UK

Trans conversion therapy not being banned, despite Government's U-Turn on gay conversion therapy

"Leaving trans & non-binary people out of a conversion therapy ban is completely unacceptable"


By Adam Maidment

Reporter
Gavin Cordon
1 APR 2022

Gay conversion therapy is set to be banned following a U-Turn from Boris Johnson (Image: Joel Goodman)

In the space of less than 24 hours, Boris Johnson has staged a ‘hasty retreat’ after previously announcing that ministers were abandoning plans to ban gay conversion therapy - but plans to outlaw trans conversion therapy still remain a grey area.

On Thursday evening (March 31), Downing Street briefing papers were leaked by ITV News revealing “the PM has agreed we should not move forward with legislation” to outlaw the practice. A Government spokesman had said they were looking instead at ways of preventing it through existing law and “other non-legislative measures”.

Conversion therapy is the idea that someone's sexual or gender identity can be changed or 'cured'. The government first announced plans to move forward on the ban of the practice in the UK in July 2018 under Theresa May’s government but despite numerous consultations, little progress has been made.

READ MORE: Government pledged gay conversion therapy ban in 2018, so why does it still exist?

Within hours of Thursday evening’s announcement, a senior Government source was quoted as saying that legislation would, in fact, be included in the Queen’s Speech in May. The Prime Minister was said to have “changed his mind” after seeing the reaction to the earlier announcement.

Stephen Fry was one of those to criticise the earlier move. The author and actor tweeted: “Just when I thought my contempt for this disgusting government couldn’t sink lower. A curse upon the whole lying, stinking lot of them.”


But the Government source has said the legislation set to be announced in May would cover “only gay conversion therapy, not trans”. There was no immediate official response from Downing Street – although there was no attempt to suggest the latest report was incorrect.

Leaks suggested Boris Johnson was set to announce there would be no bans to conversion therapy in the UK. (Image: Tim Rooke/REX/Shutterstock)

Campaigners working for the ban of conversion therapy for all LGBT people said they welcomed the renewed commitment to a ban for some, but expressed disappointment that the Government failed to uphold its promises to the full LGBT community. Jayne Ozanne, a former government LGBT adviser who survived 20 years of conversion therapy, said vulnerable people were being “thrown under the bus” by the move.

"This is the Prime Minister’s decision and the Prime Minister has shown his true colours with regard to the LGBT community,” she told the PA news agency. “I think he thought he could get away with it, but this will horrify, I am sure, people right across the country who have believed frankly for years that this should have been banned.”

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Dr Paul Martin OBE, Chief Executive of Manchester-based LGBT Foundation, tweeted: "Leaving trans & non-binary people out of a conversion therapy ban is completely unacceptable. We are completely #LGBWithTheT & will not cease in our campaigning to ensure that #TransRightsAreHumanRights."

A spokesperson for LGBT Foundation added: "LGBT Foundation condemns the Prime Minister’s appalling decision to backpedal on his promise to ban so-called 'conversion therapy,’ including continuing to leave trans and non-binary people out after his latest u-turn. Conversion therapy’ is a repulsive practice, which the Government’s own research shows causes harm to LGBTQ+ people. This is supported by NHS England and other major bodies in the UK who have all warned that all forms of ‘conversion therapy’ are “unethical and potentially harmful”.


"This is the latest in a long line of betrayals by the Prime Minister and his Government, proving that we cannot trust them to safeguard LGBTQ+ rights. The lack of protection for trans and non-binary people in this latest round of legislation effectively says that their pain and suffering are acceptable. To be very clear, the rights of marginalised groups facing oppression should never be pitted against each other for political gain. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary made personal pledges to ban ‘conversion therapy’; seemingly, they are happy to go against their word.

"We demand that the Prime Minister make a full apology for his decisions and make a full reversal of the current position, to explicitly include trans and non-binary people within the proposed legislation to ban conversion practices. We ask our supporters and allies to stand with us and other human rights organisations in making these demands. LGBT Foundation will continue to campaign for a full and unconditional ban on conversion therapy. We are proud to say #LGBWithTheT.

"Leaving trans & non-binary people out of a conversion therapy ban is completely unacceptable"

Andrew Copson, Chief Executive of social and political change charity Humanists UK, said: “We are glad that the Government has after all heeded public opinion and will ban these practices targeted at gay, lesbian, and bisexual people. The process has already taken too long and the Government has failed to produce draft legislation in a timely manner.

