BWXT, Crowley to work together on power plant vessel concept

22 September 2023

BWX Technologies, Inc has teamed up with global shipping and maritime, energy and logistics solutions company Crowley to develop new shallow-draft hull ships to supply energy from onboard microreactors to shoreside locations.

The companies' vision for their concept (Image: Crowley)

A memorandum of understanding between BWXT's Advanced Technologies subsidiary and Crowley will allow both companies to jointly pursue and develop opportunities relative to the design, engineering and development of the ships, which would feature factory fabricated microreactors, readily deployed into a shipyard configuration for ease of installation on the vessel. The onboard power plant could supply electricity to facilities such as military bases in remote island locations, backup utility grids after disasters, and provide power in other scenarios "where traditional electricity sources are damaged or not possible", the companies said.

The concept envisions a 378-foot (115 metre) ship drawing on the logistics and marine capabilities of Crowley, with in-house vessel design Crowley Engineering Services, and the nuclear capabilities of BWXT, which has supplied nuclear components, fuel and services to the US government for more than 60 years. The vessel would use traditional propulsion. Its modular reactor - of between 5 and 50 MW - would be activated upon arrival at the destination and be deactivated and transported after the power supply is discontinued. Buoyed power delivery cables would enable the ships to deploy energy connections to shore. Shallow draft hulls allow vessels to manoeuvre to deliver power strategically if harbour access is limited, for example by military activities or by natural disaster.

Shiju Zacharia, senior vice president and general manager of Crowley Government Solutions, said the cooperation with BWXT will be the privately held company's first move into the nuclear energy sector, and is a key part of its commitment to sustainable, alternative energy sources. "This concept supports the US Department of Energy's goal of maintaining US leadership in nuclear energy technology as well as many the US Department of Defense's strategic goals for operational energy," he said.

BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC President Joe Miller said: "We are excited to work alongside Crowley to leverage our ongoing reactor development and demonstration programs to expand nuclear technology into new and novel markets to deliver zero carbon emissions energy generation to strategic locations."

BWXT was selected in 2022 by the US Department of Defense Strategic Capabilities Office to build and demonstrate a TRISO-fuelled prototype mobile microreactor as part of Project Pele. The company's (BWXT Advanced Nuclear Reactor) transportable microreactor - a 50 MW (thermal) high-temperature gas microreactor - was one of five selected in December 2020 by the Department of Energy to receive a share of USD30 million in initial funding for risk reduction projects under its Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program.

The companies have not yet provided details of the microreactor technology envisaged for their new ship concept other than saying it would feature "the latest technology available".

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

US microreactor apparatus begins tests

25 September 2023

Tests now under way using an electric-powered prototype of the US Department of Energy's (DOE) MARVEL microreactor will demonstrate the natural circulation that will be a critical part of the reactor's heat removal system.

The PCAT replica installed and ready for testing at Creative Energy's facility (Image: DOE Office of Nuclear Energy)

The primary coolant apparatus test - or PCAT - is a full-scale replica of the MARVEL microreactor. Built at Idaho National Laboratory (INL), the 12 foot (3.7 metre) tall machine was installed at Creative Engineers Inc's manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania in May, and loaded with sodium-potassium and lead-bismuth coolants to demonstrate heat removal from its electrically heated core. PCAT's Stirling engines were started for the first time on 19 September, Creative Engineers said.

CAT will provide data on temperatures and coolant flow to ensure the MARVEL reactor will perform as expected. The first phases of testing at PCAT will initially focus on demonstrating natural circulation, a critical heat removal mechanism within the system, DOE said.

The PCAT demonstration is an "important step in that process and will help validate and benchmark tools we use to accurately predict how the reactor will perform," Yasir Arafat, chief designer and project lead for MARVEL, said.

MARVEL - a liquid-metal cooled microreactor equipped with Stirling engines - is expected to produce 85 MW (thermal) using small amounts of high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel. It is to be constructed at INL's Transient Reactor Test Facility - using off-the-shelf components, which will allow for faster construction - where it will be used to test microreactor applications, evaluate systems for remote monitoring, and develop autonomous control technologies. DOE has said it plans to connect the reactor to the lab's first nuclear microgrid.

The DOE said it is close to finalising the MARVEL design and is in discussion to procure key long-lead components for fabrication. The reactor could be operational as soon as the end of next year.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

Environmental permit granted for first Polish Nuclear plant

22 September 2023

Poland's General Director for Environmental Protection (GDOŚ) has issued to Polskie Elektrownie Jadrowe (PEJ) its decision on the environmental conditions for the construction of a nuclear power plant in the province of Pomerania.

How the plant in Pomerania could look (Image: PEJ)

PEJ, the Polish government company that is progressing its policy to deploy up to six reactors at multiple sites in the country by 2040, submitted the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report for the first plant to GDOŚ on 29 March 2022. GDOŚ is an expert institution responsible for environmental protection and control of the investment process.

