Iraqi parliament elects Abdul Latif Rashid as new president

Election breaks months-long political deadlock and came hours after rockets struck areas near Baghdad’s Green Zone.

Rashid attends the parliamentary session to elect a new head of state [

Iraqi parliament media office handout via Reuters]

Published On 13 Oct 202213 Oct 2022
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Lawmakers in Iraq have elected Kurdish politician Abdul Latif Rashid as the country’s new president, paving the way for the formation of a new government and ending a year of deadlock, even as rockets landed near the parliament building.

Rashid replaced fellow Iraqi Kurd Barham Saleh as head of state after the two-round vote in parliament on Thursday, winning more than 160 votes against 99 for Saleh, an assembly official said. Saleh reportedly walked out of the parliament building as the votes were tallied.

Shia politician Mohammed Shia al-Sudani was quickly named prime minister-designate, assuming the task of reconciling feuding Shia factions and forming a government after a year of deadlock. Al-Sudani replaces caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi.

In Iraq’s power-sharing system, the presidency is reserved for Kurdish groups to nominate while the premiership falls under Shia blocs. The speaker of parliament is a Sunni.

Reporting from Baghdad, Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdelwahed said the election of Rashid signals that “this chapter of rivalry has been concluded in the Iraqi parliament,” while noting that forming a government could still be an uphill battle.

“It remains to be seen what reactions could unfold in the streets given the fact that this has not been easy,” Abdelwahed said. “This process has taken a long time and it has included violence between supporters of rival political parties.”

The 52-year-old Sudani, who has the backing of the pro-Iranian Coordination Framework, will now have 30 days to form a government, a daunting task that will require winning over those affiliated with influential Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr.

The most recent political deadlock began after al-Sadr emerged as the biggest winner in an October 2021 parliamentary vote, but failed to rally enough support to form a government. Al-Sadr in August announced what he called his “final withdrawal” from politics, sparking protests that killed at least 30.

In July, when al-Sudani was first proposed for the role, protesters backed by al-Sadr also stormed parliament. The standoff has seen both sides set up protest camps in the heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses many government buildings.

Iraq had already made three failed attempts this year to elect a new head of state.

The presidency was also fiercely contested between Iraq’s Kurdish region’s two main parties – the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) which nominated Rashid, and its traditional rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

Rashid’s election raises concerns about escalating tensions between the KDP and PUK, who fought a civil war in the 1990s.

Rocket attacks ahead of vote

In advance of the much-anticipated session, at least nine rockets targeted the parliament building inside the Green Zone, wounding at least five people.

The attack was swiftly condemned by the US and UK ambassadors to the country, with UK envoy Mark Bryson-Richardson tweeting the “violence has no part in the political process and state institutions must be allowed to operate.”

It was not the first time rocket attacks have targeted the parliament building as lawmakers prepared to attend a session.

On September 28, three rockets targeted the Green Zone as a session was convened to renew confidence in parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi.

Both Rashid and al-Sudani have long histories in Iraqi politics.

Rashid was the minister of water resources from 2003 to 2010 and has since served as a presidential adviser. He hails form Sulaimaniyah, a major city in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, and speaks Kurdish, Arabic and English.

Al-Sudani rose to prominence within the Shia political leadership following the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

In 2010, he launched his political career in Baghdad, rising within the government of prime minister Nuri al-Maliki and becoming the minister of human rights, then social affairs, and then of industry.

Both Rashid and al-Sudani are seen as close to al-Maliki, a longtime foe of al-Sadr.

KEEP READINGl
Thousands of Iraqis gather to mark 2019 anti-government protest
Rockets hit Baghdad for second day as Iraq unrest escalates
13 dead in Iranian attacks on Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

UK Rwanda deportation policy for asylum seekers is 'inherently unlawful and unfair'Deportation flights are grounded while the legal cases are fought


The legal battle is playing out at the High Court. AP

Simon Rushton
Oct 13, 2022

Plans to deport some asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda are “inherently unlawful and unfair”, the High Court has been told.

Charlotte Kilroy KC, representing the charity Asylum Aid, told judges it was bringing a “systemic challenge” against the home secretary over the decision-making process for sending people to east Africa.

Asylum seekers could have their claims processed in as little as three weeks after arrival in a process that is “seriously unfair”, Ms Kilroy said.

