Hawaiian Electric Engages Guggenheim in Wake of Maui Wildfire Suits

GUGGENHEIM SECURITIES NOT THE GUGGENHEIM ART GALLERY

Reshmi Basu, Mark Chediak and Rachel Butt
Tue, August 22, 2023



(Bloomberg) -- Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. said it is seeking advice from various experts, including Guggenheim Securities as it takes steps to determine the fallout from the deadly wildfires in Maui.

“We are seeking advice from various experts as we position HEI and Hawaiian Electric to be the strong, financially healthy local utility that the people of Maui and Hawai‘i need over the long term,” the company said a statement. “One of those experts is Guggenheim Securities, and their deep experience working with other utilities will be invaluable as we move forward.”

A representative for Guggenheim declined to comment. Reorg earlier reported on the mandate.

Numerous lawsuits have been filed alleging that the utility’s power lines ignited the fires which destroyed much of Lahaina, Hawaii earlier this month. The potential liabilities could reach almost $4 billion if the utility is deemed negligent, according to investment research firm Capstone LLC.

Hawaiian Electric Industries owns Hawaii’s main utility, which provides power to 95% of the state’s population. It also owns the regional American Savings Bank.

The company has been cut to junk by all three major credit ratings firms, with Fitch Ratings estimating that potential liabilities may top $3.8 billion, “representing an existential threat to the company.”

'ChatGPT Does 80% Of My Job' — How AI Enables People To Work Second And Third Jobs

Jeannine Mancini
Tue, August 22, 2023 


A new breed of overemployed workers has emerged, turning to artificial intelligence (AI)-powered language models like ChatGPT to handle a significant portion of their job responsibilities.

"ChatGPT does like 80% of my job," stated one worker, while another, currently holding down four robot-performed jobs, says, "Five would be overkill."

As the popularity of AI-powered tools like ChatGPT continues to soar, concerns are growing about the impact on the global job market. With the potential for jobs to be automated and replaced by chatbots, experts are warning of a possible future where human workers become obsolete.

In combination with other AI tools like ChatGPT, RAD AI is helping marketers become more efficient and effective in their work. By using RAD AI, marketing professionals can quickly identify trends, understand consumer behavior and optimize campaigns for maximum impact.

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But a small group of savvy people are using these tools to the max. These fast-thinking go-getters are finding ways to use AI technology to take on multiple jobs — without their employers suspecting a thing. While many may view this as a negative trend, for those who are successfully exploiting AI, it's a golden opportunity not to be missed.

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent shift to remote work, a group of workers took advantage of the newfound flexibility and dubbed themselves the "over-employed." These savvy individuals found ways to juggle multiple jobs simultaneously, capitalizing on the increased flexibility that comes with working from home.

One of those people is Ben (his real name was changed for privacy), a financial technology marketer in Toronto who was initially skeptical about the idea. He became intrigued after learning that one of his friends was able to pull it off. But the challenge for Ben was that his job involved a lot of writing, making it seemingly impossible for him to work two jobs at once.

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Inspired by the success of his friend and armed with the knowledge of AI's capabilities, Ben began to explore the possibilities of working multiple jobs using ChatGPT. He and his colleagues quickly realized that ChatGPT could be used to quickly locate information and generate written materials, saving them valuable time. This gave Ben the idea of using ChatGPT to take on a second job. And to his delight, he was successful in doing so earlier this year — even using the AI chatbot to write his cover letters while applying.

According to Ben, the recent release of GPT-4, an even more advanced version of the AI, has made his job easier.

"I can just tell it to create a story, and it just does it for me, based on the context that I gave it," he said. But he still needs to tweak the text occasionally, as AI can make mistakes.

While some may worry that these advancements in AI will lead to widespread job displacement, Ben and other workers believe their expertise is still necessary to ensure the accuracy of the text generated by the AI.

To make messages to his manager look like they were written by a busy worker, Ben uses ChatGPT to write them in lowercase letters. Another employee even uses AI to transcribe Zoom meetings, allowing them to multitask and review notes later.

Mateo G., a 30-year-old from North Jersey who works on the administrative side of food and beverage production, has been talking about his covert use of ChatGPT on the job. And the best part? His boss has no idea.

