Australia 'on track' to generate half its electricity from renewable sources by 2025, report finds

By energy reporter Daniel Mercer

Solar is seen as the leading contender to decarbonise global energy systems.

(ABC News: Michael Franchi)

Australia is on track to generate half its electricity needs from renewable sources within three years, according to a report highlighting the extraordinary pace of change underway in the country's energy system.

Key points:

The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering says the country's renewable energy share will rise to 69 per cent by 2030

The academy is calling for changes to help guide and coordinate massive investments needed to transition away from fossil fuels

It comes as amid upheaval in the eastern states' power and gas industries, which have been hit hard by soaring prices and fears of supply shortages

In what it described as a snapshot of the industry, the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (AATSE) found renewable energy adoption was galloping ahead as wind and solar power became cheaper.

The group, which is comprised of technical experts, said renewable energy was "tracking towards" 50 per cent of Australia's electricity generation in 2025, a share that was expected to rise to 69 per cent by 2030.

It also suggested Australia's electricity networks would be capable of running on 100 per cent green energy for periods at a time by the middle of the decade.

But the academy stressed that urgent investment was needed, not only in new wind and solar farms, but in the back-up services that would be required to keep the lights on during the transition period.

AATSE said it expected pumped hydro and batteries to fill in many of the gaps but acknowledged that gas may be needed to act as a safety net during times of high demand or when wind and solar were insufficient to produce the required energy.
Big changes, big opportunities

The group also noted the massive scope of challenges facing Australia to power its transport, heating and industry with renewable electricity rather than gas or coal.

Although still the mainstay of Australia's biggest power grid, coal-fired plants are rapidly exiting.

(Supplied: AGL)

"Australia is in the throes of an energy crisis, with electricity generation prices around 115 per cent above the previous highest average wholesale price ever recorded," the report said.

"Meanwhile all states are achieving record highs for renewables powering our electricity system.

"It is critical to determine how these technologies will work harmoniously to decarbonise energy systems, provide new economic opportunities, and meet the needs of Australian industries, communities, and people."

The report from AATSE comes amid upheaval in the eastern states' power and gas industries, which have been hit hard by soaring prices and fears of supply shortages.

State energy ministers, led by Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen, have largely backed an insurance-like policy known as a capacity market to help deal with the switch away from fossil fuels towards renewable sources.

The academy did not comment on the proposal.

Households leading the charge

Ahead of a major energy forum in Sydney, at which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will speak, Professor Renate Egan from the University of New South Wales said renewable energy already accounted for nearly a third of Australia's electricity generation.

Professor Egan, who leads the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics, says this share has doubled in just five years and will need to double again in "at least" 10 years.

She noted the pace of change was being driven to a significant extent by householders, who were behind about half of the renewable energy installed in Australia during 2021.

"Last year, we put on 3 gigawatts of rooftop solar," Professor Egan said.

Professor Renate Egan from UNSW is optimistic about Australia's ability to handle the transition.

(ABC News: Chris Taylor)

"That's about $3 billion of investment by end consumers in energy generation for Australia.

"And we put on a total amount of centralised wind and solar of around 3 gigawatts — so another $3 billion.

"So $6 billion of assets were invested last year in renewable energy generation and half of that was by end consumers who own those assets and want to be able to use it.

"There's a significant change in the way the investments are being made, where it's going and how it's being delivered."
Technologies 'already available'

George Maltabarow, a former managing director at NSW poles-and-wires company, Ausgrid, said the technologies that could carry Australia to a completely renewable state were available but achieving the goal would not be straightforward.

To handle the transition smoothly, Mr Maltabarow argued it was imperative that governments and regulators brought in clear laws and rules to guide investment.

He said investment should include so-called distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar and household and community batteries, large-scale green generation and "firming" services.

Victoria is pinning its hopes on offshore wind to underpin its move away from fossil fuels.(Supplied: Oyvind Gravas)

Mr Maltabarow added that "you'll need smart sensors deployed pretty much everywhere" to ensure the proliferation of solar panels and household devices could be coordinated to the benefit of the grid.

"Conventional wisdom about how much capacity intermittent renewables can be sustained … in a grid, has evolved greatly over the last decade and particularly over the last five years," he said.

