Dogs have five personality types – just like people do


Sarah Knapton
Fri, 2 February 2024 

A German shepherd, which likely sits in the "assertive" personality group - NICK MEASURES/MOMENT RF

Dogs may come in all different shapes and sizes, but they have only five personality types, just like humans, scientists have found.

Researchers at the University of East London used an artificial intelligence algorithm to trawl through 70,000 behavioural records of dogs to find out if there were any common threads running through the breeds.

They found that all could be classified into the five groups: excitable/hyper-attached, anxious/fearful, aloof/predatory, reactive/assertive or calm/agreeable.


Humans can also be grouped into the “big five” personality types: extraversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism.

The team said that the anxious/fearful personality type in dogs corresponded to the trait of neuroticism in humans, while calm/agreeable linked with agreeable. But they said the other types were specific to canines.

Experts say the findings are important for helping pair dogs with their ideal owners. Excitable dogs, for example, need owners who can cope with their extra energy and neediness.

Likewise, it might be unwise to place anxious or aloof dogs in families with young children.

It could also be useful in selecting or training dogs for specific roles where their temperament is important, such as guide dogs or those used by the emergency services.

Dr Mohammad Amirhosseini, from the university, said: “This innovative AI-based methodology holds promise for revolutionising the selection and training of dogs for specific roles, both working and non-working.”
Behavioural problems

Nearly 50 per cent of people surrendering dogs to animal shelters cite behavioural problems as a contributory factor and roughly one in four cite them as the primary reason for giving up their pet.

To discover the personality traits, dogs in the database were scored on behaviours such as how they responded when unfamiliar people visited their home, or if they were jealous when their owner gave affection to another animal.

Anxious and fearful dogs were more likely to whine, jump up or try to intervene when the owner petted another animal, while calm and agreeable dogs did not seem to mind.

Calmer dogs were also less likely to chase birds or cats, and were quicker to learn new tricks or tasks.

Aloof/predatory dogs were more likely to show aggression to joggers, rollerbladers or skateboarders passing outside the home.

Reactive dogs tended to become aggressive when scolded or shouted at by their owners, as well as being likely to chase squirrels and cats. They were also fearful of sudden loud noises such as a vacuum cleaner being switched on or an object being dropped.
Stronger bonds

The experts say more research is needed to understand the nuances of canine personalities, but that the study should help foster stronger bonds between humans and their dogs, paving the way for more effective training programs and tailored pet-owner interactions.

The report concludes: “These personality clusters appear to be biologically meaningful, in the sense that they describe broad domains of canine temperament that would be recognizable to a majority of dog owners and handlers.

“These findings could provide a framework to explore personality matching between companion dogs and their owners and how this might contribute to the quality and durability of their relationships.

“The results of such studies could potentially generate insights regarding why dog-human partnerships succeed or fail, thereby reducing future rates of shelter relinquishment and euthanasia, and may also help to guide animal shelter and rescue groups towards more successful and mutually rewarding dog adoptions.”

Traditionally, dog personality assessments have relied on questionnaires and statistical analysis.

The new research applied machine learning techniques to behavioural data from the University of Pennsylvania’s C-Barq database, which contains more than 70,000 behavioural records.

The team is hoping that future research will be able to show if the personality clusters are influenced by genetics, age, sex, body size, neuter status, breed, previous history and the characteristics of their owners.

The study did not look at whether individual breeds had certain traits or whether personality could be altered with training.

The research was published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

Watch: Pigeon suspected of spying for China cleared of espionage and set free

Naseer A Ganai
Fri, 2 February 2024 

India held the pigeon captive for eight months before concluding it was not a Chinese spy - AP/Anshuman Poyrekar

A pigeon accused of being a Chinese spy has been cleared of espionage by Indian police and released back into the wild.

The bird was captured in May last year near a port in Mumbai, with two rings tied to its legs that appeared to feature Chinese characters.

Suspecting espionage, the police detained the pigeon, later sending it to Mumbai’s Bai Sakarbai Dinshaw Petit Hospital for Animals.

Pigeons are thought to be used by spies to carry encrypted messages back to handlers.

A three-month police investigation found that the pigeon was, in fact, an open-water racing bird from Taiwan that had escaped and flown to India. The bird was released on Tuesday from the hospital premises.

Meet Ashar, an official with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) India, a non-profit organisation that works to improve the lives of animals, said: “Now, the pigeon is finally free to soar the skies as every bird should be allowed to do.”

Peta India last week lobbied for police to release the bird.

“PETA India handles 1,000 calls a week of animal emergencies, but this was our first case of a suspected spy who needed to be freed of wrongful imprisonment,” Mr Ashar said.

Authorities found the innocent bird “healthy and occupying a cage unnecessarily” he added.

This is not the first time that birds have been under suspicion in India.

A pigeon was detained in 2020, suspected of carrying spy messages for Pakistan. The Indian border security force passed the pigeon on to the police, who launched an investigation and logged the animal as a “Pak Suspected Spy”.

In 2015, the Indian authorities captured a bird that had crossed the border and was found to have a message written on its feathers in Urdu – the national language of Pakistan.

To the disbelief of the international community, the bird was X-rayed and was also logged as a “suspected spy” by police.

Other countries have also claimed to have held Chinese spy pigeons in the past.

In January 2015, a flock of pigeons was caught in central Vietnam after Chinese characters were found stamped on their wings with red ink, along with mysterious rings around their ankles.

The pigeons, however, were freed after it turned out that they belonged to racing clubs based in China.

Sana Hashmi, a fellow with Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation said: “This episode underscores India’s increased efforts to counter Chinese espionage attempts. The suspicion extends to the point where even birds, reminiscent of past experiences with bird spies involving Pakistan, are perceived as potential tools of Chinese espionage.

“The growing mistrust between the two countries is evident, leading to heightened threat from China and responses from India,” she added.

University experts reveal what World War Two ‘Foo Fighter’ UFOs really were


Sarah Knapton
Fri, 2 February 2024 

Experts argue that the strange properties of plasmas make them appear to behave like living organisms. - MasPix / Alamy Stock Photo

In the 1940s, Allied pilots in the Second World War reported being hounded by fast-moving blobs, which they dubbed “Foo Fighters”.

Shaped like clouds, donuts, balls and spheres, and often glowing or translucent, the strange entities have fuelled conspiracy theories that Earth was being visited by advanced civilisations.

Now a paper suggests the phenomena are in fact plasmas, or ionised gases, which are drawn to the electrical charge of aircraft, spacecraft and satellites.

Plasmas behave like living organisms

Experts from the universities of California, Arizona and the Harvard-Smithsonian argue that the strange properties of plasmas make them appear to behave like living organisms, even though they are not alive.

Plasmas can grow in size and replicate, make contact with each and may ‘feed’ off the electromagnetic radiation of satellites and spacecraft, they argue.

