Brazil's Bolsonaro barred from running for office until 2030

The decision from Brazil's highest electoral court upends the 68-year-old’s political future and likely erases any chance for him to regain power.

Former President Jair Bolsonaro talks to reporters in Brazil's capital Brasilia, Brazil, on Friday.Eraldo Peres / AP


July 1, 2023,
By Associated Press

Far-right former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was barred Friday from running for office again until 2030 after a panel of judges concluded that he abused his power and cast unfounded doubts on the country’s electronic voting system.

The decision upends the 68-year-old’s political future and likely erases any chance for him to regain power.

Five judges on the nation’s highest electoral court agreed that Bolsonaro used government communication channels to promote his campaign and sowed distrust about the vote. Two judges voted against the move.

“This decision will end Bolsonaro’s chances of being president again, and he knows it,” said Carlos Melo, a political science professor at Insper University in Sao Paulo. “After this, he will try to stay out of jail, elect some of his allies to keep his political capital, but it is very unlikely he will ever return to the presidency.”

The case focused on a July 18, 2022, meeting where Bolsonaro used government staffers, the state television channel and the presidential palace in Brasilia to tell foreign ambassadors that the country’s electronic voting system was rigged.

In her decisive vote that formed a majority, Judge Carmen Lucia — who is also a Supreme Court justice — said “the facts are incontrovertible.”

“The meeting did take place. It was convened by the then-president. Its content is available. It was examined by everyone, and there was never a denial that it did happen,” she said.

People play instruments during a celebration after the decision of the Brazilian Superior Electoral Court to bar far-right Brazilian former President Jair Bolsonaro from public office for eight years.

MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP - Getty Images

Alexandre de Moraes, also a Supreme Court justice, said the decision represents rejection of “populism reborn from the flames of hateful, antidemocratic speech that promotes heinous disinformation.”

Speaking to reporters in Minas Gerais, Bolsonaro lamented that the trial was unfair and politically motivated.

“We’re going to talk with the lawyers. Life goes on,” he said when asked what his next step would be. He called the ruling an attack on Brazilian democracy. “It’s a rather difficult moment.”

Melo said the decision is “very unlikely” to be overturned. It removes Bolsonaro from the 2024 and 2028 municipal elections as well as the 2026 general elections. The former president also faces other legal troubles, including criminal investigations. Future criminal convictions could extend his ban by years and subject him to imprisonment.


Former President Fernando Collor de Mello and current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva were declared ineligible in the past, but Bolsonaro’s case marks the first time a president has been suspended for election violations rather than a criminal offense. Brazilian law forbids candidates with criminal sentences from running for office.

Lula’s eligibility was reinstated by Brazil’s top court following rulings that then-judge and now Sen. Sergio Moro was biased when he sentenced the leftist leader to almost 10 years in prison for corruption and money laundering.

Maria Maris, a 58-year-old engineer in Rio de Janeiro, celebrated the ruling, though said she suspects it may have been politically motivated.

“My fear is that Bolsonaro appeals and runs in the next presidential election, even though he was made ineligible today,” Maris said.

Bolsonaro holds a ceremonial leadership role within his Liberal Party and has traveled around Brazil criticizing Lula, who won last October’s election with the narrowest margin in over three decades.

Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed government buildings on Jan. 8 — one week after Lula took power — in an attempt to oust the leftist from power. Swift jailing and prosecution of hundreds of those who participated had a chilling effect on their rejection of the election’s results. Federal police are investigating Bolsonaro’s role in inciting the uprising; he has denied any wrongdoing.

The chairwoman of Lula’s Workers’ Party, Gleisi Hoffmann, said on her social media channels that Bolsonaro’s ineligibility offers a teachable moment.

“The far-right needs to know that the political struggle takes place within the democratic process, and not with violence and threatening a coup,” she said. Bolsonaro “will be out of the game because he doesn’t respect the rules. Not only him, his whole gang of coup mongers has to follow the same path.”

The trial has reenergized Bolsonaro’s base online, with supporters claiming he is a victim of an unfair judicial system and comparing his fate to that of former President Donald Trump, according to Marie Santini, coordinator of NetLab, a research group at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro that monitors social media.

This week, his supporters showed their continued support with contributions to help him pay 1.1 million reais (about $230,000) in fines levied by Sao Paulo state’s government for Bolsonaro’s repeated violations of health protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While Bolsonaro aims to be the right’s kingmaker, and his endorsement will carry significant heft, his decision to decamp to Florida for several months at the start of Lula’s term weakened him, said Thomas Traumann, a political analyst. That is reflected by the limited right-wing outrage on social media throughout the eligibility trial, and no sign of protests.

“There won’t be a mass movement, because he diminished in size. The fact that he went to Florida and didn’t lead the opposition caused him to diminish in size,” Traumann said. “The leader of the opposition is clearly not Bolsonaro.”

