Trudeau on the brink? More MPs demand resignation

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at a meeting of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce in Calgary, Alberta, Canada December 21, 2016. 

 REUTERS/Todd Korol

Tasha Kheiriddin

Dec 22, 2024  GZERO  TASHA IS A RIGHT WING COMMENTATOR

Bad news for embattled Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau: On Saturday, 51 members of his Liberal Party’s powerful Ontario caucus reportedlyagreed that he should resign, citing their plummeting fortunes under his leadership. Over half the Liberal caucus now want him to quit, as well as numerous party advisors, strategists and commentators

The fresh calls come after NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, whose party had been propping up Trudeau’s minority government, pledged on Friday to bring a “clear motion of non-confidence” at the earliest opportunity. With Parliament out for winter break until Jan. 27, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre urged Canada’s titular head of State, Governor General Mary Simon, to recall MPs early to hold such a vote. That’s a constitutionalnon-starter, but it symbolically amps up the pressure nonetheless.

What are Trudeau’s options? Unless he asks the Governor General to prorogue the House anddelay its return, the opposition would plunge the country into an election - a race his party is likely to lose. One of the justifications for prorogation would be to allow the Liberals to hold a leadership race - but that would mean Trudeau would have to resign.

All this is happening just weeks before US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House on January 20. With the threat of 25% tariffs in the air, observers say Canada’s government can ill afford to continue its current drama, and Trudeau must decide his future as soon as possible.

China imposes retaliation sanctions on Canadian human rights groups

James Joseph | Queen's University Belfast School of Law, GB

DECEMBER 22, 2024 

China announced countermeasures against two Canadian organizations and 20 affiliated individuals on Saturday. This decision, published in a statement on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, is rooted in what China perceives as unwarranted foreign interference in its internal affairs, particularly relating to human rights advocacy regarding China’s human rights record regarding Uyghurs and Tibetans.

The targets of these new sanctions are the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project (URAP) and the Canada Tibet Committee. Among those affected are key figures from URAP, including executive director Mehmet Tohti, Policy and advocacy director Jasmine Kainth, and several legal advisors such as David Matas and Sarah Teich.

China’s decision comes on the heels of Canada’s own sanctions enacted under the Special Economic Measures Act on December 9, 2024, targeting Chinese officials for alleged human rights violations.

In response to China’s actions, Mehmet Tohti stated, “We accept the sanctions as a badge of honour. They do not deter us but rather strengthen our determination. This confirms that we are on the right path.” Tohti emphasized URAP’s continued dedication to its advocacy mission, aiming to keep international focus on the situation in China. Meanwhile, the Canada Tibet Committee said, “This move actually strengthens our resolve to keep on this path and continue to advocate for policies that bring about a just and equitable solution to the harsh occupation and repression now ongoing in Tibet.” 

China can impose retaliatory measures on individuals, organizations, or countries that implement sanctions against Chinese entities, such as has been done previously to the USA, under articles 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, and 15 of its Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law.

Sarah Teich, co-founder and president of Human Rights Action Group and Legal Advisor to the Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project spoke with JURIST, commenting:

It is a classic move from the authoritarian playbook to sanction nonprofit organizations in response to Canada placing sanctions on gross human rights violators. There is, obviously, no equivalence and no justification for these countermeasures imposed by the PRC regime, and the consequences on those with family members in the PRC may be severe and should be condemned by the Canadian government at every opportunity and in the strongest possible terms.

These sanctions do not deter us from our work — if anything, these sanctions will spur us forward as they indicate that our work is having impact.

The OTP’s New Policy on Environmental Crimes

22.12.24 |


In my capacity as Special Adviser on War Crimes, I have been assisting the Prosecutor with the development of the OTP’s forthcoming policy on Environmental Crimes Under the Rome Statute (ECP) — a policy he announced in Paris last February. “Damage to the environment poses an existential threat to all life on the planet,” the Prosecutor said. “For that reason, I am firmly committed to ensuring that my Office systematically addresses environmental crimes in all stages of its work, from preliminary examinations to prosecutions. This latest policy initiative is another commitment to this necessary objective.”

Not long after the Prosecutor’s speech, the OTP sought “blue sky” public comments on the policy — general thoughts on what the ECP should contain. We received nearly 80 submissions, including from states, IGOs, CSOs, legal scholars and practitioners, business leaders, and religious institutions. Notable respondents included UNEP, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, and the High-Level Working Group on the Environmental Consequences of the War in Ukraine.

Last week, the OTP issued a second call for comments, this time based on a draft of the ECP. Here are a few paragraphs from the Executive Summary:


The Office of the Prosecutor’s Policy Paper on Environmental Crimes sets out how the Office will use its mandate and powers to investigate and prosecute environmental crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction that are committed by means of or that result in environmental damage, what the Policy collectively refers to as “environmental crimes.”

It also shows how the Office will support national efforts to prosecute illegal conduct that has an environmental dimension. Although the Rome Statute is largely anthropocentric, primarily protecting human life, it also recognises and protects the inherent value of the natural environment. There are significant synergies between the fight against impunity for international crimes and mitigating environmental damage. Destroying, degrading, or otherwise altering the natural environment will often directly impact humans, such as by causing people to be displaced, inflicting great suffering or injury on victims, or even causing death. If a direct causal link can be established between a perpetrator’s actions and such consequences, those acts may constitute Rome Statute crimes both during armed conflict and in times of peace.

This Policy was developed through an extensive consultative process involving multiple rounds of written input and direct discussion with internal Office staff and external experts from across the globe. It is organised to maximise its utility and implementation by the Office while also optimising relevance and accessibility to colleagues working in other parts of the environmental-justice ecosystem.

