WORK TO RULE IS NOT A STRIKE

Canadian government, border agents have reached tentative deal, ending strike: union

The disruption caused a backlog at the border and came just as Canada prepared to allow fully vaccinated U.S. visitors in for the first time in sixteen months

Reuters
Moira Warburton
Publishing date:Aug 06, 2021 • 

Canada Border Services Agency workers represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada began work-to-rule job action on Friday. 

PHOTO BY PAUL MORDEN/POSTMEDIA

VANCOUVER — The Canadian government and border staff have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, the unions representing the workers said on Friday, bringing a swift end to strike action that began earlier in the day.

The disruption caused a backlog at the border and came just as Canada prepared to allow fully vaccinated U.S. visitors in for the first time in sixteen months on Monday.

Talks between two unions representing Canadian border guards and staff – the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU) – and the federal government had reached an impasse in December 2020.

Union demands included higher pay and the ability to carry their guns in some areas such as airports. Their members have been without a contract for three years.

Earlier in the day, delays at the Canada-U.S. border slowed commercial crossings to a crawl and airports warned of lengthy delays.

FRAGILE EGO FOR SUCH A DICK

Alberta premier says he won't 'take lectures' from federal health minister on COVID-19

Patty Hajdu wrote to Alberta counterpart saying lifting rules is a gamble

Alanna Smith · The Canadian Press · Posted: Aug 06, 2021

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney suggests the federal government respect the advice of the province's top doctor, as he says his government does. (The Canadian Press)

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says he won't "take lectures" from federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu on how to handle COVID-19.

Hajdu earlier penned a letter to her Alberta counterpart saying she agrees with the Canadian Paediatric Society's description of Alberta's move to lift all COVID-19 measures as an "unnecessary and risky gamble."

"We're not going to ... take lectures from Minister Hajdu, particularly when it appears that she and her boss (Prime Minister) Justin Trudeau are hell-bent on a federal election campaign," Kenney said Friday at a news conference in Bowden, Alta., about drought support for farmers.

"If they really are that concerned about COVID, then why is she getting ready to put up campaign signs?"

Kenney went on to describe Hajdu's letter as a political ploy and criticized her handling of COVID-19 in the early days of the pandemic.

He said the federal government should respect the advice of Alberta's top doctor, as his government does.

Alberta to remove most COVID-19 isolation, testing requirements by mid-August
Federal health minister pens letter to Alberta, asks for science behind plan to lift COVID-19 rules

Hajdu is one of many political leaders and health-care experts across the country who have spoken out about Alberta's decision to eliminate COVID-19 isolation, testing and contact tracing measures.

Dozens of people chanted "test, trace and isolate" outside the legislature in Edmonton on Friday. It was the ninth consecutive day of protests, which have also taken place in Calgary.

Organizers said they will continue to protest every day until Aug. 16 — the day quarantine requirements lift in Alberta for people infected with COVID-19.

David Walsh, 14, said even though he is fully vaccinated, he is concerned for his peers when they return to school in September.

"It's idiotic, quite frankly," Walsh said. "I'm worried about asymptomatic people in the school ... and not having to isolate anymore is concerning. I'm worried about my classmates and those who have been fed misinformation and haven't been vaccinated."

Businessman Rob Sproule attended the protest with his wife and children. He said he is gravely concerned about a fourth COVID-19 wave.

Alberta, Saskatchewan removing public health restrictions 'a bad mistake' right now, experts say

Alberta reports 369 new COVID-19 cases as active cases continue to rise

"No other jurisdiction has gone this far. Dropping restrictions is one thing. You don't have to take it one step further and treat COVID like it's the cold. It's not a cold," said Sproule.

As concerns mount, so are cases in Alberta. Thursday marked the single highest daily case count since July 1 with 397 new infections. Alberta also had the highest active case count in all of Canada, according to federal data.

On Friday, the province reported 369 more cases, and 11 new hospitalizations.

Dr. Craig Jenne, an infectious disease expert at the University of Calgary, said severe outcomes as a result of community transmission is the biggest concern.

