Spain mulls options as wildfires gain in size, intensity
Alfons LUNA
Sun, March 26, 2023
Walking through the charred remains of the forested hillsides of Sierra de la Culebra that were devastated by Spain's worst wildfire last year, Pablo Martin Pinto is blunt.
"We are moving from the era of big forest fires to mega forest fires in Spain," says this wildfire expert from Valladolid University, warning that such vast blazes were "here to stay".
Last year, Spain suffered nearly 500 wildfires that devastated huge swathes of land, with experts warning that such California-style blazes were likely to increase.
Although spring has only just begun, some 700 firefighters have been battling Spain's first major forest fire which has so far burnt through some 4,000 hectares of land, forcing 1,500 people to flee.
Firefighters said such a blaze was more typical of summer than spring.
"We have to learn as much as we can from what has happened," said Martin Pinto.
If Spain experiences "another summer in which temperatures don't fall below 35C for 20 days and it doesn't rain for four months, the vegetation will be liable to go up in flames" with the first lightning bolt, he warned.
Located in the northwestern region of Castilla y Leon, Sierra de la Culebra was ravaged by fires in June and July, with more than 65,000 hectares burnt -- a fifth of the total area affected in Spain last year.
The blaze also claimed four lives.
- Reviving the forest decades away -
During the blaze, tractor driver Angel Martin from the nearby town of Tabara won hero status after footage emerged of him working to clear a strip of land to create a fire break.
He managed to escape but suffered extensive burns, which claimed his life three months later.
The fire damage has meant the town will lose its annual income of 80,000 euros from selling firewood, says mayor Antonio Juarez.
The fire also destroyed an area popular for hunting and mushroom gathering, and ravaged an area widely enjoyed by locals.
The forest might one day live again, but "no-one who is alive today will be around to see it", says Juarez.
According to the UN, more than 1.6 billion people depend on forests worldwide, with the 2015 Paris Agreement establishing a framework to halt and reverse deforestation which is advancing at a rate of 10 million hectares per year.
- Forest management crucial -
Experts say conserving Spain's forests is key to addressing the risk of wildfires.
The forests "must be protected" by looking after the undergrowth that can generate wildfires, which will also help protect "a resource which generates economic activity", says Jose Angel Arranz Sanz, forestry policies director in the Castilla y Leon region.
And Martin Pinto advocates the creation of areas which are "more resilient" featuring a varied "patchwork landscape" made up of "wooded forest areas.. and livestock farms, interspersed with areas of scrubland".
Where forested landscapes are more homogenous, "it really limits the ability to stop a fire from spreading," he warned.
Forest ranger Jorge de Dios, who represents a regional environmental workers union, says more resources are needed, warning of a lack of firefighters who are trained to tackle such situations.
"We are going to see more and more fires, and bigger ones," he said, saying most local firefighters "are not professionals and don't have enough training", echoing concerns also raised by regional firefighters.
Greenpeace also urged the authorities to adopt a new approach focusing on early preemptive action to minimise the risks.
"Wildfires must be at the top of the political agenda and shouldn't be tackled only when there is heat and fire, but by early preventative action with appropriate environmental management tailored to this new reality," said Monica Parrilla of Greenpeace Spain.
al/hmw/mg/ea
FETISH WORSHIP
Pray for rain: Spanish farmers hold unique Mass amid drought
EMILIO MORENATTI
Sun, March 26, 2023
L'ESPUNYOLA, Spain (AP) — When Josep Altarriba looks across his parched fields, the Spanish farmer can't remember a time of such widespread drought in Catalonia. If it doesn't rain in the next two weeks, he says there's little chance of saving the harvest.
What can be done? For the mountain villagers of L'Espunyola, the answer is divine intervention.
On Sunday, around 250 residents brought back the faded practice of a special Mass and procession to pray to Our Lady of the Torrents, a local virgin associated with rainfall.
Under mostly sunny skies, worshippers lifted the colorfully painted statue of the Lady of the Torrents from its place of prominence in the stone church. She was then nestled onto a wooden litter filled with green branches and hoisted aloft, to be carried around the village followed by the bishop and parishioners.
“It’s not a magic act, it is an act of trust,” Bishop Francesc Conesa told The Associated Press.