"Some overseas grids already support between 50 and 60 per cent intermittent renewables and they're targeting 100 per cent by the mid-2030s.

"But we shouldn't underestimate the challenges of actually getting there.

"What we need to manage this transition are the frameworks that will support the right sort of investment."

• 'We are stardust': The journey of

•  carbon, from the Big Bang to climate

•  change via Joni Mitchell

The carbon paradox

Carbon, born inside stars, catalysed life on Earth — but lately it’s been getting a bad rap. This is carbon’s journey from cosmic wonder to global pariah. It starts at an (in)famous music festival in 1970.

By environment reporter Nick Kilvert
ABC Science
11 Jul 2022

A BEAUTIFUL MULTI MEDIA PAGE ON THE LIFE OF CARBON

Carbon, the 1970 Isle of Wight festival featuring Joni Mitchell, and climate change - ABC News

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone facing fraud charge over $700m in overseas assets

Prosecutors say a long-running investigation led to the charge against Bernie Ecclestone. (AP: Luca Bruno)

Former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has been charged with fraud over allegedly failing to declare more than 400 million pounds ($700 million) of overseas assets.

Key points:

Prosecutors claim millions of dollars worth of assets were "concealed" from the tax office

The case is set to be heard in London on August 22

The former F1 boss was arrested in Brazil earlier this year for carrying a gun onto a plane

Prosecutors said Mr Ecclestone, 91, faced one count of fraud by false representation after a government investigation found he had failed to declare the assets to the British tax office.

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs' Fraud Investigation Service director Simon York said the announcement followed a "complex and worldwide" investigation into the businessman's finances.

"The criminal charge relates to projected tax liabilities arising from more than 400 million pounds of offshore assets which were concealed from Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs," he said.

"Our message is clear — no-one is beyond our reach."

The first hearing in the case is set for August 22 at London's Westminster Magistrates Court.

Mr Ecclestone declined to comment when contacted by Reuters in Ibiza, but indicated the charge was not a surprise.

Bernie Ecclestone says he isn't surprised by the charge.(Reuters: Leonhard Foeger)

"It's something that has been talked about happening, but not in the way you said, something a little bit different to that, quite a while ago," he said.

"They've probably got all excited again. Let's see what happens."

The fraud charge is only the latest controversy to strike the British billionaire, after he was arrested by Brazilian police in May.

They said they had found a handgun in his luggage as he was trying to leave the country.

Mr Ecclestone acknowledged owning it but said he was unaware it was in his luggage. He was freed to leave after paying bail.

The 91-year-old has already come under fire for declaring he would "take a bullet" for Vladimir Putin. (REUTERS: Maxim Shemetov/File Photo)

He also caused offence and drew condemnation in June when he defended Russian President Vladimir Putin in a television interview as a "first class person" he would "take a bullet" for.

He later apologised, saying he was not defending the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Briton was ousted as Formula 1 supremo in 2017 when US-based Liberty Media took over the sport's commercial rights.

He maintains an office in London but now spends most of his time abroad, with residences in Switzerland and Ibiza as well as a farm in Brazil.

ABC/AP/Reuters

Sir Mo Farah reveals he was illegally trafficked to the UK as a child and forced to work as a domestic servant

Mo Farah, the most decorated British track athlete in history, was brought to the UK illegally as a child with fake travel documents.

(AFP: Adrian Dennis)

Sir Mohamed Farah — Britain's most successful track athlete — has revealed he was the victim of illegal trafficking when he was a child.

Key points:

Farah was brought to the United Kingdom illegally by a woman he had never met when he was nine years old

The Olympian was forced to do housework and childcare and wasn't allowed to attend school for three years

Since becoming a British citizen, Farah has become the country's most successful male track distance runner

In a documentary titled "The Real Mo Farah" due to air on the BBC this week, Farah said he was flown to the United Kingdom from Djibouti at the age of nine by a woman he had never met, given a new name, and then was forced to look after another family's children.

"The truth is, I'm not who you think I am," he said.

The long-distance runner had previously said he came to the UK from Somalia with his parents as a refugee.

"The real story is I was born in Somaliland, north of Somalia, as Hussein Abdi Kahin.

"Despite what I've said in the past, my parents never lived in the UK.