As the trial drew to a close, a trumpeter standing outside the electoral court played the song that became a sensation during last year’s presidential race: “It is Time for Jair to Go Away.”

Newcomers to Canada Struggle with Rental Housing Crisis

July 01, 2023
Jay Heisler

VOA

 A masked pedestrian walks through downtown Toronto, Canada, Sept. 10, 2021.

HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA —

Canada is engaged in a losing race to keep up with an unprecedented level of demand for rental housing, leaving a record number of new immigrants to scramble for a place to live.

In several of the country's major cities, including Montreal, Vancouver and Halifax, vacancy rates stand at 1% or lower. In Toronto, the nation's largest city, the rate is only slightly better at 1.8%, with monthly rents averaging more than $2,260.

"When we say Canada has a housing crisis, we mean it," said Lisa Hayhurst, chair of the Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, chapter of social justice organization ACORN, in a statement emailed to VOA.

"Unaffordable housing has for years been a reality for low income renters. Now it is so bad that it is crippling for even some middle income renters. People on fixed incomes without subsidies are out of options.

"Seeing people living in tents is a common sight in parks across the country," Hayhurst continued. "New Canadians are quickly realizing that they can't afford an apartment on the low-wages they earn. Something has to give."

Canadian bank RBC predicts that the current unmet demand could quadruple by 2026, warning that there needs to be faster construction of rental housing. But it is not clear how that can be achieved.

The Financial Post newspaper reports that 2022 was a banner year for rental housing construction, with 70,000 units completed, "the highest rate of completion in almost a decade." But experts told the Post that annual construction will need to increase by 20% to avoid an even more serious shortage.

Among the groups most affected by the housing crisis are immigrants — often referred to as "new Canadians" or "newcomers" — who are being admitted to the country in record numbers, partly in response to a post-pandemic labor shortage.

The Canadian immigration department has set a target of admitting 465,000 permanent residents for this year, 485,000 in 2024, and 500,000 in 2025. Altogether that would boost the total population, now at 38.5 million, by almost 4%.

Carolyn Whitzman, a University of Ottawa professor who has studied the issue, said only single mothers with children are more likely than new migrants and refugees to end up in crisis-level housing need.

She told VOA that Canada is offering life in the biggest Canadian cities to migrants, including students whom the country needs to prop up its universities in the face of declining enrollment. But, she said, this is proving to be "a false promise."

An example of what many new Canadians are experiencing was described by Setareh, a single 41-year-old public relations professional who arrived in Toronto from Tehran a year and a half ago.

"Last August, I began searching for a one-bedroom apartment and encountered what I believe to be one of the most challenging periods in recent years, exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic," said Setareh, who asked for privacy reasons to be identified by only her first name.

"Numerous individuals outbid me on every apartment I considered. Furthermore, as a newcomer, I lacked a credit history, a vital requirement for landlords. Despite offering to pay six months' rent in advance, along with the last month, I found myself competing against a few individuals willing to pay an entire year's rent upfront. As you may know, newcomers often have limited budgets.

"I reached a point where I had to increase my budget, consider alternative locations, and lower my expectations," she said.

A tent encampment of the unhoused in Halifax, Canada, on the grounds of a downtown hospital near Dalhousie University campus.

Shashank Mutalik, a 37-year-old marketing professional, encountered many of the same problems when seeking rental housing for his family of three in Vancouver.

"As newcomers you have no past landlord references in the country and with no one to vouch for you," Mutalik said.

"As a newcomer you aren't earning that well and the rent forces you to consume your settlement funds very, very quickly. What's more you get outpriced — decent apartments routinely get offered higher than asking rent, and you are left gasping trying to match the more established competition looking for rentals."

Mutalik told VOA that his family was rejected from all 35 apartments they have applied to so far and was lucky to find temporary housing while continuing the search.

As difficult as it is for immigrants, native-born Canadians are also frustrated by the housing shortage and rising rents, a problem that has been years in the making, according to Kate Choi, a Western University professor who wrote about the rent crisis in the popular progressive publication The Conversation.

"There's quite a bit of work that suggests over the past few decades, the housing shortage has been partly generated by the fact that the supply of housing has not kept pace with the demand in housing and the growth of population, particularly metropolitan areas," Choi told VOA.

She noted the rapid growth in major population centers, "whether from internal migration of Canadians or international migrants."

"That usually has the benefit of filling a lot of the labor shortages that exist in different areas," she said. "But in places that there is a housing shortage, it is possible that you will have more people needing housing. The best way to mitigate is to take active steps to build more housing."

Whitzman outlined several policy changes that she believes could ease the crisis, including changes to tax laws that would incentivize property owners to build more housing rather than simply waiting for properties to appreciate in value.

