Early earthquake alert system successful in Tofino could be launched in B.C. by 2024

Wed, November 30, 2022 

British Columbians nervously joke about the 'Big One' hitting the West Coast, but a system aimed at alerting residents early of an incoming quake proved effective in Tofino last week.

 (Yvette Brend/CBC - image credit)

Researchers are one step closer to being able to warn the public of an incoming earthquake after a small one struck B.C.'s West Coast last week, providing a 35-second warning that demonstrated the effectiveness of sensors and an alert system they've been working on for several years.

On Friday, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit Tofino, B.C. While that quake didn't do any damage, researchers say their alert system could have saved lives if it had been bigger.

In 2017, Ocean Networks Canada, a University of Victoria initiative, started installing sensors both on Vancouver Island and offshore as part of a project led and funded by Emergency Management B.C. The federal government signed on in 2019, hoping to create a nationwide early earthquake alert system.

Now, dozens of sensors are located throughout the island, creating a network of real-time information about seismic sensors.

On Friday, those sensors detected the primary wave — an energy signal that doesn't cause ground shaking but tells those monitoring that it's coming. That sensor data delivered an alert to researchers.

"If it had been a big earthquake, it would provide at least 35 seconds of advanced warning for ground shaking to arrive at both Victoria and Vancouver," Ocean Networks president and CEO Kate Moran said, adding that warnings could go anywhere but it would be especially helpful for densely populated areas.

Those 35 seconds could give firehalls a chance to open their doors so that they could get out of the building before it is damaged. It could also give elevator operators time to send elevators to the ground floor and time for trains to slow down and avoid a possible derailment.

"Infrastructure operators really could find [the system] useful for protecting infrastructure that ultimately protects lives," Moran said.

Right now, the system is focused on coastal earthquakes. While it did register recent earthquakes in Alberta and northern B.C., an alert would not go out to those regions.

According to Emergency Management B.C., Canada's first early earthquake sensor station was installed in March 2022 in Horseshoe Bay. It's the first in what will become a national early earthquake alert system, which is expected to be up and running by early 2024.

"We will be testing with these partners with a few of them over the next few months to make sure that the system is working well, and so far, what we've seen is very promising," said Natural Resources Canada seismologist Allison Bird.

Once it launches, the public would automatically be alerted to an imminent earthquake through phones, TV and radio.

CANADA
Deadline to sign on to safe drinking water settlement is extended to the relief of Wunnumin Lake Nation

Wed, November 30, 2022 

A last-minute reprieve is both a blessing and a surprise for Wunnumin Lake First Nation with council poised to sign a band council resolution “under duress.”

The BCR would have seen Wunnumin Lake Nation sign on to a settlement agreement for a class-action litigation, delivering the Nation in Ontario funding for Canada’s failure to provide safe drinking water in First Nations communities. That same settlement, however, left the vast majority of the Nation’s members without individual compensation.

“Just (Tuesday) morning we were talking to our legal counsel about signing this resolution under duress,” said Deputy Chief Dean Cromarty. “I’m relieved it’s extended.”

Cromarty didn’t find out about a four-month extension granted by the courts to consider the agreement until he was contacted by Windspeaker.com late on the afternoon of Nov. 29.

In December 2021, an $8 billion settlement of two national class-action lawsuits was approved by the Federal Court and Manitoba's Court of Queen's Bench. That settlement covered First Nations and their residents who were subject to a water advisory for at least one year between Nov. 20, 1995, and June 20, 2021.

First Nations that met the criteria initially had until Dec. 2, 2022 to opt into the settlement in order to receive a no-strings attached amount of $500,000. Whatever compensation their individual members would receive, the band would also get 50 per cent of that amount.

But the issue, Cromarty told Windspeaker.com, was that council was struggling with how best to serve its 506 members. Only 84 met the timeframe set out in the settlement agreement for individual compensation.

“It would be unfair. The 84 would get the full compensation and the rest will get nothing,” said Cromarty, even though those members were impacted by boil water advisories as well, but just outside of the timeframe of the settlement.

It was always known that some First Nations members who had experienced boil water advisories would fall outside of the starting date of the settlement, said legal counsel Harry LaForme of Olthuis Kleer Townshend (OKT). He told Windspeaker.com earlier this year that limitation periods are standard.

OKT was one of two law firms involved in negotiating the settlement.

“This was the date that was fixed up because it was the best date and the most generous to First Nations that would be able to get more First Nations involved and individuals involved,” said LaForme.

The settlement does not impact the rights of those who suffered boil water advisories for less than the specified one-year time frame, or those who suffered prior to Nov. 20, 1995. Those members can pursue their own legal recourse, LaForme said.

However, moving forward with more litigation isn’t what Wunnumin is after, said Cromarty.

“…The decision has been made that First Nations under boil water advisories will be compensated, which is fine for maybe a lot of the communities. But for Wunnumin it’s different. It excludes the majority of our community members,” he said.

“We’re asking (the government) to make a political decision to correct that problem and provide the compensation for the remaining members.”

Cromarty said that talks with Indigenous Services Canada Minister Patty Hajdu and her staff have resulted in nothing solid.

Windspeaker.com reached out to Hajdu’s office and did not receive a direct response.

