'Concerning' map reveals where fish caught in the US are full of hazardous 'forever chemicals'


Morgan McFall-Johnsen
Fri, July 14, 2023 

A participant shows her catch during a virtual ice fishing competition on Gull Lake, Brainerd, Minnesota.

Rebecca Fudala/Reuters

Fish in lakes and streams across the US are contaminated with hazardous "forever chemicals."

A map of documented contamination sites shows how PFAS pollution is everywhere.

Eating a fish from a local lake could be equal to drinking PFAS-contaminated water for a month.

Eating fish from a local lake or stream could give you a giant dose of hazardous "forever chemicals," equal to nearly a month of drinking highly contaminated water, researchers have calculated.

Since their invention in the 1930s, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have multiplied and spread. Humans have created thousands of substances in the PFAS class, since their resistance to water and heat makes them useful in everyday products like food packaging and clothing.

But in recent decades, research has revealed that PFAS are harmful to human health. Peer-reviewed studies have linked them to some cancers, thyroid disease, decreased fertility, developmental delays, liver damage, high cholesterol, and reduced immune responses.

What's worse, PFAS only stick around and build up. They're nicknamed "forever chemicals" because they don't really break down. Now they're in soil, food, water, clothing, and even the dust in your home. One analysis found that rainfall across the entire planet contains unsafe levels of PFAS.

So it's no surprise that these substances have filled waterways across the US, where they can accumulate in the bodies of fish. Eating a fish can give you a concentrated dose of its entire lifetime of forever chemicals.

The problem is widespread across the US. The Environmental Working Group assembled a map, below, of the more than 500 samples of PFAS-contaminated fish. The instances span all 48 contiguous states.

Locations where PFAS-contaminated fish have been documented.

Copyright © Environmental Working Group, www.ewg.org. Reproduced with permission.

An interactive version of the map on the EWG website contains details about each site.

The map is based on EPA data from 2013 to 2015, in which the agency tested over 500 samples of fish from freshwater sources across the US.

EWG researchers published their analysis of that data in the journal Environmental Research in January. They found PFOS — one of the most notorious substances — was the largest contributor to PFAS contamination in fish.

An uncle and his nephew fish for salmon with a net on the Trinity River on the Hoopa Valley Reservation in California.Stephanie Keith/Reuters

Eating just one freshwater fish could be equal to a month of drinking water contaminated with 48 parts per trillion of PFOS, EWG researchers calculated. Last year, the EPA lowered the level of PFOS in drinking water it considers safe to 0.02 parts per trillion.

"To find this level of contamination in fish across the country, even in areas not close to industry where you might expect heavy contamination, is very concerning. These chemicals are everywhere," Linda Birnbaum, former director of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program, told CNN.
PFAS are everywhere, making the planet 'a bit inhospitable'

Some places have even issued advisories about PFAS contamination in fish, like Wisconsin in 2021, when the state warned people not to eat smelt from Lake Superior more than once per month.

But states don't always detect or warn people about PFAS contamination in their fish. So taking your fishing pole to the local river could be riskier than you think.

"When we start to really worry about using our environmental resources, that makes me really angry and annoyed," Ian Cousins, who led the analysis of PFAS levels in rainwater, told Insider in August.

He said he's also seen PFAS contamination advisories for fishing spots in Sweden, where he lives.

"We kind of made the planet a bit inhospitable," he added.

The new EWG study found that the median total PFAS level in freshwater fish was 278 times higher than that of commercially sold fish tested in the last three years.

A fish market in Reading Terminal Market, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Hannah Beier/Reuters

While avoiding PFAS altogether is probably impossible, it can help to know how to cut out little things that pack big doses — like certain fish in certain waterways.

Though the EPA's stringent new guidelines for PFOS and its equally notorious cousin, PFOA, are not currently enforceable, the agency is working to clean up some of the country's most contaminated drinking water.

The 2021 Infrastructure Bill designated $5 billion for that effort.

Correction: January 19, 2023 — An earlier version of this story misstated the number of samples of PFAS-contaminated fish in the map. There are more than 500 fish samples documented.

This post has been updated. It was originally published on January 19, 2023.

The US wanted to use hundreds of nukes to create an alternative to the Suez Canal

Team Mighty
Fri, July 14, 2023

(Photo by Mahmoud KHALED / AFP)

Israel’s early days were pretty tough. It was the youngest kid in a rough neighborhood and endured endless bullying from its Arab neighbors. After fighting for its independence in 1948, it would face wars for its survival in 1967 and 1973, and nearly launched the world into World War III in 1953. Times were, needless to say, pretty hard. The Suez Canal was one of the keys to Israel’s survival in those early days.

Since its construction in the late 1800s, it’s been a vital strategic waterway, providing the shortest link between the Mediterranean Sea and Asia. In 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Nasser nationalized the canal and threatened to cut off Israel’s access to it.

Israel, with the support of Britain and France, even invaded the Sinai Peninsula in 1952, the event that almost drew in the United States and the Soviet Union. Thankfully, the Suez Crisis was resolved before a larger war could break out, but Israel still needed to ensure its access through the Suez and the Straits of Tiran.

Luckily, just a few years later, the United States happened to be looking for more ways to use atomic energy peacefully while informing the public about the true power and threat of nuclear weapons. Specifically, it was looking to demonstrate the usefulness of atomic explosions in building critical infrastructure projects.

A lot of methods were tested using nuclear explosions, including blasting rock, exploring the Earth’s crust, and developing new methods of mineral prospecting. In Israel specifically, scientists came up with a scheme that would create a new Suez-like canal, linking the Red Sea to the Mediterranean through Israel’s Negev Desert – some 160 miles – using 520 nuclear bombs.

Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1962.

The Cold War was certainly an insane time. A memorandum written in 1963 was declassified in 1996, revealing the plans to cut a path of (literal) destruction across Israel using hundreds of two-megaton bombs; the conventional methods of creating such a canal would be “prohibitively expensive,” according to the memo. "It appears that nuclear explosives could be profitably applied to this situation."