Huge glowing masses of up to a mile wide, which behave similarly to swarms of living organisms, have been filmed by 10 Nasa space shuttle missions, while astronauts have reported strange phenomena since the 1960s.

Astronauts Ed White and James McDivitt spotted a huge ‘metallic object’ approaching the Gemini 4 orbiter, in June 1965, while James Lovell reported a ‘Bogey at 10 o’clock high’ on a mission six months later.

Strange ‘L-shaped’ object

Buzz Aldrin, also said he and his crewmates had seen a strange ‘L-shaped’ object which was ‘very big and coming closer’ during the Apollo 11 Moon landing, although later said it was a booster panel.

The team believe that plasmas in the thermosphere – 66 to 372 miles high – may descend into the lower atmosphere, and account for reports by pilots.

Co-author Dr Rudolph Schild, of the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard-Smithsonian: “These plasmas are electromagnetic entities that have a variety of shapes and sizes. They have repeatedly approached spacecraft and the Space Shuttles and are attracted to electromagnetic activity including thunderstorms.

“They have been filmed from space, descending into the lower atmosphere and appear to be attracted to airplanes, fighter jets, nuclear power plants, and ‘hot spots; of radiation, such as Hiroshima which was destroyed by an Atomic bomb.

“Based on video, photographic and computerised analysis, including reports by military officers and astronauts, we believe these plasmas account for at least some of the numerous reports of UFOs and Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon over the last several thousand years including the ‘Foo fighters’ observed by German, Japanese, and Allied pilots during WWII.”

“Foo Fighters” were first reported by Royal Air Force personnel in March 1942, and several US pilots saw glowing lights over Germany throughout the war.

New kind of weather phenomenon

The sightings were largely dismissed as German weapons or flight fatigue, although some speculated at the time they may be a new kind of weather phenomenon, such as St Elmo’s Fire, a plasma effect which makes aircraft wings glow.

Plasma represents the fourth state of matter distinct from solid, liquid and gas, but its properties are still being uncovered. It is responsible for lightning and phenomena such as the Northern Lights, when plasma from the Sun interacts with Earth’s magnetic field.

Plasma-like entities have been filmed congregating in their hundreds, particularly around satellite tethers which generate electromagnetic activity.

They have numerous shapes, travel in different directions, with some moving quickly while others hover in place. They even appear to target or follow each other and sometimes collide, leaving what resembles a plasma-dust trail in their wake.

Co-author Dr Christopher Impey, of the department of astronomy at the University of Arizona, said: “This does not mean these plasmas are alive, or engaging in intelligent purposeful behaviour.

“Rather, as documented experimentally, these upper atmospheric electromagnetic plasmas may be engaging in ‘energy cannibalism’ and behaviours referred to as ‘collisionality’ in which they turn, follow, collide, intersect, and, possibly exchange energy.”

Plasmas may represent ‘an alternative form of life’

Some of the authors believe that the plasmas may even represent an alternate form of life that is not carbon-based, although others are sceptical.

The team has called for more research studying the plasmas including sending up satellites which generate electromagnetic pulses equipped with infrared and X-ray cameras to capture the phenomena.

Commenting on the research Daniel Mitchard, a lecturer at Cardiff University’s School of Engineering said: “It’s not surprising that previously unknown charge-based phenomena exist at this altitude, and that they exhibit behaviour that we don’t yet fully understand.

“It’s also likely that they will be attracted to, or repelled from, satellites and the Space Shuttle, which can build up static charges of their own.

“Even at ground level, glowing balls from thunderstorms that behave strangely are occasionally reported, often called Ball Lightning, and no one knows what these are either - they may be the same as ‘Foo Fighters’. It’s definitely interesting research.”
‘Relatively unknown to public’

He added: “There’s a whole world of lightning science which is relatively unknown to the public, even though we try to get it out there.

“There are giant structures called Sprites, which look like jellyfish 25 miles (40km) tall, Elves, which are giant disks that can spread to 250 miles (400km) across, and upward lightning bolts from clouds called Jets which are three or four times longer than anything we can see from the ground.”

The new research will be published in the Journal of Modern Physics.

Protesting farmers in France lift roadblocks as standoff eases

Myriam LEMETAYER with AFP bureaus in France
Fri, 2 February 2024 

France's government offered a slew of new concessions to farmers after tractor blockades across the country (PATRICK HERTZOG)

France's agriculture minister said Friday that the worst of a crisis that saw farmers block roads nationwide for days was over, as protesters began lifting roadblocks following government promises of cash and eased regulation.

In some of the angriest protests that have spread across Europe, French farmers have been out in force for more than a week, using tractors to block key roads into Paris and other major highways nationwide.

The litany of farmers' complaints is long, ranging from burdensome environmental rules to cheap imports of produce from outside the EU such as Ukraine, but focus on the difficulty of making ends meet in the modern world.


On Thursday, two main farming unions announced the suspension of the action, urging the protesters to take their tractors off the streets, after Prime Minister Gabriel Attal promised cash, eased regulations and protection against unfair competition.

Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau said Friday that the worst of the crisis was "pretty much behind us".

"But the issues that we have to deal with and that have emerged in this crisis are still ahead of us," he told CNews television.

Authorities said Thursday evening that many roadblocks across the country were being lifted or eased and farmers continued to move tractors off the streets on Friday, even though some blockades remained in place.

Tractors blocking the A1 motorway near Paris Charles de Gaulle airport were heading back, farmers said.

- 'Strong mobilisation' -

"It was a historic, tough, strong mobilisation," said Laurent Saint-Affre of the FDSEA union in the southern Aveyron department. But he added that a number of sticking points remained, warning authorities that farmers could take their tractors out on the streets again "in a few days".

Speaking to RTL, Arnaud Gaillot, head of the Young Farmers (JA) union, pointed to a sense of "fatigue" after days of protests and a "desire to put things on hold."

In Yvelines, west of Paris, the number of vehicles involved in a blockade had fallen from around twenty to seven tractors on Friday morning, police said.

The roadblocks on the A4 and A5 motorways in Seine-et-Marne east of the French capital have been lifted.

Around Lyon, all roadblocks were expected to be lifted by 2:00 pm (1300 GMT) on Friday.

A police source told AFP however that some protesters wanted to stay put until Saturday, while several "isolated groups" sought to remain in place until France's huge Salon de l'Agriculture trade fair that opens on February 24.

A roadblock was set up on Friday morning at a tollgate near the city of Saint-Quentin in northern France, according to one activist, Bruno Cardot, who called the action the farmers' "last stand."

- 'Fundamental question' -

The FNSEA, France's biggest rural union, wants to see the first government measures implemented by the start of the trade fair and a law passed by June, its head Arnaud Rousseau said on BFMTV.

Another major union, the Farmers' confederation (la Confederation Paysanne), said it would remain mobilised because "the fundamental question of income" was "still not being tackled head-on by the government".

