

Khalil and Zeiter issued a joint statement later Friday saying they heard about the request by the judge through the media, adding that they are both ready for questioning. They said they are willing to be questioned — even before permission is issued by parliament and their immunity lifted — in order “to help in reaching the truth and specify responsibilities regarding this crime.”

Bitar was named to lead the investigation in February after Sawwan was removed following legal challenges by senior officials he had accused of negligence that led to the blast.

In mid-April, Bitar ordered the release of six people, including security officers, who had been detained for months. Among those released was an officer who had written a detailed warning to top officials prior to the explosion about the dangers of the material stored at the port.

Bassem Mroue, The Associated Press

From political failure to Euros success: Shevchenko's remarkable route back to the top with Ukraine


On June 11, 2012, Ukraine claimed their first ever victory at the European Championship: a 2-1 win over Sweden.

Their most recent tournament success arrived on Tuesday night, with 'The Blue and Yellow' beating the same opponents by the same scoreline.

These two momentous occasions in Ukrainian sporting history have one more thing in common: Andriy Shevchenko.

It was Shevchenko the player who scored both of his nation's goals in their win over the Swedes in Kyiv.

And it was Shevchenko the coach who masterminded Ukraine's shock last-16 triumph in Edinburgh earlier this week.

This, though, is not an example of a smooth transition into management for a former superstar.

An awful lot happened between two of the most significant victories in Shevchenko's life.

Goal fills in the gaps below...

What did Shevchenko do after Euro 2012?

He retired. At the end of July 2012, Shevchenko announced that he was going into politics. Sheva joined the Ukraine, go forward! party.

But even his incredible popularity did not help their cause – the party gained just 1.58 per cent of the national vote in the general election held in October 2012, thus failing to secure any seats in parliament.

This signalled the end of Shevchenko's short political career.
When did Shevchenko return to football?

In November 2015, Ukraine qualified for the following summer's European Championship in France by beating Slovenia 3-1 on aggregate in a two-legged play-off.

However, the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF) found themselves in an awkward position, as the coaching staff's contracts were scheduled to expire at the end of 2015.

Amid great uncertainty, there were reports that Mykhailo Fomenko's deal would not be renewed and that Shevchenko would replace him as head coach.

© Provided by Sporting News Andriy Shevchenko Ukraine Euro 2012

These rumours were not well received by influential Ukrainian football commentator Viktor Vatsko, who told Matchday: “With all due respect for Shevchenko as a footballer, this would be a strategically risky step for the current UAF bosses.

"We all understand that this is a super prestigious and important position, so to entrust it to a person who has not even worked for a day as a coach would be absurd."

In the end, the UAF agreed an extension with Fomenko but Shevchenko was added to the backroom team in February 2016, replacing former Juventus player Oleksandr Zavarov as assistant coach.

How did Euro 2016 go for Ukraine?

Badly. Ukraine bowed out after losing all three of their group-stage games, against Germany, Northern Ireland and Poland, without scoring a single goal.

After this inglorious exit, the entire coaching staff was dismissed – except for Andriy Shevchenko. The AC Milan legend was entrusted with building a new national team.

Some critics believe that this was due to Shevchenko's friendship with the head of UAF, Andriy Pavelko.

Shevchenko is the godfather to Pavelko's daughter Anastasia and some fans are unhappy with the pair's close ties, given Pavelko is not a particularly popular figure in Ukrainian football.

What challenges did Shevchenko face?

The first problem the new boss had to resolve was the enormous divide in the dressing room.

The national team consisted mainly of players from Dynamo Kyiv Shakhtar Donetsk, several of whom had been involved in a mass brawl during a club clash just before Euro 2016.

To Shevchenko's credit, he was able to unite the squad in what was the first demonstration of his impressive man-management skills.

The most memorable moment in this regard came before a Nations League clash with Spain in October of last year when an unidentified player found something funny about Shevchenko's instructions during a team talk on the eve of the game.

In a video that went viral, the coach responded by saying, "Don’t laugh! It's not so funny. It's not funny to me. And it will not be funny for anybody tomorrow. Okay?" The following night, Ukraine claimed a famous 1-0 victory over Spain.

Shevchenko has also cleverly surrounded himself with quality coaches.

He's brought in the likes of Milan legend Mauro Tassotti (assistant coach), Maurizio Sarri's former No.2 Luigi Nocentini and, perhaps most significantly of all, Andrea Azzalin, who was Leicester City's fitness coach during their stunning Premier League title triumph in 2016.

How have things gone on the field?