According to a report from the New York Post, Mateo recently came to the rescue of his entire department when corporate officials hounded his supervisor for a massive spreadsheet project. The task would have taken weeks to complete, but with the help of ChatGPT, Mateo was able to quickly and efficiently deliver a flawless project ahead of schedule.

The prevalence of ChatGPT in the workplace is becoming apparent as more professionals use it on the job — and many do so without their bosses knowing. According to a February poll by the professional social network Fishbowl, 68% of ChatGPT users keep their usage discreet.

For instance, Joël Kai Lenz, 27, a corporate writer based in London, admits to using ChatGPT's time-saving properties but keeps his usage under wraps.

"I wouldn't go out and scream it from the rooftops," Kai Lenz said, adding that he avoids the topic when clients inquire about how he completes his work so quickly.

Esmark Says It Will Not Make Takeover Bid for US Steel

Joe Deaux
Wed, August 23, 2023 


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Esmark Says It Will Not Make Takeover Bid for US Steel


(Bloomberg) -- Steel distributor Esmark Inc. has changed its mind on buying United States Steel Corp., citing union support for a rival bid from Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. for the sudden turnabout.

The reversal is the latest twist in a frantic 11 days that has seen US Steel unexpectedly announce it was exploring strategic alternatives, its rejection of a $7.25 billion offer from Cliffs, and the United Steelworkers union coming out and exclusively supporting Cliffs’ bid. The battle over the iconic American steelmaker has fixated investors, producers, consumers and analysts that gathered in Atlanta this week for the industry’s biggest conference in North America.

Esmark said in an emailed statement Wednesday that it wouldn’t participate in the purchase process for US Steel, with the closely held company saying it “respects” the USW’s support of Cliffs. The statement comes nine days after Esmark made a surprise offer to buy US Steel for $7.8 billion in cash, trumping Cliffs’ earlier bid.

Shares of US Steel fell as much as 3.2% after Esmark’s statement. The stock settled 2.2% lower at $31.32 as of 4:15 p.m. in New York.

“The USW was our partner in the successful acquisition of Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel, and we remain close with them,” Jim Bouchard, Esmark chairman and CEO, said in the statement. “Esmark had previously stated its intention to bid for, and negotiate a purchase with, US Steel,” he said, adding that Esmark respects the USW position.

Esmark’s unexpected offer on Aug. 14 sent steel market participants scrambling to learn more about the service center and its CEO. The company’s announcement of an offer was light on details for investors and included a lengthy biographical section about Bouchard, 62, that included personal accolades stretching back to his high school days.

Skeptical Analysts

Shares of US Steel never touched the $35-a-share offer by Bouchard, and multiple analysts went public expressing skepticism of his bid. BNP Paribas even wrote in an Aug. 17 note to its clients that it didn’t believe Esmark’s offer was credible. “Inconsistencies in the press release, the absence of SEC filings and an unusual interview from the CEO are also leaving us dubious,” BNP said in its note.

The most recent developments between US Steel and Cliffs have centered on the Steelworkers’ right to bid for the Pittsburgh-based producer in the event that the company is presented with a “bona fide” takeover offer. US Steel said Tuesday in a filing that it sent a letter to its union workers regarding the strategic review process announced earlier this month, informing them of rights outlined in last year’s labor contract. Hours later, Cliffs submitted a filing indicating it sent US Steel a letter saying the company is obliged to inform the steelworkers and Cliffs of any proposals received.

“Let’s see what happens next,” Bouchard said in a text message to Bloomberg News.

Apollo Sued Over $570 Million Payout Tied to Leon Black Departure

Jef Feeley
Wed, August 23, 2023


(Bloomberg) -- Apollo Global Management was sued by an investor seeking information about $570 million in payments the private equity firm made to founders Leon Black, Josh Harris and Marc Rowan after Black’s ouster over his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The Anguilla Social Security Board filed a lawsuit on Aug. 17 that was unsealed yesterday in Delaware Chancery Court. The pension fund asked for an order requiring Apollo to produce records explaining why the three received the payments as part of a restructuring effort in the wake of the Epstein scandal.

“The process leading to the challenged payoff was rife with conflicts and procedural unfairness,” lawyers for the Anguilla fund said in the 83-page complaint filed in Delaware Chancery Court. “It is far from clear what the justification for the $570 million payment was.” The fund’s suit was first reported by the Financial Times.