Three years of very low rainfall and high temperatures put Spain officially into long-term drought, the country's weather agency said this month. Last year was Spain's sixth driest — and the hottest since records began in 1961.
Catalonia, in the country's northeastern corner, is among the worst-affected regions. Agrotourism and farming are the primary sources of income for the 260 inhabitants of L'Espunyola, an hour and a half north of Barcelona.
"If it doesn’t rain within two weeks, it's very hard to say what might happen,” Altarriba, the farmer, said after celebrating Mass.
Local councilor and firefighter Eduard Perarnau described the special Mass as a last resort. The government has restricted water usage, asking farmers to limit watering crops and trees as much as possible.
All three reservoirs in the area are below a third of their capacity. The nearby La Baells reservoir is down to 25%, and in some places only a trickle of water cuts through the layers of silt that used to be underwater.
The last time the village offered prayers and hymns to Our Lady of the Torrents was in 2008, local media reported. And it worked — residents say the rains came not long after.
But this year, the bishop doesn’t guarantee success.
“We have asked with faith, and many people have come and prayed with faith,” Conesa said. “The Lord will give us what suits us.”
___
AP Writer Raquel Redondo in Madrid contributed to this report.
Spain Drought Catalonia Local bishop Francesc Conesa sits next to the virgin Our Lady of the Torrents as he leads a mass in l'Espunyola, north of Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, March 26, 2023. Farmers and parishioners gathered Sunday at the small hermitage of l'Espunyola, a rural village in Catalonia, to attend a mass asking the local virgin Our Lady of the Torrents for rain. The eastern Spanish region is among the worst affected by the severe drought that hits the whole of the Mediterranean country. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A scorched southwestern France braces itself for fires to come
Sat, March 25, 2023
By Juliette Jabkhiro and Stephane Mahe
HOSTENS, France (Reuters) - As France frets about an extended drought and prospects for more wildfires in another long summer, one blaze that erupted eight months ago in the southwest of the country still smoulders away underground.
Columns of white, acrid smoke rise from a forest floor outside the town of Hostens in the Gironde region, south of Bordeaux. The smell of burning tyres is caused by the brown coal in the area's peaty soil which is fuelling the fire underground.
"It's been burning since mid-July," said Guillaume Carnir, who works for France’s National Forest Agency (ONF). "To this date, we don't have a clear answer as to how to stop it."
The blaze at Hostens is a remnant of huge wildfires that ravaged southern Europe last summer when the worst drought on record was compounded by successive heatwaves which scientists say are consistent with climate change.
The Gironde region was particularly badly hit with 20,000 hectares of forest destroyed, and the risk of renewed fires is a great concern.
"All the greenery will come back in the spring, which will be flammable, so we have to make sure new fires can't start from these hot spots," Carnir said.
Pascale Got, a local official in charge of environmental protection, said that the fire at Hostens was under constant surveillance from drones measuring heat levels.
When it comes to wildfires risk, she said that prevention was crucial, as well as swift intervention when a fire first starts, which is easier to do from above.
"It is obvious that we need an urgent answer from the government on air assets," said Got.
The interior ministry said measures for fighting forest fires across France will be presented in the coming weeks.
An unusually dry winter across parts of the south of the European continent has reduced moisture in the soil and raised fears of a repeat of 2022, when 785,000 hectares were destroyed in Europe - more than double the annual average for the past 16 years, according to European Commission (EC) statistics.
Governments are thus working out how to make forests and woodlands more resilient to climate change with better scrub clearance, more hardwood trees that burn less easily and other steps to prevent the region becoming an inferno every year.
The risk from failure to act is collapsing soils, falling trees and the prospect of an endless cycle of increasingly uncontrollable fires that have not only devastated natural habitats but also destroyed homes and businesses.
Spain's first major wildfire of the year raged in the eastern Valencia region on Friday, destroying more than 3,000 hectares of forest and forcing 1,500 residents to abandon their homes, authorities said.
LUNAR LANDSCAPE
In Gironde, the wildfires that surrounded the town of Origne and displaced its inhabitants for two weeks last July are long extinguished. Firefighters managed to save all but one house, yet some scars remain.