The French protests have spread across the continent and thousands of farmers from Europe gathered in Brussels on Thursday, clogging the streets with 1,300 tractors.

Protests continued Thursday in Italy, with farmers driving a convoy of tractors through the Sicilian town of Ragusa and farmers also blocking the port in Cagliari, on the neighbouring island of Sardinia.

Dutch and Belgian farmers took part in a road blockade near the Arendonk road border crossing between Belgium and the Netherlands.

French President Emmanuel Macron said after talks in Brussels Thursday with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen that France had managed to persuade the EU to "impose stricter rules" for cereal and poultry imports, including from war-torn Ukraine.

In a key announcement designed to break the deadlock, the government announced Thursday that France would pause its Ecophyto programme aimed at massively reducing the use of pesticides in farming.

Environmental groups slammed the move but government spokeswoman Prisca Thevenot sought to defend the decision on Friday, saying environmental policies should be based "on concrete realities".

bur-tq-adr-as/sjw/rl

French govt under fire for putting pesticide phase-out on hold

Gabriel Bourovitch
Fri, 2 February 2024 

Domestic farmers say they face harsher pesticide rules than countries exporting food to France (JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER)

France's government was on the defensive on Friday after environmental campaigners and opposition politicians accused it of having scrapped a key green policy to appease protesting farmers.

Agricultural workers started to lift roadblocks after more than a week of demonstrations, following government promises of cash and eased regulation.

Among the concessions announced by Agriculture Minister Marc Fesneau on Thursday was that a 15-year-old government plan to stem dependence on insecticides and weedkillers would be put on hold.


The latest version of the Ecophyto plan had aimed to reduce the use of pesticides by 2030 to half of 2015-2017 levels.

But growers see the plan as yet another hurdle to their earning a decent living, as they compete with cheaper imports from countries with less stringent environmental regulations.

They complain that no viable alternatives to the pesticides are available.

Greens and left-wing politicians, as well as NGOs, have condemned Thursday's announcement.

But government spokeswoman Prisca Thevenot on Friday morning defended the move, saying measures to reduce pesticide use so far had not worked and needed rethinking.

It "made for great marketing slogans" but "without any solution to take care of farmers", she said.

The government "is working on the Ecophyto 2030 plan", but will "spend an extra month on it to ensure it is perfectly understood as support, not punishment" for farmers.

"Farmers themselves want more than anyone to stop using these products, because they are the first victims," Thevenot said.

"We need to be able to help them, which is why we are massively investing in finding alternative solutions," she added, without elaborating on what those might be.

- 'A poisoned chalice' -

President Emmanuel Macron made the environment a key pillar of his 2022 re-election campaign.

But he alarmed activists when he urged the European Union last year to pause environmental regulations as he presented a plan to "reindustrialise" France.

Macron said at the time that Europe had already done far more than other industrial powers.

The head of France's biggest rural union the FNSEA, Arnaud Rousseau, said on Friday the measure to halt pesticide reduction would help "recreate trust" between the agricultural sector and the state.

"I want to find solutions. We need to do that straight away," he told broadcaster RMC.

He acknowledged that it would "take time" to find a way to "motivate everybody" in the sector.

But environmentalists have criticised Thursday's decision.

"It's a poisoned chalice for the farmers," Marie Toussaint, a Greens member of the European Parliament said on Friday.

Pesticides have been linked to increased risk of illness as well as bird and insect mortality, she argued.

Agriculture had to move on to a greener model, she told RMC radio.

"It's lying to the farmers to tell them that everything can be put on pause," she said.

Clementine Autain, a lawmaker from the left-wing France Unbowed (LFI) party, said the government's decision was "total madness from an environment point of view".

She said it may suit those represented by the FNSEA, but was "not in the interest of most farmers, and certainly not in the interest of French people's health".

Greenpeace France on Thursday on X, formerly Twitter, warned that it was a "major and dangerous setback".

gbh-far/ah/tgb/jj

UK
Greta Thunberg's public order charge thrown out by judge

Telegraph reporters
Fri, 2 February 2024 

Greta Thunberg, 21, arrives with her co-defendants at Westminster Magistrates Court - Geoff Pugh for the Telegraph

Greta Thunberg’s public order charge has been thrown out by a district judge.

The 21-year-old, from Sweden, was arrested during a demonstration near the InterContinental Hotel in Mayfair, London, on Oct 17 as oil executives met inside for a conference.

Miss Thunberg pleaded not guilty to breaching Section 14 of the Public Order Act 1986 alongside two Fossil Free London (FFL) protesters and two Greenpeace activists.


At Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday, District Judge John Law said conditions imposed on protesters were “so unclear that it is unlawful” which meant “anyone failing to comply were actually committing no offence”.

Finnish strikes over labour reform empty Helsinki

AFP
Fri, 2 February 2024 

Protester Liisa Huhtala holds a placard showing Finland's Premier Petteri Orpo as a worm and the lettering 'The world's largest invertebrate' (Vesa Moilanen)

Public transport ground to a halt across much of Finland on Friday as part of mass strikes over the government's proposed labour reforms, leaving Helsinki's normally-bustling city centre unusually quiet.

About 300,000 people in a wide swathe of sectors were estimated to be taking part in the strike action, which began on Wednesday when day care workers walked off the job.

Conservative Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has proposed changes to the country's labour market model which critics say would weaken workers' rights, including social benefit cuts and job security, and reduce unions' collective bargaining powers.

Orpo, whose government has argued the country needs an "export-driven labour market model" to boost competitiveness, on Thursday called the mass strikes "excessive and disproportionate".

Unions shut down most air traffic in Finland on Thursday and Friday, forcing national carrier Finnair to cancel 550 flights, affecting 60,000 passengers.

Trains across the country and metros, trams and local trains in the capital were also cancelled on Friday, as well as most buses.

Helsinki resident Marko Tuuminen said he wasn't too bothered by the strike, despite the impact it was also having on the energy sector, schools, healthcare, shops, industry, restaurants, hotels, postal workers and other services.

"They're on strike for good reason. The benefits that have been achieved have to be retained, there is no need to weaken them groundlessly," Tuuminen told daily Ilta-Sanomat on Friday morning.

"The shop close to me has been open. Now I get to exercise walking to work," he said.

- Industry calls new strike -

Some schools in the capital region organised remote lessons for students because of Friday's transport strike, while a taxi company in the city of Tampere said pre-orders had risen eight-fold for Friday morning, public broadcaster Yle reported.

The Industrial Union on Friday announced another strike for February 14-16, which would affect 60,000 workers and bring a large part of Finnish industry to a halt if it goes ahead.

"The Industrial Union will continue to tighten the screw through strikes. We do not accept the government demolishing the structures built to protect workers," it said in a statement.

"The government's measures have nothing to do with boosting employment. This is purely an ideology that enterprises have dictated to the government parties."

