ERITREAN PROTEST

9 people injured after 'violent' demonstration at Toronto park: 'I am shocked'

Police were called to Earlscourt Park in the city's west end on Saturday morning after a large crowd gathered and a fight broke out.


Chris Stoodley
·Lifestyle and News Editor
Sat, August 5, 2023 

Toronto Police work the scene of a protest that turned "violent"

 in Toronto's Earlscourt Park on Saturday, Aug. 5. 

(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey)

A "demonstration that turned violent" at a Toronto park left numerous people injured on Saturday, with some feeling "shocked and saddened" about the incident.

Toronto police shared a series of posts on X (Twitter) starting Saturday morning shortly before 10 a.m., noting that a large crowd gathered in Earlscourt Park where one person was carrying a knife.

Officers said there were reports of injuries and some tents on fire at the park. Within an hour, Toronto Police Operations (TPO) updated their post noting that it appeared to be a "demonstration that turned violent."

While medics were on-scene helping patients at the park, at least nine people were transported to the hospital. One person suffered serious injuries after being stabbed, while the other eight people experienced non-life-threatening injuries.

Around 2:15 p.m., police shared another update indicating that the "event had turned violent again."

"Officers from across the city are assisting in gaining control," TPO shared. "Please stay out of the area."

Festival Eritrea Toronto is hosting a series of activities at Earlscourt Park between Aug. 5 and 7.

Toronto paramedics were on-scene at Earlscourt Park to help patients injured during the demonstration. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey)

But protesters around the world have been demonstrating against Eritrea's government, which some are calling "one of the most repressive regimes in the world."

Last month, at least 26 police officers were injured during an Eritrean cultural festival in Germany.

Earlier this week, hundreds of people were detained in Sweden after up to a thousand protesters attacked the Eritrea Scandinavia festival in Stockholm.

This past week, a petition was also created — which currently has more than 1,500 signatures — to stop an "Eritrea Festival" event scheduled for Aug. 6 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel.

Toronto police said one person was stabbed and eight others were injured during the event. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey)

People on social media shared their disappointment about the Earlscourt Park incident.

Alejandra Bravo, the city councillor for the area, shared a statement expressing that she was "shocked and saddened to hear of the violence that broke out."

"Please give [police] space and time to complete their work," Bravo continued in her post. "Earlscourt Park and some local roads are closed to traffic."

Some called for the violence to be shut down, while others noted they were surprised the violence wasn't happening at this weekend's Toronto Caribbean Festival.

 

Thousands rally on Las Vegas Strip in support of food service workers demanding better pay, benefits


Thu, August 10, 2023 



LAS VEGAS (AP) — Thousands of hospitality workers rallied Thursday evening beneath the glittery lights of the Las Vegas Strip to call attention to ongoing union contract negotiations for higher pay and better benefits for food service workers at one of the largest arenas on the famed tourist corridor.

The Culinary Workers Union, a political powerhouse in Nevada, said in a statement ahead of the rally that servers, dishwashers, cooks and bartenders who work at T-Mobile Arena have been locked in contract negotiations for nearly a year with their employer, Levy Premium Food Service. The workers say they want a fair contract that will ensure “one job is enough to provide for their families.”

Union members packed the walkways near the arena on Thursday, with the crowd mostly dressed in red spilling onto Las Vegas Boulevard.

The union represents 60,000 hospitality workers in Las Vegas and Reno, including 200 Levy employees who work at the arena, the home stadium of the Vegas Golden Knights.

The action comes two weeks after members voted 97% in favor of authorizing a strike if a contract isn't reached soon. It is the union's second gathering on the Strip in recent months highlighting the ongoing negotiations with Levy, which provides food and drink services to arenas, convention centers and other venues nationwide.

In June, thousands also dressed in red assembled on the Strip for a march to bring attention to the contract negotiations, waving signs that read “ONE JOB SHOULD BE ENOUGH” at passing cars and tourists.

Levy said in a statement it was discouraged by the union's decision to rally after several months of negotiations.

“We remain committed to working diligently with the Union to reach a fair agreement that shows our team members how much we value them,” the statement said, “and we look forward to returning to the bargaining table soon.”

MGM Resorts International, which operates T-Mobile Arena, did not respond to a request for comment.

Lucia Orozco has worked as a cook at the arena since it opened in 2016. She described herself and her husband, a hospitality worker at a nearby Strip casino, as hard workers who don't spend outside of their means. Yet they live paycheck to paycheck and don't have money saved to retire anytime soon.

“I worry about it because I'm very close to retirement,” the 56-year-old said. “I don't have too much time left.”

Orozco, who was among the block of union members who voted to authorize a strike, said she wasn't surprised by the results of the vote.

“Everybody's tired of not making enough,” she said.

A date for a strike has not been set, but the union said its members have taken major steps toward walking off the job, including making picket signs and signing up for shifts on the picket line.

The possible strike looms ahead of the Golden Knights’ first preseason home hockey game Sept. 27 against the Los Angeles Kings and the team's season opener at home Oct. 10 against the Seattle Kraken. If the union strikes, it would happen against the backdrop of thousands of hospitality workers in Southern California, also demanding higher pay and improved benefits, walking off the job last month. The union there described it as the largest strike in its history.

___

Associated Press photographer John Locher in Las Vegas contributed.

Rio Yamat, The Associated Press

Two rival robotaxi services win approval to operate throughout San Francisco despite safety concerns

Thu, August 10, 2023 



SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — California regulators on Thursday approved an expansion that will allow two rival robotaxi services to operate throughout San Francisco at all hours, despite safety worries spurred by recurring problems with unexpected stops and other erratic behavior that resulted in unmanned vehicles blocking traffic, including emergency vehicles.

The state's Public Utilities Commission voted to approve rival services from Cruise and Waymo to operate around-the-clock service. It will make San Francisco first major U.S. city with two fleets of driverless vehicles competing for passengers against ride-hailing and taxi services dependent on humans to operate the cars.

It is a distinction that San Francisco officials didn’t want, largely because of the headaches that Cruise and Waymo have been causing in the city while testing their robotaxis on a restricted basis during the past year.

But it ended in a major victory for Cruise — a subsidiary of General Motors — and Waymo — a spinoff from a secret project at Google — after spending years and billions of dollars honing a technology that they believe will revolutionize transportation. Both companies view approval of their San Francisco expansions as a major springboard to launching similar services in other congested cities that would benefit from a technology that they contend will be more reliable, convenient and cheaper than ride-hailing and taxi services reliant on human drivers.

“We can’t wait for more San Franciscans to experience the mobility, safety, sustainability and accessibility benefits of full autonomy for themselves — all at the touch of a button,” Waymo co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said in a blog post.

During five-and-half hours of public comments at Thursday’s meeting, many speakers derided the robotaxis as annoying nuisances at best and dangerous menaces at worst. Others vented their frustration about San Francisco being transformed into a “tech playground” and the equivalent of an “ant farm” for haphazard experimentation.

Supporters of the robotaxis also stepped up to passionately defend the technology as a leap forward that will keep San Francisco on the cutting edge of technology, while helping more disabled people who are unable to drive to get around town and reducing the risks posed by drunk driving. One speaker predicted that unleashing the robotaxis would create a tourist attraction that could become as popular as rides on the fabled cable cars that have been navigating the city’s streets for 150 years. Waymo says there is so much interest in its robotaxis that it has already built up a waiting list of more than 100,000 people vying to take a driverless ride through the streets of San Francisco.