“Profitably applied,” in this case, means four nuclear devices for every mile of canal, noting that 130 miles of the 160-mile stretch were uninhabited at the time. The only problem for the canal was the “political feasibility, as it is likely that the Arab countries surrounding Israel would strongly object to the construction of such a canal." Not to mention how the Israelis in the 30 miles of populated canal zone might feel about their country being nuked.

Despite the good intentions of using “peaceful” nuclear explosions, numerous tests were conducted that found these explosions, however peaceful they might have been, heavily irradiated the areas in which they were tested.

Other projects considered for use of peaceful nuclear explosions included widening the Panama Canal, creating a new canal through Nicaragua (called the Pan-Atomic Canal), mining projects in Arizona, and water transportation systems in California. Serious consideration was given to creating a harbor in Cape Thompson, Alaska using hydrogen bombs. It was reconsidered after they discovered Cape Thompson didn’t actually need a harbor.

Dozens of tests were conducted over the course of more than a decade, including hundreds of underground tests, but nothing came of the effort, and the funding to use peaceful nuclear blasts for civilian purposes quietly dried up by 1977.

Hunters Capture 19-Foot Python, the Longest Ever Caught in Florida: 'It Was Trying to Wrap Me Up'


Abigail Adams
Thu, July 13, 2023 a

The record-setting snake was found at Big Cypress National Preserve in Naples on July 10, according to The Conservancy of Southwest Florida

An image of the 19-foot python caught in Naples on July 10

A group of snake hunters recently captured the longest Burmese python ever recorded in Florida.

The record-setting snake — which measures in at 19 feet long and 125 lbs. — was found at Big Cypress National Preserve in Naples on July 10, according to a press release from The Conservancy of Southwest Florida.

Jake Waleri, 22, was among “a group of passionate python hunters” who helped wrangle the reptile, which is believed to be over 20 years old, according to CBS affiliate WINK-TV.

Even wilder? Some of his friends had never gone hunting for pythons before their encounter with the enormous snake, per the outlet.

Related: Florida County Quarantined After One of the World's 'Most Damaging Snails' Is Found in Area

The group initially attempted to catch the snake in a net, but when Jake attempted to grab the snake by its head, it put up a fight.

“The snake went absolutely crazy,” Jake told WINK-TV. “It was trying to wrap me up, trying to strangle me and my friends.”

The group then brought the animal to the Conservancy, where they learned that what they found was special.

An image of the 19-foot python caught in Naples on July 10

The previous record for longest python found in Florida was 18 feet and 9 inches, according to the nonprofit organization.

“We had a feeling that these snakes get this big and now we have clear evidence,” said biologist Ian Easterling in the Conservancy’s release. “Her genetic material may prove valuable for an eventual understanding of the founding population of South Florida.”

Meanwhile, Jake is happy to know that he helped “make an impact on South Florida’s environment.”

“We love this ecosystem and try to preserve it as much as possible,” he said.

Repay ‘debt of honour’ to Afghans who fought Taliban with Britain, Rishi Sunak told

Jon Stone,Adam Forrest and Holly Bancroft
Fri, July 14, 2023 


General Lord Dannatt (inset) joined calls for the prime minister to fulfil promises to refugees (Getty Images)

Military chiefs and MPs have called on Rishi Sunak to keep promises made to Afghan refugees, as they urged the government not to forget its “debt of honour” to those who fought with the UK against the Taliban.

In a letter to the prime minister, key figures – including former British army chief General Lord Dannatt and ex-Nato general secretary Lord Robertson – called for action to end the “disgrace” of those still stranded in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The demand to help Afghans who were promised sanctuary in Britain comes afterThe Independent repeatedly exposed failings in the government’s resettlement schemes.


Among those who have suffered at the hands of the system are the Afghan air force pilot who served alongside coalition forces but is now threatened with deportation to Rwanda because he arrived in the UK in a small boat.

There is also the scandal of nearly 2,000 Afghans who have been deemed eligible to come to the UK, but have been abandoned in hotels in Pakistan still waiting for relocation – an issue first exposed by The Independent. The refugees, who helped British forces, have been accepted under resettlement programmes and moved from their homes in Afghanistan, but have not been given the final green light to come to the UK.

MP Dan Jarvis, a former army officer who served in Afghanistan, today praised The Independent for “shining a light” on the issue as he joined a chorus of voices demanding the prime minister pay attention to those who have been “forgotten and ignored”.

The letter calls on Mr Sunak to “urgently” establish control over the situation, warning that movement from Afghanistan to the UK “effectively ceased” seven months ago, leaving thousands stranded in dangerous situations.

Mr Jarvis told The Independent: “I think Afghanistan is very much in the rear-view mirror and there isn’t the political will to honour the commitments that were made previously.

“These are not economic migrants, these are not people who just want to leave Afghanistan for a better life. These are people who are and will be murdered by the Taliban if they do not get to a place of safety.

“These are people who risked their lives to serve alongside us in support of our mission, at our request, and to whom the UK prime minister made a commitment to shift heaven and earth to get them to a place of safety.”

The former officer said he was “grateful” for The Independent’s campaigning on the issue, adding: “I really appreciate the fact that you’re shining a light on it, because you... have done really good work in trying to keep the flame alive with this.”

Latest figures show that, since the fall of Kabul, 21,387 people have been relocated to the UK under Arap – designed to bring those who helped British forces during the war to the UK – and ACRS, the general scheme for at-risk Afghans applying for resettlement.

But there are many who have not yet made it to the UK. Those accepted under the schemes are initially issued with temporary visas to neighbouring Pakistan where they are put in hotels or holding centres before accommodation can be found for them in Britain.

In the year from September 21 to November 22, 1,377 Afghans were relocated from Pakistan to the UK. But since December last year the government has quietly stopped moving people from there on to the UK, the letter says, with just six relocated to Britain in that time.

According to latest figures, this has left 1,953 Afghans living in “limbo”. The letter’s signatories warned that figure could be close to 4,000 in a year’s time.

Some campaigners claim the government has stopped the flights from Pakistan because it is sensitive to criticism over refugees being housed in hotels in Britain, due to a lack of other suitable accommodation.

