Environmental group raises concern about flooding at Alberta coal mines

The Canadian Press
Fri, June 23, 2023 



EDMONTON — An environmental group is calling for improvements after Alberta's energy regulator announced heavy rain had caused flooding and excessive surface runoff at energy sites, including coal mines.

The Alberta Energy Regulator posted on its website earlier this week that some coal mines in the Hinton and Grande Cache areas reported wastewater being discharged into the environment.

It says the mixture of surface runoff and sediment was above approved water-quality limits and from unauthorized sources.

The regulator says there were no reported public safety issues and it's monitoring the situation.

Gillian Chow-Fraser, with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, says she would like to see more details on the environmental effects.

She says wastewater from coal and oilsands mines can be harmful to wildlife, water quality and downstream communities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2023.

The Canadian Press

Canada clamps down on cruise liners dumping sewage, green groups want more

David Ljunggren
Fri, June 23, 2023 

 A cruise ship arriving from Alaska makes its way past Stanley Park and under the Lions Gate Bridge as it sails into Vancouver in the early morning . 

REUTERS/Mike Blake

OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada on Friday banned cruise ships from dumping sewage and dirty water close to shore, and said it would impose fines of up to C$250,000 ($190,000) for offending vessels.

A range of anti-pollution measures introduced on a voluntary basis in April 2022 will become obligatory with immediate effect, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said in a statement.

Environmental groups said Ottawa had ignored the largest source of liquid pollution from cruise ships: the water used to clean exhaust gas cleaning systems, or scrubbers, that remove sulfur from ships' fuel.

"Cruise ships are an important part of our economy and tourism sector, but they need to operate in a more sustainable manner," Alghabra said. Cruise ships generate more than C$4 billion a year for the economy, he added.

The rules ban the discharge of sewage and so-called greywater - the drainage from sinks, laundry machines, bathtubs and showers - within three nautical miles of Canadian shores.

Additionally, ships in non-Arctic waters will have to strengthen the treatments of sewage and greywater dumped between three and 12 nautical miles from shore. Separate rules regulate cruise ship pollution in Arctic waters.

Environmentalists say cruise ships traveling to and from Alaska alone dumped 31 billion liters (8.2 billion U.S. gallons) of inadequately treated pollution into Canada's Pacific waters in 2019.

In statements, the West Coast Environmental Law and stand.earth green groups both welcomed Alghabra's announcement but called for regulations on scrubber water, which accounts for over 90% of the liquid waste from cruise ships. Activists say it is particularly acidic.

They also called for inspectors to be put on board vessels.

A spokeswoman for Alghabra said the government would work with the shipping industry to find a feasible way of reducing or eliminating discharge of scrubber water.

($1 = 1.3199 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Richard Chang)

FRACKING SAND

No timeline for silica project after Manitoba received environmental report


Local Journalism Initiative
Fri, June 23, 2023

Manitoba’s environment minister confirmed Friday the province has received a report that will help them determine whether or not a controversial silica sand mine project should be built in a rural Manitoba community, and the minister is now vowing that he and the province won’t be making any final decisions until the contents of the report are thoroughly reviewed and understood.

Plans have been in the works for about four years for Calgary-based Sio Silica to build a silica mine and processing plant near the community of Vivian in the RM of Springfield, east of Winnipeg.

The project calls for up to 7,700 wells over 24 years to extract ultra-pure silica sand, which can be used in the production of solar panels, batteries, and semiconductors.

But those plans have been met with fierce resistance from some who live in and around Vivian, as some believe the project and the mining methods used pose a serious threat to the quality of groundwater in the area.

A June 13 council meeting in Springfield, where councillors were supposed to vote on zoning and bylaw changes for the project, was adjourned early, after several citizens confronted Springfield councillors, leaving Springfield Mayor Patrick Therrien to say he was concerned for the safety of some on council. RCMP were also called to the meeting, but there were no arrests or charges laid.

And despite some on Springfield’s current as well as its previous council stating that they are opposed to the project including current councillors Mark Miller and Andy Kuczynski, the final decision will now come down to the province.