Section I of the Policy defines the key terms and concepts relevant to the investigation and prosecution of environmental crimes and introduces how the Office understands the relationship between those concepts in the context of its mandate under the Statute. Section II discusses how general principles governing the Office’s exercise of its powers, such as gravity, apply in the environmental context and provides a systematic overview of how the crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court can be committed by means of or resulting in environmental damage. Section III of the Policy presents the principles that underlie all aspects of the Office’s work on environmental crimes: the need to adopt an intersectional perspective3 ; the obligation to perform due diligence, including protecting the rights of suspects and defendants; and the need for effective outreach to Court stakeholders. Finally, Section IV lays out how a commitment to investigating and prosecuting environmental crimes is operationalised by the Office in terms of how it will integrate a focus on environmental damage into each operational phase of its work and continuously implement, monitor, and evaluate the Policy.

Comments on the draft ECP are due by 11:59 pm (CET) on 21 February 2025. They will be analysed by our fantastic team, which includes a number of staff within the OTP; a brilliant legal fellow provided to the OTP by CUNY, Laura Baron-Mendoza; and a distinguished Advisory Group of outside experts. The team is also being assisted by Kate Mackintosh’s Promise Institute Europe and some of her students at UCLA Law School.

I would ask readers to help circulate the call for comments as widely as possible. This is a policy aimed not only at lawyers, but also at anyone working for or even just interested in environmental justice, from scientists to activists. And if you or your organisation falls into one of those categories, dear reader, please consider submitting comments yourself!

SINGAPORE

2024 wrapped: The biggest environment stories of the year, and what’s next

Singapore had its worst oil spill in a decade after 400 tonnes of oil leaked into the sea when a dredging boat hit a stationary bunker vessel on June 14.

PHOTO: ST FILE

Chin Hui Shan and Shabana Begum
UPDATED Dec 23, 2024

Straits Times

SINGAPORE – Closures of local farms. The hottest year on record. A dramatic UN climate conference. These were some of the most significant developments in the environment sector in 2024.

The UN Climate Change Conference COP29 in November ended with developed nations agreeing to channel US$300 billion (S$406 billion) in yearly climate finance to developing countries by 2035.

This new target amount for climate finance, an increase from the previous US$100 billion, aims to further help poorer and climate-vulnerable countries limit climate impacts and afford solutions to reduce their carbon emissions.

However, the target was met with criticism by many developing countries, which were expecting richer countries to commit more.

At COP29, countries also agreed on a broader aim of raising US$1.3 trillion annually by 2035 for countries in need through various forms of finance, including from the private sector and multilateral development banks.

2. Setbacks in local farming sector

Singapore’s farming sector was plagued with delays and closures in 2024.

About a quarter of Singapore’s sea-based fish farms have exited the market over the past year, while at least two vegetable farms scrapped their plans to produce here.

These developments raise concerns about whether the Republic can keep up with its 30 by 30 goal – to produce 30 per cent of its nutritional needs locally by 2030.
With worsening climate impacts and geopolitical circumstances that can threaten food supply, local farms are important for Singapore – which imports more than 90 per cent of its food – to safeguard its food security.

But it is not all gloomy.

Amid growing cost pressures and the lack of robust local demand, some farms, such as Tomato Town, are working closely with international players to help bring the latter’s farming expertise and know-how to Singapore.

A new farm producing greens, including basil and kale, has sprouted in Changi in the hopes of producing 500 tonnes of leafy greens per year by April or May 2025.

Meanwhile, the flagging aquaculture sector will be given a helping hand, with a sweeping plan to overhaul the sector announced in November. The plan is to boost fish production while safeguarding the marine environment and providing farmers with an avenue to sell their products.
3. Biodiversity monitoring plan after oil spill

Singapore had its worst oil spill in a decade after 400 tonnes of oil leaked into Singapore’s waters when a dredging boat hit a stationary bunker vessel on June 14.

Oil slicks spread to biodiversity-rich areas along Singapore’s southern coast, including the Southern Islands, Sentosa, Labrador Nature Reserve and East Coast Park, despite efforts to contain the spill

.
Oil slicks spread to biodiversity-rich areas along Singapore’s southern coast, including the Southern Islands, Sentosa, Labrador Nature Reserve.ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

In October, a 15-month plan was launched to monitor the impact of the oil spill on biodiversity in intertidal areas.

It will see researchers collecting sediment samples from areas affected and unaffected by the oil spill to find out the impact of the toxic slick on the tiny organisms in the sediment, such as crustaceans, worms and molluscs.

The data collected during this initial phase will be assessed before the team suggests possible mitigation and restoration measures to protect and restore biodiversity areas of importance in Singapore.
4. Hottest year on record

Climate scientists have declared 2024 as the hottest year on record. It is also the first year in which average global temperatures rose more than 1.5 deg C above the pre-industrial period, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Scientists have warned that if warming exceeds 1.5 deg C above pre-industrial levels, climate change impacts could be catastrophic.

The previous hottest year on record was 2023.

In Singapore, a marine heatwave took a toll on some corals, with an estimated 30 per cent to 55 per cent of them observed to have been bleached in July, amid the largest recorded global bleaching event

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Corals in Pulau Hantu showed signs of bleaching on Oct 9.ST PHOTO: AUDREY TAN

The mercury climbed to 36.2 deg C in Paya Lebar on Dec 7 – the highest daily maximum temperature ever recorded for the month of December in Singapore.

Global warming – caused by greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, such as burning fossil fuels – changes weather patterns and fuels extreme weather events.

Extreme weather swept around the world in 2024, with typhoons in South-east Asia leaving hundreds dead and thousands displaced in countries, including the Philippines and Vietnam.
5. Headway in the Asean power grid

Singapore in September raised its electricity import goal from 4 gigawatts (GW) by 2035 to 6GW.

Singapore has inked electricity import deals with Indonesia, Cambodia and Vietnam to import 5.6GW of low-carbon electricity by 2035.