But the apparent decision to clear people from hotels before more Afghans are allowed to come to Britain under the scheme means the bottleneck has been moved to Pakistan.

“Their numbers are growing, their lives are on hold, and they are desperate,” the letter says.

“Some have been there for a year, and they are facing a second year. They believe that the British government is working to enable them to start their new lives in the UK. They are mistaken.

“These are people who have passed the rigorous Arap/ACRS tests, they have risked their lives, alongside our own service men and women, to support the UK’s objectives in Afghanistan. It is inconceivable that we should renege on our debt of honour, and forget them.”

Top military figures and politicians who have pursued ministers on the fate of the stranded Afghans say they have been met with a lack of political will in government and found a chaotic situation in which no department has taken responsibility for bringing them to safety.

The letter, meanwhile, warns there “is no plan”.

General Sir John McColl, the army’s former deputy supreme allied commander for Europe, said: “The plight of those Afghans ignored and forgotten in Pakistan is a disgrace. The government must honour its pledge to support those who fought and died alongside us so bravely.”

The former prime minister’s special envoy to Afghanistan told The Independent the government appeared to be “quite happy for this issue to be forgotten and swept under the carpet”, adding: “They’re out of sight and therefore out of mind.”

Mr Jarvis added: “It's almost impossible not to conclude that there isn't a plan and that those people have been abandoned.”

Lord West, a former head of the Royal Navy, told The Independent: “We’re letting people down. We owe the Afghans – so we jolly well ought to get on and do it. Having made all sorts of very good statements, it doesn’t look like we aren’t resettling people we said we would.”

He added: “If it’s an administrative cock-up it must be resolved. If it’s not a cock-up then it goes against government policy. The accommodation seems to be the real problem. It’s not beyond the wit of man to resolve this.”

Lord Robertson told The Independent there was a “moral commitment” made to Afghans eligible for Arap that had been allowed to “drift”.

The former Labour defence secretary said: “There is an outstanding obligation that they need to deliver on. Urgency is appropriate given the promises and commitments made.”

Lord Robertson also called for a rethink on the case of the Afghan pilot refused under the Arap scheme.

The pilot, threatened with deportation to Rwanda, flew more than 30 combat missions alongside coalition forces. As part of the Afghan air force, he went on sorties planned and designed by British and US commanders in the run-up to the fall of Kabul in 2021.

“It seems ludicrous to threaten someone like that with deportation when we committed to help those who helped us,” he added. “Other countries have lived up to their obligations – we should do the same.”

Other signatories of the letter include former international development secretary Rory Stewart, former cabinet secretary Lord Sedwill, and Dr Sara de Jong, co-founder of The Sulha Alliance, a charity which supports Afghan interpreters and other local civilians who assisted British forces.

The Independent has contacted the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence for comment.

Robert Bosch going all-in on hydrogen technologies

Alan Adler
Fri, July 14, 2023 

Robert Bosch will invest $2.6 billion in hydrogen technologies by 2026, including on fuel cells whose first customer will be Nikola Corp. (Photo: Bosch)

Germany-based automotive supplier Robert Bosch expects to post $5.3 billion in sales by the end of the decade from hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen internal combustion engines and electrolyzers that make hydrogen.

It is the latest proclamation that hydrogen is emerging as a meaningful alternative to battery-electric vehicles, which lead the transition to zero tailpipe emissions by at least a couple of years, according to industry leaders.

Bosch became the second industry player this week to add hydrogen as a fuel for internal combustion engines, following Daimler Truck and engine maker Cummins, which is investing $452 million in a plant in Jamestown, New York, to make fuel-agnostic variants of its X15 engine. Bosch is investing $2.6 billion in hydrogen between 2021 and 2026.

Growing adoption of hydrogen ICE

Bosch is developing systems for port and direct injection of hydrogen. Hydrogen ICEs are particularly suitable for heavy vehicles on long hauls with especially heavy loads.

“A hydrogen engine can do everything a diesel engine does, but on top of that, it is carbon neutral,” Markus Heyn, member of the Bosch board of management and chairman of Bosch Mobility, said in a news release from Bosch Tech Day 2023 in Stuttgart. “It also allows a fast and cost-effective entry into hydrogen-based mobility.”

Interest in hydrogen ICE powertrains grew following a recent European Commission decision declaring them as zero emission despite a small amount of carbon dioxide created through the burning of hydrogen as a fuel.

A major advantage of hydrogen engines is that more than 90% of the development and manufacturing technologies needed already exist. Bosch expects to start production in 2024, three years sooner than Cummins. It has four orders for production projects from major economic regions and expects six-figure unit volumes by 2030.

Bosch adding to fuel-cell efforts

Bosch is leveraging several German locations and one in Anderson, South Carolina, to advance work in hydrogen fuel cells.

The Bosch plant in Bamberg, Germany, will supply the Feuerbach factory with the fuel-cell stack. The electric air compressor and recirculation blower come from the Bosch plant in Homburg, Germany.

An early customer is Nikola Corp., which begins production of a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) — the Class 8 Tre — in the third quarter from a plant in Coolidge, Arizona. Nikola has a license to assemble the modules at its plant.

“Bosch is one of the very few companies that are capable of mass producing technology as complex as fuel-cell stacks,” Heyn said. “We don’t just have the required systems expertise but also the capability of quickly scaling up new developments to mass production.”

Making the equipment that makes hydrogen

Like battery-powered engines, an abundance of fuel cells means little without the infrastructure. Bosch joins Cummins and a host of other suppliers in making electrolyzers with proton exchange membranes. They effectively the reverse of the energy conversion method used in mobile fuel cells.

The company intends to make 1.25-megawatt prototypes for pilot applications this year. Volume production is on track for 2025.

Bosch also is working on solid-oxide fuel cells that can be used for the distributed supply of power and heat. In a pilot project at a hospital near Cologne, Germany, Bosch seeks to achieve overall efficiency of 90%. The micropower plant initially will run on natural gas. It can be converted to green hydrogen made from renewables.

