POLITICAL PERSECUTION

Rahul Gandhi: India's Congress leader sentenced to jail for Modi 'thieves' remark

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IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS

Image caption,

Rahul Gandhi, seen arriving at court in Gujarat, will appeal - his conviction comes 

amid concerns about free speech in India

By Cherylann Mollan and Soutik Biswas

BBC News, Mumbai and Delhi

Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has been sentenced to two years in prison in a criminal defamation case.

The Congress MP was convicted by the court in Gujarat state for 2019 comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's surname at an election rally.

Mr Gandhi, who was present in court for sentencing, remains out of jail on bail for 30 days and will appeal.

His party said he was being targeted for exposing the government's "dark deeds". Elections are due next year.

A Congress spokesman said the ruling was full of "legally unsustainable conclusions" - and vowed its politicians would not be silenced.

"Make no mistake. All your attempts to create a chilling effect, a throttling effect, a strangulating effect on open fearless speech relating to public influence will not stop either Rahul Gandhi or the Congress Party," Abhishek Manu Singhvi told a news conference.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) says due judicial process has been followed in the case, which dates back to the campaign ahead of the last election.

Speaking at a rally in Karnataka state in April 2019, Mr Gandhi had said: "Why do all these thieves have Modi as their surname? Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi, Narendra Modi."

Nirav Modi is a fugitive Indian diamond tycoon while Lalit Modi is a former chief of the Indian Premier League who has been banned for life by the country's cricket board. Mr Gandhi argues that he made the comment to highlight corruption and it was not directed against any community.

IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS

Image caption,

Mr Modi won a landslide last time - here BJP supporters are seen wearing masks 

of him ahead of the 2019 election

Other opposition politicians and organisations deemed critical of India's government have also faced legal action.

The Aam Admi Party (AAP), which rules Delhi, has two senior members currently in jail on charges it says are politically motivated. Its leader voiced support for Mr Gandhi.

"We have differences with the Congress, but it is not right to implicate Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case like this," Arvind Kejriwal tweeted. "It is the job of the public and the opposition to ask questions."

The case against Rahul Gandhi was filed on the basis of a complaint by Purnesh Modi, a BJP lawmaker who said his comments had defamed the entire Modi community.

But some experts were puzzled by the order handed down by the court in Surat. Legal scholar Gautam Bhatia tweeted that "references to a generic class of persons" - surnames in this case - are not "actionable unless an individual can show a direct reference to themselves".

"If a man says 'all lawyers are thieves', then I, as a lawyer, cannot file a case against him for defamation unless I can show its imputation aimed at me," Mr Bhatia said.

Mr Gandhi's lawyer, Kirit Panwala, told BBC Gujarati their defence was based on four points: "Firstly, Mr Gandhi is not a resident of Gujarat and so, before the complaint, an inquiry should be conducted. Secondly, there is no community named Modi. Thirdly, there is no association of people with Modi as their surname and lastly, there was no ill intention behind Mr Gandhi's speech."

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India's criminal defamation law is British-era legislation under which there can be a maximum prison sentence of two years, a fine or both. Free speech advocates have often argued the law goes against the principles of freedom and that it is used by politicians to silence their critics.

In 2016, some top Indian politicians including Mr Gandhi filed legal pleas arguing for defamation to be decriminalised. But India's Supreme Court upheld the validity of the law, saying the "right to free speech cannot mean that a citizen can defame the other".

Some have raised questions over Mr Gandhi's status as a member of parliament after the conviction.

Defamation, by itself, cannot be a ground for disqualification in India. An MP can be disqualified from the office for offences ranging from promoting enmity, and election-related fraud. But they can also be disqualified if sentenced for two years or more for an offence.

A two-year jail term would mean Mr Gandhi would not be able to contest the 2024 general election.

"What they will do [is] they are likely to go to the top court, which will stay the judgement," says a political commentator, who insisted on anonymity. "But the question is: does this judgement mean that there's a sword of Damocles hanging over any leader? There are cases filed against leaders for all sorts of so-called crimes. Normally nothing happens."

Mr Gandhi is the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, which has given three prime ministers to India. His great-grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, was the first and longest-serving prime minister of India. His grandmother, Indira Gandhi, was the first female prime minister of the country, and his father, Rajiv Gandhi, was India's youngest prime minister.

Their party, the Congress, governed India almost continuously - except for a few years - from independence in 1947 to 2014, when Narendra Modi's BJP swept to power by a landslide. Since then, the Congress has become a shadow of its former self, and was routed again by the BJP in 2019.

Only once in India's history has the main opposition leader been jailed. In December 1978, Indira Gandhi, by then no longer PM, was expelled from the lower house and jailed for nine days for committing a breach of privilege and contempt of parliament.

 

Why Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi may lose his parliament seat

Rahul Gandhi, a senior leader of India's main opposition Congress party, arrives to appear before a court in Surat in the western state of Gujarat, India, March 23, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer

India's opposition leader Rahul Gandhi faces the risk of being immediately disqualified as a lawmaker after being convicted in a defamation case and sentenced to two years in jail.

Here are some examples of how that might play out:

The Representation of the People Act, 1951, the law that governs elections in India, mandates disqualification of any lawmaker who is "convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years".

Gandhi, 52, was on Thursday found guilty of defamation by a magistrate's court in the western state of Gujarat for an election speech he made in 2019 in which he referred to thieves having Modi as their surnames.