Strikes are relatively uncommon in Finland, especially ones involving white-collar workers.

The Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) told AFP the direct and indirect effects of this week's strikes would result in a loss of around 360 million euros in gross domestic product.

The strike action has primarily been called by the Finnish Confederation of Professionals (STTK), the Public and Welfare Sectors Union (JHL), the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK), and the Service Union United (PAM).

anh-po/jll/giv

Finnish workers on strike to protest labour reforms, welfare cuts

Thu, 1 February 2024 





By Essi Lehto

HELSINKI (Reuters) -Some 290,000 Finnish workers began two days of strike action on Thursday to protest against the right-wing government's planned labour market reforms and proposed cuts to social welfare.

Companies and labour unions said the strikes were expected to halt much of Finland's air traffic, hit oil refinery output and close many shops, factories and kindergartens.


"The government's plan is cold-blooded. First, the right to strike will be severely restricted, and then tough cuts are pushed through," Jarkko Eloranta, president of Finland's largest trade union association SAK, told Reuters.

In recent months, labour unions have protested against government plans to favour local work agreements over centralised accords, limit the right to strike, make it easier to terminate work contracts and cut unemployment benefits.

The unions have said they are up for a long fight if needed, threatening to follow up with more strikes if the government, which took office last year, does not back down.

The government has stayed the course however, arguing that Finland needs to boost productivity and cut its fiscal deficit.

Some 13,000 workers gathered for a rally in central Helsinki, among them grocery store employee Niko Pentinmaki, 25, who sat on a bus for four hours to reach the capital with his colleagues.

"The most vulnerable workers might not stay home when they're sick if the first day became unpaid and money already was tight," Pentinmaki said.

Union representative Tarja Furuholm, 61, from Nordea Bank said she was upset that the government and employers were forcing their plans on employees rather than negotiating changes as they had in the past.

"If political parties, who take turns being in power, do the decision-making, work life can become unpredictable," she said.

Booing echoed across Helsinki's Senate Square when Employment Minister Arto Satonen took the stage to defend the government's plans.

Satonen later told Reuters he found the widespread strikes regrettable, but said the government's plans were vital to the future of Finland's welfare system.

"These reforms are absolutely imperative to strengthen the Finnish economy and employment rate, and that is why we need to be determined in pushing them forward," he said.

Top industry lobby group EK and the government have said the changes are needed to bring the Nordic country's economy on par with comparable states such as neighbouring Sweden.

The striking workers comprise 13% of the 2.29 million people employed in Finland, according to official statistics from 2023.

Finnish flag carrier Finnair said on Monday it would cancel some 550 flights due to the strike, while fuel producer Neste's Porvoo refinery will supply less petrol and diesel for approximately a week.

(Reporting by Essi Lehto; editing by Terje Solsvik, Anne Kauranen, Kylie MacLellan, Mark Heinrich and Jan Harvey)

Thousands strike in Finland over labour reform

Anna HOLLINGSWORTH
Thu, 1 February 2024

Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said a major two day strike in his country will damage the economy (NICOLAS MAETERLINCK)

A massive Finnish strike movement kicked off on Thursday, grounding most air traffic and closing workplaces in a protest against proposed government labour reforms that include social benefit cuts.

About 300,000 people are expected to take part in the two days of strike action.

With air traffic widely disrupted, national carrier Finnair has cancelled 550 flights, affecting 60,000 passengers.

Trains across the country and metros, buses and trams in the capital will grind to a halt on Friday, while various unions called for stoppages in the energy sector, schools and healthcare services.

Industry, restaurants, hotels, postal workers and other retail sectors and services are also affected.

A protest called by the Central Organisation of Finnish Trade Unions (SAK) gathered around 13,000 people in Helsinki on Thursday, police said.

"The biggest problem is that they are trying to weaken the unions' powers to negotiate the (collective) agreements which are usually done by the employers lawyers and the unions' lawyers," 30-year-old demonstrator Henri Mertto, who works as a ship crewman, told AFP.

Like its Nordic neighbours, Finland is known for its generous welfare model, which offers strong protection and benefits for employees.

But conservative Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's coalition government has argued the country needs an "export-driven labour market model" to boost competitiveness.

Unions have vowed to paralyse the country to force the government to back down.

"Strikes of this magnitude, that will cause great losses to the Finnish economy in a difficult economic situation, are excessive and disproportionate," Orpo told Finnish news agency STT in Brussels where he attended a European Union summit.

The Confederation of Finnish Industries told AFP the strikes would result in a loss of around 360 million euros for gross domestic product.

Tiina Ivakko, head of a Helsinki daycare centre, told AFP many of her employees didn't show up for work on Thursday and parents kept their kids at home.

"We have, on a normal day, 300 children and a staff of over 50. We have had very few children, about 30, 40, and for staff we have about half of what we usually have," she said.

Some travellers went to Helsinki airport in the hope their flight would be among the few taking off.

"My flight looks like it's going to fly ... but if not then I don't know what I'm going to do. Maybe take a taxi back home and go to work," Niklas Sinisalo, an engineer, told AFP.

He was not bothered by the inconvenience, saying the strike was "for a good cause."

Many supermarkets remained open but shorter opening hours and product shortages were expected toward the end of the day.

- Weaken employees rights -

Among the planned reforms is a change of the rules for collective bargaining negotiations.

Proposed cuts to social benefits would include making the first day of sick leave unpaid and cutting earnings-related unemployment benefits, with the amount decreasing the longer the period of unemployment lasts.

There would also be restrictions on the right to strike and greater rights for employers to negotiate agreements locally.

Markku Sippola, a senior lecturer in social sciences at the University of Helsinki, said the reforms constituted "a very significant change".

"They will weaken the employee's position in terms of both unemployment security and protection against unjustified dismissal and the right to strike," he told AFP.

Pekka Ristela, head of international affairs at SAK, said the government proposals would "weaken the livelihoods of especially low-income employees who become unemployed".

Merja Hyvarinen, who attended Thursday's demonstration wearing a hi-viz vest from the Public and Welfare Sectors Union, said she was worried what the proposed changes would mean for her two children.

"If the government's changes are realised, they'll have a rocky road ahead at work in the future."

Strikes are relatively uncommon in Finland, especially ones involving white-collar workers.

anh-po/tw

Demand for BYD's cars is so nuts the company had to create its own shipping fleet to export them around the world

Lauren Steussy,Nora Naughton
Thu, February 1, 2024 

The world's largest EV maker BYD is getting into the shipping business.


The company has purchased its first vessel to ship cars around the world.


The BYD Explorer No.1 set sail on its maiden voyage this month with 5,000 BYD cars.

BYD, the world's biggest electric vehicle maker, isn't just hitting roads in a major way — it's hitting the open seas.

The Chinese company and Tesla rival set sail in January with 5,000 cars on its first vehicle carrier, named "BYD Explorer No.1."