UK
Firm part owned by Sunak’s wife reportedly closing Russia office

Rishi Sunak has come under pressure over wife Akshata Murthy’s 0.91% stake in Infosys, which is now said to be closing down its Moscow site

POOL/AFP via Getty Images
By Amy Gibbons

An Indian technology company in which the Chancellor’s wife owns shares is reportedly closing its office in Russia and seeking replacement roles for its Moscow staff abroad.

Rishi Sunak has come under pressure over his wife, Akshata Murthy, having a 0.91% stake in Infosys, as it continued to operate in Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.

A previous statement from the company, founded by Ms Murthy’s billionaire father NR Narayana Murthy, reportedly said there was a “small team” based in Russia that serviced global clients, but that the firm did not have “any active business relationships with local Russian enterprises”.

But the BBC reported on Friday that Infosys is now closing its office in Russia, and attempting to find replacement roles outside of the country for staff employed in Moscow.

Labour and the Liberal Democrats had both called for Mr Sunak to answer questions over the issue.

In the Commons on Thursday, a Labour shadow minister was forced to withdraw a claim that Mr Sunak was “hypocritical” because of his family’s shares in the company.

In an interview aired later on the BBC’s Newscast podcast, Mr Sunak said: “You know, I think it’s totally fine for people to take shots at me. It’s fair game. I’m the one sitting here and that’s what I signed up for.”

But he said it was “very upsetting” and “wrong” for people to direct criticism at his wife.

“Actually, it’s very upsetting and, I think, wrong for people to try and come at my wife, and you know, beyond that actually, with regard to my father-in-law, for whom I have nothing but enormous pride and admiration for everything that he’s achieved, and no amount of attempted smearing is going to make me change that because he’s wonderful and has achieved a huge amount, as I said, I’m enormously proud of him,” he said.

He jokingly compared himself to Will Smith in “having our wives attacked”, referring to the incident where actor Mr Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars, after the comedian had made a joke about his wife’s alopecia.

“Someone said, ‘Joe Root, Will Smith, and me – not the best of weekends for any of us’,” he said.

Previously, Mr Sunak had refused to answer questions about his wife’s involvement in the company.

Asked on Sky News whether his family was going against advice given to companies over connections with Russia, he said: “I’m an elected politician, and I’m here to talk to you about what I’m responsible for. My wife is not.”

He said he had “nothing to do with that company”.

Infosys and Mr Sunak both declined to comment on the suggestion the firm is closing its office in Russia.

The financial challenges of the chancellor’s wife

Updated insolvency records show that Digme Fitness – part-run, and part-owned by the chancellor’s wife – was £15.1m in the red when it went under


MANDRAKE

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murthy attend a reception to celebrate the British Asian Trust at the British Museum (Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

Rishi Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murthy, may have acquired a certain skill at banking dividends from her father’s IT consultancy Infosys – £12m over the past year, conveniently overlooking the fact the company is still operating in Russia – but, when it comes to making money on her own account, she finds it a lot more challenging.

Updated insolvency records show that Digme Fitness – part-run, and part-owned by the chancellor’s wife – was £15.1m in the red when it went under, liquidators so far identifying £68,425 in assets to pay towards the bills – with £50,001 coming from a sale of assets to a company co-managed by Digme founder Caoimhe Bamber.

Unsecured creditors have been left £3,237,538 out of pocket, floating-charge holders £2,654,817 and shareholders nursing losses of £9.2m. Murthy held a 4.4% stake, believed to be worth £400,000. She joined the board in 2017 and remains a director.

Digme was placed in administration on February 16, with its collapse attributed to the “Covid-19 lockdowns and cash-flow shortages” by liquidators. At its height, it ran eight fitness studios, and was frequented by Sunak himself.

There are 80 or so firms identified among unsecured creditors. Individual claims range from £10 to £609,000. Local authorities, cleaners and utility firms are among those owed money, as are legal firms. HMRC is owed £415,000 for unpaid VAT and PAYE/NI, and employees are owed £31,886 in employee notice and redundancy pay. Just as well Murthy owns 0.93% of Infosys, with the market value of her stake worth around £734m.

Exxon’s $8 Billion Bet On Brazil Is Paying Off

Editor OilPrice.com
Fri, April 1, 2022

Despite Exxon’s recent exploration hurdle, Brazil has big plans for its oil industry as it hopes to increase its production levels significantly throughout 2022. With uncertainty around what the Russian invasion of Ukraine will mean for the energy industry over the coming months, Brazil is hoping to fill a supply gap as countries around the world look for alternative oil and gas sources. In addition, the replacement of state-run Petrobras’s CEO could shake up Brazil’s oil and gas industry.

