LIKE FATHER LIKE SON

Justin Trudeau, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau separation likely won't impact prime minister's image

"It’s not as if Sophie has been a huge factor in his public appearances," historian and professor Robert Bothwell said


Jermaine Wilson
·Writer
August 3, 2023

Canadian Prime minister Justin Trudeau and wife Sophie Trudeau arriving ahead of the coronation ceremony of King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Westminster Abbey, central London. Picture date: Saturday May 6, 2023. (Photo by Jacob King/PA Images via Getty Images)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau made a shocking announcement on Wednesday that they have decided to separate.

After a memorable 18-year marriage, the prime minister took to Instagram to share a statement about the couple's decision, including asking for privacy for himself and his children.

“As always, we remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for everything we have built and will continue to build,” the statement reads, which was also post on Grégoire Trudeau's Instagram page.

“For the well-being of our children, we ask that you respect our and their privacy. Thank you.”

The couple have three children, 15-year-old Xavier, 14-year-old Ella-Grace and nine-year-old Hadrien.

'She wasn’t all that prominent a figure'

With the unexpected separation from his wife, many Canadians are left wondering if the separation will impact the prime minister's image.

Historian and professor at the University of Toronto, Robert Bothwell, indicated that as of now, the separation won’t help Trudeau image, but nor will it hurt him.

“It’s not as if Sophie has been a huge factor in his public appearances, she wasn’t all that prominent a figure,” Bothwell said.

“I really don’t think it’d be much impact on Liberal party faithfuls or the politicians around him, and I’d be really doubtful if it had much impact on the general public. She’s just not that prominent a figure.”

Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and his wife Margaret walk along a street on the small French territorial island of St. Pierre Tuesday, August 4, 1971. The Trudeau's made a short unofficial visit to the island, which is off the east coast of Canada, during a tour of Canada's eastern provinces. 

(CP PHOTO/Peter Bregg)

Throughout Canada’s history, Trudeau is the second prime minister to announce a separation while in office, following his father.

As Bothwell recalls, Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s image actually improved following his separation from Margaret Trudeau. The couple announced their separation in 1977 and filed for divorce in 1983.

“I remember being at a Liberal convention and polls were done around '78 or '79, and somebody said, you really won’t believe this, but his popularity has gone up since the split," he said.

While details around the current prime minister's separation remain unknown at the moment, the public's reaction is unmistakably visible, judging by the thousands of comments flooding Trudeau and Grégoire Trudeau's Instagram pages.

'Intense vitriol and attacks': Trudeau separation draws backlash, sympathy from Canadians

Canadians are showing a wide range of emotions after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau formally announced their separation.

Corné van Hoepen
·Contributor, Yahoo News Canada
Updated August 3, 2023·

Canadians reacted with a flurry of social media posts in the wake of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau's formal separation announcement on Wednesday. The pair announced on social media that they were officially separating following 18 years of marriage.

"Hi everyone, Sophie and I would like to share the fact that after many meaningful and difficult conversations, we have made the decision to separate," reads a statement posted by Trudeau on social media.

An official statement released by the Prime Minister's Office said Trudeau and Grégoire have "signed a legal separation agreement" and the pair "have worked to ensure that all legal and ethical steps with regards to their decision to separate have been taken, and will continue to do so moving forward.”

Public reaction to the Trudeaus separation

The prime minister and his wife's formal announcement of separation made headlines around the world and garnered a strong buzz on social media.

Some kinder messages offered up words of support for the family, as separation is a difficult process for anyone. Others pointed to how any marriage would be made difficult given all the hardships that the prime minister faced throughout his time in office.

One social media user highlighted the overwhelming amount of hate tweets and conspiracy-based responses Trudeau's announcement received, by stating "all the hate and accusations towards the Prime Minister of Canada during difficult times is just pathetic & not the country I grew up in."

Others put it more simply: "It's none of our business."

Following the news, founder and leader of the People's Party of Canada (PPC) Maxime Bernier posted a tweet stating the notice of separation doesn't matter, and what matters is "he leaves the office of the prime minister."

Others simply stated that they felt absolutely "no sympathy" for Canada's leader, along with his family. Instead, some pointed to their own suffering.

It continues a wave of hate that's followed the prime minister, sometimes displayed through the "F*** Trudeau" flag.

no sympathy

he chose power and more enrichment

he could have been a private individual and been a father using his wealthy inheritance

Canada will be better without him

if he resigns then he could be a father to his children using his great fortune

— Gif_Whisperer (@TheGifWhisperer) August 2, 2023

Amid all the sympathy and backlash, one social media user offered up the question if news of the separation will influence the impression the public has of the prime minister.

And amid the major news that's dominated headlines, others are also looking to shine on light on important issues in the day-to-day lives of Canadians.