"When I was four, my dad was killed in the civil war. As a family, we were torn apart. I was separated from my mother and I was brought into the UK, illegally, under the name of another child called Mohamed Farah."

Farah said he was staying with family in Djibouti when he was introduced to a woman he had never met, who then flew him to the UK under false pretences.

He said she told him he was going to stay with a relative in England before providing him with fake travel documents that showed his photo next to another person's name.

When they arrived, Farah was taken to the woman's house in Hounslow, west London.

"I had all the contact details for my relative and, once we got to her house, the lady took it off me and, right in front of me, ripped them up and put it in the bin.

"At that moment, I knew I was in trouble."

He said he was then forced to do housework and childcare, "if I wanted food in my mouth", and that the woman threatened to never let him see his family again if he spoke out.

Mo Farah (centre) says he's speaking out about his past to raise awareness of the issue of modern-day trafficking and forced labour.(Reuters: Lucy Nicholson)

He was not allowed to attend school for the first few years of his life in England, but eventually enrolled at Feltham Community College when he was 12. It was there that he met Alan Watkinson, a physical education teacher, who fostered his athletic abilities.

Farah eventually confided in Watkinson about his past, with the teacher contacting social services and helping him move to another Somalian foster family.

"I still missed my real family but, from that moment, everything got better," Farah said.

"I felt like a lot of stuff was lifted off my shoulders, and I felt like me. That's when Mo came out — the real Mo."

Watkinson also helped Farah apply for British citizenship under his current name, which was granted in July 2000.

Although it was technically obtained under a false name, no action will be taken by the UK Home Office to remove his citizenship as children are not deemed complicit in gaining citizenship by deception according to government guidelines.

Farah has since become the most-decorated athlete in British athletics with 10 global titles, including four Olympic gold medals and six World titles, making him the most successful British male track distance runner in history.

He was awarded a CBE in 2013 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2017 for his services to athletics.

He said he wanted to share his story to shine a light on modern-day trafficking and slavery.

"I had no idea there was so many people who are going through exactly the same thing that I did. It just shows how lucky I was."

US stumbles in monkeypox response

BY JOSEPH CHOI - THE HILL - 07/11/22 7

The U.S. has had a faltering response to the monkeypox outbreak, with confirmed cases jumping to 700 in the two months since outbreaks were first detected and clinics across the country struggling to meet the demand for effective vaccines.

Some public health experts and patients say more needs to be done and warn that mistakes made during the COVID-19 pandemic are being repeated. 

The monkeypox virus is less infectious than COVID-19 and is so far mostly affecting one community: men who have sex with men. But the U.S. has learned lessons from the coronavirus pandemic that should still help the nation control monkeypox, experts say. 

Leana Wen, a research professor of health policy and management at George Washington University as well as Baltimore’s former health commissioner, told The Hill that she has felt a sense of déjà vu.

“Probably the most significant one to me is the lack of testing. We saw during COVID that every case that was found was like the canary in the coal mine, that they really were just the tip of the iceberg,” Wen said. “And that was because there was such little testing available. Why haven’t we learned our lesson?”

Last week, one of the largest laboratory testing networks in the U.S., Labcorp, announced it would begin testing for monkeypox using tests from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The company will be able to conduct about 10,000 tests daily.

In its announcement, Labcorp recommended that people contact their health care providers to initiate monkeypox testing and sample collecting, a more cumbersome process compared to COVID-19 tests, especially for people who don’t have a regular health care provider.

Wen said monkeypox testing should not be made into a complex process, noting that performing the test itself is fairly simple: Monkeypox tests involve swabbing the base of the characteristic lesions that form after infection.

More than 760 monkeypox cases have been confirmed in the U.S. as of Monday across almost 40 states, which is almost certainly an undercount as many may be unaware that they are infected or have not yet been tested.

Unlike COVID-19, monkeypox is not a novel virus, it does not spread as easily and is largely transmitted through close, skin-to-skin contact. And although it is currently affecting relatively few people in the U.S., advocates and scientists worry this outbreak may spread out of control.

Jay Varma, an epidemiologist who served as senior health adviser to former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), said in a recent interview that he feared monkeypox could become entrenched in the U.S.

“If we don’t really get ahead of this, then we are going to fall further behind and it will become a permanent part of our disease landscape,” Varma said.