"If this trend continues, I think we're going to have to face some tough decisions on how to slow it," said Jenne.

"If, however, we see a stronger disconnect between rising cases in the community and limited hospitalizations, then that's an indication we can continue moving forward."



Deputy NDP Leader Sarah Hoffman is calling for an independent review of Alberta’s COVID-19 management as daily protests outside the legislature continue. 

Earlier Friday, Alberta's Opposition NDP called on Kenney to release internal modelling that the government says supported its decision to eliminate its public health measures.

NDP deputy leader Sarah Hoffman said the government needs to release the data so Albertans can make decisions on their health and gauge the risks.

COVID-19 modelling group sounds alarm over Alberta's case trajectory and emerging delta variant

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, has said the modelling looked at transmission and severe outcomes related to the highly contagious Delta variant.

Hinshaw said the modelling suggests cases will rise for a month but will have a limited impact on the province's acute care system.

Chris Bourdeau, a spokesman for Alberta Health, said in a statement that Hinshaw's decisions are based on "thorough medical analysis, using the best data available from Alberta and around the world."

Bourdeau said Hinshaw will release some data next week, but did not clarify if the internal modelling will be included.

Late Friday afternoon, the province released a 126-page independent report into its response during the first wave of the pandemic.

The review looked into the government's response to acute and continuing care, the economic consequences of the pandemic, messaging on COVID-19, the government's decision-making process and procurement of personal protective equipment.

It made three recommendations, including one for the province to work collaboratively with other stakeholders, such as municipalities.

With files from Fakiha Baig of the Canadian Press

Carbon-capturing Celour paint allows anyone to "participate in CO2 removal in their daily lives"

Jennifer Hahn | 6 August 2021  

Design graduate Kukbong Kim has developed a paint made from demolished concrete that is capable of absorbing 20 per cent of its weight in carbon.

Called Celour, the paint can sequester 27 grams of CO2 for every 135 grams of paint used.

"That is the same amount of carbon dioxide that a normal tree absorbs per day," Kim said.

The indoor-outdoor paint is made of waste concrete powder, a cement-based residue from concrete recycling that is normally buried in landfills, where it can alkalise the soil and have a detrimental effect on local ecosystems.

Celour is a carbon-capturing paint that comes in three colours

Through a chemical process called mineral carbonation, which takes place when the paint reacts with the CO2 in the surrounding air, Kim says Celour can reabsorb a significant part of the emissions that were generated by producing the cement in the first place.

Eventually, she hopes to optimise the capturing capacity of the paint so that it completely negates the carbon footprint of the cement it is made from.

"I think it is too early to describe Celour as carbon neutral," Kim said. "It needs further study but I want to make it a carbon-negative product. That is my goal."

"It's not enough if we just stop emissions, as we already have high levels of CO2 in the air," she added. "We need to participate in CO2 removal in our daily lives."

Concrete naturally reabsorbs some of the carbon it emits

Cement is the most carbon-intensive ingredient in concrete and is responsible for eight per cent of global emissions.

But when concrete is recycled, only the aggregate is reused while the cement binder is pulverised to create waste concrete powder and sent to landfill, where it can disturb the pH balance of the surrounding soil.

"Waste concrete powder is high in calcium oxide," Kim explained. "And when it is buried and comes into contact with groundwater or water in the soil, it turns into calcium hydroxide, which is strongly alkaline."

The waste concrete powder is filtered, pulverised and mixed with a binder, water and pigments

With her graduate project from the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London, the designer hopes to show the usefulness of this industrial waste material by maximising its natural ability to capture carbon.

Studies have shown that cement already reabsorbs around 43 per cent of the CO2 that is generated in its production through the mineral carbonation process.

This is set off when concrete is cured by adding water, which reacts with the calcium oxide in the cement and the CO2 in the air to form a stable mineral called calcium carbonate or limestone.

A traditional concrete block continues to cure throughout its life but because this process is reliant on exposure to air, only its outer layers will react with the CO2 while its core will remain uncarbonated.