Exxon Mobil Corp is currently exploring a new area off the northeast coast of Brazil, but its first well came up dry this week. This is Exxon’s first drilling development in Brazil in a decade, a region that it hopes will help boost its long-term production potential. The energy major has invested heavily in the Brazil and Guyana oil markets in recent years, in the hope of discovering new low-cost oil regions that will help sustain its output and where it can implement low-carbon technologies as it strives to eventually achieve net-zero.

With a stake in 28 offshore blocks, Exxon hopes this stumble will not hinder its production potential in the region. Exxon’s spokesperson, Meghan Macdonald, stated "While we didn’t encounter hydrocarbons at this particular exploration well (Cutthroat-1), ExxonMobil will continue to integrate the data from our findings into regional subsurface interpretation efforts in order to better understand the block’s exploration potential."

And some of Exxon’s other projects have been more fruitful. Its operations with Norway’s Equinor in the Bacalhau offshore field are expected to produce 200,000 bpd of oil and gas by 2024. In 2021, Exxon announced it would be investing 40 percent of an $8 billion total in the field.

This month, Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, announced plans to boost the country’s oil production by 300,000 bpd, around a 10 percent increase in 2021. Brazil’s output already stands at around 3 million bpd of crude putting it at around ninth place in the world for production.

Albuquerque told the Valor Econômico newspaper, “Countries that have stock, like the US, Japan, India, and others, are releasing. But there also has to be an effort to increase production. She [Jennifer Granholm] asked me if Brazil could be part of this effort and I said ‘of course it can’. We are already increasing production, while most OECD countries have reduced. We have increased our production in the last 3 years.”

The statement came in response to international pressure for oil-producing states to ramp up their oil and gas production as shortages are leading to energy insecurity and rising prices worldwide. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, oil prices soared. In addition, as several countries introduce sanctions on Russian energy products, many governments are looking for alternative sources of oil and gas to ensure their energy security over the coming months.

But some are not so confident about Albuquerque’s aim to increase production. There are plans for three offshore projects to come online in 2022 – the Petrobras Mero 1, with the Guanabara FPSO, producing approximately 150,000 bpd of oil, and Equinor’s Peregrino phase 2 and Peregrino 1 producing around 110,000 bpd. However, the reduced output in Brazil’s other maturing oil fields will likely reduce this output increase.

A local consultant told Bnamericas, “In reality, the increase would have to be over 15%, with 5% to 8% to compensate for the natural decline and another 10% to actually increase production. That would be 500,000b/d of new capacity, which is very unlikely.” This view has been echoed by several experts in the field, suggesting Albuquerque may not be able to deliver on his promise.

While this rapid production increase may not be possible, big changes to the country’s state-owned company could mean a change to the national oil industry is just around the corner. This week, President Bolsonaro moved to replace Petrobras CEO Joaquim Silva e Luna with a new head. The appointment of economist Adriano Pires as CEO of Petrobras and sports giant Rodolfo Landim as chairman is expected to take place in April.

Pires has been adamant in his stance on market pricing policies, pushing for the privatization of the state-run energy firm. Silva e Luna was appointed as CEO only last year after his predecessor was pushed out, suggesting somewhat of a trend. At present, Petrobras shields consumers from the global volatility of energy prices. But many have suggested that the oil prices should reflect the Brent Benchmark, adjusting fuel prices accordingly. However, with the next election taking place in October, Bolsonaro could lose voters if diesel and gasoline prices continue to rise.

Recent stumbling blocks in the search for new oil finds have not dampened Brazil’s optimism for developing its oil industry further over the coming years. As new operations come online, Minister of Mines and Energy, Bento Albuquerque, has announced production increases in response to international shortages. In addition, there is the potential for change in state-owned energy company Petrobras as a market-oriented CEO takes over.

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

Elizabeth Warren Calls for US to Create a CBDC

Greg Ahlstrand

Thu, March 31, 2022,

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) says it's time for the U.S. to create its own central bank digital currency (CBDC). Warren spoke with NBC's Chuck Todd on "Meet the Press Reports," scheduled to air at 10:30 p.m. ET on Thursday. NBCUniversal shared a partial transcript of the conversation with CoinDesk.

• "So a lot that banks do wrong, if you think, 'We could improve that in a digital world,' the answer is, 'Sure you could.' But in that case, let's do a central bank digital currency," Warren told Todd. "Yes, I think it's time for us to move in that direction."