She also called for various levels of government to make a major investment in social housing — a term that applies to a range of models involving some degree of public financing and management of rental properties.

"By social housing I mean housing outside the private market," Whitzman explained. "Public housing provided by provincial or municipal government, community housing by nonprofit organizations [including supportive housing], and co-operative housing are the three main categories. Of 650,000 social homes in Canada, 600,000 date from before 2000."

 

Krishnagopal Mallick’s Bengali queer writing | The maze runner

Krishnagopal Mallick’s writing finds a new lease of life in translation

Cyril Ghosh

New Delhi,ISSUE DATE: Jul 10, 2023 | UPDATED: Jun 30, 2023 

Entering the Maze: Queer fiction of Krishnagopal Mallick, translated from Bengali by Niladri R. Chatterjee | Niyogi Books | Rs 350; 176 pages

Until now, the world has known little about Krishnagopal Mallick (1936-2003). But a recent collection of his Bengali queer writing, translated by Niladri R. Chatterjee, Entering the Maze: Queer Fiction of Krishnagopal Mallick, excavates Mallick from what Chatterjee calls the “dust of homophobic neglect”.

Mallick’s irreverent text shatters prim notions of bourgeois sexual morality. While it is undoubtedly queer, saturated with Mallick’s homoerotic gaze, it is also much more: spatial ethnography, critique of public policy, bildungsroman, memoir, and love letter to College Square (in Kolkata).

Chatterjee writes admiringly of Mallick’s candour about being a “confirmed homosexual” while leading a traditional family life. Ruth Vanita’s blurb refers to the “charming insouciance” of the writing. But a different reading reveals a certain breathlessness woven into the text. The collection consists of two short stories, The Difficult Path and Senior Citizen, as well as the novella Entering the Maze, a memoir of his teenage years, in which we encounter narrative accounts of Kolkata during pivotal historical moments: World War II bombings, the bloodbath of rioting Hindus and Muslims, the changing cartography of the Indian subcontinent through iterative partitions, and so on. We read descriptions of the geography and milieu he spent his boyhood in: house, neighbourhood, public transportation (trams, double-decker buses, trains).

We also find descriptions of Mallick’s sexual awakening: early experiences of masturbation, sexual encounters with older men that border on sexual assault but are never unambiguously that, and an intense sexual tryst with Manoj, a fellow ninth grader. There is something magical about the intensity of the latter sexual experience, but the reader nevertheless feels that the consummation of the attraction does not fully extinguish the longing Mallick feels for Manoj.

In the two short stories, we note some similar themes, detailed accounts of the cityscape, the nonconsensual groping of younger men’s genitals on crowded public transportation, and so on. But in both of these narratives, desire is imbricated with danger, and rendered more complex by Mallick’s self-awareness of the difference in age between himself and the men/boys he desires (he is an older man in the two texts). This is made particularly harrowing by the fact that the bureaucratic category of the ‘Senior Citizen’ grants those labelled as such certain privileges but also makes them endure specific indignities.

Chatterjee’s translation is very effective, but perhaps most notably so for those who are Bengali-speaking and already familiar with Kolkata. After all, there is only so much a translator can do when the text presumes a certain contextual literacy as it refers to things like the Thanthané Kali temple tram stop, hilsa from Canning, Hajabarala (1921). But Chatterjee’s greatest accomplishment here is that he has dusted off quite a bit of “homophobic neglect” and, consequently, made the world a richer place.

--- ENDS ---

Six Days in Fallujah: Preview of video game sparks social media backlash

Game designers accused of promoting militarism and whitewashing American war crimes in Iraq

The controversial "Six Days In Fallujah" shooter game is expected to be completed and released in full in 2024 (Gameplay image, Victura)

By Ayah El-Khaldi
Published date: 29 June 2023 

American game developer Highwire Games and publisher Victura have come under fire after releasing an early access version of Six Days in Fallujah, a first-person shooter game set during the US occupation of Iraq in 2004.

Since its initial announcement almost 18 years ago, the game has garnered continuous controversy, stemming from its attempted portrayal of the second Battle of Fallujah, a gruelling six-week-long conflict in 2004 involving American-led forces and Iraqi armed groups, recognised as one of the bloodiest battles of the US occupation.

Social media users have criticised the creators over the “macabre” decision to model the game, in which users can only play as members of the US counter-insurgency, on real life events and accuse it of whitewashing US crimes in Iraq.

A teaser of the game posted by an official account ignited a firestorm of criticism on Twitter, with social media users arguing that the game trivialises the horrors of war and disrespects the lives lost as a consequence of the US invasion.

Many took to the platform with a biting satirical tone, mimicking the language and style of the original trailer to point out the insensitive marketing tactics of the game.