The new ship represents a major milestone for BYD because it'll help the company meet the growing global demand for its electric cars by reducing the cost of getting them out to the masses.

China only has access to a small sliver — 2.8% — of domestic car-carrier vessels, according to the MIT Technology Review. Car giants like Japan's Toyota have whole fleets in place already to transport their cars around the world.

BYD's new roll-on, roll-off (RORO) carrier is now headed for India after making stops in the Netherlands and Germany, according to Reuters.

The company said in a press release it plans to add seven more vessels to its fleet in the next two years.

BYD sold about 3 million cars in 2023. Though a majority of the vehicles were sold to Chinese buyers, the company exported about 243,000 cars to countries including Australia, Brazil, and Israel, according to Reuters, citing the China Passenger Car Association.

Those limited exports were still enough to surpass Tesla for the first time in the fourth quarter. While EV demand in key regions like Europe and the US has waned significantly in the past several months, auto industry experts say much of this softening in demand has more to do with an affordability issue for electric cars and customers adjusting to a more brutal economic environment.

This could usher in the next stage of a long-awaited Chinese takeover of the electric vehicle market, with BYD's more affordable models situated well to meet US demand in particular.

EV demand hasn't dried up in the US so much as it has changed in the past year, with customers prioritizing price and practicality over style and performance. That leaves a perfect opening for BYD, particularly if lower shipping costs allow the company to keep sticker prices low.

A German dealership is launching a BYD-only showroom in Berlin, as Tesla killer tries to make its presence in Europe known

Ryan Hogg
Thu, February 1, 2024 



BYD is sounding the drum on its march into Europe. So far, the main result of those war cries has been to leave legacy carmakers in a “state of shock” at the Warren Buffett-backed group’s ultra-low prices.

Now manufacturers and curious customers in Europe will get a fresh opportunity to view the competition up close.

German dealership Stern Auto will launch a BYD-only dealership in Berlin, Reuters reports.

Stern Auto, which has exclusive rights to sell BYD in east Germany, plans to showcase the group’s five models at the store as it aims to foster brand recognition in a market that has long favored local manufacturers.

BYD, which still makes the vast majority of its sales in China, passed Tesla for EV sales in the fourth quarter of 2024. It also beat German giant Volkswagen to become the biggest automaker in China in 2023.

The group is now looking west as part of its ambitious plans to shift more units of its cars amid an ongoing price war with Tesla and other automakers.

In October, BYD announced its distribution partners for the German market, which will see the group’s cars don showrooms in cities including Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, and Frankfurt.

The group’s newly announced factory in Hungary is expected to start churning out cars in the next three years in a bid to avoid steep import tariffs. In the meantime, it has also earmarked special cargo ships to transport EVs from to Europe. The first ship carrying 7,000 cars set sail in January.

However, the carmaker will face several challenges as a new market entrant to Europe.
BYD fighting for brand recognition

Beyond potential connectivity issues and the prospect of higher labor costs outside its native China, a major obstacle to conquering Europe highlighted by analysts has been the often unshakeable brand loyalty of drivers who have grown up with Volkswagen, Renault, or Mercedes-Benz on their driveways.

A September study by Bloomberg Intelligence found three out of five European drivers expected to stick with their current brand; only 17% expected to switch to a new automaker.

“I do believe that the credibility and trust that European brands enjoy will help them defend their inventory against new entrants," Fabian Brandt, head of automotive and industrial goods at management consultancy Oliver Wyman, told Fortune last week.

“It’s also very much about local presence and local trusts and dealerships, and all that is relatively hard to build.”

BYD has sought to narrow a brand recognition gap by doubling down on marketing and advertising to familiarize Europeans with its growing presence on the continent.

"One of the biggest topics for BYD is that it is not that familiar to German customers," Oliver Hein, head of BYD for Stern Auto, told Reuters. However, he told the publication that recognition was growing “exponentially” thanks to the group’s increased marketing.

Beyond convincing Germans and other Europeans to buy its cars, BYD also faces regulatory headaches.

The carmaker is the subject of a major EU antitrust investigation into its cut-price cars, with the entry-level Seagull priced at $11,000.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen pledged to crack down on carmakers offering cheaper models in Europe thanks to subsidies enacted in their home countries, with BYD the obvious target of this frustration.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com


Elon Musk Thinks This Warren Buffet-Backed Chinese EV Manufacturer Is Going To 'Demolish Most Other Car Companies'

Caleb Naysmith
Thu, February 1, 2024


Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), quickly changed his perception of BYD Co. Ltd. (OTC:BYDDY), a Warren Buffett-backed Chinese carmaker that has transformed within one year.

During a live Bloomberg interview last year, when Musk was asked about his competitor BYD, he laughed and responded, "Have you seen their car? ... I don’t think they have a great product."

Musk said he wasn’t concerned about BYD as a serious competitor in the electric vehicle (EV) market.

BYD surpassed Tesla in EV sales, delivering 526,409 cars compared to Tesla’s 484,507, according to the companies' fourth-quarter reports.

This unexpected surge prompted Musk to acknowledge BYD’s prowess, saying, “Frankly, if there are not trade barriers established, they will pretty much demolish most other car companies in the world.”

This shift highlights the dynamic nature of the electric car industry and the intense competition among global players.

Trending: Cheddar was acquired for $200 million yielding a return of 370.37% for its investors. This startup aims to replicate and potentially surpass this success.

Musk’s acknowledgment of BYD’s competitive strength and subsequent revelation of Tesla’s decline in EV sales had a tangible impact on the market.

Following Musk’s comments in the earnings report, Tesla’s shares dropped 12%. Tesla also missed earnings and revenue expectations and expects next year "may be notably lower."

This reaction underscores the sensitivity of investors to the evolving landscape of the electric car industry and the significance of recognizing emerging contenders.

© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

German dealership Sternauto opens BYD store in Berlin


Wed, January 31, 2024 

FILE PHOTO: 2023 Munich Auto Show IAA Mobility


By Victoria Waldersee and Annegret Hilse

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chinese EV giant BYD's five models on sale in Germany will be showcased at a new BYD-only store in Berlin run by dealership Sternauto, in the latest sign that the carmaker is rapidly encroaching on European competitors' turf.

Sternauto, which has exclusive rights to sell BYD cars in eastern Germany, set up the store to get closer to customers as awareness of the brand grows among Germans seeking an affordable electric vehicle.

"One of the biggest topics for BYD is that it is not that familiar to German customers," Oliver Hein, head of BYD for Sternauto, told Reuters. But recognition is growing "exponentially" as the brand invests heavily in marketing, he added.

While most of BYD's revenues still stem from sales in China, the carmaker has set its sights overseas with new manufacturing capacity under construction in Hungary, Brazil, and Thailand.

It sold more EVs than Tesla in the fourth quarter of last year and is growing at a fierce speed, with 2023 net profit expected some 86.5% above 2022's.