"It's no longer the village I knew: there were woods, we could hike, it was wonderful," said Bernard Morlot, 79, who told Reuters he was thinking of moving away. "Now, it's the desert. It looks like the moon, it's dreadful."
Mayor Vincent Dedieu, 46, could not hide his sadness while looking at the wide empty land punctuated with piles of cut trees right outside the village.
"It will take at least 15 years to get back to a normal landscape," he said.
Dedieu added that he felt powerless and abandoned by authorities since the disaster: "We need to rebuild our roads and our pathways," he said. "It's going to be exceptionally costly, and so far we have zero."
From officials to wood workers, everyone agreed that clear pathways and firebreaks in forests are key to slowing down wildfires.
"The better the forest is looked after, the lower the fire stays," said Pierre Berges, 53, a private forest manager at local business Planfor.
For months now, Berges has been busy salvaging what he could from forests ravaged by wildfires. Below the charred bark of burnt trees, some wood is still in good condition and businesses like Planfor have been converting it into lumber, timber and fuel.
FOREST OF THE FUTURE?
When it comes to reforesting, burned patches will only be replanted next year. Some experts suggest that diversifying varieties of trees would make the forest more resilient.
But in private parcels, the economical incentive is to plant pine, that will rapidly grow into marketable wood.
"The maritime pine is a champion in all categories in terms of wood production, and even adaptation to the environment we have, with the strong variations in drought, the very draining soils," explained ONF agent Carnir.
But he said that shouldn't stop forest actors from bringing in a diversity that will help protect the forest from parasites and risks of fire spreading.
For the past few years, there has been a push for planting more hardwood trees, such as oak or birch. Jean-Marc Bonedeau, head of Planfor nursery, told Reuters over the phone that he has seen a drop of "classic" forest varieties in orders, not in volume but in proportion:
"Maritime pine used to make 70% of our production four or five years ago, now it's only 45%," Bonedeau said.
But finding seeds might become a challenge. "Climate change impacts the tree's ability to bear fruit," Bonedeau said.
(Reporting by Juliette Jabkhiro and Stephane Mahe; Writing by Juliette Jabkhiro; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
Many migrants who flooded into NYC are ‘on the edge of despair’ as they struggle to find work — and stability
Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News
Sat, March 25, 2023
NEW YORK — Jesus O. was a skilled HVAC technician and business owner in Venezuela who thought his skills would easily secure him work when he came to New York last October amid a flood of migrants flowing into New York.
But now, each day, he wanders the streets looking for work.
“I have the experience. And I have the ability,” he said. “And there is this passion and desire to work. I’m just waiting for someone to let me work.”
More than 45,000 migrants have come to New York City since last spring, straining the city’s shelter system and sparking conflict over policy and funding between New York and Washington. Their journey here was treacherous: Nearly all of the migrants coming from the southern border waded through the Rio Grande, braved the dangerous stretch of jungle called the Darien Gap, walked for days on end and faced thieves and attackers.
But getting here was one thing.
Making a life here is another, and finding consistent work is nearly impossible for recent migrants.
“If I don’t have a job, I can’t just sit in the hotel, locked up, sleeping, doing nothing,” Jesus O. said. “I came to New York to work, to produce.”
The migrants The News spoke to said they are ready to start working. They want to build lives for themselves and support their families, especially after being bounced around the city’s shelter system and relying heavily on straining networks of nonprofits and volunteers.
However, their options are limited. While asylum seekers are legally allowed to work, federal policy requires they wait six months after they submit asylum applications to get a work permit. Mayor Eric Adams has called on Washington to loosen federal rules for asylum seekers to allow them to more quickly enter the workforce.
Even after the six months have passed, the legal system is so backed up that the process is all but guaranteed to drag on longer.
“A lot of them are living on the edge of despair,” said Pastor Juan Carlos Ruiz, of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Bay Ridge, where he does migrant outreach.
Many of those who dreamed of a better life in New York are losing hope, he said. Some are thinking of giving up and trying their luck elsewhere.
“They come under the perception that once they get here, they will get a job,” he said.
“And it’s a big lie.”
Shadow economy
With legal paths forward closed off, Migrants are pushed into the city’s shadow economy, working for cash under the table. Beyond the day to day challenges of finding steady work, they are particularly vulnerable to wage theft, are more likely to work long hours for less pay and may be exposed to unsafe working conditions.
