Starfish Space captures new funding ahead of orbital servicing demo mission



Aria Alamalhodaei
Wed, March 8, 2023
In the present moment, if a critical component on a satellite malfunctions or it runs out of fuel, satellite operators have no choice but to consider that asset caput.

Starfish Space is one of a handful of companies that wants to change that. The four-year-old company is developing a satellite servicing vehicle called Otter, which will be able to conduct life extension missions in geosynchronous orbit, or deorbit the satellite once it reaches the end of its useful life in low Earth orbit.

While it’s developing the Otter, the company is planning on launching a demonstration version of the vehicle, playfully called Otter Pup, this summer. That spacecraft will hitch a ride on a Launcher Orbiter 3 space tug (which itself will hitch a ride on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket); once in orbit, Otter Pup will deploy from Orbiter, then attempt to rendezvous and dock with the spacecraft.

“If successful, this will be the first ever time that two separate commercial satellites have docked in low Earth orbit,” Starfish operations lead Ari Juster told TechCrunch.

In advance of this first mission, Starfish announced today that it has closed $14 million in new funding led by Munich Re Ventures, with participation from Toyota Ventures and from all the major investors from Starfish’s seed round: PSL Ventures, NFX, and MaC VC.

The money will accelerate the development of the Otter servicing vehicle and the Otter Pup mission. The new capital will also help the company grow, from its present workforce of 27 to upward of 10 to 15 more people before the year is out.

Starfish says orbital servicing could unlock tons of value for satellite operators, who could use Otter to get additional operational years out of an asset already in space. Juster said the company’s been able to bring its costs down, in part, because of the declining costs of launch and the greater availability of types of components needed to enable its missions. Juster also said its team has been able to focus on the core breakthrough technologies — like guidance, navigation and control (GNC) — needed to execute something as complex as satellite capture and docking.

This very initial mission, though, will focus not just on docking but also on the moments just before that, Juster explained. “What’s the distance at which we can actually acquire contact with the Orbiter 3? How can we use computer vision to recognize it, to understand its orientation? How do you use Cephalopod [Starfish’s GNC software] to continue to optimize the trajectory?” he said.

It could take multiple tries to dock with Orbiter 3. Depending on how much fuel is leftover on Otter Pup, Juster said the company may try different maneuvers while in space.

Starfish frequently hears from potential customers on the need for orbital servicing capabilities, Juster said.

“This is actually a common refrain we get from customers on the commercial and government side, [which] is, ‘Oh boy, if you guys had Otters in space today we could have really used you,’” he said. While he declined to comment on Starfish’s customer contracts, he said the reception to Otter has been even better than anticipated.

“We've frankly been pleasantly surprised,” he said. “We're obviously optimists about the business case here and the demand but we've even been pleasantly surprised by the reception from customers.”

The story was updated to reflect that the round was solely led by Munich Re Ventures. The originally story also misstated the name of the Orbiter mission; it will be Orbiter 3, not Orbiter 2.

IMPERIALISM IN SPACE

War in space: U.S. officials debating rules for a conflict in orbit

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off with 21 Starlink satellites in Cape Canaveral, Fla. 

(Reuters)

Christian Davenport, 

The Washington Post
Wed, March 8, 2023

Ukraine's use of commercial satellites to help repel the Russian invasion has bolstered the U.S. Space Force's interest in exploiting the capabilities of the private sector to develop new technologies for fighting a war in space.

But the possible reliance on private companies, and the revolution in technology that has made satellites smaller and more powerful, is forcing the Defense Department to wrestle with difficult questions about what to do if those privately owned satellites are targeted by an adversary.

White House and Pentagon officials have been trying to determine what the policy should be since a top Russian official said in October that Russia could target the growing fleet of commercial satellites if they are used to help Ukraine.

Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's department for nonproliferation and arms, called the growth of privately operated satellites "an extremely dangerous trend that goes beyond the harmless use of outer-space technologies and has become apparent during the latest developments in Ukraine."

He warned that "quasi-civilian infrastructure may become a legitimate target for retaliation."

In response, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated earlier comments from her counterpart at the Pentagon that "any attack on U.S. infrastructure will be met with a response, as you've heard from my colleague, in a time and manner of our choosing."

But what that response will be is unknown, as officials from a number of agencies try to lay out a policy framework on how to react if a commercial company is targeted.

In a recent interview, Gen. David Thompson, the Space Force's vice chief of operations, said that while expanding the partnership with the commercial space industry is one of his top priorities, it has also led to a host of unanswered questions.

"The Ukraine conflict has brought it to the forefront," he said. "First, commercial companies are thinking very clearly and carefully about, can we be involved? Should we be involved? What are the implications of being involved? ... And on our side, it's exactly the same thing. Should we depend on commercial services? Where can we depend on commercial services?"

The Pentagon has long relied on the private sector, he said. But the proliferation of small satellites has created a more resilient system that has provided real-time imagery of the Ukraine battlefield from space, allowing nations to track troop movements, assess damage and share intelligence. Communication systems, such as SpaceX's Starlink constellation, has kept the internet up and running at a time when Ukraine's infrastructure has been decimated.