The disqualification comes into effect from the date of conviction.

A formal disqualification order will, however, have to be passed by the secretariat of the lower house of parliament of which Gandhi is a member.

CAN GANDHI CONTEST ELECTIONS?

Gandhi faces the risk of not being able to contest national elections due in 2024 if his conviction is not suspended or overturned by a higher court before the elections.

The law also mandates that a convicted lawmaker cannot contest elections for six years after the end of their jail sentence.

Gandhi represents the Wayanad constituency in the southern state of Kerala.

HOW CAN GANDHI AVOID DISQUALIFICATION?

To avoid disqualification, a convicted lawmaker has to secure an order from a higher court suspending the conviction, lawyers said.

The Representation of the People Act does not give any timeframe for securing such a suspension or acquittal before parliament passes the formal disqualification order.

The disqualification can also be overturned and the lawmaker reinstated to parliament if the conviction is stayed or overturned and a fresh election to the seat is yet to be conducted.

Gandhi was present in the Gujarat court which gave him bail immediately and suspended the sentence for a month, allowing him to appeal against it.

He can secure bail extensions during the appeal period but cannot contest elections until the conviction is stayed or he is acquitted in the case.

"So while it appears from reports that Mr. Gandhi's sentence has been suspended by the court that convicted him, he would have to soon obtain a stay on the conviction from an appellate court to save himself from disqualification," Supreme Court lawyer Vikram Hegde told Reuters.

Gandhi, a senior leader of the Congress party and the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, will appeal in a higher court, his party said.

Digital literacy: Can the republic ‘survive an algorithm’?

By DAVID KLEPPER and MANUEL VALDES

March 20, 2023

SEATTLE (AP) — Shawn Lee, a high school social studies teacher in Seattle, wants to see lessons on the internet akin to a kind of 21st century driver’s education, an essential for modern life.

Lee has tried to bring that kind of education into his classroom, with lessons about the need to double-check online sources, to diversify newsfeeds and to bring critical thinking to the web. He’s also created an organization for other teachers to share resources.

“This technology is so new that no one taught us how to use it,” Lee said. “People are like, ‘There’s nothing we can do,’ and they throw their hands in the air. I disagree with that. I would like to think the republic can survive an algorithm.”

Lee’s efforts are part of a growing movement of educators and misinformation researchers working to offset an explosion of online misinformation about everything from presidential politics to pandemics. So far, the U.S. lags many other democracies in waging this battle, and the consequences of inaction are clear.

But for teachers already facing myriad demands in the classroom, incorporating internet literacy can be a challenge — especially given how politicized misinformation about vaccines, public health, voting, climate change and Russia’s war in Ukraine has become. The title of a talk for a recent gathering of Lee’s group: “How to talk about conspiracy theories without getting fired.”

“It’s not teaching what to think, but how to think,” said Julie Smith, an expert on media literacy who teaches at Webster University in Webster Groves, Missouri. “It’s engaging about engaging your brain. It’s asking, ‘Who created this? Why? Why am I seeing it now? How does it make me feel and why?’”

New laws and algorithm changes are often offered as the most promising ways of combating online misinformation, even as tech companies study their own solutions.

Teaching internet literacy, however, may be the most effective method. New Jersey, Illinois and Texas are among states that have recently implemented new standards for teaching internet literacy, a broad category that can include lessons about how the internet and social media work, along with a focus on how to spot misinformation by cross-checking multiple sources and staying wary of claims with missing context or highly emotional headlines.

Media literacy lessons are often included in history, government or other social studies classes, and typically offered at the high school level, though experts say it’s never too early — or late — to help people become better users of the internet.

Finnish children begin to learn about the internet in preschool, part of a robust anti-misinformation program that aims to make the country’s residents more resistant to false online claims. Finland has a long history of combating propaganda and misinformation spread by one of its neighbors, Russia, and expanded its current efforts after Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea set off another wave of disinformation.

“Media literacy was one of our priorities before the time of the internet,” Petri Honkonen, Finland’s minister of science and culture, said in a recent interview. “The point is critical thinking, and that is a skill that everybody needs more and more. We have to somehow protect people. We also must protect democracy.”

Honkonen spoke with The Associated Press earlier this year during a trip to Washington that included meetings to discuss Finland’s work to fight online misinformation. One recent report on media literacy efforts in western democracies placed Finland at the top. Canada ranked seventh, while the U.S. came in at No. 18.

In Finland the lessons don’t end with primary school. Public service announcements offer tips on avoiding false online claims and checking multiple sources. Additional programs are geared toward older adults, who can be especially vulnerable to misinformation compared to younger users more at home on the internet.

In the U.S., attempts to teach internet literacy have run into political opposition from people who equate it to thought control. Lee, the Seattle teacher, said that concern prevents some teachers from even trying.

Several years ago, the University of Washington launched MisinfoDay, which brought high schoolers and their teachers together for a one-day event featuring speakers, exercises and activities focused on media literacy. Seven hundred students from across the state attended one of three MisinfoDays this year.

Jevin West, the University of Washington professor who created the event, said he’s heard from educators in other states and as far away as Australia who are interested in creating something similar.

“Maybe eventually, someday, nationally here in the United States, we have a day devoted to the idea of media literacy,” West said. “There are all sorts of things we can do in terms of regulations, technology, in terms of research, but nothing is going to be more important than this idea of making us more resilient” to misinformation.