Black has continued to be in spotlight over his ties to Epstein even after his 2021 Apollo departure. He sued Harris and several other people alleging they conspired with Russian model Guzel Ganieva to destroy his reputation with allegations of rape and abuse. A judge dismissed that suit last year. Black last week sued the law firm that previously represented Ganieva and has brought claims by two other women who claim the Apollo co-founder assaulted them inside Epstein’s New York mansion.

Black has admitted paying Epstein $158 million for tax and financial services but has denied knowing of his sex crimes.

Apollo didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the Anguilla fund’s suit seeking books and records. Such cases are frequently filed in Delaware to gather ammunition for later lawsuits.

Black stepped down as chairman of Apollo in March 2021, amid growing scrutiny of his ties to Epstein and the allegations by Ganieva. An explosive lawsuit by the model, with whom Black said he had a consensual relationship, was dismissed in May.

According to the Anguilla fund’s suit, Apollo officials said they agreed to pay the $570 million in payments to cover the founder’s tax liabilities as part of the reorganization following Black’s departure.


“Apollo publicly disclosed virtually nothing about the challenged payoff, the process leading to it, or the reasons for it,” attorneys for the Anguilla fund said. “An independent third party acting at arm’s length would not have paid Black and his co-founders any number approaching $570 million.”

The case is Anguilla Social Security Board v. Black, 2023-0846, Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington).

(Updates with details from complaint, background.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

Climate change could bring year-round heatwaves: UN researcher

Nina LARSON
Wed, August 23, 2023 

Extreme heat has dominated the headlines in recent weeks (Angelos Tzortzinis)

As Europe and other regions swelter, a UN researcher cautioned that climate change was enabling increasingly intense and long-lasting heatwaves, which in some areas could soon begin to hit year-round.

Extreme heat has dominated the headlines in recent weeks, from the current "heat dome" cooking much of Europe, to heat-fuelled wildfires raging in Greece, Spain, Canada and Hawaii, and soaring temperatures in the middle of the South American winter.

Heatwaves are beginning earlier, lasting longer and becoming more intense, John Nairn, a senior extreme heat advisor at the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO), told AFP in an interview.

"It's the most rapidly emerging consequence of global warming that we are seeing in the weather systems," he said, stressing that this was in line with scientific predictions.

"People are far too relaxed about the signs," he lamented.

"The science has been saying this is coming your way. And this is not where it stops."

"It will only get more intense and more frequent."

- 'Parked' heat -

One reason, he explained, was that global warming appears to be leading to a weakening of the global jet streams -- air that flows high in the Earth's atmosphere.

As the jet stream waves grow slower and wavier, they allow weather systems to "become parked" in one spot for longer.

"You can get a summertime situation where you get persistent heatwaves, and the heat just builds and builds and builds, because the wave is not moving on," Nairn said.

If you look at the planet as a whole, he said you could see that "these heatwaves are appearing in each of those same wavelengths around the globe".

"The slowing down and parking of the weather patterns is setting us up so that North America, parts of the Atlantic ocean, Europe and Asia are simultaneously sitting in the (wave) ridges, getting caught."

Heatwaves are among the deadliest natural hazards, with hundreds of thousands of people dying from preventable heat-related causes each year.

- 'More dangerous' -

Nairn called for the conversation around heat to become "smarter".

Among other things, he said, there should be far more focus on rising overnight minimum temperatures than on the maximum day temperatures that grab headlines.

Repeated high nighttime temperatures are particularly dangerous for human health, since the body is unable to recover from the heat it suffers through during the day.

Higher overnight temperatures also mean that the energy accumulated during the day has nowhere to go, pushing temperatures even higher the next day.

The fact that minimum temperatures are rising faster than maximums is thus pushing excess energy "into longer periods of higher temperatures", Nairn said.

"It's cumulative... So heatwaves are becoming much more dangerous."

And as the climate continues to change, the situation is due to get worse, Nairn said.

He voiced particular concern over the situation in the tropics and subtropics, pointing to the record heat seen in South America, with temperatures up towards 40 degrees Celsius in the middle of what is supposed to be their winter.

Looking forward, he cautioned that "we're going to see a lot more heatwaves across a much longer period of the year".

In the tropics and subtropics, "unfortunately, the indications are that severe and extreme heatwaves are likely to be able to occur anytime (of year) before the end of the century".