• Responding to Todd's question on whether bitcoin (BTC) will face at minimum being regulated like a commodity, Warren responded, "I think it's going to end up getting regulated," using the subprime mortgage financial crisis that started in 2007 as an example of why it's needed. She didn't say what form such regulations might take.

• In March Warren announced a new bill to block cryptocurrency companies from conducting business with sanctioned companies. The Digital Assets Sanctions Compliance Enhancement Act, introduced with senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and others, would allow the U.S. president to add non-U.S.-based crypto companies to sanctions list if they support sanctions evasion.

• On whether the senator saw cryptocurrency as "this decade's real estate bubble," Warren replied, "The whole digital world has worked very much like a bubble works. What is it moved up on? It's moved up on the fact that people all tell each other that it's going to be great, just again like it was on that real estate market. How many times did people say, 'Real Estate always goes up. It never goes down?' They said it decades ago before the last real estate bubble. They said it in the 2000s, before the crash in 2008."

 

Restarting Keystone XL construction 'wouldn't actually increase supply' of oil: top Biden adviser

Provided by Dow Jones

Apr 1, 2022 

By William Watts

That's the White House's top economic adviser, in an interview with CNBC on Friday, dismissing the notion of rethinking the Biden administration's decision to cancel the permit that would allow construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.

Instead, National Economic Council Director Brian Deese said the focus is on measures aimed at lowering fuel prices as quickly as possible, he said, including President Joe Biden's announcement Thursday that the U.S. would release 1 million barrels a day of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the next six months.

Commodity Corner:What Biden's historic decision to release oil reserves means for the market

Also see:Biden says latest Strategic Petroleum Reserve release could cut gas prices 10 to 35 cents per gallon -- but some experts worry about long-term costs

"What we're focused on right now is what we can do right now," Deese said. There are wells "that are shut in and that can be brought back online over the course of the next couple months. What we need right now is to address the immediate supply disruption."

May West Texas Intermediate crude , the U.S. benchmark, fell 12.8% this week to end at $99.27 a barrel on Friday, slipping back below the $100-a-barrel threshold. June Brent crude dropped 11.1% for the week to end Friday at $104.39 a barrel.

Oil prices had surged to their highest levels since 2014 before Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, with WTI changing hands near $94 a barrel. Crude spiked following Russia's attack on its neighbor as traders priced in the potential disruption to energy flows from Russia, one of the world's largest producers, with WTI briefly trading above $130 a barrel in early March.

Biden revoked approval for construction of Keystone XL on his first day in office. The 1,700-mile pipeline was planned to carry roughly 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta to the Texas Gulf Coast, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.

----The Associated Press contributed to this report.

-William Watts

Microsoft/Activision Deal Hits a Potential Game Changer

It could make Microsoft a bigger player than ever, but will it go through?

COLETTE BENNETT

When it comes to supremacy in the video game industry, anyone familiar with it knows that it's an intense, endless battle, fought with tooth and nail.

While many companies have tried to enter the ring, only a few have emerged from it victorious: Tencent, Nintendo, Sony (SNE) - Get Sony Corp. Report, and Microsoft (MSFT) - Get Microsoft Corporation Report (sorry, Sega).

While the game industry is a massive revenue tornado in the U.S. today, valued at $173.7 billion as of 2020, it blossomed in Japan long before it hit our shores, and Nintendo led the charge first, launching its first game "EVR Race" in 1975.

By the time Microsoft decided it wanted in by 2000, Sony and Nintendo had long dominated the Japanese market and were known as trusted publishers who made excellent games.

And while American audiences took to the Xbox well, Asian markets wanted nothing to do with it, leaving Microsoft with the frustrating problem of being unable to capture the interest--and the revenue-- of a major sector of the market.

Microsoft's recent announcement that it intends to acquire video game publisher Activision Blizzard (ATVI) - Get Activision Blizzard, Inc. Report is an elegant solution to that problem. By combining Activision Blizzard's assets with its own, Microsoft can boost its ranking without solving the Japan problem, making it the third biggest video game company alongside Tencent and Sony.

But there are some who oppose the deal.

Daniel Boczarski/WireImage via Getty Images


Who's Against the Activision Blizzard Acquisition?

On Thursday, four U.S. senators sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission requesting that it take a closer look at the Microsoft/Activision deal, The New York Times reported.

In the letter, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and Sheldon Whitehouse implore FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan to consider how the merger could gloss over the importance of numerous sexual harassment claims that have been directed at Activision Blizzard over the last year.