The rising fears about the safety of the robotaxis had come into sharper focus during a preliminary hearing Monday that included a sobering appearance by San Francisco Fire Department Chief Jeanine Nicholson, who warned regulators that the robotaxis had been repeatedly undermining firefighters' ability to respond to emergencies. .

“They are still not ready for prime time because of the way they have impacted our operations,” Nicholson said during a four-hour hearing held Monday in advance of Thursday's pivotal vote.

To underscore her point, Nicholson cited 55 written reports of the robotaxis interfering with emergency responses. She said she is worried the problems will get worse if Cruise and Waymo are allowed to operate their services wherever and whenever they want in San Francisco — raising the risk of their disruptions resulting in injury, death or the loss of property that could have been saved.

The Public Utilities Commission still decided to approve the expansion by a 3-1 vote. Although the panel consists of five commissioners, only four voted on the proposed robotaxi expansion. Commissioner Karen Douglas was absent from Thursday's hearing for an undisclosed reason.

Both Cruise and Waymo cited their unblemished safety records as proof their robotaxis are less dangerous than vehicles operated by people who can be distracted, intoxicated or just lousy drivers.

Cruise has been currently testing 300 robotaxis during the day when it can only give rides for free, and 100 robotaxis at night when it has been allowed to charge for rides in less congested parts of San Francisco for the past 14 months. Waymo has been operating about 100 of the 250 robotaxis it has available to give free rides to volunteers and employees throughout San Francisco.

But the proposed San Francisco expansion has been facing increasingly staunch resistance, prompting regulators to postpone two previously scheduled votes on the issue in June and July.

In a May 31 letter urging state regulators to continue to restrict the operations of Cruise and Waymo, San Francisco transportation officials asserted the driverless vehicles rely on a “developmental technology that is not ready for unconstrainted commercial deployment.”

In a June 22 letter, the president of the union for San Francisco police officers warned of potentially dire consequences if Cruise and Waymo are allowed to expand throughout the city. Tracy McCray, the union president, cited a robotaxi obstructing emergency vehicles responding to a recent mass shooting that injured nine people as a chilling example of how the technology could imperil the public.

“While we all applaud advancements in technology, we must not be in such a rush that we forget the human element and the effects such technology unchecked can cause in dangerous situations," McCray wrote. “Delays of even seconds in our line of work can be a matter of life or death.”

Unless Cruise and Waymo are able to fix the problems that have been cropping up in their robotaxis, the San Francisco expansion could turn out to be a pyrrhic victory, warned Nico Larco, who has been tracking the progress of autonomous vehicles as director of the University of Oregon's Urbanism Next Center.

“There is a real public sentiment risk here,” Larco said. “If they don't figure some of these things out, there will be growing frustration from the general public. And it's tough to bring that back and put the genie back in the bottle.”

__

An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that John Reynolds, a former lawyer for Cruise, was the Public Utilities Commission commissioner who didn't attend Thursday's hearing.

Michael Liedtke, The Associated Press

US Coal miners plead with feds for stronger enforcement during emotional hearing on black lung rule

Thu, August 10, 2023



BEAVER, W.Va. (AP) — Laboring to breathe, West Virginia coal miner Terry Lilly told federal regulators Thursday he is appreciative the U.S. government is finally considering a proposal to limit the poisonous rock dust causing a severe resurgence of black lung.

But Lilly said the rule — a half-century in the making — will mean nothing if there aren’t strict enforcement mechanisms in place to ensure companies comply.

“Cheating the samples is what we need to stop. If we can stop this, we can save some lives,” said Lilly, asking officials to excuse him as a took a pause to catch his breath. He’s now limited to 40% lung capacity, he said.

Lilly was one of the dozens of miners and advocates who came to the historic coal-mining county in West Virginia's southern coalfields to discuss a proposed rule from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration that would cut the current limit for silica dust exposure in half.

During an emotional, hours-long hearing — the second of three before public comment on the proposal ends next month — miners spoke about their fear of retaliation for speaking up about unsafe dust levels and being asked by companies to help falsify samples. They said the government needs more inspectors to spend more time in the mines making sure existing rules are followed. Otherwise, new regulation won't make a meaningful difference, they said.

“When I speak about this, people look at me like I’m stupid,” Lilly, who said miners don't always feel like the federal government takes their concerns seriously. “I’ve got 30 years of experience. I know the tricks and how they operate.”

President of the National Black Lung Association Gary Hairston, who lives in neighboring Fayette County, said that too often, miners have to choose between their safety and their livelihood.

“We can fix this when we start making the coal mining companies responsible for what they’re doing,” said Hairston, becoming emotional speaking into the microphone wearing a “black lung kills” T-shirt. “I wish the coal miner – us – that we would come forward – but we’re scared. In a non-union mine, you ain’t got representation. We know they’ll get rid of us."

Silicosis, commonly referred to as black lung, is an occupational pneumoconiosis caused by the inhalation of crystalline silica dust present in minerals like sandstone. The problem has only grown in recent years as miners dig through more layers of rock to get to less accessible coal, generating deadly silica dust in the process. Silica dust is 20 times more toxic than coal dust and causes severe forms of black lung disease even after a few years of exposure.

An estimated one in five tenured miners in Central Appalachia has black lung disease; one in 20 has the most disabling form of black lung.

The proposed federal rule, published in the Federal Register last month, cuts the permissible exposure limit for silica dust from 100 to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air for an 8-hour shift in coal, metal and nonmetal mines such as sand and gravel.

The proposal is in line with exposure levels imposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on construction and other non-mining industries. And it’s the standard The Centers for Disease Control was recommending as far back as 1974.

Old wounds over mine safety run deep in West Virginia’s southern coalfields, where thousands of miners 100 years ago marched to unionize in the Battle of Blair Mountain, the largest armed uprising in the United States since the Civil War.

In the 1940s and 1950s, roughly half of West Virginia workers were employed in heavy industries like coal, steel and glass, and the majority of those workers belonged to a union. By 2022, however, only 10% of West Virginia workers were represented by unions, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Hairston said that with the waning of union representation, miners have lost advocates they could rely on ensure regulations are being enforced.

Attorney Sam Petsonk, who has represented coal miners who were diagnosed with black lung after companies violated safety violations, said a silica rule is long overdue. But he is concerned that the rule requires no routine sampling and contains no specific monetary penalties for exceeding silica dust limits.

The rule also allows miners to work in higher-than-allowable levels of dust on a temporary basis if they wear respirators and companies are working on bringing exposure down to safer levels. Petsonk said respirators are ineffective while performing heavy labor in hot, confined spaces, and that inspectors are not present enough to ensure they don't become a permanent solution.

The National Mining Association has said it would like to see respiratory protection equipment be used as a method of compliance with the rule.

The organization, which represents operators, said in a statement last month that ventilation controls, strict adherence to mine ventilation control plans, increased operator and miner safety awareness, and a 2014 rule regulating coal dust have "all contributed to exponentially lower dust levels inside the mine.”

Mine, Safety and Health Administration Deputy Secretary Patricia Silvey said if inspectors see evidence of overexposure, operators will have to take immediate “corrective action,” which could mean implementing engineering controls. The government makes a record of the infraction and ensures retesting to make sure the action is working, she said.

Willie Dodson, Central Appalachian field coordinator for advocacy group Appalachian Voices, said the nation has a current epidemic of black lung now that is "built in part on the current enforcement mechanisms and deficiencies.”

“If MSHA gets this wrong, we will look back on this process as its own sort of tragedy — a moment when we came close to doing right by coal miners, but ultimately failed them,” he said.