Quite well, though there have been tough times. Indeed, a 1-0 loss to Malta in an unofficial friendly in Austria in June 2017 represented arguably the most embarrassing result in Ukraine's footballing history.

However, after narrowly missing out on qualifying for the 2018 World Cup – a 2-0 loss at home to Croatia proved decisive – Ukraine showed that they were a team on the up by finishing top of their group in the 2018-19 Nations League.

Still, there was still widespread shock when Ukraine qualified for Euro 2020 by winning a group that also contained Portugal, after taking four points off Cristiano Ronaldo & Co.

At the finals, Ukraine have played only in patches, coming from 2-0 down in their tournament-opener against Netherlands only to end up losing 3-2 in Amsterdam.

© Provided by Sporting News Andriy Shevchenko Ukraine Euro 2020

They disappointed in the second half of their 2-1 win over North Macedonia and were roundly criticised for their dismal display in a 1-0 loss to Austria that looked to have ended their hopes of reaching the last 16.

However, Ukraine were helped by results elsewhere and eventually progressed as one of the best third-placed teams with just three points and a -1 goal difference.

Shevchenko, then, deserves all the praise he has been receiving for changing Ukraine's style of play in order to secure a way past Sweden in the round of 16.
What next for Shevchenko?

About a year ago, there were rumours that Shevchenko could return to Milan as coach, and be replaced at the helm of the national team by Serhii Rebrov, who led Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros into the Champions League for the first time in 25 years.

However, Stefano Pioli's position at San Siro is now secure, while Rebrov has since taken over at Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates.

For now, though, Shevchenko is solely focused on Saturday's quarter-final showdown with England.

The Three Lions are heavy favourites to prevail in Rome, but if Ukraine can somehow spring another surprise, their inspirational coach won't be short on offers after the Euros.

England vs. Ukraine: Time, lineups, TV, streams, odds, prediction for Euro 2021 quarterfinal match

WRITTEN BY SIMON BORG
@SimonBorg

With every passing game it’s feeling like England is a team of destiny with their home field of Wembley Stadium in London hosting the semis and final if the English can get past Ukraine.

But it’s those same expectations that could weigh on the Three Lions should they face any moments of adversity. Despite a 2-0 win over Germany that will have turned some skeptics into believers, there’s still an air of fragility about manager Gareth Southgate's England. Much of it is due to a history of falling short in major competitions, but there are also questions about whether the English are too conservative and cautious given the talent on the roster.

The other dynamic at play for the quarterfinal: England won’t be playing in front of the Wembley crowd like it did for its first four matches. The quarterfinal against Ukraine will take place in Rome, without traveling English support given quarantine rules for UK travelers imposed by the Italian government.

There are no such complexes with the Ukrainian team, which is playing with house money after making history by advancing out of the group stage. It took advantage of a Sweden red card in the Round of 16 to continue its unexpected run to the elite eight of the competition despite suffering two losses in the group stage.

Ukrainian legend and manager Andriy Shevchenko has the charisma and swagger to have his team believing it can spring another upset. Only a few weeks ago the Ukrainians held France to a 1-1 away draw in World Cup qualifying.

How to watch England vs. Ukraine
Date: Saturday. July 3
Time: 3 pm ET
TV Channel: ABC
Spanish-language TV: Univision, TUDN
Streaming: fuboTV, ESPN app, ESPN3, TUDN.tv

The quarterfinal will be available in English on ABC and in Spanish on Univision and TUDN. Both those networks can be streamed on fuboTV (free 7-day trial).

England-Ukraine starting lineups

Gareth Southgate goes back to the team’s 4-3-3 after fielding a 3-man center back line to match Germany’s tactical set-up in the Round of 16. Ukraine, like Germany, will also be fielding a 3-man back line.

After his recent transfer to Manchester United, Jadon Sancho will be getting the start over Phil Foden. And Chelsea’s Mason Mount also returns to the starting lineup after sitting out the Germany match given he missed practice time in self isolation as a close contact of a COVID-19 positive case.

Southgate praised the Ukrainian front line in the lead-up to the match and Andriy Yarmolenko, the team’s captain, is fit after coming out of the last match. The Ukrainians be without forward Artem Besedin after the knee ligament tears suffered on the horror tackle that resulted in Sweden’s red card in the Round of 16.