“These are jobs that are poorly regulated, industries where there are very few protections, and a lot of the businesses and employers actually rely on and make a profitable and sustainable business by exploiting the labor of newly arrived migrants because they’re more vulnerable,” Ligia Guallpa, Director of the Workers Justice Project, a worker’s rights center.
“Because of the lack of employment, job opportunities and workforce development pathways, workers have to feel that they have to accept anything that employers can offer,” Guallpa added.
The influx of migrants, the turbulent economy and the rising cost of labor have made jobs even more scare, said Kimberly Vega, director of the Day Laborer Workforce Initiative at La Colmena, a nonprofit based on Staten Island. Last week, she had 198 people she was trying to find work for. She was only able to place for ten.
“Usually, we have 20 people looking for a job, and at least would be able to dispatch half of them,” Vega said.
Jesus lives in a homeless shelter in lower Manhattan. He’s worked with heating, ventilation, and cooling systems for 18 years – since he was a teenager.
He spent money he barely has printing business cards with his contact information and a picture of him working, and posts about his work and skills on Instagram to market himself. When he’s not looking for work, he finds construction training courses. He’s gathering every bit of legitimacy he can, trying to leave absolutely no doubt that he’s qualified.
“The hardest part about not finding consistent work is that I can’t support myself, because you have to work to pay rent, for your own things, to avoid depending on the government,” Jesus said. “I need to work.”
Armed with his certifications and cards, he walks – a lot. He walks through Manhattan, stopping to drop a card at construction sites he passes. He walks through Queens, from Long Island City to Ozone Park. He pops into every construction company and introduces himself, showing managers examples of his work.
As he walks and goes to different construction sites and companies, he writes the names, addresses and contact information of potential employers in his tight handwriting on a carefully folded white sheet of paper.
When he does find work, he has to be cautious – recently, he was hired for a few weeks to do electricity work – but they never paid him. Jesus says the company owes him around $3,500.
“They never call”
Karen Tipan, a 25-year-old migrant from Ecuador, came to the US looking for a better opportunity for her three-year-old son. She’s a single mother who came to NY with her father, who was placed in a shelter far away, in the Rockaways.
“It’s tough to get a job,” Tipan said. “They ask me for a work permit, social security. If I don’t have that, they’ll tell me, for example, they’ll pay me $13, $12, $10 an hour. Others tell me, if you don’t have papers, I can’t let you work, because it’s illegal… I’ve tried all kinds of restaurants, McDonalds, fast food places, they all ask for social and ID.”
Having a child makes the search for work even more difficult: Her son is too young to go to school, and the shelter rules prevent her from letting another mother look after him. She has to coordinate with her dad, who is far away, or others, to watch her toddler outside the shelter while she looks for work.
“Some say, ‘Okay, we’ll call you, we’ll look for a position for you,’” she said.
“But they never call.”
Jaison Fernandez, 26, has two kids and a wife. He’s been able to find somewhat consistent work installing windows for a construction company. He gets paid $130 for a full 12 hours of work, about ten dollars an hour. He found it through a friend and considers himself lucky to have the gig – but the hours and days vary widely. Sometimes, he just works one day of the week..
“One day I work, the other, I don’t. Nothing is consistent. Sometimes I don’t get paid,” said Fernandez, who has been in NYC since September. “... We came looking for help,” he said. “It’s not what I hoped–fine. But we need to work, we need working permits.”
Pastor Ruiz said many of those who came to New York with dreams of a brighter future are losing hope.
“The shelter system is riddled with violence,” he said. “They don’t have kitchens where they can cook. Any kind of normalcy that they knew back in their home countries has been taken away. And often they come expressing their anxiety, their despair and they say, ‘I don’t know what to do.’ “
“I think many, I’d say even half of them, are considering to go to other states, because they don’t have enough money to get out of the shelter system – and secondly, the scarcity of jobs, to move so they can find jobs,” Ruiz said.
Gustavo Moreta, from Venezuela, has two young children with his wife. Last week, he decided that he had enough of New York. A friend told him he could get him a job in construction in Minneapolis, and a place to stay for his family.