United Mine Workers of America Director of Occupational Health and Safety Josh Roberts asked regulators to look at the proposed rule and ask this: “Does this section open the door for cheating or gaming the system?”

“Everybody wants the rule to be the best that it can be this go-round because you might not get another bite at the apple for a long time," he said.

Leah Willingham, The Associated Press

Amazon summit shows thorny challenge for Brazilian COP30 host city

JAKE SPRING AND LEONARDO BENASSATTO

August 10, 2023 

By Jake Spring and Leonardo Benassatto

BELEM, Brazil (Reuters) - Hosting a United Nations climate summit for tens of thousands of people in any city is a daunting task. Doing it in a part of the Amazon rainforest unaccustomed to hordes of visitors will be even harder.

Belem, a city of 1.3 million in northern Brazil that will host the COP30 climate meeting in 2025, was put to the test during a summit of rainforest nations this week. With roughly half as many hotel beds as the 27,000 summit participants, room rates soared.

But the city expects more than 70,000 for COP30. To deal with the shortage, it may lean on a solution central to life in the Amazon River delta for hundreds of years: boats.

Some delegates may commute daily by boat from nearby islands, while heads of state may stay on cruise ships parked in the harbor, government officials say.

The city plans to complete a diagnostic later this month on all the challenges to be confronted in the two years until the summit, including an inadequate sewage system, dilapidated roadways and threadbare public transit.

"Is the city ready to host an event that big? If it were today, we wouldn't be," said Luiz Araujo, who leads the city's COP30 preparation committee.

The United Nations convenes an annual conference for the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, an event that has taken on more urgency as heat records have fallen and the target of keeping warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius appears to be slipping out of reach. This year's COP28 will be in late November and December in Dubai.

Brazil has a lot riding on COP30's success. The meeting will cap a diplomatic U-turn steered by President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, who has vowed to restore Brazil's standing as a leader on environmental policy after four years of soaring deforestation under his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro.

National development bank BNDES has offered 5 billion reais ($1.02 billion) in financing for projects to prepare Belem for the summit. The state and municipal government as well as private businesses plan to tap into the federal funding.

By the harbor, a row of rundown corrugated metal warehouses is one example of an area where the city is planning a facelift. Closed off for construction this week, signs proclaimed "Port of the Future Here," with renderings of a modern shopping and entertainment complex.

Farther along the waterfront, the city's Ver-o-Peso market, famous for selling giant Amazonian river fish, is also set for a government overhaul before COP30.

"What I would like is for the authorities to get their house in order," said vendor Beth Cheirosinha. "There is a lot that is decayed, a lot abandoned, a lot eaten by moths. We're going to receive the masses. We need to have a chic place."

Reuters visited the future COP30 venue in Belem, on the site of an abandoned airport. A massive conference center with manicured grounds will fill the empty lot where workers have only just begun to lay concrete, with plans for the existing runway to remain in place.

With just 17,500 hotel beds currently in the city's immediate vicinity, Belem plans to double or triple hotel capacity by expanding existing hotels and tapping the surrounding area's beach and jungle resorts, said Tony Santiago, state head of national hotel association Abih. That may mean bringing in some delegates by boat each day.

Options for private accommodation will also be available on platforms such as Airbnb, he said.

Even then, the city might have difficulty finding accommodations befitting the more than 100 heads of state expected to attend, said Araujo, the city official.

One solution would be to dredge the port so transatlantic oceanliners can enter. Such ships housed authorities when Trinidad and Tobago hosted a Summit of the Americas in 2009.

The city will be the first municipality in the Brazilian Amazon to draw up a comprehensive climate plan, Araujo has said.

Helder Barbalho, governor of Para, where Belem is the state capital, said that COP30 would bring resources to upgrade the below-standard sanitation of nearly a third of the population and swap petrol-burning buses for electric or gas vehicles.

But it would be impossible to resolve everything.

"We don't want to live in a bubble and pretend that Belem won't have problems in November 2025," said Barbalho. "But we understand that we can still present a city with hospitality."

($1 = 4.90 reais)

(Reporting by Jake Spring and Leonardo Benassatto in Belem; Additional reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu in Brasilia; Editing by Brad Haynes and Rosalba O'Brien)

UN Security Council to hold first open meeting on North Korea human rights situation since 2017

August 10, 2023 

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council will hold its first open meeting on North Korea’s dire human rights situation since 2017 next week, the United States announced Thursday.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters that U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk and Elizabeth Salmon, the U.N. independent investigator on human rights in the reclusive northeast Asia country, will brief council members at the Aug. 17 meeting.

“We know the government’s human rights abuses and violations facilitate the advancement of its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles program,” Thomas-Greenfield said, adding that the Security Council “must address the horrors, the abuses and crimes being perpetrated” by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s regime against its own people as well as the people of Japan and South Korea.

Thomas-Greenfield, who is chairing the council during this month’s U.S. presidency, stood with the ambassadors from Albania, Japan and South Korea when making the announcement.

Russia and China, which have close ties to North Korea, have blocked any Security Council action since vetoing a U.S.-sponsored resolution in May 2022 that would have imposed new sanctions over a spate of its intercontinental ballistic missile launches. So the council is not expected to take any action at next week's meeting.

China and Russia could protest holding the open meeting, which requires support from at least nine of the 15 council members.

The Security Council imposed sanctions after North Korea’s first nuclear test explosion in 2006 and tightened them over the years in a total of 10 resolutions seeking — so far unsuccessfully — to cut funds and curb the country's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

At a council meeting last month on Pyongyang’s test-flight of its developmental Hwasong-18 missile, North Korea's U.N. Ambassador Kim Song made his first appearance before members since 2017.

He told the council the test flight was a legitimate exercise of the North’s right to self-defense. He also accused the United States of driving the situation in northeast Asia “to the brink of nuclear war,” pointing to its nuclear threats and its deployment of a nuclear-powered submarine to South Korea for the first time in 14 years.

Whether ambassador Kim attends next week’s meeting on the country’s human rights remains to be seen.

In March, during an informal Security Council meeting on human rights in North Korea — which China blocked from being broadcast globally on the internet — U.N. special rapporteur Salmon said peace and denuclearization can’t be addressed without considering the country’s human rights situation.

She said the limited information available shows the suffering of the North Korean people has increased and their already limited liberties have declined.

Access to food, medicine and health care remains a priority concern, Salmon said. “People have frozen to death during the cold spells in January,” and some didn’t have money to heat their homes while others were forced to live on the streets because they sold their homes as a last resort.

New Buffalo Bills stadium cost overruns approaching $300M, AP sources say



New York Governor Kathy Hochul, left, Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula and Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, right, participate in the groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the new Bills Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., Monday June 5, 2023. Three months since construction began on their new stadium, the Buffalo Bills are already facing a potential cash crunch with latest projections having the team on the hook for as much as $300 million in cost over-runs, four people with direct knowledge or briefed on the financial details told The Associated Press this week.

 (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes, File)

JOHN WAWROW
Updated Wed, August 9, 2023

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Three months since construction began on their new stadium, the Buffalo Bills are already facing a potential cash crunch with the latest projections having the team on the hook for as much as $300 million in cost overruns, four people with direct knowledge or who were briefed on the financial details told The Associated Press this week.

What was initially estimated to cost $1.4 billion in March 2022, and increased to $1.54 billion months later, is now projected to have jumped to $1.65 billion and approaching $1.7 billion, the people told the AP on the condition of anonymity because the team has not disclosed those figures.