The EIA report examined the environmental impact of constructing and operating a plant with a generating capacity of up to 3750 MWe in the area of ​​the municipalities of Choczewo, Gniewino and Korkowa in the province of Pomerania. PEJ said the final EIA report complied with the provisions of the decision of GDOŚ, which in 2016 defined the scope of the environmental report in relation to the considered location variants and their technical sub-options, as well as in relation to the infrastructure accompanying the power plant.

The draft decision was reviewed by the Director of the Maritime Office in Gdynia, the State Sanitary Inspector for the Pomorskie Voivodeship, the Director of the Regional Board of Water Management in Gdańsk of the State Water Holding Wody Polskie, the President of the Polish National Atomic Energy Agency, and the Minister of Climate and Environment.

GDOŚ has now issued its final decision, which PEJ said is "a key permit obtained in the investment process, as subsequent administrative approvals, including the location decision and the construction permit, must be consistent with the terms and conditions contained in the decision on environmental conditions".

The obtained decision on environmental conditions determines the site variant for the first nuclear power plant in Poland, at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in the Choczewo municipality. It also defines the conditions of using the environment at the stage of development and operation of the facility, requirements concerning the environment protection necessary to be included in the design documentation, requirements for counteracting the effects of industrial accidents, and it also imposes an obligation of the reassessment of environmental impact, as part of the procedure for issuing the construction permit.

The decision was preceded by national and transboundary consultations with 14 countries that applied for participation in this procedure. The national consultations, held from 20 July to 18 August 2023, included all residents of Poland, who could review the documentation and submit their comments and conclusions. The transboundary consultations were held from September 2022 until July 2023. As part of the procedure, relevant protocols were signed with all the countries involved, including four protocols signed after intergovernmental expert meetings held under Article 5 of the Espoo Convention, which contributed to closing the process within the assumed timeframe.

"The issued decision on environmental conditions is one of the most important stages in the permitting process and brings us significantly closer to the start of the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Poland," said PEJ President Mateusz Berger. "It defines the conditions that must be met in order to execute a nuclear investment project in compliance with environmental regulations and requirements on both the national and international level."

PEJ - a special-purpose vehicle 100% owned by the State Treasury - has already obtained a decision-in-principle issued by the Ministry of Climate and Environment confirming that the company's investment is in line with the energy policy implemented by the state. In August, it applied to the head of the Pomeranian Voivodeship for a location decision for the plant.

The Polish government selected the Westinghouse AP1000 reactor technology for construction at Lubiatowo-Kopalino in Pomerania in November 2022.

Westinghouse and Bechtel have just signed a formal agreement to partner on the design and construction of the plant. They expect to sign an engineering services contract with PEJ within the next week.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

Westinghouse, Bechtel sign consortium agreement for Polish plant

21 September 2023

Westinghouse Electric Company and Bechtel have signed a formal agreement to partner on the design and construction of Poland's first nuclear power plant at Lubiatowo-Kopalino. They expect to sign an engineering services contract with Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) within the next week.

From left: US Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski, Ahmet Tokpinar, general manager of Bechtel’s nuclear power business line, Elias Gedeon, Senior Vice President for Commercial Operations at Westinghouse, Miroslaw Kowalik, President, Westinghouse Poland, and Anna Łukaszewska-Trzeciakowska, Poland Government Plenipotentiary for Strategic Energy Infrastructure at the signing ceremony (Image: Westinghouse)

The Polish government selected the Westinghouse AP1000 reactor technology for construction at Lubiatowo-Kopalino in Pomerania in November 2022. The country's Ministry of Climate and Environment in July this year issued a decision-in-principle for Polskie Elektrownie Jądrowe (PEJ) - a special purpose vehicle 100% owned by the State Treasury - to construct the plant. "Significant licensing and engineering work" on the project is already under way, Westinghouse said.

An agreement signed earlier this year by Bechtel, Westinghouse and PEJ set out plans for the delivery of the project, with Westinghouse to lead the consortium at the design stage and Bechtel during construction.

Westinghouse President for Energy Systems David Durham said the team has "demonstrated ability" to deliver on large nuclear projects. "The fleet experience we have earned with our advanced, proven AP1000 technology, including a 100% complete design and construction lessons-learned, will serve Poland well as it seeks decarbonisation and increased energy security," he said.

"Bechtel and Westinghouse bring more than 140 years of combined nuclear power experience," John Howanitz, president of Bechtel's Nuclear, Security & Environmental global business unit, adding that the companies are "eager to partner with the local workforce, suppliers, and community, to deliver the clean and reliable energy Poland needs."

The consortium agreement was signed at the US Embassy in Warsaw.

Researched and written by World Nuclear News

'I am fearful': Muslim women in France speak out against the abaya ban

Tasnim Nazeer
08 September, 2023
France’s decision to ban Muslim girls from wearing abayas in state schools has ignited widespread condemnation from human rights organisations and Muslims globally. The New Arab interviewed three Muslim women in France who have been impacted.ShareFlipboardRedditWhatsAppXFacebook
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Last month the French government announced it was banning abaya’s (long cloak worn by Muslim females) in state schools asserting that it broke the rules of secularism.