Less sunlight means year-round extreme heatwaves are not expected at other latitudes, but Nairn stressed that there too we will be seeing more "unseasonably warm periods" even in winter.

Asked what could be done to rein in the rampant heat, Nairn stressed that "all of us have the capabilities to actually turn this around".

"We need to electrify everything... and stop burning fossil fuels. It's not harder than that."

Trump's classified-documents indictment does more than allege crimes − it tells a compelling story

Derek H. Kiernan-Johnson, Teaching Professor of Law, University of Colorado Boulder
Wed, August 23, 2023 
THE CONVERSATION

The indictment of Donald Trump and an aide was 'laced with rhetorical and narrative techniques.' Photo Illustration by Drew Angerer/Getty Images

When special counsel Jack Smith announced the charges he was bringing against former President Donald Trump for retaining government documents, he did something unusual: He invited the public to read the formal legal document, known as an indictment, detailing the allegations.

And many did – concluding not only that the indictment was well-written but engaging.

I study the ethics of using narrative and rhetoric in legal persuasion. I am also a lawyer. I know that nothing required Smith and his team at the Department of Justice to write this way. Although legal scholars have called for a more stringent standard, the law requires only that a federal indictment include a “plain, concise, and definite” outline of the “essential facts” of the case – just enough to help the defense attorney understand what the client faces. Prosecutors could have cleared this hurdle by writing a technocratic document intelligible only to other criminal law insiders.

Instead, they wrote what in legal circles is called a “speaking” indictment. This indictment told a story. And not just any story – one laced with rhetorical and narrative techniques to not just help the public understand the case, but more, to persuade readers that the prosecution is justified.

Show, don’t tell

Here are some examples of how the indictment tells a story aimed at persuading readers:

The storage boxes: Trump’s now famous boxes are introduced by, first, the use of selective detail to paint a sentimental scrapbooking scene: We imagine Trump gathering what are described as “newspapers, press clippings, letters, notes, cards, photographs, official documents, and other materials in cardboard boxes.” Yet among this image of keepsakes, notes the next paragraph, were documents about “defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; [and] potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack.”

Mar-a-Lago: These boxes didn’t remain at the White House; after Trump’s presidency ended, he took them to Mar-a-Lago. Prosecutors could have just referred to Trump’s “Florida residence” or listed a street address. But doing so might not only be boring but also leave readers with their own stock sense of what a “residence” is.

So they brought Mar-a-Lago to life, describing it as an “active social club” with “more than 25 guest rooms, two ballrooms, a spa, [and] a gift store” that, in the relevant period, hosted “150 social events, including weddings, movie premieres, and fundraisers that together drew tens of thousands of guests.” It was into this Gatsbyesque scene that Trump brought his boxes.

True, Mar-a-Lago does have a “storage room” where many boxes were put. But here, too, indictment authors counter readers’ image of what that might mean. This isn’t a room in a quiet basement corner, but rather one in a hallway with “multiple outside entrances,” near high-traffic areas like a “liquor supply closet” and “linen room.” In a moment of almost Shakespearean comedy, the indictment shows Trump employees in this setting chancing upon confidential documents spilled out on the floor. One texts, “I opened the door and found this…” to which the other replies, “Oh no oh no.”

The photos: Readers are not merely told that Trump stored highly sensitive intelligence materials at less-than-secure locations throughout Mar-a-Lago, they are shown photos of boxes on a stage and in a bathroom.

Boxes at former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., in a photo included by the Justice Department in its indictment of Trump for hoarding government documents. U.S. Department of Justice via Getty Images

In this handout photo provided by the Justice Department, stacks of boxes are stored in a bathroom and shower at former U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla. Photo by U.S. Department of Justice via Getty Images

These images not only keep readers engaged by breaking up the text but also reinforce the Department of Justice’s written allegations. And because viewers assume images to be true without reflection, including this photographic evidence as visual allegations is especially effective.

Plot inferences: As with any nonfiction story, the indictment has gaps. Readers know that phone calls occurred but not what was said. Readers know that actions took place one after another but not that the first caused the second. But through careful arrangement, the authors prime readers to fill in these gaps.

