Friday, October 28, 2022

Insurance industry recommends climate risk score for houses

The Insurance Bureau of Canada is calling for the creation of a climate risk score that would indicate a property's susceptibility to damages caused by natural disasters. 

The IBC says disclosure of natural hazard and climate risk is needed because of the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events, such as hurricane Fiona. 

The report released Tuesday is the result of a national group of representatives from across Canada's housing supply chain who were invited in 2021 to develop a framework to communicate these risks to homeowners. 

IBC vice-president Craig Stewart says Canada needs to develop a universal climate risk disclosure system by 2025.

The report also recommends that flood maps be updated and that a risk action matrix be created for lenders and insurers.

Stewart says access to reliable climate-related data will help homeowners, builders, financial companies and the government invest in resilience and adaptation projects

THE WOMAN DARES SPEAK
Qatar summons German ambassador over minister's World Cup comments

Qatar Foreign Ministry said the comments made by German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser were "unacceptable and provocative".

The New Arab Staff & Agencies
28 October, 2022

Qatar Summoned the German Ambassador (Image Source:Twitter)

Qatar on Friday summoned Germany's ambassador to protest comments made by a minister casting doubt on whether the Gulf state should host the football World Cup.

Comments by German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser were "unacceptable and provocative" and required a "clarification", Qatar's foreign ministry said.

A letter handed to the ambassador highlighted Qatar's "complete rejection" of Faeser's comments, who had been due to visit Qatar on Monday.

Qatar has faced Western criticism over the issue of workers' rights and restrictions on same-sex relations, but Doha has hit back at what it says is unfair attacks and failure to recognise the reforms it has made, saying everyone is welcome at the world cup.

This is the first time a foreign ambassador has been summoned over such comments.

Voices
Sam Hamad

Faeser, in an interview with the ARD network aired Thursday, said that Qatar's hosting of the World Cup next month was "very tricky" for Germany.

Faeser, in a statement released ahead of her visit with the head of the German football federation Bernd Neuendorf, said that rights would be raised in talks.

"No World Cup takes place in a vacuum. Human rights always apply everywhere - and now the whole world is paying special attention," Faeser said.

Qatar's emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said this week that his energy rich country had been confronted by an "unprecedented campaign" of "double standards".

The country has highlighted widespread reforms to its labour and industrial safety record in recent years, that have been hailed by international labour unions.

Australia this week became the first World Cup team to release a statement on rights in the host country highlighting the "suffering" of workers.

Qatar responded by insisting that "protecting the health, safety, security, and dignity" of every worker was their "priority."

The spat comes at an awkward time for Germany, which has been negotiating for supplies of Qatari natural gas to make up for losses in Russian deliveries.

It is one of several European countries that have approached Qatar since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Thousands of workers evicted in Qatar's capital ahead of World Cup




Fri, October 28, 2022 
By Andrew Mills

DOHA (Reuters) - Qatar has emptied apartment blocks housing thousands of foreign workers in the same areas in the centre of the capital Doha where visiting soccer fans will stay during the World Cup, workers who were evicted from their homes told Reuters.

They said more than a dozen buildings had been evacuated and shut down by authorities, forcing the mainly Asian and African workers to seek what shelter they could - including bedding down on the pavement outside one of their former homes.

The move comes less than four weeks before the Nov. 20 start of the global soccer tournament which has drawn intense international scrutiny of Qatar's treatment of foreign workers and its restrictive social laws.

At one building which residents said housed 1,200 people in Doha's Al Mansoura district, authorities told people at about 8 pm on Wednesday they had just two hours to leave.

Municipal officials returned around 10.30 pm, forced everyone out and locked the doors to the building, they said. Some men had not been able to return in time to collect their belongings.

"We don't have anywhere to go," one man told Reuters the next day as he prepared to sleep out for a second night with around 10 other men, some of them shirtless in the autumn heat and humidity of the Gulf Arab state.

He, and most other workers who spoke to Reuters, declined to give their names or personal details for fear of reprisals from the authorities or employers.

Nearby, five men were loading a mattress and a small fridge into the back of a pickup truck. They said they had found a room in Sumaysimah, about 40 km (25 miles) north of Doha.

A Qatari government official said the evictions are unrelated to the World Cup and were designed "in line with ongoing comprehensive and long-term plans to re-organise areas of Doha."

"All have since been rehoused in safe and appropriate accommodation," the official said, adding that requests to vacate "would have been conducted with proper notice."