The discussions come as the Pentagon is investing in more systems that were originally developed for civilian use but also have military applications. In the National Defense Strategy released late last year, the Pentagon vowed to "increase collaboration with the private sector in priority areas, especially with the commercial space industry, leveraging its technological advancements and entrepreneurial spirit to enable new capabilities."

Several companies are developing small rockets that would launch inexpensively, and with little notice. SpaceX, meanwhile, has launched its Falcon 9 rocket at a record cadence, firing it off 61 times last year. The company is on track for even more launches this year.

"We think in a few years we'll be in the 200, 300, 400 range," Space Force Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy Jr. said during a conference this month, referring to total space launches. "There's a massive increase in commercial launch."

He said the Space Force would like to get to the point where "we're constantly launching, and there's a schedule. There's a launch in two hours, and there's launch in 20 hours. Your satellite is not ready? Okay, get on the next one."

For its next round of national security launch contracts, the Space Force has proposed an approach specifically designed to help small launch companies compete.

One track of contracts will be reserved for the most capable rockets - those able to hoist heavy payloads to every orbit the Pentagon wants to plant a satellite. Stalwarts such as SpaceX and the United Launch Alliance, the joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, would probably compete for those. Blue Origin, the venture owned by Jeff Bezos, could also potentially bid its New Glenn rocket, though it has yet to fly. (Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

But the Space Force has proposed offering a second track for smaller rockets, allowing start-ups to enter one of the most reputable and lucrative space marketplaces that could be worth billions of dollars over several years. Those companies include Rocket Lab, which has recently christened its launch site on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, adding to its facility in New Zealand, and Relativity, which is scheduled to launch the world's first 3D printed rocket on Wednesday.

There are also a host of space companies promising to build rockets that have never flown. "The challenge is not lowering the bar too low," Peter Beck, Rocket Lab's CEO, said in an interview. "We don't think it's useful to have paper rockets competing with real rockets. ... There has to be a level of due diligence. There has to be a level of sanity."

The new approach has "balanced that tension very well between let's make sure we have what we need for national security access to space and, as best we can, help to foster and take advantage of growth in the commercial market," Thompson said.

The Space Force is also looking to the private sector for what's known as on-orbit servicing, refueling spacecraft and repairing damaged ones. At some point, Purdy said, he saw a future where there are propellant depots in space, tugs that can move damaged satellites, junkyards and manufacturing in space on commercial space stations.

In other words, ensuring space has the same war-fighting infrastructure and logistics that exist on the ground.

"In the other domains, we don't build a ship or a tank or an aircraft and fuel it and then say, 'Okay, you're going to operate this for the next 15 or 20 years, and you need to plan all your operations based on the fact that you're never going to refuel these ever again,'" Purdy said. "That's hard to wrap your mind around, but that's how we actually operate in space."

Removing orbital debris, then, is to create freedom of movement in space, he said, the on-orbit equivalent of saying we "need a mine detection and clearing capability."

Last year, the Space Force launched a program called Orbital Prime that would give companies seed money to develop the technology needed to clean up space. In the first round of the program, companies can win awards of $250,000, with as much as $1.5 million in a second round of funding. The program will culminate with a test demonstration in orbit.

"New technologies are opening up the market," Thompson said. "And that's driven a culture change. We're trying to adapt to it, but it's coming with challenges as any change would."

One of those challenges are the new rules of the road - how best to use commercial technology in warfare, and how to respond when it is targeted. For now, there are more questions than answers.

"I will absolutely tell you with the National Space Council, with the National Security Council, with the office of Secretary of Defense and certainly inside the departments of the Air Force and Space Force, we have an intense discussion now," Thompson said. "A lot of thinking and development and policy work has to be done."

U$A

This bill could make the four-day workweek a reality


Taylor Telford, (c) 2023, The Washington Post

Wed, March 8, 2023 

The movement for a four-day workweek is gaining ground.

Dozens of U.K. companies just wrapped up the biggest pilot program to date, with more than 90 percent of firms saying they wouldn't go back to working five days a week. States and municipalities across the United States are considering ways to encourage more employers to give it a go.

And last week, Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) reintroduced a bill in the House that would make the 32-hour workweek a national standard and lower threshold triggering overtime compensation for most employees.

The previous iteration of the bill did not get a hearing in committee last year and could have a tough path to floor time in a Republican-controlled House. But Takano is enthusiastic about its potential to help American workers. The bill has been endorsed by 4 Day Week Global, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), Service Employees International Union and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

"Workers across the nation are collectively reimagining their relationship to labor - and our laws need to follow suit," Takano said in a statement introducing the bill. "We have before us the opportunity to make common sense changes to work standards passed down from a different era."

Takano talked with The Washington Post about the push to reform the workweek and why it matters. Here are five questions posed, and his answers, lightly edited.

Q: Where did the motivation for this bill come from?

A: My staff and I had discussed introducing legislation in 2020 or 2021, but I delayed introduction of the bill because there was a lot of distraction, because of covid. I just felt that the country was anxious about what was going on with adapting to the reality of the pandemic, and I wanted to make sure I introduced the bill at a decent time.

During the pandemic, the United States saw over a million of our fellow countrymen and women die. We became more conscious about the finitude we all have, and we saw a Great Resignation occur, especially among service workers in the restaurant industry. People began to get serious about what they really wanted to do in life, and people had more flexibility in their jobs. People like it and still want it.