Using Trump’s own words, the indictment encourages readers to imagine him, to hear him, thinking out loud: “I don’t want anybody looking through my boxes … wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here? … isn’t it better if there are no documents?” Then, starting a page later, readers twice see Trump speak to an employee for less than half a minute. They don’t know what’s said, but in both cases the next sentence after each phone call shows that employee moving boxes in, and then out, of the storage room.

Readers could infer what’s going on: Trump ordered that the boxes be moved and did so to conceal their contents. Without even realizing it, readers complete the story, giving content to the phone calls and meaning to the actions that followed them.

Throughout the indictment, writing techniques such as these transport readers through a story portal so that they see Mar-a-Lago, hear Trump barking orders and feel his motivations; the case’s disparate facts cohere into a vivid, engaging story.

‘It’s only one side’

A bare-bones, legalistic indictment would do none of these things. Nonexpert readers would gloss over it. The public would be left with just Trump’s claims about what the case was about. In contrast, Smith’s approach helps the public understand this historic prosecution.

So maybe more prosecutors should write this way.

But not every defendant has Trump’s power or influence. Not every defendant can broadcast a story for an indictment to then counter. Instead, an indictment full of persuasive storytelling techniques might frame the public’s first, and sometimes only, impressions.

Unlike in a Supreme Court case, where both sides get to share their story of what happened and should happen next, at the indictment stage the prosecutor is the only one speaking. If such a case settles before trial through a plea agreement, or if after trial the case isn’t appealed, then the defendant may never have a chance to present a public, written story.

Prosecutors wield incredible power. This includes the power to persuade through storytelling. While admiring the writing of Smith and his team here, readers should also be aware: It’s only one side of the story.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. \

It was written by: Derek H. Kiernan-Johnson, University of Colorado Boulder.

Read more:

• Why Trump’s prosecution for keeping secret documents is lawful, constitutional, precedented, nonpartisan and merited

• How the exposure of highly classified documents could harm US security – and why there are laws against storing them insecurely

Judge rejects Newsmax bid to narrow Smartmatic lawsuit over 2020 US election

Tom Hals and Helen Coster
Wed, August 23, 2023 at 11:07 AM MDT·2 min read

Houston hosts NRA convention days after school massacre

By Tom Hals and Helen Coster

WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) -A Delaware judge on Wednesday rejected Newsmax Media's bid to narrow the allegedly defamatory statements that the right-wing U.S. television network must defend in a lawsuit by voting machine company Smartmatic USA involving the 2020 presidential election.

Smartmatic, whose U.S. headquarters is in Boca Raton, Florida, sued Newsmax in November 2021, saying the network should be held accountable for knowingly spreading false claims that the company rigged the election against Republican then-President Donald Trump, who lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

After the original lawsuit was filed, Smartmatic amended its complaint to add 26 additional statements it said were defamatory, such as statements aired by the network that Smartmatic machines could have been hacked.

Newsmax had argued that the statute of limitations had passed and that it was too late to add allegedly defamatory statements to the amended complaint.

Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis in his ruling said the additional statements fell within the themes of the original complaint and stemmed from the network's coverage of the election, so he allowed them.

Newsmax did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Smartmatic did not say in its lawsuit how much money it was seeking in damages from Newsmax, but said election conspiracy theories have erased $2 billion in value from the company.

The company also has sued San Diego-based One America News in federal court in Washington and New York-based Fox News, its parent Fox Corp and several Fox hosts in a New York state court over similar claims.

Fox Corp and Fox News in April settled a similar defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems on the eve of trial in the same Delaware court for $787.5 million.

(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Will Dunham and Chizu Nomiyama)

Kosovo inaugurates 'Wall of Honor' statue for 23 Albanians who rescued Jews during the Holocaust
SYLEJMAN KLLOKOQI and LLAZAR SEMINI
Wed, August 23, 2023 at 5:43 AM MDT·3 min read

A view of a statue honoring 23 Kosovo Albanians who rescued Jews from the Holocaust during World War II, after an inauguration, in the capital, Pristina, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023. The “Wall of Honor” statue was placed in a park in Pristina in the presence of some of the rescuers' descendants, political leaders, and the U.S. and German ambassadors. 

(AP Photo/Sylejman Kllokoqi)

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — A statue bearing the names of 23 Kosovo Albanians who rescued Jews from the Holocaust during World War II was inaugurated Wednesday in the capital, Pristina.