A look back at the Trudeau marriage

Trudeau, 51, and Grégoire, 48, officially tied the knot in a Montreal church in May 2005 and during their 18 years of marriage, had three children together — two sons, Xavier, 15, and Hadrien, nine, and one daughter, 14-year-old Ella-Grace.

Grégoire, a former media personality, stunned the public when they first laid eyes on the glowing bride — dressed in a simple low-cut floral gown with a long veil trailing behind her. Trudeau was dressed in a gold tuxedo with gold silk stripes and upon emerging from the ceremony in the chapel, stepped into a 1959 Mercedes 300 SL, formerly belonging to Trudeau’s father.

Justin Trudeau, son of the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, leaves with his new bride Sophie Gregoire in his father's 1959 Mercedes 300 SEL after their marriage ceremony in Montreal Saturday, May 28, 2005.(CP PHOTO/Ryan Remiorz)

While the prime minister and his wife portrayed a united front to the public, Grégoire said in an interview with Global News in 2015, that “no marriage is easy,” and that she was “almost kind of proud of the fact that we’ve had hardship,”

The pair's last public appearance together was during Canada Day 2023 in Ottawa.

ERITREAN PROTEST

9 people injured after 'violent' demonstration at Toronto park: 'I am shocked'

Police were called to Earlscourt Park in the city's west end on Saturday morning after a large crowd gathered and a fight broke out.


Chris Stoodley
·Lifestyle and News Editor
Sat, August 5, 2023 

Toronto Police work the scene of a protest that turned "violent"

 in Toronto's Earlscourt Park on Saturday, Aug. 5. 

(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey)

A "demonstration that turned violent" at a Toronto park left numerous people injured on Saturday, with some feeling "shocked and saddened" about the incident.

Toronto police shared a series of posts on X (Twitter) starting Saturday morning shortly before 10 a.m., noting that a large crowd gathered in Earlscourt Park where one person was carrying a knife.

Officers said there were reports of injuries and some tents on fire at the park. Within an hour, Toronto Police Operations (TPO) updated their post noting that it appeared to be a "demonstration that turned violent."

While medics were on-scene helping patients at the park, at least nine people were transported to the hospital. One person suffered serious injuries after being stabbed, while the other eight people experienced non-life-threatening injuries.

Around 2:15 p.m., police shared another update indicating that the "event had turned violent again."

"Officers from across the city are assisting in gaining control," TPO shared. "Please stay out of the area."

Festival Eritrea Toronto is hosting a series of activities at Earlscourt Park between Aug. 5 and 7.

Toronto paramedics were on-scene at Earlscourt Park to help patients injured during the demonstration. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey)

But protesters around the world have been demonstrating against Eritrea's government, which some are calling "one of the most repressive regimes in the world."

Last month, at least 26 police officers were injured during an Eritrean cultural festival in Germany.

Earlier this week, hundreds of people were detained in Sweden after up to a thousand protesters attacked the Eritrea Scandinavia festival in Stockholm.

This past week, a petition was also created — which currently has more than 1,500 signatures — to stop an "Eritrea Festival" event scheduled for Aug. 6 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel.

Toronto police said one person was stabbed and eight others were injured during the event. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey)

People on social media shared their disappointment about the Earlscourt Park incident.

Alejandra Bravo, the city councillor for the area, shared a statement expressing that she was "shocked and saddened to hear of the violence that broke out."

"Please give [police] space and time to complete their work," Bravo continued in her post. "Earlscourt Park and some local roads are closed to traffic."

Some called for the violence to be shut down, while others noted they were surprised the violence wasn't happening at this weekend's Toronto Caribbean Festival.

 

Thousands rally on Las Vegas Strip in support of food service workers demanding better pay, benefits


Thu, August 10, 2023 



LAS VEGAS (AP) — Thousands of hospitality workers rallied Thursday evening beneath the glittery lights of the Las Vegas Strip to call attention to ongoing union contract negotiations for higher pay and better benefits for food service workers at one of the largest arenas on the famed tourist corridor.

The Culinary Workers Union, a political powerhouse in Nevada, said in a statement ahead of the rally that servers, dishwashers, cooks and bartenders who work at T-Mobile Arena have been locked in contract negotiations for nearly a year with their employer, Levy Premium Food Service. The workers say they want a fair contract that will ensure “one job is enough to provide for their families.”

Union members packed the walkways near the arena on Thursday, with the crowd mostly dressed in red spilling onto Las Vegas Boulevard.

The union represents 60,000 hospitality workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including 200 Levy employees who work at the arena, the home stadium of the Vegas Golden Knights.