It also points a finger at Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, whose resignation has been called for by everyone from investors to current Activision Blizzard employees, leading strikes and efforts to unionize.

“This lack of accountability, despite shareholders, employees, and the public calling for Kotick to be held responsible for the culture he created, would be an unacceptable result of the proposed Microsoft acquisition,” the letter reads. "If the FTC determines that the deal could worsen the negotiating position between workers and the companies, then the agency should oppose it."

Two shareholders have also filed lawsuits in regards to the upcoming acquisition, claiming that the board is seeking to “procure for themselves and senior management [...] significant and immediate benefits" and calling the future sale "unfair for a number of reasons."

The billion dollar deal is currently under review with the FTC, as all mergers above a certain scale must be submitted for government antitrust review. In the meantime, the Securities and Exchange Commissions' investigation into Activision Blizzard is ongoing.

The game publisher did get one reprieve this week, however: An $18 million settlement for female employees of the company that alleged they experienced sexual harassment and pregnancy-related discrimination.

However, the fine print is worth a read (and a think). It states that by filing a claim, defendants agree to "remove from the personnel files of each Eligible Claimant any references to the Eligible Claimant’s allegations of sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination, or related retaliation or determined by the EEOC to be related to such allegations."

In other words, once you agree to getting a relief payout, it's like your harassment never happened in the first place.

MOST COMES FROM IRAQI KURDISTAN
Iraq oil exports $11.07 bn in March, highest for 50 years


Oil ministry figures show Iraq exported more crude last month than it has since 1972 

(AFP/Hussein FALEH) (Hussein FALEH)

Sat, April 2, 2022

Iraq exported $11.07 billion of oil last month, the highest level for half a century, as crude prices soared amid shortfall fears following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the oil ministry said.

The second largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Iraq exported "100,563,999 barrels for revenues of $11.07 billion, the highest revenue since 1972", the ministry said.

The figures published late Friday are preliminary data but final data "generally does not vary" much, a ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In February, oil revenues reached an eight-year high of $8.5 billion dollars, with daily exports of 3.3 million barrels of oil.

Oil exports account for more than 90 percent of Iraq's income.

Crude prices spiked over fears of a major supply shortfall after Moscow invaded Ukraine on February 24. Russia is the world's second biggest exporter of oil after Saudi Arabia.

On Thursday, the OPEC group of oil producing countries and its Russia-led allies agreed on another modest oil output increase, ignoring Western pressure to significantly boost production as the Ukraine conflict has rocked prices.

The 13 members of the Saudi-led OPEC and 10 countries spearheaded by Russia -- a group known as OPEC+ -- backed an increase of 432,000 barrels per day in May, marginally higher than in previous months.

The United States has urged OPEC+ to boost production as high energy prices have contributed to soaring inflation across the world, which has threatened to severely derail the recovery from the Covid pandemic.

While OPEC refused to budge, Washington said it would tap its strategic stockpile by a record amount in a bid to cool soaring prices.

The international benchmark contract, Brent North Sea crude, flirted with a record high in early March as it soared to almost $140 per barrel, but has retreated since then.

On Friday, oil was around $100 a barrel.

Oil revenues are critical for Iraq's government, with the country mired in a financial crisis and needing funds to rebuild infrastructure after decades of devastating war.

Iraq, with a population of some 41 million people, is also grappling with a major energy crisis and suffers regular power cuts.

Despite its immense oil and gas reserves, Iraq remains dependent on imports to meet its energy needs.

Neighbouring Iran currently provides a third of Iraq's gas and electricity needs, but supplies are regularly cut or reduced, aggravating daily load shedding.

ak-gde/pjm/dv

Staley wary equity strides for women’s tourney will continue

By PETE IACOBELLI

1 of 5

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley poses with a trophy after being named Naismith Women's College Coach of the Year, Wednesday, March 30, 2022, in Minneapolis. 

(Carlos Gonzalez/Star Tribune via AP)


MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Putting women on the same level with men when it comes to swag bags and logos is a starting point, and for Dawn Staley that’s all it is.

South Carolina women’s coach is not certain there will ever be true equity among the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments.

“I just don’t know,” Staley told The Associated Press. “I mean, the hotel is nice,” she added sitting at her downtown hotel two blocks from the Target Center, where the Gamecocks will play Louisville on Friday night in the women’s Final Four.

Staley has enjoyed the tournament experience this year — the Gamecocks played two games at home and two games in Greensboro, North Carolina — better than a year ago in the pandemic-caused bubble set up in San Antonio.