Instead, spokesperson Vincent Gauthier said the department was working “closely” with Wunnumin Lake First Nation to advance a water and wastewater feasibility study.

“That (study) will inform the required investments to ensure that the community has reliable access to safe clean drinking water as well as wastewater treatment that meets the immediate and the long-term needs of Wunnumin Lake First Nation,” wrote Gauthier in an email.

The class-action settlement includes an infrastructure commitment of at least $6 billion to support reliable access to safe drinking water on reserves.

The decision to extend the deadline four more months came as orders from the courts on Nov. 24, said Darian Baskatawang, class counsel for the First Nation drinking water class action and an associate with OKT.

The deadline has been extended to March 7, 2023.

“Notice will be provided to the class members informing them of this extension shortly. Class Counsel is also in touch with nations to let them know directly,” Baskatawang told Windspeaker.com in an email.

He said the deadline extension would allow OKT to work with communities and do follow up, providing more details and support on the settlement agreement.

“Now we can have more time to reach out to the government,” said Cromarty.

The settlement agreement included $1.5 billion in compensation to individuals deprived of clean drinking water. Individuals who did qualify under the class action, could opt out of the agreement. No one opted out, said Baskatawang.

The settlement agreement also included the creation of a $400-million First Nation Economic and Cultural Restoration Fund and the creation of a First Nations Advisory Committee on Safe Drinking Water.

Windspeaker.com

By Shari Narine, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Windspeaker.com, Windspeaker.com

Train derailment in southeastern Saskatchewan leads to massive fire

Thu, December 1, 2022 

A train derailed near the village of Macoun in southeastern Saskatchewan Thursday morning. (Amber Mantei/Facebook - image credit)

Amber Mantei and her husband were travelling Thursday morning along Highway 39 near the village of Macoun, Sask., when they noticed that a train had derailed.

Suddenly, flames burst more than 30 metres into the air.

"It was pretty intense," Mantei said. "We've never seen anything like that before."

Some time before 10 a.m. CST Thursday, people in the area heard sudden shrieks from braking wheels, then saw a large plume of smoke, said Carmen Dodd-Vicary, the chief administrative officer for the Village of Macoun.

A Canadian Pacific Railway freight train had derailed about two kilometres northwest of the village, located about 160 kilometres southeast of Regina.

Amber Mantei/Facebook

A large fire ignited as a result of the derailment and thick black smoke affected visibility in the area, RCMP say.

Photos and videos taken of the scene show several oil tankers burning, as well as some freight cars that were carrying vehicles. About two dozen train cars were off the tracks.

Mantei said the fire was so intense that she and her husband felt as if they had put their face too close to a bonfire, even though they were driving by with their windows closed.

Highway 39 was closed to traffic in both directions, police say. Detours were being organized, but RCMP asked drivers to avoid the area.

An emergency alert was issued early Thursday afternoon. People within a 2.2-kilometre radius of the derailment will be contacted if they need to evacuate, the alert said.

Anyone told to evacuate would be asked to go to the Midale Civic Center, it said.

Amber Mantei/Facebook

When Dodd-Vicary spoke with CBC News, the local K-8 school had been advised to keep students and staff sheltered in the building, pending notifications as the situation changes, she said.

CP Railway was on scene to investigate, police say.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is gathering information and assessing what transpired, but could not provide any information, a spokesperson told CBC News around 1:30 p.m. CST.

The TSB was sending a team investigators to the site, the spokesperson said.

No injuries have been reported, police say.

The engineers appeared to be safe, with the engine sitting about 100 metres from the burning cars, Mantei said.

There appeared to be two cars separating the engine from the tankers where the fire was burning, she added.

Mantei said she teared up when she saw the scene, both because of the disaster itself and because the rail line will have to shut down to be cleaned-up and repaired, which could affect shipments coming to farmers in the area. She and her husband farm near Estevan, Sask.

"It's emotional on how intense it was, and the horribleness of the situation," she said. "But then the trickle down of the cause-and-effect moment."

Canadian ‘father’ of evidence-based medicine wins global Einstein Foundation award


Thu, December 1, 2022 


A Hamilton researcher has won an international prize for work that jurors say makes him the "father of evidence-based medicine."

The Berlin-based Einstein Foundation Award named Dr. Gordon Guyatt the winner of a €200,000 prize — worth about C$280,000 — for his pioneering work promoting quality in medical research leading to better patient care.

Guyatt, distinguished professor of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact at McMaster University, develops guidelines that help doctors incorporate high-quality, up-to-date research into their treatment decisions so they don't have to rely solely on what a textbook says or the way something has always been done in the past.

“Historically, physicians received no training whatsoever in reading and understanding the medical literature and original studies,” Guyatt, 69, said from Hamilton.

Unlike many other research prizes, the Einstein Foundation Award recognizes the "importance of doing research properly rather than just getting flashy results," jury vice-president Dorothy Bishop said at a virtual news conference in advance of Thursday's announcement in Berlin.

The jury, made up of 15 international scientists, chose one individual and one institution that "have made scientific results globally more trustworthy and useful," said award secretary Ulrich Dirnagl.