Springfield’s previous council voted against construction of the facility, but that decision was overruled by the provincial Municipal Board, which told Springfield they must amend their bylaws.

A final decision is now dependent on the Clean Environment Commission Report the province received Friday. Environment and Climate Minister Kevin Klein promised the province would take its time to study the report and said they would not allow any projects that could affect groundwater in Manitoba communities.

“As a government, we take the CEC reports and recommendations very seriously,” Klein said on Friday. “The protection of the environment and ensuring safe drinking water is paramount as we now undertake further technical review.

“Our government must now take the time to thoroughly review the report and ensure due diligence in the many next steps.”

Klein said that the province is now also making the report available to the public on the Manitoba Government’s website, as he said he wants any and all concerned residents to have an opportunity to read the report for themselves.

“The community and the public are interested in this, and they want to know what the CEC said, and that’s why this report is being delivered today,” Klein said. “We are accountable to Manitobans.”

Klein refused to give any timeline of when the final decision could come down.

“The process is the process, and the process will take as long as it needs to take,” he said. “Time is not the issue, process is the issue.”

In a statement sent to the Winnipeg Sun on Friday, Sio Silica said they appreciate the work that went into creating the CEC report, and hope that the project will ultimately gain approval.

“Sio Silica recognizes the amount of time, investment and data analyzation by all those involved in the Clean Environment Commission review of the Vivian Sand Extraction Project,” the statement reads.

“Sio thanks the Commission for its time and commitment to the process, and is pleased to move forward with our project as it progresses to the next steps.”

The Winnipeg Sun also reached out to Springfield Mayor Patrick Therrien, and councillors Mark Miller and Andy Kuczynski for comment, but received no response before Friday’s press deadline.

— Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

Dave Baxter, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun

US intelligence report on COVID-19 origins rejects some points raised by lab leak theory proponents


Fri, June 23, 2023 



WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials released an intelligence report Friday that rejected some points raised by those who argue COVID-19 leaked from a Chinese lab, instead reiterating that American spy agencies remain divided over how the pandemic began.

The report was issued at the behest of Congress, which in March passed a bill giving U.S. intelligence 90 days to declassify intelligence related to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Intelligence officials under President Joe Biden have been pushed by lawmakers to release more material about the origins of COVID-19. But they have repeatedly argued China's official obstruction of independent reviews has made it perhaps impossible to determine how the pandemic began.

The newest report angered some Republicans who have argued the administration is wrongly withholding classified information and researchers who accuse the U.S. of not being forthcoming.

John Ratcliffe, who served as U.S. director of national intelligence under former President Donald Trump, accused the Biden administration of “continued obfuscation.”

“The lab leak is the only theory supported by science, intelligence, and common sense,” Ratcliffe said in a statement.

There was newfound interest from researchers following the revelation earlier this year that the Department of Energy's intelligence arm had issued a report arguing for a lab-related incident.

But Friday’s report said the intelligence community has not gone further. Four agencies still believe the virus was transferred from animals to humans, and two agencies — the Energy Department and the FBI — believe the virus leaked from a lab. The CIA and another agency have not made an assessment.

Located in the city where the pandemic is believed to have began, the Wuhan Institute of Virology has faced intense scrutiny for its previous research into bat coronaviruses and its reported security lapses.

The lab genetically engineered viruses as part of its research, the report said, including efforts to combine different viruses.

But the report says U.S. intelligence “has no information, however, indicating that any WIV genetic engineering work has involved SARS-CoV-2, a close progenitor, or a backbone virus that is closely-related enough to have been the source of the pandemic.”

And reports of several lab researchers falling ill with respiratory symptoms in fall 2019 are also inconclusive, the report argues.

U.S. intelligence, the report said, “continues to assess that this information neither supports nor refutes either hypothesis of the pandemic's origins because the researchers' symptoms could have been caused by a number of diseases and some of the symptoms were not consistent with COVID-19."