De Blasio himself urged the federal government to ramp up access to monkeypox vaccines on Twitter Monday. 

New York’s gay community has been particularly hard hit by the outbreak. The state Department of Health said in a tweet on Tuesday that 111 people had tested positive in New York City as of last week, up from 55 a week prior.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) made note of the unmet demand for monkeypox vaccines in a letter he sent to President Biden on Monday. Adams asked that the White House consider a different vaccination schedule that allowed for a longer interval period between the two doses of the preferred smallpox vaccine Jynneos so that more people could be immediately immunized.

In an NBC News report published last week, several gay men who tested positive for monkeypox detailed exasperating experiences in communicating with public health officials when attempting to get tested and share their possible close contacts. One man in New York said it took nearly a week before he was able to get tested and possible contacts’ names.

Clinics in major cities like New York and Washington, D.C., have quickly run out of available vaccine doses. 

New York gave no warning before announcing its own vaccine push late last month, running out of doses within hours with no word on when more shots would be available. On Monday, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced that an additional 1,250 doses would be made available.

Health authorities maintain that monkeypox does not pose a threat to the general public, and the mortality rate for the virus is low.

Eric Toner, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, said that this recent monkeypox outbreak could very well be a sign of an “age of epidemics” that the world is entering.

“As people interact more and more with wild animals — whether it’s in wet markets as food or moving into their habitats because of population growth — we are going to see people get exposed more and more to exotic pathogens,” Toner said.

Overall, Toner said he felt that the response has been adequate considering the limitations, noting the inherent difficulties in measures like contact tracing as well as the swift manner in which the federal government deployed vaccines and placed orders for more.

“I don’t think that they have been slow. I don’t think it’s the case that they haven’t learned lessons from COVID-19,” he said.

Still others say that the response has not been as streamlined as it could be. One senior Biden administration official, speaking anonymously, acknowledged to The New York Times last week that monkeypox testing has not been as fast or convenient as it needs to be. Contributing factors included negotiations with labs, ramping up testing supplies and training personnel, according to the official.

MEET THE NEW BOSS SAME AS THE OLD BOSS

Sri Lanka's fallen dynasty is already planning its next comeback

Mr Namal Rajapaksa (third from right) praying along with his father Mahinda Rajapaksa (left) before assuming his duties as Sri Lanka's Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs on Aug 18, 2020. PHOTO: AFP

COLOMBO (BLOOMBERG) - For years, Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa dynasty ruled the island nation with an iron fist, striking fear into political opponents, journalists and other perceived threats to their power. Now protesters are chasing them out of their homes, and out of power.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, 73, is set to resign on Wednesday (July 13) after months of street protests over surging prices and shortages of basic goods such as food or petrol.

After spending his time holed up at his official seaside residence, protesters shouting "Gota Go Home" forced him to flee on Saturday while breaching the gates of the compound in dramatic scenes.

The unrest showed the public fury at Rajapaksa, whose three-year administration has left Sri Lanka pleading for cash from the International Monetary Fund and nations like China and India after defaulting on foreign debt for the first time since independence from Britain in 1948.

Bondholders are also furious: One last month named the Rajapaksas in a lawsuit seeking more than US$250 million in unpaid debt - the first of potentially many others.

Yet it wasn't only demonstrators that wanted Rajapaksa out of office: Even other members of his family saw him as a lame-duck leader.

And one in particular, his 36-year-old nephew Namal Rajapaksa, has already been thinking of how the dynasty can restore its reputation over the long term even as the increasingly violent protests had some observers wondering if the whole family would be forced into exile.

In a recent interview at the ruling party's office in Colombo, which was vandalised by a mob during the May 9 violence, Namal said that Gotabaya "should complete his term and then go".

He described the family's current predicament as a "temporary setback", adding that the goal now was "to provide as much stability as we can to address the basic needs of the people, and in the meantime work on long-term strategies".

Namal is the eldest son of Mahinda Rajapaksa, 76, the current president's brother who previously held the top job from 2005 to 2015.

With Gotabaya as his defence minister during that time, Mahinda crushed a three-decade insurgency from Tamil rebels using brutal tactics that prompted widespread concerns about civilian deaths. At the same time, the brothers sought to crush political opposition and racked up billions of dollars worth of debt, mostly to China.

