Inside BP's plan to reset renewables as oil and gas boom



BP's new Chief Executive Bernard Looney gives a speech in central London

Mon, March 6, 2023
By Ron Bousso, Shadia Nasralla and Sarah McFarlane

LONDON (Reuters) - BP hasn't fallen out of love with renewables. It just wants to have more power.

CEO Bernard Looney's pursuit of green energy outstripped all rivals three years ago when he outlined a radical blueprint to move away from fossil fuels. Last month he applied the brakes, slowing BP's planned cuts in oil and gas and scaling back planned renewables spending in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

The oil major isn't backing away from renewables though, its green chief Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath stresses, it's simply changing the terms of the relationship.

Dotzenrath told Reuters BP was reviewing its solar and onshore wind businesses as part of a revamp that will see it move away from selling the clean electricity it produces, and instead keep hold of most of it to supply its growing electric vehicle charging network and production of low-carbon fuels.

The onshore renewables scrutiny, which hasn't been previously reported, follows reviews by Dotzenrath of BP's offshore wind and hydrogen businesses over the past year which led to overhauls that saw the company install new managers, hire staff, scrap some projects and seek to revise terms of others.

"We made some changes internally and created a focused hydrogen organisation, a focused offshore wind organisation," Dotzenrath said in an interview. "I'm (now) just reviewing the onshore renewables part - so the onshore wind and solar part."

BP's head of renewables and gas didn't elaborate on the nature of the latest review. The green stakes are high, though, given solar alone comprises more than half of BP's 43-gigawatt renewables project pipeline.

Dotzenrath also put the first numbers to BP's rebalancing act, which comes amid deteriorating profits in renewables power generation, telling Reuters that the company aimed to retain 80% of the power produced to supply the global EV network and to make "green" fuels such as hydrogen, seen by many transition experts as a key fuel of the future.

She did not give a timeframe for the shift, which represents a major pivot given the vast majority of BP's renewables output is currently linked to power grids. BP will continue to build some projects under traditional power supply deals, she added.

"We will not grow renewables for the sake of growing wind and solar," said Dotzenrath, who is marking a year in the job after joining BP shortly after Russia's invasion undermined Europe's energy security, fuelled bumper profits for oil and gas and changed the calculus of the energy transition.

"Our strategy is not necessarily about asset ownership in renewables, but it comes as a consequence. It is really about securing access to cheap - the cheapest - green electron," she added, referring to electricity from renewable sources.

IN FOCUS: VENTURE WITH EQUINOR

The most eye-popping change in the strategy update last month was BP slowing its planned cuts in oil and gas output from 40% to 25% by 2030 compared with 2019 levels.

It also lowered its projected annual spending on renewables to up to $5 billion by 2030 out of a total group budget of up to $18 billion, from $6 billion out of $16 billion under its previous update in 2022, according to a Reuters analysis.

While BP's move to produce more oil and gas for longer puts it more in line with its peers, its 25% annual reduction goal is still more ambitious than any of its global rivals.

The paring of green ambitions has been cheered by the market, with BP shares leaping about 17% since the Feb. 7 strategy update, much more than any other rival Western major.

By contrast, BP had significantly underperformed rivals since Looney outlined his industry-leading transition plans three years ago, remaining largely flat until the announcement compared with a 20% gain for Shell and 84% rise for Exxon.

The renewables revamp reflects an acknowledgement that the company won't be able to sufficiently compete with traditional power generators if it simply sells the energy produced by its wind and solar projects, according to Dotzenrath.

"It's a critical feedstock," she said. "If it is not integrated with our other businesses, we will not do this because we don't believe that we have a competitive edge."

The company's new trajectory has placed its flagship U.S. offshore wind joint venture with Norway's Equinor in the focus of managers, five sources familiar with the matter separately told Reuters.

BP executives, including Dotzenrath, have held several meetings with Equinor in London in recent weeks to discuss ways to give the oil major greater clout in the venture, said the two BP and three Equinor sources, who are close to the talks and declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

BP wants more of its staff involved in the Oslo-based venture, the people said. One of the Equinor sources with direct knowledge of the operations said BP currently had more than 20 people working on the JV projects out of a total of over 270.

Equinor declined to comment on any "speculation" about changes to the venture sought by BP. It said it looked forward to applying their combined expertise to develop projects on the U.S. East Coast. Dotzenrath also declined to comment on this.

"I am very happy with the joint venture and the progress we are making with the projects," Dotzenrath said. "These are very, very complex, large, mega projects ... we have much more ability to support Equinor in the delivery of these projects."

THAT'S THE BRUTAL REALITY

When BP paid $1.1 billion for its 50% stake in the venture to enter offshore wind in 2020, it was more reliant on the know-how of Equinor, which had over a decade of experience and specialism in the sector.

Over the past two years, though, BP has brought in hundreds of staff from renewables firms. It has also broken from its tradition of developing leaders internally and hired senior executives such as Dotzenrath, a former CEO of Germany's RWE Renewables, and an offshore wind chief from Danish giant Orsted.

The UK major surprised many investors and analysts in December when it decided not to join Equinor in bidding on a floating wind project off California. Floating offshore wind is a nascent technology that remains significantly more expensive than turbines fixed to the seabed.

"This was a portfolio decision," Dotzenrath said. "The North Sea is much more important to us and our integration story than California. I think that's the brutal reality at the moment."

