Australia challenges China in mining for essential elements

7
Phil Mercer - BBC News, Sydney
Mon, October 17, 2022 

The Arafura Nolan's project will be built in central Australia, north of Alice Springs

In the blood red dust of central Australia, mining firm Arafura is planning to build a mine and processing facility for highly sought-after elements.

Located 80 miles north of Alice Springs, the Nolans Project will be in one of the hottest and driest parts of the country.

Despite the extreme conditions, Arafura believes the investment will be worth it. The planned mine and processing facility could satisfy up to 5% of global demand for neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr), which are used in high-power magnets.

They are two of a group of so-called rare earth elements, that are essential to the electronics industry.


NdPr, europium, terbium and other rare earth metals that were once barely heard of are now commonplace in the manufacture of phone touchscreens, wind turbines and other modern technologies.

The mining of these minerals is an industry currently dominated by China, but geopolitical and trade forces are at work that could reshape the international market.

China dominates the production of rare earth metals

Australia, a superpower exporter of iron ore and coal with rich mining traditions believes it is well-placed to join the race to exploit minerals that provide critical parts for electric vehicles and wind turbines.

"This could certainly be a game-changer for Australia. We are relatively well-endowed in rare earth elements," says Gavin Lockyer, managing director of Arafura Resources.

"This could really put Australia front and centre in the renewable sector.

"It is relatively easy to discover a rare earths deposit. What is difficult is finding a deposit that has economic quantities of the valuable materials."

Rare earths are a collection of more than a dozen elements on the periodic table. They are not particularly rare, but actually fairly plentiful in the Earth's crust.

Geoscience Australia, a government research agency, says they have broad industrial, medical, domestic and strategic applications "because of their unique catalytic, nuclear, electrical, magnetic and luminescent properties".

They are used in "magnets and super magnets, motors, metal alloys, electronic and computing equipment, batteries, catalytic converters, petroleum refining, medical imaging and lasers".

Europium is found in fluorescent lighting, gadolinium in nuclear power rods and ytterbium in solar panels.

Rare earth metals have become essential in the production of electronics

Mr Lockyer points out that some of the latest technology relies on their properties.

"It is important to note that an electric vehicle might only have AUD$200 (£120; $140) or so of NdPr in it, but without it that electric vehicle will not work efficiently. Similarly with the wind turbines," he adds.

In a time of war and menace, the valuable metals have strategic value and are used in fighter jets, guided missiles and drones along with other high-tech equipment for space exploration.

Australian firm Lynas Rare Earths has been contracted by the United States Department of Defense to build a multimillion-dollar processing facility in the US in a bid to reduce its reliance on China for strategic minerals.

Lynas is the world's only significant rare earths producer outside China and runs the Mount Weld mine in Western Australia.

"We look forward to not only meeting the rare earth needs of the US government, but also reinvigorating the local rare earths market," Lynas managing director Amanda Lacaze told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm warned of China "big-footing" technology for renewable energy

The US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm warned recently at a conference in Sydney that China was "big-footing" renewable energy technology and supply chains.

Beijing's control of the supply of rare earths has been documented by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (Aspi), an independent think tank based in Canberra.

It noted how the minerals have become weapons of diplomacy following a 2010 collision between a Chinese fisherman and Japanese patrol boats near a disputed chain of islands. Beijing complained about the "illegal interception" of its trawlers and retaliated.

"We saw the Chinese government stop rare earth supply to Japan as part of its economic coercion against the Japanese government," says Aspi analyst Albert Zhang.

"Since then, what countries have noticed is that there is a risk by having only one major supplier of rare earths [and] such an essential raw material isn't beholden to just the political will of one government. Australia has the materials and the right sort of companies and capital investment to diversify the world's supply chain."

Australian experts have said that more recently China threatened to limit rare earth shipments to American defence contractors because of US arms sales to Taiwan.

Rare earth metals are used in the powerful magnets inside wind turbines

John Coyne, who is in charge of Aspi's Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre, also warns that China will not easily surrender its vice-like dominance of the international rare earths sector. He alleges that Beijing uses its "power and market-distortion tactics to strategically flood the market when it wants to drive out competitors and deter new market entrants".

"Australia has the world's sixth-largest reserves of rare earth minerals. However, they remain largely untapped with only two mines producing them," he says.

"There is significant potential in the establishment of multi-ore mineral-processing hubs in Australia. After all, there is no point in creating supply chain resilience for [rare earth] ores if miners must still send them to China for processing."

China's Global Times said Beijing would welcome "benign competition" to "improve production capacity" in the industry.

The newspaper added that "the US and some of its allies, in their pernicious and selfish attempt to contain China's rise, has brought toxic geopolitics to the crucial rare earth industry as well as other economic and trade fields".

Earlier this year, the South Korean carmaker Hyundai signed a memorandum of understanding with Arafura Resources, which provides "them security of supply [of rare earths] in a geopolitically stable environment".

A similar agreement to supply NdPr was reached between Arafura and GE Renewable Energy in July.

"What we have all seen during the pandemic is the importance of having multiple supply chains," says GE's Sam Maresh. "Ultimately, it is in everyone's interest to have diverse supply chains.

"We require rare earths to make very, very strong magnets that are used in our offshore wind turbines. NdPr allows you to make magnets that are super-strong [that] allow for the rotation and for the turbine to generate electricity using the wind," he told the BBC.

"We know that the energy transition requires a lot of rare earths. We use about 600kg of super-magnets for every offshore wind turbine. So we need a lot of this product. We can't decarbonise without rare earths."

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Senator blocks $75 million in U.S. military aid to Egypt over rights concerns

Sun, October 16, 2022 
By Humeyra Pamuk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Egypt has missed out on an additional $75 million in American military aid after a senior Democratic U.S. senator blocked the funding over concerns about Cairo's human rights record including holding political prisoners.

Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, rejected an assessment offered by the U.S. State Department to justify the aid, which was subject to conditions under a law passed by Congress last year. The committee has jurisdiction over spending legislation including U.S. financial assistance for Egypt.