“It’s too difficult here,” Moreta, 33, said as he sat with his family on the floor of the Port Authority Bus Terminal. “There aren’t any jobs. I walked all over: Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Jamaica Center. I was looking for jobs in construction, but I never found anything. There aren’t any opportunities here.”
Britain’s biggest microchip plant ‘will shut down’ if takeover blocked
James Titcomb
Sat, March 25, 2023
nexperia - Matthew Horwood/Getty Images
The Chinese-backed owner of Britain’s biggest microchip plant has claimed the facility will be forced to shut down if the Government successfully blocks its takeover.
Nexperia has argued that Newport Wafer Fab would lose £170m a year and face a staff exodus that will render the factory unviable if the Chinese-owned company is forced to sell it.
The Government has ordered Dutch company Nexperia, which is owned by China’s Wingtech, to sell Newport Wafer Fab, reversing the 2021 takeover, on national security grounds.
Nexperia is now taking the Government to court in an attempt to overturn the decision, enlisting Lord Pannick, the high-profile barrister representing Boris Johnson in his Partygate defence.
In legal filings at the High Court, Nexperia said a divestment order “would have a devastating impact on Newport’s financial position”.
Newport Wafer Fab factory - Crown Copyright
“Newport would be left with only a single remaining client, and no immediate pathway to return to profitability,” it said. “Nexperia’s forecasting in this scenario projects a cash flow deficit of more than £170m by the end of 2024.
“In the short-term, the plant would require significant capital backing in order to remain solvent during the transition... there is the potential for a staff exodus that would cripple Newport’s production capacity, threatening Newport’s viability as a feasible business.
“For both prospective customers, as well as potential alternative owners of the Newport facility, such a turn of events would decimate Newport’s value proposition even in the event that a viable alternate buyer and customers could be found.”
Newport Wafer Fab made a £13m loss in 2020, the year before it was acquired, when production was disrupted by the pandemic. Nexperia is yet to file accounts for the following year, which are now almost three months overdue. The plant employs more than 500 people.
Investors have been circling the plant in anticipation of Nexperia being forced to sell it. The taxpayer-backed Automotive Transformation Fund has also held talks about supporting the plant under new ownership.
In November Grant Shapps, the former business secretary, told Nexperia to sell the 86pc of Newport Wafer Fab it acquired in July 2021, following a “detailed national security assessment”.
Nexperia has argued that the order threatens jobs and shows “that the UK is closed for business”. It has sought a judicial review on the decision, which is expected to be heard in the coming weeks.
The Government blocked the deal due to fears that the company could restart work on cutting-edge compound semiconductors, which “could contribute to undermining UK capabilities”. Newport Wafer Fab’s position as part of the South Wales cluster of semiconductor firms could also prevent work on national security projects in the area, officials said.
Nexperia told the court that its chips are instead “generally for use in household appliances like kettles and toasters”.
The filings reveal that Nexperia offered a series of pledges that were rejected by the Government, including blocking the export of technology overseas, committing to no military manufacturing, and not to assist with “indigenous Chinese compound semiconductor capabilities”. They also show that Nexperia is seeking damages if it is successful in its appeal.
The company paid Lord Pannick £450,000 between September and December last year, according to Parliament’s Register of Interests.
A spokesman said: “Nexperia applied for a Judicial Review earlier this year. Whilst we await the court’s hearing and decision in the coming months, Nexperia continues to focus on protecting the interests of its UK employees and delivering for its customers.”
Twitter hunts Github user who posted source code online
The Canadian Press
Mon, March 27, 2023
NEW YORK (AP) — Some parts of Twitter's source code — the fundamental computer code on which the social network runs — were leaked online, the social media company said in a legal filing that was first reported by The New York Times.
According to the legal document, first filed with the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California on Friday, Twitter had asked GitHub, an internet hosting service for software development, to take down the code where it was posted. The platform complied and said the content had been disabled, according to the filing.
Twitter, based in San Francisco, noted in the filing that the postings infringe on copyrights held by Twitter.
The company also asked the court to identify the alleged individual or group that posted the information without Twitter’s authorization. It's seeking names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, social media profile data and IP addresses associated with the user account “FreeSpeechEnthusiast” which is suspected of being behind the leak. The name is an apparent reference to Twitter's billionaire owner, Elon Musk, who described himself as a free speech absolutist.