Singapore has also given a conditional nod to import 1.75GW of solar power from Australia via 4,300km of subsea cables. This import, which represents about 9 per cent of the country’s total electricity needs, would start some time after 2035.

With limited land and being alternative energy-disadvantaged, Singapore cannot get to net-zero emissions without relying on its neighbours for clean electricity.

By committing to import green electricity, Singapore is also laying the groundwork for the Asean power grid – a decades-long vision of energy trade for the region.

More on this Topic
Asean power grid could create new jobs, bring investments to energy sector: StudyClimate action: S-E Asians are willing to do their bit, now govts must do theirs

Looking ahead

1. Developments in nuclear energy

Singapore, like many other countries, is warming to nuclear energy as a way to generate emissions-free electricity.

No decision yet has been made about the use of this energy form in Singapore, but the Energy Market Authority (EMA) has said the Republic is interested in exploring newer nuclear reactors, such as small modular reactors (SMRs), that can offer safety features that may make them feasible here.

A 30-year partnership with the US, inked in July, will unlock the Republic’s access to information and expertise about emerging technologies and nuclear safety. A new multimillion-dollar research building at the National University of Singapore will have about 100 researchers looking into nuclear tech and safety, from the latest in SMRs to how radioactive materials can disperse if there is an accident.

In 2012, Singapore decided that atomic power was unsuitable for the small island state. But the need to decarbonise, and concerns about energy security amid geopolitics have forced the country to relook the controversial power source.

While solar power is Singapore’s most promising alternative energy source for now, it can probably contribute to only less than 10 per cent of the nation’s electricity needs by 2050.

Therefore, there is a need to look into alternatives, including imported energy, and emerging technologies in geothermal energy, hydrogen fuel and nuclear power.

Singapore’s neighbours, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, plan to go nuclear. EMA said Singapore has been engaging regional partners to build capabilities in nuclear safety and prepare and respond to radiological emergencies.

More on this Topic
The dawn of a global renaissance in nuclear energyST Explains: What are S-E Asia’s nuclear ambitions and why should S'pore care?

2. Gazetting of Singapore’s second marine park

Singapore is expected to designate the southern part of Lazarus Island and the reef off Kusu Island as its second marine park in 2025.

Gazetting a site as a marine park ensures that the area’s reefs and marine life are conserved and protected, with research activities and public education prioritised.

The southern part of Lazarus Island has one of the country’s remaining rocky shore habitats and one of the largest mature secondary coastal forests.

The proposed site also complements Singapore’s existing marine park, the Sisters’ Islands Marine Park, because the Lazarus reefs receive coral larvae released by the protected area’s corals.

As the reef areas off Kusu Island are extensive, they are an ideal location for coral transplantation and restoration efforts.

By 2025, the boundaries of the proposed marine park are expected to be finalised.

Singapore’s sea space is limited and shared with other sectors, including shipping, aquaculture and petrochemicals.

Coastal development and reclamation works in the past wiped out about 60 per cent of Singapore’s coral reefs, leaving intact reefs to be mostly found on the Southern Islands.

Therefore, when the country planned to have another marine park, it was a major win for marine life and conservation, signalling that biodiversity is also a priority.

An aerial view of Lazarus South (top left) and Kusu Reef (bottom extreme right).ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

3. New climate change targets

Under the Paris Agreement, countries are expected to submit new and more ambitious climate targets to the UN by February 2025.

These climate pledges are formally called nationally determined contributions (NDCs), with this round of carbon emission-reducing targets to be met by 2035.

These pledges, submitted as documents, will include each country’s specific targets to reduce emissions, measures countries are taking to adapt to climate change, and deadlines.

Countries that have submitted their new climate targets so far include the US, Britain, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates.

These NDCs form the backbone of the global fight against climate change. But several existing targets have been criticised for not being ambitious enough nor realistic enough, lacking sound implementation plans.

The 2024 UN Emissions Gap Report also found that current climate policies will result in catastrophic global warming of 3.1 deg C by 2100.

There is much more countries need to do to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to well below 2 deg C.

More on this Topic
Developed nations must uphold historical climate responsibilities, says S’poreOil lobby versus public opinion – this will decide the future

4. Impending La Nina

La Nina is one of three phases of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation, a global climate cycle involving changes in winds and sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean. These changes affect weather patterns across the globe.

During a La Nina event, cooler temperatures and more rainfall may be expected over Singapore.

The Meteorological Service Singapore’s website shows that Singapore is currently on “La Nina watch”. This means that La Nina conditions are developing, and will likely be fully formed some time between now and March 2025.

But the upcoming La Nina conditions are expected to be relatively weak and short-lived, according to the latest update from the World Meteorological Organisation on Dec 11.

During the La Nina phase, the trade winds – which are prevailing east-to-west winds near the Equator – strengthen and blow towards the western Pacific Ocean, which includes South-east Asia.

This pushes more warm water towards the region, leading to more evaporation and the formation of rain clouds. This typically results in more rain in Singapore.

La Nina – “little girl” in Spanish – usually brings wetter and cooler conditions to South-east Asia and Australia. For example, it partly led to higher than average total rainfall in Singapore in 2022, with rainfall in October that year being the highest for the month of October in the past four decades.

In Singapore, La Nina events also tend to moderate the annual mean temperatures.
5. Human-wildlife conflicts

From a rare sambar deer being killed in a car accident to crows attacking people, there have been many reports on human-wildlife interactions in 2024.

More recently, the new neighbourhood of Punggol Northshore saw some monkey business, with troops of long-tailed macaques spotted at construction sites and even eating at a void deck of one of the HDB blocks there.

The new neighbourhood of Punggol Northshore saw some monkey business, with troops of long-tailed macaques spotted at construction sites.

ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

Beyond human-wildlife conflicts, there have been reports on animal cruelty such as a reticulated python reportedly burned alive with flammable fluid in spray cans by two people.