For teachers already struggling with other classroom demands, adding media literacy can seem like just one more obligation. But it’s a skill that is just as important as computer engineering or software coding for the future economy, according to Erin McNeill, a Massachusetts mother who started Media Literacy Now, a national nonprofit that advocates for digital literacy education.

“This is an innovation issue,” McNeill said. “Basic communication is part of our information economy, and there will be huge implications for our economy if we don’t get this right.”

The driver’s education analogy comes up a lot when talking to media literacy experts. Automobiles first went into production in the early 20th century and soon became popular. But it was nearly three decades before the first driver’s education courses were offered.

What changed? Governments passed laws regulating vehicle safety and driver behavior. Auto companies added features like collapsible steering columns, seat belts and air bags. And in the mid-1930s, safety advocates began to push for mandated driver’s education.

That combination of government, industry and educators is seen as a model by many misinformation and media literacy researchers. Any effective solution to the challenges posed by online misinformation, they say, must by necessity include an educational component.

Media literacy in Canadian schools began decades ago and initially focused on television before being expanded throughout the digital era. Now it’s accepted as an essential part of preparing students, according to Matthew Johnson, director of education at MediaSmarts, an organization that leads media literacy programs in Canada.

“We need speed limits, we need well-designed roads and good regulations to ensure cars are safe. But we also teach people how to drive safely,” he said. “Whatever regulators do, whatever online platforms do, content always winds up in front of an audience, and they need to have the tools to engage critically with it.”

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Klepper reported from Washington.

FRIENDLY FIRE

Names, photos of Los Angeles undercover police posted online

LOS ANGELES

he Los Angeles Police Department headquarters building is seen downtown Los Angeles, Friday, July 8, 2022. The Los Angeles police chief and the department's constitutional policing director are under investigation after the names and photographs of undercover officers were released to a technology watchdog group that posted them online, the Los Angeles Times reported. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes,File)

The Los Angeles police chief and the department’s constitutional policing director are under investigation after the names and photographs of undercover officers were released to a technology watchdog group that posted them online, the Los Angeles Times reported.

LAPD Chief Michel Moore offered his “deep apologies” to the undercover officers, who were not given advance notice of the disclosure, during a police commission meeting Tuesday.

The technology watchdog group Stop LAPD Spying Coalition posted more than 9,300 officers’ information and photographs Friday in a searchable online database following a public records request by a citizen journalist, the Times reported. It was not immediately clear how many of those were undercover.

The coalition opposes police intelligence-gathering and says the database should be used for “countersurveillance.”

“You can use it to identify officers who are causing harm in your community” the group wrote. “Police have vast information about all of us at their fingertips, yet they move in secrecy.”

The department’s release of the undercover officers’ names and photographs was inadvertent, the Times reported, even though the city attorney’s office determined the agency was legally required to turn them over under California’s public records law.

“We will look to what steps or added steps can be taken to safeguard the personal identifiers of our membership,” Moore said Tuesday.

The department’s inspector general launched the investigation into Moore and constitutional policing director Liz Rhodes after the Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents rank-and-file officers, filed a misconduct complaint against them Monday.

South Carolina’s top accountant to resign after $3.5B error

A BOOK HE SHOULD HAVE READ

South Carolina Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom holds up a book he wanted to present to his new Chief of Staff James Holly during his introduction at the Budget and Control Board meeting, Aug. 13, 2009, in Columbia, S.C. Pressure is mounting for Eckstrom after a $3.5B accounting error. 

(AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain, File)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina’s embattled top accountant will step down next month after a $3.5 billion error in the year-end financial report he oversaw, according to a resignation letter written Thursday that was obtained by The Associated Press.

Republican Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom’s decision to leave the post he has held for 20 years came after intense scrutiny of his performance following the blunder and amid rising calls for him to either quit or be removed.

The Senate panel investigating the financial misstatement issued a damning report last week accusing Eckstrom of “willful neglect of duty.” As recently as last week, however, Eckstrom had said he would not resign.

“I have never taken service to the state I love or the jobs to which I have been elected lightly, endeavoring to work with my colleagues ... to be a strong defender of the taxpayer and a good steward of their hard-earned tax dollars,” Eckstrom wrote in the letter to South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster. “They deserve nothing less.”
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The governor accepted the resignation, effective April 30.

The Senate report concluded that Eckstrom was solely responsibile for the mapping error, which happened during the state’s transition to a new internal information system from 2011 to 2017. State officials testified that Eckstrom ignored auditors’ yearslong warnings of a “material weakness” in his office and flawed cash reporting.

Eckstrom has said the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report exaggerated the state’s cash balances for a decade by double counting the money sent to colleges and universities. The mistake went unsolved until a junior staffer fixed the error this fall.

Officials have said the overstatement did not affect the state budget. But lawmakers alarmed by Eckstrom’s inconsistent testimony slammed his failure to fulfill one of his primary constitutional duties: to publish an accurate account of state finances.

The fallout for the state agency that typically flies under the radar is expected to continue. A Senate subcommittee recently approved a joint resolution that would let voters decide whether the comptroller general should continue as an elected position or be appointed by the governor. Eckstrom reiterated his support for that change Thursday in his resignation letter.

The next comptroller general may also lead a much weaker office. The investigating panel suggested its responsibilities be transferred to one or more agencies. State Treasurer Curtis Loftis, an elected Republican, has testified that his office could absorb the main tasks.