Celour could store carbon for thousands of years

But Kim was able to improve the material's carbon-capturing capabilities by turning the waste concrete pounder into a paint, mixed with a binder, water and pigments.

This is spread thinly on a surface so that more of the material is exposed to the air and can carbonate.

Related story

"One tonne of olivine sand can take in up to one tonne of CO2" says Teresa van Dongen

In addition, the coarse powder was further filtered and pulverised to increase the relative surface area of the particles while a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) binder creates small gaps for air to enter.

"I have done a lot of experiments with different ingredients to maximise carbon absorption by increasing the surface area that comes into contact with carbon dioxide in the air," she explained.

"Graphene, which can capture lots of carbon thanks to its structure, was also considered as a binder but excluded because it is currently priced high and cannot be mass-produced."

The paint can be used both indoors and outdoors

Cement has long been used to create traditional paint, which is also capable of sequestering CO2. But Kim hopes to harness these carbon-capturing benefits while keeping a polluting waste material out of landfills and avoiding the emissions associated with making new cement.

How long the paint is capable of storing carbon is dependent on what happens to it after it is no longer needed. But Kim says it could be locked away for thousands of years unless exposed to extreme heat, which would alter the chemical structure of the carbonate.

As part of our carbon revolution series, Dezeen has profiled a number of carbon capture and utilisation companies that are working on turning captured CO2 into useful products from bioplastic cladding to protein powder and concrete masonry units.

Read more: 

• Products
 
• Design
 
• Royal College of Art
 
• Product design
 
• Concrete
 
• Student projects
 
• Materials
 
• Graduates
 
• Paint
 
• Cement
 
• Carbon capture
 
• Carbon capture and utilisation
 
• Mineral carbonation

Ottawa blocks development of controversial proposed Alberta coal mine

By Staff The Canadian Press
Posted August 6, 2021 

The federal government said the proposed Grassy Mountain Coal 

project will not go ahead August 6, 2021. Global News


The federal government says the proposed Grassy Mountain coal project in southwestern Alberta cannot proceed.


Environment and Climate Change Minister Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement in a release Friday.

He said while mining is important to the economy, coal can include significant adverse environmental effects.

Wilkinson said the decision was based on information including the findings of a joint review panel report.

He said the project would have likely caused harm to surface water quality, to species including the threatened westslope cutthroat trout and endangered whitebark pine trees, and to the physical and cultural heritage of the Kainai, Piikani and Siksika First Nations.

Benga Mining Limited has said the proposed metallurgical coal mine in the Crowsnest Pass area would create hundreds of jobs and produce up to 4.5 million tonnes of coal per year over a mine life of approximately 23 years.

“The Government of Canada must make decisions based on the best available scientific evidence while balancing economic and environmental considerations,” Wilkinson said in the release.

“It is in Canada’s best interests to safeguard our waterways for healthy fish populations like the Westslope Cutthroat Trout, respect Indigenous peoples’ culture and way of life, and protect the environment for future generations.”

Katie Morrison, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, applauded the federal government’s decision.

She said it reinforces the Alberta Energy Regulator’s earlier conclusion that the significant environmental effects of the open-pit mine would outweigh any potential benefits

“This is another win for clean water, fish and wildlife and for the many Albertans who have been worried about the negative effects of new coal mines on their communities,” she said in an email.

“It’s great news that the Grassy Mountain coal project has now been officially denied at both the federal and provincial level.”

When asked for comment on the federal decision, the Alberta government said a statement made in June by Energy Minister Sonya Savage and Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon, when the joint review panel denied an application for the mine, still stands.

In that June statement, the ministers said, “the Alberta government respects the joint review panel’s recommendation, which is the result of a rigorous review process carried out by the Alberta Energy Regulator and the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada.”

The ministers acknowledged that the panel determined the project would result in adverse environmental effects on surface water quality — particularly on westslope cutthroat trout and their habitat.

“All proposed coal projects are subject to stringent review to ensure development is safe, environmentally responsible and meets all requirements. In this case, the process worked as it should.”

Officials at Benga Mining Limited could not immediately be reached for comment.