“Bosch knows its way around hydrogen and Bosch is growing with hydrogen,” Bosch Chairman Stefan Hartung said at the Bosch Tech Day.

Nikola stock surging on hydrogen fuel-cell truck and supply deals

Pras Subramanian
·Senior Reporter
Thu, July 13, 2023 

Nikola stock (NKLA) is rocketing higher after the electric truck maker announced two big deals for its hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

First off, small-scale hydrogen producer BayoTech agreed to a supply deal with Nikola HYLA’s division, which is its hydrogen distribution and dispensing solution for commercial trucking applications using hydrogen fuel-cell technology. BayoTech has agreed to purchase up to 50 Nikola Class 8 hydrogen fuel cell trucks over the next five years, with the first twelve trucks slated for delivery in 2023 and 2024. Nikola says its fuel-cell trucks have a range of up to 500 miles.

The HYLA tie-up with BayoTech will in turn see Nikola purchase up to 10 of BayoTech’s HyFill hydrogen transport trailers, which are required to distribute high-pressure hydrogen from production sites to refueling stations.

Nikola Corporation (NKLA)  View quote details

Secondly, Nikola supplier Bosch said at its Tech Day 2023 in Stuttgart on Thursday that it would begin volume production of its fuel-cell power modules, with Nikola serving as Bosch’s pilot customer.

Bosch fuel cells will be used in Nikola’s Class 8 truck, which has first deliveries to customers starting in North America in Q3 of this year.

“Bosch is one of the very few companies that are capable of mass-producing technology as complex as fuel-cell stacks. We don’t just have the required systems expertise, but also the capability of quickly scaling up new developments to mass production,” Markus Heyn, Bosch board member and chairman of Bosch Mobility, said in a statement. Bosch says it will invest $2.8 billion into hydrogen fuel technology through 2026, which is over $1 billion more than it was planning to spend.

Bosch's hydrogen fuel cell production line in Germany

Nikola shares traded up nearly 60% in late afternoon trading.

In an interview with Yahoo Finance earlier this year, Nikola CEO Michael Lohscheller said the company was forecasting production of "between 375 and 500 trucks" for the year and that the company plans to temporarily pause production at its Coolidge, Arizona, plant in order to modify the assembly line to accommodate both hydrogen fuel cell and battery electric assembly. The company said it is also leaning more toward boosting production of its hydrogen fuel cell trucks and assembling battery-electric models on a "build-to-order" basis.

It hasn’t been all good news for Nikola recently, as three weeks ago a fire damaged multiple battery-electric trucks at its Arizona headquarters. At the time Nikola said it suspected "foul play," but the Phoenix Fire Department concluded its investigation and found "no evidence at all of arson," meaning a possible battery issue may have been the cause of the fire.

Phoenix and Tempe fire crews battle multiple electric vehicle fires at the Nikola Motor Co. headquarters in Phoenix on June 23, 2023.

Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. 

Doctors walk out in UK health service's biggest strike

AFP
Thu, July 13, 2023 

This is the latest in a wave of public and private sector pay disputes sparked by a cost-of-living crisis (Daniel LEAL)

Hospital doctors in England on Thursday staged the biggest walkout in the history of the UK's state-funded National Health Service, prompting fears for patient safety.

The unprecedented five-day stoppage over pay and staff retention is the latest in eight months of industrial action across the NHS, which is already reeling from a vast pandemic backlog.

"The NHS has been running on goodwill and now this is the last chance to change that," said 27-year-old junior doctor Arjan Singh, on a picket line outside London's University College Hospital.

Colleagues were planning to leave for countries that "care about their doctors", he said.

Nearly 7,000 doctors requested documents for an overseas job application last year, according to the British Medical Association (BMA) union, a record high.

"Doctors have realised they work in a global market," said Singh. "They're not restricted to this country."

Nurses, ambulance staff and other medical workers have all joined picket lines in recent months, adding to pressures on patient appointments.

The industrial action by junior doctors -- those below consultant level -- is scheduled to run until 7:00 am (0600 GMT) on Tuesday.

It comes against a wider backdrop of walk-outs across the economy from train drivers to lawyers over the past year as the UK battles a crippling cost-of-living crisis.

Senior hospital doctors, known as consultants, in England will begin a 48-hour strike on July 20, with radiographers following suit from July 25.

- 'Destructive' -

The BMA's Junior Doctors Committee says medics have effectively had a 26-percent pay cut in real terms in the last 15 years, as salaries have failed to keep pace with soaring inflation.

The government claims that backdating their pay to reflect increases in the cost of living since 2008 is too costly and has instead offered an extra five percent, as it battles to reduce inflation.

"Today marks the start of the longest single walkout by doctors in the NHS's history, but this is still not a record that needs to go into the history books," BMA leaders Robert Laurenson and Vivek Trivedi said.

"We can call this strike off today if the UK government will simply follow the example of the government in Scotland and drop their nonsensical precondition of not talking whilst strikes are announced and produce an offer which is credible to the doctors they are speaking with."

Similar stoppages in June and April resulted in massive disruption with hundreds of thousands of hospital appointments and operations rescheduled.

"The complete inflexibility we see from the UK government today is baffling, frustrating, and ultimately destructive for everyone who wants waiting lists to go down and NHS staffing numbers to go up," Laurenson and Trivedi added.

A record nearly 7.5 million people were waiting to start routine hospital treatment at the end of May, according to data released on Thursday.

Of those around 385,000 had been waiting for a year.

Unions meanwhile on Thursday won a court battle with the government over law changes they said allowed agencies supply employers with workers to plug gaps left by striking staff.

The High Court in London quashed the changes which unions, including the leading health sector union Unite, argued undermined the "right to strike".

har/phz/jj

Junior doctors in England to start 5-day strike – as health boss warns NHS will lose £100m

Rebecca Thomas
Thu, July 13, 2023 

NHS health chiefs say they are “fed up” with the “permanent crisis” of strikes and warn this week’s junior doctors’ walkout will cost the NHS well over £100 million.

Health bosses are “frustrated” at the ongoing industrial action and say hospitals are struggling to get staff to cover shifts, while tens of thousands of appointments and surgeries will be cancelled each day.