Far-right collector of fascist memorabilia elected Italian Senate speaker

Ignazio La Russa, of Brothers of Italy party, showed off collection in 2018 newspaper interview; like leader Giorgia Meloni he is ambiguous about party’s neo-fascist roots

By AGENCIES

Today, 7:31 pm


Italian far-right party Fratelli d'Italia's (Brothers of Italy) Ignazio La Russa addresses the Italian Senate after he was elected its new president, in Rome on October 13, 2022. (Andreas Solaro/AFP)

ROME, Italy — Ignazio La Russa, who was elected speaker of the Italian senate Thursday, is a veteran of the far-right who collects fascist memorabilia as a hobby.

The 75-year-old co-founded the post-fascist Brothers of Italy party with Giorgia Meloni, whose victory in elections last month put her on course to become prime minister.

As speaker, La Russa now has the role of guiding legislation through parliament’s upper house, but is also expected to wield power behind the scenes.

Meloni hailed him as a “patriot, a servant of the state” who for her party “is an irreplaceable point of reference, a friend, a brother, an example for generations of activists and leaders.”

The senate opening ceremony was presided over by Holocaust survivor Liliana Segre, a 92-year-old senator-for-life. In an emotional address she noted that she was presiding over the Senate as Italy soon marks the 100th anniversary of the March on Rome, which brought Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini to power.

The Brothers of Italy party, which won the most votes in the September 25 elections and has its origins in a neo-fascist movement, is to head Italy’s first far-right-led government since the end of World War II.

Segre didn’t refer to the party by name in her speech, but she said Italian voters had expressed their will at the ballot box.

Brothers of Italy’s leader Giorgia Meloni casts her ballot to choose the Chamber president in the Italian lower Chamber on the opening session of the new parliament, October 13, 2022. (Alessandra Tarantino/AP)

La Russa has been a part of the nationalist Italian right since the end of the 1960s, when his long hair and beard prompted writer Umberto Eco to compare him to Rasputin.

But politics is also in his blood. His landowner father, Antonino La Russa, was a local official in Sicily for the National Fascist Party of dictator Benito Mussolini.

And after World War II, he was elected MP and then senator for its successor organization, the Italian Social Movement (MSI), set up by Mussolini’s followers.
‘Different view of history’

Ignazio La Russa, born on July 18, 1947, in Paterno, near Catania in Sicily, has Benito as a middle name.

He has defended the MSI, saying it was “the party of those who lost the war, but their great merit was to never think of terrorism or rebellion against the democratic choice.”

“Of course, they had a different view of history, but they built a party that could not be more democratic,” he told the Corriere della Sera newspaper earlier this year.

Holocaust survivor, Senator Liliana Segre chairs the opening session of the Italian Senate of the newly elected parliament, October 13, 2022. (Gregorio Borgia/AP)

The family moved to Milan when La Russa was 13, and he still lives in the northern city, the capital of the Lombardy region.

During his studies — he trained as a lawyer — La Russa was an activist with the MSI’s youth wing and at 38, became an MSI regional councilor in Lombardy.

From the early 1990s, he was in parliament first for the MSI, and when it was dissolved for its successor, National Alliance, then as part of a right-wing coalition led by Silvio Berlusconi.

La Russa served as defense minister during Berlusconi’s 2008-2011 government, where he is credited with persuading the then premier to take part in the war in Libya that ended the Kadhafi regime.

Heirs to Il Duce

While rejecting the autocratic nature of the Mussolini regime, La Russa — like Meloni — has maintained a level of ambiguity about his party’s neo-fascist roots.

When his brother Romano, head of security in the Lombardy region, drew criticism during the election campaign by giving the fascist salute at the funeral of a far-right activist, La Russa said it was a “serious mistake.”

Then on television a few days later, he asserted that “we are all heirs of Il Duce [Mussolini], in the sense that we are heirs of our fathers and our grandparents.”

He often uses humor to brush off criticism of his views. In February 2020, mocking social distancing rules recommended to protect against coronavirus, he urged on Twitter: “Do not shake hands with anyone, the infection is lethal.”

“Use the Roman salute, anti-virus and anti-microbial.” He later deleted the message.