Guyatt has "transformed the quality of clinical research in the health sciences by influencing how research is done and how evidence is transformed into practice," said Bishop, also an emeritus professor of developmental neuropsychology at the University of Oxford.

"He's the father, I would say, of evidence-based medicine."

Guyatt credits his mentor, the late Dr. David Sackett, as the real founder.

Sackett started Canada's first clinical epidemiology program — the practice of applying health research knowledge to making patient care decisions — at McMaster University in 1968.

Guyatt took Sackett's course when he was an internal medicine resident and it changed the course of his career. He said that's just one example of the "happenstance and phenomenal good luck" that led up to winning the Einstein award.

In fact, Guyatt didn't plan to be a doctor or researcher at all.

"In high school I never did any biology. I never did any science. When I went to university I did psychology and English," he said.

But during his undergrad years Guyatt realized he didn't like the career options available to him and decided he wanted to be a doctor.

“At the time there was one medical school in the country where they let people in without a science background," he said.

"I applied to that institution and got in. And it turned out to be McMaster University in Hamilton, where I grew up.”

Sackett taught him about evaluating and applying scientific findings to make decisions at the patient's bedside.

"It certainly felt to me like this was a profoundly different way of practising medicine,” Guyatt said.

High-quality findings that translate into patient care often come from randomized clinical trials, but clinicians need to know how to assess the quality of the methodology and results — something not all physicians have time or the ability to do, Guyatt said.

Systematic reviews of many randomized clinical trials can go a step further. But what's most helpful is transforming high-quality research results into evidence-based guidelines that doctors can easily turn to, he said.

The COVID-19 pandemic illustrated the importance of those kinds of guidelines, Guyatt said. The quick turnaround of safe and effective vaccines and treatments in response to an unknown virus has been a "triumph" of evidence-based medicine, he said.

“One of the things I’ve done that I’m most happy with is helping the WHO make their trustworthy recommendations,” he said.

He's been working with the World Health Organization on establishing evidence-based treatment guidelines — including when doctors should prescribe the antiviral drug combination nirmatrelvir-ritonavir, also known under the brand name Paxlovid, to COVID-19 patients.

Using an online decision-making tool on the WHO's website, doctors can click through to get the recommendation that applies to their patient, including factors such as their risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19. They can also find an assessment of the quality of the studies that were used to come to those conclusions, as well as graphics to help in discussing the decision with patients.

Shared decision-making is another hallmark of evidence-based medicine, Guyatt said, because the best way to use the medical evidence sometimes depends on the patient's values and preferences.

“There are some decisions that are slam dunks. The benefits so clearly outweigh the downsides and vice versa,” he said.

But in other cases, it's not as clear. The evidence may show that a patient with cancer can expect to live another three months with chemotherapy, but those three months won't be pleasant, he said. In that case, the right course of action depends on the value the patient places on living longer versus quality of life.

Guyatt wasn't able to make it to Berlin to accept his Einstein award in person on Thursday, but said he is "honoured, grateful, and as usual, thankful for my extraordinary good luck."

The Einstein Foundation's institution award went to the Psychological Science Accelerator, a global network that works to gather better data for psychological science evidence.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 1, 2022.

This report has been produced with the financial assistance of the Canadian Medical Association. It has no say in editorial choices.

Nicole Ireland, The Canadian Press

DECRIMINALIZE DRUGS

Odds of fatal overdose higher in B.C.'s rural areas, report says

Wed, November 30, 2022 

Amanda Slaunwhite, a senior scientist at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control and an assistant professor in the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia, is one of the researchers involved in the study. (Cory Correia/CBC - image credit)

A new study has found the odds of a fatal drug overdose are about 30 per cent higher in rural areas of British Columbia than in urban centres and concludes a lack of access to harm reduction services may partly explain the elevated risk.

The study, conducted by researchers from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and the University of British Columbia (UBC), was published in mid-November by the online journal BMC Public Health. The research team used overdose statistics from 2015 to 2018 to determine fatal overdose odds ratios.

One of the researchers is Amanda Slaunwhite, a senior scientist at the BCCDC and an assistant professor in the School of Population and Public Health at UBC.

"Peers have been telling us for quite some time that they're concerned about overdose in rural and remote places in B.C.," Slaunwhite told CBC.

"And we've also seen from the coroner monthly reports that northern and rural areas tend to have the highest rates of fatal overdose in B.C., and so we wanted to understand more about that — to really understand the geography of fatal overdose and if where you live has an impact on the likelihood of an overdose being fatal."

Toxic drug crisis serves as backdrop for study

The study looking into the odds of rural and urban fatal drug overdoses comes at a time when B.C. is in the midst of a toxic drug crisis. From April 2016, when the province declared a public health emergency, to June 2022, more than 10,000 people have died from toxic illicit drugs.

In October 2022 alone, the B.C. Coroners Service said at least 179 British Columbians died from toxic drugs. That number, released Wednesday, brings the total number of deaths to 1,827 between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31.

According to the study, illicit drug overdose is "the foremost cause of unnatural deaths in B.C., exceeding all other causes combined."

The study notes that the primary cause of the overdose crisis in B.C. has been the contamination of the illicit drug supply with fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid. Fentanyl, the report says, was detected in about 90 per cent of the 1,550 fatal overdose cases in B.C. in 2018.