It comes after months of nurses’ strikes, while junior doctors will take action from Wednesday for five days, followed by NHS consultants and then radiographers.

NHS forecasts for the first three-day doctors’ strikes showed the costs of covering shifts and the loss of payments for cancelled operations amounted to £100 million across all 215 NHS trusts. Health bosses now fear the five-day strike could cost almost double.

A group of three hospitals in London St George’s, Epsom and St Helier hospitals, warned the latest walkout, which will run over the weekend and into Monday, could be the “toughest yet”.

NHS medical director Dr Stephen Powis has warned tens of thousands of patient appointments and operations will be cancelled each day due to the action.

The warnings come as a survey of health leaders by NHS Providers, which represents trusts, revealed one-third of hospital chiefs are not confident they will meet promises made by prime minister Rishi Sunak to cut NHS waiting lists.

One hospital chief in the south of England warned ahead of the strikes: “It is annual leave season and we are loathe to cancel leave as this is now becoming a ‘perma crisis’ and we are conscious of avoiding staff burnout.”

“We are now covering the weekend which is more challenging … Staff [are] feeling that the Department of Health attitude that industrial action won’t impact on the elective recovery plan is beginning to lack authenticity and lose the locker room.”

They warned it has been harder to find staff to cover junior doctors’ shifts as “they feel there is no end in sight and they are trying to manage their own wellbeing”.

According to a report by NHS Providers, more than a third of trusts are not confident they will hit the government’s target to eliminate the number of patients waiting more than a year for care by March 2025.

It also showed no confidence the NHS will be able to meet other targets, including having 75 per cent of patients urgently referred for suspected cancer diagnosed or cancer ruled out within 28 days.

A third also said they were either very unlikely or unlikely to hit targets for 76 per cent of patients to be seen within four hours in A&E.

Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers said: "We are now seeing an impact on productivity and cost in terms of strike action.”

"Some of the biggest trusts saw a cost of £2.5 to £3 million. Scaling up to all trusts, that is a reported cost of £100 million for the April strikes alone."

"There’s a high level of frustration and deep concern that there doesn’t appear to be a resolution in sight. The consequences of ongoing industrial on patient waits and on staff morale, and indeed the mounting costs of strike action is something that we just can’t allow to become business as usual.”

One NHS chief said: “So it’s costing us close to a million pounds each time there’s a three-day strike. So add that up, across, each time we have a strike across the country, there’s an awful lot of money being lost to this process.

They added: “I don’t think you can underestimate the tensions, and the potential with this good division that this creates, between obviously leaders, and staff, but also among staff themselves.”

Another said: “It’s cost us circa a million for each [strike], and actually, that was each three-day strike. So you could do the math on five days … I’m really worried about the kind of long-term damage it does to relationships within the NHS ... I’m fed up of industrial action.”

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “It is disappointing that the BMA is going ahead with further strike action. This five-day walkout by junior doctors will have an impact on thousands of patients, put patient safety at risk and hamper efforts to cut NHS waiting lists.”

UK
Teaching unions prepared to call off strikes after pay offer


Louisa Clarence-Smith
Thu, July 13, 2023 

Teaching unions are set to end strike action after the pay rise offer - Guy Smallman/Getty Images

Education union leaders have said they are prepared to call off strikes after teachers were offered a 6.5 per cent pay rise.

All four teaching unions said they will urge members to accept the offer. The Government has agreed to provide additional funding for the pay rises, as well as a hardship fund of up to £40 million to support schools facing the greatest financial challenges.

“This deal will allow teachers and school leaders to call off strike action and resume normal relations with the Government,” union leaders said in a joint statement with Rishi Sunak and Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary.

They said the pay deal “recognises the vital role that teachers play in our country and ensures that teaching will continue to be an attractive profession”.

The Government said it had also agreed to bring forward wider reforms to reduce teacher and leader workload in partnership with all four teaching unions. The unions will now put the deal to their members.

Union leaders said the Government had agreed to increase school budgets by around £1 billion to cover three per cent pay rises. Funding for the remaining 3.5 per cent pay uplift will have to be found from existing school budgets.

Dr Patrick Roach, the NASUWT general secretary, said: “We are confident that the additional funding for schools should enable every school and academy in the country to deliver the 6.5 per cent award in full from this September.

“Because of the actions we have taken, NASUWT members can now expect more money in their pockets at a time when the financial pressures on them continue to bite.”

The Government’s 6.5 per cent pay offer is in line with the recommendations of the School Teachers’ Review Body, an independent panel appointed by the Government to advise on salary increases.

The funding boost for schools comes on top of the additional £2 billion given to schools in the Autumn Statement.

Mrs Keegan, who privately urged the Treasury to agree to a 6.5 per cent pay rise for teachers last week, said: “This is the highest pay award for 30 years. Teachers and school leaders work hard every day, and this pay award recognises the vital role they play in shaping children’s lives.”

Teachers on an average classroom salary in England of £41,604 are in line for a £2,700 pay rise if a 6.5 per cent average salary increase is accepted.

Starting salaries for teachers are due to rise by 7.1 per cent to £30,000 for the next academic year under plans previously agreed by the Government.

Mr Sunak hailed the deal with unions as a “major breakthrough” and said: “All teaching unions have just announced that they’re suspending all planned strikes immediately.

“Teachers will return to the classroom. Disruption to our children’s education will end. And the unions have themselves confirmed that this pay offer is properly funded, and so they’re recommending to their members an end to the entire dispute.”

‘A good place to stop industrial action’

The National Education Union (NEU) said it had received assurances that the funding boost of around £1 billion for schools will not come from cuts to frontline education services, including special educational needs funding, schools’ capital, maintained nursery or 16-19 funding provision.

Instead, it is understood that the Treasury has given the Department for Education more flexibility to retain unspent funding and use it to help cover the pay rise.

Kevin Courtney, the NEU joint general secretary, told The Telegraph: “What we understand is that the Treasury is allowing the department to be more flexible, so they do not have to return to the Treasury unspent monies.”