In 2018, Corriere visited his Milan home and filmed his collection of fascist relics, which include statues and medals of Mussolini, photos and books on the black shirts and colonial Italy.

He is also a fan of American history, naming his three sons after Native American tribes or warriors: Antonino Geronimo, Lorenzo Cochis, and Leonardo Apache.

Party leader Meloni was herself a member of the youth branches of MSI and the National Alliance and founded Brothers of Italy in 2012, keeping the tricolor flame symbol of the MSI in her party logo.

During the campaign, amid Democratic warnings that she represented a danger to democracy, Meloni insisted that the Italian right had “handed fascism over to history for decades now,” and had condemned racial laws and the suppression of democracy.

World Economy Heading For 'Slow-Motion Train Wreck': Ex-Treasury Adviser

BY KATHERINE FUNG 

ON 10/13/22 

Nouriel Roubini, a former senior adviser to Obama's Treasury Secretary, said the global economy is on track to a "slow-motion train wreck," in an interview with Newsweek.

"We're seeing a situation in which short term trends are consistent with my medium-, long-term story where there is mounting economic, monetary, social, political, geopolitical, environmental and technological threats and they're building up," Roubini, who earned the nickname "Dr. Doom" for predicting the 2008 financial crisis, said.




In his latest book MegaThreats: Ten Dangerous Trends That Imperil Our Future, And How to Survive Them, Roubini outlines ten threats catapulting the world towards unprecedented economic catastrophe. Among the threats is what he predicts to be "the mother of all debt crises," which he says will come sometime in the current or next decade.

Nouriel Roubini, former senior adviser to President Obama's treasury secretary and former senior economist for President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers. "The trend is not going in the right direction," Roubini told Newsweek.

Over the last couple of years, the economy has taken several devastating blows as a result of the pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Skyrocketing inflation and rising prices at gas pumps and grocery stores have forced many Americans to tighten their belts and head to the polls this November with the economy at top of their minds, numerous polls show.

Another bad sign came on Thursday in the form of September's inflation report, which showed consumer prices climbing far more quickly than expected, with the Consumer Price Index rising to 8.2 percent, and overall inflation climbing another 0.4 percent, much higher than last month's 0.1 percent.

"Economic and financial damage is happening here now," Roubini said.

Roubini said that while much of the underlying economic problems have been in slow-motion for some time now, the "geopolitical depression" that the world is in—with the war in Ukraine, the OPEC's oil production cut, tensions between Beijing and Taiwan, recent missile launches from North Korea and the election of far-right Giorgia Meloni in Italy, among other events—has put us on a "collision course that is accelerating."




On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin's mass strikes across Ukraine prompted Western allies readied to further economic sanctions against Moscow. Although Roubini thinks the sanctions are needed, he said it is "likely" that the U.S. and Europe will end up in a recession by next year.

"A hard landing is more likely than a soft landing," he told Newsweek.

The Biden administration has repeatedly reassured the American public that a recession does not lie ahead, and just Tuesday, the president himself said that even if there were one, it would be a "very slight" economic dip.

"Every six months they say this. Every six months, they look down the next six months and say what's going to happen," Biden told CNN's Jake Tapper. "It hadn't happened yet. It hadn't...I don't think there will be a recession. If it is, it'll be a very slight recession."

But Roubini fears that what looms ahead will be much worse than slight.

"The dystopian scenario, to me, looks more likely, so far, than the more utopian one," he said. "The trend is not going in the right direction."

In his book, Roubini also argues that there is also a "demographic time bomb" when it comes to providing financial safety nets for aging workers.

"Not enough money exists to deliver on the financial promises that have been made to workers and the swelling numbers of retired workers in advanced economies," he writes. And so, "Instead of buying goods and building nest eggs for young families, the paycheck of active workers will be more and more devoted to maintaining safety nets for the elderly."




On Thursday, Social Security announced an 8.7 percent cost of living adjustment for retirees—the highest inflation increase to benefits in 40 years. At the time of last year's 5.9 percent increase, the bump had been the largest adjustment seen in four decades.

Beginning in January, the average Social Security retiree benefit will increase $146 a month, then $1.827 in 2023 and $1,681 in 2022.