Provincial map shows hot spots and cold spots

Geographically, the most significant "hot spot" on the map for the odds of fatal overdose is an area in B.C.'s far north. That area includes the community of Fort Nelson, which has a population of about 3,400.

The biggest "cold spot" cover most of Haida Gwaii, the northern tip of Vancouver Island and a stretch along B.C.'s Central Coast, moving inland toward the west of Prince George and Quesnel. Population density in that area is low.

Submitted

Slaunwhite says hot spots and cold spots on the map are consistent with how much access people in those areas have to harm reduction services.

Bringing the picture down to a city level, she says the study found that people living in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver — a cold spot on the map — had lower odds of a fatal overdose because "there are lots of overdose prevention sites" in that area.

Advocate has on-the-ground perspective on services

Charlene Burmeister, the founder of the Coalition of Substance Users of the North, says the conclusion of the report — that lack of access to harm reduction services in rural locations may be a factor in the elevated risk of overdose deaths in these areas — is consistent with what she sees on the ground.

"Some rural locations in the north have … access to no harm reduction and people with lived and living experience have to navigate the best they can to get access to supplies," Burmeister said in an interview with CBC.

Burmeister lives in Quesnel, a city of about 10,000 people located in B.C.'s central Interior, 120 kilometres south of Prince George. She's also a stakeholder engagement lead with the BCCDC's harm reduction team.

In Quesnel, Burmeister says accessibility to harm reduction services is "much better" than in some northern B.C. rural communities. She says Quesnel residents can access services that run until 11 p.m. and receive assistance on the streets from a community outreach team. But even in Quesnel, she says more could be done.

"Quesnel certainly could use more programs and programs that kind of support people [with] more holistic and wraparound services," she said. "Definitely, we're lacking in that."

Low-cost fashion chain H&M to cut 1,500 jobs worldwide

November 30, 2022

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Low-cost fashion brand H&M said Wednesday that it will be reducing its global workforce by around 1,500 positions as part of a plan to reduce costs and further improve efficiency.

The Sweden-based company said a restructuring charge of 800 million kronor ($76 million) will be booked in the last three months of the year. The staff reduction is estimated to provide annual savings of about 2 billion kronor ($190 million).

CEO Helena Helmersson said H&M was “very mindful of the fact that colleagues will be affected by this. We will support our colleagues in finding the best possible solution for their next step.”

H&M was founded in Sweden in 1947. Besides the clothing retailer, the group includes brands like COS, Monki, Weekday, Cheap Monday, & Other Stories, H&M Home, ARKET and Afound. It counts about 4,664 stores in 77 markets and has 57 online markets.

Qatar has delivered the FIFA World Cup, now let it bring peace to Palestine

November 30, 2022

The Al-Jabir Towers in the Lusail City area in the Qatari capital Doha lit up with the Palestinian flag, 10 August 2022 [@PalCyberNews/Twitter]

Yvonne Ridley
November 30, 2022 

The International Federation of Football Associations, FIFA, is a flawed governing body which has chosen to ignore a whole raft of corruption allegations — all denied — that it "sold" the world's greatest-ever sporting event to super rich Qatar. The astonishing allegations were published by the prestigious Insight Team of investigative journalists at the Sunday Times in London.

If the claims are true, then Qatar should not have hosted the ongoing tournament. The evidence has been submitted to a British House of Commons select committee in the wake of a global dirty tricks campaign to sabotage the tiny Gulf State's chances of hosting football's greatest event. Mind-boggling sums of money are said to have been spent to grease the palms of FIFA officials. The rumours will not go away and sports fans find themselves torn between following the epic sports event on TV and boycotting it.

To compound the problems further, the Western media has gone into overdrive to demonise Qatar, with the result that its citizens have been caught up unfairly in the crossfire. What's more, with 17 of the 22 FIFA Executive Committee members who handed the 2022 World Cup to Qatar back in 2010 now banned or indicted over allegations of corruption and wrongdoing, the controversy doesn't look like ending any time soon. FIFA could find itself damaged irreversibly by the ongoing scandals although I'm sure it will get comfort from netting a record £6.3 billion from what has become the most divisive of all football tournaments.

OPINION: The FIFA World Cup in Qatar demonstrates that Palestine is still the issue

If we are to believe just a fraction of what is being claimed, then Qatar has spent billions preparing to host the World Cup while its rivals, including the jealousy-fuelled UAE and Saudi Arabia, have thrown correspondingly eye-watering amounts to sabotage the tournament.

I despair. I truly despair. Not just as a supporter of the Beautiful Game but as a Muslim and a passionate upholder of human rights, aspiring to live in a world in which everyone is treated as an equal. A bit Utopian, perhaps, but a worthy aspiration nonetheless.

All life has been on display in the fabulous arenas built by armies of construction workers whose families across Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are among the poorest in the world and yet take so much pride from the fact that their sons and daughters work in the Gulf States for penurious wages that we would baulk at in the West.

So why, instead of sports washing and investing so much time and energy promoting their soft power to the West, don't the Arab countries take a lesson from the Beautiful Game? The degree of interaction and friendly rivalry displayed by football fans at the tournament in Qatar has been impressive. As is seeing players and supporters from around the world interacting positively on and off the pitch.