"We should take this law very seriously, because the situation facing political prisoners in Egypt is deplorable," Leahy told Reuters in a statement.


"We can't give short shrift to the law because of other policy considerations. We all have a responsibility to uphold the law and to defend the due process rights of the accused, whether here or in Egypt," Leahy said.

The conditions set by Congress require Egypt to make "clear and consistent progress" in releasing political prisoners and providing detainees with due process of law.

The United States allocates around $1.3 billion in military aid to Egypt annually. Much of it has no conditions attached. But the State Department withheld $130 million of military aid to Egypt in September over broad rights concerns, but said it would allow another $75 million to be paid, citing progress by the Egyptian government on political detentions and due process, including the release of about 500 political detainees this year.

But Leahy objected. Talks between his office and the State Department failed to resolve the issue, and the $75 million in funding expired on Sept. 30.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Leading human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have accused Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi's government of widespread abuses such as torture and the detention of tens of thousands of political prisoners.

Sisi has denied that Egypt holds political prisoners. He also has said that stability and security are paramount for Egypt and that authorities are promoting rights by trying to provide basic needs such as jobs and housing.

Analysts have said Western powers are reluctant to take serious action against a strategic ally, in Egypt, that has served as a mediator in longstanding issues such as the Arab-Israeli conflict and also controls the Suez Canal, one of the world's most important shipping lanes.

U.S. officials have called the American relationship with Egypt complex. The most populous Arab country is a vital ally and Washington is still committed to support it for what U.S. officials call "legitimate defense needs."

(Additional reporting by Aidan Lewis in Cairo, Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Will Dunham and Michelle Nichols)

Pregnant women struggle to find care after Pakistan's floods
 

RIAZAT BUTT and  SHAZIA BHATTI
Mon, October 17, 2022 

RAJANPUR, Pakistan (AP) — The first five months of Shakeela Bibi’s pregnancy were smooth. She picked out a name, Uthman, made him clothes and furniture. She had regular checkups at home and access to medicine. Then an ultrasound revealed the baby was upside down. The doctor told Bibi to take extra care and rest.

And then came this summer’s massive floods. Bibi’s home in the southern Pakistani city of Rajanpur was inundated.

When she spoke to The Associated Press last month, she was living in a camp for displaced families. With her due date approaching, she was afraid over the possibility of a breech birth with almost no health care accessible.

“What happens if my health deteriorates suddenly?” Shakeela said. She has a blood deficiency and sometimes low blood pressure, but she said she can’t have a proper diet in the camp. “I’ve been in a camp for two months, sleeping on the ground, and this is making my situation worse.”

Pregnant women are struggling to get care after Pakistan’s unprecedented flooding, which inundated a third of the country at its height and drove millions from their homes. There are at least at least 610,000 pregnant women in flood-affected areas, according to the Population Council, a U.S.-based reproductive health organization.

Many live in tent camps for the displaced, or try to make it on their own with their families in flood-wrecked villages and towns. Women have lost access to health services after more than 1,500 health facilities and large stretches of roads were destroyed. More than 130,000 pregnant women need urgent care, with some 2,000 a day giving birth mostly in unsafe conditions, according to the United Nations.

Experts fear an increase in infant mortality or health complications for mothers or children in a country that already has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in Asia. They also warn of dangerous, long-term repercussions for women, such as an increase in child marriage and unwanted pregnancies because of the disruptions in the lives and livelihoods of families.

Rasheed Ahmed, a humanitarian analyst at the U.N. Population Fund, said the health system was already poor before, and he warned now of “death, disability, and disease” if the health of pregnant women is ignored.

“The biggest shortage is female health care workers, medical supplies and medicine,” he said. “Resources are another challenge. What are the government’s priorities? Are they willing to spend the money?”

At camps in the flood-hit towns of Fazilpur and Rajanpur, pregnant women told the AP they had received no treatment or services for their pregnancies since arriving at the camps nearly two months ago. Clinics handed out medicines for minor ailments, but nothing for mothers-to-be. The next day, after the AP visited a local medical center to alert their plight, female health workers went to check on the women and distribute calcium sachets and iron supplements.

Shakeela Bibi and her family eventually left the camp, taking their tent with them and setting it up close to their wrecked home. Authorities gave them a month’s worth of flour, ghee, and lentils. She is now past her due date, but doctors have assured her that her baby is fine and don’t think she will need a Caesarian.

Perveen Bibi, an 18-year-old who is five months pregnant and not related to Shakeela, said the lack of health facilities in the camp forced her to travel to a private clinic and pay for an ultrasound and check-up. But she was prescribed medicine she can’t afford to buy.

“I used to have a good diet, with dairy products from our livestock,” she said. The family had to sell their livestock after the floods because they had no place to keep them and no way to feed them.

“We need female doctors, female nurses, gynecologists,” said Bibi, who has one daughter and is expecting a boy. She had a son around a year ago, but he died a few days after his birth. “We can’t afford ultrasound or IV. We’re just getting by.”

In the camps, families of five, seven or more eat, sleep, and spend their days and nights in one tent, sometimes with just one bed between them. Most sleep on floor mats. Some survivors only have the clothes they fled in and rely on donations.

Outdoor taps are used for washing clothes, washing dishes, and bathing. The pregnant women said there were shortages of clean water and soap. They were scared of infections because of open defecation at the camps. A bathroom was set up, but it has no roof and tents surround it.

Amid the devastation, organizations and individuals are doing what they can — the UNFPA is delivering supplies for new-born babies and safe delivery kits across four flood-hit provinces.

A Karachi-based NGO, the Mama Baby Fund, has provided 9,000 safe delivery kits, which include items for new-borns, across Sindh and Baluchistan provinces, as well as antenatal and postnatal check-ups for 1,000 women. The Association for Mothers and Newborns, also based in Karachi, has provided more than 1,500 safe delivery kits, mostly in Sindh.

Ahmed from the UNFPA says pregnant women have different needs to the rest of the displaced population, needs that aren't being met by state efforts.