With the clearance of natural habitats for developments, and with greater greening efforts, human-wildlife interactions will only increase. It remains to be seen how we can live in harmony with wildlife in our midst.Chin Hui Shan is a journalist covering the environment beat at The Straits Times.

Shabana Begum is a correspondent, with a focus on environment and science, at The Straits Times.

More on this Topic
Singapore is a ‘City in Nature’ but do S’poreans know how to live with wildlife?Of cutting trees and spying eagles: How to know nature better

Serbia: Tens of thousands join student-led protests

The student-led protest movement was boosted by farmers, actors and educators, in the most recent show of public anger over the collapse of a train station roof seven weeks ago.

Protesters held 15 minutes of silence as tribute to the 15 victims at the Novi Sad train station.

Image: Marko Drobnjakovic/AP/picture alliance

Serbians took to the streets in the capital Belgrade on Sunday to protest against the current government.

Roughly 29,000 people attended the demonstrations, according to an interior ministry statement.

Serbia's government has been under pressure after seven weeks of sporadic demonstrations nationwide in response to the collapse of a train station roof that killed 15 people in the northern city of Novi Sad.

President Vucic, often dismissive of the protests of late, conceded that Sunday's was 'significantly large' and seemed to indicate a willingness for talks of some kind

Image: Branko Filipovic/REUTERS

Demonstrators blame the train roof collapse on widespread corruption and sloppy work on the railway station building, which had been refurbished twice in recent years as part of projects involving Chinese state companies.

Some 13 people have been arrested over the Novi Sad tragedy, including a government minister. But the minister's later release fueled public skepticism about the investigation.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic had been dismissive of the protests, saying on Saturday said he "doesn't really care" about the protests, accusing his opponents of manipulating students to gain power.

But he referred to Sunday's protest as a "significantly large gathering," saying that he was "ready" to hear the protesters' demands.

The rally on Sunday is considered one of the largest in recent years to challenge Vucic's power.

Image: Branko Filipovic/REUTERS

A student-led movement

Sunday's protest, much like in previous weeks, was organized by students but had additional support from groups like farmers' unions, actors and educators on Sunday.

The gathering started with 15-minutes of silence as tribute to the 15 victims at the Novi Sad train station.

After the solemn moment, demonstrators staged a "half-hour noise" by blowing whistles and other loud items.

The rally at Belgrade's Slavija Square is considered one of the largest in recent years to challenge Vucic's power.

In response to the protest movement, Serbia's government has extended school winter holidays, starting them nearly a week earlier.

Authorities have also promised various subsidies for young people in an effort to quell public anger.

jcg/msh (AP, AFP, Reuters)

Tens of thousands rally in Belgrade demanding accountability over Novi Sad railway station disaster 

Tens of thousands of people joined the protest in Belgrade on December 22. / SerbiaLive via Instagram

By Tatyana Kekic in Belgrade December 22, 2024

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Belgrade on December 22 in one of the largest anti-government demonstrations in years, demanding accountability for a train station canopy collapse in Novi Sad that killed 15 people.

The protest, led by students and farmers, occupied Slavija, a major roundabout in Serbia’s capital, bringing traffic to a standstill. Participants observed 15 minutes of silence in memory of the victims before blowing whistles and vuvuzelas.

The canopy collapse on November 1 at Novi Sad railway station has become a rallying point for public dissatisfaction with President Aleksandar Vucic and his ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). Opposition leaders and protesters have blamed the disaster on shoddy construction and alleged government corruption.

“Vucic, thief!” some protesters shouted, while others held banners reading, “You have blood on your hands.”As night fell, demonstrators illuminated the square with mobile phone lights in a symbolic gesture of remembrance and solidarity.

The demonstration is the latest in a series of protests that have gripped Serbia for weeks, with students and farmers leading demands for the release of detained activists and an end to legal proceedings against those involved in earlier demonstrations. They have also called for accountability for alleged attacks on protesters during initial rallies following the collapse.

The Serbian government has faced mounting criticism since the tragedy. Protesters have accused authorities of nepotism and inadequate oversight in public infrastructure projects. The renovation of the Novi Sad station, conducted by a Chinese-led consortium, has been scrutinised after Serbian Railways claimed the project excluded the collapsed concrete overhang.

The Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Novi Sad announced on November 21 that 11 people, including former Construction Minister Goran Vesic and ex-Railway Infrastructure Director Jelena Tanaskovic, were arrested in connection with the collapse. They face up to 12 years in prison if convicted.

Students have played a prominent role in the protests, blocking traffic outside their faculties daily for 15 minutes in tribute to the victims. On December 20, the government extended winter school holidays in an attempt to quell unrest.

The Novi Sad tragedy has amplified longstanding frustrations with the government. Critics accuse the SNS, in power for over 12 years, of systemic corruption, election rigging and undermining democratic institutions. The protests echo similar mass mobilisations, such as those following the May 2023 school shootings, which also drew tens of thousands to the streets.

Despite the widespread dissatisfaction, the protests are unlikely to lead to significant political change. The opposition remains divided and unable to present a cohesive alternative to the ruling party, whose control over key institutions and media remains unchallenged. 

The tragedy in Novi Sad has exposed deep fissures in Serbian society, revealing public dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of key issues. However, without a united and convincing opposition, the protests will struggle to translate into concrete political change.

Thousands gather in Belgrade to protest against Serbia’s populist government


Tens of thousands of people gathered in Belgrade Sunday to protest against President Aleksandar Vucic and his ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). The rally, organised by students and farmer unions, was part of a wider movement demanding accountability for the collapse of a railway station roof that killed 15 people last month.