Responding to the report, the Republican chairs of the House Intelligence Committee and a select subcommittee on the pandemic jointly said they had gathered information in favor of the lab leak hypothesis. Reps. Mike Turner and Brad Wenstrup, both of Ohio, credited the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence for taking a “promising step toward transparency.”

“While we appreciate the report from ODNI, the corroboration of all available evidence along with further investigation into the origins of COVID-19 must continue,” Turner and Wenstrup said.

But Alina Chan, a molecular biologist who has long argued the virus may have originated in the Wuhan lab, noted the public version of the report did not include the names of researchers who fell sick or other details mandated by Congress.

The bill requiring the review allowed intelligence officials to redact information publicly to protect agency sources and methods.

“It’s getting very difficult to believe that the government is not trying to hide what they know about #OriginOfCovid when you see a report like this that contains none of the requested info,” Chan tweeted.

Nomaan Merchant, The Associated Press

STATE CENSORSHIP

Malaysia says it will take legal action against Meta over harmful content on Facebook


AP Finance
Thu, June 22, 2023

The Meta logo is seen at the Vivatech show in Paris, France on June 14, 2023. Malaysia's government said Friday, June 23, 2023, it will take legal action against Facebook's parent company, Meta Platforms, for failing to remove “undesirable” and harmful content from its social media platform.

 (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File) 

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia's government said Friday it will take legal action against Facebook's parent company, Meta Platforms, for failing to remove undesirable and harmful content from its social media platform.

The Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission said Facebook has recently been plagued by a “a significant volume of undesirable content” relating to sensitive issues on race, religion and royalty as well as defamation, impersonation, online gambling and scam advertisements.

The commission said repeated efforts to reach out to Meta to remove harmful content were of no avail.

“Meta’s response, which has been sluggish and unsatisfactory, has not met the urgency of the matter and has led to increasing public concern and scrutiny,” it said in a statement. “As there is no sufficient cooperation from Meta, MCMC has no option but to take definitive steps or legal action against Meta as a measure to ensure that people are secure and protected in the physical sphere.”

The commission said it will not tolerate abuse of online platforms and telecommunications services for “malicious cyber activities, phishing, or any content that threatens racial stability, social harmony and defies respect for the rulers.” Malaysia has nine ethnic Malay state rulers, whose role is largely ceremonial but held in esteem among the country's Malay majority.

Earlier this month, the government warned of action against Telegram after it refused to cooperate over complaints regarding content and misuse of the app, including the sale of pornographic materials, drugs and investment scams. Officials were quoted by local media as saying Telegram scams have cost Malaysians some 45 million ringgit ($9.6 million) since January 2020.

Telegram initially said it wouldn't participate in “any form of political censorship” but later agreed to work with local authorities to curb illegal activities.

The action against online platforms coincides with six crucial state elections that must be held no later than the end of August. While state polls do not affect the federal government, they are closely watched as they will be the first test of public support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim 's unity government that was formed after a fractious general election in November.

Anwar faces strong opposition from the Islamic-dominated National Alliance, which got unexpectedly strong support from Malays in the November election. The National Alliance is hoping for another big showing in the six state elections and has been aggressively using social media to slam Anwar's government.

Obama warns India risks 'pulling apart' without minority rights

AFP
Thu, June 22, 2023 

Then US president Barack Obama meets with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Vientiane, Laos on September 8, 2016 (SAUL LOEB)

Former US president Barack Obama said Thursday that India risks "pulling apart" if the Muslim minority is not respected, calling for the issue to be raised with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Obama spoke in a CNN interview as President Joe Biden welcomed the Hindu nationalist prime minister for a state visit and gently spoke of the importance of "religious pluralism."

On a visit to Greece, where he is holding a weeklong session for emerging global leaders, Obama said that addressing human rights with allies was always "complicated."

"I think it is true that if the president meets with Prime Minister Modi, then the protection of the Muslim minority in a majority-Hindu India, that's something worth mentioning," the first African-American president said in an interview with CNN International anchor Christiane Amanpour.