The education minister, Gabriel Attal, told local French television network TVF1, “I have decided that the abaya could no longer be worn in schools,” maintaining that a person's religion should not be identifiable.

However, 15-year-old student Amira from Lyon, Southwest France, says she will not be removing her abaya.

Global hypocrisy on display after French schools abaya ban
Nadeine Asbali

“It’s part of my identity (the abaya), it’s part of me and I am fearful of having it forcibly removed just so that I can have an education, but I am determined not to remove it. I am in a critical year where I will be having exams and this is already affecting me," she tells The New Arab.

“I feel worried and anxious about going to school as I don’t know if they will turn me away or what the consequences of keeping it on will be,” she adds.


"If this is about secularism then shouldn’t we all have the basic right to have the freedom to choose what we wear?"

Amira is not alone, as dozens of girls were sent home for wearing the abaya, as the new school term began this week. According to official figures, there were 298 Muslim girls, mostly aged 15 and older, who turned up in abaya and 67 of those were sent home after refusing to remove the garment to come into school.



“If this is about secularism then shouldn’t we all have the basic right to have the freedom to choose what we wear? Some of my friends who wear abaya are so upset, some even feel like moving out of the country,” says Amira as her voice breaks.

Amira says not everyone agrees with the abaya ban, “Some of my friends from other faiths are angered too, they tell me what’s wrong with wearing a long dress? I feel supported by them, but not everyone is the same, there are some (students) that make me feel pressured to take it off and come back to school. They tell me the consequences will be worse if I don’t remove it.”



An organisation representing Muslims has submitted a formal request to the highest legal authority in France for grievances against the government's actions. The request seeks to challenge the prohibition of the abaya and a motion presented by the Action for the Rights of Muslims (ADM) is currently under review.

Laura, (name changed for confidentiality) is a mother of three girls and revert to Islam. She feels that the latest move by the government could be “detrimental” to young girls like her daughters.

“We all know that Islamophobia is a problem in this (France) country. First, there was a hijab ban then the burka ban and now the abaya. The government is acting under the guise of secularism but really this is about instilling more of a divide and isolating young Muslim girls,” she tells The New Arab.



The UN has also criticised France’s decision to ban the abaya stating that, ‘according to international human rights standards, restrictions on manifestations of religion or belief, including the choice of clothing, are only permitted in very limited circumstances, such as public safety, public order, health or morals.’

Laura believes that more organisations and rights groups should speak up worldwide. “What would you do if it was your daughter who had to face this kind of scrutiny at school just for wearing modest clothes? My daughter cried after being teased for wearing an abaya at school and this kind of bullying is reinforced by the government’s crackdown on Muslims in France and their preoccupation with what we (Muslim women) wear.”

French Muslims are caught between the right and a hard place
Benjamin Ashraf

It’s a sentiment that is echoed by Fatima, a mother of one teenage girl and two boys who live in Paris.

“It’s a difficult time for us. My daughter wears the abaya and the ban is bringing on anxiety issues. Many young Muslim girls are having an internal conflict because, on one hand, they do want to comply with the laws but when the laws are so discriminatory they feel this is violating basic human rights,” Fatima says.

France’s education minister Gabriel Attal had sent a letter home to the families of girls who refused to remove the abaya, saying that “secularism is not a constraint, it is a liberty”.

“If this is not a constraint to human rights I don’t know what is," Fatima continues. "My daughter had to remove it to go to school even though she didn’t want to. She can’t afford to miss her education over this but it’s a sad reality that we are faced with. I do hope that they reverse this decision and I know that activists are speaking out more now but who knows what the future will hold."

Tasnim Nazeer is an award-winning journalist, author, and Universal Peace Federation Ambassador. She has written for Al Jazeera, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, Middle East Eye, CNN, BBC, and others. She was awarded the FIPP global network of Media Rising Stars in 2018
Follow her on Twitter: @tasnimnazeer1

US Govt Contractor Charged With Spying For Ethiopia

By AFP News
09/21/23 

Abraham Teklu Lemma, 50, a US citizen of Ethiopian descent working as a contractor at the State Department, was arrested August 24 AFP

A US government contractor who worked at the State and Justice departments has been arrested on charges of spying, reportedly for Ethiopia.

Abraham Teklu Lemma, 50, a US citizen of Ethiopian descent, was arrested August 24 and is charged with providing national defense information to a foreign government, the Justice Department said.

The criminal complaint against Lemma, a Silver Spring, Maryland, resident whose LinkedIn profile describes him as an IT systems and data analyst, was unsealed on Friday.


In a statement announcing Lemma's arrest, the Justice Department did not name the country he was allegedly spying for, but it was identified by the New York Times and other US media outlets as Ethiopia.

According to an affidavit filed by an FBI investigator, Lemma carried out his espionage activities between December 2022 and August 2023, depositing tens of thousands of dollars in cash into bank accounts in the Washington region.