Although the Rajapaksas lost power in a dramatic 2015 election, they came roaring back four years later - with Gotabaya as president and Mahinda as prime minister.

But a series of policy blunders combined with the pandemic soon brought about food and fuel shortages that triggered mass protests, eventually prompting Mahinda to step down as prime minister in May.

That decision drove a wedge between the brothers, according to people familiar with the situation, who said that Mahinda for weeks had resisted Gotabaya's calls that he step aside before relenting.

Of the six Rajapakas in the cabinet at the start of the year, Gotabaya was the last one standing - and he'll soon be gone.

The tensions between the brothers reflects their different leadership styles, according to Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, executive director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives, a Colombo-based research group.

"Mahinda is a populist politician who the people still love," Saravanamuttu said. "But Gota is a much more reserved, introverted person, and has no experience in governance."

Whereas public sparring had once been rare for the Rajapaksas, now they are pointing fingers at one another.

In an interview last month at his official residence now occupied by protesters, Gotabaya acknowledged that sweeping tax cuts and a fertiliser ban implemented shortly after he took office didn't work.

But he characterised those misfires as collective ones, and said his push for a bailout last year from the International Monetary Fund but was rebuffed by advisers and relatives until protests got out of hand.

"I didn't get the support or proper implementation from people who were responsible," Gotabaya said, adding that he wouldn't stand again for the presidency after his term expires in 2024.

Namal said his father disagreed over whether to implement sweeping tax cuts and urged Gotabaya not to go ahead with an ill-timed ban on synthetic fertilisers.

"Had my father been the president, he would have never taken that decision," Namal said. Mahinda didn't respond to requests for comment.

No matter who is responsible, the Rajapaksas are facing a record low and are in need of a rebrand.

And Namal is positioning himself as the main person from the next generation to take the mantle.

During the interview, Namal spoke in a measured, calm voice like a seasoned politician. A fan of bodybuilding, the former sports minister wore a short-sleeved shirt that left part of his biceps visible.

Namal made clear that his policies would be more in line with those of his father than his uncle. Sri Lanka's problem, he said, was that it deviated from a plan to turn Sri Lanka into a manufacturing and transshipment hub.

He also saw a need to upgrade airports to attract more tourists and improve agricultural output so the country had ample supplies to feed itself.

He acknowledged his family's history in the halls of power but also said he doesn't believe in "dynastic politics".

"My father started 55 years ago from Hambantota, I started five years ago - it's a long journey in politics," Namal said. "This is a rough patch, so face it and move forward."

In Hambantota district on the southern coastline, the family's base of power for decades, the political fate of the Rajapaksas remains in question. Armed soldiers patrol outside their sprawling ancestral bungalow, which was reduced to burned-out rubble in May.

Locals also destroyed a museum built in the family's honour, vandalised their tombs and toppled a gold-plated statue depicting a family hero. The family's connection to Hambantota stretches back decades.

D.A. Rajapaksa, Mahinda and Gotabaya's father, was a prominent lawmaker.

Relatives have homes scattered across the district. Nuan Sameera, 60, a farmer from the village of Hukura Wallya, recalled fondly how Mahinda used to frequent a nearby temple and mingle with locals.

"They are part of us," Sameera said, even as he criticised the Rajapaksas for the shortage of food and fertilizer.

Rajapaksa critics associate Hambantota with the clan's extravagant spending habits. An international airport built a decade ago in their name is devoid of passenger flights. A sprawling cricket stadium hardly hosts international matches. And cargo ships barely dock at a US$1 billion port constructed with Chinese money.

Even so, Mahinda remains popular in Hambantota, a largely agrarian district set amidst watery rice paddies and coconut trees.

Sunil Rajapaksa, a farmer who isn't related to the family but lives near one of their houses, said he wouldn't be surprised if Namal leads the dynasty into a new era.

"If Bongbong Marcos could come back, why not the Rajapaksas?" he said, referring to the son of a former dictator who just won the presidency in the Philippines. "It's just a matter of time before people realise that the Rajapaksas worked to better the country."

Namal is clear about one thing: He has no plans to flee Sri Lanka, as some rumors suggested at the height of the chaos in May.

"We will never leave the country - it will never happen," he said. "If the people don't want us, they have the ballot - not the bullet."