"If I had a conversation with Prime Minister Modi, who I know well, part of my argument would be that if you do not protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India, that there is a strong possibility at some point that India starts pulling apart," Obama said.

"We've seen what happens when you start getting those kinds of large internal conflicts. So that would be contrary to the interests not just of Muslim India but also of Hindu India," he said.

Modi, as the former state leader of Gujarat was banned from entering the United States during much of Obama's administration over 2002 religious riots in which mostly Muslims were killed.

Since Modi took office in 2014, India has passed a controversial law on citizenship and abrogated the special status of Muslim-majority Kashmir.

The US State Department in an annual report on religious freedom also pointed to police and vigilante violence against minorities along with inflammatory statements by members of Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party.

Obama, in his 2020 memoir "A Promised Land," offered a glowing portrait of Modi's center-left predecessor Manmohan Singh, a mild-mannered economist.

Recounting a visit to New Delhi, Obama -- who was succeeded by Donald Trump -- quoted Singh as warning him that the "call of religious and ethnic solidarity can be intoxicating" and that politicians can "exploit that, in India or anywhere else."

Amazon plans to invest another $15 billion in India by 2030


Image Credits: Isaac Brekken / AP Images

Manish Singh
Fri, June 23, 2023 

Amazon plans to more than double its investment in India in the next seven years, the e-commerce group said, joining a roster of other high-profile American giants ramping up commitment to the South Asian market after meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week.

The e-commerce group has invested about $11 billion in India to date and plans to pour $15 billion more by 2030, Amazon chief executive Andy Jassy said Friday. The vast majority of the new capital is likely earmarked for AWS expansion in India. The company said last month that it plans to invest $12.7 billion into its cloud business in the South Asian nation by 2030.


India is a key overseas market for Amazon, even as the firm has closed many businesses in the country in recent quarters. Walmart, Amazon’s global rival, has also spent over $2.5 billion in India this year.

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said on Friday that the company will open a global fintech operation centre in GIFT city in the state of Gujarat.

Modi's visit to the U.S. has attracted a number of other high-profile commitments this week. U.S. memory chip firm Micron said it will invest up to $825 million in its first DRAM and NAND assembly and test facility in India, whereas Applied Materials pledged to invest $400 million over four years in a new engineering center in the country.

Biden calls religious pluralism 'core principle' for India, US

HINDU NATIONALISM MEET CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM

AFP
Thu, June 22, 2023 

US President Joe Biden shakes hands with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS)

President Joe Biden on Thursday called religious freedom a "core principle" for India and the United States, in a gentle nudge as he welcomed India's Hindu nationalist prime minister, Narenda Modi.

Modi has faced criticism over the rights of religious minorities in India, with rights groups alleging a blind eye to vigilante violence against Muslims and Christians.

"Equity under the law, freedom of expression, religious pluralism and diversity of our people -- these core principles have endured and evolve," Biden said at a ceremonial welcome to Modi at the White House. "Even as they have faced challenges throughout each of our nations' histories, and will fuel our strength, depth and future."

Biden and Modi, however, overwhelmingly stressed the positive as they opened talks set to focus on trade and defense, with the two democracies both seeing challenges from a rising China.

"I have long believed that the relationship between the US and India will be one of the most defining relationships of the 21st century," Biden said.

Modi said that both India and the United States had societies "based on democratic values."

"Both of our countries take pride in their diversity," Modi said. "Both of us believe in the fundamental principle of 'in the interest of all,' 'for the welfare of all.'"

"The two countries are committed to work together for the global good and for global peace, stability and prosperity. Our strong strategic partnership is a clear proof of the power of democracy," Modi added.

Biden Affirms Tighter U.S.-India Bond as Modi Waves Off Human Rights Concerns

Brian Bennett
Thu, June 22, 2023

President Joe Biden (R) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi participate in an arrival ceremony at the White House on June 22, 2023 in Washington, DC.

 Credit - Anna Moneymaker—Getty Images

In nine years as India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi has rarely taken questions from the press. When a reporter at the White House asked Thursday what steps he was willing to take to improve the rights of Muslims and other minorities in India, Modi denied the premise.