The rising price tag is notable because the Bills are contractually required to cover any overruns beyond the then-agreed to cost of $1.4 billion as part of the tentative deal the team reached with the state and Erie County 16 months ago.

Increased labor and material costs were cited for the increased price, with one person saying one line item has already come in at $75 million over budget. Another person said a delay in sending out bids also had an effect in upping the cost.

The Athletic first reported on the cost overruns last weekend, and cited unidentified individuals as projecting the stadium’s price tag potentially reaching $1.9 billion.

Newly appointed Bills COO John Roth called the projections premature and speculative at best.

“We don’t know enough yet to confirm this,” Roth told the AP on Wednesday, noting only a small percentage of the contracts and bids have been completed.

Roth took over three weeks ago after Ron Raccuia was abruptly fired.

Raccuia was involved in stadium negotiations and took on an even larger role over the final year after team co-owner Kim Pegula suffered a debilitating heart attack in June 2022. Raccuia was fired last month, with co-owner Terry Pegula taking over as team president and designating a three-person committee — headed by Roth — to oversee the Bills and the construction project.

A ballooning price tag would place a larger-than-expected burden on the Bills, who were initially committed to covering $550 million of the construction costs. Their share now stands to potentially match the taxpayer contribution of $850 million, with $650 million due from the state, and the remainder from Erie County.

The Bills agreed to cover the cost overruns in exchange for having full control over the stadium’s design and construction.

One of the people told the AP before negotiations began that overruns were expected based on the Bills' projected cost of $1.4 billion. The Bills had initially pegged the cost of the stadium at about $1.5 billion before switching design firms.

The Bills are funding their share through the NFL’s G4 loan program. The rest of the money is being raised through a first-time seat licensing fee for season-ticket holders.

It’s unclear how the Bills would make up the difference, and what cost-cutting measures they can make to the design of a 60,000-plus seat facility being built across from their current home in Orchard Park, New York.

The rising projections come as the Pegulas, who also own the NHL's Buffalo Sabres, are expected to soon approach the city to discuss long-needed renovations to the team’s downtown arena.

KeyBank Center has not had a major upgrade since it opened in 1996, and needs work to its roof, concourses and seating bowls.

The renovation needs are so significant the project would have to be spread out over several offseasons.

Pegula has a projected net worth of $6.7 billion and made his fortune through the natural gas industry by discovering and then selling off the drilling rights of tracts of gas-rich fields across the country.

Pegula, for example, helped fund his $1.4 billion purchase of the Bills in 2014 by selling the drilling rights on about 75,000 acres of land in Ohio and West Virginia for $1.75 billion.

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LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for SPORTS STADIUM 

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for STADIUM 

Chinese-Australian journalist jailed in China on spying charges describes harsh conditions


Cheng Lei, then a Chinese-born Australian journalist for CGTN, the English-language channel of China Central Television, attends a public event in Beijing on Aug. 12, 2020. The Chinese-Australian journalist who worked for China's state broadcaster and was convicted on murky espionage charges has spoken out about the harsh conditions of her detention. 

(AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Thu, August 10, 2023 

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese-Australian journalist who worked for China’s state broadcaster and was convicted on murky espionage charges has spoken out about the harsh conditions of her detention.

Cheng Lei has been held for three years, and although found guilty on national security charges at a closed-door trial last year, has yet to be sentenced.

She is allowed to stand in the sunlight for only 10 hours a year, hasn't seen a tree since she was detained, and deeply misses her daughter and son, now entering high school, Cheng said in a statement conveyed to an Australian diplomat and released to local media.

“I relive every bushwalk, river, lake, beach with swims and picnics and psychedelic sunsets, sky that is lit up with stars, and the silent and secret symphony of the bush,” Cheng said in the statement published by broadcaster ABC.

“I secretly mouth the names of places I’ve visited and driven through,” she said. “It is the Chinese in me that has probably gone beyond the legal limit of sentimentality. Most of all, I miss my children.”

Attempts to independently confirm the statement with the Australian government were unsuccessful.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke out on Cheng's behalf last month, saying she was being held “without proper process.”

Cheng, 48, moved with her family to Australia at age 10. She returned to China to work for the international department of state broadcaster CCTV. The details behind her detention and trial remain sealed. China's authoritarian system gives prosecutors broad powers to level charges of spying or leaking state secrets with little or no evidence, and Cheng could face years of prison.

Chinese authorities have also been accused of holding foreign nationals, particularly those born in the country, to obtain diplomatic gains or the return of Chinese citizens abroad wanted on a variety of charges. China's relations with Australia have recently improved after China put them on freeze over Canberra's accusations of Chinese political interference and intimidation of the local Chinese community.

TSMC to build US$11 billion chip manufacturing plant in Germany

South China Morning Post
Wed, August 9, 2023 

In a huge boon for European Union efforts to build a cutting-edge microchip supply chain, the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company announced plans on Tuesday for a €10 billion (US$11 billion) plant in Germany.

The facility, to be built in Dresden in the country's east, will begin producing chips for the automotive sector by the end of 2027, the company said.

The project marks the first foray onto European turf for TSMC, the world's leading maker of advanced chips. The firm will work in conjunction with German companies Robert Bosch and Infineon Technologies as well as NXP Semiconductors of the Netherlands.

Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.

European political chiefs have courted TSMC for years, as the EU tries to avoid the sorts of supply-chain bottlenecks that paralysed parts of its economy during the coronavirus pandemic.

Michael Kretschmer (left), the minister president of Saxon and Dirk Hilbert, the lord mayor of Dresden, during the announcement of TSMC's planned semiconductor plant. Photo: dpa alt=Michael Kretschmer (left), the minister president of Saxon and Dirk Hilbert, the lord mayor of Dresden, during the announcement of TSMC's planned semiconductor plant. Photo: dpa>

The bloc has been seeking ways to attract Taiwanese chip investment without cutting major deals with the self-ruled island's government.

Brussels has been unmoved by Taipei's requests to launch talks over a bilateral investment agreement, with EU officials publicly arguing that free-flowing investment shows a deal is not required.

They privately admit, however, that they are concerned about retaliation from China. In 2016, Brussels committed to negotiating separate investment deals with China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

But the EU-Chinese Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) is locked in geopolitical purgatory after a row over human rights sanctions.

While that remains unresolved, Brussels bureaucrats are reluctant to even float the idea of a Taiwanese pact. There is a view that it would be impossible to get all 27 EU member states to support an official trade or investment pact with Taiwan.
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For Germany, the TSMC deal offers a shot in the arm for its flagging industrial engine - but at a cost. German media reported that the government will provide €5 billion in subsidies for the plant.

It comes after Intel announced plans for a €30 billion chip factory in Magdeburg, another city in Germany's east, with a third of the cost expected to be covered by government subsidies.

Berlin is taking advantage of Brussels' loosened rules on providing state aid at a time when its anaemic economy is expected to grow by just 0.3 per cent this year, EU data estimated.

On Sunday, it was announced that industrial production in Germany - the EU's largest economy - dropped by more than economists had predicted in June.

The deal also lifts the EU's efforts to build out an indigenous semiconductor industry, as it hopes to sidestep the US-China tech war and shore up its own chip supply in case of future disruptions in the Taiwan Strait.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine 18 months ago, significant political capital has been invested in making the EU's supply chains more resilient. As part of this approach, it is looking to reduce its dependencies on China and other trading partners for key technologies.

Now, financial capital from EU members is starting to follow. The TSMC investment comes two weeks after the bloc finally approved its Chips Act, aimed at "doubling the EU's global market share in semiconductors, from 10 per cent now to at least 20 per cent by 2030".