He said he understood that, in future years, the department would need to be given more money to cover the pay rise. A ballot of union members will take place later this month.

Mr Courtney added: “We do think it’s good enough to put to them, and I think that most members will want to take the 6.5 per cent and the £900 million.”

“I think they will say to us, ‘if we end industrial action, we will carry on campaigning’. It’s not that we think schools have got all the money we need, and teachers all the pay they need. We do think it’s a good place to stop industrial action.”

New creature — with no eyes and nearly 500 legs — found lurking under California’s soil

40
Daniella Segura
Thu, July 13, 2023 at 3:50 PM MDT·2 min read

A new species, a creature with no eyes but nearly 500 legs, has been found lurking beneath Southern California’s soil, according to a government agency.

The tiny, pale millipede, named Illacme socal, has been found “thriving in the soil” under Orange and Los Angeles counties, the National Science Foundation said in a June 21 news release.

“The creature is adapted to life underground and likely never surfaces, so the more than 18 million people in the region likely don’t know what lurks beneath their feet,” the agency said.

The tiny, pale millipede, named Illacme socal, has been found “thriving in the soil” under Orange and Los Angeles Counties, researchers said.

Paul Marek, an associate professor of systematics at Virginia Tech, discovered the species at “Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park, a 2,500-acre area of rivers and woods in Orange County just south of Anaheim,” in April 2018, according to the agency and findings published in ZooKeys.

The agency said Marek also found another “possible specimen, a juvenile millipede,” in Eaton Canyon Natural Area just north of Pasadena.

The biggest differences between the creatures are the number of legs they boast, as well as how many rings they have, researchers said. The females tend to be larger than the males and “have more rings and legs.”

While its appearance may be a bit off putting, even fitting of a “Hollywood horror movie,” the agency said the tiny creature “serves a critical role in the area’s ecosystem.”

While its appearance may be a bit off-putting, even fitting of a “Hollywood horror movie,” the NSF said the tiny creature “serves a critical role in the area’s ecosystem.”

“Millipedes break down dying and decaying material from plants, fungi and other sources and provide key nutrients to the soil that help support new life,” according to the agency.

Though the “grossly understudied” species “represent the next frontier of discovery,” it is “threatened by encroaching human settlement and habitat loss” and conserving the species is of “high importance,” according to researchers.

Marek found the species living in only two places, but he believes it “likely lived in other parts of the LA-metro area before development led to habitat loss,” the agency said.

“Studying and cataloging millipedes and other species that live in and feed the ground below us can help us to make informed decisions to conserve biodiversity on this planet and also help preserve the environment that humans also depend on,” Marek said in the agency’s release.

CAPITALI$M IS NOT DEMOCRACY

Xi Gets Serious on Boosting Private Sector as Economy Slumps

Bloomberg News
Fri, July 14, 202


(Bloomberg) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping finally appears to be extending an olive branch to private businesses battered in recent years by regulatory crackdowns and the world’s most restrictive Covid-19 policies.
Officials have made a series of high-profile actions designed to telegraph the Chinese government’s backing for private firms, as the nation’s post-pandemic recovery risks being caught in a confidence trap. The Chinese leader has vowed to treat foreign investors better and called for greater opening up in recent weeks.

That mission has seen top officials roll out the red carpet for Elon Musk and other executives, draw a line under a tech crackdown that tanked the world’s biggest IPO, and even visit US-based Bain & Company’s Shanghai office in an apparent end to immediate worries about a probe into consultancies that spooked global investors.

The Hang Seng Tech Index is on track for its best week this year following Beijing’s positive signals to the sector, although the gauge fell about 0.2% Friday afternoon in Hong Kong.

China’s outreach comes as the nation’s post-pandemic recovery loses steam. The nation’s property market is showing signs of weakness, exports are shrinking and deflationary risks loom. Without “the lure of a rapidly growing economy,” China’s is finding it difficult to attract Western business, said Diana Choyleva, chief economist at Enodo Economics, a London-based research firm focused on China.

“Deflationary signs add to the impression of a troubled economy, making it harder for Beijing to recruit foreign capital to its efforts to counter US power,” she added.

Perhaps China’s clearest signal of a shift in attitude toward the private sector was the praise heaped this week on tech companies, which have seen billions in market value wiped out due to Xi’s regulatory crackdown.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang called Internet firms the “trailblazers of the era” in a meeting on Wednesday with senior executives from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and ByteDance Ltd. Meanwhile, the nation’s top economic planning agency praised major online platforms for supporting the nation’s technological innovation.

China’s efforts to convince investors the tech sector is open for business will be hampered by recent moves to insert Communist Party officials on boards and reduce big firms’ market shares, said Andrew Collier, a managing director at Orient Capital Research Inc.

“Investors know there are sharp limits on growth for tech firms and, therefore, investing in them is highly risky,” he said. “There will be some opportunities for new listings and short-term trading options but the overall sector is no longer as attractive as it once was.”

Still, the recent gestures at least imply authorities want to help create more jobs, bolster the real economy and drive the country’s competitive edge internationally, said Willer Chen, an analyst at Forsyth Barr Asia.

Another sign of encouragement for foreign investors: Chinese financial regulators have invited some of the world’s biggest investors to a symposium next week, Reuters reported, citing three unidentified people.

Renewed Exchanges

China has already removed one major barrier to international business exchanges in the form of Covid controls that closed borders for three years. Members of China’s powerful Politburo met with Musk and Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., in May, signaling that the return of such executives is welcome.

Business delegations from Japan and France have also visited this year, while the chief executive officers of Intel Corp. and Mastercard Inc., as well as senior representatives from Western Digital Corp. and Qualcomm Inc., are in China this week, according to an agenda seen by Bloomberg News.

Xi himself greeted US billionaire Bill Gates in Beijing last month calling him “the first American friend I’ve met in Beijing this year.” That warm message contrasted with the tougher meetings the Chinese leader and other officials had with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken days later.

The world’s largest economies are locked in a trade war that’s seen both sides impose export controls. A survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in China earlier this year found that the Asian giant is no longer a top three investment priority for a majority of US firms, as geopolitical tensions simmer.