Republican Sen. Larry Grooms, who led the investigation, said the comptroller general’s office could also be “done away with altogether.”

Grooms thanked Eckstrom for doing the “honorable thing” and sparing the General Assembly from using an obscure state constitutional provision to remove him from office.

Between a 104-7 House vote to cut the comptroller general’s annual salary to $1 and the Senate’s scheduled April 11 vote to oust Eckstrom, Grooms suggested the rising heat had grown too intense for him to remain on the job.

The Senate must now select a replacement to serve out the rest of Eckstrom’s term, which ends in 2027. Grooms said the next comptroller general should be someone who recognizes that their job is to spend the next three years overseeing the office’s incorporation into other state agencies. He does not anticipate any other heads will roll.

“The buck stopped with him,” Grooms said. “The accountability was with him.”

A certified public accountant, Eckstrom, 74, spent four years as state treasurer before assuming his current office. He has run unopposed in the past two elections and last faced a Republican primary challenger in 2010.

McMaster — who had resisted calls for impeachment and endorsed elections as the proper vehicle for accountability — thanked Eckstrom for his 24 years of “dedicated service.” The governor previously served as the state’s attorney general alongside Eckstrom early in the comptroller general’s tenure.

“The Eckstrom and McMaster families have been dear friends for decades,” McMaster said Thursday in a letter accepting the resignation. “I know that your every wish has been, and always will be, prosperity and happiness for the people of South Carolina.”

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James Pollard is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Large asteroid coming close, but zero chance of hitting us


This photo provided by Gianluca Masi shows asteroid 2023 DZ2, indicated by arrow at center, about 1.8 million kilometers (1.1 million miles) away from the Earth on March 22, 2023. On Saturday, March 25, 2023, the asteroid, big enough to wipe out a city, will harmlessly zip between Earth and the moon. While asteroid flybys are common, NASA said it’s rare for one so big to come so close _ about once a decade. Scientists estimate its size somewhere between 140 feet and 310 feet. (42 meters and 94 meters). 

(Gianluca Masi/Virtual Telescope Project via AP)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An asteroid big enough to wipe out a city will zip harmlessly between Earth and the moon’s orbit this weekend, missing both celestial bodies.

Saturday’s close encounter will offer astronomers the chance to study a space rock from just over 100,000 miles (168,000 kilometers) away. That’s less than half the distance from here to the moon, making it visible through binoculars and small telescopes.

While asteroid flybys are common, NASA said it’s rare for one so big to come so close — about once a decade. Scientists estimate its size somewhere between 130 feet and 300 feet (40 meters and 90 meters).

Discovered a month ago, the asteroid known as 2023 DZ2 will pass within 320,000 miles (515,000 kilometers) of the moon on Saturday and, several hours later, buzz the Indian Ocean at about 17,500 mph (28,000 kph).

“There is no chance of this ‘city killer’ striking Earth, but its close approach offers a great opportunity for observations,” the European Space Agency’s planetary defense chief Richard Moissl said in a statement.

Astronomers with the International Asteroid Warning Network see it as good practice for planetary defense if and when a dangerous asteroid heads our way, according to NASA.

The Virtual Telescope Project will provide a live webcast of the close approach.

The asteroid won’t be back our way again until 2026. Although there initially seemed to be a slight chance it might strike Earth then, scientists have since ruled that out.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Feel your pain? Even fish can show they care


In this photo provided by researcher Rui F. Oliveira, a zebrafish, bottom, is monitored to see its reaction to a video of another at a laboratory in Oeiras, Portugal in March 2023. A study published on Thursday, March 23, 2023, in the journal Science shows that a relaxed fish can detect fear in other fish, and then become afraid itself – and that this ability is regulated by oxytocin, the same brain chemical that underlies the capacity for empathy in humans. (Rui F. Oliveira via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Our capacity to care about others may have very, very ancient origins, a new study suggests.

It might have been deep-rooted in prehistoric animals that lived millions of years ago, before fish and mammals like us diverged on the tree of life, according to researchers who published their study Thursday in the journal Science.

“Some of the mechanisms that underlie our ability to experience fear, or fall in and out of love, are clearly very ancient pathways,” said Hans Hofmann, an evolutionary neuroscientist at the University of Texas at Austin, who was not involved in the research.

Scientists are usually reluctant to attribute humanlike feelings to animals. But it’s generally accepted that many animals have moods, including fish.

The new study shows that fish can detect fear in other fish, and then become afraid too – and that this ability is regulated by oxytocin, the same brain chemical that underlies the capacity for empathy in humans.

The researchers demonstrated this by deleting genes linked to producing and absorbing oxytocin in the brains of zebrafish, a small tropical fish often used for research. Those fish were then essentially antisocial – they failed to detect or change their behavior when other fish were anxious.

But when some of the altered fish received oxytocin injections, their ability to sense and mirror the feelings of other fish was restored — what scientists call “emotional contagion.”

“They respond to other individuals being frightened. In that regard, they behave just like us,” said University of Calgary neuroscientist Ibukun Akinrinade, a co-author of the study.

The study also showed that zebrafish will pay more attention to fish that have previously been stressed out – a behavior the researchers likened to consoling them.

Previous research has shown that oxytocin plays a similar role in transmitting fear in mice.