Already, it is coming under scrutiny from European officials investigating whether carmakers exporting China-made EVs to Europe have an unfair advantage over domestic players, in a sign of the looming regulatory battle between Europe and China as Europe attempts to shield its market from low-cost competition.

While Chinese brands can sell their vehicles in Europe at higher prices than in China and still undercut local pricing, they also face challenges from supply chain bottlenecks to import costs and complex certification requirements.

"There's going to be a major shakeout of Chinese brands in the next 5-10 years," Hein said. "If someone runs out of steam, they'll be out of the market relatively fast," he said, adding Sternauto felt BYD had what it takes to succeed.

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Mark Potter)

BYD Seal review: the Chinese contender giving Tesla something to think about

Alex Robbins
Thu, February 1, 2024 


The BYD Seal electric executive saloon - James Arbuckle

“The what?” said my friend, when I said what I was reviewing next. “Never heard of it. Seal? As in, sea lion?” I sighed and nodded, opting to ignore his flagrantly inaccurate conflation of pinniped species. The fact is the BYD Seal does have a bit of an odd name. And that won’t be the only thing that might put off buyers.

Despite this being the third car Chinese manufacturer BYD has decided to bring to the UK, it could hardly claim widespread brand recognition. But where its previous models, the Atto 3 and Dolphin SUVs, are going after value-conscious families, the Seal has a tougher market to crack: user-choosers of executive saloons provided on their company car scheme.

Never has there been a more image-conscious driver, so its name may cause the Seal to stumble at the first hurdle – especially when friends ask what the BYD bit stands for (it’s, ahem, Build Your Dreams). Which is a shame, because behind the slightly dorky badging sits a car of some talent.

The badging may be 'slightly dorky', but the car behind it is impressive - James Arbuckle
Pros

Impressive battery tech

Lots of equipment for the cash

Smooth, slick drive
Cons

Relatively slow charging speeds

Gimmicky touchscreen with fiddly menus

Some quality glitches inside
Seal of approval?

It’s worth delving beneath the Seal’s skin just for a moment, for while this is superficially just another electric executive saloon in the vein of the Tesla Model 3, Hyundai Ioniq 6 and Volkswagen ID.7, there are several key differences.

For one thing, BYD uses a lithium ferro-phosphate (LFP) technology for its battery, which means unlike a lithium ion (Li-ion) battery of the sort you’ll find in most other EVs, there’s no cobalt, thus reducing the amount of precious metals required.

It also means it won’t catch fire and burn for days if it’s holed – as BYD is only too keen to demonstrate by showing us at every opportunity videos of its batteries being poked, prodded and pierced alongside Li-ion batteries subjected to the same treatment.

Traditionally, LFP batteries suffer from lower energy density, which means they take more space to achieve the same range. BYD, however, has come up with long, thin cells it calls blades, which can be used to fill awkward gaps in the car’s platform. As a result, it has managed to fit them into all sorts of nooks and crannies without impinging on interior space.

The BYD Seal's clever, compact battery technology means that interior space isn't compromised - James Arbuckle

This means you get 82.5kWh – and unlike a Li-ion battery, all of this is usable, meaning a 354-mile range in the rear-wheel-drive version, which shrinks to 323 miles in the all-wheel-drive model with its extra motor (expect around 260 and 240 real-world miles respectively).

The by-product is that this sort of construction is so strong that the battery can be incorporated into the car’s platform and used as a stressed member, adding stiffness. This results in impressive torsional rigidity and crashworthiness – borne out by some rather impressive results in industry-standard Euro NCAP crash tests.

And this is before we get to the clever space-saving integrated eight-in-one controller, or the standard high-efficiency heat pump. Make no mistake, this is no cheap Chinese knock-off.
Charged with loitering

Charging speeds could be quicker, though – 150kW isn’t bad at first glance, but it’s a big old battery, while its technology means you get fewer miles per kWh than you do elsewhere.

So it takes just shy of 40 minutes to get your Seal from 10 to 80 per cent capacity, and you’ll only have gained 170-odd miles of real-world range in the process; by contrast, a Hyundai Ioniq 6 on a suitably fast charger will take only 16 minutes to add a similar number of miles.

There are only two versions of the Seal; the rear-wheel-drive Design and the four-wheel-drive Excellence. Even the former can crack the 0-62mph sprint in only 5.9sec and has sufficient equipment to make the £45,000 price feel justifiable. The latter costs only £3,000 more, yet will hit 62mph in 3.8sec, which is a price-to-performance ratio not even a Tesla Model 3 can live with.

Inside, you’ll find BYD’s trademark rotating screen is here, allowing you to switch between portrait and landscape modes (as long as you’re not using Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, in which case you’re locked into the former, for now at least).

The rotating screen controls virtually all of the car’s main systems, and is quite hard to navigate - James Arbuckle

It’s rather gimmicky, and enough to make one clutch one’s pearls at the thought of potential repair costs 10 years down the line; what’s more, the software powering it is quite hard to navigate, a drawback made worse by the fact it controls practically every one of the car’s main systems, including the climate control.

So labyrinthine is the set-up, in fact, that turning the heated seats on or off requires no fewer than six prods if you’re to get there from the navigation screen, all of which require you to take your eyes off the road as you can’t feel where on-screen “buttons” are.

BYD’s argument is that it uses a sophisticated voice control system to allow you to do this simply by telling the car – but would it really have been such a burden to give us a row of physical buttons beneath or alongside the screen, instead of making it rotate? It’s a great party trick, but it feels as though it comes at the expense of basic usability.
Plastic fantastic

There are a couple of other odd decisions inside, too, for example the face-level air vents being fixed, so if you don’t like the direction in which they blow, well, tough.

The door handles are made from nasty plastic, too, which feels like a peculiar dropped ball given the rest of the interior materials are tactile and high-quality, with lashings of faux suede swooping across the dashboard, lots of colour-changing ambient lighting and dense plastics. It’s still not quite as high-end as a BMW i4, but against other rivals the Seal can cut it.

Space in the front is good, with huge amounts of storage for odds and ends all over the place. In the back, the seating position won’t suit everyone – your hips are placed quite low relative to your knees, which isn’t entirely natural.

Space in the front is good, with plenty of room for storage - James Arbuckle

There’s plenty of leg and head room, though, so you won’t feel cramped. Boot space, meanwhile, is about par for the course, with 400 litres in the back and an additional 53 under the bonnet – about the same as the Hyundai and Tesla, but less than the VW; the saloon boot lid, however, isn’t quite as practical as the hatchback you’ll find on the BMW.

It’s good, but not great, so far – but in fact the Seal is at its best when you start driving it.
Tracking device

BYD offered us half an hour on a test track, which felt somewhat extraneous in a car like this, but given the rain was biblical during our slot, it did at least prove just how predictable and safe the handling is.