"Younger generations are already worried—even before they retire—about whether their income and wealth is going to be as good or better than their own parents," Roubini said. With a number of unexpected setbacks like COVID, "their job opportunities, income and wealth are already challenged, let alone the fact that the Social Security Trust Fund is going to be run down in two years."

"By the time Millennials or Gen X or Gen Z are gonna retire, we know that they're gonna receive only a fraction—80 percent, 70 percent, 60 percent—of what their expected benefits are," he added. "But they're already having trouble today, let alone 30, 40, 50 years from now."


"MegaThreats" is set to publish October 18.

 

We need to do more to end the largest lockout in Canadian history Two weeks ago we sent out an appeal on behalf of 28,000 Canadian performers who were locked out by their employer when they refused to take a 60% pay cut and give up their retirement savings plan. To date 4,727 trade unionists around the world have sent solidarity messages in support of these workers and ACTRA, their union. If you are one of those 4,727, thanks -- and please pass this appeal on to your contacts and encourage them to join you. If you haven’t yet done so, please do take a few seconds (really) and support these workers.  Just go HERE. Thanks! Eric Lee

STATEHOOD OR INDEPENDENCE
US opts to not rebuild renowned Puerto Rico telescope

The National Science Foundation has announced it will not rebuild a renowned radio telescope in Puerto Rico, which was one of the world’s largest until it collapsed nearly two years ago

By DÁNICA COTO

 Associated Press
October 13, 2022

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- The National Science Foundation announced Thursday that it will not rebuild a renowned radio telescope in Puerto Rico, which was one of the world’s largest until it collapsed nearly two years ago.

Instead, the agency issued a solicitation for the creation of a $5 million education center at the site that would promote programs and partnerships related to science, technology, engineering and math. It also seeks the implementation of a research and workforce development program, with the center slated to open next year in the northern mountain town of Arecibo where the telescope was once located.

The solicitation does not include operational support for current infrastructure at the site that is still in use, including a 12-meter radio telescope or the Lidar facility, which is used to study the upper atmosphere and ionosphere to analyze cloud cover and precipitation data.

The decision was mourned by scientists around the world who used the telescope at the Arecibo Observatory for years to search for asteroids, planets and extraterrestrial life. The 1,000-foot-wide (305-meter-wide) dish also was featured in the Jodie Foster film “Contact” and the James Bond movie “GoldenEye.”

The reflector dish and the 900-ton platform hanging 450 feet above it previously allowed scientists to track asteroids headed to Earth, conduct research that led to a Nobel Prize and determine if a planet is potentially habitable.



“We understand how much the site has meant to the community,” said Sean Jones, assistant director for directorate of mathematical and physical sciences at NSF. “If you’re a radio astronomer, you’ve probably spent some time of your career at Arecibo.”

But all research abruptly ended when an auxiliary cable snapped in August 2020, tearing a 100-foot hole in the dish and damaging the dome above it. A main cable broke three months later, prompting the NSF to announce in November 2020 that it was closing the telescope because the structure was too unstable.

Experts suspect that a possible manufacturing error caused the cable to snap, but NSF officials said Thursday that the investigation is still ongoing.

Jones said in a phone interview that the decision to not rebuild the telescope comes in part because the U.S. government has other radar facilities that can do part of the mission that Arecibo once did. He added that the NSF also envisions a five-year maintenance contract to keep the site open, which would cost at least $1 million a year.

“This is a pivotal time. The education component is very important,” said James Moore, assistant director for education and human resource directorate at NSF.

He said by phone that one of the agency’s priorities is to make STEM more accessible and inclusive and that the proposed education center would fill that need.

“It’s a way to augment some of the things that young people are getting in their schools or not getting,” he said.

FRASER INSTITUTE FAIL

Nearly half of federal budget deficit during pandemic not related to COVID spending

“You could argue that part of the reason for the larger deficit was that federal revenues were down during the pandemic and spending up”

Bryan Passifiume - National Post

A health care worker guides a woman wearing a mask outside of St. Michaels Hospital in Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic.© Provided by National Post

As Canada set new records for government spending during COVID-19, a newly released report suggests nearly half of the spending was not related to the pandemic.