“Experience what it’s like to be a war criminal as you kill, rape and torture innocent Iraqi civilians because you’re a career terrorist,” said one user.

According to the official website, players are promised an immersive experience in "real-life scenarios," where they step into the shoes of real US soldiers who narrate their first-hand experiences.

The website adds the game's commitment to “authenticity and respect” by mentioning the involvement of over 100 Marines, soldiers, and Iraqi civilians who have contributed photographs, videos, and consultation.

However, early access players pointed out the absence of an option to play from the perspective of Iraqis.

The game, which was released for early access players last week, is expected to be completed and released in full in 2024 across PC and console.

Amidst the ongoing uproar surrounding the exclusion of the Iraqi perspective, users brought attention to another game currently in development.

The alternative game, titled "War Operation™Full Contact", offers players the opportunity to experience the Iraq War from the point of view of an Iraqi soldier defending their country.

One user expressed anticipation, stating, "I'm waiting for my friends at Longmire Studio to finish their game. In it, you can fully play as the heroic Iraqi Resistance."

Speaking to MEE, Yusuf Erdogan and Nabyl Badji from Longmire Studio emphasised that while it is a game, it also serves as a historical work, meticulously reconstructing real-world elements.

"The development of this game began with the sole aim of offering an alternative vision of war video games, different from games advocating American militarism and heroism that are frequently present in realistic war video games."

The 'War Operation: Full Contact' game depicts Firdos Square, Baghdad in 2003, with a statue of Saddam Hussein (Longmire Studio)

Longmire stated that their precise replication of locations like Firdos Square, a significant location during the Iraq War, down to the hair salons, shops and restaurants, was intended to showcase Iraq not as a mere war-torn landscape but as a city like any other.

The developers denied that their game was created in direct response to “Six Days In Fallujah” but assured that their project “can certainly be a serious response to all games espousing these harmful ideologies detrimental to the Middle Eastern and Islamic communities worldwide".

As the social media debate rages on over the boundaries of video game content and the ethical responsibilities of game developers, several users pointed out that the "Six Days In Fallujah" account was actively blocking and concealing replies that were critical.

Middle East Eye has reached out to Victura for comment, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.

A record-high number of 40-year-olds in the US have never been married, study finds

Story by Ashley R. Williams • CNN

If you’ve made it to your 40th birthday without tying the knot, you’re not alone, according to a recent report from the Pew Research Center.

A look at 2021 US Census Bureau data found a quarter of 40-year-olds in the United States had never been married, the research center announced Wednesday.

The findings were a “significant increase” from the 20% of unmarried 40-year-olds in 2010, according to the study.

The Pew report found that 40-year-old men were more likely not to have been married than women and Black 40-year-olds were “much more likely” to have never wed than their peers of different races.

It also showed people of that age with at least a bachelor’s degree were less likely to have never walked down the aisle than 40-year-olds who had reached fewer educational milestones.

“One-third of those with a high school diploma or less had never married, compared with 26% of those with some college education and 18% of those with a bachelor’s degree or more education,” according to Pew.

The findings, which suggest a shift in Americans’ views of the importance of getting hitched, differed widely to the statistics reported decades ago in 1980, when just 6% of 40-year-olds had never married, Pew reported.

The research center conducted the analysis to look at how marriage rates have changed among 40-year-olds in the US from 1850 to 2021.

Its findings revealed a downward trend of delaying marriage or foregoing it altogether among people born during or after the 1960s, according to the report.

“In all prior generations of American adults, less than 1 in 5 adults had not tried marriage by age 40,” said Pew senior researcher Richard Fry in an email to CNN.

The new report focused on 40-year-olds to reflect the fact that adults tend to “take stock of their lives at the start of a new decade of life,” Fry said.

“This is somewhat outdated and changing, but fertility and marriage are somewhat related,” he said. “Some women may want to have children in the context of marriage. Since fertility wanes after the age of 40, 40 is an appropriate age to document marriage outcomes.”

About 1 in 4 of the 40-year-olds who were not yet married in 2001 had tied the knot by the time they turned 60, Pew reported.

If the pattern continues, the research center anticipated that “a similar share” of never-married 40-year-olds would also get married in the coming years.

“We are in new territory, so to speak, and we are monitoring how today’s 40-year-olds are faring going forward as they explore new ways to committed relationships,” Fry said.

A 2022 report from the University of Virginia’s National Marriage Project found the median age of a first marriage has increased over the last 50 years, “from 23 in 1970 to about 30 in 2021 for men, and from 21 in 1970 to 28 in 2021 for women.”

But a later marriage may not necessarily mean a better one: 81% of husbands who married earlier said they were satisfied in their marriages, compared to 71% of those who married later, the report found. There were similar results among women, though with a smaller difference – 73% of earlier-married women were satisfied, compared to 70% of later-married women, the report said.