“The government’s response is very general, it’s for the masses. It’s about shelter, relocation," Ahmed said. “I’ve heard about women miscarrying because of mental stress, the physical stress of displacement and relocation,"

The health crisis triggered by the flooding will reverberate among women because it will take long to rebuild health facilities and restore family planning, according to Saima Bashir from the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.

“Women and young girls are very vulnerable in this situation,” said Bashir. She pointed to increasing reports of child marriage.

Even before the floods, 21% of Pakistani girls were married before the age of 18, and 4% before the age of 15, according to U.N. figures.

The rate is increasing for several reasons. Some parents marry off their daughters as a way to obtain financial support from the boy's family so they can rebuild their homes. Others fear for the safety of their girls in displaced camps and believe marrying them off will protect them from abuse or secure their future. Also, the destruction of schools in the floods closes off other options; some girls who would have gotten an education or possibly gone on to work will stay at home instead.

In the next few years, those girls will get pregnant, Bashir said, especially given limited access to contraception.

“There will be more unwanted pregnancies,” she said. “This is ... compounding this crisis, and it’s adding to the population.”

A pregnant woman lies in her hospital bed for treatment after fleeing her flood-hit home, in Larkana District, of Sindh, Pakistan, Sept. 8, 2022. Pregnant women are struggling to get care after Pakistan’s unprecedented flooding, which inundated a third of the country at its height and drove millions from their homes. The UN says around 130,000 pregnant women in flood-hit areas require urgent healthcare and more than 2,000 are giving birth every day, most in unsafe conditions. 

(AP Photo/Fareed Khan, File)

Crude awakening: Public can now see full scope of global oil and gas reserves

M.A. Jacquemain - Yesterday 

Rise in renewables hasn’t slowed fossil fuels
Duration 4:10
View on Watch

Arecent survey of the world’s fossil fuel reserves has revealed that burning what is left of global supplies would produce emissions on a scale far higher than what was previously estimated.

The analysis, the first ever registry of global oil and gas reserves, determined that combustion on that level would release more than seven times the emissions allowable on our remaining “carbon budget” — the emission quota past which climate targets will no longer be met.

A collaboration between Carbon Tracker and the Global Energy Monitor, the registry uses comprehensive data gathered from more than 50,000 mines and oil fields across 89 countries, accounting for three quarters of global fossil fuel production.

“These tools for the first time provide an open source of information on carbon in the ground, an essential step toward reining in fossil fuel production and reining in climate change,” Ted Nace, the executive director of Global Energy Monitor, told The Weather Network (TWN).


Construction cranes stand silhouetted by the sunset at the Golden Pass LNG Terminal in Sabine Pass, Texas, on April 14, 2022. Golden Pass LNG, a joint venture between ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum, began as an import terminal and construction seen today will create export capability. (The Washington Post/ Getty Images)

The registry is the first database on fossil fuel production and reserves that is available to the public, and the first to track the impact this remaining supply promises to have on the carbon budget.

While much of the data recorded here has been available to the fossil fuels sector, making the information public will be a game-changer to climate analysts.

“Oil companies are not lacking in information. One of the key parts of OPEC's strategy has always been to keep a tight lid on information about reserves in the OPEC countries; by controlling information, you have more leverage to dictate prices,” Nace said.

“But this leaves global civil society — tens of thousands of NGOs, academics, activists, media organizations — suffering from information poverty, effectively paralyzing or at least diminishing substantive public discourse,” he added.

The research estimates that burning all of the remaining global supply would produce more than 3.5 trillion tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with the United States and Russia alone holding enough reserves to exceed the carbon budget.

Though, as the registry notes, “the most potent source of emissions is the Ghawar oil field in Saudi Arabia, which produces approximately 525 million tons of carbon emissions each year.”

Watch below: Electric vehicles are only green if the power charging them is green too  Duration 4:55   View on Watch

The analysis also determined that about 80 per cent of oil reserves in this country would have to be left in the ground for Canada to achieve Net Zero by 2050.

Such findings reflect similar research from a year ago which showed that most carbon reserves must stay in the ground, with oil and gas production slowing by three per cent annually up to 2050, if the target of 1.5°C of warming is to be met.

“We know we have an overhang of carbon, and that overhang is far in excess of what we could burn to safely meet climate targets,” Robert Schuwerk, executive director of Carbon Tracker’s North America Office, told TWN.

“What the registry is going to be able to do is show that these are not isolated decisions that should be made without consideration of the wider climate context,” Schuwerk added.

Power to the People: From a devastating oil spill to solar energy success

This emphasis on the supply side of the combustion equation is often ignored. Even the Paris Agreement “does not mention fossil fuels, despite the fact that such fuels account for over 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions,” according to the registry.

The registry will give policymakers and other analysts the tools they need to make informed decisions about the production side of the fossil fuel sector — including new builds like the Bay du Nord project off the coast of Newfoundland, which was recently greenlit by the Liberal government.

“The aim of the registry is to get not just that big picture at country level, but to drill down to the field level where decisions about licensing, project sanctions, development, and continued operation are made,” said Schuwerk.

The registry may force governments to pause in the future before rubber stamping projects like Bay du Nord.

“These tools will open up new ground for research and action by civil society and governments,” added Ted Nace. “What we're aiming to do is to empower a lot more voices.”

Thumbnail image: Aerial photo taken on Dec. 12, 2021, shows workers inspecting an oil well at Jidong Oilfield in north China's Hebei Province. (Liu Mancang/Xinhua via Getty Images)

ABOLISH PRISONS
Hurricane Ian brings renewed focus to 'life and death' struggle for prisoners during a disaster

N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY
Mon, October 17, 2022 at 9:53 AM·8 min read

The day before Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida, attorney Rene Suarez was preparing to help his client get out of jail in downtown Fort Myers.

He had secured an offer for probation so that his client would be released after a hearing. But when Ian struck, the courts closed, leaving her and many others who haven't been convicted of a crime stuck in a facility in a mandatory evacuation zone.