Authored by Lakehead University Economics Professor Livio Di Matteo for the Fraser Institute, the paper — entitled Storm Without End: The Fiscal Impact of COVID-19 on Canada and the Provinces — says federal spending grew by 73 per cent in 2020/21 to $644.2 billion.

That number declined into the next fiscal year, falling 21 per cent to $508.2 billion in 2021/22.

In 2020/21, the report says, the federal government debt grew by around 41 per cent, and 12.4 per cent, to $1.3 trillion, in 2021/22.

“You could argue that part of the reason for the larger deficit was that federal revenues were down during the pandemic and spending up,” Di Matteo said.

“But if you look at the federal revenue performance, it was down about 5 per cent in 2021, but started to rebound quite dramatically.”

Estimates for 2021/22, which Di Matteo said have yet to be finalized, suggest a 17 per cent increase.

Health spending saw an estimated increase of nearly 13 per cent between 2019 and 2020, the report reads — a rate of increase Di Matteo said was over triple the established health care spending growth rate since 2015, and a boost not seen in over three decades.

During the pandemic, around 60 per cent of the federal budget deficit was directly related to the pandemic, largely both federal health spending and related transfers to the provinces, as well as income support programs.

This, the report indicates, suggests a permanent, long-term spending increase.

Projections released late last year by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CHI) suggested the spike in pandemic health spending — expected to exceed $308 billion by the end of 2021 — could put hamper efforts by provinces to rebuild their health care networks post-COVID.

Dr. Katharine Smart, 

president of the Canadian Medical Association, told The Canadian Press in November that provincial health care systems haven’t kept up with these historic increases in health spending, comparing the problem as an out-of-control freight train.

But what impact does this have on Canada’s economic future?

A looming longer-term consequence, he said, is the impact on the federal debt.

“You’re looking at a debt to GDP ratio going from about 33 to 50 per cent, and for the time being a lot of that is locked in at relatively low interest rates,” he said.

But as that debt starts to turn over and new debt accrues, that could lead to higher interest rates and a subsequent increased cost in servicing that debt.

While a great many factors go into a rise in inflation, the increased spending is certainly having an impact, Di Matteo said.

“Inflation is also a function of the supply chain disruptions, the w ar in Ukraine and u ltra-low interest rates still present, so that’s a complicated picture,” he said.

THE FRASER INSTITUTE IS A BIG BUSINESS RIGHT WING THINK TANK LIKE THE CATO INSTITUTE IN THE U$A

CANADIAN BUYOUT

Westinghouse sale signals arrival of a new nuclear age

Brandon Vigliarolo - Yesterday - The Register

Energy granddad wants in on the next generation of atomic tech

Uranium fuel producer Cameco Corp and investment firm Brookfield Renewable Partners intend to buy Westinghouse Electric Company in a bid to accelerate a nuclear power resurgence. …

The deal will cost the pair (and Brookfield Renewable's unnamed institutional partners) $7.85 billion, including $4.5 billion in equity and the remainder in assuming the company's debts. Westinghouse president and CEO Patrick Fragman says the agreement kickstarts a new chapter, not only for Westinghouse Electric Company, but for nuclear power as well.

"We are proud to join Brookfield Renewable and Cameco, reaffirming the important role played by Westinghouse and nuclear power in enabling the world's clean energy transition and energy security goals," Fragman said in a statement.

Nuclear power appears to be entering a renaissance phase. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), nuclear power generation needs to more than double by 2050 to help the world meet global warming reduction goals.

The IEA isn't the only group embracing nuclear power – Japan recently reversed its ban on nuclear power after the Fukushima meltdown 11 years ago, clearing the way for shuttered plants to reopen and new ones to be constructed.

Related video: Nuclear Power Stages a Comeback, But Is It Affordable and Safe?

Environmental responsibility aside, Cameco CEO and president Tim Gitzel said that there's never been a better time to get into nuclear, though keep in mind that his organization manufactures uranium fuel for such facilities.

"We're witnessing some of the best market fundamentals we've ever seen in the nuclear energy sector. [It is] becoming increasingly important in a world that prioritizes electrification, decarbonization and energy security," Gitzel said.

Cameco and Brookfield Renewable also talked up the construction of utility-scale and modular nuclear power generators. Smaller reactors are being developed, including a molten salt reactor that can fit on the back of a flatbed semi trailer, or more traditional small modular water reactors.