(Graphic: BP's investment plans, https://www.reuters.com/graphics/BP-STRATEGY/byvrlkdzyve/chart_eikon.jpg

THE NEW NORMAL IN NUMBERS

BP's renewables revamp is underpinned by its projections about how much money it can make from the production and sale of green power versus higher-margin low-carbon businesses within its own integrated operations.

The company's outlook for its average core earnings from oil and gas in 2030 grew by around $10 billion to $42.5 billion over the course of last year, and by a meagre $1.5 billion to $11 billion from energy-transition businesses including renewables.

BP expects a return on investment of at least 15% on bioenergy including biogas as well as from combining EV charging with retail stores. Hydrogen is seen bringing in 10% returns, with renewables lagging at a maximum of 8% under the current model dominated by power sales.

While BP had a stated target in 2020 of trading 500 terawatt hours of electricity by 2030 – twice the volume in 2019 - no such target featured in its 2023 strategy update.

Dotzenrath said growth in renewables capacity would be in service to green hydrogen and other businesses it supplied internally with clean power.

"We take the green electron and do something with it," she added. "Access and control over the green electron is key because the world is short of green electrons."

Graphic: BP earnings forecasts for 2030 BP earnings forecasts for 2030, https://www.reuters.com/graphics/BP-STRATEGY/EARNINGS-FORECAST/zjpqjwlqevx/chart.png

Graphic: BP production outlook, https://www.reuters.com/graphics/BP-STRATEGY/dwpkdemrdvm/chart.png

(Reporting by Ron Bousso, Shadia Nasralla; Editing by Pravin Char)

UK

Labour to launch review to go ‘further and faster’ in closing gender pay gap

Pippa Crerar political editor
Tue, 7 March 2023 

Photograph: Jonathan Hordle/Rex/Shutterstock

Labour is launching a review of the gender pay gap to help the party “go further and faster” on eradicating the problem, as part of its plan to boost growth if it makes it into government.

The former Trades Union Congress (TUC) chief Frances O’Grady, a Labour peer, has been asked to lead the review amid concerns that under current trends it could take until 2044 to bring pay for men and women into line.

The average working woman earns 15% less than the typical working man, with women aged 50-59 enduring an even worse gender pay gap of 21%, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will announce that O’Grady will join her, Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, and the shadow equalities secretary, Anneliese Dodds, to try to remove the remaining barriers to equal pay at the TUC women’s conference on Wednesday.

Related: Women in UK ‘more likely than men to be on low pay and struggling’

O’Grady will investigate the root causes of wage gaps in Britain, and her report, which will be published later this year, will be used by Labour to develop further policies to support working parents, help employers eradicate unequal pay and review the parental leave system.

Reeves is expected to say that closing the gender pay gap would help a future Labour government secure its challenging mission of the highest sustained growth in the G7. She will add: “Barbara Castle’s Equal Pay Act in 1970 was groundbreaking in ensuring equal pay should be legally enforced across all sectors of the economy.

“She was clear it would be working-class women on the lowest pay who would benefit most from equal pay, and so it is today. Yet half a century later unequal pay claims persist while the gender pay gap is too great and progress has been too slow. I’m impatient and so are working women. We literally cannot afford to wait that long.”

O’Grady added: “Everyone deserves to be paid a fair rate for the job. Working part-time and shouldering caring responsibilities shouldn’t mean having to put up with low or unequal pay. But too often women’s work is underpaid and undervalued.

“At the current rate of progress it would take another 20 years to close the gender pay gap and women simply can’t afford to wait. My report aims to help Labour blow the lid off the state of unequal pay in Britain and set out the action we need to tackle it.”

Climate change will quadruple extreme rainfall events, study suggests


Danny Halpin, PA Environment Correspondent
Tue, 7 March 2023 

Extreme downpours could become four times more frequent by 2080 if greenhouse gas emissions remain high, a new study suggests.

Climate scientists at the Met Office have found that for every degree of regional warming, the intensity of extreme downpours could also increase by 5-15%.

By the 2070s, deluges of more than 20mm of rain per hour could occur four times as frequently as they did in the 1980s. London typically receives about 40-50mm of rain in a month.


In July 2021, 40mm fell on the capital in just three hours, flooding 31 Tube stations and 2,000 properties.

The Met Office researchers said forecasting long-term trends for extreme rain will help planners and policymakers adapt to the changing risk.

Three million properties across England are currently at risk from surface water flooding, with urban areas in steep catchments, such as Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire, particularly vulnerable.

Long-term climate modelling shows the number of extreme rainfall events are likely rise on average (Met Office/PA)

Using a high resolution model normally used for weather forecasting, Met Office climate scientist Professor Lizzie Kendon and colleagues examined how local weather patterns could change over a 100-year timespan – between 1980 and 2080.

They ran the model 12 times at a resolution of 2.2km which gave them a more accurate picture of how the frequency of heavy downpours is likely to change over the coming decades.

Previously, less accurate, lower resolution models had found a smaller increase of two to three times as many extreme rain events by the 2070s.

Prof Kendon said: “Being able to look at our projected future climate in such detail has unlocked an incredible amount of information and has shown how expected increases in intense rainfall events will actually manifest at local scale and for the coming years.

“Having this level of detail is crucial to ensure that we’re prepared for the possible extremes of the future.”