"Very pleased about the decision of TSMC to invest - together with 3 EU major semiconductor companies - into building a new semiconductor FAB in EU," EU internal market chief Thierry Breton posted on social media.

"It's the EU Chips Act in motion - bringing stronger security of supply for Europe, including for EU's automotive industry," Breton added.

Other EU officials struck a cautionary tone, one noting the delay in the opening of TSMC's new factory in the US state of Arizona due in part to a lack of skilled workers.

Given the highly technical nature of the work and the fact that plants are set to spring up around the world, serious thought would need to be given to skilled training, they noted.

The venture partners in Germany will create a new entity, European Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, with the fab - industry shorthand for a fabrication plant - to be operated by TSMC.

Mathieu Duchatel, director of the Asia programme at Institut Montaigne in Paris, said that the news was good for Germany and Europe's industrial ambitions, but suggested that the goal of doubling the bloc's market share of chip production remained unrealistic.

"The EU Chips Act authorises exemptions to the prohibition of state aid if companies and governments demonstrate that a fab project is 'first-of-a-kind', a loose concept that has considerably relaxed the EU's notoriously strict competition law," he wrote in a recent post on Euractiv, an EU news portal.

Other such investments include a silicon carbide substrate plant on the Italian island of Sicily and a factory producing an ultra-thin silicon technology for hi-tech chip engineering in France.

"Quick maths tell a blunt story: without the EU Chips Act, these investments would have been unlikely to take place in Europe, but they won't be enough to increase Europe's market share vis-a-vis Taiwan," Duchatel wrote.

"Trends in semiconductor equipment spending tend to show that Taiwan's and South Korea's advance is in fact still increasing."

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Hawaii wildfires latest: At least 36 dead as historic town Lahaina burns to the ground

“Unprecedented’’ wildfires continue into a third day on Hawaii’s Big Island and Maui in what is said to be the state’s worst natural disaster in 30 years.

Niamh Cavanagh
·Reporter
Thu, August 10, 2023

At least 36 people have been confirmed dead after windswept wildfires ravaged parts of Hawaii’s Big Island and neighboring Maui. The fires, which began on Tuesday, destroyed swathes of land forcing residents from their businesses and homes. According to officials, thousands of people have been displaced.

What’s the latest?

On Wednesday evening, Maui County officials said 36 people were discovered amid the “active fire” in the historic town of Lahaina. “We are still in a search and rescue mode, so I don’t know what will happen to that number,” Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen Jr. said during a news conference on Wednesday.

Sen. Brian Schatz said the centuries-old town was “almost totally burnt to the ground.” Acting Gov. Sylvia Luke said communities had been “wiped out” after emergency services struggled to contain the fires. In Maui alone, over 270 structures have been damaged so far. “These were small businesses that invested in Maui,” she said. “These were local residents. We need to figure out a way to help a lot of people in the next several years. The road to recovery will be long.”

Wildfires in Hawaii fanned by strong winds burned multiple structures in areas including historic Lahaina town, forcing evacuations and the closing of schools in several communities. (Zeke Kalua/County of Maui via AP)

Read more on Yahoo News:

NBC News: 14 people who sheltered from Maui wildfire in the ocean rescued by Coast Guard

USA Today: Maui wildfires leave wake of devastation in Hawaii. How you can donate or volunteer

The Conversation: Maui wildfires burn through Lahaina – it's a reminder of the growing risk to communities that once seemed safe

Accuweather: Distant Category 4 Hurricane Dora kicks up winds, stirs dangers in Hawaii

Maui County officials said that 11,000 people have been evacuated from the island so far, with many more expected to leave. Since Wednesday, hospitals have been overwhelmed with burn victims and those suffering from smoke inhalation, including one firefighter. Landline and cellphone service remain cut for residents of West Maui, leaving them unable to contact emergency services.

Tourists have been asked to leave the affected areas of Maui as soon as possible. For those without cars, bus evacuations were organized outside of hotel resorts bringing tourists straight to Kahului Airport. The Department of Transportation has been working with local airlines to evacuate all tourists from the affected areas of Maui, the White House said in a statement.

Smoke billows near Lahaina as wildfires driven by high winds destroy a large part of the historic town of Lahaina, Hawaii, on August 9, 2023. (Dustin Johnson/Reuters)

At least 10 schools on the island have closed following the continued spread of brush fires, while one, located in Central Maui, remains open as an evacuation shelter. According to PowerOutage.us, more than 12,000 in Hawaii are still without electricity.
What has the White House said?

In a statement released on Wednesday night, President Biden ordered all available federal assets in Hawaii to help battle the wildfires. The Army and the Hawaiian National Guard have mobilized helicopters to help with “fire suppression” on the Big Island and Maui. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard and the Navy have been supporting evacuations and rescue efforts.

“I urge all residents to continue to follow evacuation orders, listen to the instructions of first responders and officials and stay alert,” Biden said.

This graphic shows the location of fires on the island of Maui, Hawaii, Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023.

 (AP Photo)

What caused the wildfires?

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the wildfires, but Honolulu meteorologist Jeff Powell said they were sparked “kind of because of Hurricane Dora, but it’s not a direct result.”

Hurricane Dora, which passed western Johnston Island on Wednesday, traveled 700 miles south of Honolulu and created winds of 130 mph on Tuesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The National Weather Service warned of wind speeds as high as 60 mph and alerted those in the affected areas to expect power outages and difficulty traveling. The NWS said that “very dry conditions” and “potentially damaging easterly winds” would continue the “dangerous fire weather conditions” into Wednesday afternoon. “The fire can be a mile or more from your house, but in a minute or two, it can be at your house,” Maui County fire assistant chief Jeff Giesea said.

“The fact that we have wildfires in multiple areas as a result of indirectly from a hurricane is unprecedented; it’s something that Hawaii residents and the state have not experienced,” Luke said.

Ring by ring, majestic banyan tree in heart of fire-scorched Lahaina chronicles 150 years of history




Hawaii Fires

This combination of satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of Banyan Court in Lahaina on Maui, Hawaii, on June 25, 2023, top, and an overview of the same area on Wednesday, Aug. 9, following a wildfire that tore through the heart of the Hawaiian island.

 (Maxar Technologies via AP)


BOBBY CAINA CALVAN and JENNIFER McDERMOTT
Thu, August 10, 2023 

For generations, the banyan tree along Lahaina town's historic Front Street served as a gathering place, its leafy branches unfurling majestically to give shade from the Hawaiian sun. By most accounts, the sprawling tree was the heart of the oceanside community — towering more than 60 feet (18 meters) and anchored by multiple trunks that span nearly an acre.

Like the town itself, its very survival is now in question, its limbs scorched by a devastating fire that has wiped away generations of history.

For 150 years, the colossal tree shaded community events, including art fairs. It shaded townsfolk and tourists alike from the Hawaiian sun, befitting for a place once called “Lele,” the Hawaiian word for “relentless sun.”

Ring by ring, the tree has captured history.

The tree was just an 8-foot (2-meter) sapling when it was planted in 1873, a gift shipped from India to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first Protestant mission in Lahaina. It was planted a quarter century before the Hawaiian Islands became a U.S. territory and seven decades after King Kamehameha declared Lahaina the capital of his kingdom.

“There is nothing that has made me cry more today than the thought of the Banyan Tree in my hometown of Lahaina,” wrote a poster identifying herself as HawaiiDelilah on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“We will rebuild," her post said. "And the natural beauty of Maui will be forever.”