Q: Is this the right time to rethink the workweek?

The post-pandemic moment is still a moment of openness to change, and until now we haven't really considered this kind of change seriously.

But the four-day workweek is something that's been introduced before: [former president] Richard M. Nixon, when he was a vice-presidential candidate, even said he thought this was something that was going to be inevitable. And this was two decades after the 40-hour workweek was codified into law.

What I'm finding is that there is consistent and sustained interest in this reform. It's not going away. When I've traveled to other advanced economies and labor workforces, this workforce issue of more flexibility and a better work life balance, it's a trend happening in other countries not just in the United States. It's going to take this collective reform among advanced economies to make this a reality.

Q: What are the benefits of a shorter workweek?

A: We've undergone tremendous technological change over the past few decades which has created more productive workers, but that productivity has not translated into better working conditions or hours in terms of the time people have to themselves.

As a society we can definitely make these decisions to change that work life balance and improve that work life balance so that health and happiness can all be increased without reducing how productive we are.

Q: What are the barriers to making the 32-hour workweek a reality?

A: Our biggest barrier is going to be: "How do we make sure we move to lesser hours but not less compensation? How is that going to work?"

I think it's very possible to say, if you're a coder working for a tech firm that's in AI or whatever - it's an intellectual occupation. I think people can get that increasing the number of hours you work doesn't necessarily increase your output. You can wrack your brain only for so long, and you could be open to the possibility that more time to yourself can equate to somebody who's just as productive.

Less obvious is how, if you have a production line, you're probably going to have to increase the number of people you have, if you don't want to pay overtime. How is it that we'll find a wage or compensation equilibrium that allows for 32 hours of work to be equivalent in pay to the 40 hours that were once worked?

How we make that shift in terms of hourly workers is a challenge, but I believe it can be done. I believe there are pathways to having that happen. One key factor is - besides working on the adjustment of the overtime rule, which is what my bill does - we also have to pay attention to the ability of workers to unionize to bargain for higher wages.

This reform has to coincide with other kinds of reforms so that we are moving compensation in the right direction.

Q: Would this expand access to flexible work?

A: The 32-hour workweek discussion is already occurring in certain sectors of the economy. It's occurring in the tech space. The California San Francisco Bay Area is seeing waves of interest. Panasonic went to a 32-hour workweek. Kickstarter is a company that has explored this and one of their executives is a cheerleader for this whole movement.

What we need to examine is how this can become the norm across the various workforces in America. Now of course, across sectors the ability to be that flexible is just not going to the be the same if you're someone who has to show up and punch the clock and be a carpenter or to be plumber. These are the sorts of things we need to engage with in a public debate and that's what my legislation will definitely do.

1933

Brazil's new Indigenous affairs chief sets sights on illegal gold



Ramon SAHMKOW
Wed, March 8, 2023 


Joenia Wapichana is used to charting new territory: the first Indigenous woman to earn a law degree in Brazil, she was also the first elected to Congress.

But she faces one of her biggest challenges yet in her new job as the first native person to lead Brazil's Indigenous affairs agency, FUNAI, which she said was dismantled for the past four years under far-right then-president Jair Bolsonaro.

The feisty 49-year-old is the first to admit she faces a daunting to-do list, starting with the issue that thrust her into the spotlight almost from the day she took office last month: rampant illegal gold mining on protected Indigenous reservations.

Newly inaugurated leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has ordered a police and army crackdown to wrest back control of the country's largest reservation, the Yanomami territory, from illegal miners, who are accused of poisoning the water with mercury, destroying the rainforest, raping and killing inhabitants, and triggering a humanitarian crisis.

But it is proving difficult for federal authorities to stop the boom in illegal gold, Wapichana said in an interview with AFP at her office in Brasilia.

"Brazil still doesn't have a way to curb the illegal gold trade," she said.

The government response "is very fragile," she added.

- Rampant abuse -

At least 30 percent of the gold mined in Brazil is irregular in origin, according to a recent study by the Federal University of Minas Gerais.

Under Brazilian law, gold dealers are allowed to make a declaration "in good faith" that their product was legally mined -- a system that leads to rampant abuse, according to experts.

The system "is still very immature," said Wapichana, who often wears a traditional headdress of bright feathers.

Her resources to fight the problem are limited: FUNAI's budget is 600 million reais (about $120 million) this year, the majority of which is for administrative costs.

Just one-sixth will remain for key functions such as establishing new Indigenous reservations and policing existing ones.

Wapichana wants at least double that.

She is hoping to get financing from the Amazon Fund, an internationally backed program to protect the world's biggest rainforest.

When Lula took office in January, donor countries revived the fund, which was suspended under Bolsonaro in response to a surge in deforestation.

Wapichana is also hoping to tap funds negotiated at UN climate talks to help vulnerable countries adapt to climate change -- though that will take time.

"Indigenous peoples' contribution to combatting the effects of climate change needs to be compensated," Wapichana said.

Numerous studies have found Indigenous peoples play a crucial role in slowing global warming by protecting the world's carbon-absorbing forests.

- 'Part of this country' -

Wapichana inherited a FUNAI in crisis, after four years of controversy under Bolsonaro.

Indigenous leaders accuse the ex-president of appointing hostile officials to lead the very agency that was supposed to protect Brazil's 800,000 native people.