It's unknown in which direction Cameco and Brookfield plan to take Westinghouse, though the pair did say they were well positioned to "execute on the growing pipeline for extending and uprating nuclear power plants, and service the rising demand" for new smaller reactors – no mention of the type.

Westinghouse Electric Company is currently owned by Brookfield Business Partners, a subsidiary of Brookfield Renewable under parent company Brookfield Asset Management.

Brookfield Business purchased Westinghouse Electric Company from Toshiba in 2018 after the latter placed Westinghouse in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in a bid to restructure it. Brookfield said that its management of Westinghouse nearly doubled the company's profitability through restructuring and a refocus of its services.

Westinghouse Electric Company is also independent of Westinghouse Electric Corporation, from which it was spun off in 1999 after Westinghouse (then known as CBS Corp) merged with Viacom and sought to get rid of the last of its industrial enterprises.

The deal is still being negotiated and isn't expected to close until the second half of 2023.

 

®

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment (plawiuk.blogspot.com)

B.C. First Nations seek action on sturgeon deaths, after court blamed declines on dam

VANCOUVER — Three British Columbia First Nations want the provincial and federal governments to live up to a nine-month-old court decision that said there is "overwhelming" evidence a dam on the Nechako River is killing endangered sturgeon.


B.C. First Nations seek action on sturgeon deaths, after court blamed declines on dam© Provided by The Canadian Press

They are highlighting the ruling after scientists asked the public in September for help in solving the mysterious deaths of 11 adult sturgeon found in the Nechako River in central B.C.

The Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship said the fish showed no visible external injuries and their deaths were not caused by disease, chemical exposure, angling or gillnet fisheries.

However, the Nechako First Nations claim mismanagement of the river and the dam reservoir are behind the deaths, saying quick action is needed to protect their rights and the sturgeon, which the court said were in “a decline so severe that the species is currently at risk of imminent extirpation.”


In the 1950s, the B.C. government authorized the Aluminum Company of Canada, now Rio Tinto Alcan, to build the Kenney Dam and a 233-kilometre-long reservoir on the river for hydropower generation to smelt its product.

Two of the Nechako First Nations, the Saik’uz and Stellat’en, sued the governments and Rio Tinto Alcan for the decades of losses to their fisheries, the lands, waters and rights.

The B.C. Supreme Court ruled in January that while Rio Tinto Alcan has complied with every contract it signed and abided by all terms on its water licence, the "failure" came from the governments who settled on insufficient requirements to protect the fish of the Nechako.

The judge ruled the Saik’uz and Stellat’en nations have an Aboriginal right to fish for food, social and ceremonial purposes in the Nechako River watershed and that both the provincial and federal governments have an obligation to protect that right.

Justice Nigel Kent said it was a fact that the Kenney Dam's installation and operation were behind the "recruitment failure" of the Nechako white sturgeon, referring to the survival of fish larvae into the juvenile stage.

Sturgeon, with their long snout and shark-like tail, can grow up to six metres long and live for over a century. The Nechako white sturgeon are a distinct population.

Priscilla Mueller, elected chief of Saik’uz First Nation, said the community living along the river has watched water flow decline over the last several years.

“Right now, the Nechako River received less than 30 per cent of the water that it would naturally receive. So, when you look at the river today, the water level is very low. It would be very difficult for the sturgeons to survive in very low water," she said.

“It’s not only affecting the sturgeons, but it’s also affecting our salmon and other fish habitats."

Mueller recalled fishing with her grandparents as a child and said the salmon and sturgeon thrived on the river.

“And now like in Saik’uz, I haven't heard of anybody getting a sturgeon for years since I was a child .… The (Kenney) Dam really affected the river in a big way,” said Mueller.

The Saik’uz, Stellat’en and Nadleh Whut'en First Nations said in a news release that the recent deaths are the “latest blow” to the endangered species, which numbers between 300 and 600.

“Given the population’s conservation status, these mortalities have very serious implications for the Nechako white sturgeon’s ability to recover, and will drive the population closer to extinction,” they said.

The nations have since filed an appeal of the January ruling, seeking a court order for the restoration of flows on the Nechako that would re-establish "the natural functions of the river.”