POLITE PROTESTERS

Fleeing Rajapaksa’s cash handed to Sri Lankan police

Gotabaya Rajapaksa(centre) escaped through a back door under escort from naval personnel and was taken away by boat, heading to the northeast of the island, official sources told AFP. — Reuters pic

Monday, 11 Jul 2022 3:48 PM MYT

COLOMBO, July 11 — Millions of rupees in cash left behind by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa when he fled his official residence in the capital will be handed over to court on Monday, police said.

Protesters discovered 17.85 million rupees ($292,204.50 Canadian Dollar) in crisp new banknotes but turned it over to police following Saturday’s storming of the Presidential palace.

“The cash was taken over by the police and will be produced in court today,” a police spokesman said.

Official sources said a suitcase full of documents had also been left behind at the stately mansion.

Rajapaksa took up residence at the two-century-old building after he was driven out of his private home on March 31 when protesters tried to storm it.

The 73-year-old leader escaped through a back door under escort from naval personnel and was taken away by boat, heading to the northeast of the island, official sources told AFP.

His exact whereabouts were not known Monday morning, but Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said Rajapaksa had officially informed him of his intention to resign.

The 73-year-old Wickremesinghe will automatically become acting president in the event of Rajapaksa’s resignation, but has himself announced his willingness to step down if consensus is reached on forming a unity government.

Rajapaksa had already told parliamentary Speaker Mahinda Abeywardana that he will quit on Wednesday to allow a “peaceful transition”, hours after he was forced out of his official residence.

Tens of thousands of protesters captured Rajapaksa’s sea-front office shortly after overrunning the palace on Saturday.

Protesters had been camping outside the Presidential Secretariat for over three months demanding his resignation over the country’s unprecedented economic crisis.

Rajapaksa is accused of mismanaging the economy to a point where the country has run out of foreign exchange to finance even the most essential imports leading to severe hardships for the 22 million population.

Thousands of men and women on Monday continued to occupy the state buildings they had taken over at the weekend, vowing to remain until Rajapaksa steps down.

The roads leading to the palace were choked with tens of thousands of people on Sunday visiting the mansion that had previously been the country’s most tightly-guarded building.

An effigy of Rajapaksa was hung on a clock tower near the palace.

The protesters are also demanding the resignation of Wickremesinghe, an opposition legislator who was made premier in May to try and lead the country out of its economic crisis.

Sri Lanka defaulted on its US$51 billion foreign debt in April and is in talks with the IMF for a possible bailout.

Sri Lanka has nearly exhausted its already scarce supplies of petrol. The government has ordered the closure of non-essential offices and schools to reduce commuting and save fuel. — AFP

Sri Lanka: 'Far from certain Rajapaksa's resignation will be enough to quell protesters' anger'

• FRANCE 24 English

Sri Lanka: Gotabaya Rajapaksa agrees to quit after palace stormed

President plans to step down on July 13, says Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena

Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

File picture

---

Reuters, NYTNS, PTI   |   Colombo   |   Published 10.07.22, 03:11 AM

---

Thousands of protesters stormed the Sri Lankan President’s official residence and set the Prime Minister’s private home on fire in Colombo on Saturday as anger intensified over the country’s worst economic crisis in seven decades.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa plans to step down from the presidency on July 13, the Speaker of the country’s parliament said on Saturday, just hours after protesters stormed into the presidential house.

Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, in a video statement, said Rajapaksa had informed him that he would step down from his post on Wednesday.

“The decision to step down on 13 July was taken to ensure a peaceful handover of power,” Abeywardena said. “I therefore request the public to respect the law and maintain peace.” 

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is willing to resign to make way for an all-party government, his office said in a statement on Saturday evening, although it was not immediately clear if this or measures proposed by the parliamentary Speaker would resolve the crisis.

The country’s political leaders, including Rajapaksa’s own lawmakers, too, have asked him to resign, two lawmakers confirmed.

Two defence ministry sources said Rajapaksa had been moved out of his official residence on Friday for his safety ahead of the planned weekend rally.

His whereabouts could not be ascertained but a video circulating on social media suggested a VIP motorcade had arrived at Colombo airport where a SriLanka Airlines aircraft was parked.