Ukraine (5-2-3, left to right): 1-Bushchan — 17-Zinchenko, 22-Matviyenko, 4-Kryvtsov, 13-Zabarnyi, 21-Karavaev — 5-Sydorchuk, 6-Stepanenko — 10-Shaparenko, 9-Yaremchuk, 7-Yarmolenko

England (4-3-3, left to right): 1-Pickford — 3-Shaw, 6-Maguire, 5-Stones, 2-Walker — 19-Mount, 4-Rice, 14-Phillips — 10-Sterling, 17-Sancho, 9-Kane
England vs. Ukraine: Odds & prediction

This will be a lot closer than many expect.

England has faced Ukraine at Euros 2012 (a 1-0 win) and the Three Lions are 4-1-2 all-time against Ukraine. The last two meetings came during 2014 World Cup Qualifying and both matches were draws.

Much has been made of England’s four straight shutouts to start the tournament, but it’s worth noting that the expected-goals-against figure across those four games is actually 2.9. We’ll see if they can keep that up against a Ukraine team that has forwards who can create chances.

Ukraine could very well be the first team to get a goal against England (the Ukrainians have scored six times in four games) and that would make two specific props attractive: both-teams-to-score and England-to-win-and-both-teams-to-score.

After that, it comes down to the margin of victory for England. If you think there’s a chance it will be more than a goal, then the England -1.25 Asian Handicap should make for an interesting play given risk/reward.

Prediction: England 2, Ukraine 1

Odds courtesy of DraftKings
England to win (90 mins): -215
England to advance: -500
Draw (90 mins): +330
Ukraine to win (90 mins): +700
Ukraine to advance:+385
Both teams to score: +130
England to win and both teams to score: +300
England -1.25 Asian Handicap: +110
Ukraine +1.25 Asian Handicap: -127

Pope to meet with Canada Indigenous amid demands for apology

By NICOLE WINFIELD

FILE - In this June 6, 2021 file photo, Pope Francis speaks from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican to a crowd of faithful and pilgrims gathered for the Sunday Angelus noon prayer. On Wednesday, June 30, 2021 Canada’s Catholic bishops said Pope Francis has agreed to meet in December with Indigenous survivors of the country’s notorious residential schools amid calls for a papal apology for Catholic Church’s role in the abuse and deaths of thousands of native children. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis, file)


ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has agreed to meet in December with Indigenous survivors of Canada’s notorious residential schools amid calls for a papal apology for the Catholic Church’s role in the abuse and deaths of thousands of native children.

The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops said Francis had invited the delegations to the Vatican and would meet separately with three groups — First Nations, Metis and Inuit — during their Dec. 17-20 visit. The pope will then preside over a final audience with all three groups Dec. 20, the conference said in a statement Tuesday.

The Vatican didn’t confirm the visit Wednesday, but the Holy See’s in-house news portal reported on the bishops’ statement. The Canadian bishops said the trip was contingent on the pandemic and that the delegations would include survivors of the residential schools, Indigenous elders and youths, as well as Indigenous leaders and Canadian bishops.

In recent weeks, investigators using ground-penetrating radar have reported finding hundreds of unmarked graves at the sites of two residential schools for Indigenous children. The discoveries — more than 600 graves in one school, 215 bodies in another — have revived calls, including from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for the pope to make a formal apology.

From the 19th century until the 1970s, more than 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend state-funded Christian boarding schools in an effort to assimilate them into Canadian society. Thousands of children died there of disease and other causes, with many never returned to their families.

Nearly three-quarters of the 130 residential schools were run by Roman Catholic missionary congregations, with others operated by the Presbyterian, Anglican and the United Church of Canada, which today is the largest Protestant denomination in the country.

The government formally apologized for the policy and abuses in 2008. In addition, the Presbyterian, Anglican and United churches have apologized for their roles in the abuse.

The Canadian bishops didn’t mention the demand for a papal apology in the statement, saying only that Francis was “deeply committed to hearing directly from Indigenous peoples.”

It said he had personally invited the delegations of Indigenous and would use the meetings for “expressing his heartfelt closeness, addressing the impact of colonization and the role of the Church in the residential school system, in the hopes of responding to the suffering of Indigenous peoples and the ongoing effects of intergenerational trauma.”

A papal apology was one of 94 recommendations from Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, but the Canadian bishops conference said in 2018 that the pope could not personally apologize for the residential schools

Pope Benedict XVI, who retired in 2013, met with some former students and victims in 2009 and told them of his “personal anguish” over their suffering. But he offered no apology.

After last month’s discovery of the 215 bodies, Francis too expressed his pain and pressed religious and political authorities to shed light on “this sad affair.” But he didn’t offer an apology, either.