Lemma copied secret and top secret information from dozens of intelligence reports at the State Department and provided it to an "official associated with a foreign country's intelligence service" via an encrypted messaging service.

The information included documents, photographs, notes and maps relating to what the affidavit called the "Relevant Country."

The affidavit quoted a September 2022 exchange of messages in which the foreign official told Lemma "it's time to continue (your) support," to which he replied, "Roger that!"

"Lemma's communications with the Foreign Official... included a discussion of military activities of a rebel group involved in an armed struggle against the government of the Relevant Country," it said, believed to be a reference to the Tigray conflict.

In addition to working at the State Department, Lemma, who has held a top secret security clearance since 2020, also worked as a contract management analyst at the Justice Department.

Ethiopia is a major recipient of US aid and Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited there in March.

Lemma is charged with two counts of espionage and one of unlawfully retaining national defense information. The espionage charges carry a potential death sentence while the retention charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

INDIA/CANADA UPDATES

Pakistan Minister Bilawal Bhutto Takes Pro-Canada Stand 

By Madhuri Adnal | Published: Friday, September 22, 2023

Following Canada's accusation of India's involvement in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader within Canadian borders, Pakistan's former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari asserted on Tuesday that it was time for the global community to acknowledge India as a "rogue Hindutva terrorist state." 

Speaking to the media, PPP Chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal urged the interim Foreign Office to take note of the incident and issue a "clear" statement. Pakistan's former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari 

He emphasized that Canada had made a significant accusation against India, exposing India's actions to the world. 

Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari went on to say, "For how long will the international community, especially our Western allies, continue to turn a blind eye to such incidents involving India? It is high time for the international community to recognise India as a rogue Hindutva terrorist state." 

Amid Online Threats To Hindus He pointed out that India has not only been involved in acts of terrorism in occupied Kashmir, and its spies have been apprehended for involvement in terrorism in Pakistan, but now it has been caught violating the sovereignty of a NATO member state. 

"This is not just a breach of Canadian sovereignty; it is a violation of international law and norms. The PPP urges Pakistan to call upon the international community to support the people of Canada and shed light on the atrocities committed by the religio-fascist regime that India has become today," Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari concluded.

Will recent events take the charm off the great Canadian Dream?

By Surabhi Sarda, ET Online

Last Updated: Sep 22, 2023

Synopsis

Tensions between India and Canada have heightened over the murder of a Khalistani activist, leading to concerns among Indian parents and families residing in Canada. The Indian government has suspended the issuance of visas in Canada, while Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has called for cooperation in the investigation into the murder. However, immigration lawyers believe that there will be no long-term impact on Canadian immigration.

Tensions between India and Canada have escalated through this week over blames of a Khalistani activist's murder, worrying parents and families of Indian nationals in a far-off country as much as the country’s lawmakers brood over the flaring issue.

Relations between the two countries worsened when on Thursday India suspended the issuance of visas in Canada, citing operational reasons. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau went on to call on the Indian government to cooperate with an official probe into the murder of Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.

However, though the situation is unlikely to alleviate overnight, immigration lawyers in Canada believe that there’s almost nothing to worry about in the long term.

Some Indo-Canadians of Sikh background are already saying they don’t feel as safe in Canada as they once did, says Ravi Jain, Canada-based immigration lawyer and founder of Jain immigration, though Trudeau’s move did not surprise some in Canada’s Sikh community.

“Some leaders of this community are already indicating that they are not surprised by the Prime Minister’s announcement. Others of Indian descent will find the nature of the allegations shocking,” Jain said.

The most recent census reveals that there are 7,70,000 Indo-Canadians who identify as Sikhs in terms of their religion, while some of them support Khalistan.

Also read: As tensions rise, Canadian universities caution Indian students about delayed intakes, disrupted sessions

Elizabeth Long, Partner at Long Mangalji LLP and a specialist in immigration Law, told ET that the diplomatic ties would not really have an effect on Canadian immigration.

“The presence of Indian nationals or people of this descent in Canada is very strong. They contribute to the Canadian economy and politically too, to quite an extent. However, keeping in mind the recent diplomatic relationship, it is not expected to have any effect on immigration,” Long explained.

It would be unconstitutional if the government here limits people based on nationality, she added.

As for Canada, it is not immune from racist attacks based on world events. Asians in Canada were targeted by some intolerant Canadians for the Covid-19 pandemic.

Anxious Parents

Parents of Indian students currently enrolled in Canada are also anxious for their kids’ safety.

“Concerns among families are growing, not only for those students who have already departed for Canada but also for those currently studying there. In the event of escalating geopolitical tensions, these concerns are expected to rise further," Collegify co-founder Adarsh Khandelwal told ET.

Also read: Visa fears weigh heavy on minds of Indian students headed for Canada

For someone from India, if this would be a right time to pursue education in Canada, Saurabh Arora, CEO and Founder of University Living ,believes it is essential for students to adopt a patient and informed approach.