After a scathing report issued last summer about numerous inequities between how men’s teams are treated compared with the women, Staley is torn about whether the NCAA can make lasting strides.

“It’s good what we’re hearing,” she said. “But is it something that’s going to last four, five years down the road?”

She is not alone.

Two weeks ago, it was three members of Congress who said the NCAA had taken little more than “short-term steps” toward bridging the gap.

Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform; Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), co-chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus; and Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) sent a letter to the NCAA the week of the tournament’s start.

On Thursday, the trio introduced the Gender Equity in College Sports Commission act designed to create a 16-person bipartisan panel to study the issue across all NCAA sports.

Speier said in a release the NCAA had made “pathetic progress towards correcting the deeply misogynistic attitudes and treatment of the women’s teams compared to the men’s teams.”

Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer has dealt with inequality issues for all of her 36 years with the program.

“I call it hot dogs for the girls and steak for the boys,” she said. “It will be a great time when you don’t need Title IX, but unfortunately in our world, there’s discrimination still against people, women and we need to keep battling.”

The longtime discussion garnered national attention the past year with critics taking NCAA leadership to task in 2021 after Oregon’s Sedona Prince posted a social media video about the inequities, particularly the weight rooms.

Louisville coach Jeff Walz believes that tournament organizers made mistakes, but too much was made of the differences in weight rooms.

Waltz said the disparity was “blown way out of proportion” and that he has “never been a big proponent of everything has to be the same” for men and women to have equally enjoyable experiences in their respective NCAA Tournaments.

UConn guard Paige Bueckers, whose team plays Stanford in the other national women’s semifinal here Friday night, believes more needs to be done before the tournaments are on equal footing.

“It’s definitely not where it needs to be,” the Huskies sophomore sensation said. “But change isn’t going to happen overnight and you can see the growth.”

NCAA President Mark Emmert, speaking the women’s Final Four on Wednesday and again in New Orleans Thursday at the men’s event, is happy with the progress that’s been made, although bigger issues like distributing tournament revenues to women’s programs are only in the early stages of discussion.

In Staley’s view, revenue — “The units,” as she calls them — is the largest divide between the men and women.

The men’s tournament has a deal that’s averaging $770 million a year that will jump to an average of $1.1 billion in 2025.

The women’s tournament is tied into other women’s NCAA championships for TV rights. ESPN’s current contract ends in 2024 and Staley believes those rights can go for much more than the NCAA is getting now.

“It’s the right time,” Staley said. “This is a good game that people like to watch.”

ESPN analyst and former UConn All-American Rebecca Lobo sees the rising interest in the game and believes that can lead to more exposure and ultimately better broadcast contracts.

One example she said was this year’s women’s selection show. The show is generally broadcast on the Monday, the day after the men’s highly anticipated Sunday night bracket reveal. But this year it aired after the men’s show and, “wow, we have the best ratings since 2006,” Lobo said.

“Let’s use this year and figure out, all right, did this keep us along the path that we’re trying to go toward,” Lobo said.

Two of the more tangible steps taken by the NCAA to elevate the women’s event has been to make the logo, “March Madness,” a part of the on-court branding and expand the field to 68. There was also an inaugural women’s “First Four,” an element of the men’s tournament since 2011.

Bueckers has seen increased attention in the women’s tournament this year.

“Change is going to come,” Bueckers said. “And it has to come now rather than later.”

___

More AP coverage of March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

NEW NORTH AMERICAN STANDARD
New vehicles must average 40 mpg by 2026, up from 28 mpg


This Dec. 12, 2018, file photo shows traffic on the Hollywood Freeway in Los Angeles. New vehicles sold in the U.S. will have to travel an average of at least 40 miles per gallon of gasoline in 2026 under new rules unveiled by the government. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday its fuel economy requirements will undo a rollback enacted under President Donald Trump. 

(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

DETROIT (AP) — New vehicles sold in the U.S. will have to average at least 40 miles per gallon of gasoline in 2026, up from about 28 mpg, under new federal rules unveiled Friday that undo a rollback of standards enacted under President Donald Trump.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said its new fuel economy requirements are the strongest to date and the maximum the industry can achieve over the time period. They will reduce gasoline consumption by more than 220 billion gallons over the life of vehicles, compared with the Trump standards.

They’re expected to decrease carbon dioxide emissions — but not as much as some environmentalists want — and raise new vehicle prices in an industry already pressed by inflation and supply chain issues.