The Argentine pope, however, has apologized for the sins and crimes committed by the Catholic Church against Indigenous peoples during the colonial era conquest of the Americas. He begged forgiveness during a 2015 visit to Bolivia and in the presence of Indigenous groups, suggesting that a similar in-person mea culpa might be in the offing in December.

The Canadian bishops said they hoped the meetings would “lead to a shared future of peace and harmony between Indigenous peoples and the Catholic Church in Canada.”

Calls for Roman Catholics to boycott Sunday mass spread beyond Saskatchewan

Jason Warick 

© Jason Warick/CBC The front doors of St. Paul's Co-cathedral in downtown Saskatoon are again marked with red handprints on Friday morning following the recent discoveries of more than 1,000 unmarked graves at residential school sites in Kamloops…

Percy Miller stopped during his walk in downtown Saskatoon on Friday morning to look at the signs, children's shoes and red handprints on the doors of St. Paul's Co-cathedral, a Roman Catholic church.

Miller, a member of Shoal Lake Cree Nation, said he's saddened by the recent discoveries of more than 1,000 unmarked graves at residential school sites in Kamloops, B.C., Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan and elsewhere.

He said the Catholic Church needs to do the right thing and pay the full $25 million promised to residential school survivors in 2005 as part of a settlement. So far, just $4 million has been raised by the church across the country. Church lawyers argued in 2016 that their deal only obligated them to give "best efforts," so a judge ruled they could stop raising money.

When asked about the growing calls for Catholics to boycott mass this Sunday, Miller shrugged his shoulders and said he's not optimistic.

"It'd be good, just show they support Indigenous people," said Miller, who has several family members forced to attend residential schools. "It's up to them. But you know, it is what it is."
Parishioners can be the 'greatest champions'

Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron, Kinistin Saulteaux Nation Chief Felix Thomas and others are calling on Catholics to stay home this Sunday, and every Sunday, until the money is paid to help survivors.

They also want the church to release all residential school documents and Pope Francis to come to Canada and apologize for the church's role in operating the schools, as stated in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action.

"They can still pray at home in silence. That would send a strong message," Cameron said.

© Jason Warick/CBC Saskatoon police vehicles are parked outside St. Paul's Co-cathedral on Friday morning. Officers said it was part of their regular patrol and not related to recent suspicious fires at churches in parts of Western Canada and Nova Scotia.

Thomas said survivors need everyone to fight for them.

"We need more champions. The greatest champions on this can be the congregation. This is something they can do, show that solidarity and not show up for church on Sunday," Thomas said last month.

Other Indigenous leaders agree.

"Catholics need to stay home and wash off their moral compass," Okanagan Indian Band Chief Byron Louis said. "That [boycott] message would get up to the bishops, the archbishops and then up, up, up through the layers."

Louis said it's upsetting that church officials are claiming they don't have money for survivors while they build and renovate churches across Canada.

"Is that what Jesus would do?" he said.

Louis said his fellow chiefs of the region feel the same way. The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs issued a statement this week that included calls for the church to pay the remaining $21 million to survivors.

Louis said he also plans to introduce a motion removing the annual $17,000 subsidy his First Nation gives to the local Catholic diocese for church maintenance and repair costs.
Unclear if bishops intend to raise more money

Andre Bear, a University of Saskatchewan First Nations law student who spoke at orange shirt events supporting survivors in downtown Saskatoon on Thursday, said the primary focus needs to remain on the federal government.

But Bear said Catholics can make a big difference.

"I know it must be hard for them, hard to acknowledge their church participated in genocide," he said.

"If they want to stand with us, make this right, that would be welcome."

© Jason Warick/CBC Saskatoon Catholics raised $28.5 million to build Cathedral of the Holy Family, a second cathedral, in 2012, while critics say a promise to compensate residential school survivors was largely ignored. The story was similar across Canada.

In a statement emailed to CBC News on Friday afternoon, an official with the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops said it's unclear whether bishops intend to resurrect efforts to raise the remaining $21 million.

"The bishops of Canada have been working very intently with Indigenous peoples and communities on many levels. There is a genuine willingness to look at options and priorities together so that any action taken, any commitment made in this collaborative journey truly corresponds to the needs and desires of Indigenous peoples with whom they work," the statement read.

In downtown Saskatoon on Friday, in a park just 100 metres from the co-cathedral, Nancy Greyeyes and her friends took down the teepee and other tents set up for the July 1 event.

"It's a monolithic thing," she said of the Catholic Church. "But they can start to change it from inside. Don't just say sorry. Do something to make it right."