“Rushed judgments based on isolated events aren’t advisable. Both governments will implement measures to address the situation. Caution is warranted, but panic should be avoided,” he added.

Further, Arora advised that students should stay updated and exercise patience as the situation unfolds, ensuring they make informed decisions regarding their education in Canada.

According to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, a record 2,26,450 Indian students went to study in Canada last year. Indian students accounted for 41 per cent of the 5,51,405 students from 184 countries who entered Canada in 2022.

India calls Canada a ‘safe haven for terrorists’ after suspending visas for Canadian nationals

By Rhea Mogul and Manveena Suri,

 CNN

Fri September 22, 2023

New Delhi CNN —

India has called Canada a “safe haven for terrorists” following its suspension of visas for Canadian citizens, as the fallout grows over Ottawa’s accusation that New Delhi is potentially behind the assassination of a Sikh separatist activist on its soil.

In a strongly worded statement to reporters Thursday, India’s foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said Canada needed to “worry about its international reputation” in the wake of its explosive allegations.

He added: “If you’re talking about reputational issues and reputational damage, if there’s any country that needs to look at this, I think it’s Canada and its growing reputation as a place, as a safe haven for terrorists, for extremists, and for organized crime.”

His comments followed India’s move to suspend visa applications for Canadian citizens over what it says are “security threats” against diplomats in the country.

“The issue is of incitement of violence, the inaction by the Canadian authorities, the creation of an environment that disrupts the functioning of our high commission and consulates, that’s what’s making us stop temporarily the issuance of visas or providing visa services,” Bagchi added.

India suspends visas for Canadian nationals as diplomatic spat deepens

Relations between the two countries plummeted this week after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said India was potentially behind the June killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist activist, who was gunned down by two masked men in Surrey, British Columbia.

India has vehemently denied the claims, calling them “absurd and motivated.” Bagchi said Canada has provided “no specific information” to support the allegations.

India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Thursday issued an advisory to television channels, asking them to refrain from “giving any platform to persons who are facing serious charges, such as terrorism or belonging to organizations proscribed by law.”

The Indian government has long accused Canada of inaction in dealing with what it says is Sikh separatist extremism aimed at creating a separate Sikh homeland that would be known as Khalistan and include parts of India’s Punjab state.

Nijjar was an outspoken supporter of the creation of Khalistan. India considers calls for Khalistan a grave national security threat.

A number of groups associated with the idea of Khalistan are listed as “terrorist organizations” under India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Nijjar’s name appears on the list of UAPA terrorists and in 2020, the Indian National Investigation Agency accused him of “trying to radicalize the Sikh community across the world in favor of the creation of ‘Khalistan.’”

Several Sikh organizations overseas say the movement is being falsely equated with terrorism by the Indian government, and say they will continue to peacefully advocate for the creation of Khalistan, while bringing to light what they say is years of human rights abuses faced by the community in India.

The history of Khalistan

Sikhs once had their own kingdom in the Punjab and the push for the creation of Khalistan dates back decades, to around the time India gained independence from its British colonial rulers in 1947.

When Partition hastily divided the former colony along religious lines – sending Muslims to the newly formed nation of Pakistan, and Hindus and Sikhs to newly independent India – Punjab, which was sliced in half, saw some of the worst violence.

Sikhs suffered heavily in the ensuing bloodshed, and the community felt mistreated in the new Hindu-majority nation, prompting some prominent leaders to advocate for the creation of Khalistan. Over the years, violent clashes have erupted between followers of the movement and the Indian government, claiming many lives.

In the 1980s, Punjab witnessed a decade-long insurgency by some Khalistani militants, who committed a series of human rights abuses, including the massacre of civilians, indiscriminate bombings and attacks on Hindus, according to Human Rights Watch.

Canada and India are enmeshed in an unprecedented diplomatic row. Here's how it happened

In counterinsurgency operations, Indian security forces arbitrarily detained, tortured, executed, and “disappeared” tens of thousands of Sikhs, the rights group said. The Indian government also enacted counterinsurgency legislation that facilitated human rights violations and shielded security forces from accountability for these violations, it added.

In 1984, then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered Indian troops to storm Amritsar’s Golden Temple – Sikhism’s holiest shrine – to kill Sikh separatists, in an operation that caused huge anger within the Sikh community.

Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in the aftermath, prompting a renewed bout of violence that killed more than 3,000 people, mostly Sikhs.

A year later the violence spilled over to Canada, when Sikh separatists bombed an Air India plane that had taken off from Toronto airport, killing all 329 people aboard, including numerous Canadians of Indian descent.

The Khalistan movement now

There is no insurgency in Punjab today and analysts say supporters of the Khalistan movement remain very much on the margins in India.

However, the movement continues to evoke a level of sympathy from some Sikhs within the global diaspora, particularly in Canada, Britain and Australia.

A small but influential number of those Sikhs support the idea of Khalistan, with referendums periodically held to reach a consensus to establish a separate homeland.

