Thousands march in Greece as anger builds over train deaths

GREECE-RAILWAY ACCIDENT-PROTEST-ATHENS
Demonstration protesting the deaths of dozens of people in Greece's deadliest rail accident, between a passenger train carrying more than 350 people and a freight train on Tuesday evening in Tempi valley, near the city of Larissa. In Athens, Greece on March 3, 2023 

(Photo by Nick Paleologos / SOOC / SOOC via AFP) 

Fri, March 3, 2023 

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Protests have intensified in Greece days after the country's deadliest rail disaster, as thousands of students took to the streets in several cities and some protesters clashed with police in Athens.

At least 57 people — including several university students — died when a passenger train slammed into a freight carrier just before midnight Tuesday. The government has blamed human error and a railway official faces manslaughter charges.

Friday night's violence was not extensive, and the protests were otherwise peaceful. Clashes also occurred in Greece's second largest city, Thessaloniki.

In Athens, riot police outside parliament fired tear gas and flash grenades to disperse a small number of protesters who hurled petrol bombs at them, set fire to garbage bins, and challenged police cordons. No arrests or injuries were reported.

The protests called by left-wing and student groups were fueled by anger at the perceived lack of safety measures in Greece’s rail network. The largest on Friday was in the central Greek city of Larissa, not far from the crash site, where several thousand people marched peacefully. Similar protests were held Wednesday and Thursday.
First funeral in northern Greece

The accident at Tempe, 380 kilometers (235 miles) north of Athens shocked the nation and highlighted safety shortcomings in the small but dated rail network.

As recovery teams spent a third day scouring the wreckage Friday and families began receiving the remains of their loved ones, the funeral for the first of the victims was held in northern Greece.

Athina Katsara, a 34-year-old mother of an infant boy, was being buried in her home town of Katerini. Her injured husband was in hospital and unable to attend.
Harrowing Identification Process

The force of the head-on collision and resulting fire complicated the task of determining the death toll. Officials worked round the clock to match parts of dismembered and burned bodies with tissue samples to establish the number.

The bodies were returned to families in closed caskets following identification through next-of-kin DNA samples — a process followed for all the remains.

Relatives of passengers still listed as unaccounted-for waited outside a Larissa hospital for test results. Among them was Mirella Ruci, whose 22-year-old son, Denis, remained missing.

“My son is not on any official list so far and I have no information. I am pleading with anyone who may have seen him, in rail car 5, seat 22, to contact me if they may have seen him,” Ruci, who struggled to stop her voice from cracking, told reporters.
Flags at half staff

Flags at the ancient Acropolis, parliament and other public buildings around Greece remained at half-staff on the third day of national mourning. National rail services were halted by a strike for a second day, with more strikes planned over the weekend.

Police early Friday searched a rail coordination office in Larissa, removing evidence as part of an ongoing investigation. The facility's 59-year-old station manager was arrested and charged with multiple counts of negligent manslaughter.

Stelios Sourlas, a lawyer representing a 23-year-old victim of the collision, said responsibility for the deaths went beyond the station manager.

“The station manager may have the principle responsibility ... but the responsibility is also broader: There are the rail operators and public officials whose job it was to ensure that safety measures and procedures were properly in place,” Sourlas said.

Rail unions say the network was poorly maintained despite upgrades to provide faster trains in recent years.

Election plans delayed?

Greece's center-right government had been widely expected Friday to call national elections for early April, but the announcement and likely date was likely to be delayed.

The passenger train involved in the crash was traveling along Greece's busiest route, from Athens to Thessaloniki. The freight train was heading in the opposite direction, on the same track.

Two of the victims were identified Friday as Cypriot students Anastasia Adamidou and Kyprianos Papaioannou. Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said the state would cover the cost of their repatriation and funerals.

Neighboring Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama announced that flags on public buildings will be lowered to half-staff Sunday, as a mark of respect for the victims in Greece. ___ Gatopoulos reported from Athens. Vassilis Kommatas and Giannis Papanikos in Larissa, Greece, Costas Kantouris in Thessaloniki, Greece, and Menelaos Hadjicostis in Nicosia, Cyprus, contributed to this report.

Derek Gatopoulos, The Associated Press

2/15

GREECE-TRAINS/CRASH-PROTESTS
Protesters shout slogans during a demonstration, following the collision of two trains, near the city of Larissa, in Thessaloniki, Greece, March 3, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis
Alexandros Avramidis / reuters

3/15

GREECE-RAILWAY ACCIDENT-PROTEST-ATHENS
Demonstration protesting the deaths of dozens of people in Greece's deadliest rail accident, between a passenger train carrying more than 350 people and a freight train on Tuesday evening in Tempi valley, near the city of Larissa. In Athens, Greece on March 3, 2023 (Photo by Nick Paleologos / SOOC / SOOC via AFP) (Photo by NICK PALEOLOGOS/SOOC/AFP via Getty Images)
NICK PALEOLOGOS via Getty Images


4/15

GREECE-RAILWAY ACCIDENT-PROTEST-ATHENS
Demonstration protesting the deaths of dozens of people in Greece's deadliest rail accident, between a passenger train carrying more than 350 people and a freight train on Tuesday evening in Tempi valley, near the city of Larissa. In Athens, Greece on March 3, 2023 (Photo by Nick Paleologos / SOOC / SOOC via AFP) (Photo by NICK PALEOLOGOS/SOOC/AFP via Getty Images)
NICK PALEOLOGOS via Getty Images