World soccer's governing body FIFA did not respond to a request for comment and Qatar's World Cup organisers directed inquiries to the government.

"DELIBERATE GHETTO-ISATION"


Around 85% of Qatar's three million population are foreign workers. Many of those evicted work as drivers, day labourers or have contracts with companies but are responsible for their own accommodation - unlike those working for major construction firms who live in camps housing tens of thousands of people.

One worker said the evictions targeted single men, while foreign workers with families were unaffected.

A Reuters reporter saw more than a dozen buildings where residents said people had been evicted. Some buildings had their electricity switched off.

Most were in neighbourhoods where the government has rented buildings for World Cup fan accommodation. The organisers' website lists buildings in Al Mansoura and other districts where flats are advertised for between $240 and $426 per night.

The Qatari official said municipal authorities have been enforcing a 2010 Qatari law which prohibits "workers' camps within family residential areas" - a designation encompassing most of central Doha - and gives them the power to move people out.

Some of the evicted workers said they hoped to find places to live amid purpose-built workers' accommodation in and around the industrial zone on Doha's southwestern outskirts or in outlying cities, a long commute from their jobs.

The evictions "keep Qatar's glitzy and wealthy facade in place without publicly acknowledging the cheap labour that makes it possible," said Vani Saraswathi, Director of Projects at Migrant-Rights.org, which campaigns for foreign workers in the Middle East.

"This is deliberate ghetto-isation at the best of times. But evictions with barely any notice are inhumane beyond comprehension."

Some workers said they had experienced serial evictions.

One said he was forced to change buildings in Al Mansoura at the end of September, only to be moved on 11 days later with no prior notice, along with some 400 others. "In one minute, we had to move," he said.

Mohammed, a driver from Bangladesh, said he had lived in the same neighbourhood for 14 years until Wednesday, when the municipality told him he had 48 hours to leave the villa he shared with 38 other people.

He said labourers who built up the infrastructure for Qatar to host the World Cup were being pushed aside as the tournament approaches.

"Who made the stadiums? Who made the roads? Who made everything? Bengalis, Pakistanis. People like us. Now they are making us all go outside."

(This story has been refiled to clarify that apartment blocks being emptied are in the same areas in Doha where visiting soccer fans will stay during World Cup, in the lead paragraph.)

(Reporting by Andrew Mills; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by Ken Ferris)



Outrage grows over Israel's brutal arrest, detention of 16-year-old Palestinian Shadi Khoury

Shadi Khoury, a 16-year-old school pupil, was beaten, blindfolded, and dragged away bloodied from his family home in a dawn raid in occupied East Jerusalem earlier this month.

The New Arab Staff
28 October, 2022

Israeli forces stormed Shadi Khoury's home in the early hours of 18 October 
[Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty-file photo]

International clamour is growing over Israel's arrest of a 16-year-old Palestinian boy at his home in occupied East Jerusalem earlier this month.

In the early hours of 18 October, a dozen Israeli soldiers and secret service agents stormed the family home of Shadi Khoury in the city's Beit Hanina neighbourhood.

The soldiers made a beeline for the teenager, beating, blindfolding and handcuffing him before taking him away, leaving a trail of his blood on the floors of their home, according to his family.

Israel, a prolific jailer of Palestinian children, has yet to give a reason for Khoury's arrest, his family said.

He was also interrogated while in detention without a lawyer present, they added.



As worry grows over the school pupil's condition, international lawmakers have spoken up about the teenager's plight.

British MP Layla Moran wrote a letter to the UK foreign minister urging action to help secure Khoury's release.

"It is deeply worrying that Palestinians are being arrested, arbitrarily detained, and refused access to a fair trial. It is especially concerning that this is happening to children," her letter read.

In Canada, parliamentarians Leah Gazan and Matthew Green called on her country's foreign minister to call for his release and to condemn Israel for the detention.

Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, said Saturday that she was reviewing reports of Khoury's arrest "with horror".



Israel has imprisoned more than 12,000 children since the year 2000, according to prisoner rights group Addameer.


Among them is Ahmed Manasra, who was detained as a 13-year-old in connection with the stabbing and wounding of two Israelis in an illegal settlement in occupied East Jerusalem in 2015.

Manasra was found guilty of attempted murder in "proceedings marred by allegations of torture", even though the court found he did not participate in the stabbings.

He was initially handed a 12-year jail term as a 14-year-old in 2016, though this was later reduced to nine years and five months.