Issued on: 22/12/2024 - 
FRANCE24
By: NEWS WIRES

People attend a protest against President Aleksandar Vucic and his government, in central Belgrade, Serbia, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. © Marko Drobnjakovic, AP


Tens of thousands of people streamed into a central square in Serbia's capital on Sunday for a rally against populist President Aleksandar Vucic and his government, whose tight grip on power has been challenged by weeks of street protests led by university students.

The rally at Belgrade's Slavija Square, one of the largest in recent years, was called by students and farmer unions. It was part of a wider movement demanding accountability over the Nov. 1 collapse of a canopy at a railway station in the country's north that killed 15 people.

“We are all under the canopy,” read one of the banners displayed at the main Belgrade square.

Smaller rallies were also held in the cities of Nis and Kragujevac. The protest in Belgrade started with a 15-minute silence for the victims, and later chants of “You have blood on your hands!” were heard.

Many in Serbia blame the collapse on widespread corruption and sloppy work on the railway station building in the city of Novi Sad that was twice renovated in recent years as part of questionable mega projects involving Chinese state companies. Protesters demand that Vucic and those responsible face justice.

Read moreSerbia: Anti-corruption movement gains ground after deadly train station accident

Serbia's popular theater and movie actors joined the protest, with actor Bane Trifunovic describing Sunday’s rally as “a festival of freedom.”

In a show of confidence, the Serbian president on Sunday inaugurated a section of a newly built highway in central Serbia. Vucic said he wouldn't budge to opposition demands for a transitional government and accused his opponents of using students to try to seize power.

“We will beat them again,” said Vucic.“They (the opposition) don't know what to do but to use someone's children.”

In an apparent attempt to defuse the student-led protests, Vucic has been advertising what he said are “favorable” loans for young people to purchase apartments as well as attracting tens of thousands of doctors and other skilled people who have left the Balkan country for a better life in the West in recent years.

Prosecutors have arrested 13 people over the Novi Sad tragedy, including a government minister whose release later fueled public skepticism about the honesty of the investigation.

The weekslong protests reflect wider discontent with Vucic's rule. The populist leader formally says he wants to take Serbia into the European Union but has faced accusations of curbing democratic freedoms rather than advancing them.

Opposition parties have said a transitional government that would prepare a free and fair election could be a way out of the political tensions as ruling populists also have been accused of rigging past votes.

Serbia’s government has extended school winter holidays by starting them nearly a week earlier to grapple with widening student protests.

Classes at universities throughout the Balkan country have been suspended for weeks with students camping inside their faculty buildings. In recent days, more high school students have joined the movement. Occasional violence has erupted when pro-government thugs tried to disrupt the protests.

A group of farmers said Sunday that police took away the tractor which they drove into central Belgrade ahead of the protest. In addition to the farmers, Serbia’s students also have received nationwide support from all walks of life including their professors, media personalities, lawyers and prominent individuals.

Vucic initially accused the students of launching protests for money but later said he has fulfilled their demands, including publishing documentation relating to the renovation work at the Novi Sad station.

(AP)

Decaf Christmas: Starbucks strike expands to 10 major cities during busy holiday season

The walkouts are organised by Workers United, a union representing over 10,000 baristas

Mike Bedigan
in New York
Sunday 22 December 2024 
Independent 

A strike of Starbucks workers, expected to last until Christmas Eve, has now expanded to 10 major U.S. cities – bad news for last-minute shoppers looking to stop for a coffee break.

The walkouts are organized by Workers United, a union representing over 10,000 baristas, to protest lack of progress in contract negotiations with the company. Workers have urged customers not to buy any items from the popular chain until the action ends on December 24. Those pictured on the picket lines have been shown holding signs reading: “no contract, no coffee.”

The strike comes after similar action was taken during the holiday season by warehouse workers at giant retailer Amazon, who walked out of seven delivery hubs on Thursday.

The Starbucks strike, which began Friday, initially closed cafes in Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle – where the chain is headquartered – but has now added locations in New York, Philadelphia and St. Louis.


open image in galleryThe walkouts are organized by Workers United, a union representing over 10,000 baristas, to protest lack of progress in contract negotiations with the company (AP)

Walkouts are also occurring in Columbus, Denver, Pittsburgh, and New Jersey, though Workers United did not specify where the New Jersey walkout was occurring.

The strike has been organized over the five-day period during the busy holiday season with the intention of disrupting the company’s Christmas sales. Workers United warned on Friday that the strike could reach "hundreds of stores" by Tuesday, Christmas Eve. It’s unclear when the Amazon warehouse worker strike will end.

“Workers are on strike in response to Starbucks backtracking on our agreed-upon ‘path forward’ over the future of organizing and collective bargaining,” read a post from the union. “During negotiations this month, the company offered an insulting economic package with NO immediate wage increases.”


Workers United said the strike action comes after Starbucks failed to honor a commitment to reach a labor agreement this year. The union also wants the company to resolve outstanding legal issues, including hundreds of unfair labor practice charges that workers have filed with the National Labor Relations Board.


open image in galleryWorkers have urged customers not to buy any items from the popular chain until the action ends on December 24 (AP)


open image in galleryThe strike has been organized over the five-day period during the busy holiday season with the intention of disrupting the company’s Christmas sales (AP)

The union has noted that Starbucks Chairman and CEO Brian Niccol, who started in September, could make more than $100 million in his first year on the job.


But it said the company recently proposed an economic package with no new wage increases for unionized baristas now, and a 1.5 percent increase in future years.

Starbucks – which employs some 200,000 workers – downplayed the impact of the strikes on stores, stating that only an estimated 10 stores out of 10,000 across the US had not opened as of Friday due to strike action. The company claimed Workers United prematurely ended a bargaining session this week.

“We are ready to continue negotiations to reach agreements. We need the union to return to the table,” Starbucks said in a statement.