Higher temperatures create more extreme rainfall because warmer air holds more moisture – 7% for each degree – leading to a greater amount of water falling when clouds finally burst.

Much of the UK’s wet weather comes from clouds which form over the Atlantic and are carried east on the jet stream, which is why the west and north of the UK are generally wetter than the south and east.

The researchers found such regional differences in their climate modelling. North-west Scotland for example could see almost 10 times as many extreme downpours in 2080 as in 1980, whereas the south of the UK could see around three times as many.

The modelling also showed that extreme downpours are likely to fall in clusters because of natural climate variability adjusting conditions favourable for their occurrence.

Met Office modelling shows there will likely be large differences between the north and south of the UK in the number of extreme rainfall events (Met Office/PA)

Prof Kendon warned against trying to predict long-term trends through observation, adding: “The observed rainfall record in the UK is fairly erratic with a large amount of variability, these latest projections show that this is likely to continue through the century.

“What we can see from the higher resolution output is an even more erratic frequency of extreme events each year, so this could mean we see clusters of record-breaking intense rainfall events, followed by a period when no records are broken.

“Despite the underlying trend, these pauses in the intensification of local rainfall extremes can last a surprisingly long time – even multiple decades.”

She also said that alongside helping planners and policymakers, the study will be useful for other climate scientists seeking to attribute the likelihood of current extreme rainfall events being caused by climate change.

“Our study highlights the complexity of how natural climate variability and human-induced climate change will come together in the extreme rainfall events we experience over the UK – it is far from a simple picture of more extreme events decade by decade as a steadily increasing trend,” she added.

Racism, discrimination pose 'virulent threat': UN rights chief

Nina LARSON
Tue, 7 March 2023 


In a passionate appeal, the United Nations rights chief decried on Tuesday the impact of racism, discrimination, and violence against women, LGBTQ people and other minorities around the world.

Listing countries from Afghanistan and Iran to the United States and Russia, Volker Turk warned "discrimination and racism are virulent threats".

"They weaponise contempt. They humiliate and violate human rights, fuelling grievances and despair, and obstructing development," he told the UN Human Rights Council.

Delivering his first update on human rights around the world to the top UN rights body since taking office six months ago, Turk voiced alarm at "the scope and magnitude of discrimination against women and girls", describing it as "one of the most overwhelming human rights violations worldwide".

He highlighted the situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have effectively squeezed women out of public life since sweeping back to power in August 2021.

"The repression of women in Afghanistan is unparallelled," he said. "Such a tyranny must not escape accountability."

- 'Deeply dangerous' -

He also pointed to Iran, which was rocked by months of nationwide protests last year after Mahsa Amini died in custody following her arrest for an alleged breach of Iran's dress code for women.

"It is urgent for the authorities to act on the demands of protestors, in particular women and girls, who continue to endure profound discrimination," Turk said.

Beyond country crackdowns on women's rights, Turk said he was "shocked to the core by the contempt for women... spawned across the internet by so-called influencers," condoning "the pervasive commodification of women".

Women and girls are not the only ones targeted by "vicious hate speech", Turk said, adding attacks on "people of African descent, Jews, Muslims, LGBTIQ+ people, refugees, migrants and many other people from minority groups".

He deplored "deliberate provocations... intended to drive wedges between communities," like the recent Koran burning in Sweden, as "deeply dangerous".

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights underlined how police violence in many countries disproportionately affects people of African descent, revealing "the deep structural harm rooted in racial discrimination".

He noted repeated reports from his office of "excessive use of force, racial profiling and discriminatory practices by police", in numerous countries, including France, Britain and Brazil.

- 'Very troubling' -

In the United States, where people of African descent are reportedly nearly three times more likely to be killed by police than white people, he hailed the unusually swift action taken to prosecute officers involved in the brutal death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis earlier this year.

"In the US and all other countries, swift and determined action to hold perpetrators accountable in each case should be the rule, not the exception," he said.

Turk also voiced concern at the "growing agitation against the rights of LGBTIQ+ individuals in many countries," and especially at recent crackdowns and political rhetoric inciting hatred against them in East Africa.

He highlighted the "very troubling" so-called anti-homosexuality bill tabled in Uganda's parliament last week, and 24 mainly AIDS educators arrested in Burundi.

"It is unthinkable that we are facing such bigotry, prejudice and discrimination in the 21st century," he said.

Amid a broad range of issues over the situation since Moscow invaded Ukraine a year ago, Turk also saw a "troubling development" with the recent broadening of a law in Russia banning so-called "propaganda of non-traditional relationships".

nl/rjm/bp

Midwives in Northern Ireland vote to take industrial action

Rebecca Black, PA
Tue, 7 March 2023

Midwives in Northern Ireland have voted to take industrial action short of a strike.

The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) said in a formal ballot almost 94% of workers voted, in frustration over pay.

Midwives were given a 4% pay increase in December, which the union has criticised as being well below the rate of inflation, then at 10%.


Some 93.9% voted for industrial action short of a strike, based on a turnout of 55% of eligible RCM members working in the health service in the region.

Almost 90% also voted to take industrial action consisting of a strike.

People on the picket line outside the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast in January (Liam McBurney/PA)

The vote comes amid anger across the public sector, including recent strike action by nurses, health workers and paramedics.

Karen Murray, director for Northern Ireland at the RCM, said the vote is a reflection of “growing anger and frustration at a pay award that goes nowhere near to making up for a decade and more of pay freezes and pay stagnation”.