The new research illustrates “the ancestral role” of oxytocin in transmitting emotion, said Rui Oliveira, a behavioral biologist at Portugal’s Gulbenkian Institute of Science and a study co-author.

This brain processing “may have already been in place around 450 million years ago, when you and me and these little fish last had a common ancestor,” explained Hofmann.

Oxytocin is sometimes thought of as a “love” hormone, but Hofmann said it’s actually more like “a thermostat that determines what is socially salient in a particular situation – activating neural circuits that may make you run from danger, or engage in courtship behavior.”

That could be fundamental to the survival of many animals, especially those who live in groups, said Stony Brook University ecologist Carl Safina, who was not involved in the study.

“The most basic form of empathy is contagious fear – that’s a very valuable thing to have to stay alive, if any member of your group spots a predator or some other danger.”

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Follow Christina Larson on Twitter at @larsonchristina.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Lawmakers tell ex-CEOs ‘you must answer’ for bank failures


Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio

WASHINGTON (AP) — Leaders of the Senate’s banking committee on Thursday warned former chief executive officers at the failed Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank that they expect them to testify before the panel, saying in a letter to each: “you must answer for the bank’s downfall.”

The committee is examining the events leading up to the closures of the banks, starting with the first congressional hearing on Tuesday. Separate letters were sent Thursday to Gregory Becker, the former head of Silicon Valley Bank, and to Joseph DePaolo, the former head of Signature Bank.

Both CEOs had indicated to the committee they would be unable to attend Tuesday’s hearing, according to the letter. But the senators said they believe the CEOs can testify to Congress without disclosing confidential information. Nor would the executives need to hand over bank records and files to provide informative testimony, they said.

Attorneys copied in on the letters sent to the CEOs did not immediately reply to requests from The Associated Press for comment.

Silicon Valley Bank, based in Santa Clara, California, failed on March 10 after depositors rushed to withdraw money amid fears about the bank’s health. It was the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history. Regulators convened over the following weekend and announced that New York-based Signature Bank also had failed. They said that all depositors at both banks, including those holding uninsured funds, those exceeding $250,000, would be protected by federal deposit insurance.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Democratic chairman of the banking panel, and Sen. Tim Scott, the ranking Republican, said the committee needs to understand how the banks managed risk during their rapid growth and what led to them both having a large proportion of uninsured depositors.

The senators also asked SVB’s Becker for information on the “payment of bonuses in the hours leading up to the seizure of the bank by regulators.”

Lawmakers also are scrutinizing the actions of regulators who supervised the two banks, and that will be the focus of Tuesday’s hearing with testimony from Martin Gruenberg, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Michael Barr, a vice chairman at the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors; and Nellie Liang, undersecretary for domestic finance at the Treasury Department.

The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission have also launched investigations into the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, and President Joe Biden has called on Congress to strengthen rules on regional banks and to impose tougher penalties on executives of failed banks.

‘He doesn’t listen.’ France fumes against Macron for ramming through pensions reform

Protests turn violent as government comes under fire.

Things began to turn violent in Paris as some protesters clashed with the police 

| Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images

BY GIORGIO LEALI
MARCH 23, 2023 

PARIS — Mass protests struck France on Thursday, urging the government to withdraw a controversial pensions overhaul and attacking French President Emmanuel Macron for forcing through the reform in parliament.

Strikes are impacting sectors including public transport, schools, energy plants and refineries. In Paris, protesters started gathering in place de la Bastille — the site where the French revolution started — surrounded by the smoke of grilled sausages and firecrackers, and loud French rap songs.

Later in the afternoon, things began to turn violent in Paris as some protesters clashed with the police.

The demonstrators are protesting not only against the reform — which would raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, and extend contributions to get a full pension — but also against the government’s decision to bypass a parliamentary vote on the text last week amid fears that it would not have enough votes in parliament.

“That set everything on fire,” said Xavier Pacot, a 40-year-old worker in EDF’s nuclear plant in Gravelines, northern France. Pacot said the controversial parliamentary move fueled opposition against the government. “Now even executives are supporting us,” he added.

The protests come a day after Macron dug in to defend his pensions reform and the constitutional maneuver in a TV interview. Pacot watched the interview with his colleagues at the picket line in Gravelines, but he was not satisfied with Macron’s explanations.

Surveys show that he is far from the only one.

According to a poll published Thursday by consultancy Elabe, more than 60 percent of respondents said Macron’s refusal to show any sign of backing down inflamed the situation.

“It’s a mess in the country because of his stubbornness,” said Gregory Lewandowski, 51, an electronic engineer for French industrial champion Thales.

Bypassing the parliamentary vote “added an additional layer to people’s angriness. It shows that he doesn’t listen to his citizens,” he argued. “People are here for different reasons. It’s a general discontent with inflation, work conditions. It risks turning into something bigger.”

During his first term, Macron faced violent protests from the massive Yellow Jackets movement, which lasted for months.

In his interview this week, the French president insisted there was a difference between peaceful “legitimate” protesters and violent actors. He also warned against a January 6 Capitol Hill-style riot. “We won’t tolerate any outburst,” he said.

Riot police forces walk towards demonstrators surrounded by fireworks during a demonstration | Alain Jocard/AFP via Getty Images

Strikes started across France at the beginning of 2023 and continued this week. Macron’s government survived a no-confidence vote last Monday with only a nine-vote margin, casting doubts on the executive’s ability to keep ruling the country.