There are some early signs frictions are easing. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said her meetings with Chinese officials in Beijing last week had put ties on a “surer footing.” Still, Yellen told her counterparts in Beijing that “coercive” and “punitive” actions against US firms in China were a major concern for businesses.

Earlier this year, China conducted a series of raids on consultancy firms relied on by foreign investors. US consultancy Bain & Company said this week it had “warmly” welcomed a visit by top Shanghai officials days before Yellen’s trip. That marked officials’ first known visit to the firm since a wider probe of the industry over national security concerns.

Despite China’s efforts Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief Asia Pacific economist at Natixis, said private sector “confidence has clearly not been restored.” She identified three main lingering problems: muted domestic demand, tighter national security regulations and the US and European Union stepping up exports controls to China.

“Being present in China is becoming a liability – rather than an asset – as far as global investors’ reactions are concerned,” she added.

Tian Xuan, a Tsinghua University professor, said the government should formulate red lines so companies can operate with confidence in a frontpage article Wednesday in the state-run Securities Times.

Distilling what was at stake for Xi’s government, Tian said: “What is the most important problem in the private economy now? It’s the lack of confidence among private entrepreneurs.”

--With assistance from Charlotte Yang and Lucille Liu.

Bloomberg Businessweek

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

Singapore minister, tycoon arrested in rare high-level graft probe


Billionaire hotelier Ong Beng Seng attends a news conference in Singapore

Updated Fri, July 14, 2023

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -A Singapore government minister and a property tycoon were arrested this week, the anti-graft body said on Friday, without giving details of what prompted the rare high-level probe that has gripped the city state.

Transport Minister S. Iswaran and managing director of Hotel Properties Ong Beng Seng were arrested on Tuesday and subsequently released on bail, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) said in an emailed response to a Reuters query.

The CPIB said on Wednesday that it had launched an investigation into Iswaran.

The case is rare in Singapore, a top Asian financial hub that prides itself on a corruption-free government. Cabinet ministers are paid handsomely to discourage graft, with some ministers' annual salaries exceeding S$1 million ($758,000).

Ong is known for bringing Formula One races to the city-state and his company said he is cooperating with the anti-graft agency.

Iswaran's passport has been impounded, but the CPIB allowed Ong to travel out of Singapore on Friday.

"CPIB assessed and acceded to Ong’s request to travel overseas. Ong’s bail quantum was also increased to S$100,000. Upon his return, Ong is required to report to CPIB and surrender his passport to the bureau," said the anti-graft body.

The Singapore-listed Hotel Properties Ltd said in a statement no charges had been filed against Ong, adding that he was asked by the CPIB to provide information on his interactions with the transport minister.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Wednesday said he had instructed Iswaran to take a leave of absence until the investigations are completed.

The Prime Minister's Office said on Thursday that Iswaran was not allowed to leave Singapore during the investigation and he would have no access to any official resources or government buildings, local media reported.

The 79-year-old Ong's company has around 38 hotels and resorts operating under brands that include COMO, Four Seasons, Hard Rock Hotels and Concorde, according to the London Stock Exchange's Refinitiv Eikon.

Shares in Hotel Properties Ltd fell as much as 7% on the news and were last down 4.4%, heading for their worst session in more than two years.

Malaysia-born Ong and his wife, Christina, had a net worth of $1.75 billion in 2022, according to Forbes.

(Reporting by Reuters staff and Xinghui Kok; Writing by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Martin Petty, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Nick Macfie)

Singapore Arrests Minister, Property Tycoon in Graft Probe

Chanyaporn Chanjaroen, Faris Mokhtar and Philip J. Heijmans
Fri, July 14, 2023

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore said it arrested Transport Minister S. Iswaran and property tycoon Ong Beng Seng earlier this week in a graft probe that has challenged the city-state’s reputation for clean governance.

Both were arrested on July 11 and subsequently released on bail, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau said in a statement late Friday in response to queries by Bloomberg News. Their passports were impounded, but Ong was allowed to travel overseas on Friday after a request was approved.

The probe came to light earlier this week when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong ordered Iswaran to go on leave. Billionaire Ong, the managing director of Hotel Properties Ltd., was asked to provide information on his interactions with Iswaran, according to a company statement to the Singapore stock exchange Friday.

While officials have yet to spell out the scope of their investigation, it’s the first time since 1986 that a Singapore graft probe has involved a senior minister. It comes at a particularly tricky time for the ruling People’s Action Party, which has long championed its corruption-free image. The party has faced a series of controversies in recent months as it navigates a leadership transition and voter unhappiness over rising living costs.

“When it comes to corruption, I think it’s a mother of all issues,” said Bilveer Singh, deputy head of the department of political science at the National University of Singapore. “The pressure on the prime minister to act and get to the bottom of it is so strong.”

Singapore is preparing for a presidential election to be held by September, allowing its citizens to vote on a largely ceremonial role. A general election must be held by 2025. The ruling party, which has been in power since Singapore’s independence in 1965, is also laying the ground work for a new generation of leaders to take over. Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong is being primed to succeed Lee, who has been premier since 2004.

“We will be upfront and transparent,” Wong said in a Facebook post earlier this week. “We will not sweep anything under the carpet, even if they are potentially embarrassing or damaging.”

Iswaran and Ong would have interacted over the years as a matter of course, with the minister’s roles in trade and transport intersecting with the property tycoon known for helping bring the Formula One Grand Prix to Singapore. Iswaran, 61, has long championed the Singapore F1 night race in his various capacities.

The corruption agency, which reports directly to the prime minister, hasn’t specified what wrongdoing was involved. No charges have been filed, though Iswaran has been barred access to official resources and government buildings.

The country’s senior public officials are among the world’s best paid, a strategy Singapore’s political leaders say has helped to stave off corruption. Ministers earn about S$1.1 million ($822,000) a year, according to the Public Service Division’s website. The city-state is ranked as the fifth-least corrupt country in the world, according to the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index.