Last month, Benga filed a request to appeal the decision by the review panel that rejected the project as being not in the public interest.

READ MORE: Appeals requested over Grassy Mountain Coal Project decision

In the court filing, Benga said the June 17 decision by the panel, including the Alberta Energy Regulator, contains errors of law and procedural fairness that warrant the granting of permission to appeal.

Later in July, two Alberta First Nations also filed separate requests to appeal the June decision.

The Stoney Nakoda Nation said the panel did not properly assess the impact that rejecting the project would have on Stoney Nakoda Aboriginal and treaty rights and economic interests related to the accommodation of those rights.

The Piikani First Nation filed a similar request.

Grassy Mountain coal project blocked by the Canadian government

Michael Franklin
CTVNewsCalgary.ca
Senior Digital Producer

Published Friday, August 6, 202


Coal exploration is shown on Vicary Ridge just south of the Oldman River, taken in fall 2020. (Courtesy Alistair Des Moulins/Alberta Hiking Association)

CALGARY -- A controversial open-pit coal mine project in the Canadian Rockies will not proceed because of its "significant adverse environmental effects", the government has decided.

The Minister of Environment and Climate Change Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement Friday that the Grassy Mountain coal project would seriously impact water, wildlife, plant life and the heritage of Canada's First Nations.

"After careful deliberation and review of available and relevant information, which includes the joint review panel's report, the minister concluded the project is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects under CEAA 2012," officials wrote in a statement.

"The Government of Canada has determined those effects are not justified in the circumstances and therefore, the project cannot proceed."

The panel, established with the Alberta Energy Regulator, highlighted the project's potential impact on surface water quality, the habitat of the westslope cutthroat trout – a threatened species of fish, the endangered whitebark pine, the little brown bat and the lands of the Kainai, Piikani and Siksika First Nations.

"The Government of Canada must make decisions based on the best available scientific evidence while balancing economic and environmental considerations," Wilkinson said in a statement. "It is in Canada's best interests to safeguard our water ways for healthy fish populations like the westslope cutthroat trout, respect Indigenous peoples' culture and way of life, and protect the environment for future generations."

Meanwhile, other bands have filed an appeal of the review board's decision to block development.

The Stoney Nakoda Nation says the panel did not assess the impact rejecting the project would have on their treaty rights and economic interests.

The Piikani First Nation filed its own appeal on similar grounds as well.

The appeals are expected to be heard in September.





POTENTIAL FOR HUNDREDS OF JOBS

The Grassy Mountain coal project, which was to be built and operated by Benga Mining Ltd., would have produced approximately 4.5 million tonnes of processed coal per year for 25 years.

The company says it would have also created 500 jobs during construction and 400 more during its operational years.

Last month, CTV News learned that the company, operating as Riversdale Resources, was granted licences to divert water for drilling and dust suppression for exploratory boreholes for the project, located about seven kilometres north of Blairmore, Alta.

Benga also appeal the panel's decision on the project.

The Alberta government has not released any comment other than what was released by Ministers Nixon and Savage following the release of the panel's decision.


(With files from Terry Vogt and the Canadian Press)


Related Stories
Two Alberta First Nations want court to allow appeal of decision on coal mine

Questions raised over water licences for coal mining exploration, company says information 'factually incorrect'

'It was very shocking': Mixed emotions in Crowsnest Pass following panel review of Grassy Mountain coal project

Panel says Grassy Mountain coal mine in Rockies not in public interest

Scientific Journal in Turmoil Over Ethical Concerns About Chinese Genetics Papers


The Chinese national flag flies outside a mosque at the Xinjiang International Grand Bazar in China, January 3, 2019. Photo: Reuters/Ben Blanchard

AMRIT B.L.S.
06/08/2021

New Delhi: A scientific journal has been hit by a slew of resignations after it published several controversial papers that critics say could be used to profile and persecute ethnic minorities in China, and dragged its feet about reviewing them when they were flagged, according to The Intercept.