How a Canadian scientist and a venomous lizard helped pave the way for Ozempic

Story by Katie Dangerfield • Wednesday, June 28,2023

Gila monsters come from America, and are one of only two poisonous species of lizard in the world. They eat small rodents, ants and the eggs of other animals.© Getty Images

In 1984, Dr. Daniel Drucker, an endocrinologist from the University of Toronto, discovered a hormone in the human gut that helped pave the way for popular diabetes drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy.

It's called glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) and its function is to regulate blood sugar levels and suppresses appetite.

"The first discoveries we made for what GLP-1 did naturally supported the development of treatments for diabetes," Drucker told Global News. "I did basic science. I really had no idea where this would lead. And now it's having a huge clinical impact globally, which is just great to see as a physician."

Drucker, along with others in the scientific community, wanted to turn GLP-1 into a drug to help people manage Type 2 diabetes. However, there was a problem: GLP-1 quickly disappears from the human body, positing difficulties in drug development.

Here enters the Gila monster, the largest lizard in North America.

This venomous reptile, native to the southern U.S., possesses the remarkable ability to endure extended periods without food. It can effectively slow down its metabolism and sustain stable blood sugar levels without compromising its health. Hormones in this reptile's venom had also previously been shown to regulate blood sugar.

Drucker wanted to know why and honed his research using venom from the Gila Monster.

In the mid-1990s, with the help of a professional reptile handler Bob Murphy, the senior curator of herpetology at the Royal Ontario Museum, Drucker's team tracked down the Gila monster in Utah.

"In the 1990s there were no gene banks, you couldn't look stuff up online and you actually had to clone stuff and in order to do that we had to get lizard DNA," Drucker said.

"We tried using lizard DNA that was in the freezer in Toronto at the Royal Ontario Museum and the cloning didn't work. And so our next step was to try and get a live lizard and obviously these are difficult to obtain, you can't walk into a pet store in Toronto and order these things."

Murphy then contacted the Utah Zoo, known for its expertise in lizard breeding, asking about the possibility of getting one for research.

Video: Dangers of taking Ozempic for weight loss

"I put out the call to the zoo and said, 'Hey, there may be the silver bullet for dealing with diabetes' and they came back and said yes."

The Gila monster was flown into Toronto Pearson Airport and Murphy picked up the lizard, adding that although it is venomous, he had "handled things far more dangerous."

"It was shipped in a wire cage because they are notorious for digging. And I took it out of the cage, and I pinned it on the table so I could grab it behind the head so we could euthanize it using animal protocols," Murphy said.

After experimenting on the lizard, Drucker and his team found that these reptiles are "very unique in that it has genes for Exendin-4, the protein that became the first diabetes GLP-1 treatment," he explained.

The hormone in the lizard venom, called Exendin-4, shares structural similarities with the human hormone GLP-1. But unlike, GLP-1, it does not quickly break down, meaning it remains active in the body for an extended period, making it a perfect candidate for a diabetes drug.

It's all about how long these treatments last in the body, explained Dr. Ehud Ur, an endocrinologist at St. Paul's Hospital and Vancouver General Hospital.

"That's really the whole trick around once-a-day treatments or once-a-week treatments," he said.

The Gila monster hormone was then harnessed and synthesized into a pharmaceutical drug. But this one was done by a biochemist south of the border, Dr. John Eng, who patented the lizard venom peptide. He called it Exenatide.

"Despite all the pharmaceutical companies in the world trying to develop a GLP-1-like drug, this lizard venom peptide became the first approved for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes anywhere in the world, and it was approved on April 28th, 2005," Drucker said.

Subsequently, a new generation of GLP-based drugs emerged that lasted even longer.

The most popular example of these advancements is Ozempic, a GLP-based drug that surpassed its predecessors.

Ozempic works by mimicking the GLP-1 hormone. It lowers blood sugar and slows down digestion, so people feel full longer.

Drucker said he believes Ozempic is a great tool to treat obesity and Type 2 diabetes. In fact, he has consulted with Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of Ozempic, to provide guidance on its development.

In an email to Global News, a spokesperson from Novo Nordisk said Drucker's research provided the basis for understanding GLP-1 receptor agonists, to be developed as pharmacologic therapies for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.

"Dr. Drucker’s research is cited in the publication outlining the discovery of once-weekly semaglutide (Ozempic)," the spokesperson said.

Video: Dr. Daniel Drucker talks about the ‘celebrity culture’ use of Ozempic

Because there is a short supply of Ozempic, he said he believes it should be used for people with health problems, and not for "casual weight loss."

Ozempic costs between $200 and $300 per month in Canada. According to Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic information website, the most common side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation and abdominal pain.

Drucker said although he discovered GLP-1, which is used in Ozempic, he does not receive any royalties as the patent has long expired.