The tree's enormity — and its many trunks — is because of how it grows. Aerial roots dangle from its boughs and eventually latch onto the soil. Branches splay out widely and become roosting places for choirs of myna birds.

While there was lots of concern over the loss of at least 36 lives and the devastation to the community, the tree has become a symbol of the devastation but perhaps the community's resilience, should it survive.

It's unclear what sparked the fire, which quickly raced toward town Tuesday evening. The flames were fanned by brisk winds and fueled by dry vegetation in nearby hills. When the ferocious blaze swept into the historic town, many of the wooden buildings didn't stand a chance and were quickly turned into heaps of ashes.

“It’s kind of the center of town,” said Maui resident Amy Fuqua in an interview with The Associated Press in 2016 when she was the manager of the Lahaina Visitor’s Center. “Everyone knows where it’s at. It has an important significance to the town and it feels good under there.”

Wildfire devastates Hawaii's Lahaina, historic city and onetime capital of former kingdom


MARK THIESSEN and AUDREY McAVOY
Updated Thu, August 10, 2023 

KAHULUI, Hawaii (AP) — The wildfire that has brought sheer devastation to Maui is especially heartbreaking for Hawaii because it struck one of its most historic cities and the onetime capital of the former kingdom.

Lahaina holds deep cultural significance for Hawaiians. The city was once the royal residence of King Kamehameha III, who unified Hawaii under a single kingdom by defeating the other islands’ chiefs. His successors made it the capital from 1820 to 1845, according to the National Park Service.

Kings and queens are buried in the graveyard of the 200-year-old stone Wainee Church. Later named Waiola, the church that once sat up to 200 people was photographed apparently engulfed in flames this week.

“It was really the political center for Hawaii,” said Davianna McGregor, a retired professor of ethnic studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Dozens of people were killed and hundreds of structures were damaged or destroyed in the blaze that ignited Tuesday and quickly spread throughout the western Maui community of less than 13,000 residents.

It’s feared that the fire also consumed much of Lahaina's historic Front Street, home to restaurants, bars, stores and what is believed to be the United States' largest banyan, a fig tree with roots that grow out of branches and eventually reach the soil like new trunks.

Richard Olsten, a helicopter pilot with tour operator Air Maui, said he and other pilots and mechanics flew over the scene Wednesday before work to take stock.

“All the places that are tourist areas, that are Hawaiian history, are gone, and that can’t be replaced," he said. “You can’t refurbish a building that’s just ashes now. It can’t be rebuilt — it’s gone forever.”

Francine Hollinger, a 66-year-old Native Hawaiian, said witnessing the destruction of Front Street was “like losing a family member ... because they’ll never be able to rebuild it, like we wouldn’t be able to bring back our mother or father."

The full extent of loss won’t be known until officials can assess the damage done by the flames, fanned by winds caused in part by Hurricane Dora moving westward hundreds of miles to the south of the island state.

The Lahaina Historic District is home to more than 60 historic sites, according to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. A National Historic Landmark since 1962, it encompasses more than 16,000 acres (6,500 hectares) and covers ocean waters stretching a mile (1.6 kilometers) offshore from the storied buildings.

For Native Hawaiians, the city is a connection to their ancestors. Lahainaluna High School was where royalty and chiefs were educated, and also where Kamehameha and his Council of Chiefs drafted the first Declaration of Rights of the People and the Constitution for the Hawaiian Kingdom.

“From going from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy, the ruling chiefs in and around Lahaina and those educated at Lahainaluna played very prominent roles in our governance at that time,” McGregor said.

The capital was moved to Honolulu in 1845, but Lahaina’s palace remained a place where royalty would visit.

Lahaina also has a rich history of whaling, with more than 400 ships a year visiting for weeks at a time in the 1850s. Crew members sometimes clashed with missionaries on the island.

Sugar plantations and fishing boosted the economy over the decades, but tourism is the main driver now. Nearly 3 million visitors came to Maui last year, and many of them come to the historic city.

The fire is “just going to change everything,” said Lee Imada, who worked at the Maui News for 39 years, including the last eight as managing editor until his retirement in 2020. “It’s just hard to register, even right now, what the full impact of this is going to be.”

Imada lives in Waikapu, on Maui, but has ancestral ties to Lahaina going back generations. His mother’s family owned a chain of popular general stores, and his granduncles ran the location on Front Street until it closed around 60 years ago.

He recalled walking down Front Street among the tourists as they shopped or ate, looking at the banyan tree, and enjoying the beautiful ocean views from the harbor.

“It’s just sort of hard to believe that it’s not there,” Imada said. “Everything that I remember the place to be is not there anymore.”

___

Thiessen reported from Anchorage, Alaska. Associated Press video journalist Manuel Valdes in Seattle contributed.

Images show devastation of Hawaii wildfires
BBC
Wed, August 9, 2023 

An arial view of buildings damaged in Lahaina, Hawaii as a result of a large wildfire which has killed 6 people and forced thousands of evacuations on the island of Maui in Hawaii, USA, 09 August 2023. Winds from Hurricane Dora, which is currently over the Pacific Ocean hundreds of miles south of Hawaii, have intensified the wildfires.

Wildfires on the Hawaii island of Maui have destroyed homes and businesses and displaced thousands.

The hardest hit is the historic town of Lahaina. Officials reported at least six people have been killed in the fires.

The fires continue to rage as of Wednesday afternoon, with firefighting efforts and search and rescue missions underway.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has deployed federal resources to help.

Aerial images show several buildings destroyed by the fires in Lahaina, though officials said it is still difficult to determine the true extent of the damage.

The fires were fanned by a combination of low humidity and winds from a distant Hurricane Dora, the National Weather Service said, which brought with it gusts of above 60 mph (97 kph). The flames spread along Lahaina's coast, burning boats and the town's harbour.

A charred boat lies in the scorched waterfront after wildfires fanned by the winds of a distant hurricane devastated Maui's city of Lahaina, Hawaii, U.S. August 9, 2023. Mason Jarvi/Handout

The path of the flames can be seen by images captured by satellite. Some have reportedly jumped into the ocean to escape the flames, and the US Coast Guard said it rescued at least a dozen people from the water.

A satellite image shows wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, U.S.,

Lahaina is a historic town on the western tip of Maui. It is home to 12,000 residents and is also a popular destination for tourists. The fires have displaced round 2,100 locals who have been housed in shelters.


Thousands remain without power or cell phone service due to the fires, and 911 services in West Maui were down on Wednesday. Roads into Lahaina were closed except for emergency vehicles, as officials warned visitors to stay away for their own safety.

Smoke billows from flames near Lahaina as wildfires driven by high winds destroy a large part of the historic town of Lahaina, Hawaii, U.S. August 9, 2023.

All images subject to copyright.

Shocking Before-and-After Pics Show Hawaiian Town Obliterated by Deadly Wildfires

Dan Ladden-Hall, Josh Fiallo
Thu, August 10, 2023 

Jeff Melichar/TMX/via Reuters


Shocking before-and-after photos from Lahaina, a historic Hawaiian town of about 12,000 people on the west coast of Maui, have revealed the extent of the devastation caused by one of the most deadly American wildfires in recent history.

At least 53 people died as several fires tore across the island of Maui on Tuesday, with powerful winds from Hurricane Dora accelerating the inferno (even though the hurricane itself is passing Hawaii several hundreds of miles away in the Pacific Ocean).

County officials said many of the fatalities were discovered as firefighters battled to save Lahaina—a popular tourist destination that was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The death toll is expected to rise above that caused by a tsunami that slammed into the state in 1960, leveling much of Hilo and killing 61 people.