If Qatar and other Gulf States really want to impress their allies in the West, the first thing that they should do is put on a united front and cast aside their costly rivalries which have seen the region's royal playboys and petulant princes buying up rights to host the most prestigious sporting events, including Formula 1 racing — which has also had its share of corruption allegations over the years — boxing, golf and football. What the Arab world really needs is someone who can bring an end to the endless wars in the region, a true lightning rod of a leader who can exert an honest, moral code in the cause of world peace.




Arabs snub Israel media at Qatar World Cup – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]

According to Palestinian journalist and political analyst Lamis Andoni, there has never been an Arab leader "as capable of moving the Arab street or shaping Arab political thought" as Gamal Abdel Nasser, the President of Egypt between 1954 and 1970. According to her, Nasser personified anti-colonialist, modern Arab political thought, and that made him one of the most influential world leaders of his time. His advocacy of Arab independence and support for revolutionary movements around the globe placed him and the Arab world at the forefront in representing the emerging countries of the Global South against an imperialist North, nowhere more so than in occupied Palestine.

"Our path to Palestine will not be covered with a red carpet or with yellow sand," said Nasser. "Our path to Palestine will be covered with blood… In order that we may liberate Palestine, the Arab nation must unite, the Arab armies must unite, and a unified plan of action must be established."

Sadly, such titans with worthy places in the history books no longer walk across the Middle East-North Africa region. Instead, we have bombastic rulers who are more obsessed with tall buildings, such as the 1,292ft Iconic Tower in Egypt. Size, it seems, is everything to military dictator Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi who overthrew democratically-elected President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Another well-known — and despised — name in the annals of Middle East history is that of Lord Arthur Balfour, the British peer who issued the poisonous Balfour Declaration which can be said to have ruined the lives of millions of Palestinians. Dated 2 November, 1917, it is credited with paving the way for the establishment in Palestine of the Zionist State of Israel built upon terrorism, ethnic cleansing and brutal military occupation.

Do the current crop of Arab leaders not have the imagination to consider how much kudos they would get by being heralded as the one who brings peace to the Middle East? Again, you may say that I'm being Utopian, but it isn't inconceivable if as much time and effort spent on staging the FIFA World Cup 2022 on the sands of tiny Qatar could only be invested in peace and justice for the Palestinians; the rewards and benefits would be immeasurable.

Palestine is not forgotten by the people of the Arab world who almost universally support the legitimate rights to self-determination and return for the Palestinian refugees displaced in the Nakba and their descendants. More than a few Palestinian flags and scarves have been prominent in Qatar held aloft by fans alongside the national flags of Qatar, Tunisia and Morocco. There was even evidence of Palestinian support during the match between England and Wales. Infamously, of course, FIFA banned the Palestinian flag from being on display at Glasgow Celtic's matches – and fined the club for allowing it — so I'm surprised but pleased that the fans in Qatar have got away with showing their love and support for Palestine so easily, as reported in MEMO.

The arrogant FIFA President Gianni Infantino was right to accuse the Western media of "hypocrisy" over a deluge of reports about Qatar's human rights record when he addressed a news conference in Doha in which he spoke passionately in defence of Qatar for more than an hour. Angry that the tournament was in danger of being overshadowed by issues such as the heavily-reported deaths of migrant workers and the treatment of LGBT+ people, the Swiss-born Infantino said that Europe should apologise for acts committed in its own past, rather than focussing on migrant workers' issues in Qatar. He opened by saying: "Today I have strong feelings. Today I feel Qatari, I feel Arab, I feel African, I feel gay, I feel disabled, [and] I feel a migrant worker."

I would have been more impressed if he'd added "I feel Palestinian", but his astonishing display of white privilege did not extend that far. I wonder how much of his monologue was driven by FIFA's insistence that the World Cup was delivered to Qatar in an honest and transparent manner.

Qatar's rulers certainly achieved the impossible by bringing the World Cup to their country against all the odds. So where do they go from here?

READ: 'There's no Israel, only Palestine', Saudi fan tells Israel reporter he is not welcome at Qatar World Cup

There are plenty of people in Tel Aviv prepared to hold out their grubby palms for some "Gulf grease". Incoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — yes, he's back — has been under investigation for alleged bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He denies all charges, of course, but here's the thing: Because Israel's corruption and hypocrisy is blatant and on display for the whole world to see — and such predilection towards bribery and corruption is, sadly, in the DNA of the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah — I'm convinced that the Qataris and their expert diplomats are more than qualified to persuade their cousins about the futility of war, violence and the ongoing military occupation of Palestine.

The prestige of bringing peace to the Middle East would propel the individual behind such an ambitious project into the stratosphere of global politics, and completely dwarf the magnificent achievement of hosting the World Cup in Qatar. Their name would surely go down in history alongside the likes of Nasser. Following the success of this World Cup, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, is ideally placed to build on it and take the lead in the quest for peace in the Middle East. All else will pale into insignificance, and he would not only win the admiration of the Arab world, but also remove a long-running thorn in the side of his allies in the West.