Nijjar’s death shocked and outraged many within the Sikh community in Canada, which has more than 770,000 members and is one of the largest outside India.

Canadian police have not arrested anyone in connection with Nijjar’s murder. But in August, police said they were investigating three suspects and issued a description of a possible getaway vehicle, asking for the public’s help.

Surveillance of Indian diplomats led to claims over Sikh’s slaying, Canadian official says


Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, seen in January, set off a diplomatic crisis this week when he said there were “credible allegations” that India was involved in the fatal shooting of a Sikh separatist outside Vancouver in June.
(Andrew Harnik / Associated Press)

BY ROB GILLIES
ASSOCIATED PRESS

SEPT. 22, 2023 

TORONTO —

The allegation of India’s involvement in the killing of a Sikh Canadian is based on surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, including intelligence provided by a major ally, a Canadian official told the Associated Press on Thursday.

The official said that the communications involved Indian officials and Indian diplomats in Canada and that some of the intelligence was provided by a member of the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance, which consists of the U.S., Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

The official did not say which ally provided intelligence or give details of what was contained in the communications or how they were obtained. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. first reported the intelligence.

The revelation came as India stopped issuing visas to Canadian citizens and told Canada to reduce its diplomatic staff in India as the rift widened over allegations by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of suspected Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a 45-year-old Sikh separatist, in British Columbia, Canada.


Canada gets only muted allied support in its faceoff with India over slain activist
Sept. 21, 2023


Ties between the two countries have plunged to their lowest point in years after Trudeau told Parliament on Monday that there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in Nijjar’s fatal shooting.

Nijjar, a plumber who was born in India and became a Canadian citizen in 2007, had been wanted by India for years before he was gunned down in June outside the temple he led in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver.

Speaking Thursday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Trudeau acknowledged the complicated diplomatic situation.

“The decision to share these allegations on the floor of the House of Commons was not done lightly,” he said. “There is no question that India is a country of growing importance and a country that we need to continue to work with.”

“We are not looking to provoke or cause problems, but we are unequivocal around the importance of the rule of law and unequivocal about the importance of protecting Canadians.”


India tells citizens to be careful if traveling to Canada as rift widens over Sikh leader’s death  Sept. 20, 2023

The bombshell allegation set off an international tit-for-tat, with each country expelling one of the other’s diplomats. India called the allegations “absurd.”

Canada has yet to make public any evidence to back Trudeau’s allegations, and Canada’s ambassador to the U.N., Bob Rae, indicated that that might not come soon.

“This is very early days,” Rae told reporters Thursday, adding that the facts will emerge but must “come out in the course of the pursuit of justice.”

“That’s what we call the rule of law in Canada,” he said.

Meanwhile, the company that processes Indian visas in Canada announced that services had been suspended. Canadians are among the top travelers to India, with 277,000 Canadian citizens visiting the country in 2022, according to India’s Bureau of Immigration.

Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi blamed the visa suspension, which includes visas issued in third countries, on safety issues.

“Security threats being faced by our high commission and consulates in Canada have disrupted their normal functioning,” Bagchi told reporters. He gave no details on the alleged threats.

The announcement quickly rippled across Canada, especially among people with ties to India.

Maitreyi Bhatt, a 27-year-old Indian citizen whose partner is Canadian and needs a visa, was distraught because their wedding was scheduled for late October in India, where he was to meet her family for the first time.

“I’ve been crying all day,” she said. “It’s so difficult. I was just so excited for him to meet my family.”

She said the venue is booked and the couple has nonrefundable flights. She said her partner went to the Indian Consulate in Toronto but was escorted out by security.

“People like me are just caught up in this, and it’s just not fair,” she said.

The Canadian High Commission in New Delhi said Thursday that its consulates in India were open and continue to serve clients. It said some of its diplomats had received threats on social media, and that Canada expects India to provide security for Canadian diplomats and consular officers working there.

India has criticized Canada for years over giving free rein to Sikh separatists, including Nijjar. New Delhi had accused him of links to terrorism, which he denied.

Nijjar was a local leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create an independent Sikh homeland known as Khalistan. A bloody Sikh insurgency shook north India in the 1970s and 1980s until it was crushed in a government crackdown in which thousands of people were killed, including prominent Sikh leaders.

At the time of his killing, Nijjar was working to organize an unofficial Sikh diaspora referendum on independence from India.

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
3M to Pay Nearly $10 Million to Settle Iran Sanctions Case
SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

3M said that the company in 2019 determined several employees had committed these violations, and that it promptly disclosed the matter to the government

The US corporation 3M has agreed to pay $9.6 million to settle its potential liability for a probe by the Treasury Department into sales to an Iranian entity controlled by the Islamic Republic’s police force.

Over a period of two years a 3M subsidiary based in Switzerland sold reflective license plate sheeting to Bonyad Taavon Naja, a sanctioned entity controlled by the Law Enforcement Forces, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said on September 21.