The action comes two weeks after members voted 97% in favor of authorizing a strike if a contract isn't reached soon. It is the union's second gathering on the Strip in recent months highlighting the ongoing negotiations with Levy, which provides food and drink services to arenas, convention centers and other venues nationwide.

In June, thousands also dressed in red assembled on the Strip for a march to bring attention to the contract negotiations, waving signs that read “ONE JOB SHOULD BE ENOUGH” at passing cars and tourists.

Levy said in a statement it was discouraged by the union's decision to rally after several months of negotiations.

“We remain committed to working diligently with the Union to reach a fair agreement that shows our team members how much we value them,” the statement said, “and we look forward to returning to the bargaining table soon.”

MGM Resorts International, which operates T-Mobile Arena, did not respond to a request for comment.

Lucia Orozco has worked as a cook at the arena since it opened in 2016. She described herself and her husband, a hospitality worker at a nearby Strip casino, as hard workers who don't spend outside of their means. Yet they live paycheck to paycheck and don't have money saved to retire anytime soon.

“I worry about it because I'm very close to retirement,” the 56-year-old said. “I don't have too much time left.”

Orozco, who was among the block of union members who voted to authorize a strike, said she wasn't surprised by the results of the vote.

“Everybody's tired of not making enough,” she said.

A date for a strike has not been set, but the union said its members have taken major steps toward walking off the job, including making picket signs and signing up for shifts on the picket line.

The possible strike looms ahead of the Golden Knights’ first preseason home hockey game Sept. 27 against the Los Angeles Kings and the team's season opener at home Oct. 10 against the Seattle Kraken. If the union strikes, it would happen against the backdrop of thousands of hospitality workers in Southern California, also demanding higher pay and improved benefits, walking off the job last month. The union there described it as the largest strike in its history.

___

Associated Press photographer John Locher in Las Vegas contributed.

Rio Yamat, The Associated Press

Two rival robotaxi services win approval to operate throughout San Francisco despite safety concerns

Thu, August 10, 2023 



SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California regulators on Thursday approved an expansion that will allow two rival robotaxi services to operate throughout San Francisco at all hours, despite safety worries spurred by recurring problems with unexpected stops and other erratic behavior that resulted in unmanned vehicles blocking traffic, including emergency vehicles.

The state's Public Utilities Commission voted to approve rival services from Cruise and Waymo to operate around-the-clock service. It will make San Francisco first major U.S. city with two fleets of driverless vehicles competing for passengers against ride-hailing and taxi services dependent on humans to operate the cars.

It is a distinction that San Francisco officials didn’t want, largely because of the headaches that Cruise and Waymo have been causing in the city while testing their robotaxis on a restricted basis during the past year.

But it ended in a major victory for Cruise — a subsidiary of General Motors — and Waymo — a spinoff from a secret project at Google — after spending years and billions of dollars honing a technology that they believe will revolutionize transportation. Both companies view approval of their San Francisco expansions as a major springboard to launching similar services in other congested cities that would benefit from a technology that they contend will be more reliable, convenient and cheaper than ride-hailing and taxi services reliant on human drivers.

“We can’t wait for more San Franciscans to experience the mobility, safety, sustainability and accessibility benefits of full autonomy for themselves — all at the touch of a button,” Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said in a blog post.

During five-and-half hours of public comments at Thursday’s meeting, many speakers derided the robotaxis as annoying nuisances at best and dangerous menaces at worst. Others vented their frustration about San Francisco being transformed into a “tech playground” and the equivalent of an “ant farm” for haphazard experimentation.

Supporters of the robotaxis also stepped up to passionately defend the technology as a leap forward that will keep San Francisco on the cutting edge of technology, while helping more disabled people who are unable to drive to get around town and reducing the risks posed by drunk driving. One speaker predicted that unleashing the robotaxis would create a tourist attraction that could become as popular as rides on the fabled cable cars that have been navigating the city’s streets for 150 years. Waymo says there is so much interest in its robotaxis that it has already built up a waiting list of more than 100,000 people vying to take a driverless ride through the streets of San Francisco.

The rising fears about the safety of the robotaxis had come into sharper focus during a preliminary hearing Monday that included a sobering appearance by San Francisco Fire Department Chief Jeanine Nicholson, who warned regulators that the robotaxis had been repeatedly undermining firefighters' ability to respond to emergencies. .

“They are still not ready for prime time because of the way they have impacted our operations,” Nicholson said during a four-hour hearing held Monday in advance of Thursday's pivotal vote.

To underscore her point, Nicholson cited 55 written reports of the robotaxis interfering with emergency responses. She said she is worried the problems will get worse if Cruise and Waymo are allowed to operate their services wherever and whenever they want in San Francisco — raising the risk of their disruptions resulting in injury, death or the loss of property that could have been saved.