It is difficult to know if the leak poses an immediate cybersecurity risk for users, said Lukasz OIejnik, an independent cybersecurity researcher and consultant, but he did say that breach underscores internal turbulence at the company.
“While this is the internal source code, including internal tools, the biggest immediate risk seems to be reputational," Olejnik said “It highlights the broader problem of Big Tech, which is insider risk," and could undermine trust between Twitter's employees or internal teams, he said.
Musk had promised earlier this month that Twitter would open source all the code used to recommend tweets on March 31, saying that people “will discover many silly things, but we’ll patch issues as soon as they’re found!” He added that being transparent about Twitter's code will be “incredibly embarrassing at first” but will result in "rapid improvement in recommendation quality."
The leak creates another challenge for Musk, who bought Twitter in October for $44 billion and took the company private. Twitter has since been engulfed in chaos, with massive layoffs and an exodus of advertisers fearful of exposure on the platform to looser rules on potentially inflammatory posts.
Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission is probing Musk’s mass layoffs at Twitter and trying to obtain his internal communications as part of ongoing oversight into the social media company’s privacy and cybersecurity practices, according to documents described in a congressional report.
____
Kelvin Chan in London contributed to this report from London.
Anne D'innocenzio, The Associated Press
MODI JAILS POLITICAL OPPONENT
Opposition disrupts Indian Parliament after Gandhi's ousterThe Canadian PressMon, March 27, 2023 
NEW DELHI (AP) — Members of opposition parties dressed in black disrupted India's Parliament on Monday and protested in the capital, New Delhi, after Rahul Gandhi, a key opposition leader and fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was expelled from the legislature last week.Hundreds of supporters of Gandhi's Congress party demonstrated in the heart of New Delhi and dozens were detained by police. Lawmakers from 18 opposition parties also protested together outside Parliament, donning black clothes to symbolize mourning and waving posters that warned India's democracy is in danger.Gandhi's expulsion on Friday came a day after a local court convicted him of defamation and sentenced him to two years in prison for mocking Modi's surname in an election speech in 2019. The actions against Gandhi, the great-grandson of India's first prime minister, were widely denounced by opponents of Modi as assaults against democracy and free speech by a government seeking to quash dissent. His removal from Parliament also delivered a major blow to the Congress party ahead of national elections next year.“The government wants to suppress the opposition and their voice,” said Mallikarjun Kharge, president of the Congress party.Over the weekend, Gandhi said he is being targeted for raising questions about Modi's relationship to Gautam Adani, a coal tycoon who until recently was Asia's richest man.Hindenburg Research, a U.S. financial research firm, accused the Adani Group in January of stock price manipulation and fraud running into billions of dollars. Since then, Gandhi has pushed for an investigation into Adani's sprawling businesses, whose market value has since plummeted by tens of billions of dollars. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party says he has no links to Adani.The protesting opposition lawmakers backed Gandhi on Monday by renewing calls for a parliamentary probe into the Adani Group.Gandhi said he was not bothered about losing his seat in Parliament. “My job is to defend the institutions of the country and the voice of people,” he said over the weekend.A court in Modi’s home state of Gujarat convicted Gandhi last week over a 2019 speech in which he asked, “Why do all thieves have Modi as their surname?” Gandhi then referred to three well-known and unrelated Modis: a fugitive Indian diamond tycoon, a cricket executive banned from the Indian Premier League tournament and the prime minister.Under Indian law, a criminal conviction and prison sentence of two years or more are grounds for expulsion from Parliament. Gandhi was granted bail for 30 days to allow him to appeal the decision, which Gandhi says he will do.Piyush Nagpal And Shonal Ganguly, The Associated Press
Indian opposition holds Gandhi-inspired protest calling Modi ‘a coward’
Story by Alisha Rahaman Sarkar •
Members and supporters of India’s largest opposition party protested on Sunday against their leader’s disqualification from parliament in nationwide sit-ins inspired by Mahatma Gandhi.
India opposition leader Rahul Gandhi handed two-year prison sentence in ‘Modi surname’ defamation case View on Watch
Rahul Gandhi, a senior member of the Congress party, lost his seat in the lower house after a court in Gujarat sentenced him to two years in prison over a 2019 joke about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surname.