Although Lee County officials issued an evacuation order Sept. 27, the sheriff's office decided not to evacuate its two jails before the storm made landfall the next day.

It wasn't until a week after the storm that Suarez, whose office near the jail flooded and lost internet access, was able to speak to his client, who described poor sanitary conditions in the downtown jail and a rationing of water that was so severe she had gotten a urinary tract infection.

But until the courts reopened, Suarez couldn't get her out of jail.

"There should be some kind of a mechanism to get people in front of judges that have offers on the table that would get them out of jail, but they don't. And it's not just her," Suarez said. His client asked to remain unnamed for fear of retaliation; USA TODAY confirmed her identity through jail records.

Another local criminal defense attorney, Danielle O’Halloran, told USA TODAY their clients also said that officials were rationing water and that the jail may have experienced flooding.

While multiple spokespeople for the jail denied those claims to USA TODAY, advocates say there has long been the need for better emergency planning for jails and prisons ahead of disasters.

"We need to proactively change these systems. It's literally a matter of life and death," said Jenipher Jones, co-chair of the National Lawyers Guild's Mass Incarceration Committee.
What are prisons and jails required to do?

As high winds and rising waters knock out electricity and running water, people in jails and prisons can be left without clean drinking water, food, medication, functioning toilets and air conditioning for days after a storm, said Alex Smith, a volunteer with Fight Toxic Prisons, an organization that campaigned for evacuations, stockpiling and mass releases ahead of Hurricane Ian.

"All of these things can increase the spread of disease and can increase people succumbing to preexisting conditions," he said. "There are also many elderly people who are incarcerated. It's often disabled people, often poor people, often people of color who are incarcerated in the first place. All of those groups are more likely to see increased health risks, due to lack of medical care."

While states or counties may have standard practices, there is no national mandate to develop emergency plans, which leaves decisions about preparation and evacuation to corrections departments, sheriff's offices and other local officials.

During Hurricane Irene in 2011, for example, inmates were not evacuated at New York's Rikers Island, Mother Jones reported. Nor were they evacuated from a South Carolina state prison or three city jails in Virginia during Hurricane Florence in 2018, according to the outlet.

'WHEN IS ENOUGH ENOUGH?' The graying of America's prisons

Homes and businesses are devastated after Hurricane Ian on Sept. 30 in Fort Myers Beach, Fla.

Before Ian struck, about 2,500 inmates were evacuated from more than 20 facilities in Florida to other locations that were "better equipped to weather the impacts of the storm," the Florida Department of Corrections, which operates state prisons, said Sept. 28.

In Charlotte County north of Fort Myers, the jail saw some damage and flooding from Ian. Though it wasn't in an evacuation zone, the jail had problems with electricity, water and fan units that were ripped from the roof, officials said.

In Lee County, the Fort Myers jail was in the mandatory evacuation zone, but officials did not evacuate.

The Supreme Court ruled that under the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, prisons cannot be deliberately indifferent to the safety and well-being of the people in their care, Jones said. The National Institute of Corrections, part of the Department of Justice, offers state and local correctional agencies a guide to emergency planning, which includes a checklist for assessing a prison's readiness to deal with natural disasters.

But because there is no federal requirement, there are few legal standards to hold those running prisons and jails responsible when things go wrong, said Wanda Bertram, communications strategist at the Prison Policy Initiative.

"Typically, that stuff has to happen via the court," Bertram said. "And, sadly, one of the trends over the last 20 years is that there's been a clamp down on states and the federal government allowing incarcerated people to sue based on neglectful treatment."
'Conflicting stories' after Hurricane Ian

According to Lee County's 2018 emergency management plan, if there is a 10% chance of a 6-foot storm surge, the areas in "Zone A" – which included the jail – should be evacuated. On Sept. 27, the storm surge for Lee County was predicted to be between 5 and 10 feet, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Inmates at the main jail were relocated to higher floors in preparation for the storm surge, said Julie Martin, a spokesperson for Lee County Sheriff's Office, which runs the jail.

"The conflicting stories I've been getting from clients that are currently in custody is that they don't have water in the jail meaning they have toilets that flush, they don't have drinkable water," O’Halloran said last week. "Some of them even claimed that the first floor of the jail took on water."

MOST STATES DON'T HAVE UNIVERSAL AIR CONDITIONING IN PRISONS: Climate change, heat waves are making it 'torture'

When asked why the jail didn't evacuate, as advised in the county's plan, Anita Iriarte, another sheriff's office spokesperson, declined to comment specifically.

Iriarte, however, disputed the attorneys' claims and told USA TODAY that inmates were offered "an acceptable amount of water." While water pressure at the jail "became critically low," inmates were given water containers to flush toilets and some were later relocated to an inland facility after the storm, she said.

The downtown Fort Myers jail was not flooded or damaged, and there were no injuries, Martin said.
Disaster plans must be 'thoughtful and realistic'

When Hurricane Katrina battered New Orleans in 2005, a lack of planning led to thousands of inmates being trapped for days without food, water and ventilation, some locked in cells with chest-high water contaminated with sewage in the Orleans Parish Prison, according to reports from the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch.

During Hurricane Harvey in 2017, more than 8,000 people were left behind in four Texas prisons, according to an estimate from The Nation.

The National Lawyers Guild collected reports of "unconstitutional conditions" from prisoners in Texas who described flooding, toilets not functioning, and inadequate food and water. The group outlined them in a letter to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which denied such claims in interviews with multiple media outlets.

Homes are surrounded by floodwaters caused by Hurricane Ian on Sept. 29, in Fort Myers, Fla. Climate change added at least 10% more rain to Hurricane Ian, a study prepared immediately after the storm shows.

"We had several people who were saying that they had water in their cell up to their knees," said Azzurra Crispino, co-founder of Prison Abolition Prisoner Support, which helped the National Lawyers Guild collect the reports. "And then even after the water receded, there were folks that were saying that the mold had gotten to the point where there were entire walls that were just covered in black."