In the TV interview, the French president said he regretted that he “failed to convince people” but also said he had no plans to replace current Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.

Government opponents also include those who are not immediately affected by the reform.

Lou Samson, a high-school student protesting in place de la Bastille with her classmates, said she was fighting “for my parents and for our future” and expected “more violence” if the government does not backpedal.

Carmen Michalak, a 62-year-old former cash manager for nuclear group Orano, won’t be hit by the reform as she has already retired. “When we protest, we don’t only do it for ourselves but for the others. Everyone should have the right to enjoy its third age,” she said, before leaving to join the parade of demonstrators.

Anger at Macron mounts as French unions hold new protests

By SYLVIE CORBET and ALEXANDER TURNBULL

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Protesters march during a rally in Nantes, western France, Thursday, March 23, 2023. French unions are holding their first mass demonstrations Thursday since President Emmanuel Macron enflamed public anger by forcing a higher retirement age through parliament without a vote. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez)


PARIS (AP) — Large crowds in Paris and other French cities took to the streets in the first mass demonstrations since President Emmanuel Macron inflamed public anger by forcing a higher retirement age bill through parliament without a vote.

Strikes upended travel in France on Thursday as protesters blockaded train stations, Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, refineries and ports.

More than 250 protests were organized across the country and union leaders praised the “significant” mobilization.

In Paris, tens of thousands gathered on the Bastille plaza in a cheerful atmosphere, many waving union flags to the sound of standard protest songs as they started walking through the capital. “We are here, even if Macron doesn’t want it, we are here!” many chanted.

In the western city of Rennes, scuffles broke out between some participants and police who used water cannons to disperse the crowd.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin denounced “unacceptable assaults and damage” at a state building and a police station in Lorient, also in western France. “These actions cannot remain unpunished,” he tweeted.

High-speed and regional trains, the Paris metro and public transportation systems in other major cities were disrupted. About 30% of flights at Paris Orly Airport were canceled.

The Eiffel Tower and the Versailles Palace were closed Thursday due to the strikes.

Protesters staged blockades on major highways and interchanges to slow traffic around big cities.

Thursday’s events were the ninth round of nationwide demonstrations and strikes called by France’s eight main unions since January. Violence has intensified in recent days at small, scattered protests against the pension reform and Macron’s leadership — in contrast with the largely peaceful big demonstrations staged by unions until then.

Social unrest in France is also tarnishing the sheen of King Charles III’s first overseas trip as monarch, scheduled next week, with striking workers refusing to provide red carpets and un collected garbage piling up in Paris streets.

The French leader is stubbornly resisting the discontent on the streets, and said Wednesday that the government’s bill to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 must be implemented by the end of the year.

Critics attacked Macron for the statement, describing him as “self-satisfied,” “out of touch” and “offensive.”

The leader of the CGT union Philippe Martinez said Macron “threw a gas tank on the fire.”

At Paris’ Gare de Lyon train station, several hundred strikers walked on the railway tracks to prevent trains from moving, brandishing flares and chanting “and we will go, and we will go until withdrawal” and “Macron, go away.”

“This year perhaps maybe our holidays won’t be so great,” said Maxime Monin, 46, who stressed that employees like him, who work in public transport, are not paid on strike days. “But I think it’s worth the sacrifice.”

Fabien Villedieu, a unionist with SUD-rail, said the strike at France’s railway company SNCF is open-ended. “There are actions every day everywhere, in all the small and big cities of France, with one, two, three or four protests. One, two, three or four blockades,” he said. “What do we need to do to make the government listen?”

In the northern suburbs of Paris, several dozen union members blocked a bus depot in Pantin, preventing about 200 vehicles from getting out during rush hour.

Nadia Belhoum, a 48-year-old bus driver participating in the action, criticized Macron’s decision to force the higher retirement age through.

“The president of the Republic ... is not a king, and he should listen to his people,” she said.

The Education Ministry said in a statement that about 24% of teachers have walked off the job in primary and middle schools, and 15% in high schools.

The French government invoked a constitutional provision last week to get the pension bill adopted without the approval of lawmakers. The bill must now pass a review by France’s Constitutional Council before becoming law.

Macron’s government survived two no-confidence votes in the lower chamber of parliament on Monday.

The 45-year-old centrist president, who is in his second and final term, repeatedly said he was convinced that France’s retirement system needed to be modified to keep it financed. Opponents proposed other solutions, including higher taxes on the wealthy or companies, which Macron says would hurt the economy.

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AP Journalists Masha Macpherson, Jeffrey Schaeffer and Nicolas Garriga in Paris contributed to the story.

In pictures: Violent clashes in Paris after Macron forces through pension changes

PUBLISHED THU, MAR 23 2023

A man in Lille, northern France, stands next to a placard reading “No!” as he takes part in a demonstration on a national action day on Thursday March 23, a week after the government pushed a pensions reform through parliament without a vote.
Sameer Al-doumy | Afp | Getty Images

Strikes and protests around France on Thursday disrupted travel and filled the streets as citizens demonstrated against changes to the pension system.

President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday addressed the nation in a televised interview in which he maintained the government’s plans were necessary to preserve the system into the future as people live longer and the number of pensioners increases.


His bill will see the retirement age for most workers rise from 62 to 64 and the number of years a worker must pay into the system to receive a full pension rise from 42 to 43 in 2027.