The report says that the resignations at Molecular Genetics & Genomic Medicine came after the journal’s editor-in-chief was slow to respond to queries about papers that involve research on persecuted minorities, including Tibetans and Uyghurs. The papers were first brought to Suzanne Hart’s attention in March by Yves Moreau, a bioinformatician at the University of Leuven, Belgium.

The Intercept said Moreau “has waged a tireless campaign” to get journals to retract troubling or unethical papers.

For years, scientists have expressed unease about research into DNA collected for forensic databases, which is used by the police in criminal investigations. Apart from concerns about profiling, scientists are also worried that DNA could be collected from ethnic minorities without their consent. This is the case with Uyghurs in China and the Roma in Eastern Europe.

In the US, racial disparities in imprisonment – a disproportionate number of Black and Latino constitute the prison population – have translated into the disproportionate collection of DNA from these ethnic groups.

According to The Intercept, this is the first time so many members of a journal’s editorial board – nearly a third – have resigned due to concerns of ethics.


Moreau first became concerned about DNA profiling in 2015, when Kuwait planned to collect DNA from all citizens, residents and visitors. Thanks to his and others’ efforts, the decision was overturned the following year. But Moreau continued to worry that science and artificial intelligence could be used to further authoritarianism.


“In technology, we have this nice comfortable geek image,” he told The Intercept. “But when you really look at the history of technology, you see that it has been a nexus of power forever – for at least 2,000 years.”

Recently, he turned his attention to DNA profiling in China, particularly in Xinjiang, where China is accused of interning 1 million Uyghurs in camps and of forcing them into labour. China collects DNA from men of all ethnicities but also forcibly collects samples from migrant workers and political dissidents.

While running his periodic automated search for papers on ethically charged topics, he came across 18 papers published by Molecular Genetics & Genomic Medicine. Though the journal isn’t a leading outlet for genetic research, according to the report, it has an impact factor suggesting it isn’t an obscure journal either. In fact, The Intercept wrote that since the journal is published by Wiley, one of the world’s major scientific publishers, it has “an imprimatur of respectability”.

“Some of the papers describe genetic differences between ethnic groups. Police can use such research for DNA profiling, to better match crime suspects with DNA samples from the broader population. Other papers relied on samples that Moreau suspected were taken without proper consent,” The Intercept says.

In 2019, Molecular Genetics & Genomic Medicine started publishing papers by authors in China on forensic genetics. Many of them list institutions affiliated with the Chinese police as funders, or authors from these institutions.

Moreau wrote to the journal’s editor in chief, Suzanne Hart, in March that since the journal was founded in 2013, it “had published only two forensic genetic studies from outside China”.

“This suggests that MGGM has been specifically identified as a journal where forensic population genetic studies of vulnerable Tibetan and [M]uslim minorities can be published,” he wrote.

While Hart said she was looking into the matter and that she would respond shortly, Moreau said he didn’t get any updates despite having sent multiple follow-up emails.


Wiley’s public affairs office emailed a statement from Hart to The Intercept which said the journal is “actively investigating and driving toward a timely, transparent resolution”. Hart, who is also deputy director at the medical genetics and genomic medicine training program with the US National Institutes of Health’s National Human Genome Research Institute, said, “We take the concerns expressed extremely seriously and regret that delayed communications may have indicated otherwise.”

But after receiving no response from Hart, Moreau took the issue to the journal’s entire editorial board in June 2021. He listed the suspect papers and explained how Chinese police use forensic genetics. Some of the board members echoed his calls for an investigation.

Though Hart also wrote an email to the board, that she would soon send a message “outlining our decision on how to address this issue”, there was no further explanation to the board or to Moreau.

This is when board members started resigning.

“I would have wanted to hear much more quickly from the editorial staff,” Ophir Klein, a pediatric medical geneticist at the University of California San Francisco and one of the board members who quit, told The Intercept.


A Wiley spokesperson said the group has completed its first step of the investigation and will now connect with the authors “to clarify the consent procedures for the research undertaken”.

However, Moreau said the focus on consent is “too narrow”. He told The Intercept that the larger question is whether “the journal should be publishing research on vulnerable minorities, some of which directly involves the authorities persecuting them”.