Protesters holding Sri Lankan flags and helmets broke into Rajapaksa’s residence, some of them scaling the boundary walls, video footage from local NewsFirst TV channel showed.

Protesters also broke into Wickremesinghe’s private residence and set it on fire, the Prime Minister’s office said. The Prime Minister had been moved to a secure location, a government source told Reuters.

At least 39 people, including two police officers, were injured and hospitalised during the protests, hospital sources told Reuters.

Thousands also broke open the gates of the sea-front presidential secretariat and finance ministry, which has been the site of a sit-in protest for months, and entered the premises, TV footage showed.

Military personnel and police at both locations were unable to hold back the sloganeering crowd.

A Facebook live-stream from inside the President’s house showed hundreds of protesters, some draped in flags, packing into rooms and corridors, shouting slogans against Rajapaksa.

Video footage of protesters standing — and some bathing in the swimming pool inside the President’s home — was widely circulated on social media. The protesters were occupying the premises in the evening without violence or vandalism, reports said.

Hundreds also milled about on the grounds outside the colonial-era, white-washed building. No security officials were visible.

Wickremesinghe held talks with several political party leaders to decide what steps to take following the unrest.

“Wickremesinghe has told the party leaders that he is willing to resign as Prime Minister and make way for an all-party government to take over,” his office said in a statement.

Speaker Abeywardena said in a letter to Rajapaksa that several decisions had been made at the meeting of leaders from parties — including the President and the Prime Minister resigning as soon as possible and parliament being called within seven days to select an acting president.

“Under the acting President the present parliament can appoint a new Prime Minister and an interim government,” said the letter released by the Speaker’s office.

“Afterwards under a set time an election can be held for the people to elect a new parliament,” the letter  added.

Leaders of several Opposition parties have also called for Rajapaksa to resign.

“The President and the Prime Minister must resign immediately. If that does not happen political instability will worsen,” said Sri Lanka Freedom Party leader and former President Maithripala Sirisena, speaking before Wickremesinghe had offered his resignation.

Economic collapse

The island of 22 million people is struggling under a severe foreign exchange shortage that has limited essential imports of fuel, food and medicine, plunging it into its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948.

Soaring inflation, at a record 54.6 per cent in June and expected to hit 70 per cent in the coming months, has heaped hardship on the population.

Political instability could undermine Sri Lanka’s talks with the International Monetary Fund seeking a $3-billion bailout, a restructuring of some foreign debt, and fund-raising from multilateral and bilateral sources to ease the dollar drought.

The crisis comes after Covid-19 hammered the tourism-reliant economy and slashed remittances from overseas workers. The problem has been compounded by the build-up of huge government debt, rising oil prices and a ban on the import of chemical fertilisers last year that devastated agriculture. The fertiliser ban was reversed in November last year.

Local media has reported the deaths of at least 15 people in fuel queues, from heatstroke and other causes, since the beginning of the crisis.

Many blame the country’s decline on economic mismanagement by Rajapaksa. Largely peaceful protests since March have demanded his resignation.

In May, the President’s brother and then Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa was forced out of office, but only after a large group of his supporters marched out of his residence and attacked the camps of peaceful protesters.

The clashes unleashed a wave of violence and vandalism, raising fears that Sri Lanka could break into outright anarchy. Mahinda fled to a military base in the middle of the night.

Curfew lifted

The police had earlier lifted the curfew imposed in seven divisions in the country’s Western Province, including Colombo, ahead of the planned anti-government protests, after facing sustained pressure from top lawyers’ associations, human rights groups and political parties.

On Saturday, the police used tear gas and water cannons and fired shots in the air but were unable to stop the angry crowd from surrounding the presidential residence, an eyewitness said.

The protesters also clashed with railway authorities in the provincial towns of Galle, Kandy and Matara, forcing authorities to operate trains to Colombo.

Despite a severe shortage of fuel that has stalled transport services, demonstrators packed into buses, trains and trucks from several parts of the country to reach Colombo.

Sampath Perera, a 37-year-old fisherman, took an overcrowded bus from the seaside town of Negombo, 45km north of Colombo, to join the protest.

“We have told Gota over and over again to go home but he is still clinging onto power. We will not stop until he listens to us,” Perera said.