However opposition lawmakers and, according to polls, a majority of the public, oppose the reforms.

Unions argue they most impact manual workers and the lower-paid, as well as women. There is also fierce anger over the government’s use of Article 49.3, a special constitutional measure that allows it to pass a bill through the lower house of parliament without a majority vote.

On Thursday, unions accused Macron of making “provocative” comments after he said they had failed to engage in negotiations over changes to the pension system and compared the protests to the raiding of the U.S. Capitol in 2021. Macron also acknowledged people had a right to voice their opposition and that there was anger over businesses making record profits while some people were being asked to work for longer.

Unions had called for a national day of action around the country.

In some places, police fired tear gas and used a water cannon, Reuters reported. Near Toulouse, burning piles of debris blocked traffic, and protesters blocked part of Charles De Gaulle Airport. Police have been clashing with protesters at night in Paris through the week.

Meanwhile, electricity output was cut, refinery blockages continued and the civil aviation authority said flight services would be reduced into the weekend.
Protesters hold construction barriers next to burning garbage bins amid clashes in Paris

Protesters hold construction barriers next to burning garbage bins amid clashes during a demonstration during the ninth day of nationwide strikes and protests against French government’s pension reform, in Paris, France, March 23, 2023.
Nacho Doce | Reuters
French gendarmes react near burning garbage bins

French gendarmes react near burning garbage bins amid clashes with protesters during a demonstration as part of the ninth day of nationwide strikes and protests against French government’s pension reform, in Paris, France, March 23, 2023.
Nacho Doce | Reuters
A French police officer in riot gear, injured during clashes with protesters, is given help at a demonstration during the ninth day of nationwide strikes

A French police officer in riot gear, injured during clashes with protesters, is given help at a demonstration during the ninth day of nationwide strikes and protests against French government’s pension reform, in Paris, France, March 23, 2023.
Gonzalo Fuentes | Reuters
A protester stands near a fire during a demonstration in Paris

A protester stands near a fire during a demonstration as part of the ninth day of nationwide strikes and protests against French government’s pension reform, in Paris, France, March 23, 2023. The slogan reads “Me Raoul, I am not the prisoner of your system. 49.3”.
Gonzalo Fuentes | Reuters

Protesters throw tear gas canisters back amid clashes

Protesters throw tear gas canisters back amid clashes during a demonstration as part of the ninth day of nationwide strikes and protests against French government’s pension reform, in Paris, France, March 23, 2023.
Yves Herman | Reuters

Protesters walk during a demonstration in Nantes. The central sign reads ‘Long live retirement,” and “We’ve got a job, it’s not to die for’


Loic Venance | Afp | Getty Images
People take part in a rally in Rennes. A recent Elabe poll found 69% of people believed the use of Article 49.3 was a ‘denial of democracy’


Damien Meyer | Afp | Getty Images
Protesters hold a placard reading ‘Who sows misery harvests anger,’ as French leftist leader Jean-Luc Melenchon addresses media in Marseille


Christophe Simon | Afp | Getty Images
Vehicles from French Energy distribution company Enedis drive under a bridge reading ‘Basta (enough) 49.3, retirement at 60’ in Marseille


Nicolas Tucat | Afp | Getty Images
Demonstrators walk on the ‘Vieux Port’ in Marseille


Nicolas Tucat | Afp | Getty Images
Unions block the railway station in Quimper, north western France


Fred Tanneau | Afp | Getty Images
Striking members of the General Confederation of Labour union block an access road to the EPPLN oil depot in Port La Nouvelle in southern France


Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Long lines of motorists queue to refuel at a TotalEnergies gas station on the outskirts of Marseille


Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Police officers run through central Paris firing tear gas canisters to deter protesters on Wednesday night


Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Demonstrators run away from police through the main streets of the French capital during a protest


Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Mounds of trash have built up in parts of Paris due to a strike by garbage collectors


Mustafa Yalcin | Anadolu Agency | Getty Imag

No red carpet? French unrest impacts King Charles III’s trip

By THOMAS ADAMSON

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Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall welcome French president Emmanuel Macron to Clarence House in London, Thursday June 18, 2020. Unrest in France is tarnishing the sheen of King Charles III’s first overseas trip as monarch. Striking workers have refused to provide red carpets and critics are calling for the British king's visit to be canceled altogether amid pension reform protests. (Jonathan Brady/Pool via AP, File)

PARIS (AP) — Unrest in France is tarnishing the sheen of King Charles III’s first overseas trip as monarch, with striking workers literally refusing to roll out a red carpet amid pension reform protests and calls for the visit to be canceled altogether.

The British king is scheduled to undertake the trip beginning Sunday on behalf of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government, which hoped a glamorous royal tour would underscore efforts to rebuild Anglo-French ties that were frayed by the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union.

But anger over French President Emmanuel Macron’s resolve to increase the retirement age by two years are clouding what was meant to be a show of bonhomie and friendship. Instead, Charles’ visit is being seen as an unnecessary display of hereditary privilege.

“It’s very bad timing. Normally the French would welcome a British king. But in this moment, people protesting are on high alert for any sign of privilege and wealth,” Paris-based writer Stephen Clarke, the author of “Elizabeth II, Queen of Laughs,” said.
With piles of uncollected garbage lining the French capital’s once-pristine boulevards, observers say the optics could not be worse – for both Charles and his host Macron.