Manasra has mental health issues including schizophrenia and has spent time in solitary confinement.

A request for his early release was rejected in September.

There were 129 Palestinian children being held in Israeli military detention in September 2022, according to Defence for Children International - Palestine.

By June, some 490 children had been detained by Israel in 2022, a specialist Palestinian Authority body said.

The Khoury family had previously been targeted by Israeli forces, who previously arrested Shadi's parents at their home, according to Haaretz.

The army also raided and shut down two cultural institutions managed by Shadi's parents.
Andrew Tate: 'Misogynist' influencer 'converts to Islam', seen 'praying in UAE mosque'

The New Arab Staff
24 October, 2022

Controversial influencer Andrew Tate, who has been widely condemned as a 'misogynist', has converted to Islam according to social media reports.

Internet personality and former professional kickboxer Andrew Tate
 on Anything Goes With James English in 2021 [via Wikimedia Commons]


Controversial influencer Andrew Tate has converted to Islam, according to several claims on social media.

"This is why I’m Muslim," a verified account called 'Andrew Tate' wrote in a post on the conservative social media site Gettr.

"Any Christian who believes in good and understands the true battle against evil must convert. "So be patient, Indeed the promise of Allah is TRUTH" Quran 30:60."

The same account later posted a picture of Tate captioned with a quote attributed to Ibn Qayim, an Islamic theologian from the 1300s.

A video of Tate allegedly praying in a mosque in the UAE has been shared hundreds of times on Facebook and Twitter.



The video was shared by Tam Khan, a verified Facebook user who indicated in the caption that he filmed the video and appeared to confirm that Tate had taken the shahada - the oath required to accept Islam.

"Regarding his shahada we agreed it shouldn't be shown on a podcast or anything because people will claim it's for clout or fake following. Nobody is perfect, but Alhamdhulillah the guy has a good heart and pure intentions." wrote Khan.

The New Arab has reached out to Andrew Tate for comment.

The popularity of Andrew Tate, a former kickboxer and Big Brother contestant from Luton, UK, exploded on social media in 2022.

He has since been widely called a misogynist for his comments about women which has seen him banned from most major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitch.

Before his ban, Tate's videos had racked up millions of views online.

Several users have claimed his conversion to Islam is simply a publicity stunt and stressed that Tate was not a role model for Muslims.
One use, known as Gilboa Prison Break on Twitter, said: "As Muslims, Allah (swt) has given us so many role models. Islam is a religion where you literally need not look elsewhere. Where did we go wrong for our young men to take people like andrew tate as role models over the prophets? Ahlul bayt? The companions? الله المستعان."

Another known as Nameless tweeted: "Andrew Tate is actively trying to stir up issues between Islam & Christianity out of ignorance. These religions have found peace with each other. Let's not go backwards from one guy who loves to hear himself talk."

Tate has an upcoming conversation with Muhammad Hijab, a Muslim presenter who has interviewed other controversial public figures, such as Canadian professor Jordan Peterson.
BOYCOTT FAKE COP 
Egypt shuts down NGO event spaces on first day of COP27

Civil society groups and NGOs may have to cancel planned events as Egypt reportedly shut down their pavilions on the first day of COP27 on 6 November.



Egypt has come under the spotlight for a crackdown on civil society [Getty]


The New Arab Staff
25 October, 2022

The Egyptian government shut down planned events not involving visiting heads of state on 6 November, the first day of COP27, according to The Guardian.

Civil society groups and NGOs have set up pavilions inside the UN-secured 'blue zone' where international leaders are due to meet.

These pavilions typically host scientists, politicians, business leaders, and campaigners who exchange ideas on climate issues.

The events space will not take place, according to the British daily, allegedly due to heightened security but coincides with a government crackdown on NGOs and activism.

COP27 runs from 6-18 November in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, and the climate event has faced criticism for being hosted in a country almost devoid of a free press and civil society due to repressive government measures.

MENA
Thaer Mansour

This year, however, the events were cancelled on the orders of the Egyptian government. The UN said that "the government of Egypt has decided there will be no pavilion events on 7 November 2022" in an email viewed by the British daily.

Several NGOs said the order would restrict debate on key climate issues, and undermine the role of non-state actors at COP27.