So while offering congratulations to Qatar for a brilliant World Cup tournament, I call on the Emir to harness its momentum to achieve the seemingly impossible dream of peace in occupied Palestine and the rest of the region. Use Qatar's wealth for long-term benefits across the region instead of soft power and sports washing to please the hypocrites in the West. Qatar has delivered the FIFA World Cup; now let it bring peace to Palestine.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.

 

FOUR BRITISH MINISTRIES REFUSE TO SAY IF THEY’VE DISCUSSED ASSANGE WITH U.S.

UK government statements raise suspicions about the degree of coordination with the US administration over the continued incarceration of the WikiLeaks founder.

MATT KENNARD

30 NOVEMBER 2022

Then home secretary Priti Patel, who ordered Assange’s extradition to the US, with Mike Pompeo, who as CIA director from 2017-18 reportedly oversaw “kill or kidnap” plans for Assange in London, 30 June 2022. (Photo: Priti Patel/Twitter)

• Kenny MacAskill, a former Scottish justice secretary and the MP who asked questions in parliament, tells Declassified: “This obfuscation and avoidance is, I believe, part of a pattern of a cover up in alliance with US authorities.”

Four of Britain’s most powerful government ministries are refusing to say if their officials have met with US authorities to discuss the case of Julian Assange. 

The Home Office, Cabinet Office, Foreign Office, and Ministry of Justice all recently failed to tell parliament about any potential contact with their US counterparts on the issue of the WikiLeaks founder. 

The refusals raise further suspicions about the politicisation of Assange’s legal case. Britain is part of the US-dominated “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance and very close to the American government, which is demanding Assange’s extradition.  

The High Court judge who green-lighted Assange’s extradition to the US in December 2021 is a 40-year “good friend” of the foreign minister, Sir Alan Duncan, who orchestrated the Australian journalist’s arrest. 

Assange has been incarcerated in Belmarsh maximum security prison in London for three and a half years. If extradited, he faces a possible 175-year sentence. It would mark the first time Britain has dispatched a journalist and publisher to a third country. 

“The UK government routinely blocks, or obfuscates its answers to, information requests about the Assange case.”

The recent statements also raise the possibility that the departments are misleading parliament, where the questions were asked about discussions between Whitehall officials and US authorities. 

The UK government routinely blocks, or obfuscates its answers to, information requests about the Assange case. 

The Home Office told parliament that it “routinely cooperates with international partners, including the US, on a range of issues involving judicial cooperation.” But it refused to say whether it had discussed Assange with the US, adding, “This specific case is subject to ongoing court proceedings, so we are unable to comment further.”

The Cabinet Office similarly told parliament that its “officials routinely meet with US counterparts to discuss a range of issues, which may, in the past, have included Mr Assange.” It added: “The Cabinet Office does not hold a central record of meetings between officials and their US counterparts.” 

This is an unusual response whose meaning is unclear. The Cabinet Office had seven officials working on the secret police operation to seize Assange from the Ecuadorian embassy, which was conducted in coordination with US authorities. 

‘Not aware’

The Ministry of Justice, meanwhile, claimed information about any conversations with their US counterparts about Assange’s incarceration “could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.” 

It is unclear why the MoJ could not find this information. But the department gave the same response to a question about its involvement in Operation Pelican, the secret operation to seize Assange from the Ecuadorian embassy in London. 

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office refused to say if any of its officials had discussed Assange with their US counterparts. 

Unlike the other government departments, defence minister Andrew Murrison said that his boss, Secretary of State Ben Wallace, “has not held any meetings with US officials to discuss Julian Assange”.

However, he stopped short of saying the same about other Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials. Murrison told parliament only that he personally was not “aware” of any meetings between MoD personnel and their US counterparts on the Assange case. 

This response leaves open the possibility that meetings have taken place about which Murrison, who took on the brief three weeks ago, was not informed. It is unclear why the department could not give a more conclusive answer, as it did for Wallace. 

“It’s disingenuous to suggest that they can’t locate the information except at disproportionate costs.”

‘Cover up’

Kenny MacAskill, the MP who asked the questions, told Declassified: “Getting information on the UK’s role in the persecution of Julian Assange has always been hard and we’re still not getting the full story. Given his significance, and the profile he has, it’s disingenuous to suggest that they can’t locate the information except at disproportionate costs, or other flimsy excuses.”

MacAskill, who was Scottish justice secretary from 2007-14, added: “This obfuscation and avoidance is, I believe, part of a pattern of a cover up in alliance with US authorities. It confirms why Julian Assange’s original actions were necessary in the first place. It’s not just the Pentagon but Whitehall that is denying us the full facts.”

In September 2021, 30 former US officials went on the record to reveal a secret CIA plot to “kill or kidnap” Assange in London. In case of Assange leaving the embassy, the article noted, “US officials asked their British counterparts to do the shooting if gunfire was required, and the British agreed, according to a former senior administration official.” 

These assurances most likely came from the Home Office. However, the Foreign Office and Home Office both said they had had no discussions with their US counterparts concerning the revelations about assassination plans on British soil. 

Innovative start-up scoops top Arctic award

NOVEMBER 30, 2022
By EU Reporter Correspondent


The International Polar Foundation has announced the winner of the first ever 'Laurence Trân Arctic Futures Award'. The winner is Containing Greens AB, a startup created by young entrepreneurs based in Luleå, Sweden. An initiative of the International Polar Foundation and financed by the Trân family, the award provides €7,500 of financial assistance to a fledgling startup or young entrepreneur based in the Arctic to help them further establish their business.