Satellite imagery shows the total destruction of the Banyan Court area in Lahaina.
Satellite image (c) 2023 Maxar Technologies via Getty

Satellite imagery showed that the Banyan Court area of Lahaina had been razed, including many of the town’s most iconic landmarks. Its famous 150-year-old banyan tree, the largest in the world, was badly charred but salvageable, KHON2 reported.

At least 1,000 structures have been either damaged or destroyed in the flames, which grew so intense that some people were forced to flee into the ocean. Gov. Josh Green (D) estimated Thursday that “maybe upwards of 1,700 buildings” had been razed by the fires.

The U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement the same day that it had saved 17 people in the water, while 40 survivors had been located on land. Search and rescue responders remained “actively engaged” in looking for more survivors, Captain Aja Kirksey said.

Thousands of locals spent Tuesday night in evacuation shelters while thousands of tourists were similarly forced to take shelter as flights were grounded. More than 14,000 people were moved off Maui on Wednesday. An additional 14,500 people were set to be relocated by Thursday night, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority.

Satellite imagery shows an overview of the damage caused by the Lahaina wildfire.
Satellite image (c) 2023 Maxar Technologies via Getty

Lahaina resident La Phena Davis said the blaze had left her and her hometown with nothing.

“I've never seen anything like it,” she told KITV. “There is no Lahaina left. There’s no Lahaina Harbor, no Mala Wharf. Every restaurant is burned. The Jodo Mission and the homes on Front Street are completely burned to the ground.”

In a separate interview, Davis recalled how frighteningly fast the flames reached her front door, leaving her only enough time to grab essential paperwork and run.

“It was such a black, thick smoke that we immediately just left,” she said. “We barely grabbed anything. I literally didn’t grab any clothes. I grabbed my important papers, but everything that we owned, and you know, in all my 50 years of life, is completely burnt to the ground.”

Other residents from the beachside town of 13,000 described a similarly apocalyptic scene. Ingrid Lynch told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that she thought the worst had passed on Tuesday morning when the fires destroyed her car. That night, her roommate woke her and told her they had to flee their house—which was soon on fire as well. “We didn’t know where we were going,” Lynch said. “There were flames everywhere and we didn’t know what direction to go.”

An aerial view shows wildfire smoke in Lahaina.
Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke via Facebook/via REUTERS

Taxi driver Alan Barrios, 53, also described finding himself “in the eye of the storm” as he fled Lahaina, forced to leave one of his frightened cats behind after it panicked and ran away. “Your heart is coming out of your chest, that’s all I can tell you,” he said. “You feel like you’re running out of oxygen.”

Laren Gartner, a restaurant owner on Maui, told CNN that the fires had decimated cell service, connectivity and electricity on the island, leaving thousands in the dark—likely terrified, lost, and confused.

“Lahaina looks like a bomb went off,” she said. “There is nothing left.”

Smoke billows near Lahaina.
Dustin Johnson/Handout via REUTERS

The Federal Emergency Management Agency described Maui on Thursday as having “widespread devastation.” The agency said it was struggling to assist those impacted because of the island’s relatively small size and the unpredictability of the fires, which were 80 percent contained by Thursday morning.

Hawaii’s tourism authority advised visitors on “non-essential travel” to leave Maui late Wednesday, additionally discouraging others from traveling into the area. Local attention and resources will instead be given to communities impacted by the fires, with tourists urged to rearrange their plans.

For tourists already in West Maui, a “mass bus evacuation” will begin on Thursday morning to take people to the Kahului Airport. Roads were gridlocked with traffic to the airport on Tuesday as thousands of tourists and locals alike attempted to escape the disaster. Late Wednesday, Southwest Airlines said it had added additional flights “to keep people and supplies moving,” and California officials announced Thursday it was sending a search and rescue team to the embattled island.

County officials in Maui said about 1,400 people slept at the airport Wednesday night and another 1,300 in shelters away from the flames.

“These past few days, the resolve of our families, businesses, and visitors have been tested like never before in our lifetime,” Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said in a video message late Wednesday. “With lives lost and properties decimated, we are grieving with each other during this inconsolable time.”

In addition to Maui, officials said fires broke out on Big Island, but no injuries or destroyed buildings have been reported there. The true scale of the devastation may not be known for some time.

“This is not going to be a short journey,” Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke said. “It’s going to take weeks and maybe months to assess the full damage.”

President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for Hawaii early Thursday and pledged to dedicate federal resources.

The Daily Beast.

Shocking before-and-after images show utter devastation of Maui wildfire

Terry Castleman
Thu, August 10, 2023 

The hall of historic Waiola Church in Lahaina and nearby Lahaina Hongwanji Mission are engulfed in flames along Wainee Street on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii. 

(Matthew Thayer/The Maui News via AP) 

Wildfires in Maui have killed at least 36 people and injured dozens more.

At least 270 structures were damaged or destroyed.

Sylvia Luke, Hawaii's acting governor, said the flames “wiped out communities,” and she urged travelers to stay away. “This is not a safe place to be,” Luke said.

New satellite imagery shows the scale of the devastation wrought upon Lahaina, a waterfront city of about 13,000 residents on the northwest side of the island.

On the left side of the image below is an aerial shot of Lahaina on June 25.

The right side of the image shows most buildings have been burned to the ground, and the surrounding landscape is charred.

Read more: 53 killed in Maui fires; massive evacuation efforts underway

The wind-driven conflagration swept into coastal Lahaina with alarming speed and ferocity, blazing through intersections and leaping across wooden buildings in the town center, which dates to the 1700s and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The image below is a closer look at Lahaina Square Shopping Center, which appears to have been severely damaged along with the neighborhood around it.

The fires continued to burn Wednesday afternoon, fueled by strong winds from Hurricane Dora as it passed well south of the Hawaiian islands. Officials feared the death toll could rise.

Read more: Edison football team cancels nine-day trip to Maui because of wildfires

The image below shows Lahaina Banyan Court, a park that is home to the oldest living tree on Maui, and the nearby Lahaina marina, where nearly every visible structure was wiped out.

It was unclear whether the tree had survived the fire.

President Biden said in a statement Wednesday evening that he had ordered “all available federal assets” to help Hawaii. The president said the Coast Guard and Navy were supporting the fire response and rescue efforts, while the Marines are providing Black Hawk helicopters for aerial support in the firefight.

There was no count available of the number of structures destroyed or the number of people who had evacuated, but officials said there there were about 2,100 people in four shelters.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Maui fires: Aerial photos show damage in Lahaina, Banyan Court after deadly wildfires

Emily DeLetter, USA TODAY
Updated Thu, August 10, 2023

At least 36 people have died, officials say, and hundreds of structures have been destroyed as fires continue to rage on the island of Maui in Hawaii.

The fires first began Tuesday, and have since grown and spread in destruction, forcing hundreds of evacuations and leaving thousands without power.

The exact cause of the fires is unknown, although some experts believe human development on the island is at least partly to blame, including nonnative grass planted by plantation owners unfamiliar with the native ecosystem, which is dry and prone to fires.

The National Guard has been activated by Hawaii officials to assist police in Maui. The areas most impacted include Lahaina, a residential and tourist area with a commercial district in West Maui; Kula, a residential area in the inland, mountainous Upcounty region; and Kihei, a mix of homes, condos, short-term vacation rentals and visitor facilities in South Maui.