"We're concerned that the shutdown of pavilions during the first day of the summit takes away the critical spaces for this dialogue, stopping events and important discussions that are critical in moving the net zero and nature positive agenda forward," said James Lloyd, one of the organisers of the Nature Positive Pavilion.
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MENA
The New Arab Staff & Agencies

The previous conference, COP26 in Glasgow, saw political leaders and campaigners such as Greta Thunberg attend events organised at pavilions.

Egypt has embarked on a horrifying crackdown on protesters, activists, NGO workers, and journalists over the years, with new restrictions ahead of COP27.

Earlier this month, a group of UN-appointed experts criticised Cairo for imposing restrictions that would jeopardise the "safety and full participation" of individuals and organisations wishing to attend the international climate summit.

At least 67 killed as storm lashes southern Philippines

More people are feared to have lost their lives, as flash floods brought on by Tropical Storm Nalgae wreaked havoc and devastation in the southern 

The New Arab Staff & Agencies
28 October, 2022

Stranded passengers take refuge as heavy rain from an approaching storm lashed the southern Philippines. (Photo by CHARISM SAYAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Landslides and flooding in the southern Philippines killed at least 67 people on Friday, according to an official tally, with rescuers racing to save residents of a mountain village that was buried in mud.

The village of Kusiong accounted for many of the 50 deaths in the area around Datu Odin Sinsuat town, after heavy overnight rain unleashed floods mixed with mud, rocks and fallen trees that buried the community, the area's civil defence office said in a statement.

Similar avalanches also struck villages in the nearby towns of Datu Blah Sinsuat and Upi, which accounted for 17 more deaths.

Eleven people remain missing and 31 were injured, according to official figures.

Flash floods from rains wrought by Tropical Storm Nalgae swamped nine mostly rural towns around Cotabato, a city of 300,000 people on Mindanao island that was also submerged in widespread flooding.

Many residents were caught by surprise as floodwaters rose rapidly before dawn, Naguib Sinarimbo, the spokesman and civil defence chief for the regional government, told AFP.

Teams in rubber boats had rescued residents from rooftops in some towns, Sinarimbo said.

In recent years, flash floods with mud and debris from largely deforested mountainsides have been among the deadliest hazards posed by typhoons in Philippine communities.

Mindanao is rarely hit by the 20 or so typhoons that strike the Philippines each year and kill hundreds of people. Those that do, however, tend to be deadlier than those that hit the country's main island of Luzon.

A long mountain range walls off most of Luzon from the Pacific, where most storms are spawned, helping to absorb the blow, the state weather service said.

Local filmmaker Remar Pablo told AFP he was shooting a beauty pageant in Upi when the floodwaters suddenly came in after midnight and forced audience members to flee.

A row of cars sat half-submerged on the street outside, video footage showed.

"We were stranded inside," said Pablo, who eventually waded through the water to get home.

Rescuers carried a baby in a plastic tub as they navigated chest-deep water, a photo posted by the provincial police showed.

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'It was a shock'

Floodwaters have receded in several areas, but Cotabato remained almost entirely waterlogged.

Sinarimbo said there could be more flooding over the next few hours because of heavy rain over mountains surrounding the Cotabato river basin.

The army deployed its trucks to collect stranded residents in Cotabato and nearby towns, provincial civil defence chief Nasrullah Imam said.

"It was a shock to see municipalities which had never flooded getting hit this time," Imam said, adding that some families were swept away when the waters hit their homes.

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The heavy rainfall began late Thursday in the impoverished region, which is under Muslim self-rule after decades of separatist armed rebellion.

The state weather office in Manila said the downpours were partly caused by Nalgae, which it expects to strengthen at landfall overnight Friday.

Nalgae headed northwest over water with maximum winds of 85 kilometres (53 miles) an hour just off Samar island late Friday and is forecast to track the Bicol peninsula early Saturday.

More than 7,000 people were evacuated from flood- and landslide-prone communities in these areas, the civil defence office said in an updated tally.

The coast guard also suspended ferry services in much of the archipelago nation, where tens of thousands of people board boats each day.

Scientists have warned that storms, which also kill livestock and destroy farms, houses, roads and bridges, are becoming more powerful as the world gets warmer because of climate change.
'The beast of the east': Giant rat-like creature spotted for the first time in Jersey

Friday 28 October 2022 
The coypu had been spotted near Rozel, and nicknamed 'the beast of the east' by locals.
Credit: Library photo / Government of Jersey

People in Jersey are being encouraged to report any sightings of a mysterious rodent that has been spotted this week near Rozel.