As president, Bolsonaro (2019-2022) pushed to open protected Indigenous lands to mining. Illegal gold mining in the Brazilian Amazon rose sharply on his watch, destroying a record 125 square kilometers (48 square miles) of forest in 2021, according to satellite monitoring by the national space agency.

Bolsonaro also made good on his vow to ensure that "not a single centimeter" of new Indigenous reservations were allowed.

Lula has promised to resume creating new Indigenous reservations, which currently cover 13.75 percent of the nation's territory.

Bolsonaro "encouraged land invasions, denied our rights and contributed to discrimination against Indigenous peoples, who suffered persecution and criminalization," Wapichana said.

She says it her mission to undo that damage.

She faces a tough job but Wapichana is used to blazing trails.

"This is a country where Indigenous women are seen as submissive domestic workers," she said.

"I'm here to say: 'We're part of this country, and we want to sit at the table as equals.'"

rsr/jhb/dw

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Dispute Over Mysterious Saudi Jewelry Worth $3 Million Haunts Bolsonaro


Wed, March 8, 2023

(Bloomberg) -- A dispute over $3 million worth of jewelry allegedly from Saudi Arabia is set to present another headache for former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro when he returns home from his US vacation.

Brazil’s national comptroller on Tuesday started probing the case, which involves a cache of jewelry — including a diamond necklace, earrings and a watch made by the Swiss brand Chopard. Bolsonaro’s former Energy Minister Bento Albuquerque confirmed over the weekend that his delegation brought the items into the country — now run by leftist leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva — as a gift from the Saudi government to Bolsonaro and his wife, Michelle, without declaring them to customs agents.

The country’s federal police also launched an investigation at the request of the justice ministry.

The case came to public attention on March 3 when newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo reported that Brazilian customs officials seized jewelry found inside a suitcase carried by an aide to Albuquerque as they returned from an official trip to the Middle East last October. Brazilian law requires travelers to declare goods worth more than $1,000 for tax purposes, but Albuquerque’s team failed to do so.

Public outrage has been growing in Brazil as details of the case emerge. Brazilian officials aren’t allowed to keep most valuable gifts they receive, and have to place them in public collections maintained by the state. The investigation will seek to discover whether Bolsonaro or his associates were attempting to smuggle the jewelry into Brazil, and if they sought to shield the gift from entering the president’s official collection, which would make it government property, according to the justice ministry. Potential money laundering crimes will also be considered, according to Justice Minister Flavio Dino.

(Tweet translation: “Federal police launches inquiry to investigate attempt by Bolsonaro government to bring jewelry worth millions into the country without declaring it to customs”)

Bolsonaro on March 4 denied wrongdoing, telling a gathering of conservatives in the US that he neither asked for nor received the gift. Michelle Bolsonaro said on social media that she didn’t know about the jewels. Albuquerque said he didn’t know what the boxes his team brought into Brazil contained. An official with the Saudi Foreign Ministry reached by Bloomberg News said Riyadh is investigating the reports and gathering all the facts and plans to issue a formal statement soon.

Retrieval Attempts

Officials from Bolsonaro’s government attempted to retrieve the jewelry at least eight times between October 2021 and December 2022, when his term came to an end, according to Estado. Brazilian authorities are currently holding the jewels in a safe box, its customs agency said in a statement.

Federal police are investigating another case from the same trip, when a man entered Brazil with jewelry also made by Chopard. He was not stopped by customs and the box of items was eventually delivered to the presidency, according to Estado.

Bolsonaro’s lawyer in Brazil on Tuesday said the president has acted according to the law, declaring all the gifts intended for personal use he received during trips abroad.

Yet the probe will create another potential legal headache for the right-wing leader who left Brazil in late December, just days before Lula took office.

Bolsonaro is already facing investigations into whether he attempted to plan a coup with some of his closest allies, some of whom have been arrested. Authorities are probing his unproven claims about the integrity of Brazil’s electoral system in a meeting with foreign ambassadors. He is also under scrutiny over whether he incited the Jan. 8 insurrection attempt in which his supporters raided Brazil’s congress, Supreme Court and presidential palace in an effort to topple the Lula government.

Bolsonaro has said he will return to Brazil in March to lead the conservative opposition to his leftist rival. His wife was scheduled to launch those efforts this week with a political trip sponsored by Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party. But the party suspended the plan after the scandal broke.

Lula’s government has said that Bolsonaro should come home and face the various court cases involving him, and set an informal deadline for him to do so by April. Flavio Bolsonaro, a senator and one of the former president’s sons, said on Tuesday that his father would return on March 15. But he corrected himself minutes later, saying the date isn’t set yet.

Bolsonaro has not faced formal charges in any of the cases against him.

--With assistance from Sam Dagher.

Probe into Bolsonaro jewelry scandal could delay his return to Brazil - sources


Brazil's President and candidate for re-election Jair Bolsonaro attends a news conference at the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia

Tue, March 7, 2023

RIO DE JANEIRO/BRASILIA (Reuters) -A criminal probe into former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's alleged efforts to illegally bring $3.2 million of jewelry into the country could further delay his return from the United States, sources tied to Bolsonaro told Reuters on Tuesday.

Justice Minister Flavio Dino on Monday ordered police to investigate the case. Bolsonaro is in self-imposed exile in the United States after losing his re-election bid last year.