French labor union CGT announced this week that its members at Mobilier National, the institution in charge of providing red carpets, flags and furniture for public buildings, would snub a Sunday reception for the king upon his arrival in Paris.

“We ask our administration to inform the services concerned that we will not provide furnishings, red carpets or flags,” a CGT statement read.

The Elysee Palace, the French president’s official residence, said that instead non-striking workers would set up the necessary accouterments for the trip.

Months in the making, Charles’ March 26-29 posh itinerary with Queen Consort Camilla includes a visit to the Musee d’Orsay, a wreath-laying ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe and a lavish dinner at the former royal residence, the Versailles Palace.

“They’re planning on going to Versailles. It does not look good. This seems very 1789,” author Clarke said. The lavish Versailles, once the dazzling center of royal Europe and a focal point of the French Revolution, is an enduring symbol of social inequalities and excess.

Macron is facing a public backlash for pushing through a bill raising the retirement age to 64 without a parliamentary vote. Some opponents accuse the president of being out-of-touch, and Charles has not been spared from similar criticism as protests continued this week.

“Unbelievable! We are going to have Emmanuel Macron, the Republican monarch, welcoming King Charles III in Versailles... while the people in the street are demonstrating,” Sandrine Rousseau, a lawmaker from France’s Green Party, told French channel BFM TV. “Of course” the king should cancel his visit, she added.

To limit the potential for disruptions to the royal dinner, security is expected to be very tight around Versailles. In 2020, demonstrators clashed with police on its regal cobblestones amid a previous pension reform bill.

The unrest and demands for Charles stay away are certain to cause disquiet in London. When he was on a walkabout in York, England, in November, someone in a crowd of angry protesters threw eggs in his direction.

The French have maintained a love-hate relationship with kings ever since they guillotined King Louis XVI in 1793. Queens have typically fared better since then. Queen Elizabeth II, Charles’ mother, was a hugely popular figure in France, the European country she visited the most before her death last year.

Elizabeth, who spoke fluent French, made five state visits to France, in 1957, 1972, 1992, 2004 and 2014, as well as unofficial and private visits. Her son now wears the crown but remains in her shadow.

“The problem with Charles is that he is not the queen. She was very loved here,” Paris resident Geraldine Duberret, 62, said. “Charles does not have such a good reputation here. He seems a bit spoiled.”

The celebrity press in France recently focused on unconfirmed rumors that the king would travel with excessive numbers of servants, comparing him to his late mother, who famously insisted her staff turn light bulbs off in Buckingham Palace to save on electricity.

“This visit was a chance for Charles to relaunch himself in the eyes of the French,” Clarke said. “It could have been like a blank canvas, but he will likely not be able to have the impact he would have wished.”

Charles does command some respect in France for his environmental activism. The king and queen consort plan to tour areas of France’s Bordeaux region that last year were ravaged by wildfires widely blamed on global warming.

The couple’s time in southwest France also gives them a chance to see vineyards and to taste the region’s famous wines, including a planned stop at Bordeaux’s Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, a vineyard and winemaker.

Regional officials are effusive about receiving the British royals, a stark contrast to the reception Charles and Camilla could prepare for in Paris.

“It’s very touching that Charles plans to come to Bordeaux. We have a very strong relationship – and historic -- with the U.K. The region stayed English for three centuries. It’s in our DNA,” said Cecile Ha of the Bordeaux Wine Council.

Ha said winemakers in Bordeaux were “on the same page” as King Charles.

“In Paris, they do politics. But, here in Bordeaux, we like Charles because we share the same strong commitments to sustainability.”

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Danica Kirka in London contributed to this report.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the French government at https://apnews.com/hub/france-government and of King Charles III at https://apnews.com/hub/king-charles-iii

Norway's Equinor responding to 'weaponization' of energy

Equinor's Hammerfest LNG facility. The Norwegian energy company said gas production last year surpassed 2021 levels, providing a layer of energy security for Europe.

 Photo courtesy Ole Jorgen Bratland/Equinor

March 23 (UPI) -- With natural gas production on the rise, Norwegian energy company Equinor said it has the responsibility to ensure adequate supplies to a European economy fighting Russia's "weaponization" of energy.

Equinor on Thursday published an annual review of operations during 2022. Anders Opedal, the president and CEO at Equinor, said through the year, the corporate focus was on reliability.

"The invasion of Ukraine and Russia's weaponization of energy brought further instability to already tight markets, and across the organization we have felt the responsibility that comes with being the single largest supplier of gas to Europe," he said.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the nation's energy regulator, reported that crude oil production averaged 1.77 million barrels per day and gas production was 12 billion cubic feet per day.

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Both levels were lower than the government expected, and production is nowhere near levels from the United States, though Norway's proximity to the European economy highlights its importance as a supplier.

Equinor, meanwhile, added that gas production on the Norwegian continental shelf increased by 8% relative to 2021 levels, an increase that came just as the European economy was breaking away from Russia supplies in an effort to rob the Kremlin of the revenue it needs to keep fighting the war.

Elsewhere, the company noted that the resumption of operations from the Hammerfest liquefied natural gas project, idled by a fire in October 2021, and oil from the giant Johan Sverdrup field are among the projects that "are expected to contribute value volumes going forward."

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The company started off the new year with a series of announcements on new discoveries. Equinor reported adjusted net earnings of $74.9 billion last year, boosting by higher oil and gas prices relative to 2021 levels.