Canada has played a major role in the area of diabetes treatment, Ur said.

In 1921, insulin was discovered by a team of scientists in a lab at the University of Toronto. And Drucker's work in the 1980s and 1990s helped pave the way for key diabetes drugs, like Ozempic.

"It's all critical, very important and a major contribution to the science," he said. "It's been really instrumental in the development of this area. So Canada can take great credit for it."

Drucker's decades-long research into the field of GLP-1 drugs in treating diabetes and other metabolic diseases has landed him several awards.

In February, he was awarded Israel's prestigious Wolf Prize for work on diabetes. In 2021, he was named a laureate of the 2021 Canada Gairdner International Award. He was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, and in 2015 he was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada.

He acknowledges his contribution to the field but stressed the discovery of these medications was done as a community.

"Certainly, we were among the first to make that discovery. But tens of thousands of people have studied these proteins and made new and better versions. So, it's really been a large collective effort from the scientific community based on our initial discovery," he said.

He added that the scientific community has made significant advancements in the development of more potent medications for diabetes and weight loss.

"More recently, we've seen even more weight loss obtained with the drug Tirzepatide," he said, adding that it's approved for Type 2 diabetes in the U.S. and Canada and may be approved for people with obesity by the end of this year.

"This is really going to change how we can improve the health of people with obesity in the years to come," he said.

Thousands of port workers in Canada's British Columbia go on strike

Story by Reuters • 

Longshoremen with the ILWU on strike at Canada's busiest port in Vancouver© Thomson Reuters

(Reuters) - Several thousand unionized port workers in Canada's western province of British Columbia went on strike after failing to reach a deal to renew an industry-wide contract that expired in March, a waterfront employers group said on Saturday.


Longshoremen with the ILWU on strike at Canada's busiest port in Vancouver© Thomson Reuters

The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) said it and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU Canada) had met Thursday and Friday in talks supported by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

"Unfortunately, a tentative agreement could not be reached," the BCMEA said in a statement.

ILWU Canada members were on strike at sites across British Columbia, the BCMEA said. Asked for comment, the union said it would issue a statement once there is a resolution to the dispute over the collective bargaining agreement, which covers about 7,500 employees at 30 terminals in the province.


Longshoremen with the ILWU on strike at Canada's busiest port in Vancouver© Thomson Reuters

The walkout could have serious consequences for Canada's economy and small businesses, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) said in a statement. The group urged the government to ensure port operations are maintained.

On Wednesday, the longshore workers union said it had issued a 72-hour strike notice.


Longshoremen with the ILWU on strike at Canada's busiest port in Vancouver© Thomson Reuters

In a Twitter post on Saturday, Canada's Minister of Labour Seamus O'Regan Jr., said the BCMEA and ILWU Canada remain at the bargaining table working toward a deal, adding that the federal mediators continue to support the parties in their negotiations.

($1 = 1.3236 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Anirudh Saligrama in Bengaluru; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

7,400 B.C. port workers begin strike that could impact global shipping

CBC News

5 hours ago

Port workers across B.C. went on strike Saturday morning, in a wide-ranging job action that could impact global shipping. The strike affects about 7,400 terminal cargo loaders and 49 of the province's waterfront employers at more than 30 B.C. ports including Canada's busiest, Vancouver.

 

West Coast port workers in Canada officially begin strike

Story by Alex Harring • CNBC


A union representing port workers in Western Canada officially began striking, an action that could have ripple effects reaching beyond the U.S.'s northern neighbor.

More than 99% of members of the union, who support West Coast ports such as Vancouver and Prince Rupert, voted to approve the strike last month.

Notice of the strike came Wednesday.


A gantry crane stands in the DP World Ltd. terminal at Port Metro Vancouver in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 

© Provided by CNBC

A union representing port workers in Western Canada officially began striking, an action that could have ripple effects reaching beyond the U.S.'s northern neighbor.

The International Longshore & Warehouse Union Canada's Longshore Division announced its labor strike began in a Saturday Facebook post signed by union president Rob Ashton. More than 99% of members of the union, who support West Coast ports such as Vancouver and Prince Rupert, voted to approve the strike last month. Notice of the strike came Wednesday.

"The ILWU Canada Longshore Division has not taken this decision lightly, but for the future of our workforce we had to take this step," Ashton said in the post. "We are still hopeful a settlement will be reached through FREE Collective Bargaining!"

The union has been open to bargaining since February with the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association, which represents port owners, and remains ready to continue working on a contract, Ashton added.

The employers association, known as the BCMEA, said in a statement it has worked to "advance proposals and positions in good faith, with the objective of achieving a fair deal at the table." It noted the role of federal mediators and said it was open to "any" solution that can get the parties to a balanced agreement, including a mediated arbitration process.