The giant rat-like creature is a coypu, which is an invasive species to Jersey.

The coypu was eradicated from the UK in the 1980s due to the damage the species caused to land and crops.


Islanders are advised not to approach the coypu, but to report sightings to 01534 441674 or 01534 441617 out-of-hours.

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH THE FAMOUS GIANT RAT OF SUMATRA

UK
Nurses ‘working one day a week for free’, research into pay reveals

Friday 28 October 2022 
Staff on a hospital ward. Credit: PA

Nurses work the equivalent of one day a week for free, according to a new analysis of pay.

Researchers from London Economics, commissioned by the Royal College of Nursing, looked at pay in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland since 2010.

They found that in real terms, based on a five-day week, the salary of an experienced nurse has fallen by 20%.

A pay rise would help save the NHS money because of how expensive it is to hire staff internationally, which is currently the main recruitment method adopted by the government, according to the analysis.



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Dr Gavan Conlon, who oversaw the research, said bringing in staff from overseas costs approximately £16,900 more annually than retaining a nurse, while using agency workers is around £21,300 more per year.

Around 32,000 nurses are quitting the NHS per year at least in part because of the erosion of living standards, leaving tens of thousands of vacancies, he said.

NHS waiting lists have, in turn, been one of the main factors driving economic inactivity, with 700,000 individuals leaving the workforce since the beginning of the pandemic.




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“The high costs of staff turnover suggest that staff retention is a cost-effective policy for the NHS,” Dr Conlon said.

He said the research suggested “the economy is on its knees and will never get off its knees until we pay nurses more”.

Experienced nurses across England, Wales and Northern Ireland would need to receive a nominal pay rise of 45% by 2024-25 to restore their real-terms salaries to 2010-2011 levels, according to the research.

The RCN is currently balloting on strike action, with around 300,000 members being asked if they are prepared to walk out.


The union is arguing for higher pay and immediate action to tackle hundreds of thousands of nursing vacancies across the country.

RCN general secretary Pat Cullen has said the government’s offer of a 3% wage rise “makes a difference to a nurse’s wage of 72p an hour”.

But former health secretary Therese Coffey said she is confident nurses will not get a higher pay offer.

Former health minister Therese Coffey has hinted there won't be much more money on the table
Credit: PA

Midwives are also being urged to vote in favour of strike action in a ballot that starts on November 11 for a period of four weeks.

Health workers in other trade unions are also being balloted for industrial action over pay.

Unison is asking 350,000 NHS staff in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, including porters, nurses, paramedics and cleaners, to vote in favour of walking out.

A ballot of its 50,000 members in Scotland, which was already under way, has been suspended after a new pay offer.

Credit: PA

Mrs Cullen added: “This exploitation of nursing staff cannot be tolerated any longer.

“In the pandemic, the politicians urged the public to clap for carers, but now they are wilfully ignoring nursing’s astonishing efforts and expertise.

“Ministers have stubbornly resisted the requirement to address the workforce crisis, including paying nursing fairly, instead rejecting any opportunity to act. They have taken advantage of nursing’s goodwill and steadfast determination to act in the interests of their patients.

“Our members have had enough. Expecting nursing staff to work one day a week for free is totally unacceptable.

“Patients deserve better from their politicians. Despite nursing staff working increasingly long hours and doing all they can, safe and effective care is being undermined by the failure of governments to act.”

47,000
Unfilled nursing jobs in England


Polling of more than 1,700 members of the public for the RCN shows 46% say they have avoided using NHS services in the last 12 months, citing long waits (50%) and the level of pressure on the NHS (42%) as main worries.

The London Economics research looked at the pay of workers under the Agenda for Change contract.

Figures looked at by the RCN show there are a record 47,000 unfilled registered nurse posts in England alone.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We are giving over one million NHS workers a pay rise of at least £1,400 this year, as recommended by the independent NHS Pay Review Body, on top of 3% last year when pay was frozen in the wider public sector. Industrial action is a matter for unions, and we urge them to carefully consider the potential impacts on patients."

'You need to try harder': Patient tells Sunak he needs to fix NHS workers pay

Friday 28 October 2022 


Rishi Sunak wasn't let off lightly on his first trip to a hospital since becoming PM, 
Libby Wiener reports

Rishi Sunak was told he "was not trying" and needed "to try harder" to help support NHS staff by a patient while on his first official visit to a hospital as PM.