“The current political situation has left services rudderless for far too long, with no maternity strategy and no plan to drive improvements in maternity care for women and working conditions for midwives, maternity support workers and their colleagues,” she said.

“Not only is this taking a heavy toll on our members, it’s ultimately impacting care for women.

“This pay award and the growing crisis in our maternity services will do nothing to keep midwives in our maternity service, as many say they have had enough and will simply head for the door.



“We must see an improvement in pay for our members and we must see political action here in Northern Ireland and in Westminster to resolve the political crisis so that we can then turn to solving the maternity crisis.

“Our members are exhausted, fragile and burnt out.

“This is terrible for them and is having an impact on the care they can deliver for women, babies, and families. A solution to these issues must be found, and soon.”

Any decision to take industrial action must be approved by the RCM’s elected board.

The RCM will look at the result of the ballot and consider the next steps.

‘Ballet has the same appeal as Princess culture’: Alice Robb on how would-be ballerinas are taught to be thin, silent and submissive

Sarah Crompton
Tue, 7 March 2023

Alice Robb explores life as a student at the School of American Ballet in New York, in her new book (Nina Subin)

From the age of nine until the age of 12, Alice Robb was a student at the School of American Ballet in New York. She has the photographs and the psychological scars to prove it. She gave up ballet at the age of 15 and built a successful career as a journalist and writer. Yet it has defined her ever since.

Don’t Think, Dear: On Loving and Leaving Ballet is her ode to her long-lost dream of dancing with America’s leading ballet company, New York City Ballet, but also an attempt to understand and unravel the effect that early training had upon her – and the effects that it might have on all the little girls who long to be ballerinas.

“Ballet does not exist in a vacuum,” she writes in her introduction. “It is a laboratory of femaleness – a test-tube world in the middle of modern New York or London or Paris, in which traditional femininity is exaggerated. The traits ballet takes to an extreme – the beauty, the thinness, the stoicism and silence and submission – are valued in girls and women everywhere. By excavating the psyche of a dancer, we can understand the contradictions and challenges of being a woman today.”

The starting point for her book is a photograph she unearthed of her class at the School of American Ballet (SAB) when she was about 11 or 12. There are 20 girls in the picture, hair scraped back, backs erect, necks stretched. Of those, only one is still a professional dancer, but they were all marked and shaped by the years they tried to achieve their ambitions, suffering eating disorders, loss of confidence and profound depression.

In this they are not alone. She quotes a Teen Vogue survey that estimated that of the 300,000 girls who train at a professional level every year, with a serious intention of becoming ballerinas, only 2 per cent will make it into companies, and that’s not even taking account of all those who take up ballet recreationally. “I read a lot of ballet memoirs,” says Robb. “But they are stories of ballet success. The narrative tends to be there’s all this pain and sacrifice but look how it’s paid off. Yet all the people who almost make it are also making pretty much exactly the same sacrifices and going through the same amount of pain, so I think those stories are also worth telling.”

We are talking on Zoom because Robb is currently based in New York, though she is about to move to London where her boyfriend lives and works. She is an attractive 31-year-old, her mass of hair loosely tied back, her manner warm and interested. “Ballet still has such a hold on the feminine imagination,” she continues. “So many little girls go through a ballet phase, so I think it is like an under-explored, under-analysed part of femininity. It has the same appeal as Princess culture, but it’s more attainable.”

That was its original attraction for her. “I just loved the girliness of it,” she says with a grin. But she pursued her ambition with steely determination. She was turned down for SAB twice before she was accepted; she carried on dancing at different academies when she was thrown out, even when it became obvious that her body was developing in ways that made it impossible for her to pursue a professional career – her hips that continued to widen, her feet that refused to arch. For years afterwards, she would dream she was auditioning for a role, and suddenly feel the joy of thinking it was not too late, that she could still be a star.

It’s a level of obsession that she examines in minute detail, but why did it hold her in its grip for so long? “SAB was the real goal of my childhood,” she explains. “And although I was only there three years, it was also the summer programmes, the extra classes, the schools I attended afterwards. On top of that I was practising at home, stretching every day, trying to walk with my feet turned out, dancing every Saturday. Ballet really was my identity.

“I think I knew that there was something seductive about ballet and about the way I acted within ballet. I was definitely a shy kid as so many dancers are, and it was a relief at some level to just follow instructions. To know what the rules were even if you’re trying to do things that are physically very challenging, or even impossible.

“Whereas the world outside can feel like this scary free-for-all. Particularly when I was growing up, I think there was this pressure to take advantage of opportunities that previous generations of women hadn’t had access to. Ballet was a way to sidestep all that. Of course, we were all very ambitious, but there was some comfort in the rules, and the structure, the sense that there was a ladder of progress that you could just put one foot in front of the other and climb.”

Alice Robb’s ‘Don’t Think, Dear: On Loving and Leaving Ballet’ is her ode to her long-lost dream of dancing with America’s leading ballet company (source)

For each of her three years at ballet school, Robb was one of the children who performed in the professional production of George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker at NYCB. “It was so powerful to be in such proximity with those professional dancers,” she adds. “I think that I still have this romantic, idealistic image that dancers are the ideal woman, beautiful, controlled but also powerful.”