In fact, the all-wheel-drive model was able to show off its astonishing traction – even in these conditions, you can still floor the throttle out of a bend and it’ll somehow get all that power down onto the sodden circuit.

In the real world, the Seal is just as impressive. BYD has obviously spent a lot of time finessing the controls; the accelerator, for example, is progressive and easy to moderate, in contrast to the hair-trigger sharpness of a Tesla’s. The brakes, meanwhile, blend friction and regenerative stopping power seamlessly, while the steering is direct and progressive.

The all-wheel-drive model has astonishing traction, even in the wet - James Arbuckle

The only surprise is that there are no surprises, meaning that despite the lack of feel through the wheel or the chassis you quickly build confidence that the car will go where you point it, so you can flow it satisfyingly through bends. Granted, it lacks the dynamism of the i4, but it’s safe, responsive, agile and well balanced.

There’s a bit of softness to the suspension set-up which means it floats a little over crests, but the payoff for this is that the ride over most roads is cushiony soft – far more so than most of these EV saloons’. The large wheels and narrow-sidewalled tyres generate just a bit of patter over heavily ridged surfaces, but bigger bumps disappear under the wheels with nary a trace and potholes are blotted out remarkably well.
Verdict

In other words, the Seal has more going for it than just the added smugness of going cobalt-free – not to mention knowing your car is less incendiary than other EVs might be – thanks to that innovative battery tech.

Granted, there are some frustrating niggles that prevent it from being a five-star car. However, this is a cogent and well-rounded effort that impresses out on the road, feels pretty smart inside and offers enough range and practicality to mix it with the best.

If I were told it was to be my next company car, I wouldn’t be disappointed. Even if it meant putting up with a few quizzical looks when I told people what it was.
The facts

On test: BYD Seal Excellence AWD

Body style: Four-door saloon

On sale: Now

How much? £48,695 on the road (range from £45,695)

How fast? 112mph, 0-62mph in 3.8sec

How economical? 3.4mpkWh (WLTP Combined)

Electric powertrain: AC asynchronous (front) & permanent magnet synchronous (rear) motors with 82.5kWh LFP battery, 150kW on-board charger, Type 2/CCS charging socket

Electric range: 323 miles (WLTP Combined)

Maximum power/torque: 523bhp/494lb ft

CO2 emissions: 0g/km (tailpipe), 32.1g/km (well-to-wheel)

VED: £0

Warranty: Six years/93,000 miles

Spare wheel as standard: No (not available)
The rivals
Tesla Model 3 Long Range

346bhp, 390 miles, £49,990 on the road

Tesla Model 3 Long Range - ZarkePix/Alamy

The Model 3 is a touch more expensive, but it’ll go further on a charge and be faster to pump volts into when you do need to stop. Its minimalist interior is less busy and less gimmicky than the BYD’s swoopy affair, though the wheel-mounted, button-operated indicator switches feel like a bridge too far. And while the Model 3 is roomier inside, it can’t match the BYD’s ride comfort, nor its gentle, progressive control weights.
Hyundai Ioniq 6 AWD Ultimate

321bhp, 322 miles, £50,540 on the road

Hyundai Ioniq 6 - Wing Lun Leung/Alamy

Hyundai’s fancy streamliner is certainly eye-catching and is both a lovely place to be and a delight to drive. It also has the fastest available charging speeds here, on the proviso you can find a charging point to match. And you get a smart interior with a slicker touchscreen than the BYD’s. All good news, then – but the Ioniq 6 costs a couple of grand more.

BMW i4 eDrive35 Sport

282bhp, 293 miles, £49,995 on the road

BMW i4 - CJM Photography/Alamy

BMW brings you less for more, it seems. Less range, less power – and of course you have to get past that challenging front end, too. Having said that, there are intangibles that might make the i4 worthwhile – namely, the higher-quality interior, the more versatile hatchback boot and the fabulous ride and handling balance; indeed, if you want an EV that you can have a bit of fun in, this is the one to have.

Two Native American boys died at a boarding school in the 1890s. Now, the tribe wants them home

JIM SALTER
Updated Thu, February 1, 2024


Indigenous Boarding School Remains
FILE - An entrance sign is seen outside the U.S. Army's Carlisle Barracks, June 10, 2022, in Carlisle, Pa. When two Native American boys from Nebraska died after being taken to the notorious boarding school hundreds of miles away in Pennsylvania, they were buried there without notice. Nearly 130 years later, the tribe wants the boys' remains back home. So far, the Army has refused to return the remains of Samuel Gilbert and Edward Hensley.

 (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)


When two Native American boys from Nebraska died after being taken to a notorious boarding school hundreds of miles away in Pennsylvania, they were buried there without notice. Nearly 130 years later, the tribe wants the boys' remains back home.

So far, the Army has refused to return to the Winnebago Tribe the remains of Samuel Gilbert and Edward Hensley. A federal lawsuit filed on behalf of the tribe accuses the Army of ignoring a law passed more than three decades ago aimed at expediting the return of the deceased to Native American lands.

Samuel had been at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania for just 47 days when he died in 1895. Edward spent four years at the school before dying in 1899. Both died in their teens, but records do not disclose their exact ages. Tribal leaders weren't informed when the boys died, and relatives never learned what killed them.


The tribe made a formal request to the Office of Army Cemeteries for the remains in October but learned in December that the request was denied, according to the lawsuit filed Jan. 17.

“The Army always sought to maintain a position of control, dominance over native peoples while they were alive — and while they were dead,” said Greg Werkheiser of Cultural Heritage Partners, one of the lawyers for the tribe.

The bodies remain in a graveyard along with those of about 180 other children not far from where the school once stood in Carlisle, some 1,150 miles (1,850 kilometers) from the tribe's eastern Nebraska home. The graveyard serves as a “tourist attraction,” the lawsuit states.

A spokesperson for the Office of Army Cemeteries said she can't comment on pending litigation. But the spokesperson said in an email that Samuel and Edward, along with other children who died at the boarding school, are buried in individual graves with named headstones.

“The cemetery is a dignified resting place demonstrating respect and care of all the deceased buried there and is absolutely not treated as a tourist attraction," the spokesperson said.

The Carlisle Indian Industrial School in south-central Pennsylvania, the first government-operated school for Native Americans, was founded by a former military officer, Richard Henry Pratt. He believed that Native Americans could be a productive part of society, but only through assimilation.

After it opened in 1879 in an old Army barracks, thousands of Native American children were sent by train and stagecoach to Carlisle. Drastic steps were taken to separate them from their culture, including cutting their braids, dressing them in military-style uniforms and punishing them for speaking their native languages. They were forced to adopt European names.

More than 10,000 children from more than 140 tribes passed through the school by the time it closed in 1918, including Olympian Jim Thorpe. The children — often taken against the will of their parents — endured harsh conditions that sometimes led to death from tuberculosis and other diseases. The remains of some of those who died were returned to their tribes. The rest are buried in Carlisle.