When 77-year-old Catherine Poole challenged the prime minister on NHS pay, stating that it was "a pity you don't pay them more," Mr Sunak said he was "trying" to address the issue.

Mr Sunak, wearing a mask as he toured the hospital, said his government was trying. He went on to say that the NHS was important.

“Yes, and look after it,” Ms Poole told him.
Rishi Sunak speaks with patient Sreeja Gopalan during a visit to Croydon University Hospital
Credit: PA

Asked by broadcasters later if he was happy that nurses are not getting a real-term increase in pay, he said: “It is brilliant to be here at Croydon Hospital, to see the great work of the doctors and nurses here.

“One of the priorities for my government is going to be tackling the Covid backlogs and supporting the NHS.

“We face lots of challenges as a country, but I am confident that we can fix the economy and deliver on the promise of the 2019 manifesto, including having a stronger NHS.”

The RCN is currently balloting on strike action, with around 300,000 members being asked if they are prepared to walk out.

The union is arguing for higher pay and immediate action to tackle hundreds of thousands of nursing vacancies across the country

.
The PM commending nurses at Croydon University Hospital for their hard work.
Credit: ITV News

The exchange came just after Mr Sunak ditched a Tory leadership campaign pledge to fine patients who miss GP and hospital appointments £10.

The newly-appointed PM backtracked on the plan he outlined in his first attempt at leading the country this year after it was widely criticised by health leaders.

He had argued it was “not right” that some patients were failing to turn up and “taking those slots away from people who need” them.

Among the critics, the British Medical Association (BMA) said the plans would “make matters worse” and threaten the principle of free NHS care at the point of need.

But on Friday, a Downing Street spokeswoman said: “The PM wants to deliver a stronger NHS and the sentiment remains that people should not be missing their appointments and taking up NHS time.

“But we have listened to GPs and health leaders and have acknowledged that now is not the right time to take this policy forward.”

His visit comes after insisting he must focus on the “depressing domestic challenges” ahead of attending the COP27 climate summit in Egypt after he was accused of a “failure of leadership”.

The prime minister insisted he is “personally committed” to tackling the climate crisis after he pulled out of the United Nations conference next month that Liz Truss was due to attend.


ITV News Political Correspondent Libby Wiener asked the PM "Why do you think it is more important to stay here and supervise the work of the chancellor rather than go to COP27?"

The government’s environmental credentials were also being questioned after admitting it would miss the deadline to set flagship targets on cleaning up Britain’s waters and boosting biodiversity.

Conservative former culture secretary Nadine Dorries said Mr Sunak is “wrong” not to attend the Sharm El-Sheikh summit, saying global heating is the “biggest crisis facing our planet”. She joined activists and opposition parties in criticising the move, with shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband accusing Mr Sunak of a “massive failure of leadership”.

But Mr Sunak insisted it is “right” for him to instead focus on the UK economy in talks with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt ahead of their autumn budget on November 17.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to a south London hospital, the prime minister said: “The leadership that we have shown on the climate is unmatched almost along the world.

“It’s important to me that, as prime minister, we leave behind an environment that is better for our children and grandchildren. I’m very passionate about that. I’m very personally committed to it.

“I just think, at the moment, it’s right that I’m also focusing on the depressing domestic challenges we have with the economy.

“I think that’s what people watching would reasonably expect me to be doing as well.”

Unseasonably high 30C temperatures in Europe set off climate 'alarm bells'

Friday 28 October 2022

Meteorologists and climate scientists have been alarmed by the unseasonably high temperatures, but others have made the best of the opportunity, Dani Sinha reports

Although November is approaching, parts of Europe are still recording temperatures above 30C.

Usually by the end of October, average temperatures in France and the rest of western Europe would dropping to the mid-teens.

But even parts of the UK are predicted to experience unseasonably warm temperatures of 20 degrees or more this weekend.It may be welcome news for those counting every penny on their energy bills - but less so when the role climate change is playing is considered.
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COP27: Sunak not focused on ‘just a gathering of people in Egypt’, says Coffey

Winds from North Africa have pushed temperatures in parts of Europe into the mid-twenties, with a few places in the continental south recording readings of above 30C.

A meteorologist told ITV News: "What makes it extraordinary in this case is that it's happening on the back of climate change and global warming.

"So while in the past we may have had temperatures in the mid-twenties, now, in some parts of Europe, we are breaking the 30-degree mark."
Human health ‘at the mercy of fossil fuels’, climate change report warns

When asked if this was a sign of climate change, they said: "I would say it's one of the alarm bells that have been ringing."