Yet her book is a searing testimony that lays bare the cost of that ideal. Its pages are haunted by stories of suppression and pain. Its title is taken from a quotation by Balanchine, the Georgian-American choreographer who co-founded both the School of American Ballet (1934), and New York City Ballet (1948), where he was artistic director for an astonishing 35 years. Famously, he said “ballet is woman”, and his works were inspired by the dancers he was working with, who were very often the women he loved. He had five ballerina wives and gave each a signature scent. His dancers by and large adored him and aspired to be his muse, but he cultivated a style that prized an extremely low body weight. Robb quotes him telling one corps de ballet dancer: “You are like inside a cocoon; your true personality will only be revealed when all the fat is gone, and you are down to your bones.”

He died in 1983 but his ethos was continued by his successor Peter Martins who left the company in 2017 after allegations (which he denied) of sexual abuse came to light. And Balanchine’s dominant shadow still haunts Robb’s own idea of what it is to be a ballerina. That obsession with a certain body type has influenced the view of what a dancer should look like ever since; the constant exhortation of her classmates to “lengthen” and “tone up” were disguised messages that they should lose weight to dangerously low levels. Robb not only quotes examples of famous ballerinas starving themselves to achieve their ideal weight but talks about a classmate who ended up unable to digest solid food.

The glorification of thinness is a recurring theme, but it is also an amplification of obsessions in the world beyond dance. “You hear so many justifications,” Robb says. “Like ballet just looks better on a certain type of body or it’s so you can see the choreography. But these are all conventions. Ballet is made up. When I quit ballet, there was some element of relief in realising that I didn’t have to wear a leotard anymore, and it didn’t matter if I gained five pounds. But it wasn’t like I was going into a world where looks and weight didn’t matter. People are still applauded and rewarded for being thin.”



When I quit ballet, there was some element of relief in realising that I didn’t have to wear a leotard anymore, and it didn’t matter if I gained five pounds

It is not just body dysmorphia that Robb identifies as part of the cost of ballet, through stories of both famous and unknown dancers. She also recognises the way that ballet – and it is specifically ballet rather than other forms of dance – requires self-sacrifice, a setting aside of self, an endurance of all kinds of hardship, both physical and psychological. All are qualities valued in women, but all seen at their most extreme in ballet.

She talks about Margot Fonteyn, the greatest dancer of her own and many other ages, who was always at the beck and call of worthless men; of the American ballet star Gelsey Kirkland, principal dancer with NYCB and then with American Ballet Theater in the Seventies and Eighties, who drove herself to cocaine addiction in her attempt to prove herself worthy. She describes the way that ballet studios can easily be a breeding ground for abuse of young girls by powerful men and for the cultivation of low self-esteem among the girls who study there.

“When I think about why ballet had such an impact on me, I realise I was doing it at such a formative time,” she says. “You’re discovering who you are and how you relate to your body. Yet people would say all the time, your body is your instrument. That’s just a different way to relate to your body. You are objectifying yourself, learning to see your body as not exactly your own, but as something that is serving an art.”

It is compelling reading, but I wonder how much her view is tempered by it being seen through the perspective of Balanchine’s NYCB. “I think that company has had this somewhat specific struggle of how to carry on without Balanchine,” she says. “But I don’t think it’s that different. A lot about it is universal. I think ballet culture and training are pretty similar everywhere.”

For all her trenchant criticism, she clearly values ballet as an art form – though she admits she finds it hard to watch because “it can still put me in a funny mood. I am saying this with an awareness of how ridiculous it sounds because I was not particularly close to becoming a professional dancer, but it can make me feel nostalgia and regret over not making it.”

For each of her three years at ballet school, Robb was one of the children who performed in the professional production of George Balanchine’s ‘The Nutcracker’ at NYCB (Debra Goldsmith)

Towards the end of the book, too, she notes some signs of change and hope. Her classmates find different kinds of resolution in their relationship with ballet; her friend who suffered the most extreme eating disorders carries on dancing and enjoys the best and healthiest years of her career in a contemporary dance company. Robb goes to see Seattle’s Pacific Northwest Ballet and notes a new inclusivity.

Robb admits that writing the book has been therapeutic for her. “I do think things are changing,” she admits. “But I didn’t focus on what is happening now because I wanted to look at the long-term impact of this training that happened to people in the 1990s.

“So yes, it is changing, you are starting to see different types of partnering, and non-binary dancers. Misty Copeland has done a lot to change the image of ballet, both in terms of her muscularity and also obviously her race. Social media has given professional dancers more power and more of a platform. But I do think ballet is still a very insular world, it’s still so competitive that people feel they can’t afford to speak out.”

Looking back, does she feel it gave her anything? “Oh yes,” she says smiling. “I do spend a fair amount of time talking about the negatives, but there were many positives as well. I think the most obvious one is probably the discipline of ballet. You have to show up for work every day. It sets you up for so many things. Even for being a freelance writer. I am intrinsically motivated, I show up.”

‘Don’t Think, Dear: On Loving and Leaving Ballet’, by Alice Robb, is out now

Japan's new H3 rocket fails again, forced to self-destruct


Hiroshi HIYAMA
Tue, 7 March 2023


Japan's second attempt to launch its next-generation H3 rocket failed after liftoff on Tuesday, with the spacecraft forced to self-destruct after the command centre concluded the mission could not succeed.