Starting this year, the award will be presented to a different startup or young entrepreneur every autumn at the annual Arctic Futures Symposium, which brings together in Brussels Arctic stakeholders from across the region to discuss topics of importance to them. This year’s event takes place in Brussels on 29-30 November.

“We’re very excited to be the first recipients of this award,” said the company’s CEO, Moa Johansson. “We’re very grateful to be recognised for our work!” Containing Greens AB was chosen because of its innovative approach to using heat generated by data centres (which are popping up all over the Arctic) to grow vegetables destined for local consumption in a part of Northern Sweden that, due to its Arctic climate, is obliged to import about 90% of its produce.
“By using heat from data centres that would otherwise go to waste, as well as a vertical hydroponics system to optimize the use of space and LED lighting to minimise energy consumption, Containing Greens is able to offer a more sustainable alternative to cultivating fresh produce in the High North,” explained Johansson. Containing Greens was selected among 10 candidates proposed by the partners involved in the organisation of the Arctic Futures Symposium, as well as other Arctic stakeholders.

The award will be presented by IPF Managing Director Nicolas Van Hoecke, IPF Board Members Maire-Anne Coninsx and Piet Steel, and Mads Qvist Frederiksen, Director of the Arctic Economic Council, who was involved in the process to select the winner. “Containing Greens is an exciting company because it combines some of the benefits of being in the Arctic (a cold climate region with lots of cheaper, renewable energy, which attracts data centres) while also solving a challenge in the Arctic,” explained Frederiksen.

“They won the prize because they are visionary, ambitious and idealistic - with a starting point from the North - and they provide a much-needed service locally.” Runners up include Siu-Tsiu from Greenland, which contributes to increased employment and sustainability in Greenland on regional and local levels, and Lofoten Seaweed from Norway, which sells a wide range of products based on sustainably harvested seaweed grown in Northern Norway. Johansson will accept the award on behalf of the company during a ceremony to be held at the end of this year’s Arctic Futures Symposium, which will take place at the Residence Palace in Brussels’ EU Quarter.

The symposium will focus on topics such as Arctic governance, energy, innovation and entrepreneurship, and research co-operation. “I look forward to receiving this prize at the Arctic Futures Symposium and taking part in discussions about issues that affect our region,” Johansson said. IPF Founder and President Alain Hubert, who has been a life-long entrepreneur himself, says he is thrilled that the prize will be able to help the next generation of entrepreneurs.

“Thanks to the generosity of the Trân Family, IPF is able to help young entrepreneurs who are committed to finding sustainable solutions to our needs,” remarked Hubert. “Just like the world’s first zero-emission polar research station, Princess Elisabeth Antarctica (which IPF designed and built with the help of its partners and the Belgian State), the Laurence Trân Arctic Futures Award celebrates innovation and entrepreneurship, and also reflects IPF’s core values of taking action to build a more sustainable future. We’re grateful to the Trân Family for supporting young entrepreneurs who share our vision.”

The Tran family says it is glad that the legacy of their daughter will live on in an award that focuses on helping young entrepreneurs bring their innovative ideas to fruition. “We congratulate the winners of the first Laurence Trân Arctic Futures Award for their original idea,” Brigitte Trân-Loustau stated. “We wish them lots of luck with their venture.” The IPF is a public foundation, created in 2002 by Belgian Alain Hubert. Its remit is to support international polar scientific research.

The IPF was also behind the creation of the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica station, which was officially opened in 2009 as the first and, to date, only zero-emission station, with a view to maintaining a Belgian presence in Antarctica and pursuing its ambition in service of citizens facing climate and environmental challenges. Every year, the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica station hosts numerous scientists of all nationalities.

The Laurence Trân Arctic Futures Award is named after the oldest daughter of Mr Trân Van Thinh, Laurence Trân, who died at the age of 26. Laurence was a gifted young woman who was passionate about dance and literature, and was a talented writer. the Trân family decided to join forces with IPF to create the Laurence Trân Arctic Futures Award to support young Arctic entrepreneurs working to find sustainable solutions to the challenges they face in the Arctic.

BIODIVERSITY

Putting Nature on a Quantifiable, Ambitious Path to Recovery

By Joyce Chimbi

A blue sea star (Linckia laevigata) photographed on a largely dead coral reef on the Coral Coast on Fiji's largest island Viti Levu. IPBES estimates that nearly one-third of reefs are threatened with extinction. Credit: Tom Vierus / Climate Visuals

Nairobi, Nov 30 2022 (IPS) - Up to 1 million species are threatened with extinction – many within decades – this includes nearly one-third of reef-forming corals, shark relatives, and marine mammals. Half of agricultural expansion occurs at the expense of forests, and 85% of wetlands that were present at the beginning of the 18^th century had been lost by the year 2000, with the loss of wetlands considered to be happening three times faster, in percentage terms, than forest loss.