Luxury jewelry gifted to Bolsonaro and former first lady Michelle Bolsonaro by the Saudi government was seized by customs officials at São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport in October 2021.

Brazilians are allowed to bring in $1,000 of goods or gifts and pay hefty taxes for anything over that value.

The Bolsonaro administration unsuccessfully tried to recover the jewelry multiple times through government officials, according to local media.

The episode is further complicated, the sources said, by a series of letters from officials in Bolsonaro's government asking for the jewelry to be released. One was sent on the eve of his departure for the United States two days before his term ended in December, they said.

Bolsonaro has said he plans to return to Brazil this month to lead the opposition and defend himself against accusations that he instigated the Jan. 8 riots in Brasilia, in which his supporters stormed government buildings. He has also indicated plans to run again for president in 2026.

Bolsonaro lost the Oct. 30 election to his leftist rival President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. For months ahead of the vote, he had cast baseless doubts on the electoral system, creating a potent force of election deniers.

Bolsonaro, who began his self-exile in Florida, has been seen greeting supporters, eating at fast food restaurants and addressing conservative meetings. He has been unwilling to put a firm date on his return.

He entered the United States on a visa reserved for heads of state and other government officials, then applied for a six-month tourist visa. Since he no longer holds public office, he is more vulnerable to court-ordered measures such as search and seizure warrants.

His son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, said earlier on Wednesday his father would return on March 15, but quickly deleted the post.

"I'm sorry for the previous post, I might be missing him a lot," he tweeted, adding date was "likely but still unconfirmed."

(Reporting by Ricardo Brito in Brasilia and Rodrigo Viga Gaier in Rio de Janeiro; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Chizu Nomiyama and Richard Chang)

Brazil's Lula says judiciary should force businesses to pay equal salaries




Ceremony to mark the International Women's Day at Planalto Palace in Brasilia

Wed, March 8, 2023

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The Brazilian judiciary should work on compelling businesses to pay equal wages for men and women in the same roles, Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday.

In an event marking International Women's Day, Lula also presented a bill to promote wage equality between women and men, among other measures directed toward women.

The president said the bill, which needs to be submitted to congress for approval, would make paying equal wages mandatory, "so that... no one will earn less just because they are a woman."

"Whoever works in the same post, with the same abilities, has the right to earn the same salary," Lula added.

In a later Twitter post, Lula said the bill also includes measures encouraging greater wage transparency.

Companies that fail to comply with the law will be subject to a fine 10 times the highest monthly salary the company pays, according to planning and budget minister Simone Tebet.

Tebet added that the bill also allows judges to rule wage differences on basis of gender be immediately rectified when proven.

(Reporting by Fernando Cardoso; Editing by Josie Kao)

Mexico vows not to budge on US corn dispute


Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador gives his regularly scheduled morning press conference, decorated with an image of Francisco "Pancho" Villa, a general in the Mexican Revolution, at the National Palace in Mexico City, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023.

 (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte) 

Tue, March 7, 2023

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's president vowed Tuesday not to back down in a dispute with the United States over a potential ban on imports of genetically modified corn.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s office announced Monday it had called for consultations with Mexico over proposed rules that would ban GM corn for human consumption. Mexico has said it could eventually ban it for animal feed as well.

Mexico argues that GM corn could somehow harm the health of those who consume animals raised on it, though it has not yet presented any proof of such ill effects.

Mexico had previously appeared eager to avoid a major showdown with the United States on the corn issue. On Tuesday, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said consultations continued, but suggested Mexico would still seek to implement some form of ban.

“We still have a month,” López Obrador said of the talks. “If there is no agreement, we'll go to a panel,” he said, referring to the dispute resolution mechanism under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement, known as the USMCA.

“Because this is a very important issue for us,” the president said, adding “it is the health of our people.”

“No treaty in the world allows people to sell merchandise that damages health,” he said.

The U.S. trade representative’s office said the ban could “threaten to disrupt billions of dollars in agricultural trade.”

Mexico is the leading importer of U.S. corn, most of which is genetically modified. Almost all is fed to cattle, pigs and chickens in Mexico, which doesn’t grow enough feed corn to supply itself.

Mexico had previously softened its stance, but refused to completely drop talk of any ban.

In February, Mexico’s Economy Department issued new rules that dropped the date for substituting imports of GM feed corn. Some imported corn is also ground into meal for use in corn chips or other snacks.

Under a previous version of the rules, some U.S. growers worried a GM feed corn ban could happen as soon as 2024 or 2025.

While the date was dropped, the language remained in the rules about eventually substituting GM corn, something that could cause prices for meat to skyrocket in Mexico, where inflation is already high.

U.S. farmers have worried about the potential loss of the single biggest export market for U.S. corn. Mexico has been importing GM feed corn from the U.S. for years, buying about $3 billion worth annually.

The new rules still say Mexican authorities will carry out “the gradual substitution” of GM feed and milled corn, but sets no date for doing so and says potential health issues will be the subject of study by Mexican experts “with health authorities from other countries.”

Mexico was where corn was first domesticated starting around 9,000 years ago, and in order to protect its native varieties, the country will still ban imports of GM seed corn.