For the current model year, standards enacted under Trump require the fleet of new vehicles to get just under 28 miles per gallon in real-world driving. The new requirements increase gas mileage by 8% per year for model years 2024 and 2025 and 10% in the 2026 model year.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, whose department includes NHTSA, said the rules also will help strengthen national security by making the country less dependent on foreign oil and less vulnerable to volatile gasoline prices. Gasoline nationwide has spiked to an average of more than $4.22 per gallon, with much of the increase coming since Russia, a major oil producer, invaded Ukraine in late February. It cost $2.88 per gallon just a year ago, according to AAA.

Gas prices also have helped to fuel inflation to a 40-year high, eating up household budgets and hitting President Joe Biden’s approval ratings.



“Transportation is the second-largest cost for American families, only behind housing,” Buttigieg said. The new standards, he said, will help keep the U.S. more secure and preserve “the freedom of our country to chart its future without being subject to other countries and to the decisions that are being made in the boardrooms of energy companies.”

But auto dealers say more stringent requirements drive up prices and push people out of an already expensive new-car market. NHTSA projects that the new rules will raise the price of a new vehicle in the 2029 model year by $1,087.

Trump’s administration rolled back fuel economy standards, allowing them to rise 1.5% per year, which environmental groups said was inadequate to limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions that fuel climate change. The standards had been rising about 5% per year previously.

But the new standards won’t immediately match those adopted through 2025 under President Barack Obama. NHTSA officials said they will equal the Obama standards by 2025 and slightly exceed them for the 2026 model year.

The Obama-era standards automatically adjusted for changes in the type of vehicles people are buying. When they were enacted in 2012, 51% of new vehicle sales were cars and 49% SUVs and trucks. Last year, 77% of new vehicle sales were SUVs and trucks, which generally are less efficient than cars.

Some environmental groups said the new requirements from NHTSA under Biden don’t go far enough to fight global warming. Others supported the new standards as a big step toward reducing emissions, with the American Lung Association calling for even stronger standards to drive a transition to all new vehicles having zero-emissions by 2035.

“Climate change has gotten much worse, but these rules only require automakers to reduce gas-guzzling slightly more than they agreed to cut nine years ago,” said Dan Becker, director of the Safe Climate Transport Center at the Center for Biological Diversity.

Officials said that under the new standards, owners would save about $1,400 in gasoline costs during the lifetime of a 2029 model year vehicle. Carbon dioxide emissions would drop by 2.5 billion metric tons by 2050 under the standards, the NHTSA said.

Automakers are investing billions of dollars to develop and build electric vehicles but say government support is needed to get people to buy them. The companies want government tax credits to reduce prices as well as more money for EV charging stations to ease anxiety over running out of juice.

John Bozzella, CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a large industry trade group, said increased regulations will require supportive government policies. Regulators should consider safety, consumer buying preferences, improved fuel economy and the transition to electric vehicles, he said in a statement.

NHTSA sets fuel economy requirements, while the Environmental Protection Agency develops limits on greenhouse gas emissions. NHTSA officials said their requirements nearly match rules adopted in December by the EPA, so automakers don’t have to comply with two rules.

ANY AVERAGE MILEGE  STANDARD APPLIED IN THE US ALSO APPLIES IN CANADA

Indian scholars, activists criticize school hijab ban ruling

By SHEIKH SAALIQ

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Indian Muslim students wearing hijabs and face masks gather to meet student activists in Kundapur in district Udupi, Karnataka state, India, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022. An Indian court ruling upholding a ban on Muslim students wearing head coverings in schools has sparked criticism from constitutional scholars and rights advocates amid concerns of judicial overreach regarding religious freedoms. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)


NEW DELHI (AP) — A recent court ruling upholding a ban on Muslim students wearing head coverings in schools has sparked criticism from constitutional scholars and rights activists amid concerns of judicial overreach regarding religious freedoms in officially secular India.

Even though the ban is only imposed in the southern state of Karnataka, critics worry it could be used as a basis for wider curbs on Islamic expression in a country already witnessing a surge of Hindu nationalism under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party.

“With this judgment, the rule you are making can restrict the religious freedom of every religion,” said Faizan Mustafa, a scholar of freedom of religion and vice chancellor at the Hyderabad-based Nalsar University of Law. “Courts should not decide what is essential to any religion. By doing so, you are privileging certain practices over others.”

Supporters of the decision say it’s an affirmation of schools’ authority to determine dress codes and govern student conduct, and that takes precedence over any religious practice.

“Institutional discipline must prevail over individual choices. Otherwise, it will result in chaos,” said Karnataka Advocate General Prabhuling Navadgi, who argued the state’s case in court.