Part of the problem with regulating disaster preparedness is that the prison system is not centralized, said Corene Kendrick, deputy director of the ACLU's National Prison Project. Federal and state governments could step in by tying funding to emergency response plans that include evacuation protocols, Kendrick said.

Kendrick said it's crucial that the plans are "thoughtful and realistic" and take into account the needs of the most vulnerable populations, including those who are older, have disabilities, or preexisting health conditions.

THERE ARE 'NO EASY FIXES' IN FLORIDA: But could Hurricane Ian's havoc bring a call for better planning?

"Research has shown that most prisons don't really have well-thought-out evacuation plans," she said. "Evacuation planning is a very complicated process and really needs to involve people who have expertise in dealing with natural hazards and emergency planning, and it can't just be something that like a prison or a jail just throws together at the last minute."

Kendrick also suggested including a provision in local plans to allow jails to release people who are awaiting trial until the disaster passes. Longer term, as climate change brings worse natural disasters, officials need to rethink where jails and prisons are located, Kendrick said, noting that prisons have been built near hazardous waste sites and areas at high risk for flooding.

"Those actions also kind of set these facilities up for even more problems when there's a natural disaster," she said.

Jones, of the National Lawyers Guild's Mass Incarceration Committee, suggested the United States adhere to international human rights standards concerning the treatment of imprisoned people, known as the Mandela rules that "would immediately elevate the standards and the conditions of prisons."

"Ultimately," she said, "a reexamination of how we incarcerate and whether we incarcerate at all is a core solution."

Contributing: The Associated Press

Contact Breaking News Reporter N'dea Yancey-Bragg at nyanceybra@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @NdeaYanceyBragg

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricane Ian: What happens to jails and prisons during a disaster?

Congress probes Jackson water crisis as city and state spar




 Mayor Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), right, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, second from right, and Jim Craig of the Mississippi State Health Department, second from left, listen as Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, left, speaks about work being done, during a visit to the City of Jackson's O.B. Curtis Water Treatment Facility in Ridgeland, Miss., Friday, Sept. 2, 2022. Jackson's water system partially failed following flooding and heavy rainfall that exacerbated longstanding problems in one of two water-treatment plants. 

(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)


MICHAEL GOLDBERG
Mon, October 17, 2022 

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Congress is investigating the crisis that left 150,000 people in Mississippi's capital city without running water for several days in late summer, according to a letter sent to Gov. Tate Reeves by two Democratic officials.

Reps. Bennie Thompson, of Mississippi, and Carolyn Maloney, of New York, sent the letter Monday requesting information on how Mississippi plans to spend $10 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act and from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and $429 million “specifically allotted to enhance the state’s water infrastructure.”

The letter indicates “the start of a joint investigation" by the House Homeland Security and the Oversight and Reform committees into a crisis that deprived Jackson's 150,000 residents of running water for several days in late August and early September, Adam Comis, a staffer for the committee, told The Associated Press.

Thompson's district includes most of Jackson, and he chairs the Homeland Security Committee. Maloney chairs the Oversight and Reform Committee.

Jackson has had water problems for years, and the latest troubles began in late August after heavy rainfall exacerbated problems in the city’s main treatment plant, leaving many customers without running water. Jackson had already been under a boil-water notice since late July because the state health department found cloudy water that could make people ill.

Running water was restored within days, and a boil-water notice was lifted in mid-September, but the letter to Reeves says “water plant infrastructure in the city remains precarious, and risks to Jackson’s residents persist.”

The pair of congressional Democrats requested a breakdown of where the state sent funds from the American Rescue Plan Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including “the racial demographics and population sizes of each” community that received aid. They also requested information on whether Jackson has faced “burdensome hurdles” to receive additional federal funds. The letter asked Reeves to provide the requested information by Oct. 31.

Mississippi has not yet announced how it will spend American Rescue Plan Act money for water projects. Cities and counties had a Sept. 30 deadline to apply for funding.

According to the letter, which was first reported on by NBC News, Oversight Committee staff learned in a briefing with Jackson officials that the state attempted to limit funding to Jackson for its water system. The state allegedly planned to “bar communities of more than 4,000 people from competing for additional funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” the letter says.

In their letter, Thompson and Maloney also referenced reporting by the AP that Reeves had a hand in delaying funds for water system repairs in Jackson and claimed to have blocked funds. Reeves’ office did not immediately respond to AP’s request for comment on the letter.

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a notice in January that Jackson’s water system violates the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. In September, federal attorneys threatened legal action against the city if it did not agree to negotiations related to its water system. Lumumba said the city was working with the federal government on a plan to fix the water system.

Failure by city and state officials to provide Jackson residents with a reliable water system reflects decades of government dysfunction, population change and decaying infrastructure. It has also fueled a political battle between GOP state lawmakers and Democratic city officials.

That acrimony continued after the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency announced Friday that it is seeking a private contractor to run the Jackson water system for one year. The agreement would be funded by the city of Jackson, according to the proposal released by MEMA.

In a news release Monday, Reeves said his office was told by city officials that Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba is planning to “functionally end the city’s cooperation" by “refusing to participate in the process of selecting a water operator.”

“Although politics is clearly his priority, we are simply trying to ensure that Jackson water does not fail again,” Reeves said. “Ultimately, it may fall to the city council to rein in this radical gambit.”

The rancor ensued even though MEMA wrote that it requested a private contractor “in unified command with the City of Jackson.”

Reeves threatened to pull state assistance if the city didn't change course. City officials were communicating they “no longer desire state assistance and insist on going it alone,” Reeves said.

In a statement, Lumumba retorted that the city had been “‘going it alone’ after years of asking for state support” and that Jackson “has made no mention of ending the City’s cooperation” with state and federal officials. The mayor said the city would not agree to the request for a private contractor until it had an opportunity to revise the language in the proposal.

"The City, with support from those who truly are invested in the repair and maintenance of the water treatment facilities, will have the final say," Lumumba said. "We look forward to productive conversations that lead to an actual agreement instead of a headline.”

___

Michael Goldberg is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/mikergoldberg.