Mexico will also prohibit the use of GM corn for direct human consumption, which in Mexico consists mainly of fresh white corn and white corn tortilla flour. Mexico has no need to import white corn from the United States, where most corn is yellow or sweet corn.

Railroads propose safety reforms after fiery Ohio derailment



Train Derailment Florida

This photo provided by the Manatee County Government shows a derailed freight train operated by Seminole Gulf Railway near Bradenton, Fla., on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023. Officials in Florida are keeping a watchful eye on a train car carrying 30,000 gallons (113,562 liters) of propane that tipped over in a derailment in an industrial area near Sarasota Bradenton International Airport. (Steve Litschauer/Manatee County Government via AP)

JOSH FUNK
Wed, March 8, 2023 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The major freight railroads announced a number of steps Wednesday that they are taking to improve safety in the wake of last month’s fiery Ohio derailment, but it’s not clear if their actions will be enough to satisfy regulators and members of Congress who are pushing for changes.

Many of the proposals from the Association of American Railroads trade group focus on strengthening the network of trackside detectors that railroads use to spot problems before they can cause derailments. The railroads plan to do this by installing 1,000 more of the detectors nationwide and tweaking the way railroads use the data from them.

Norfolk Southern, the railroad responsible for the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border, proposed similar changes earlier this week, but the Federal Railroad Administration responded saying the company wasn't doing nearly enough.

And several members of Congress — led by Ohio's two senators — have proposed a sweeping package of rail reforms that go well beyond what the industry is proposing. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has also urged the railroads to make immediate changes.

Federal regulators didn't immediately respond Wednesday to questions about the industry's proposals. Congress plans to scrutinize Norfolk Southern's safety record and its response to the Ohio derailment at a Senate hearing Thursday morning that will also examine the reforms Ohio's senators proposed. Two federal agencies also announced broad investigations into Norfolk Southern's safety record Tuesday.

Overall, railroads are proud of their safety record, which reflects a decline in derailments over the past several years, and they like to tout the statistic that 99.9% of all hazardous materials shipments railroads handle reach their destinations safely. Still, there were 1,049 derailments nationwide last year — and the East Palestine one showed how even a single mishap involving hazardous materials can be disastrous.

“Rail is indisputably the safest way to move dangerous commodities,” AAR President Ian Jefferies said. “Yet we fully appreciate that these data do not comfort the residents of East Palestine and that public trust must be restored through action."

The major freight railroads — which include Norfolk Southern, CSX, Union Pacific, BNSF, Canadian Pacific, Kansas City Southern and Canadian National — said they will tighten up the spacing between the hot-bearing detectors to ensure they average no more than 15 miles (24 kilometers) apart along the main routes they use to transport hazardous chemicals. Currently, there are no federal rules on those detectors, which can be spaced up to 40 miles (64 kilometers) apart in places, though most of them are much closer together.

Rail safety expert Allan Zarembski said the existing network of detectors was already quite effective and allowed only a handful of derailments every year related to overheating bearings. But these changes will undoubtedly catch even more of these problems, said the University of Delaware professor who leads the railroad engineering and safety program there.

Zarembski said he believes these changes are likely to be “pretty effective.”

The railroads said they will also commit to stopping and inspecting any train that has a bearing that registers more than 170 degrees above the outside temperature. That’s in line with the standards Norfolk Southern already uses.

The National Transportation Safety Board has said the Norfolk Southern crew received a warning about an overheating bearing just before the derailment but wasn’t able to stop the train before 38 cars, including 11 carrying hazardous materials, jumped off the tracks and caught fire. About half the town of East Palestine — about 2,500 residents — had to evacuate a couple days later because officials were worried that five of the cars carrying vinyl chloride might explode. They then released the chemical and burned it off.

In addition to stopping trains anytime a bearing exceeds 170 degrees, the railroads also analyze the data from sensors all across their networks to identify problems even before a bearing hits that threshold. The trade group said all the major railroads plan to discuss ways to improve that analysis by the end of March.

The railroads said they also plan to train about 20,000 first responders nationwide this year to deal with hazardous materials incidents. As part of that, Norfolk Southern announced plans Wednesday to build a new regional training center in Ohio. Gov. Mike DeWine praised the effort.

“The derailment in East Palestine made clear that ensuring first responders are prepared for disasters involving hazardous materials is vitally important to the safety of communities,” DeWine said. “Often, first responders are volunteers, and their need to have the most up-to-date training and equipment is vitally important."

CLAD IN RED  HANDMAIDS OUTFITS

Israeli women form human chains to protest planned judicial overhaul



 

Women clad in red lined the popular Tel Aviv beach-front promenade, clapping and chanting "democracy."

Women form a human chain as part of a demonstration against the Israeli government's judicial overhaul and to mark International Women's Day, in Tel Aviv

Wed, March 8, 2023 
By Emily Rose

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - To mark International Women's Day, thousands of Israeli women formed human chains on Wednesday to protest the right-wing Israeli government's planned judicial overhaul that would drastically limit the powers of the courts.

Several sectors of Israeli society have joined in weekly protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plans to limit the Supreme Court's ability to rule against the legislature and the executive, while giving lawmakers decisive powers in appointing judges.