Before the verdict more than 700 signatories including senior lawyers and rights advocates had expressed opposition to the ban in an open letter to the court’s chief justice, saying, “the imposition of an absolute uniformity contrary to the autonomy, privacy and dignity of Muslim women is unconstitutional.”

The dispute began in January when a government-run school in the city of Udupi, in Karnataka, barred students wearing hijabs from entering classrooms. Staffers said the Muslim headscarves contravened the campus’ dress code, and that it had to be strictly enforced.

Muslims protested, and Hindus staged counterdemonstrations. Soon more schools imposed their own restrictions, prompting the Karnataka government to issue a statewide ban.

A group of female Muslim students sued on the grounds that their fundamental rights to education and religion were being violated.

But a three-judge panel, which included a female Muslim judge, ruled last month that the Quran does not establish the hijab as an essential Islamic practice and it may therefore be restricted in classrooms. The court also said the state government has the power to prescribe uniform guidelines for students as a “reasonable restriction on fundamental rights.”

“What is not religiously made obligatory therefore cannot be made a quintessential aspect of the religion through public agitations or by the passionate arguments in courts,” the panel wrote.

The verdict relied on what’s known as the essentiality test — basically, whether a religious practice is or is not obligatory under that faith. India’s constitution does not draw such a distinction, but courts have used it since the 1950s to resolve disputes over religion.

In 2016, the high court in the southern state of Kerala ruled that head coverings were a religious duty for Muslims and therefore essential to Islam under the test; two years later India’s Supreme Court again used the test to overturn historical restrictions on Hindu women of certain ages entering a temple in the same state, saying it was not an “essential religious practice.”

Critics say the essentiality test gives courts broad authority over theological matters where they have little expertise and where clergy would be more appropriate arbiters of faith.

India’s Supreme Court is itself in doubt about the test. In 2019 it set up a nine-judge panel to reevaluate it, calling its legitimacy regarding matters of faith “questionable”; the matter is still under consideration.

The lawsuit in Karnataka cited the 2016 Kerala ruling, but this time the justices came to the opposite conclusion — baffling some observers.

“That’s why judges make for not-so-great interpreters of religious texts,” said Anup Surendranath, a professor of constitutional law at the Delhi-based National Law University.

Surendranath said the most sensible avenue for the court would have been to apply a test of what Muslim women hold to be true from a faith perspective: “If wearing hijab is a genuinely held belief of Muslim girls, then why ... interfere with that belief at all?”

The ruling has been welcomed by Bharatiya Janata Party officials from Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the federal minister of minority affairs, to B. C. Nagesh, Karnataka’s education minister.

Satya Muley, a lawyer at the Bombay High Court, said it’s perfectly reasonable for the judiciary to place some limits on religious freedoms if they clash with dress codes, and the verdict will “help maintain order and uniformity in educational institutions.”

“It is a question of whether it is the constitution, or does religion take precedence?” Muley said. “And the court’s verdict has answered just that by upholding the state’s power to put restrictions on certain freedoms that are guaranteed under the constitution.”

Surendranath countered that the verdict was flawed because it failed to invoke the three “reasonable restrictions” under the constitution that let the state interfere with freedom of religion — for reasons of public order, morality or health.

“The court didn’t refer to these restrictions, even though none of them are justifiable to ban hijabs in schools,” Surendranath said. “Rather, it emphasized homogeneity in schools, which is opposite of diversity and multiculturalism that our constitution upholds.”

The Karnataka ruling has been appealed to India’s Supreme Court. Plaintiffs requested an expedited hearing on the grounds that a continued ban on the hijab threatens to cause Muslim students to lose an entire academic year. The court declined to hold an early hearing, however.

Muslims make up just 14% of India’s 1.4 billion people, but nonetheless constitute the world’s second-largest Muslim population for a nation. The hijab has historically not been prohibited or restricted in public spheres, and women donning the headscarf — like other outward expressions of faith, across religions — is common across the country.

The dispute has further deepened sectarian fault lines, and many Muslims worry hijab bans could embolden Hindu nationalists and pave the way for more restrictions targeting Islam.

“What if the ban goes national?” said Ayesha Hajeera Almas, one of the women who challenged the ban in the Karnataka courts. “Millions of Muslim women will suffer.”

Mustafa agreed.

“Hijab for many girls is liberating. It is a kind of bargain girls make with conservative families as a way for them to go out and participate in public life,” he said. “The court completely ignored this perspective.”

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Associated Press writer Krutika Pathi in New Delhi contributed to this report.

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.