The failure is a blow for Japan's space agency JAXA, which has billed the rocket as a flexible and cost-effective new flagship.

Its launch had already been delayed by several years, and then a first attempt last month failed when the solid rocket boosters did not ignite.

Tuesday's launch from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan initially appeared to be a success, with the rocket lifting off.

The first-stage separation appeared to go as planned, but signs of trouble soon emerged.

"It seems that the velocity is coming down," announcers on the JAXA live feed said while the rocket was about 300 kilometres (185 miles) above ground.

The command centre then announced: "The second stage engine ignition has not been confirmed yet, we continue to confirm the situation."

The live feed was briefly halted, with a message reading, "We are currently checking the status. Please wait."

When it resumed, the command centre confirmed the bad news.

"Destruct command has been transmitted to H3 because there was no possibility of achieving the mission."

The rocket was not going to reach its planned trajectory without confirmation of the second stage engine, JAXA Vice President Yasuhiro Funo told a news conference.

Debris from the destroyed rocket is believed to have fallen in waters east of the Philippines, he said.

- 'Efforts to restore confidence' -

The cause of the failure will be investigated, said JAXA President Hiroshi Yamakawa.

"When a failure like this happens, it is important that we show how quickly we can move and show our findings with transparency," he said.

"My responsibility is to focus on discovering the cause and make efforts to restore confidence in our rockets.

The H3 rocket was developed for more frequent commercial launches as well as better cost efficiency and reliability and has been mooted as a possible competitor to Space X's Falcon 9.

"The H3 rocket is a very important rocket for not only the government of Japan but also for private sector businesses to access space," Yamakawa said.

JAXA has said it envisions the H3 becoming a workhorse that could be launched six times or so annually for around two decades.

There were no details on how long the investigation into the failure might take and whether or when JAXA could attempt a new launch.

Developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the H-3 is the successor to the H-IIA model, which debuted in 2001.

Tuesday's launch was carrying the ALOS-3 observation satellite, touted as having improved resolution and intended to help with disaster management and other monitoring.

The incident is not the only recent blow for JAXA.

In October 2022, the agency was forced to send a self-destruct order to its solid-fuel Epsilon rocket after take-off. It was carrying satellites into orbit to demonstrate new technologies.

That was Japan's first failed rocket launch since 2003.

The Epsilon rocket has been in service since 2013. It is smaller than the country's previous liquid-fuelled model, and a successor to the solid-fuel "M-5" rocket that was retired in 2006 due to its high cost.

hih-sah/pbt

WWII forced labour victims lash out at South Korea's 'dirty money' plan

Tue, 7 March 2023 


South Koreans who were forced to work for Japanese companies during World War II on Tuesday denounced Seoul's new plan to compensate them and end a historic dispute with Tokyo as "dirty money".

Seoul announced plans Monday to pay the victims with money taken from South Korean companies that benefited from a 1965 reparations deal, in a bid to break the "vicious cycle" in its relations with Tokyo.

Japan and the United States immediately welcomed the plan, which does not involve a fresh apology and envisages only voluntary contributions from the Japanese companies involved, such as Mitsubishi and Nippon Steel.

But victims' groups said it fell far short of their demand for a full apology from Japan and direct compensation from the companies involved.

"I am 95 years old and I don't know if I die today or tomorrow. But never in my life have I felt so distressed," Yang Geum-deok, who worked at a Mitsubishi factory during the war, said at a rally in Seoul.

"Even if I die of hunger, I would not accept that dirty money," she yelled, waving a placard that said: "Mitsubishi must apologise and compensate!"

Seoul aims to resolve lingering issues stemming from Japan's brutal 1910-45 occupation of the Korean peninsula as it seeks closer ties with Tokyo in the face of growing threats from North Korea.

Around 780,000 Koreans were conscripted into forced labour by Japan during the colonial period, according to data from Seoul.

That number does not include Korean women forced into sexual slavery by Japanese troops.

"It was the Japanese who dragged us to Japan. Who do we turn to demand an apology?" said victim Kim Sung-joo at the rally, which was also attended by opposition politicians.

South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol defended the plan Tuesday, saying it was essential "for freedom, peace and prosperity, not only bilaterally but globally".

The two countries restored diplomatic ties with the signing of the 1965 treaty, which included a reparations package of about $800 million in grants and cheap loans.

Japan has long insisted that the agreement settled all claims relating to the colonial period.

It is unclear whether Japanese companies will make any contributions, with Nippon Steel saying Monday: "Our company's understanding is that this issue has been resolved by the 1965 agreement".

kjk/ceb/dhw/qan

UK

Forty-three times the Conservatives tried (and failed) to tackle Channel crossings

Archie Bland
Tue, 7 March 2023 

Photograph: Gareth Fuller/PA

On Tuesday, Rishi Sunak and Suella Braverman will announce a new plan to deal with the small boats crisis. But from using the navy to threatening asylum seekers with detention in Moldova to sending jetskis on patrol, the Conservatives have not been short of schemes to deter those who plan to cross the Channel since the issue came to the top of the agenda in the last weeks of 2018. Here’s a guide to some of them.

2019: 1,843 people arrive by small boat crossings

January: Deploy more Border Force ships, work with France

The home secretary, Sajid Javid, promises two extra Border Force cutters to patrol the Channel, bringing the total to five. On a visit to Dover, Javid says: “If you do somehow make it to the UK, we will do everything we can to make sure that you are often not successful.” This will become familiar. Meanwhile, France and the UK agree a coordinated plan to reduce crossings with more French surveillance and security on the coastline. This will also become familiar.