The organisers of the movement, “Whole country to Colombo”, said many people were walking from the suburbs to join the protesters at Colombo Fort.

“I came here today to send the President home,” said Wasantha Kiruwaththuduwa, 50, who had walked 16km to join the protest.

The US ambassador to Sri Lanka, Julie Chung, had on Friday urged the country’s military and police to allow peaceful protests.

“Violence is not an answer.… Chaos & force will not fix the economy or bring the political stability that Sri Lankans need right now,” she had tweeted.

On Friday, the United Nations too had urged the “Sri Lankan authorities to show restraint in the policing of assemblies and ensure every necessary effort to prevent violence”.

Without fuel, the Sri Lankan economy is grinding to a halt.

Sri Lanka’s government has asked Russia for help to import fuel into the country.

Credit...Atul Loke for The New York Times

By Karan Deep Singh

July 9, 2022

One of the biggest reasons Sri Lankan residents took to the streets on Saturday is the country’s desperate need for fuel and other energy supplies. The South Asian nation has run out of foreign currency to pay for fuel, bringing its economy grinding to a halt.

The acute fuel shortages have meant that food and medicines can’t be transported. Fresh produce from farms can’t make it to cities. People can’t travel in cars, buses or trains. The government has even asked airlines to make sure they’re carrying enough fuel for their return flights because it can no longer provide jet fuel.

“People are very angry because once fuel is not available, they can’t do anything,” said W. A. Wijewardena, an economist and a former deputy governor for Sri Lanka’s central bank.

The situation is so bad that Sri Lanka’s president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has sought the help of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. On Wednesday, Mr. Rajapaksa said on Twitter that he had spoken to Mr. Putin by phone to ask him for “credit support” to import fuel in the country.

Mr. Rajapaksa’s decision to request help from Russia shows Sri Lanka’s limited options at a time when oil and gas prices have skyrocketed because of the war in Ukraine, experts say. Even the country’s closest ally, India, has refused to provide more fuel supplies unless Sri Lanka pays for it in advance. Since January, India has provided about $3.5 billion in food, fuel and medicines to the country.

Mr. Wijewardena said that in the days to come, Sri Lankans would have to sacrifice modern comforts. “We will have to walk because we cannot use our cars anymore,” he said.

“The liquid has overtaken the entirety of our modern economy.”

Karan Deep Singh is a reporter and visual journalist based in New Delhi, India. He previously worked for The Wall Street Journal, where he was part of a team that was named a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting and nominated for a national Emmy Award. @Karan_Singhs

GOP TRANSPARENCY

Arizona to ban people filming 

police officers within 8 feet

Fri, July 8, 2022 

A cell phone films a police officer

A law in the US state of Arizona will ban people from filming police officers at short distances, with possible fines or jail for those who don't comply.

Critics call the law a threat to free speech and the right to a free press.

Police are often filmed by bystanders and footage has occasionally resulted in officer misconduct being exposed.

The law comes into effect on 24 September and will make it illegal to film police officers in the state within a distance of 8 feet (2.4m).

People who ignore a verbal warning and continue filming risk a misdemeanour charge and up to 30 days in jail.

The law, however, makes exceptions for people interacting with police, or in enclosed area on private property.

State representative John Kavanagh - who sponsored the bill - has argued it is necessary because "groups hostile to the police" sometimes "get dangerously close to potentially violent encounters".

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"Getting very close to police officers in tense situations is a dangerous practice that can end in tragedy," he wrote in USA Today in March. "Police officers have no way of knowing whether the person approaching is an innocent bystander or an accomplice of the person they're arresting who might assault them."

Opponents of the law, however, say it attempts to discourage people from exercising their rights to film on public property, violating their constitutionally-protected First Amendment rights to free speech.

Additionally, the National Press Photographers Association - an industry group that includes still and TV news photographers - filed an objection to the law in February, arguing that it "runs counter to the clearly established right to photograph and record police officers performing their official duties in a public place.".

Bystander footage of police encounters with the public has played a prominent role in the debate over police misconduct and brutality, particularly against African Americans.

Video of George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin - which was taken by a 17-year-old bystander - later proved to be a key part in the case against the officer.

This week, Chauvin was sentenced to 20 years in prison for violating Mr Floyd's civil rights. He is already serving a 22-year-state sentence for murder.