The Public Utilities Commission still decided to approve the expansion by a 3-1 vote. Although the panel consists of five commissioners, only four voted on the proposed robotaxi expansion. Commissioner Karen Douglas was absent from Thursday's hearing for an undisclosed reason.

Both Cruise and Waymo cited their unblemished safety records as proof their robotaxis are less dangerous than vehicles operated by people who can be distracted, intoxicated or just lousy drivers.

Cruise has been currently testing 300 robotaxis during the day when it can only give rides for free, and 100 robotaxis at night when it has been allowed to charge for rides in less congested parts of San Francisco for the past 14 months. Waymo has been operating about 100 of the 250 robotaxis it has available to give free rides to volunteers and employees throughout San Francisco.

But the proposed San Francisco expansion has been facing increasingly staunch resistance, prompting regulators to postpone two previously scheduled votes on the issue in June and July.

In a May 31 letter urging state regulators to continue to restrict the operations of Cruise and Waymo, San Francisco transportation officials asserted the driverless vehicles rely on a “developmental technology that is not ready for unconstrainted commercial deployment.”

In a June 22 letter, the president of the union for San Francisco police officers warned of potentially dire consequences if Cruise and Waymo are allowed to expand throughout the city. Tracy McCray, the union president, cited a robotaxi obstructing emergency vehicles responding to a recent mass shooting that injured nine people as a chilling example of how the technology could imperil the public.

“While we all applaud advancements in technology, we must not be in such a rush that we forget the human element and the effects such technology unchecked can cause in dangerous situations," McCray wrote. “Delays of even seconds in our line of work can be a matter of life or death.”

Unless Cruise and Waymo are able to fix the problems that have been cropping up in their robotaxis, the San Francisco expansion could turn out to be a pyrrhic victory, warned Nico Larco, who has been tracking the progress of autonomous vehicles as director of the University of Oregon's Urbanism Next Center.

“There is a real public sentiment risk here,” Larco said. “If they don't figure some of these things out, there will be growing frustration from the general public. And it's tough to bring that back and put the genie back in the bottle.”

__

An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that John Reynolds, a former lawyer for Cruise, was the Public Utilities Commission commissioner who didn't attend Thursday's hearing.

Michael Liedtke, The Associated Press

US Coal miners plead with feds for stronger enforcement during emotional hearing on black lung rule

Thu, August 10, 2023



BEAVER, W.Va. (AP) — Laboring to breathe, West Virginia coal miner Terry Lilly told federal regulators Thursday he is appreciative the U.S. government is finally considering a proposal to limit the poisonous rock dust causing a severe resurgence of black lung.

But Lilly said the rule — a half-century in the making — will mean nothing if there aren’t strict enforcement mechanisms in place to ensure companies comply.

“Cheating the samples is what we need to stop. If we can stop this, we can save some lives,” said Lilly, asking officials to excuse him as a took a pause to catch his breath. He’s now limited to 40% lung capacity, he said.

Lilly was one of the dozens of miners and advocates who came to the historic coal-mining county in West Virginia's southern coalfields to discuss a proposed rule from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration that would cut the current limit for silica dust exposure in half.

During an emotional, hours-long hearing — the second of three before public comment on the proposal ends next month — miners spoke about their fear of retaliation for speaking up about unsafe dust levels and being asked by companies to help falsify samples. They said the government needs more inspectors to spend more time in the mines making sure existing rules are followed. Otherwise, new regulation won't make a meaningful difference, they said.

“When I speak about this, people look at me like I’m stupid,” Lilly, who said miners don't always feel like the federal government takes their concerns seriously. “I’ve got 30 years of experience. I know the tricks and how they operate.”

President of the National Black Lung Association Gary Hairston, who lives in neighboring Fayette County, said that too often, miners have to choose between their safety and their livelihood.

“We can fix this when we start making the coal mining companies responsible for what they’re doing,” said Hairston, becoming emotional speaking into the microphone wearing a “black lung kills” T-shirt. “I wish the coal miner – us – that we would come forward – but we’re scared. In a non-union mine, you ain’t got representation. We know they’ll get rid of us."

Silicosis, commonly referred to as black lung, is an occupational pneumoconiosis caused by the inhalation of crystalline silica dust present in minerals like sandstone. The problem has only grown in recent years as miners dig through more layers of rock to get to less accessible coal, generating deadly silica dust in the process. Silica dust is 20 times more toxic than coal dust and causes severe forms of black lung disease even after a few years of exposure.

An estimated one in five tenured miners in Central Appalachia has black lung disease; one in 20 has the most disabling form of black lung.

The proposed federal rule, published in the Federal Register last month, cuts the permissible exposure limit for silica dust from 100 to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air for an 8-hour shift in coal, metal and nonmetal mines such as sand and gravel.