Further south in Spain and Corsica temperatures are still high and the drought from the summer hasn't ended.

Spanish authorities are predicting this October could be the warmest since records began.
Smaller pumpkin harvest this Halloween following summer heatwave

Fire services are on high alert and farmers are fearful for their crops.

One farmer in Italy told ITV News: "It is abnormal to find these courgettes in October here in Veneto, in open fields and without cover.

"There are midges and flies and bugs causing a lot of damage to horticulture."

TOO BUSY FOR THE CLIMATE CRISIS
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he will not attend Cop27 next month
Credit: Leon Neal/PA

This week, new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was criticised for planning to skip the COP27 climate summit in Egypt.

The leader insisted he must focus on the “depressing domestic challenges” rather than attend the UN summit after he was accused of a “failure of leadership”.

Mr Sunak insisted it is “right” for him to instead focus on the UK economy in talks with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt ahead of their autumn budget on November 17.

  • Competition watchdog launches study into grocery sector amid rising food prices

Canada's competition watchdog is launching a study to examine whether the highly concentrated grocery sector is contributing to rising food costs. 

"With inflation on the rise, Canadian consumers have seen their purchasing power decline," the Competition Bureau said in a news release Monday. 

"This is especially true when buying groceries. In fact, grocery prices in Canada are increasing at the fastest rate seen in 40 years."

Food retail prices in September rose at the fastest pace since 1981, with prices up 11.4 per cent compared with a year ago. That compared with an overall inflation rate of 6.9 per cent.


Although the inflation rate has dropped from its peak of 8.1 per cent in June, food prices are outstripping the overall consumer price index and continue to rise.

"It used to be that food price increases took a back seat to things like gasoline. Now food prices in grocery stores are becoming one of the key drivers of inflation," said David Macdonald, senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Canada's grocers have suggested in the past that consolidation in the country's food retail industry can increase efficiencies and provide consumers with more value. 

But some grocery industry observers argue that increased efficiencies don't necessarily mean more affordable food.

"Consolidation can lead to more efficiency, but more efficiency does not mean lower prices," Macdonald said. "It could mean lower prices —but it can just as easily mean higher profits and higher executive compensation."

Many grocery chains and food and beverage companies posted record profits during the pandemic and continue to post higher earnings, he said. 

"It's true that input costs are rising for these companies," Macdonald said. "But so are their profits."

The Competition Bureau said Monday its study will examine to what extent higher grocery prices are related to changing competitive dynamics in the sector.

It expects to explore how the government could act to combat grocery price increases by way of greater competition in the industry.

It noted that the grocery sector is concentrated, with many Canadians buying from one of three companies: Loblaw, Metro and Sobeys' parent company Empire Co. Ltd.

The lack of competition in the food retail industry has made it more difficult for smaller, independent grocers, said Gary Sands, senior vice-president of public policy with the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers.

“The leverage that chains can exert in the marketplace can put the independents at a disadvantage,” he said. “When there were shortages during the pandemic, for example, there were cases where the chains were getting supplied with product and … we had empty shelves.”

Sands questioned how much can be changed retroactively. 

“The horse is not just out of the barn, it's galloped off into another field,” he said. 

The study will better position the Competition Bureau to evaluate future proposed mergers and acquisitions, but it's unlikely to force any changes on the grocery industry now, said Sylvain Charlebois, a professor of food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University.

“The study is important and it marks a change of tone and style that is needed at the Bureau,” he said. “But I don’t expect it to change the industry. Will they ask Loblaw to get rid of Provigo or Sobeys to get rid of Safeway?"

Charlebois added: “This is the structure we have. What's important is for the Bureau to better understand the implications of decisions that are made in the future.”

Still, the mere threat of being investigated and seeing consumers switch to big-box competitors like Walmart or Costco could prompt grocers to act, observers say. 

“The threat of enforcement is often as effective as enforcement,” Macdonald said. “They’re feeling the heat. There’s been a lot of public pressure and we’ve already seen some grocers announce they’re freezing prices of house brands.”

The Competition Bureau will provide a set of recommendations for the government in its final report, which it plans to publish in June.

Earlier this month, the House of Commons Agriculture Committee voted to investigate food prices.

The House of Commons also voted unanimously in favour of an NDP motion calling on the government to tackle "corporate greed" in the grocery sector.