WASTING WATER WHEN WATER IS LIFE

Water problems at Suncor Energy's massive Fort Hills mine cast shadow over stock, analysts say

Shares down since company confirmed the issue during earnings call

Author of the article:Geoffrey Morgan
Publishing date:Aug 06, 2021 • 

Suncor Energy Inc. has confirmed it is dealing with water issues at Fort Hills, a $17-billion oilsands mega project completed in 2018. 

PHOTO BY BEN NELMS/BLOOMBERG

CALGARY — Water is flowing into the most valuable part of Suncor Energy Inc.’s massive 194,000-barrels-per-day Fort Hills oilsands mine, adding a fresh problem for a mega-project that has struggled to reach its full potential.

Calgary-based Suncor confirmed it is dealing with water issues at Fort Hills, a $17-billion oilsands mega project completed in 2018, on an earnings call July 29 when an analyst asked about the problem. The company declined to answer Financial Post questions about how many mining trucks it has pulled out of the affected area or how much water is in the mine.

“Water management in oilsands is a very common issue. Anytime you have soft-rock mining, you are getting some egress of water from some ground sources and such into the mine. We have procedures to be able to manage it, some events are more challenging than others,” Suncor chief executive Mark Little said during the earnings call.

“Is water an issue? Yes, it always is and we manage it accordingly,” he said, adding that he “doesn’t expect this to be a fundamental issue.”

Two days before Suncor’s conference call, Vancouver-based Teck Resources Ltd. disclosed the water issues at Fort Hills during its earnings call on July 27. Teck owns 21.3 per cent of the oilsands project.

Teck is a mining company and the fact that they brought it up sounds like it’s more than just routine

PHIL SKOLNICK, A NEW YORK-BASED ANALYST WITH EIGHT CAPITAL

“There has been a slower-than-planned ramp-up of contract overburden stripping as well as challenges around managing groundwater inflow from deep subsurface aquifers,” Teck’s chief executive Don Lindsay said on his company’s second-quarter conference call. Overburden is the soil and subsoil above the bedrock and ore.

“They said it was routine, but I haven’t heard of this issue before,” said Phil Skolnick, a New York-based analyst with Eight Capital.

“It’s interesting that Teck brought it up. Teck is a mining company and the fact that they brought it up sounds like it’s more than just routine,” he said.

Skolnick added that Teck’s decision to proactively disclose the problem while Suncor waited for a question from analysts “creates skepticism” about Suncor’s description of the issue and leaves questions hovering over the stock.

Suncor shares have traded down roughly four per cent, or 95 cents, to $24.76 per share since the earnings call. By comparison, the S&P/TSX Capped Energy Index is down by a little less than two per cent over the same time period.

JP Morgan analyst Phil Gresh in a research note said the south side of the mine, where the company is dealing with “slope instability” issues, represents 60 per cent of the project’s asset base.

“While management is confident in the 2022 plan for Fort Hills, we think that investors may view this as a ‘show me’ situation,” he said.

Suncor, Canada’s largest integrated oil company, announced in a press release on July 28 that work was needed to stabilize the slope of the barrier between the northern border of the Syncrude Canada Ltd Aurora oilsands mine, which Suncor operates, and the southern border of the Fort Hills mine.

As the company moves overburden to solve the problem, the company revised its full-year production guidance for the project to between 45,000 barrels per day and 55,000 bpd, down from between 65,000 bpd and 85,000 bpd.

Suncor also increased its estimated operating costs for Fort Hills by 46 per cent to between $37 per barrel and $42 per barrel, from a previous target of between $25 per barrel and $29 per barrel.

The company said it would be able to ramp up to full production at Fort Hills in early 2022 — a disappointing timeline for investors.

Suncor completed work at Fort Hills in 2018, but shortly thereafter was hit by the Alberta government with production quotas, which limited oil production in the province amid a shortage of export pipelines and a resultant collapse in local oil prices, frustrating the mining project’s launch toward full production.