The proposal is in line with exposure levels imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on construction and other non-mining industries. And it’s the standard The Centers for Disease Control was recommending as far back as 1974.

Old wounds over mine safety run deep in West Virginia’s southern coalfields, where thousands of miners 100 years ago marched to unionize in the Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest armed uprising in the United States since the Civil War.

In the 1940s and 1950s, roughly half of West Virginia workers were employed in heavy industries like coal, steel and glass, and the majority of those workers belonged to a union. By 2022, however, only 10% of West Virginia workers were represented by unions, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Hairston said that with the waning of union representation, miners have lost advocates they could rely on ensure regulations are being enforced.

Attorney Sam Petsonk, who has represented coal miners who were diagnosed with black lung after companies violated safety violations, said a silica rule is long overdue. But he is concerned that the rule requires no routine sampling and contains no specific monetary penalties for exceeding silica dust limits.

The rule also allows miners to work in higher-than-allowable levels of dust on a temporary basis if they wear respirators and companies are working on bringing exposure down to safer levels. Petsonk said respirators are ineffective while performing heavy labor in hot, confined spaces, and that inspectors are not present enough to ensure they don't become a permanent solution.

The National Mining Association has said it would like to see respiratory protection equipment be used as a method of compliance with the rule.

The organization, which represents operators, said in a statement last month that ventilation controls, strict adherence to mine ventilation control plans, increased operator and miner safety awareness, and a 2014 rule regulating coal dust have "all contributed to exponentially lower dust levels inside the mine.”

Mine, Safety and Health Administration Deputy Secretary Patricia Silvey said if inspectors see evidence of overexposure, operators will have to take immediate “corrective action,” which could mean implementing engineering controls. The government makes a record of the infraction and ensures retesting to make sure the action is working, she said.

Willie Dodson, Central Appalachian field coordinator for advocacy group Appalachian Voices, said the nation has a current epidemic of black lung now that is "built in part on the current enforcement mechanisms and deficiencies.”

“If MSHA gets this wrong, we will look back on this process as its own sort of tragedy — a moment when we came close to doing right by coal miners, but ultimately failed them,” he said.

United Mine Workers of America Director of Occupational Health and Safety Josh Roberts asked regulators to look at the proposed rule and ask this: “Does this section open the door for cheating or gaming the system?”

“Everybody wants the rule to be the best that it can be this go-round because you might not get another bite at the apple for a long time," he said.

Leah Willingham, The Associated Press

Amazon summit shows thorny challenge for Brazilian COP30 host city

JAKE SPRING AND LEONARDO BENASSATTO

August 10, 2023 

By Jake Spring and Leonardo Benassatto

BELEM, Brazil (Reuters) - Hosting a United Nations climate summit for tens of thousands of people in any city is a daunting task. Doing it in a part of the Amazon rainforest unaccustomed to hordes of visitors will be even harder.

Belem, a city of 1.3 million in northern Brazil that will host the COP30 climate meeting in 2025, was put to the test during a summit of rainforest nations this week. With roughly half as many hotel beds as the 27,000 summit participants, room rates soared.

But the city expects more than 70,000 for COP30. To deal with the shortage, it may lean on a solution central to life in the Amazon River delta for hundreds of years: boats.

Some delegates may commute daily by boat from nearby islands, while heads of state may stay on cruise ships parked in the harbor, government officials say.

The city plans to complete a diagnostic later this month on all the challenges to be confronted in the two years until the summit, including an inadequate sewage system, dilapidated roadways and threadbare public transit.

"Is the city ready to host an event that big? If it were today, we wouldn't be," said Luiz Araujo, who leads the city's COP30 preparation committee.

The United Nations convenes an annual conference for the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, an event that has taken on more urgency as heat records have fallen and the target of keeping warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius appears to be slipping out of reach. This year's COP28 will be in late November and December in Dubai.

Brazil has a lot riding on COP30's success. The meeting will cap a diplomatic U-turn steered by President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, who has vowed to restore Brazil's standing as a leader on environmental policy after four years of soaring deforestation under his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro.

National development bank BNDES has offered 5 billion reais ($1.02 billion) in financing for projects to prepare Belem for the summit. The state and municipal government as well as private businesses plan to tap into the federal funding.

By the harbor, a row of rundown corrugated metal warehouses is one example of an area where the city is planning a facelift. Closed off for construction this week, signs proclaimed "Port of the Future Here," with renderings of a modern shopping and entertainment complex.

Farther along the waterfront, the city's Ver-o-Peso market, famous for selling giant Amazonian river fish, is also set for a government overhaul before COP30.

"What I would like is for the authorities to get their house in order," said vendor Beth Cheirosinha. "There is a lot that is decayed, a lot abandoned, a lot eaten by moths. We're going to receive the masses. We need to have a chic place."