The sales occurred between September 2016 and September 2018, even after staff had pointed out potential issues, the statement said, adding that 3M came forward to disclose the conduct and cooperated throughout the investigation.

3M also fired several employees and cut off a Germany-based intermediary involved in the sales.

The settlement covers 54 alleged violations of sanctions placed on the Islamic Republic, OFAC said, adding that the transactions covered by the alleged violations were valued at around $10 million.

3M said that the company in 2019 determined several employees had committed these violations, and that it promptly disclosed the matter to the government and disclosed it in filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

After conducting a probe, it “took appropriate corrective actions, including personnel actions and policy changes for future compliance,” the company said.

Last month, 3M agreed to pay $6.5 million to settle an SEC probe after a China-based subsidiary allegedly violated Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by paying nearly $1 million to take Chinese healthcare officials on tourist excursions in a bid to “improperly induce the Officials to purchase” the company’s products.

Minnesota-headquartered 3M manufactures a wide range of products, including abrasives, adhesive tape and related products, as well as consumer-electronics components

Rare Truman Capote story from early 1950s being published for first time

22 September 2023

Books Truman Capote. Picture: PA

Another Day In Paradise was written while the author was living in Sicily in the 1950s.

An early Truman Capote story is being published for the first time.

Another Day In Paradise was written while the author, who died in 1984, just before his 60th birthday, was living in Sicily in the 1950s.

The tale, which appears in the new issue of The Strand magazine, is one of disillusion and entrapment.

Capote, who penned classics such as In Cold Blood and Breakfast At Tiffany’s, had a history of work left unfinished and unpublished.

He spent much of his later years struggling to write his planned Proustian masterpiece Answered Prayers, of which excerpts were released.

Capote, who penned classics such as In Cold Blood and Breakfast At Tiffany’s, had a history of work left unfinished and unpublished.(Carl Van Vechten/Geopix/Alamy/PA)

Shorter work, too, was sometimes abandoned, including Another Day In Paradise.

The Strand has published rare works by Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck and many others.

Managing editor Andrew Gulli found Capote’s story in the Library of Congress, inside an “old red and gold-scrolled Florentine notebook”, he writes on the Strand editorial page.

The handwritten manuscript, in pencil, was at times so hard to make out that Mr Gulli needed a transcriber to help prepare it for publication.

By Press Association

Nigerians protest mysterious death of Afrobeat star as police exhumes body for autopsy









People chant slogans during a protest on the streets of Lagos, Nigeria, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, to demand justice following the mysterious death of Afrobeat star Mohbad. Lagos police said the body of the late Ilerioluwa Aloba, better known as MohBad, was exhumed Thursday afternoon in response to complaints about the unclear circumstances surrounding his death.

 (AP Photos/Sunday Alamba)

BY CHINEDU ASADU
 September 21, 2023

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Thousands marched across Nigeria on Thursday over the mysterious death last week of an Afrobeat star whose body has been exhumed for an autopsy as authorities investigate the cause of his demise.

Lagos police said the body of the late Ilerioluwa Aloba, better known as MohBad, was exhumed Thursday afternoon in response to complaints about the unclear circumstances surrounding his death.

Aloba, widely known as one of Nigeria’s fastest-rising young pop stars, died last week in a Lagos hospital at the age of 27 after being admitted for an unknown illness.


Young Nigerians on Tuesday took to the streets in Lagos to demand justice for Aloba, but the protests swelled across the country amid an outpouring of grief – and questions about what caused his death.

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The police in Lagos said it received complaints about the singer’s death, leading them to set up a criminal investigations team to “aggregate all allegations, suspicions and insinuations from various sources on the death of the singer.”

Lagos Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu said Tuesday he had “instructed that all those who may have played any role whatsoever in any event leading to the death of MohBad be made to face the law after a thorough investigation.”

“I also appeal to all friends and fans of the deceased to stay calm and refrain from making inflammatory utterances and reaching prejudicial conclusions on this matter,” Sanwo-Olu said. “Staying calm and following the process will be our most solemn tribute to the memory of the departed talent.”

The death of the young artist has drawn people — and numbers — to his music.

In one of his songs titled “Sorry”, the late star spoke about coming from a poor background and his struggles to earn a living through music. In another, “Peace”, he spoke of himself as a “survivor... money chaser — faster than a bullet.”

People chant slogans during a protest on the streets of Lagos, Nigeria, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, to demand justice following the mysterious death of Afrobeat star Mohbad. Lagos police said the body of the late Ilerioluwa Aloba, better known as MohBad, was exhumed Thursday afternoon in response to complaints about the unclear circumstances surrounding his death. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

Killing convicts with nitrogen is even worse than the lethal injection

Nitrogen hypoxia is the gaseous canister version of a knee on the neck. US states that plan to use it must be stopped.

Joel Zivot
Physician in anesthesiology and intensive care medicine
Published On 22 Sep 2023

A fence stands at Elmore Correctional Facility in Elmore, Alabama, June 18, 2015. The state plans to start using nitrogen hypoxia for executions

 [File: Brynn Anderson/AP Photo]

Recently, the Department of Corrections of the state of Alabama announced it would try to execute death row prisoner Kenny Smith for a second time, this time with something they call nitrogen hypoxia.