Liz Truss Under Threat: How UK Tories Get Rid of Their Leaders


Kitty Donaldson
Mon, October 17, 2022 

Liz Truss’s UK premiership hangs in the balance after she was forced to abandon large swathes of her economic agenda and ditch her chancellor following a market rout.

Read More: Hunt to Set Out UK Fiscal Plans as Tories Move Against Truss

Amid the fallout, the opposition Labour party has opened up a record lead in opinion polls and Truss herself has posted the worst approval ratings ever for a UK leader.


Tory MPs are openly moving against the 47-year-old prime minister even though party rules in theory offer her protection from a leadership challenge for a year. What happens next may hinge on how quickly the party can forge a consensus on who should replace her.

Below is a guide to how the party deals with leaders it wants rid of.

Shaping History

The fate of Tory prime ministers is determined by rank-and-file Conservative MPs known as the 1922 Committee. It takes its name from a meeting of Tory lawmakers 100 years ago that ultimately brought down a coalition government and led to the Conservatives winning the ensuing election.

“The ’22” has continued to play a key role in Tory history. While Margaret Thatcher’s demise in 1990 was prompted by her deputy premier quitting, it was her ministers’ advice that she wouldn’t survive a second 1922 committee ballot on her leadership that made her withdraw. Her reference to “men in gray suits” calling on her to stand aside is now often used describe the ‘22.

During her successor John Major’s tenure, the group embodied Tory opposition to closer ties with Europe. David Cameron -- who ultimately called the Brexit referendum -- wanted to dilute its influence by opening up its membership. He failed. Graham Brady was elected chairman and has has held the job since.

Eyes on Brady

Nowadays the ’22 is primarily a line of communication between the party leadership and the rank-and-file. Reporters gather outside the committee’s weekly meetings to try to gauge the mood by the volume of desk-thumping. When an unhappy Tory MP wants a change in party leadership, it’s Brady they write to.

In normal times, it requires 15% of Conservative lawmakers to trigger a confidence vote and in the current parliament that means 54. The existing rules protect Truss from a leadership challenge for the first 12 months in office, but they can be changed in response to a groundswell of opinion within the parliamentary party.

Nobody except Brady knows how many letters have been submitted at any given time. On Sunday, a person close to the committee was playing down rumors that more than a 100 letters may already have been submitted.

Next Steps

The ’22 is due to meet again on Wednesday. That’s the earliest point they could consider changing the rules, though once they do reach a decision, it’s a quick and straightforward process. The prime minister’s opponents will be trying to build momentum ahead of that appointment.

It’s likely that the committee will want more than 54 letters in order to change the rules. So if they do announce that shift, a confidence vote is likely to follow shortly afterward.

Once a vote is triggered, Brady would inform Truss and the parliamentary Conservative party, and a vote on his leadership would be held as soon as possible.

At this point, it seems difficult to imagine that Truss could survive such a vote. But even if she did, it would most likely only delay the inevitable. Both Boris Johnson and Theresa May, her most immediate predecessors, were forced out of office within months of winning a confidence vote.

There’s another way the Tories could arrive at a leadership contest: Truss’s cabinet could effectively take matters into its own hands. If enough members resign, or perhaps one of the two biggest names, that would signal they have lost confidence. The pressure could then make Truss’s position untenable.

Leadership Contest

If Truss were to lose a confidence vote, or if she accepts that her authority has gone and simply resigns, the next step would be a third Tory leadership contest since 2019.

Under the current rules, Conservative MPs whittle down the candidates to a final two and then grassroots Tory members make the final choice. But again, MPs are unhappy with that system after the debacle of Truss, who only just sneaked into the final round.

There’s a strong feeling among MPs that they need to avoid letting the members choose another prime minister. One way around that would be to put forward a single candidate, but with so many rival factions within the party, Truss’s opponents are struggling to forge a consensus on who should be next.

Next in Line?

Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak was beaten by Truss in last summer’s leadership contest, in which he warned, prophetically, that her economic policy plans would trigger chaos in financial markets. There is talk that he could form an alliance with Penny Mordaunt, the leader of the House of Commons, who finished third in the race.

Ben Wallace, the defense secretary, saw his stock rise during the war in Ukraine and is another name who has been touted, though he’s said he doesn’t want the job. Jeremy Hunt, who was parachuted in as chancellor last Friday, has been burnishing his credentials as a safe pair of hands on the economy. He says that after losing out in the last two leadership contests, his time has gone. Steve Brine, a Tory MP and an ally of the chancellor, said last week that it’s no secret that he had wanted the job in the past.

Tory MP says his constituents are 'frightened' of Liz Truss's government

James Cheng-Morris
·Freelance news writer, Yahoo UK
Sun, October 16, 2022

Tory MP Robert Halfon said of Liz Truss: 'The biggest problem is not that my constituents are angry at the government but some of them are actually frightened.' (PA)

A Tory MP has said his constituents are “frightened” of Liz Truss’s government.

Robert Halfon, a senior backbencher, said the prime minister has “played into” the Conservative stereotype of being the party for the rich.

It comes amid the ongoing economic turmoil sparked by the prime minister and ex-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s disastrous “growth plan” announced in the mini-budget only three weeks ago.

The mini-budget contained £43bn of unfunded tax cuts, including for people earning more than £150,000 and large corporations. It sparked market chaos, including with mortgages being withdrawn by lenders.

Truss U-turned on the income and corporation tax policies, and made Kwarteng the scapegoat by sacking him on Friday in an attempt to reset her government.

But Harlow MP Halfon, speaking on Sky’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, made light of the reputational damage by suggesting his constituents are scared of what her administration might do next.

“The awful stereotypes of Conservatives in the past, that we were just the party for the well-off and the rich... the government over the past few weeks has played into that stereotype every day of the week.

“The biggest problem for me is not that my constituents are angry at the government but some of them are actually frightened because they fear for what has gone on, and this can’t continue.”