Starbucks stated that only an estimated 10 stores out of 10,000 across the US had not opened on Friday due to the strike (AP)

Similarly, the Amazon workers first joined picket lines on Thursday after the retail giant ignored a Sunday deadline the Teamsters union had set for contract negotiations.

Those strikes are taking place at three delivery hubs in Southern California, and one each in San Francisco, New York City, Atlanta and Skokie, Illinois, according to the union’s announcement.

The Teamsters haven’t formally indicated when the actions will end, but Vinnie Perrone, the president of a local Teamsters union in metro New York, said on Thursday that the walkout would continue “as long as it takes.”

The union, which says it represents 10,000 Amazon workers at 10 facilities, said workers in more locations were prepared to join the fight.

Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin

By AFP
December 22, 2024

Kremlin insider Pavel Zarubin posted a short video showing the two leaders smiling and shaking hands - Copyright POOL/AFP Gavriil GRIGOROV

Russian President Vladimir Putin held surprise talks at the Kremlin on Sunday with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, officials said, after he had warned of harsh reprisals against Ukraine over a drone attack.

Fico is one of the few European leaders Putin has stayed friendly with since the 2022 eruption of hostilities with Ukraine.

Russian TV journalist Pavel Zarubin, a Kremlin insider, posted a short video showing the two leaders smiling and shaking hands.

The visit by Fico, whose country is a NATO and European Union member, had not been previously announced. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told Zarubin that it had been arranged “a few days ago”.

Peskov did not give details of the talks but said it could be “presumed” that Russian gas supplies would be discussed.

Later Peskov said the meeting had ended and that the two leaders would not make a comment.

Ukraine has said it will not renew a contract allowing the transit of Russian gas through its territory, which expires on December 31.

Slovakia and Hungary, which rely on Russian gas, have raised concerns about the prospect of losing supplies.

Fico ended military aid to Ukraine when he became prime minister again in October 2023, and like Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban, he has called for peace talks.

He also announced in November that he would go to Moscow in May for ceremonies to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.



– Putin vows ‘destruction’ –



Earlier Sunday, Putin vowed to bring more “destruction” to Ukraine after a drone attack on Kazan on Saturday.

Videos on Russian social media showed drones hitting a high-rise glass tower block and setting off fireballs, though there were no reported casualties.

Ukraine has not commented on the strike.

But Putin told a televised government meeting: “Whoever, and however much they try to destroy, they will face many times more destruction themselves and will regret what they are trying to do in our country.”

The Kazan strike was the latest in a series of escalating aerial attacks in the nearly three-year conflict.

Putin has previously threatened to target central Kyiv with a hypersonic missile in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.

And Russia’s defence ministry has called strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities over recent weeks retaliation for Kyiv using Western-supplied missiles to hit Russian air bases and arms factories.



– Russia claims fresh advances –



The threats heightened as Russia claimed fresh battlefield advances in east Ukraine.

The defence ministry said on Telegram that troops had “liberated” the villages of Lozova in the northeastern Kharkiv region and Krasnoye — called Sontsivka in Ukraine.

Krasnoye is close to the resource hub of Kurakhove, which Russia has almost encircled and would be a key step in its efforts to capture the entire Donetsk region.

Russia has in recent months sought to secure as much territory as possible before US President-elect Donald Trump comes to power in January.

The Republican has promised to end the conflict, without specifying how.

Moscow’s army claims to have seized more than 190 Ukrainian settlements this year, as the rival army struggles with manpower and ammunition shortages.

Ukraine on Sunday also accused Russian forces of killing captured soldiers — an alleged war crimes violation.

A video posted by Ukraine’s 110th separate mechanised brigade showed “the shooting of soldiers who surrendered,” Kyiv’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said in a post on Telegram.

Drone footage showed Russians shooting the Ukrainians at point-blank range after they had already surrendered, he said.

AFP could not verify the footage.

Ukraine has made several allegations of war crimes during the conflict.

UN surge teams mobilise as Vanuatu hit by second earthquake

22 December 2024

UN agencies are intensifying their response in Vanuatu after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake killed 12 people and injured over 200 earlier this week, with a second 6.1 magnitude tremor on Sunday further exacerbating the challenges for affected communities.


A state of emergency remains in effect across the island nation, and a seven-day dusk-to-dawn curfew in parts of Port Vila was scheduled to end on 24 December. Access road to the seaport is also reportedly blocked.

The second earthquake heightened concerns, with further updates on its impact, including on the reopening of Port Vila airport to commercial flights, still awaited.
Humanitarian needs

As of Saturday night (local time), over 80,000 people have been affectedOpens in new window by Tuesday’s earthquake, with nearly 1,700 individuals temporarily displaced. Eleven evacuation centres are sheltering more than 1,200 people, while others are staying with host households.

Immediate needs include access to clean water, food and healthcare, as communities face rising risks of waterborne diseases.

Health services are also reported to be severely strainedOpens in new window, with the Vanuatu Central Hospital (VCH) requiring essential medical supplies and coordinated surge support to address critical gaps.

Source: UNOCHA
Vanuatu earthquake Impact in Shefa province (as of 21 December 2024).
Coordinated response

In response to the escalating crisis, a humanitarian flightOpens in new window coordinated by the UN World Food Programme (WFPOpens in new window)’s Pacific Humanitarian Air Service (PHAS) landed in Port Vila on Saturday, delivering surge teams from UN agencies, huamnitarian partners and relief supplies.

Agencies including the World Health Organization (WHOOpens in new window), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEFOpens in new window) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPAOpens in new window) are working alongside national authorities to support the responseOpens in new window.

UNFPA has set up maternity tents at VCH, while UNICEF has established four tents to manage patient overflow and deployed child protection teams to support families and healthcare workers.

UNICEF also deliveredOpens in new window bladder water tanks to VCH to ensure continued access to clean water.