The “Wall of Honor” statue was placed in a park in Pristina in the presence of some of the rescuers' descendants, political leaders, and the U.S. and German ambassadors.

Some 500 Jews lived in Kosovo, then part of former Yugoslavia, at the beginning of the war. Many were arrested, deported to nearby prisons or Nazi-managed camps and almost half of them died.

Local Albanians helped scores of Jews to escape, usually taking them to neighboring Albania.

Leke Rezniqi's great-grandfather Arslan rescued Jewish physician Chaim Abrabanel, who was working in Skopje, now in North Macedonia. Arslan Rezniqi sheltered him and worked with another Albanian, Arif Alickaj, to prepare false documents and take Abrabanel safely to Albania.

“That shows only the example of the uniqueness of Albanian rescue,” Leke Rezniqi told The Associated Press. “He promised with the highest level of promise, the concept of the besa ('trust' in Albanian), that means that you never betray that promise, even though you would have to sacrifice your own family.”

In 2008 Arslan Rezniqi was the first Kosovar to be included in the “Righteous Among the Nations” list from Yad Vashem for rescuing Jews from the Holocaust.

Since 2021, Leke Rezniqi has lived in Haifa, Israel. Abrabanel's niece Rachel-Shelly Levy-Drummer helped him to emigrate and gain Israeli citizenship.

Nowadays, 56 Jews live in the western Kosovar town of Prizren.

The statue showed that “the remembrance of those who risked their lives to save their fellow human beings is a tradition that commemorates a rare, bright light in one of the darkest periods of human history,” according to Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

Avner Shalev, former head of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial, considered Albanians as “a unique case in the history of the Second World War.”

In every other European state, the Jews were fewer in number after the war or totally wiped out, he said. The only exception was "in the territories that Albanians used to live: there were more Jews after the war then in the beginning of the war,” he said, adding that should be told to generations.

Kosovo and Israel decided to establish diplomatic ties at a Kosovo-Serbia summit held at the White House in September 2020 by then-U.S. President Donald Trump.

Kosovo was the first European country, and the first country with a Muslim majority, to establish its embassy in Jerusalem, following the U.S. and Guatemala. An opening ceremony was held in March 2021.

Israel is the most recent country to have recognized Kosovo after Pristina's Parliament declared independence from Serbia in 2008, nine years after NATO conducted a 78-day airstrike campaign against Serbia to stop a bloody crackdown against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

Most Western nations have recognized Kosovo’s independence, but Serbia and its allies Russia and China have not.

——-

Llazar Semini reported from Tirana, Albania.

Belarus outlaws prominent rights group Viasna, declaring it extremist

YURAS KARMANAU
Wed, August 23, 2023

Ales Bialiatski, the head of Belarusian Viasna rights group, stands in a defendants' cage during a court session in Minsk, Belarus, on Nov. 2, 2011. Belarusian authorities Wednesday Aug. 23, 2023 declared the country's oldest and most prominent human rights group an extremist organization. The move against Viasna, founded by imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatksi, comes amid a yearslong crackdown on dissent in Belarus and exposes anyone involved in its activities to criminal prosecution. 

(AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File) (

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian authorities Wednesday declared the country's oldest and most prominent human rights group an extremist organization.

The move against Viasna, founded by imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, comes amid a yearslong crackdown on dissent in Belarus and exposes anyone involved in its activities to criminal prosecution.

Belarus was swept by massive protests, some of which drew more than 100,000 people, after the August 2020 presidential vote handed a sixth term to the country's authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. The election was rejected as fraudulent by the opposition and the West.

Authorities responded with a brutal crackdown. More than 35,000 people were arrested, thousands were beaten by police while in custody, and hundreds of nongovernmental organizations and independent media outlets were shut down and outlawed as extremist.

The move against Viasna significantly ramped up the pressure on dissenters in Belarus. Viasna has branches in the majority of the country’s large cities, and hundreds of volunteers and activists all over the country who monitor human rights abuses in Belarus on a daily basis.

The authorities say that anyone who has anything to do with the group and continues to be involved with it will face criminal charges, such as “contributing to an extremist organization." The offense is punishable by up to seven years in prison.