Robert Halfon said Truss has played into 'awful stereotypes of Conservatives'. (PA)

Jeremy Hunt was appointed as chancellor on Friday after the sacking of Kwarteng, but is now widely seen as more powerful than the prime minister herself. In interviews on Saturday, he effectively trashed the policies that brought Truss to power last month.

Read more: Jeremy Hunt refuses to say Liz Truss is a 'confident leader' who 'has a grip on country'

Halfon added: “I welcome what Jeremy Hunt was saying yesterday in the media but the proof in the pudding will be in the eating. There have to be dramatic improvements and pretty quickly.”

After just 40 days as PM, Truss is battling to stay in power amid widespread reports of Tory plots to replace her.

Halfon later told Times Radio: “I don’t think that [Truss] grasps just how bad the public feel that the government has been over the past few weeks.” While not calling for Truss to go, he demanded an “apology and a fundamental reset”.

'The game is up': Tory MPs publicly call for Liz Truss to resign

James Cheng-Morris
·Freelance news writer, Yahoo UK
Sun, October 16, 2022 

'Game is up' for Liz Truss says Tory MP Crispin Blunt

A number of Conservative MPs have publicly called for Liz Truss to resign as the prime minister battles to regain her tattered authority.

On Monday, new chancellor Jeremy Hunt made a statement junking the PM's mini budget, reversing almost all the tax cuts laid out last month and signalling the death of Truss's economic approach.

Truss sacked her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng on Friday following the disastrous financial impact of the measures.

Her spokesperson insisted the prime minister is planning to stay in office, saying she was providing “stability of leadership”.

Three Tory MPs have publicly called for Liz Truss to step down as prime minister. (PA)

Crispin Blunt, a former justice minister, told Channel 4’s Andrew Neil Show on Sunday: “I think the game is up and it’s now a question as to how the succession is managed.”

He was followed by Andrew Bridgen on Sunday evening, who told The Telegraph newspaper: “We cannot carry on like this.”

Bridgen, who backed Rishi Sunak in the leadership contest over the summer, said: “Our country, its people and our party deserve better.”

Read more: Jeremy Hunt refuses to say Liz Truss is a 'confident leader'

Conservative MP Jamie Wallis also confirmed he had written to Truss, asking her to stand down. He accused her of "very basic and avoidable errors".

Conservative MP Crispin Blunt has called for Liz Truss to resign as prime minister. (PA)

After Hunt's statement, Angela Richardson went public with her call for Truss to be replaced, telling The Telegraph that it would be "better for the party and for the country to have a change in leadership at the top".

In his statement the chancellor confirmed:

The energy price guarantee – which had been due to cap prices for two years – will end in April after which time the government will look to target help for those most in need

Plans to cut the basic rate of tax by 1p have been shelved

The cut in dividend tax, the freeze to alcohol duty and VAT-free shopping for overseas tourists promised by his predecessor will also go

Hunt said he will continue with the decision to reverse the increase in national insurance contributions and a reduction in stamp duty, which are already going through Parliament.

The Treasury said the move – following talks over the weekend between Hunt and Truss – was designed to “ensure sustainable public finances underpin economic growth”.

The move will be seen as an attempt to reassure the financial markets after weeks of turmoil in the wake of former chancellor Kwarteng’s £45 billion mini-budget tax giveaway.

Read more: UK economy now comparable to Greece and Italy thanks to Liz Truss, ex-Bank leader says

Jeremy Hunt was appointed chancellor on Friday. (PA)

Following his surprise appointment on Friday, Hunt warned that taxes would have to go up while spending would rise less quickly than had previously been planned.

A new poll, first published in the Guardian, predicted a landslide for Labour and wipe-out for the Tories.

The poll, by Opinium for the Trades Union Congress, put Labour on 411 seats compared to the Tories on 137.

Marjorie Taylor Greene Isn’t Joking. She’s Pushing ‘War.’

The Daily Beast
Tue, October 18, 2022 

Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Getty

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s hateful rhetoric isn’t a joke. She wants to start a war, says podcaster Danielle Moodie on the latest episode of The New Abnormal podcast.

Moodie, who joined as guest co-host of the show alongside host Andy Levy, tore into the Georgia Republican after listening to a recent clip of Greene making Democrats out to be child predators. According to Moodie, the left and the media have been grossly underestimating the congresswoman’s propensity for violence.

“Ever since Marjorie Taylor Greene entered into Congress, she’s been looked at primarily as a joke, right? We have said she’s the QAnon queen. She is the conspiracy theorist’s conspiracy theorist. Like she is absolutely crazy. She has said things about Jewish people operating lasers from outer space. But what I want folks to take away from that rant that she went on is that Marjorie Taylor Greene is not representative of the fringe of the Republican Party. She is the mainstream of the Republican Party,” Moodie says during the episode’s opening brief.

“And when she is referring to Democrats as predators,” continues Moodie, “when she is saying that we are going after children, talking about mutilation and all of these things, what she is signaling to the Republican Party, to her base, is that we are at war.”

Andy agrees, saying that he’s been telling everyone for a while now that Greene isn’t a joke.

“Now anyone that thinks Mitt Romney is a better representation of the Republican Party right now than Marjorie Taylor Greene is nuts. This is her party, the party that Trump made over, that she is part and parcel of. This stuff has to be taken seriously at the highest levels,” he adds.

Moodie then makes a pointed plea to Democrats to shut down these dangerous GOP talking points: “You need to direct the American people to exactly who is taking away your rights. Who is making your communities more dangerous. Who is putting your children under threat.”

‘Not a Prayer in Hell’ Trump Will Testify Before the Jan. 6 Committee

Also on this episode: The Intercept investigative reporter Ken Klippenstein explains where the United States currently stands with the Trump- and Putin-friendly Saudis, who are gearing up to screw President Joe Biden over, big-time. And for good measure, Klippenstein shares all the ways we could fuck over Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman without war, if we wanted to.

Plus! Daily Beast media editor and editor of the media newsletter Confider, Andrew Kirell, joins to give Andy the inside scoop on how Fox News is handling the deranged Kayne West clips that were cut from his segment on Tucker Carlson’s show and then subsequently leaked.