Reuters visited the future COP30 venue in Belem, on the site of an abandoned airport. A massive conference center with manicured grounds will fill the empty lot where workers have only just begun to lay concrete, with plans for the existing runway to remain in place.

With just 17,500 hotel beds currently in the city's immediate vicinity, Belem plans to double or triple hotel capacity by expanding existing hotels and tapping the surrounding area's beach and jungle resorts, said Tony Santiago, state head of national hotel association Abih. That may mean bringing in some delegates by boat each day.

Options for private accommodation will also be available on platforms such as Airbnb, he said.

Even then, the city might have difficulty finding accommodations befitting the more than 100 heads of state expected to attend, said Araujo, the city official.

One solution would be to dredge the port so transatlantic oceanliners can enter. Such ships housed authorities when Trinidad and Tobago hosted a Summit of the Americas in 2009.

The city will be the first municipality in the Brazilian Amazon to draw up a comprehensive climate plan, Araujo has said.

Helder Barbalho, governor of Para, where Belem is the state capital, said that COP30 would bring resources to upgrade the below-standard sanitation of nearly a third of the population and swap petrol-burning buses for electric or gas vehicles.

But it would be impossible to resolve everything.

"We don't want to live in a bubble and pretend that Belem won't have problems in November 2025," said Barbalho. "But we understand that we can still present a city with hospitality."

($1 = 4.90 reais)

(Reporting by Jake Spring and Leonardo Benassatto in Belem; Additional reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia; Editing by Brad Haynes and Rosalba O'Brien)

UN Security Council to hold first open meeting on North Korea human rights situation since 2017

August 10, 2023 

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council will hold its first open meeting on North Korea’s dire human rights situation since 2017 next week, the United States announced Thursday.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters that U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk and Elizabeth Salmon, the U.N. independent investigator on human rights in the reclusive northeast Asia country, will brief council members at the Aug. 17 meeting.

“We know the government’s human rights abuses and violations facilitate the advancement of its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles program,” Thomas-Greenfield said, adding that the Security Council “must address the horrors, the abuses and crimes being perpetrated” by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s regime against its own people as well as the people of Japan and South Korea.

Thomas-Greenfield, who is chairing the council during this month’s U.S. presidency, stood with the ambassadors from Albania, Japan and South Korea when making the announcement.

Russia and China, which have close ties to North Korea, have blocked any Security Council action since vetoing a U.S.-sponsored resolution in May 2022 that would have imposed new sanctions over a spate of its intercontinental ballistic missile launches. So the council is not expected to take any action at next week's meeting.

China and Russia could protest holding the open meeting, which requires support from at least nine of the 15 council members.

The Security Council imposed sanctions after North Korea’s first nuclear test explosion in 2006 and tightened them over the years in a total of 10 resolutions seeking — so far unsuccessfully — to cut funds and curb the country's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

At a council meeting last month on Pyongyang’s test-flight of its developmental Hwasong-18 missile, North Korea's U.N. Ambassador Kim Song made his first appearance before members since 2017.

He told the council the test flight was a legitimate exercise of the North’s right to self-defense. He also accused the United States of driving the situation in northeast Asia “to the brink of nuclear war,” pointing to its nuclear threats and its deployment of a nuclear-powered submarine to South Korea for the first time in 14 years.

Whether ambassador Kim attends next week’s meeting on the country’s human rights remains to be seen.

In March, during an informal Security Council meeting on human rights in North Korea — which China blocked from being broadcast globally on the internet — U.N. special rapporteur Salmon said peace and denuclearization can’t be addressed without considering the country’s human rights situation.

She said the limited information available shows the suffering of the North Korean people has increased and their already limited liberties have declined.

Access to food, medicine and health care remains a priority concern, Salmon said. “People have frozen to death during the cold spells in January,” and some didn’t have money to heat their homes while others were forced to live on the streets because they sold their homes as a last resort.

New Buffalo Bills stadium cost overruns approaching $300M, AP sources say



New York Governor Kathy Hochul, left, Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, right, participate in the groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the new Bills Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., Monday June 5, 2023. Three months since construction began on their new stadium, the Buffalo Bills are already facing a potential cash crunch with latest projections having the team on the hook for as much as $300 million in cost over-runs, four people with direct knowledge or briefed on the financial details told The Associated Press this week.

 (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes, File)

JOHN WAWROW
Updated Wed, August 9, 2023

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Three months since construction began on their new stadium, the Buffalo Bills are already facing a potential cash crunch with the latest projections having the team on the hook for as much as $300 million in cost overruns, four people with direct knowledge or who were briefed on the financial details told The Associated Press this week.