Ong is cooperating with the CPIB and posted bail of S$100,000 ($76,000), his company said Friday. He was to travel from Friday and will surrender his passport to CPIB when he returns to Singapore, according to the statement, which didn’t specify his exact whereabouts. Shares of Hotel Properties slumped as much as 7%, the largest intraday drop since March 2020, before closing 2.6% lower.

Subjects on bail can make requests to travel overseas, the CPIB said Friday.

“CPIB will assess such requests on a case-by-case basis,” it said. “CPIB assessed and acceded to Ong’s request to travel overseas” while his bail quantum was increased, the agency said.

Ong, the media-shy Malaysia-born businessman, was instrumental in bringing the Formula One Grand Prix to Singapore and is a key player in some of the island’s most significant corporate moments. Last year, a consortium led by Ong and units of state investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte won a bidding war to buy the property assets of the city’s main publisher. In 2003, Ong and tycoon Oei Hong Leong were engaged in a tussle over steel-miller NatSteel Ltd.

Ong is worth about $1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires index.

This isn’t the first time Ong has been entangled in controversies surrounding politicians from Singapore’s ruling party. In 1996, Prime Minister Lee, then a deputy prime minister, and his father Lee Kuan Yew, were cleared in an inquiry over claims of impropriety related to discounted purchases of four high-end apartments developed by Hotel Properties.

Ong’s business has a portfolio of nearly 40 hotels and resorts across 15 countries including the Four Seasons in Singapore and the Maldives, according to its website. It also builds luxury condominiums and owns malls.

Iswaran will remain in Singapore during his leave, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office.

The long-time PAP stalwart was elected as a member of parliament in 1997 and was appointed to the cabinet in 2006. As transport minister, his key focus is to rebuild Singapore as an air hub in the aftermath of the pandemic and boost the nation as a maritime center. He’s also Singapore’s minister-in-charge of trade relations.

--With assistance from Natalie Choy, Ishika Mookerjee, Philip J. Heijmans, Ranjeetha Pakiam, Joyce Koh, Low De Wei and Shamim Adam.

 Bloomberg Businessweek


Who is Ong Beng Seng, a billionaire tycoon involved in Singapore's graft probe?

One of Singapore's richest men, Ong Beng Seng has been served with a notice of arrest by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).


Sandy Pramuji
·Contributor
Fri, July 14, 2023 

Billionaire hotelier Ong Beng Seng at a news conference in Singapore on 11 May 2007. (PHOTO: REUTERS/Vivek Prakash)

SINGAPORE — One of Singapore's richest men, Ong Beng Seng, has been served with a notice of arrest by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB).

The billionaire hotelier, who is also reported to have played a key role in bringing the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix into the city-state in 2007, is allegedly linked to the corruption probe involving Transport Minister S. Iswaran.

Hotel Properties Limited (HPL), of which Ong is a co-founder and managing director, said on Friday (14 July) that no charges have been filed and the 77-year-old has posted bail of S$100,000. Ong, HPL said, will be traveling from 14 July and will be surrendering his passport to CIPB upon his return to Singapore.
Who is Ong Beng Seng?

Ong Beng Seng was born in 1946 in Teluk Anson, Sabah, Malaysia. Popularly known by his initials OBS, the hotel and property tycoon – together with his his Singaporean wife, Christina Ong – ranked 24th in the 2022 Forbes Singapore's 50 Richest list with an estimated net worth of US$1.75 billion (S$2.3 billion).

Born into a rich family, according to Singapore Infopedia, Ong moved to Singapore in 1950. He then studied in the UK and earned a degree in insurance. He earned his fortune then by selling shipping insurance.

Ong married Christina Fu in 1972 and then joined Kuo International, an oil grading company owned by his father-in-law Peter Fu Yun Siak, in 1975. He's known for his accurate predictions of the ups and downs of oil prices and that helped him earned enough money to finance his foray into the hospitality business.

What are Ong's business dealings?

Ong formed Hotel Properties Limited in 1980 to lead Kuo International's acquisition of the Hilton hotel brand. Two years later, HPL was listed in Singapore, and Ong's property, hotel, retail and lifestye conglomerate truly began.

As of today, HPL reportedly holds a portfolio of 38 hotels and resorts across 15 countries. The company runs the Hard Rock Hotel brand name in Bali, Pattaya and Penang. It also runs Hard Rock Cafe outlets in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

HPL also owns and operates hotels under the brands of Four Seasons, COMO Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group, Six Senses, Marriott International and Concorde, as well as malls that include the Forum The Shopping Mall in Singapore.

Como Hotels & Resorts, retail empire Club 21 and London-listed handbag maker Mulberry.

Christina Ong runs retail empire Club 21 and London-listed handbag maker Mulberry.

Last May, HPL, in partnership with units of Singapore's state-owned investment firm Temasek, also bought the real estate assets of Singapore Press Holdings for US$2.8 billion.

Did he bring F1 to Singapore?

Ong Beng Seng of Singapore GP speaks with F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone in the pit lane ahead of the Singapore Formula One Grand Prix at the Marina Bay Street Circuit on 19 September 2013 in Singapore. (PHOTO: Getty)

Yes, he did. After a year of negotiation, and helped by his friendship with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, Ong – as the man behind Singapore GP – clinched the deal to bring the F1 race to Singapore. The event, held on the Marina Bay street circuit, became the first night race in F1 history.

The race has been held annually in Singapore except for a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic. It returned last October with a new deal signed for Singapore to host the night race for another seven years through 2028.
Are there other scandals that involved Ong?

Before the current notice of arrest, Ong's name had been mentioned in two incidents involving top politicians.

In 1996, Ong's company sold four luxury condominium units to Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his son, then Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. The units, part of the Nassim Jade and Scotts 28 condominiums, were allegedly sold at special discounts.

However, then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong cleared the Lees and Ong of any wrongdoing.

Then in 2018, there was allegations of corruption involving Ong in the leasing of two islands in the Maldives that was reported by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

HPL, the report said, was involved in a scheme by then-Maldives president Abdulla Yameen to sidestep Maldivian laws to lease out dozens of Maldives islands and lagoons to tourism developers without public tender.