Cruises remain able to sail and bulk grain is moving, but containerized grain is not. Canadian labor minister Seamus O'Regan Jr. tweeted seemingly in support of continued negotiations between the two groups, noting that "the best deals for both parties are reached at the table."

The two parties are at odds over issues including automation, the use of contract work and the cost of living for workers. Two mediators appointed by the Canadian government oversaw discussions that ran through the end of May. Those discussions were followed by a so-called cooling-off period between the two groups.

A strike in the western ports occurring around holidays in both the U.S. and Canada could result in impacts on the American economy, industry followers say. The Port of Vancouver and Port of Prince Rupert are popular destinations for U.S. trade because these ports are among the major ports of call for goods arriving from Asia. Some logistics managers have told CNBC that rail service out of those ports is a lot faster than going through the port of Seattle or Tacoma.

The International Longshoremen's Association said it won't take diverted cargo from ports with striking workers, while the head of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represents West Coast port workers in the U.S., made a statement of solidarity with the Canadian union but did not mention any specific action.

The strike could lead to congestion in these ports with longshoremen unable to unload vessels. Congestion can turn into backlogs and lead to delayed pickups from terminals, which can then lead to late fees that are often passed on to consumers — a situation similar to what occurred during the pandemic.

"With the Canadian holiday and July Fourth holidays, the volume of containers moving are lighter than normal but now vessels are not being worked because of the strike," said Paul Brashire, vice president of drayage and intermodal at ITS Logistics. "If this strike continues into the middle of next week, it will impact congestion in the coming weeks at Chicago and Detroit rail terminals because of the amount of containers that would have built up and eventually moved to those rail terminals."

The Canadian ports handle nearly $225 billion in cargo each year, according to estimates, with items spanning industries such as home goods, electronics and apparel transported by rail. Approximately 15% of consumer trade going through the Port of Vancouver is headed to or coming from the U.S., according to port authority data. Around two-thirds of containerized import volume going to the Port of Prince Rupert are headed to the U.S., port data shows.

Three Class 1 railways operate at these ports: CN, Canadian Pacific and BNSF, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. In an email to CNBC, BNSF said it had no comment on a strike impact. CN could not be immediately reached for comment.

In a CPKC customer advisory issued Wednesday, the railway said: "The work stoppage related to this notice could impact port operations in British Columbia. At this time, we do not anticipate any significant service interruptions to result from this work stoppage and, as such, CPKC has not initiated embargoes related to a potential service interruption but we are closely monitoring developments to evaluate any impact to shipments on CPKC's network. We will provide updates as necessary."

Steve Lamar, CEO of the American Apparel and Footwear Association, told CNBC that the "fragile and recovering supply chains cannot tolerate a strike," while urging the Canadian government to help keep parties at the table.

Russia Adds Novaya Gazeta Europe Newspaper To List Of 'Undesirable Organizations'

The newspaper's chief editor, Kirill Martynov, vowed that his periodical would continue its operations.

Russia has declared the Latvia-based Novaya Gazeta Europe newspaper an "undesirable" organization amid the government's ongoing crackdown on civil society and independent organizations. The Prosecutor-General's Office announced the decision on June 28, saying the newspaper publishes "false information" about Russian armed forces involved in Moscow's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Novaya Gazeta Europe was established by Russian journalists after the Kremlin launched its full-scale aggression against Ukraine in February last year. The newspaper's chief editor, Kirill Martynov, vowed that his periodical would continue its operations.

Report criticizes US withdrawal from Afghanistan


A US State Department report, critical of President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump, has pointed to the inadequate preparedness for the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan in 2021.

Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden's administrations made mistakes before and after the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan in 2021, the US State Department found in a report released on Friday.

"The decisions of both President Trump and President Biden to end the U.S. military mission in Afghanistan had serious consequences for the viability of the Afghan government and its security," the review said.

The so-called Afghanistan After Action Review report, requested by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, found their decision "presented significant challenges" to the State Department.

The review said that "during both administrations there was insufficient senior-level consideration of worst-case scenarios and how quickly those might follow."
State department wasn’t prepared

Only 24 pages of a 85-page report were made public, the rest remained classified.

The were a lack of clear decision-making, an absence of centralized crisis management and confusing public messaging, it found.

It said there were shortcomings in the management plan concerning the Taliban.

It mentioned the department's failure to expand its crisis-management task force to combat the Taliban forces and to appoint a senior diplomat to "oversee all elements of the crisis response."

Without naming, the report also criticized Secretary of State Antony Blinken and said, "Naming a 7th floor principal ... would have improved coordination across different lines of effort."

White House report skipped critical viewpoint

Biden was defiant when asked Friday if he would admit to mistakes.