August: Work with France, warn people making the crossing: ‘We will send you back’

Boris Johnson tells those attempting to cross: “We will send you back … If you come illegally, you are an illegal migrant.” Meanwhile, the new home secretary, Priti Patel, holds new talks with her French counterpart.

2020: 8,466 people arrive by small boat crossings

July: Work with France, invest more in border security, create new ‘intelligence cell’

Priti Patel meets the French interior minister, Gérald Darmanin; the pair “reaffirm their shared commitment to returning boats in the Channel to France”. They announce a “joint intelligence cell, which will crack down on the gangs”. A £705m investment in borders before Brexit is announced, including new money for security.

August: Use the navy to force boats back, appoint a new ‘clandestine Channel threat commander’

Patel tells MPs she intends to use the navy to block crossings before boats can enter British waters. A defence official calls the idea “completely potty”, a view it retains 18 months later. She also appoints Dan O’Mahoney as clandestine Channel threat commander, tasking him with making France strengthen enforcement measures.

September: House asylum seekers in barracks, patrol on jet skis, send asylum seekers to Moldova or Papua New Guinea

The local MP Damian Collins reveals that people who have made the crossing will be housed in a former barracks near Folkestone in Kent. Meanwhile, the Home Office sets out plans to buy two jet skis to help with patrols (£). The former Border Force head Tony Smith warns that such plans are “highly dangerous”.

Later in September, the Guardian reveals that plans are under consideration to send asylum seekers to third countries for processing, with options including Moldova, Morocco and Papua New Guinea. This eventually becomes the Rwanda plan. The Home Office is already warning of the “significant” legal, diplomatic and practical obstacles to the idea.

October: Be ‘firm and fair’, stop ‘endless legal claims’

In her party conference speech, Patel says she will make it harder to appeal against asylum decisions and “expedite the removal of those who have no legitimate claim for protection”. She bemoans “decades of inaction by successive governments”.

November: Prosecute asylum seekers for steering dinghies, work with France

It emerges that new Crown Prosecution Service guidance allows asylum seekers to be prosecuted for steering dinghies as they make the crossing, even if they have no links to organised crime groups. Campaigners criticise the government for describing those steering the boats with no financial benefit as “people smugglers”. Meanwhile, the UK and France sign an agreement, agree to double French police patrols on the coastline, and promise to make the crossing unviable.

December: Facebook ads to warn would-be migrants against making the crossing, deny entry to anyone passing through safe third country

O’Mahoney announces a “social media blitz” of ads geo-targeted on the French coastline that will warn people they risk prosecution for steering boats. He says the government is “determined to make this route completely unviable”. It later emerges that three months’ worth of ads cost £90,000. Meanwhile, immigration rules are quietly changed to bar anyone who has travelled through a safe third country – such as France – from claiming asylum. There are immediate warnings that this is against international law, and enforced returns have since fallen.

2021: 28,526 people arrive by small boat crossings

People picked up at sea, after attempting to cross the Channel, are helped ashore from an RNLI lifeboat at Dungeness on the south-east coast of England. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

March: Reduce rights for those crossing the Channel

Details of a consultation on Patel’s immigration plan reveal that those deemed to have arrived in the UK illegally will not have the same rights as those taking legal routes (of which there are very few for the vast majority of potential asylum seekers). Patel also proposes to speed up removals.

June: Ban social media posts ‘glamourising’ crossings

Patel tells social media companies they will face heavy fines if they do not remove clips that “promote and even glamourise these lethal crossings”. No fines have yet been levied.

July: Offshore centres for asylum seekers, new criminal charges, block visas for countries refusing to take back asylum seekers, bone scanners to detect age of asylum applicants, work with France

After the consultation, Patel introduces the nationality and borders bill and sets out a batch of measures that she calls the “biggest overhaul of the UK’s asylum system in decades”. Later that month, she agrees another £55m to fund French border patrols.

August: Publish a new advice website

The Home Office is censured for producing an “unethical website” that gives asylum seekers advice such as: “It is safer and easier to apply for asylum in the country you’re in now” – without making it clear that the government is behind it.

November: New policy review, work with France, annoy France

As the bill makes its way through parliament, an “exasperated” Johnson orders a new review to find novel ways of cutting the number of crossings. Meanwhile, France warns it will not be a “punchbag” for British politicians. But France and the UK agree to pursue an exciting new strategy to “prevent 100% of crossings”. The UK publishes a five-point plan for talks on Twitter instead of communicating privately with France, and Patel is disinvited from further talks.

December: Make asylum seekers wear tags on arrival in the UK, ask small boats to contact France for rescue

Reports emerge suggesting that Patel will set out a plan to make working-age people wear tags, thereby making it harder for them to seek employment in the UK. This follows reports that the British coastguard is regularly telling passengers on stricken small boats to contact France instead.

2022: 45,756 people arrive by small boat crossings

April: Send asylum seekers to Rwanda

The government sets out its plan to send tens of thousands of unauthorised migrants to Rwanda for processing. Almost a year later, nobody has yet been sent, and the plans remain on hold. But Sunak and Liz Truss say during their respective Conservative leadership campaigns that they want more Rwanda-style deals.