What was initially estimated to cost $1.4 billion in March 2022, and increased to $1.54 billion months later, is now projected to have jumped to $1.65 billion and approaching $1.7 billion, the people told the AP on the condition of anonymity because the team has not disclosed those figures.

The rising price tag is notable because the Bills are contractually required to cover any overruns beyond the then-agreed to cost of $1.4 billion as part of the tentative deal the team reached with the state and Erie County 16 months ago.

Increased labor and material costs were cited for the increased price, with one person saying one line item has already come in at $75 million over budget. Another person said a delay in sending out bids also had an effect in upping the cost.

The Athletic first reported on the cost overruns last weekend, and cited unidentified individuals as projecting the stadium’s price tag potentially reaching $1.9 billion.

Newly appointed Bills COO John Roth called the projections premature and speculative at best.

“We don’t know enough yet to confirm this,” Roth told the AP on Wednesday, noting only a small percentage of the contracts and bids have been completed.

Roth took over three weeks ago after Ron Raccuia was abruptly fired.

Raccuia was involved in stadium negotiations and took on an even larger role over the final year after team co-owner Kim Pegula suffered a debilitating heart attack in June 2022. Raccuia was fired last month, with co-owner Terry Pegula taking over as team president and designating a three-person committee — headed by Roth — to oversee the Bills and the construction project.

A ballooning price tag would place a larger-than-expected burden on the Bills, who were initially committed to covering $550 million of the construction costs. Their share now stands to potentially match the taxpayer contribution of $850 million, with $650 million due from the state, and the remainder from Erie County.

The Bills agreed to cover the cost overruns in exchange for having full control over the stadium’s design and construction.

One of the people told the AP before negotiations began that overruns were expected based on the Bills' projected cost of $1.4 billion. The Bills had initially pegged the cost of the stadium at about $1.5 billion before switching design firms.

The Bills are funding their share through the NFL’s G4 loan program. The rest of the money is being raised through a first-time seat licensing fee for season-ticket holders.

It’s unclear how the Bills would make up the difference, and what cost-cutting measures they can make to the design of a 60,000-plus seat facility being built across from their current home in Orchard Park, New York.

The rising projections come as the Pegulas, who also own the NHL's Buffalo Sabres, are expected to soon approach the city to discuss long-needed renovations to the team’s downtown arena.

KeyBank Center has not had a major upgrade since it opened in 1996, and needs work to its roof, concourses and seating bowls.

The renovation needs are so significant the project would have to be spread out over several offseasons.

Pegula has a projected net worth of $6.7 billion and made his fortune through the natural gas industry by discovering and then selling off the drilling rights of tracts of gas-rich fields across the country.

Pegula, for example, helped fund his $1.4 billion purchase of the Bills in 2014 by selling the drilling rights on about 75,000 acres of land in Ohio and West Virginia for $1.75 billion.

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Chinese-Australian journalist jailed in China on spying charges describes harsh conditions


Cheng Lei, then a Chinese-born Australian journalist for CGTN, the English-language channel of China Central Television, attends a public event in Beijing on Aug. 12, 2020. The Chinese-Australian journalist who worked for China's state broadcaster and was convicted on murky espionage charges has spoken out about the harsh conditions of her detention. 

(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Thu, August 10, 2023 

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese-Australian journalist who worked for China’s state broadcaster and was convicted on murky espionage charges has spoken out about the harsh conditions of her detention.

Cheng Lei has been held for three years, and although found guilty on national security charges at a closed-door trial last year, has yet to be sentenced.

She is allowed to stand in the sunlight for only 10 hours a year, hasn't seen a tree since she was detained, and deeply misses her daughter and son, now entering high school, Cheng said in a statement conveyed to an Australian diplomat and released to local media.

“I relive every bushwalk, river, lake, beach with swims and picnics and psychedelic sunsets, sky that is lit up with stars, and the silent and secret symphony of the bush,” Cheng said in the statement published by broadcaster ABC.

“I secretly mouth the names of places I’ve visited and driven through,” she said. “It is the Chinese in me that has probably gone beyond the legal limit of sentimentality. Most of all, I miss my children.”

Attempts to independently confirm the statement with the Australian government were unsuccessful.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke out on Cheng's behalf last month, saying she was being held “without proper process.”

Cheng, 48, moved with her family to Australia at age 10. She returned to China to work for the international department of state broadcaster CCTV. The details behind her detention and trial remain sealed. China's authoritarian system gives prosecutors broad powers to level charges of spying or leaking state secrets with little or no evidence, and Cheng could face years of prison.

Chinese authorities have also been accused of holding foreign nationals, particularly those born in the country, to obtain diplomatic gains or the return of Chinese citizens abroad wanted on a variety of charges. China's relations with Australia have recently improved after China put them on freeze over Canberra's accusations of Chinese political interference and intimidation of the local Chinese community.