CRIKEY, FOOD GETS AWAY FROM CROC
Queensland crocodile attack: two army personnel mauled north of Lockhart River

Soldier in his 20s, who was swimming in croc-infested waters, and friend who went to help, suffer serious injuries

A soldier whose head and body were bitten by a crocodile in far north Queensland, and his friend, have been airlifted to Cairns with serious injuries.

 Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images


Australian Associated Press
Sat 7 Aug 2021 

A soldier has head, chest and arm injuries after being mauled by a saltwater crocodile that also attacked an army colleague who went to his aid in far north Queensland.

The men, who were reportedly swimming in croc-infested waters north of the Lockhart River on Friday afternoon when the attack occurred, have been airlifted to Cairns with serious injuries.

The ambulance service said the most seriously injured man, aged in his early 20s, suffered head, chest and arm injuries. He is in a serious but stable condition.

The other man, in his early 30s, suffered wrist and arm injuries and is in a stable condition.
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The men were initially treated by a medical officer on an army barge before being transferred to another vessel and taken to shore. They were then airlifted to Cairns by the Royal Flying Doctors.

The attack happened about a kilometre from the community of Portland Road, towards the tip of Cape York Peninsula, just after 4pm.

The defence department told reporters both men are army personnel but have not revealed if they were on or off duty when the attack happened.

“Our immediate focus is on providing the necessary medical treatment for the soldiers involved, and supporting their families who have been informed,” it said. “The incident is under investigation, as such, defence will not provide any further detail.”

Lockhart River mayor Wayne Butcher said the men had gone for a swim in known crocodile habitat.

Butcher told the ABC: “Two blokes have been swimming in croc-infested waters. One got attacked and the other one … tried to help.

“They’re found and in safe hands … I’m hoping that they’re well.”

Denis O’Sullivan from the Queensland Ambulance Service said the younger man was incredibly lucky to be alive, given the extent of his blood loss and reports the crocodile was about 2.5 metres long.

German modern pentathlon coach thrown out of Olympics for punching horse

Kim Raisner had tried to assist Annika Schleu on Saint Boy
Schleu left ring in tears as she failed to control mount

Annika Schleu of Germany on board Saint Boy in the modern pentathlon. 

Photograph: Iván Alvarado/Reuters


Agencies
Sat 7 Aug 2021 08.45 BST

A German modern pentathlon coach has been thrown out of the Tokyo Olympics for punching a horse during competition.

Kim Raisner was trying to assist German athlete Annika Schleu as she battled to control Saint Boy ahead of her show jumping round in the women’s event on Friday. Athletes are given only 20 minutes to bond with an unfamiliar horse before their round and Schleu, who had been leading the field, was in tears as she came into the ring.

The International Modern Pentathlon Union said it reviewed footage showing Raisner “appearing to strike the horse ... with her fist” and that “her actions were deemed to be in violation of [the rules].” She was also heard calling to Schleu to whip the horse harder.

Saint Boy had already refused to jump for another rider, Russian competitor Gulnaz Gubaydullina, earlier in the competition and the German Modern Pentathlon Union said he had been “traumatised by the previous rider” even before Schleu’s round, during which he bucked and refused to trot around the course.

A number of people on social media subsequently raised concerns about the way Schleu and Raisner were treating the horse.

German athlete campaign group Athleten Deutschland criticised what it called “the hostility and partly open hate” directed at Schleu on social media and said modern pentathlon should consider changing its rules “to ensure animal protection and appropriate competition conditions for the athletes in future.”

The world governing body for modern pentathlon, the UIPM, acknowledged those concerns before the men’s event on Saturday and then issued a statement revealing Raisner’s punishment.

German modern pentathlon coach Kim Raisner.

 Photograph: Ullstein Bild/Getty Images
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The statement read: “The UIPM Executive Board (EB) has given a black card to the Germany team coach Kim Raisner, disqualifying her from the remainder of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The EB reviewed video footage that showed Ms Raisner appearing to strike the horse Saint Boy, ridden by Annika Schleu, with her fist during the riding discipline of the women’s modern pentathlon competition.