The women's group joined the ongoing protests dressed clad in red, lining the popular Tel Aviv beach-front promenade, clapping and chanting "democracy." Demonstrators at previous women's protests have dressed in red cloaks and white bonnets, mimicking the popular Handmaid's Tale television show and novel which depicts a dystopian reality whereby a brutal ultra-religious regime have stripped women of their rights.

"It's supposed to be a happy day that we celebrate our rights but now we need to protest again," protestor Moran Katzenstein told Reuters at a demonstration in Jerusalem. "We all wear red and we show that we are drawing a red line and we will not allow this government to harm our rights."

Waving signs that read "harming women's rights, not on our shift" and "women's struggle," protesters demonstrated against the legislation, which Netanyahu proposed with his right-wing and religious allies last month.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday said a compromise in the government's judicial overhaul plan could be imminent, but opposition leader Benny Gantz told Reuters at the women's demonstration in Tel Aviv that they would not negotiate until the legislation is halted.

"Agreements can be reached, compromise on democracy we cannot reached," Gantz said.

"We feel that every step of this reform is going to hurt women and take women's rights back," said Adi Agasi-Shafir in Tel Aviv.

"We are going to be deprived of all the rights and achievements that we managed to get so far, it's really dangerous and we're not willing to accept that," Agasi-Shafir said.

(Reporting by Emily Rose; Editing by Josie Kao)

Israeli protests disrupt visit by US defense secretary


United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reads a statement following a NATO defense ministers meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. Austin said Wednesday, March 8, that America’s defense partnership with Egypt is an “essential pillar” of Washington’s commitment to the Middle East. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, File)


JOSEF FEDERMAN
Wed, March 8, 2023 
JERUSALEM (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was forced to change the schedule of a planned visit to Israel due to anti-government protests that are expected to paralyze traffic across the country, U.S. and Israeli officials said Wednesday.

Austin was scheduled to arrive early Thursday from Egypt for a one-day visit to Israel, a close American ally. But instead of meeting Israeli officials in Jerusalem or at the Defense Ministry in central Tel Aviv, his meetings will be held at a factory near Israel’s international airport.

Tens of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets in recent weeks to protest plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new government to overhaul the country's judiciary. More demonstrations are planned Thursday, with roads expected to be blocked and authorities warning of possible disruptions at the airport.

Netanyahu's allies say the legal overhaul is needed to curb the influence of unelected judges. His opponents say the changes will concentrate power in the hands of Netanyahu and push the country toward authoritarian rule. They also say that Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges, is motivated by a personal grudge and has a conflict of interest.

Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said the change in location had come at the request of the Israeli Defense Ministry and referred further questions to Israel.

A senior U.S. defense official said Israeli officials have expressed concerns about planned protests near the Israeli Defense Ministry — which is located near the epicenter of the protests. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter publicly, said the U.S. supports the right to hold nonviolent protests and that Austin is prepared to meet his Israeli hosts wherever they prefer.

An Israeli official, also speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the media, confirmed the decision.

Austin is scheduled to meet Netanyahu and his Israeli counterpart, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

___

AP correspondent Tara Copp reported from Washington.

Explainer-Why Japan's 'shunto' spring wage talks matter



Tue, March 7, 2023 
By Tetsushi Kajimoto and Leika Kihara

TOKYO (Reuters) - Every March, management of major Japanese firms meet with unions for wage talks across industries that set the tone for employees' pay in the new fiscal year.

The precedent set at the "shunto" spring wage talks also influences wages at smaller firms that employ seven out of 10 Japanese workers and supply big manufacturers.

The outcome will have a huge influence on how soon the Bank of Japan (BOJ) could end ultra-low interest rates, as steady wage hikes are crucial to kick-starting domestic demand and keeping inflation sustainably around its 2% target.

Here is an overview of the wage negotiations: and why they are important.

HOW IS PAY DECIDED IN JAPAN?

In around March of each year, companies and union negotiate pay for the fiscal year beginning in April of that year.

The practice, known as "shunto," began in 1956 when Japan's postwar economy was booming. Unions demanded improvement in wages and job conditions by resorting to strikes in big cities.

The talks peaked in 1974 with a record 33% rise in pay. The increases fell below 3% after Japan slipped into deflation and prolonged economic stagnation in the 1990s.

Unionists have long since turned cooperative, rather than combative, working with management on the shared objective of job security rather than higher pay.

The focus on job security, rather than higher pay, is blamed for keeping Japan's wage growth stagnant.

WHY ARE COMPANIES UNDER PRESSURE?

Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "Abenomics" stimulus policies helped boost corporate profits, but failed to prod firms to trickle down the benefits to households via wage hikes.

Incumbent premier Fumio Kishida wants to change this under his flagship "new capitalism" policies that seek to distribute wealth more broadly among the population through higher pay.

He has called on companies to achieve wage hikes that exceed the pace of inflation to help households weather rising living costs brought by a spike in fuel and raw material prices.

Aside from such political pressure, companies also need to offer higher pay to retain talent and hire young workers as Japan's rapidly aging population intensifies a labour crunch.

WHAT WILL BE THE OUTCOME OF THE WAGE TALKS?

Some of Japan's biggest firms have already promised large pay hikes including auto giant Toyota and fashion brand Uniqlo parent Fast Retailing.