Dr Anne Larigauderie, the Executive Secretary of IPBES. Credit: IPBES

Speaking to IPS ahead of UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) about the urgent need to accelerate measures to stop biodiversity loss, Dr Anne Larigauderie, the Executive Secretary of IPBES, says the loss we hear about is just the tip of the iceberg.

“In 2019, IPBES alerted the world that a million species of plants and animals, out of an estimated total of eight million, now face extinction, many within decades. A third of coral reefs are threatened with extinction. Nature is being deteriorated at a rate and scale that is unprecedented in human history,” she cautions.

She said that the very first reason to conserve and use biodiversity sustainably is because this is the right thing to do from a moral and ethical standpoint, “it should not be to the purview of one species, the human species, to destroy the non-human species on our shared planet. But an important more selfish second reason is that conserving and using biodiversity sustainably are also a matter of ensuring human existence and good quality of life.”

Related IPS Articles

• IPBES, IPCC Joint Winners of the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity 2022 Dedicated to Climate Change
• Lessons from Niyamgiri Movement’s Success to Protect an Indigenous Sacred Mountain
• Wild Species Central to Human Survival, New IPBES Report Offers Options for their Sustainable Use

Biodiversity is central to human development, and its conservation is critical to people in every corner of the world. Fifty thousand wild species, according to IPBES, meet the needs of billions of people worldwide, providing food, cosmetics, shelter, clothing, medicine, and inspiration.

One in five people rely on wild plants, algae and fungi for their food and income; 2.4 billion rely on fuel wood for cooking, and about 90 percent of the 120 million people working in capture fisheries are supported by small-scale fishing.

This is just part of the material contribution Larigauderie says biodiversity makes to humanity, along with innumerable non-material and regulating contributions such as maintaining the quality of air and soil, the control of emerging diseases and the pollination of crops.

Against this backdrop, Larigauderie says COP 15, which will be held in Montreal, Canada, December 7-19, sets the stage for a new Global Biodiversity Framework, hoped to be a quantifiable and well-resourced plan that is meant to set the path to recovery of all life on Earth and the contributions it provides to people by 2030.

She speaks of the failed Aichi Biodiversity Targets 2011-2020, a strategic plan established to halt the loss of biodiversity and how none of the 20 targets agreed by governments for 2020 were fully achieved at the global level.

“COP15 is an opportunity to raise the bar—a renewal of the momentum of the ambitions for the global community. The most desirable outcome would be an agreement whose targets are supported by sufficient resources and quantified,” she emphasises.

For instance, Aichi target 11 called for the effective protection of 17 percent of land and inland waters and 10 percent of coastal and marine areas; now she says, “the bar is raised significantly in the new draft framework, to 30 percent to be protected by 2030. It is challenging but possible with adequate financial means.”

In addition to the 30%, measures need to be undertaken on the 70% which is not under protection. The text, therefore, includes targets to integrate biodiversity in key economic sectors, such as agriculture, fishing, and economic and financial systems, to decrease their impact on biodiversity.

IPBES research reveals that half of agricultural expansion occurs at the expense of forests. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS

“Agriculture represents one of the major drivers of biodiversity loss because it competes for land with nature, and because it pollutes nature. Governments could help farmers to transition to agroecological practices that are more respectful of nature,” she observes.

Science, she adds, can inform transitions to new sustainable pathways for agriculture, fishing, and food systems, among others, to help conserve and sustainably use biodiversity. Larigauderie stresses the great need to transition into these new pathways for the good of nature and people for present and future generations.

She also emphasises the need to support developing countries that are now expected to develop while protecting their biodiversity, unlike their more developed counterparts, who ensured their development by leveraging their natural resources.

Speaking about the just-concluded UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), Larigauderie said it is critical to recognise and act on the interlinkages between climate change and biodiversity loss. Research has established that climate change is a major driver of biodiversity loss.

“It is very important for the climate change community to take biodiversity into account. The topic of biodiversity is still very low on the agenda of climate change discussions. Yet, we know there can never be long-term solutions for climate change without better treatment of nature,” she says.

“Moreover, some measures proposed to mitigate climate change are harmful to biodiversity, exacerbating ongoing biodiversity crisis and ultimately the climate change crisis.”

She says these measures can include growing biofuel crops, also known as energy crops, such as sugarcane and soybeans, on a large scale to avoid using fossil fuels. Initially, such crops were meant to be grown on marginal lands.

But with very few marginal lands left, pieces of natural ecosystems are being converted into farmland, often for short-term profit, which in turn does further harm to biodiversity.

Another example of a strategy to combat climate change at the expense of biodiversity, she says, can be tree planting schemes. Rather than working to reduce emissions, “people contribute money for tree planting schemes to offset their carbon footprint. People plant trees and continue to do business as usual.”

“Tree planting schemes can also cause social problems where indigenous people are displaced or ecological problems where trees are planted without factoring in ecological principles such as planting trees that require a lot of water in dry areas, causing serious water scarcity.”

Instead, it is important to implement solutions that take both crises into account and combat climate change and biodiversity loss together.

As governments from around the world gather at COP 15, it is a vital chance to step up for nature. Doing so will call on the global community to leverage the established post-2020 biodiversity framework. The outcome could well be a framework to transform society’s relationship with biodiversity, heal the planet and ensure a sustainable existence for humankind.

IPS UN Bureau Report