WFP has deployed emergency telecommunications specialists to restore disrupted communication networks crucial for coordinating relief efforts. It is also working with the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) and partners to assess food security needs.

Additionally, the UN Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) is conducting satellite-based damage assessments to guide resource allocation and prioritize affected areas.

Humanitarian partners, including Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), are also providing on-the-ground assistance alongside national response teams.
Timely response crucial

Alpha Bah, Director for WFP Pacific Multi-Country Office, based in Fiji, underscored the need for timely response for affected families.

“We are saddened by the loss of lives and destruction to property caused by this earthquake. This concerted effort is crucial to ensure that people affected by the earthquake receive timely and essential assistance,” he said.

“WFP is dedicated to supporting the NDMO and other national institutions, and we will continue to step up our efforts to bolster Vanuatu’s response in the face of this crisis.”

Vanuatu residents traumatised by quake afraid to return to homes

Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor
@KoroiHawkins koroi.hawkins@rnz.co.nz

A seaside community in Vanuatu holds an open air church service to bring people together. Photo: RNZ Pacific / Koroi Hawkins

Some Vanuatu residents in Port Vila are still too scared to sleep in their own houses as powerful tremors continue to rock the city in the wake of last week's devastating earthquake.

Early on Sunday morning a 6.1 magnitude quake shook many in the capital awake.

The chairman of the seaside community disaster committee, Tom Alick Noel, said some people in their community had erected tents in open spaces to sleep in.

"Some families are still afraid to go back to their homes, so they set up these small tents to sleep in them outside; because we are still feeling strong aftershocks from the big earthquake that struck us last Tuesday," he said.

The president of the Central Ward's council of women, Enneth Fred, said they would stay there as long as the state of emergency remained in place.

Community leaders across the Vanuatu capital are trying to take people's minds off the 7.3 magnitude earthquake.

They have organised daily devotions to bring people together and games and activities for children to try and get them back to just being kids.

Enneth Fred said it was difficult seeing the looks on people's faces after the quake.

Vanuatu Central Ward Council of Women president Enneth Fred. Photo: Supplied

"In my community, especially on women's faces you can see tears, you can see fear, you can see panic attacks and it still haunts them," she said.

She said the community events are about bringing everyone together, so no one feels like they are facing things alone.

Fred was at the top floor of a multi-story building when the quake struck.

"I survived the earthquake and it was a very scary experience and one that I will never forget in my life," she said.

She hoped everyone would learn from the experience.

"I believe it will help us to look at constructing our buildings better in the future so that we can avoid the situation we faced during the earthquake," she said.

The death toll has been updated to 12 in the most recent official report.

Meanwhile, local authorities are urging communities living near landslips and flood-prone areas to relocate to safer ground ahead of several days of stormy weather forecast to start on Monday.

Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

HERE COMES THE CONSPIRACY THEORIES

By The Staff The Canadian Press
Posted December 21, 2024 1

Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. Balaji Ramamurthy via AP

Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.


Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI’s strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

“We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir’s loved ones during this difficult time,” said a statement from OpenAI.

Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said “appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation.” The city’s chief medical examiner’s office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a “happy, smart and brave young man” who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

“Suchir’s contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn’t have succeeded without him,” said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what made him such an exceptional engineer and scientist was his attention to detail and ability to notice subtle bugs or logical errors.

“He had a knack for finding simple solutions and writing elegant code that worked,” Schulman wrote. “He’d think through the details of things carefully and rigorously.”

Balaji later shifted to organizing the huge datasets of online writings and other media used to train GPT-4, the fourth generation of OpenAI’s flagship large language model and a basis for the company’s famous chatbot. It was that work that eventually caused Balaji to question the technology he helped build, especially after newspapers, novelists and others began suing OpenAI and other AI companies for copyright infringement.

He first raised his concerns with The New York Times, which reported them in an October profile of Balaji.

He later told The Associated Press he would “try to testify” in the strongest copyright infringement cases and considered a lawsuit brought by The New York Times last year to be the “most serious.” Times lawyers named him in a Nov. 18 court filing as someone who might have “unique and relevant documents” supporting allegations of OpenAI’s willful copyright infringement.

His records were also sought by lawyers in a separate case brought by book authors including the comedian Sarah Silverman, according to a court filing.

“It doesn’t feel right to be training on people’s data and then competing with them in the marketplace,” Balaji told the AP in late October. “I don’t think you should be able to do that. I don’t think you are able to do that legally.”

He told the AP that he gradually grew more disillusioned with OpenAI, especially after the internal turmoil that led its board of directors to fire and then rehire CEO Sam Altman last year. Balaji said he was broadly concerned about how its commercial products were rolling out, including their propensity for spouting false information known as hallucinations.

But of the “bag of issues” he was concerned about, he said he was focusing on copyright as the one it was “actually possible to do something about.”

He acknowledged that it was an unpopular opinion within the AI research community, which is accustomed to pulling data from the internet, but said “they will have to change and it’s a matter of time.”

He had not been deposed and it’s unclear to what extent his revelations will be admitted as evidence in any legal cases after his death. He also published a personal blog post with his opinions about the topic.

Schulman, who resigned from OpenAI in August, said he and Balaji coincidentally left on the same day and celebrated with fellow colleagues that night with dinner and drinks at a San Francisco bar. Another of Balaji’s mentors, co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, had left OpenAI several months earlier, which Balaji saw as another impetus to leave.

Schulman said Balaji had told him earlier this year of his plans to leave OpenAI and that Balaji didn’t think that better-than-human AI known as artificial general intelligence “was right around the corner, like the rest of the company seemed to believe.” The younger engineer expressed interest in getting a doctorate and exploring “some more off-the-beaten path ideas about how to build intelligence,” Schulman said.

Balaji’s family said a memorial is being planned for later this month at the India Community Center in Milpitas, California, not far from his hometown of Cupertino.