Analysts expect big firms to offer wage hikes of around 3% in wage talks, which would be the fastest pace of increase since 1997 when Japan was on the cusp of deflation. That would follow a 2.2% increase in 2022, which was the first hike in four years.

Such hikes would meet Kishida's calls for companies to offer annual wage hikes of 3% but miss an ambitious goal of a 5% pay increase demanded by Japan's labour umbrella Rengo.

WILL WAGES KEEP RISING?

The key for the economy will be how much companies will raise base pay, which are across-the-board and permanent payments that provide the basis of future allowances like retirement and pensions.

Wary of increasing fixed costs, many Japanese firms long compensated employees with one-off bonus payments in good times rather than raising base pay.

As Japan slid into deflation in the late 1990s, management and unionists agreed to no base-pay hikes for more than a decade through 2013.

Kishida has approached Japan's union umbrella Rengo in prodding firms to hike base pay. Rengo is demanding a 5% pay hike that includes a base pay rise of 3%, which many analysts see as too ambitious for many firms to swallow.

Of the 2.85% wage hike projected by economists in a January poll, 1.08% is comprised by base pay hikes and another 1.78% increase in additional salary based on seniority.

(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Leika Kihara; Editing by Sam Holmes)


Japan's workers eye bumper pay hike in closely watched union talks

Tetsushi Kajimoto and Leika Kihara
Tue, March 7, 2023 at 11:22 PM MST·4 min read


*

Major wage talk outcomes due on March 15

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Big firms to offer average pay rise of 2.85% - poll

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Meagre rise in base pay casts doubt on outlook for future gains

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Uncertainty on wage outlook may keep BOJ from early exit

(Adds govt plan for talks with firms, unions in 5th paragraph)

By Tetsushi Kajimoto and Leika Kihara

TOKYO, March 8 (Reuters) - Japan's big companies are expected to deliver the largest pay rise in 26 years in next week's "shunto" wage negotiations, offering policymakers hope the country might finally emerge from its deflationary doldrums.

But the expected average salary hike of around 3% will likely include just a 1% increase in base pay, casting doubt on whether Japan can achieve the kind of sustained wage gains the central bank sees as key to stably hitting its 2% inflation target.


The outcome of "shunto" wage talks with unions, many of which conclude on March 15, will be crucial to how soon the Bank of Japan (BOJ) could end its bond yield control policy under incoming governor Kazuo Ueda.

It will also test Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's flagship "new capitalism" policy that aims to more widely distribute wealth among households by prodding firms to hike pay.

The government is preparing to hold a meeting with business and union executives on March 15, the first to be held in about eight years, its top spokesperson said on Wednesday in a sign of the focus Kishida is putting on achieving wage hikes.

Hopes are running high that Japan, which has seen wages stagnate for nearly three decades, will finally see change as companies face pressure to beat a labour crunch and compensate employees for inflation running well above the BOJ's target.

World's largest car maker Toyota accepted a union demand for the biggest base salary growth in 20 years, while gaming giant Nintendo plans to lift base pay by 10%.

Big firms will offer on average pay rises of 2.85% for the financial year beginning in April, which would be the fastest pace of increase since 1997, a survey by the Japan Economic Research Center (JERC) showed in January.

The gain will comprise a 1.08% rise in base pay and a 1.78% increase in additional salary based on seniority, it said.

Such hikes would meet Kishida's calls for companies to offer annual wage hikes of 3%, but miss an ambitious goal of a 5% pay increase demanded by Japan's labour umbrella Rengo.

Some analysts doubt whether smaller firms can follow suit, as stubbornly high raw material costs erode their margin.

More than 70% of small firms have no plan to raise wages, according to a January poll by the Jonan Shinkin Bank and the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper.

There is also uncertainty on whether companies will keep hiking wages as much next year and beyond.

After hitting a nearly 42-year high of 4.3% in January, core consumer inflation in Japan's capital Tokyo - a leading indicator of nationwide trends - slowed to 3.3% in February.

The BOJ expects core consumer inflation to slow back below its 2% target towards the year-end, which will take some pressure off firms to keep hiking pay next year.

"Certainly, wages are expected to swing upward considerably in this year's spring wage talks, but this will be very transitory," said former BOJ board member Takahide Kiuchi, who is now executive economist at Nomura Research Institute.

"A virtuous cycle between wages and prices is unlikely," he said of the chance Japan can achieve a combination of rising prices and higher wages - a condition the BOJ sees crucial in heading for an exit from its ultra-loose policy.

Markets are rife with speculation the BOJ will end its unpopular bond yield control policy soon after Ueda - chosen by Kishida to become next BOJ chief - takes the helm in April.

Uncertainty over the sustainability of wage hikes could prod the BOJ to go slow in dialing back stimulus, some analysts say.

Speaking in parliament, Ueda said he was mindful of the demerits of prolonged easing. But he added the recent cost-push inflation must shift to one backed by solid wage growth for the central bank to end ultra-low interest rates.

"The average pace of wage gains consistent with 2% inflation would be around 3%. If wage gains stably exceed 3%, the BOJ may need to overhaul its monetary framework," said Hisashi Yamada, senior economist at Japan Research Institute.

"But there's a chance this year's wage hike could prove temporary. The BOJ will probably wait until next year in doing anything radical, such as ending its bond yield control policy." (Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto and Leika Kihara; Editing by Sam Holmes)