On November 17, 2022, Alabama tried and failed to execute Smith with lethal injection owing to an inability to establish intravenous access.

My own research has shown that death by lethal injection involves choking on your own blood about 80 percent of the time. Yet, as bad as that sounds, execution by nitrogen gas will actually be worse.

Natural breathing is involuntary. It satisfies and fuels the body. Our brain knows when we breathe air but can be tricked briefly when breathing pure nitrogen. The chest rises and falls, the lungs inflate and deflate, but it’s like filling the gas tank with water. The engine seizes up and fails, as will the body. Inhalation of nitrogen gas rapidly empties the body of life, and a person would know they are dying – from the inside out.

Nitrogen is an asphyxiant. It will snuff out a burning candle and extinguish a life by displacing oxygen. Pure nitrogen, when inhaled, will not get you high. It is the gaseous canister version of a knee on the neck.

Two landmark Supreme Court judgments have laid down a requirement that if a prisoner claims a method of execution is unconstitutional because of cruelty, they must name another execution method that is readily available.

Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Alabama have all approved the use of nitrogen gas for execution as an alternative execution method, but no state has ever used it. Until now.

So, when Smith insisted that he didn’t want a second stab of lethal injection, he had to agree to death by nitrogen hypoxia. It’s the kind of morbid choice that only the US ‘justice’ system can conjure up.

Lethal injection can lead to a torturous death because of technical failures, botched and painful intravenous attempts, and the chemical burn to the lungs that happens to prisoners as a result of lethal injection.

And as a physician in the practice of anaesthesiology and intensive care medicine, I am opposed to lethal injection. It is designed to mimic a medical act. This is done to mollify public opinion by suggesting the safe oversight of medical practice.

The drugs used for killing through lethal injection have intoxicating properties. The practice can be compared with an overdose, like a death from fentanyl.

Before you die, you get high. I object to the use of medicine to punish and kill. My goal has always been to see the end of lethal injection. If a state wants to kill its citizens, it should use a method that does not masquerade as a medical act. It may as well use the firing squad.

Nitrogen gas, however, is a particularly sinister way of killing people.

To understand why, it’s important to dive into a little history. Before anaesthesiology, surgery was endured without pain control. In the early 19th century, surgeons were lauded for speed, not accuracy.

On occasion, surgery was performed as a public spectacle. To satisfy the taste for grizzly things, these events were well attended. On October 16, 1846, surgery changed forever with the first public display of a pain-free operation when a patient was administered ether gas during the procedure.

Dr William Morton gave ether to a patient being operated on by surgeon John Warren. The crowd, expecting the usual screams of agony, witnessed instead the stunning display of a patient at peace as he was cut upon. History records the account of John Warren exclaiming, “Gentlemen, this is no humbug!”

The gaseous forms of many chemicals are used currently in modern anaesthesiology. How they work is complex. The substances themselves can be single elements like xenon, or very large, fluorinated molecules like desflurane.

Gases used as anaesthetics have various potencies and generally, a little bit goes a long way. Anaesthetic gas must be mixed with air or oxygen because the body needs constant oxygen for fuel. The effects are sometimes described as sleep, but they are nothing of the sort.

Think instead of a spinning record: The needle is lifted from the record for a period of time and then replaced in the exact same spot. For the patient, no time has seemingly elapsed. When anaesthesia is administered expertly, the patient will be generally unharmed by the gas exposure.

In the period of breathing anaesthetic gases before reaching the needed state, some gases might produce a pleasant experience. Ether was known for this, and as a result, it was abused. We no longer use ether because it is also highly combustible.

This brings me back to nitrogen, a ubiquitous element that constitutes almost 80 percent of every breath we take, with oxygen making up the rest. We exhale all the nitrogen we breathe in. It has no value as fuel for the body.

Indeed, before it was named nitrogen following its discovery by Scottish physician Daniel Rutherford in 1772, chemist Antoine Lavoisier suggested that it be called azote, from the ancient Greek word meaning “no life”.

Like lethal injection, nitrogen hypoxia is all dressed up as a medically sound practice, when it is anything but. With lethal injection, one might have imagined some attempt at creating a state of anaesthetic stupor that would have some sort of small intoxicating benefit before dying.

With nitrogen gas, the gloves are off.

The state has abandoned the pretext of intoxication and replaced it with pure suffocation. What is so maddening about nitrogen hypoxia is, again, the propagation of the illusion of the safety of medicine and science.

Nitrogen is just a bullet in the barrel, but at least with execution by real bullets, all the fakery is gone.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance

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Joel Zivot
Physician in anesthesiology and intensive care medicine
Joel Zivot is a practicing physician in anesthesiology and intensive care medicine at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Zivot is a recognized expert against the use of lethal injection and the tools of medicine for use in the death penalty.