"Remember what I said about Afghanistan? I said al-Qaida would not be there," Biden said. "I said we'd get help from the Taliban. What's happening now? What's going on? Read your press. I was right."
In April,the White House had released a report summarizing the 2021 US withdrawal from Afghanistan based on the State Department's review and a similar study by the Pentagon.

The White House report had defended the conduct of the rapid exit of US troops from Afghanistan and had blamed the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan on Trump.

The report excluded the State Department's critical point of view on the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

mf/lo (AP, dpa, Reuters)

I’m one of the UK’s official climate change advisers – our new report says the country is no longer a world leader

THE CONVERSATION
Published: June 28, 2023 

The UK’s Climate Change Committee – the official independent advisory body of which I am interim chair – has spent the past three months poring over thousands of pages of government strategy documents to inform its latest annual progress report to parliament. And our confidence in the UK meeting its climate goals is now markedly less than it was in our previous assessment a year ago. Key opportunities have been missed.

Before the COP27 Glasgow climate summit in 2021, the UK committed to reduce emissions by 68% by 2030. Every country that signed the Paris Agreement set a pledge – and this was the UK’s. If the country is to deliver it in only seven years, the rate of annual emissions reduction outside the electricity supply sector must nearly quadruple, increasing from its current value of 1.2% per year to 4.5% per year. Every year that the government fails to up the pace, it becomes harder the next year – and the scale by which action needs to multiply becomes larger.

Even in the electricity supply sector, which has seen wind power surge and coal collapse, there is a lack of overall strategy to decarbonise the electricity grid and progress is being stymied by planning bottlenecks over building key bits of infrastructure. Other sectors are still way off target.

Progress on recommendations made by the CCC in 2022, by government department. On most recommendations the government has made ‘no’ or ‘insufficient’ progress. CCC 2023 Progress Report, CC BY-SA

The UK is not giving its industries the support they need to electrify and decarbonise and there is little sign of progress. The government has set a laudable ambition to decarbonise steel and develop carbon dioxide removal industries but there are few concrete plans in place.

While the US, EU and China invested billions in green industries to help the energy and cost of living crises, the UK has so far failed to do the same. This risks losing green jobs and industries to overseas competitors.

The government also needs to focus on developing skills across the workforce – a net zero economy will need many more heat pump installers, foresters and engineers in specific new green technologies. It will launch a workforce action plan early in 2024, which needs to clearly show how skills will be developed within different sectors and across regions

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Peatlands store huge amounts of carbon, but can emit that carbon if they’re drained, burned or turned into farms. Joe Dunckley / shutterstock

The farming and land use sector has not seen emissions reduce for more than a decade. Here the government failed to make any of the CCC’s priority recommendations from last year. Tree planting rates need to at least double to meet the government’s own targets and peat restoration rates need to increase by a factor of five. The government has not set out plans for a comprehensive land-use strategy or said how it will support healthier more sustainable diets.
Hero to zero

It is important to reflect on the reason why the UK must act responsibly. There’s “doing our bit”. There’s the need to consider the benefits the UK has had from emissions used in the past. But there’s also a fact that Britain remains a cultural and political leader – a country that punches way above its weight on the international scene. What it does matters. And despite its previous clear direction, the UK has recently sent confusing signals on its climate priorities.

It has gone from leading the world with its net zero commitment back in 2019, to showing support for new oil and gas and consenting to a new coal mine. It’s gone from hosting one of the most successful UN climate conferences ever, to undermining that legacy by risking delivery of its own commitments. This government has taken its foot off the throttle and the world has noticed.

Offshore wind is a rare success. Kevin Shipp / Shutterstock
Glimmers of transition

Our report isn’t all bad news. Glimmers of the net zero transition can be seen in growing sales of new electric cars and the continued deployment of renewable energy generation, but the scale up of action overall is worryingly slow. There seems to be a sense that this can wait until other crises have been dealt with. But many of the crises we are facing – such as the war in Ukraine, the cost of living here in the UK – are interconnected.

The answer isn’t dramatic or drastic (yet) – it’s about delivery and planning and step by step progress. It’s about reporting and transparency and learning from examples – both here and abroad. It’s all very achievable and the CCC has laid out some clear steps – department by department, sector by sector – that can be taken.

For the past 11 years, the Climate Change Committee has been led by John Gummer, Lord Deben. No one could have given more, for longer. It is no coincidence that he has been in post while a net zero target was brought into law and ambitious 2030 and 2035 emission reduction targets were set. Using evidence and political nous he has helped achieve strong cross-party support for climate policies. While he steps down this year, the CCC will continue to channel his spirit and his zeal – his tireless commitment has been an example to us all.

Author

Piers Forster
Professor of Physical Climate Change; Director of the Priestley International Centre for Climate, University of Leeds
Disclosure statement
Piers Forster receives funding from UK and EU research councils. He is a member of the UK Climate Change Committee.