The U.S. State Department has documented troubling encroachments on political rights and expression in India under Modi’s watch, and a rise in religious intolerance toward Muslims and other minorities. But, with President Biden standing next to him under the chandeliers of the East Room, Modi ignored all that.

“There is absolutely no discrimination,” Modi said.

It was a stark denial from India’s Prime Minister, who was being largely embraced during his trip to Washington but also challenged. After his White House visit, he was headed to the Capitol, where a handful of lawmakers planned to boycott his joint address to Congress. After that, Modi will be a guest of honor at a state dinner, only the third head of state to receive such an honor during Biden’s presidency.

Biden had said heading up to Modi’s visit that he would not ignore Modi’s human rights record. But if he raised any of those concerns with Modi during this visit, Biden left those behind closed doors.

“The prime minister and I had a good discussion about democratic values,” Biden said. “That’s the nature of our relationship. We are straightforward with each other and we respect each other.”

That respect is paying off for both countries. Modi and Biden announced this week a laundry list of significant ways that India and the U.S. are increasing military and business ties.

Aides to Biden and Modi have met for months to find ways to streamline tech and military cooperation between the two countries, who have not been traditional allies. The effort is part of Biden’s broader effort to counter China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific and reduce the U.S. supply chain’s dependence on Beijing.

Timed for Modi’s trip to Washington, the two countries announced a deal for India’s Hindustan Aeronautics to build General Electric fighter-jet engines, a long-term move that stands to will weave India more tightly into the U.S. military industrial complex for decades to come.

India also agreed to buy MQ-9B SeaGuardian armed drones from San Diego-based General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, which will increase India’s aerial surveillance abilities in the region. And the U.S. is expanding “trusted shipyard” agreements with India to allow more US naval vessels to be repaired in Indian shipyards near Chennai, Mumbai and Goa.

In addition, the chip manufacturer Micron announced an $800 billion investment in a semiconductor assembly plant and test facility in India. And the U.S. company Applied Materials will build a new semiconductor research center in India.

Those decisions put India on track to be a closer military ally to the U.S. than it has been in the past. During the Cold War, India kept the U.S. at arm’s length and purchased Russian military equipment. President Bill Clinton worked to bridge ties with New Delhi in the 1990s, but in recent decades India’s leaders have been reluctant to be seen as a full throated ally of the U.S.

Modi himself has had tense relations with the U.S. before. In 2005, when Modi was the chief minister of the state of Gujarat, the U.S. denied him a diplomatic visa over violence by Hindu mobs in the state in 2002 that killed more than a thousand people, most of them Muslim. But whatever strain that may have caused, has eased. Modi previously addressed Congress in 2016, and he held a joint rally with Donald Trump in Houston in 2019.

Read more: Indian Americans in Congress Plan to Attend Modi Speech Amid Calls for Boycotts

Speaking in the White House on Thursday, Modi said his visit would have a “special importance in the history of India-America relations.”

“Our discussions today and the important decisions we have taken have added a new chapter to our comprehensive and global strategic partnership. They have given it a new direction and a new energy,” Modi said.

Earlier in the day, Modi’s arrival on the South Lawn of the White House was cheered on by 7,000 Indian-Americans. In his remarks greeting Modi, Biden said that he has “I’ve long believed that the relationship between the United States and India will be one of the defining relationships of the 21st century.”

Why GE plan to make fighter jet engines in India is a big deal




Thu, June 22, 2023
By YP Rajesh

NEW DELHI (Reuters) -The aerospace unit of General Electric on Thursday announced it had signed an agreement with India's state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics to jointly make engines in India to power fighter jets for the Indian Air Force.

The announcement was timed to coincide with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's landmark visit to the United States this week.

The deal, called "historic" and "trailblazing" by officials, is considered the most significant of a number of agreements expected to be concluded between the two countries or their companies during Modi's visit, which ends on Friday.

Below are some facts about the engine and why it is critical for India’s military.