Israeli expert urges justice for both Israeli, Palestinian victims of sexual violence

By Dylan Robertson The Canadian Press
Posted December 22, 2024 

A battle-scarred home in Kibbutz Be'eri, a communal farm on the Gaza border.

Tsafrir Abayov/

The Israeli expert leading a civilian commission into sexual violence by Hamas and Israeli soldiers is calling for global bodies to recognize “a new crime against humanity,” involving violence targeted at families.


Cochav Elkayam-Levy said the world should take a stance against the destruction of families as a specific, identifiable weapon of conflict, aimed at terrorizing one’s kin. She is proposing the crime be called “kinocide.”

In an interview, she also said Canadians can demand Hamas be brought to justice while also seeking accountability when Israeli troops commit sexual violence against Palestinians, without drawing a false equivalence.

“We have to see Canada’s leadership in addressing the lack of moral clarity of international institutions,” Elkayam-Levy said in an interview during a visit to Ottawa last month.

Elkayam-Levy is an international-law professor at Hebrew University who chairs Israel’s Civil Commission on Oct. 7 Crimes Against Women and Children.

That non-governmental body originally set out to document patterns in sexualized violence by Hamas and its affiliates during the 2023 attack and against hostages it took into the Gaza Strip.

The aim wasn’t to come up with a tally of assaults, but to instead document systemic factors in how women were raped, tortured and mutilated. The idea was to have an understanding that could help victims and their descendants cope with intergenerational trauma, and to create an archive for researchers and prosecutors to use for possible investigations.

Elkayam-Levy’s team reviewed hours of footage featuring “very extreme forms of violence” from closed-circuit cameras and what militants themselves recorded.

They started to notice six patterns of violence involving among the circumstances of more than 140 families.

These include using victims’ social media to broadcast that person being tortured to their friends and family, including hostages and those killed. Another involved murdering parents in front of their children or vice versa, while another is the destruction of family homes.

“We started understanding that there is something here, a unique form of violence,” she said. “The abuse of familial relations to intensify harm, to intensify suffering.”

Elkayam-Levy said she developed the term with the help of experts, including Canadians like former attorney general Irwin Cotler. The rules undergirding the International Criminal Court only mention families in procedural contexts, but not as a factor in war crimes, she noted.

“It’s a crime without a name,” she said, arguing that impedes victims’ healing.

She said experts in past conflicts have agreed with her, saying kinocide should have been a factor in how the world understood and sought justice for atrocities on various continents, such as how Islamic State militants targeted Yazidi families from 2014 to 2017.

“Justice begins with this recognition; healing begins with recognition,” she said.

Elkayam-Levy noted “gender-based violence” existed for centuries before the United Nations officially recognized the term in 1992.

She’s also taken aim at “the silence of many international organizations, and the lack of moral clarity,” in calling out sexual violence on a global scale.

In particular, UN Women did not condemn Hamas’ sexual violence until nearly two months after that attack, a move Elkayam-Levy said sets a bad precedent for upholding global norms.

“They have fuelled denial of the sexual atrocities,” she said, adding that a constant demand for physical evidence pervades social media “in a very antisemitic way.”

Israeli police have said forensic evidence was not preserved in the chaos of the attack, and people believed to be victims of sexual assault were often killed and immediately buried.

Acts of sexual violence were not part of 43-minute video that Israel’s foreign ministry has screened for journalists, including The Canadian Press, which was sourced from security footage and videos filmed by militants during their October 2023 attack.

In March, a UN envoy said there are “reasonable grounds” to believe Hamas committed rape and “sexualized torture” during the attack, “including rape and gang rape,” despite the group’s denials.

That same month, released hostage Amit Soussana went public about her captors groping her and forcing “a sexual act” that she asked not to be specified.

As part of its avowed feminist foreign policy, Canada funds initiatives abroad to prevent sexual violence and support victims. Yet the Conservatives have lambasted the Liberals for not condemning Hamas’ sexual violence until five months after the attack.

In March, Ottawa came under fire for pledging both $1 million for groups supporting Israeli victims of Hamas sexual violence and $1 million for Palestinian women facing “sexual and gender-based violence” from unspecified actors.

Global Affairs did not say whether that referred to domestic abuse or sexual violence by Israeli officials, drawing a rebuke from a senior Israeli envoy.

Human-rights groups have long accused Israeli officials of sexually assaulting Palestinian detainees in the West Bank. In July, those concerns escalated when Israeli soldiers were accused of perpetuating the filmed gang rape of a Palestinian prisoner from the Gaza Strip. Far-right Israeli cabinet ministers voiced support for mobs attempting to free soldiers under investigation.

Elkayam-Levy said Canadians can call out the patterns of sexual violence by Hamas against Israelis, and also demand the Israeli state investigate and prosecute its soldiers who undertake acts of sexual violence against Palestinians.

“The fact that (Western leaders) are trying to make the right political decision, instead of the right moral decision, is creating confusion, is creating moral blur — instead of making space for all victims to be heard for what they have endured,” she said.

To her, there is a “false parallel” being made between individual cases of sexual assault from soldiers who should be held to account, and a group using patterns of sexual violence as a weapon of conflict.

Elkayam-Levy said people should uphold the principles of international law.

She is aware that many have instead argued that Israel’s military campaign has broken international law and undermined the systems meant to uphold human rights.

Elkayam-Levy has been critical of the Israeli government, arguing before the conflict that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought anti-democratic reforms to the country’s judiciary.

She has been critical of his war cabinet for lacking any women and has highlighted extensive media reports that female military personnel had detected Hamas was planning a large attack only to be dismissed by male leaders.

She said the world needs to condemn violence against families and try prosecuting those responsible. Otherwise, she fears combatants in other countries will take up its brutal tactics.

Otherwise, “we are going to see an international system that will not last for long,” she said.