TSMC to build US$11 billion chip manufacturing plant in Germany

South China Morning Post
Wed, August 9, 2023 

In a huge boon for European Union efforts to build a cutting-edge microchip supply chain, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company announced plans on Tuesday for a €10 billion (US$11 billion) plant in Germany.

The facility, to be built in Dresden in the country's east, will begin producing chips for the automotive sector by the end of 2027, the company said.

The project marks the first foray onto European turf for TSMC, the world's leading maker of advanced chips. The firm will work in conjunction with German companies Robert Bosch and Infineon Technologies as well as NXP Semiconductors of the Netherlands.

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European political chiefs have courted TSMC for years, as the EU tries to avoid the sorts of supply-chain bottlenecks that paralysed parts of its economy during the coronavirus pandemic.

Michael Kretschmer (left), the minister president of Saxon and Dirk Hilbert, the lord mayor of Dresden, during the announcement of TSMC's planned semiconductor plant. Photo: dpa alt=Michael Kretschmer (left), the minister president of Saxon and Dirk Hilbert, the lord mayor of Dresden, during the announcement of TSMC's planned semiconductor plant. Photo: dpa>

The bloc has been seeking ways to attract Taiwanese chip investment without cutting major deals with the self-ruled island's government.

Brussels has been unmoved by Taipei's requests to launch talks over a bilateral investment agreement, with EU officials publicly arguing that free-flowing investment shows a deal is not required.

They privately admit, however, that they are concerned about retaliation from China. In 2016, Brussels committed to negotiating separate investment deals with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

But the EU-Chinese Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) is locked in geopolitical purgatory after a row over human rights sanctions.

While that remains unresolved, Brussels bureaucrats are reluctant to even float the idea of a Taiwanese pact. There is a view that it would be impossible to get all 27 EU member states to support an official trade or investment pact with Taiwan.
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For Germany, the TSMC deal offers a shot in the arm for its flagging industrial engine - but at a cost. German media reported that the government will provide €5 billion in subsidies for the plant.

It comes after Intel announced plans for a €30 billion chip factory in Magdeburg, another city in Germany's east, with a third of the cost expected to be covered by government subsidies.

Berlin is taking advantage of Brussels' loosened rules on providing state aid at a time when its anaemic economy is expected to grow by just 0.3 per cent this year, EU data estimated.

On Sunday, it was announced that industrial production in Germany - the EU's largest economy - dropped by more than economists had predicted in June.

The deal also lifts the EU's efforts to build out an indigenous semiconductor industry, as it hopes to sidestep the US-China tech war and shore up its own chip supply in case of future disruptions in the Taiwan Strait.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine 18 months ago, significant political capital has been invested in making the EU's supply chains more resilient. As part of this approach, it is looking to reduce its dependencies on China and other trading partners for key technologies.

Now, financial capital from EU members is starting to follow. The TSMC investment comes two weeks after the bloc finally approved its Chips Act, aimed at "doubling the EU's global market share in semiconductors, from 10 per cent now to at least 20 per cent by 2030".

"Very pleased about the decision of TSMC to invest - together with 3 EU major semiconductor companies - into building a new semiconductor FAB in EU," EU internal market chief Thierry Breton posted on social media.

"It's the EU Chips Act in motion - bringing stronger security of supply for Europe, including for EU's automotive industry," Breton added.

Other EU officials struck a cautionary tone, one noting the delay in the opening of TSMC's new factory in the US state of Arizona due in part to a lack of skilled workers.

Given the highly technical nature of the work and the fact that plants are set to spring up around the world, serious thought would need to be given to skilled training, they noted.

The venture partners in Germany will create a new entity, European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, with the fab - industry shorthand for a fabrication plant - to be operated by TSMC.

Mathieu Duchatel, director of the Asia programme at Institut Montaigne in Paris, said that the news was good for Germany and Europe's industrial ambitions, but suggested that the goal of doubling the bloc's market share of chip production remained unrealistic.

"The EU Chips Act authorises exemptions to the prohibition of state aid if companies and governments demonstrate that a fab project is 'first-of-a-kind', a loose concept that has considerably relaxed the EU's notoriously strict competition law," he wrote in a recent post on Euractiv, an EU news portal.

Other such investments include a silicon carbide substrate plant on the Italian island of Sicily and a factory producing an ultra-thin silicon technology for hi-tech chip engineering in France.

"Quick maths tell a blunt story: without the EU Chips Act, these investments would have been unlikely to take place in Europe, but they won't be enough to increase Europe's market share vis-a-vis Taiwan," Duchatel wrote.

"Trends in semiconductor equipment spending tend to show that Taiwan's and South Korea's advance is in fact still increasing."

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.