Mr Gandhi, 52, is part of the Gandhi political dynasty and one of the most high-profile opposition figures in India. His disqualification comes as a major blow just a year before general elections in which Mr Modi will seek a third term.
Senior Congress party leaders led the protest in New Delhi after being denied permission by the police, who said the request to protest was rejected due to law and order and traffic reasons.
Senior leader KC Venugopal said it has become a habit for the Modi government to disallow every opposition protest. “This will not deter us, our fight for truth against tyranny goes on,” he said.
General secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadras said: “India’s prime minister is a coward. He is arrogant. This country has a very old tradition of teaching a lesson to arrogant leaders.”
Mr Gandhi’s supporters, who oppose Mr Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), reacted strongly to his disqualification, calling it the “murder of democracy”
Police try to stop Congress supporters from carrying out a torch rally in New Delhi on Sunday (Reuters)© Provided by The Independent
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said the sit-ins, or “satyagraha” was not just about the party or Rahul Gandhi but “about Indian democracy”.
In his first news conference since the conviction, Mr Gandhi said on Sunday he had been disqualified because Mr Modi was afraid about him raising questions about the prime minister’s connection with the chairman of Adani Group.
Gautam Adani is the founder and chair of the Adani Group, a multinational conglomerate, and is said to be a close associate of Mr Modi.
India’s Congress party leaders take part in Sankalp Satyagraha at Raj Ghat in New Delhi (AFP via Getty Images)© Provided by The Independent
“I have been disqualified because the prime minister is scared of my next speech, he is scared of the next speech that is going to come on Adani,” Mr Gandhi said.
“So he is terrified about the next speech that is going to come, and they don’t want that speech to be in the parliament,” he said, referring to the prime minister.
Mr Gandhi and the other opposition party leaders have demanded a joint parliamentary committee investigation following a report by Hindenburg Research, a US financial research company, that accuses the Adani Group of stock-price manipulation and fraud running into billions of dollars. The Adani Group has denied any wrongdoing.
Mr Gandhi was convicted on Thursday in a case filed by a BJP member claiming the Congress party member had defamed the entire Modi community during his election speech in 2019.
“Why all the thieves, be it Nirav Modi, Lalit Modi or Narendra Modi, have Modi in their names,” Gandhi allegedly said during the rally in the southern state of Karnataka. He was referring to fugitive business tycoon Nirav Modi and former Indian Premier League (IPL) chief Lalit Modi.
The court granted him bail and suspended his jail sentence for 30 days, allowing him to appeal.
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Elizabeth Warren running for 3rd US Senate term in 2024
The Canadian Press
Mon, March 27, 2023
BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced Monday that she will seek a third term in 2024.
Warren, a prominent voice for the liberal wing of the Democratic Party and a failed 2020 presidential contender, said she's running for reelection to end corruption in Washington, make the economy work for the middle class and protect democracy.
“I first ran for Senate because I saw how the system is rigged for the rich and powerful and against everyone else. I won because Massachusetts voters know it, too. And now I’m running for Senate again because there’s a lot more we’ve got to do,” Warren said in a campaign video released Monday.
Warren, 73, had more than $2.3 million in her campaign account at the end of 2022, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Warren first won election to the seat in 2012, defeating incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who was elected to fill out the term of Democratic U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, who died in 2009.
With the win, the then-Harvard Law School professor became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts.
In 2018, Warren won a second term, easily defeating Republican candidate Geoff Diehl, before quickly setting her sights on the presidency.
While popular among some Democratic voters for her blunt rhetoric, Warren was unable to break away from the party's pack of contenders and dropped out after failing to win any of the states that voted on Super Tuesday, including coming in third in the Democratic primary in her home state.
During the campaign against Brown and again during her bid for the presidency, Warren was dogged by past claims of Native American heritage and her inability to provide documentation of that ancestry.
That led then-President Donald Trump to go after her early in the presidential campaign, derisively labeling her “Pocahontas." Warren had said she learned of her family ties to Cherokee and Delaware tribes from stories told by her parents.
After the 2020 loss, Warren continued her focus on the financial sector.
Warren recently joined California Rep. Katie Porter, a Democrat, to push a proposal to repeal a 2018 rollback of certain aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act, enacted after the financial crisis a decade earlier.