After the school closed, the property was transferred from the Department of Interior to the War Department. It was used by the Army for a rehabilitation hospital and the Medical Field Service School.

The OAC spokesperson said the original cemetery was “in an inappropriate location adjacent to the pre-existing refuse dump, and blacksmith shop,” so the remains were moved in 1927 to another location on Carlisle Barracks. Servicemembers, veterans and their families also are buried there.

In 1990, Congress passed the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA. It allowed for remains to be returned to tribes at their request. But the lawsuit said the Army refused to follow that law and is instead requiring the tribe to adhere to an Army policy.

The difference: While NAGPRA requires the remains to be returned, Army policy gives the agency discretion to decide if, and when, to do so. It also requires a request from the boys' “closest living relative” — which the lawsuit called “nearly impossible to apply in these circumstances.”

“Defendants’ conduct perpetuates an evil that the United States Congress sought to correct when it enacted NAGPRA in 1990,” the lawsuit states.

The Army has disinterred 32 remains of Native American children at the Army's expense since 2017, the OAC spokesperson said.

But Werkheiser said those remains weren't technically returned to the tribes, but rather to the children's relatives, and often after arduous waits. He said that using the Army process rather than NAGPRA “strips the tribes of all of their political rights.”

Tribes whose members had remains returned include the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, Spirit Lake, Washoe, Umpqua, Ute, Rosebud Sioux, Northern Arapaho, Blackfeet, Oglala Sioux, Oneida, Omaha, Modoc, Iowa and Alaskan native.

“The Winnebago, after listening to what all those other tribes went through, said, ‘We’re not going to play this game. We’re not going to be bullied.’"

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American Cabinet secretary, has pushed the government to reckon with its role in Native American boarding schools. In 2022, her agency released a report naming the 408 schools the federal government supported to strip Native Americans of their cultures and identities. At least 500 children died at some of the schools, including Carlisle.

The lawsuit states that the Winnebago Tribe “continues to experience the pain of knowing that Samuel’s and Edward’s spirits remain lost."

“The way Winnebago views it is that the boys have been waiting to come home for nearly 125 years," said another attorney involved in the lawsuit, Beth Wright of the Native American Rights Fund. “Their spirits can’t rest and they can’t go on unless they are returned to the place that they were taken from.”

Another sneaky Biden energy move

Rick Newman
·Senior Columnist
Wed, January 31, 2024 

President Biden has done more to promote green energy than any other president in US history. It’s ironic that he remains remarkably bound to fossil fuels, in ways he probably hopes nobody notices.

Biden’s entire energy agenda during the last three years has paired the overt promotion of renewables with a covert effort to keep fossil fuels plentiful and cheap. The latest example is the Biden administration’s Jan. 26 decision to temporarily suspend the approval of new facilities for exporting natural gas. Current facilities will continue to operate, without any limit on exports.

The pause will let the Energy Department study the impact of surging US natural gas exports on the climate, domestic energy prices, national security concerns, and other factors. The review will take several months, followed by the usual comment period. You won’t go broke betting the farm that an outcome will come in 2025, well after the November elections.

In one regard, a review makes sense. The fracking revolution that kicked off around 2010 generated a massive boom in US fossil fuel production, which has made the United States the world’s biggest oil and gas producer. US law limited energy exports until President Barack Obama signed legislation and changed other rules broadly allowing oil and gas exports. Starting in 2015, gas exports soared. The Biden administration now says the rules for approving export facilities are outdated and need to account for the nearly fivefold rise in gas exports since 2014.

But there’s also a likely political angle when a president makes a controversial policy change in an election year. Environmental groups lobbied hard for the pause on new gas-export facilities, and they declared victory when the White House made the decision. So maybe Biden is reinvigorating his pitch to environmentally minded voters, who skew young and want to see more forceful action to banish the source of greenhouse gases causing global warming.

The Biden administration is delaying consideration of new natural gas export terminals in the United States, even as gas shipments to Europe and Asia have soared since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

(AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File) 

There could also be another target: keeping American energy prices low. Drillers often say that robust exports create an incentive to produce more gas, which in turn keeps domestic supplies abundant and prices low. But that may be wishful thinking. A 2023 analysis by the US Energy Information Administration found that “higher [gas] exports results in upward pressure on US natural gas prices and lower [gas] exports results in downward pressure.” It’s also true that gas prices in other markets, such as Europe and Asia, are considerably higher than in the United States, which creates an obvious incentive for American producers to sell outside the country where they can make more money.

So Biden might be making sure there’s no uptick in US energy prices while he’s running for reelection. Natural gas prices get far less attention than gasoline prices, but they’re arguably more important because natural gas powers 40% of the nation’s electricity generation and 60% of home heating. “It seems likely,” Kurt Cobb wrote recently on OilPrice.com, “that someone whispered into the administration's ear something about the possibility of much higher domestic prices in the coming years if the US LNG [liquified natural gas] export juggernaut is allowed to continue.”

US natural gas prices did spike in 2022, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led to a sharp reduction of Russian gas exports to Europe and a scramble by other gas exporters to fill the gap. US natural gas prices are now back to the relatively low levels typical from 2015 to 2021.

Electricity costs have jumped, however, and stayed there. Since Biden took office, electricity costs have risen 27%. That’s a stealthy source of inflation, which has been Biden’s biggest economic problem. Higher electricity prices boost consumers’ utility bills, while also making it more expensive for businesses to produce goods and keep the lights on (literally). Businesses normally try to pass cost increases on to consumers.

When inflation spiked in 2022 and gasoline prices hit $5 per gallon, Biden's approval rating dropped sharply. Overall inflation is almost back to normal levels, but Biden clearly recognizes the risk that high energy prices pose to his political future. Since 2022, Biden has taken a variety of measures to lower energy prices: selling oil from the US reserve, asking Saudi Arabia to produce more oil, and even encouraging more energy production by ne'er-do-well nations Iran and Venezuela. Biden's credibility with environmentalists comes from the massive green energy plan he signed into law in 2022, but Biden's overall popularity relies far more on the cost of fossil fuels we're still dependent on.

There's good reason for Biden to retain the pro-export policy that began under Obama, continued under President Trump, and remained in place for Biden’s first three years in office. In a Jan. 26 analysis, the Eurasia Group argued that ongoing high levels of American gas exports are an important lifeline to Europe and a key lever of US power in other parts of the world, including Asia. Russia would clearly love more influence in those parts of the world, and the availability of American energy as an alternative to Russia's exports is a barrier to Russia's malign ambitions.

So maybe the Biden review will sound the all-clear, with a few permit denials to appease the climate lobby, if Biden wins reelection. But if evidence mounts that energy exports are raising costs for Americans, Biden won’t be the last president to have a problem with that.

Rick Newman is a senior columnist for Yahoo Finance. 

Follow him on Twitter at @rickjnewman.