September: New plan to restart ‘pushbacks’ of small boats, aim to reduce crossings to zero, tell civil servants to watch more reality TV

Documents released under freedom of information laws reveal the government wants to restore its previous policy of forcing those crossing to go back to France. Meanwhile, the new home secretary, Braverman, causes consternation in the Home Office by saying she wants to reduce the number of crossings to zero. She also tells officials to watch more “trashy TV” for the good of their mental health.

October: Work with France, blame asylum seekers

After Braverman’s notorious comment comparing those making the crossing to an “invasion”, she signs a £63m deal with France to increase patrols. It is the fourth such deal in three years. Sunak says he is “confident” numbers will be reduced. Later, when Braverman is asked about governmental failings over the crisis at the Manston processing centre, she says: “It’s the people who are breaking our rules … that’s who’s at fault.”

December: Blame civil servants

Braverman tells a committee of MPs that the backlog of asylum claims is the result of civil servants’ failure to work quickly enough. “Our asylum case-working team do a great job but their productivity, frankly, is too low,” she says.

2023: 2,950 people arrive by small boat crossings so far

January: Keep people-smugglers off social media, monitor asylum seekers, suggest children could be sent to Rwanda

After familiar suggestions on social media and an update of ankle tags to GPS tracking devices, Robert Jenrick, an immigration minister, suggests ruling out sending families to Rwanda could encourage traffickers to bring them across the Channel instead of single males. “There’s not necessarily a bar to families being removed to Rwanda,” he says.

February: Leave the European convention on human rights (ECHR), use questionnaires to clear asylum backlog

The Guardian reports that several ministers want to leave the ECHR, which is blamed for the failure of the Rwanda scheme. Sunak is reported to be considering the move. Meanwhile, plans to replace official interviews for asylum seekers with questionnaires – which will leave claimants risking refusal if they do not reply in English within 20 days – prompt the backbencher Bob Neill to ask: “If Conservatives don’t believe in the rule of law, what do we believe in? Are we going to put ourselves in the same company as Russia and Belarus?”

Age and wisdom? 1 in 9 seniors say they still don't have life figured out

Although age brings wisdom, one in nine Americans 64 and older still don’t have life figured out, according to new research. A survey of 2,000 Americans 64 and older dispelled the idea that older people have all of the answers, although more than half said that everyone expects them to (57%). Fifty-four percent of respondents even said they feel like there’s “always” or “often” pressure on them to make the best decisions, and nearly a fifth agree that decision-making is actually harder as they get older (17%). One in seven admit they tend to prioritize their wants over their needs, which is where they could use some outside help. Two-thirds of seniors said they consult others before making a big decision (67%), but this isn’t always an easy task. Twenty-six percent said relying on others is one of the scariest parts of aging (26%). Conducted by OnePoll for ClearMatch Medicare, the survey found that seniors used to feel most confident about making large financial purchases (29%) and investing (28%) on their own, but would now consult others about those decisions beforehand (31%, 35% respectively). Respondents said they’d also ask for help when it comes to facets of their health like choosing a healthcare plan (27%) or changing their diet (18%). To help them make decisions, seniors are most likely to trust their partner (44%), revealing that they’re the least judgmental (31%) and most helpful (32%) person in their life. Others also put their trust in their children (37%) and friends (29%). Seniors have struggled to find their “perfect match” in different areas of their lives over the past five years. Even when seeking help, 40% have found themselves in a situation where they committed to something that wasn’t right for them within the past five years. Respondents struggle with different parts of everyday life such as finding a workout routine that suits their needs (20%) or nailing down their own style (17%). Health concerns such as finding the right healthcare (20%) and doctor (19%) are also high on their list of instances where they struggle to find “the one.” “Let’s face it, as we get older, making an informed Medicare decision is crucial for your health and financial well-being,” explains Ben Pajak, CEO of ClearMatch Medicare (a part of HealthPlanOne). “But no one should feel alone when making such an important decision. There are options to help you make the right choice; whether you rely on someone you trust or professionals who understand different plans, you can ensure you choose the best coverage options that meet your unique healthcare needs and budget.” When making these tough choices, mistakes do happen. The average American 64 and older admitted they make the same mistake twice before they learn from it, even leading them to feel “buyer’s remorse” three times within the past year. Seniors struggle to learn from their mistakes when they overthink the outcome (22%) and can’t figure out what went wrong (21%), while others find it hard to even accept that they were wrong (18%) and struggle to find a workable solution (17%). In the case of making mistakes, respondents shared the top three things to take away: understanding what didn’t work (28%), recognizing what could have been done better (28%) and keeping an open mind (23%). To help them make the right decision, seniors shared that they wish they could have test-drove their apartment (18%), life path (22%) and even their doctor (23%) before making a decision. If they had the chance, 67% of seniors said they’d change their health insurance after realizing their plan wasn’t a match for them. “It’s clear that seniors are constantly on the hunt to find their ‘perfect match’ in all areas of life,” said Jennifer Girdler, vice president of sales at HealthPlanOne. “In fact, 55% of those who have health insurance said they'd jump on a ‘second chance’ to switch their plan to one that better suits them in 60 days or less. Many people might not know, but the Medicare Advantage Open Enrollment period, which currently runs through March 31, is the time to help those in a Medicare Advantage plan make one more change before the fall annual enrollment period. This is your second chance at finding the right match.”