Mueller said it’s not just in the First Nations’ interests to restore the river — the health of the river would benefit the whole community on the waterway.

The nations said they now look forward to discussions with all parties to create a new water management regime.

Mueller said one of the first steps is to invite Rio Tinto to their community to see who they are and how they live.

"So, for our community, building relationships is very important. And when you think about a relationship, it's not just one-sided. If we were gonna co-manage the river, that means all parties need to be involved,” said Mueller.

The Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship said no more dead sturgeon have recently been observed on the Nechako River, which it saw as a “positive update.”

“We are cautiously optimistic that this mortality event is over. The province is focusing on understanding the cause and what can be done to prevent potential future events," the ministry said in an email statement.

No cause of death was immediately apparent, but analyses and lab tests would continue, with water temperature and oxygen stress studies also underway through a partnership with the University of British Columbia, said the ministry.

"The province understands there is interest from First Nations and stakeholders in a water release facility at the Kenney Dam in the Nechako watershed," the ministry said, adding that it was discussing sturgeon stewardship "to ensure it meets the interests of Nechako First Nations."

Fisheries and Oceans Canada said in a written statement it had been engaged with Indigenous groups, Rio Tinto, B.C. and others in Nechako River white sturgeon recovery initiatives since 2000. A key objective was to ensure Rio Tinto operations “do not impact Nechako white sturgeon and facilitate their recovery.”

Andrew Czornohalan, director of power and projects at Rio Tinto BC Works, said in an email statement that the company is “deeply saddened” by the sturgeons’ deaths and it is working with partners, including the Nechako white sturgeon recovery initiative and the province.

“We are aware of the sturgeon mortality that occurred this summer in the Nechako River and in other rivers in B.C., including the Fraser River. We have offered technical capacity via the water engagement initiative to identify the possible causes of this unprecedented event."

He said the company has contributed over $13 million to the recovery initiative since 2000.

Over the past two years, Rio Tinto has been working with the First Nations and local communities to improve the water flow into the Nechako River while still monitoring for flood risks in Vanderhoof, a city in northern B.C., said Czornohalan.

“We will continue to collaborate with First Nations, governments and other stakeholders to review all aspects of the Nechako Reservoir management process in hopes of improving the health of the river and ensuring Rio Tinto can remain a driver of economic opportunities in B.C.,” said Czornohalan.

He said on top of powering its smelting plant, the dam provides hydropower for around 350,000 residents in B.C.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 13, 2022.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Nono Shen, The Canadian Press

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for FOSSIL FISH 

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for STURGEON 

Cryptozoology Part 2: plawiuk — LiveJournal

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for STURGEON FOSSIL FISH

Mexico march puts violence against women, girls in spotlight

Online News EditorOctober 8, 2022

San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico, Oct 8 (EFE).- Dozens of women and girls marched through the main streets of San Cristóbal de Las Casas in Mexico’s Chiapas state on Saturday to put violence, inequality and discrimination faced by women in the country in the spotlight.

Ahead of International Day of the Girl Child on Oct. 11, the protesters walked to the city’s central park carrying banners and balloons, and white handkerchiefs on their wrists as a symbol of peace.

With slogans such as “I have the right to play without fear,” “Fight for girls” and “We are a girls’ club and we deserve respect,” they expressed their demands for respect and visibility.

The small contingent was also accompanied by a group of children and men who supported the march, with banners that read: “Respect for women” and “Stop discrimination and violence against women,” among others.

Jennifer Haza, director of Melel Xojobal, told EFE that this march is held every year in order to highlight the problems in Chiapas where, she said, 21 percent of girls aged three to 17 years old do not attend school.

She also said that the state has the second-highest number of pregnancies of girls under 15 years of age in the country.

According to statistics from the National Survey on the Dynamics of Household Relationships 2021, in Chiapas 20.2 percent of the population of women aged 15 and over have experienced situations of violence at school throughout their lives.

In 2020, Chiapas state had the highest number of pregnancies of girls under 15 years of age in the country with a total of 1,139, equivalent to 95 pregnant girls per month, according to a report from the Network for the Rights of Children in Mexico.

The organization also reported that between 2018 and 2022, a total of 1,220 girls aged between one and 17 disappeared, of which 76 percent were aged between 12 and 17 years. EFE

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