Belarus' Interior Ministry on Wednesday accused Viasna of “preparing attacks on the sovereignty and public security of Belarus, (and) discrediting and insulting officials.” Some 30 of its branches and information outlets linked to it were also added to the list of extremist organizations.

Bialiatski founded Viasna in 1996. The renowned human rights advocate was arrested after the 2020 protests and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 while serving a 10-year prison sentence. Five other top Viasna advocates are also behind bars.

According to Viasna, a total of 1,489 political prisoners are incarcerated in Belarus, and the authorities deliberately create unbearable living conditions for many of them.

Pakistani children rescued from a broken cable car say they repeatedly feared they would die

RIAZ KHAN and MUNIR AHMED

Updated Wed, August 23, 2023 

Gul Faraz, center, a survivor of cable car incident, talks to members of media, near the incident site, in Pashto village, a mountainous area of Battagram district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023. The rescue of six school children and two adults who were plucked from a broken cable car that was dangling precariously hundreds of meters (yards) above a steep gorge was a miracle, a survivor said Wednesday. The teenager said he and the others felt repeatedly that death was imminent during the 16-hour ordeal. (AP Photo/Saqib Manzoor)

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Schoolchildren who were rescued from a broken cable car dangling high above a valley in Pakistan said Wednesday they repeatedly feared they were about to die during the 16-hour ordeal despite attempts by their parents to reassure them over cellphones.

Several of the children, who had been on their way to school Tuesday when one of the car's cables snapped, also appealed for a school and bridge to be built in their village so they wouldn't have to ride the cable car in the future.

Six children and two adults were pulled from the cable car in a daring rescue Tuesday. One of the youngest was grabbed by a commando attached to a helicopter by rope, while others were lowered to the ground with the help of volunteers using a makeshift chairlift constructed by villagers from a wooden bed frame and ropes. Volunteer Mohammad Sohaib emerged as a hero after helping to rescue three of the children, one by one.

“I had heard stories about miracles, but I saw a miraculous rescue happening with my own eyes,” said 15-year-old Osama Sharif, one of those rescued.

Osama was headed to school on Tuesday to receive the results of his final exam when one of the cables snapped.

“We suddenly felt a jolt, and it all happened so suddenly that we thought all of us are going to die,” he said in a telephone interview.

Some of those aboard had cellphones and started making calls. Worried parents tried to reassure the children.

“They were telling us don’t worry, help is coming,” he said. After several hours, the passengers saw helicopters flying in the air.

Locally made cable cars are a widely used form of transportation in the mountainous Battagram district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Gliding across steep valleys, they cut down travel time to schools, workplaces and businesses. But they often are poorly maintained, and every year people die or are injured while using them.

On Wednesday, police arrested Gul Zarin, the owner of the cable car, on charges of ignoring safety measures. Local authorities in the northwestern mountainous regions said they would close all cable cars believed to be unsafe.

Thousands of people turned out to watch the risky operation on Tuesday. At one stage, a rope lowered from a helicopter swayed wildly as a child, secured by a harness, was pulled up.

In fact, the choppers added an element of danger. The air currents churned up by the whirling blades risked weakening the only cable preventing the cable car from crashing to the bottom of the river canyon.

“We cried, and tears were in our eyes, as we feared the cable car will go down,” Osama said.

After sunset, with the helicopters no longer able to fly, rescuers shifted tactics. They used a makeshift chairlift to approach the cable car using the one cable that was still intact, local police chief Nazir Ahmed said.

Shouts of “God is great” erupted as the chairlift was lowered to the ground in the final stage of the operation just before midnight.

Ahmed said the children received oxygen as a precaution before being handed over to their parents, many of whom burst into tears of joy.

Two other survivors, Rizwan Ullah, an 11-year-old boy and Gul Faraz, 25, told The Associated Press that they would not forget the ordeal for years.

Gul said he feared while waiting for rescue that the cable car would crash to the ground and “we would die soon.” He appealed to the government to build a school in the area and link their village to nearby towns with a bridge and a road “so our elders and young people don’t face such things.”

Rizwan said he doesn't want to use the cable car again, but that would only be possible if a school is built nearby.

Ata Ullah, another rescued student, said he would try to be brave the next time he has to ride one.

“I feel fear in my mind about using the cable car, but I have no other option. I will go to my school again when the cable car is repaired,” he said.