“Her actions were deemed to be in violation of the UIPM competition rules, which are applied to all recognised modern pentathlon competitions including the Olympic Games. The EB decision was made today at the Tokyo Stadium before the resumption of the men’s modern pentathlon competition.”

Raisner is a former modern pentathlete who competed at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

IN SCOTLAND IT'S A SPORT, PUNCHING HORSES 

PUTIN IGNORES PROBLEM AT HIS PERIL
Wildfires endanger villages, fuel site, in Russia’s Siberia


1 of 3

In this photo released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, a military transport aircraft prepares to assist in extinguishing a fire on the territory of the Mordovian Republic Natural Reserve in Russia, Friday, Aug. 6, 2021. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

MOSCOW (AP) — Wildfires in Russia’s vast Siberia region endangered several villages Saturday and prompted authorities to evacuate residents of some areas.

In northeastern Siberia, 93 active forest fires burned across 1.1 million hectares (2.8 million acres) of Sakha-Yakutia, officials said, making it the worst affected region of Russia.

A fire engulfed dozens of houses in the village of Byas-Kuel, and all village residents were evacuated, according to the local task force dealing with the emergency.

Fires also burned close to the villages of Kytyl-Dyura, Sinsk, Yedyai and several other settlements. High winds exacerbated the danger of flames spreading quickly.

In the village of Sangary, emergency teams were taking urgent steps to protect a threatened fuel supply facility.

In recent years, Russia has recorded high temperatures that many scientists regard as a result of climate change. The hot weather coupled with the neglect of fire safety rules has caused a growing number of fires.

Experts also blame the worsening situation with fires on a 2007 decision to disband a federal aviation network tasked to spot and combat fires and turn its assets to regional authorities. The much-criticized move led to the force’s rapid decline.

The forests that cover huge areas of Russia make spotting new fires a challenge.

Second western Canada town destroyed by ‘exceedingly aggressive’ wildfire

Residents of Monte Lake, British Columbia, told to evacuate

Village of Lytton devastated by wildfire last month

The charred remnants of homes and buildings in Lytton last month. Two people were killed in the Lytton blaze and most of the town destroyed. 

Photograph: Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters

Leyland Cecco in Toronto
Fri 6 Aug 2021

A second community in western Canada has been destroyed by wildfire as authorities in the region scramble to contain the destructive toll of climate change.

Officials say the village of Monte Lake likely suffered extensive damage, but conditions remain too dangerous for a full assessment. The village, a popular summer holiday destination, has a seasonal population of nearly 3,000.

On Thursday evening, the White Rock Lake wildfire jumped a highway and sped towards Monte Lake. Residents had been ordered to evacuate and no fatalities were reported.

“I understand from the BC wildfire that this fire moved 18km in a matter of eight hours,” Ken Gillis, chairman of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, told the Canadian Press on Friday. “I’ve talked to a number of firefighters who said this year’s fires are behaving in a manner that they have never seen before. They’re just exceedingly aggressive and it’s almost impossible to get ahead of them.”


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Strong winds are expected to help the blaze, which already measures 325 sq km, grow even stronger.

The blaze at Monte Lake comes a month after a wildfire destroyed most of the village of Lytton, killing two people.

More than 220 provincial firefighters are currently working to prevent the White Rock Lake from inflicting further damage on nearby communities, using heavy machinery to build control lines in the hopes of steering the fire

But the wildfire service warned the situation remained “incredibly volatile” and could worsen over the next two days.

The city of Kamloops, where man evacuees from the Lytton fire have taken shelter, has placed several of its south-eastern neighbourhoods on evacuation alert.

The chance of rain in the coming days is likely to bring momentary relief to cities like Kamloops – but the longer range forecast suggests hot and dry weather is returning. Nearly 300 fires are currently burning in the province.

Experts have linked a brutal heatwave earlier in the summer, as well as persistently dry conditions, to climate change, warning it is likely to make extreme weather events like wildfire a more common occurrence in the future.

British Columbia has seen nearly 5,800 sq km of its forest burned since the spring, with months still left in the fire season.