How did the Maui fires start? What we know about humans making disasters worse

Maui fires: Lahaina Is ‘like a war zone,’ Maui evacuees say
Aerial photos show damage to Lahaina, Banyan Court

Lahaina's iconic banyan tree, planted in 1873 after being imported from India, was threatened by this week's fires and suffered damage to trunks and limbs, but remains standing, the Honolulu Civil Beat reported.

Aerial photos show what Banyan Court looks like after fires tore through the island.

In this image obtained fro the US Department of Defense, a Hawaii Army National Guard CH47 Chinook performs aerial water bucket drops on wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui, August 9, 2023. Fast-moving wildfires have claimed at least 36 lives in the US tourist paradise of Hawaii, where rescuers raced Thursday to evacuate more people from the worst-hit island of Maui. Brushfires on Maui's west coast -- fueled by high winds from a hurricane passing to the south -- broke out Tuesday and rapidly engulfed the seaside town of Lahaina. (Photo by Andrew Jackson / US Department of Defense / AFP)More

In this image obtained fro the US Department of Defense, a Hawaii Army National Guard CH47 Chinook performs aerial water bucket pick up to fight wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui, August 9, 2023. Fast-moving wildfires have claimed at least 36 lives in the US tourist paradise of Hawaii, where rescuers raced Thursday to evacuate more people from the worst-hit island of Maui. Brushfires on Maui's west coast -- fueled by high winds from a hurricane passing to the south -- broke out Tuesday and rapidly engulfed the seaside town of Lahaina. (Photo by Andrew Jackson / US Department of Defense / AFP)More

This combination of pictures created on August 09, 2023 shows an overview of Banyan court in Lahaina, Hawaii. The photo on the left was taken June 25, 2023 before wildfires dealt widespread damage in the area. The photo on the right was taken August 9, 2023, after fires had passed through. At least 36 people have been killed in a wildfire that has razed the Hawaiian town of Lahaina, officials said on August 9, 2023 with desperate residents jumping into the ocean in a bid to escape the fast-moving flames.More

In this image obtained fro the US Department of Defense, a Hawaii Army National Guard CH47 Chinook performs aerial water bucket drops on wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui, August 9, 2023. Fast-moving wildfires have claimed at least 36 lives in the US tourist paradise of Hawaii, where rescuers raced Thursday to evacuate more people from the worst-hit island of Maui. Brushfires on Maui's west coast -- fueled by high winds from a hurricane passing to the south -- broke out Tuesday and rapidly engulfed the seaside town of Lahaina. (Photo by Andrew Jackson / US Department of Defense / AFP)More

A satellite image provided by Maxar focuses on the historic Lahaina area before wildfires which have engulfed large areas of the Hawaiian island of Maui.

A satellite image provided by Maxar focuses on the historic Lahaina area before wildfires which have engulfed large areas of the Hawaiian island of Maui.

A satellite image provided by Maxar focuses on the historic Lahaina area on Aug. 9, 2023 after wildfires which have engulfed large areas of the Hawaiian island of Maui.

A satellite image provided by Maxar focuses on the historic Lahaina area on Aug. 9, 2023 after wildfires which have engulfed large areas of the Hawaiian island of Maui.

This handout video grab courtesy of Richard Olsten taken on August 9, 2023 shows smoke billowing from destroyed buildings as wildfires burn across Maui, Hawaii. At least 36 people have been killed in a wildfire that has razed a Hawaiian town, officials said Wednesday, as desperate residents jumped into the ocean in a bid to escape the fast-moving flames.More

This handout video grab courtesy of Richard Olsten taken on August 9, 2023 shows smoke billowing from destroyed buildings as wildfires burn across Maui, Hawaii. At least six people have been killed in a wildfire that has razed a Hawaiian town, officials said Wednesday, as desperate residents jumped into the ocean in a bid to escape the fast-moving flames. (Photo by Richard Olsten / AFP)More

This handout video grab courtesy of Richard Olsten taken on August 9, 2023 shows smoke billowing from destroyed buildings as wildfires burn across Maui, Hawaii. At least six people have been killed in a wildfire that has razed a Hawaiian town, officials said Wednesday, as desperate residents jumped into the ocean in a bid to escape the fast-moving flames. (Photo by Richard Olsten / AFP)

Waiola Church

Photos from the ground show destroyed buildings, recovery efforts

People watch as smoke and flames fill the air from raging wildfires on Front Street in downtown Lahaina, Maui, Maui officials say a wildfire in the historic town burned parts of one of the most popular tourist areas in Hawaii.

Smoke is seen in the distance while driving towards Lahaina. Wildfires in Hawaii fanned by strong winds burned multiple structures in areas including historic Lahaina town, forcing evacuations and closing schools in several communities Wednesday, and rescuers pulled a dozen people escaping smoke and flames from the ocean.More

People set up in the War Memorial gymnasium, a shelter that opened in Wailuku, Maui on Aug. 9, 2023. Wildfires in Hawaii fanned by strong winds burned multiple structures in areas including historic Lahaina town, forcing evacuations and closing schools in several communities Wednesday, and rescuers pulled a dozen people escaping smoke and flames from the ocean.More

Mauro Farinelli and his wife Judit stand with their dog Susi at an evacuation shelter in Wailuku, Hawaii on Thursday, Aug. 9, 2023 after escaping fires that engulfed their town of Lahaina on the island of Maui. Wildfires have devastated parts of the Hawaiian island of Maui, killing multiple people, damaging or destroying over 270 structures and reducing most of a historic town to ash. (AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy)More

Flames from a wildfire burn in Kihei, Hawaii Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Thousands of residents raced to escape homes on Maui as blazes swept across the island, destroying parts of a centuries-old town in one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in recent years. (AP Photo/Ty O'Neil)

A wildfire burns in Kihei, Hawaii early Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023. Thousands of residents raced to escape homes on Maui as blazes swept across the island, destroying parts of a centuries-old town in one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in recent years. (AP Photo/Ty O'Neil)

Maui fires leave wake of devastation: Here's how you can donate or volunteer.
Fires cause delays, canceled flights: Photos from the Kahului Airport in Maui

Passengers try to sleep below a "Welcome To Maui" billboard on the floor of the airport terminal while waiting for delayed and canceled flights off the island as thousands of passengers were stranded at the Kahului Airport (OGG) in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Kahului, Hawaii on August 9, 2023. The death toll from a wildfire that turned a historic Hawaiian town to ashes has risen to 36 people, officials said on August 9. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)More

Passengers wait for delayed and canceled flights off the island as thousands of passengers were stranded at the Kahului Airport (OGG) in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Kahului, Hawaii on August 9, 2023. The death toll from a wildfire that turned a historic Hawaiian town to ashes has risen to 36 people, officials said on August 9. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)More

People gather at the Kahului Airport while waiting for flights Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, in Kahului, Hawaii. Several thousand Hawaii residents raced to escape homes on Maui as the Lahaina fire swept across the island, killing multiple people and burning parts of a centuries-old town. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Passengers try to rest and sleep while waiting for delayed and canceled flights off the island as thousands of passengers were stranded at the Kahului Airport (OGG) in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Kahului, Hawaii on August 9, 2023. The death toll from a wildfire that turned a historic Hawaiian town to ashes has risen to 36 people, officials said on August 9. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)More

Passengers try to sleep on the floor of the airport terminal while waiting for delayed and canceled flights off the island as thousands of passengers were stranded at the Kahului Airport (OGG) in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui in Kahului, Hawaii on August 9, 2023. The death toll from a wildfire that turned a historic Hawaiian town to ashes has risen to 36 people, officials said on August 9. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)More

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Maui fires: Lahaina, Banyan Court damage seen in aerial photos