Kirell thinks he has an idea of who the leaker could be, and he and Andy talk theories.

Global Times editorial: Chinese modernization will broaden horizon of civilization



Mon, October 17, 2022 


BEIJING, Oct. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Under the spotlight of major news media around the world, the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) opened in the Great Hall of the People on Sunday morning. General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping delivered a report to the congress on behalf of the 19th CPC Central Committee. Hundreds of millions of Chinese people and international observers paid close attention to the congress, and the relevant content quickly became trendy topics on the internet. When the world is once again at the crossroads of history, how will China respond to opportunities and challenges, and how will it interact with the world? People are looking for answers in the report.

General Secretary Xi emphasized in the report, "From this day forward, the central task of the CPC will be to lead the Chinese people of all ethnic groups in a concerted effort to realize the Second Centenary Goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization." Next, the work of the Party and the country will all be carried out around this central task. This is another great new journey for China to make overall progress while driving the world forward.

The report's elaboration on "Chinese modernization" is also a clear demonstration to the world of today's China's development path, which has attracted special attention from the international public opinion. General Secretary Xi mentioned this important concept on many occasions and made a comprehensive and in-depth systematic expounding in the report, forming a complete theoretical system. Chinese modernization is the socialist modernization pursued under the leadership of the CPC. It not only has the common characteristics of modernization of all countries, but also Chinese characteristics based on its own national conditions. This is another innovative breakthrough in theory and practice by the CPC since its 18th National Congress, and it is also a new contribution to mankind's exploration of the path of modernization.

This is a path to modernization that not only develops itself, but also benefits the world. The successful practice of Chinese modernization tells the world in an irrefutable way that there is more than one path leading to modernization. Every country and nation not only has rights, but also possibility to embark on a path to modernization that suits its own national conditions.


Chinese modernization has broadened the horizon for the development of human society. China's continuous enrichment and development of new forms of human civilization has inspired more countries and nations to add their own colors to the garden of human civilization.

Among the five major characteristics of Chinese modernization summed up by General Secretary Xi, there is one that China has repeatedly stated, and has been proven time and time again, that is, Chinese modernization is the modernization of peaceful development. The CPC leads the Chinese people to firmly explore a new path to achieve national development and national rejuvenation in a peaceful way, and at the same time better maintain world peace and development through its own development. This is one of the important connotations of the "new model for human civilization."

Currently, the changes of the world, of the times and of history are unfolding in an unprecedented way. The report delivered by General Secretary Xi has linked the historic mission of the CPC, the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with peace and development of the world, which is a vivid manifestation of a community with a shared future for mankind. The report stressed that China adheres to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence in pursuing friendship and cooperation with other countries. It is committed to promoting a new type of international relations, deepening and expanding global partnerships based on equality, openness, and cooperation, and broadening the convergence of interests with other countries. The CPC always honors its promises. Standing on the right side of history, on the side of the progress of humanity's civilization, the new path of Chinese modernization will become wider and wider.

The important message released by this congress is firm and clear, positive and well-intentioned. Anyone who hold pragmatic and rational attitude toward China and the world's development will gain a sense of direction and positive energy from the report. With the irreversible process of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, Chinese modernization will increasingly demonstrate its civilizational significance. When we reach the goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects, it is a success worthy to be celebrated by the Chinese people and the people of the world.

Global Times: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202210/1277276.shtml

SOURCE Global Times

China delays release of economic data during key political meet

Laurie CHEN, Jing Xuan TENG
Mon, October 17, 2022 


China said Monday it will delay the release of economic growth figures, as the country's leadership gathers for a major meeting set to hand President Xi Jinping a historic third term in office.

The announcement comes a day before analysts had expected Beijing to publish some of its weakest quarterly growth figures since 2020 with the economy hobbled by Covid-19 restrictions and a real estate crisis.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said the release of growth figures for the third quarter along with a host of other economic data would be "postponed", without specifying a reason or giving a new timeline.

The delay comes as officials from China's ruling Communist Party meet in Beijing for their 20th Congress, which is set to rubber stamp Xi's bid to rule for another term.

Zhao Chenxin, senior official at the National Development and Reform Commission, told reporters on Monday that "the economy rebounded significantly in the third quarter".

"From a global perspective, China's economic performance is still outstanding," he said.

But many analysts expect the world's second-largest economy to struggle to reach its growth target this year of around 5.5 percent, with the International Monetary Fund lowering its forecast for GDP expansion to 3.2 percent.

A panel of experts polled by AFP last week predicted an average of three percent growth in 2022 -- a long way off the 8.1 percent seen last year.

That would be China's weakest growth rate in four decades, excluding 2020 when the global economy was hammered by the emergence of the coronavirus.

The NBS said it would also postpone the release of monthly data on indicators including real estate and retail sales.

Last week customs authorities delayed the release of September trade figures without providing an explanation.
- China 'in a bind' -

Nick Marro, lead for global trade at the Economist Intelligence Unit, told AFP that signs point to "a really ugly Q3 data print, at a time when the party is focused on highlighting its policy achievements, while minimising any missteps".

Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief economist at Natixis, said "nothing, not even GDP data release, can disturb the coronation of Xi Jinping".

The delay "puts China in a bind", Marro added.

"If it comes out with a rosier-than-expected data print, the national statistics bureau will inevitably face questions around data veracity," he said.

China's economy has been hit hard by the government's strict zero-Covid policy.

The country is the last of the world's major economies to continue to follow the strategy, which imposes tight travel restrictions, mass PCR testing and obligatory quarantines.

It also involves sudden and strict lockdowns -- including of businesses and factories -- that have disrupted production and weighed heavily on household consumption.

China is also battling an unprecedented crisis in its real estate sector -- historically a major driver of growth that accounts for more than a quarter of GDP when combined with construction.

Following years of explosive growth fuelled by easy access to loans, Beijing launched a crackdown on excessive debt in 2020.

Property sales are now falling across the country, leaving many developers struggling and some owners refusing to pay their mortgages for unfinished homes.

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