The bill, part of discussions in Congress following the recent abrupt failure of two banks, is unlikely to advance.
In her campaign video, Warren ticked off a series of priorities from passing a wealth tax and putting stricter rules on banks to making child care more affordable, protecting coastal communities and building what she called “a 21st century transportation system across all of Massachusetts."
It's unclear who might challenge Warren for the Senate seat. Many Democrats appeared to be waiting until Warren or fellow Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, also a Democrat, decided not to seek reelection. Markey in 2020 fended off a primary challenge from then-Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy.
The state's Republican Party is trying to rebuild after losing the governor's office last year when Republican Gov. Charlie Baker opted not to seek a third term and Democrat Maura Healey handily defeated GOP candidate Geoff Diehl.
Warren already has the backing of many high-profile Massachusetts Democrats including U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Markey.
Warren serves on several congressional committees including the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Armed Services.
Steve Leblanc, The Associated Press
UK
Wind farm turbines given green light to grow again
BBC
Mon, March 27, 2023
The wind farm was originally approved four years ago
A bid to increase the size of the turbines at a south of Scotland wind farm has been approved by the Scottish government.
The project at Glenshimmeroch near St John's Town of Dalry was approved in 2019.
At that time the maximum height of the 10 turbines was limited to 150m (490ft).
That was subsequently increased to 180m (590ft) and has now been raised again to 200m (650ft).
Energiekontor has taken the case to the Scottish government on numerous occasions due to Dumfries and Galloway Council's failure to issue a decision within the required timescales.
That was how the original application was approved four years ago.
The same method has now been used to successfully increase the size of the turbines on two occasions.
A reporter concluded that the change would not obviously result in greater landscape or visual damage from the development.
UK
Outrage at public contract for firm behind P&O sackings
Noor Nanji - Business reporter, BBC News
Mon, March 27, 2023
P&O Ferries
A decision to award the owner of P&O Ferries a major public contract has sparked outrage, after the firm sacked 800 workers without notice last year.
DP World has been approved to co-run the Thames Freeport in Essex, as part of Rishi Sunak's freeports plan.
The Trades Union Congress said it was an "appalling decision", enabling other employers "to act with impunity".
The government said the new freeport would "help to grow the economy".
P&O Ferries sacked hundreds of seafarers in March 2022 and replaced them with foreign agency workers paid less than the minimum wage.
The move sparked outrage and led to calls for P&O's boss Peter Hebblethwaite to resign.
A week afterwards, Mr Hebblethwaite admitted to MPs that the decision had broken employment law.
At the time, the government called the workers' treatment "wholly unacceptable".
Outrage and no ferries after mass P&O sackings
Not consulting on cuts broke law, P&O boss admits
Grant Shapps, who was then transport secretary, said the law would be changed to stop companies firing staff on-the-spot.
The government also cancelled a contract with P&O Ferries in May, a decision it said was in response to the sackings.
But on Monday, the government confirmed plans for the Thames Freeport had recently been approved, and it would be run by a partnership between DP World, carmaker Ford and Forth Ports.
The port will receive £25m in government funding, as it works to attract £4.6bn more in public and private investment.
Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC, said ministers should have "stripped the company of all its public contracts and severed commercial ties" after the P&O sackings.
"But the government has chosen instead to reward DP World with another bumper deal. This is giving a green light to other rogue employers to act with impunity."
A spokesperson for Thames Freeport said that DP World and its partners had invested heavily in port and logistics infrastructure over the past decade.
They added that the new port would benefit the "levelling up of the region", with more than 21,000 direct and indirect jobs created.
The government said the project would lead to "much needed" investment in the area.
Local authorities will administer the government funding "to benefit the entire region", it added, while the freeport will receive "potentially hundreds of millions in locally-retained business rates".
Freeports aim to create economic activity - like trade, investment and jobs - near shipping ports or airports. Goods imported into freeports are exempt from taxes, called tariffs, that are normally paid to the government.
Eight freeports have already been set up in England, with more in the pipeline.
The Thames Freeport will be made up of three sites - the London Gateway in Thurrock, the Port of Tilbury near Southend-on-Sea, and Ford's Dagenham car plant.