THE ENGINE

The GE engine in question is called the F414 and it has been used by U.S. Navy aircraft for more than 30 years.

The F414 powers or is on order to power jets in the U.S., Sweden, Australia, Kuwait, Brazil, South Korea, India and Indonesia.

GE says it has delivered more than 1,600 F414 engines and they have clocked more than 5 million flight hours.

It is also manufactured in South Korea.

INDIA’S NEED

India’s quest to manufacture an engine for an indigenous light combat aircraft called "Tejas" began in the 1980s but has struggled.

Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) turned to GE's F404 engine – the predecessor of F414 – to power Tejas in the mid-2000s.

So far, 75 F404 engines have been delivered and another 99 worth $716 million are on order for Tejas Mark 1.

Tejas Mark 2, still under development, is a more powerful jet and needs a bigger engine. HAL has procured eight F414 engines for this programme.

The F414 will also be used to develop India’s next generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft.

India's Air Force is desperate to shore up its fighter squadrons, which have fallen to 31 from a target of 42.

New Delhi hopes it can meet its target with home-made jets powered by home-made engines to keep costs under control and also to avoid becoming dependent on a foreign supplier.

U.S. COOPERATION

India and the United States, once on opposite sides of the Cold War, have grown closer over the last two decades and are building a strong bond centred on trade, defence and technology partnerships as well as geopolitical alignment.

Washington designated India as a "major defence partner" in 2016 and New Delhi's military purchases from the United States passed $20 billion in 2020 from near-zero in 2008.

India faces twin military threats from China and Pakistan and is the world's largest arms importer.

It has traditionally been dependent on its old friend Russia for arms supplies but has over the decades also sourced from France, Israel and the U.S., among others.

Washington has sought to deepen ties with New Delhi also as a counter to China’s rising global influence. It also wants to wean India away from Russian military supplies and is willing to give India access to critical American technologies such as F414 it rarely shares with non-allies.

WHAT NEXT?

The GE-HAL deal to co-produce F414 engines in India requires U.S. government and legislative approvals.

It is not known yet how much of the technology behind the F414 that GE will share with HAL, and if that includes sensitive technology that deals with managing very high engine temperatures.

The first F414 engines are expected to be delivered from the U.S. over the next three years while HAL sets up a production facility for it in India.

The first Tejas Mark 2 is expected to fly in 2026.

Full scale production of F414 in India and Tejas Mark 2 is expected only early in the next decade.

(Reporting by YP Rajesh in New Delhi; Editing by Conor Humphries)

White House mum on jailed Defense News correspondent in India

Leo Shane III

DEFENSE NEWS
Thu, June 22, 2023

Senior White House officials said press freedom would be among the topics discussed this week by President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in private meetings, but would not commit to specifically intervening in the case of Defense News contributor Vivek Raghuvanshi.

Raghuvanshi, a journalist and freelancer to Defense News for more than three decades, was jailed in mid-May by India’s Central Bureau of Investigation on charges of espionage. The Indian government has released minimal information on his arrest.

Sightline Media Group, which owns Defense News, and the National Press Club have condemned the move and called for officials to produce more information on the allegations and his ongoing detention.

Reports: Defense News correspondent arrested in India

Modi’s government has received significant criticism from international groups such as Amnesty International for restricting media reporting and public protests. Human rights advocates are expected to protest Modi’s visit to Washington, D.C., this week to highlight some of those concerns.

In a briefing with reporters ahead of the visit, senior White House officials vowed that Biden would not shy away from discussing those issues in private meetings throughout the week.

But they would not detail the specific topics to be included. Asked whether Raghuvanshi’s imprisonment would be mentioned, the officials said only that “a full range of issues will be on the table.”

As part of the visit, White House officials are expected to announce a series of new defense partnerships with India, including joint production of new jet engines and new ship repair agreements between the countries. Were he not in custody, Raghuvanshi would likely have covered those issues.

Modi is expected to address a joint session of Congress on Thursday afternoon and attend a state dinner at the White House in his honor on Thursday night.