5/15

GREECE-TRANSPORT-ACCIDENT-DEMONSTRATION
A woman holds a placard reading "corruption-timeless, justice now" in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens, on March 3, 2023, as parallel demonstrations take place, following the deadly accident near the city of Larissa, where 57 people, mainly students lost their lives. - Thousands of Greek students staged sit-ins and demonstrated in Athens and other cities on March 3 to demand justice for the victims of the train tragedy, which occured on February 28, as authorities admitted failures overseeing the rail network. In Athens, over 5,000 people gathered outside the headquarters of Greek rail operator Hellenic Train to voice anger and sorrow over the country's worst-ever rail disaster. (Photo by Louisa GOULIAMAKI / AFP) (Photo by LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP via Getty Images)
LOUISA GOULIAMAKI via Getty Images

6/15

GREECE-TRANSPORT-ACCIDENT-DEMONSTRATION
A woman holds a placard reading "We are angry" during a silent demonstration in front of the Greek parliament in Athens on March 3, 2023, following the deadly accident near the city of Larissa, where 57 people, mainly students lost their lives. - Thousands of Greek students staged sit-ins and demonstrated in Athens and other cities on March 3 to demand justice for the victims of the train tragedy, which occured on February 28, as authorities admitted failures overseeing the rail network. In Athens, over 5,000 people gathered outside the headquarters of Greek rail operator Hellenic Train to voice anger and sorrow over the country's worst-ever rail disaster. (Photo by Louisa GOULIAMAKI / AFP) (Photo by LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP via Getty Images)


7/15

GREECE-TRAINS/CRASH-PROTESTS
A protester holds a piece of paper reading "Criminals", during a demonstration, following the collision of two trains, near the city of Larissa, in Thessaloniki, Greece, March 3, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis
Alexandros Avramidis / reuters

Protesters use fireworks against riot police during a demonstration in front of the parliament building following the collision of two trains, near the city of Larissa, in Athens, Greece, March 3, 2023. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

Riot police run amid tear gas as they clash with protesters during a demonstration in front of the parliament building following the collision of two trains, near the city of Larissa, in Athens, Greece, March 3, 2023. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

Protesters attack riot police officers as clashes take place during a demonstration in front of the parliament building following the collision of two trains, near the city of Larissa, in Athens, Greece, March 3, 2023. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

Protesters leave flowers in Thessaloniki's train station, following the collision of two trains, near the city of Larissa, in Thessaloniki, Greece, March 3, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis


Candles are lit during a silent protest in front of the parliament building following the collision of two trains, near the city of Larissa, in Athens, Greece, March 3, 2023. The candles form the phrase "Call me when you get there". REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

Vigil Held In Front Of Greek Parliament For Train Crash Victims
ATHENS, GREECE - MARCH 03: Greek people pay respect during a vigil outside Greek parliament to commemorate the victims of Tuesday's train collision on March 3, 2023 in Athens, Greece. Fifty-seven people died when a passenger train collided head-on with a freight train on Tuesday near the city of Larissa. (Photo by Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)

Two women hold candles during a silent protest in front of the parliament building following the collision of two trains, near the city of Larissa, in Athens, Greece, March 3, 2023

REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

People hold candles and black balloons during a silent demonstration in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens, on March 3, 2023, as parallel demonstrations take place, following the deadly accident near the city of Larissa, where 57 people, mainly students lost their lives. - Thousands of Greek students staged sit-ins and demonstrated in Athens and other cities on March 3 to demand justice for the victims of the train tragedy, which occured on February 28, as authorities admitted failures overseeing the rail network. In Athens, over 5,000 people gathered outside the headquarters of Greek rail operator Hellenic Train to voice anger and sorrow over the country's worst-ever rail disaster. (Photo by Louisa GOULIAMAKI / AFP) 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez might have violated House rules with Met Gala gifts, watchdog says

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's 2021 Met Gala appearance could lead to an investigation

Erin Mansfield and Rachel Looker, USA TODAY
Fri, March 3, 2023

A congressional watchdog says Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez might have violated House rules when she received gifts associated with her attendance at a prestigious fashion event in 2021.

The Office of Congressional Ethics recommended the House ethics committee continue investigating an allegation against the New York Democrat “because there is substantial reason to believe that she accepted impermissible gifts” associated with the Met Gala, according to a release Thursday from the agency.

In 2021, Ocasio-Cortez attended one of the fashion world's biggest nights at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art wearing a Brother Vellies white dress with "Tax the Rich" written in large red letters on the backside.

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Ocasio-Cortez was provided with the dress, a handbag, shoes and jewelry for the event, according to a report from the Office of Congressional Ethics. She also received hair, makeup and transportation services as well as the use of a hotel room for the event.

The review said Ocasio-Cortez paid for the items, including the rental value of the dress, only after the watchdog office started its review. Investigators said that if the office hadn’t opened the inquiry, “it appears that Rep. Ocasio-Cortez may not have paid for several thousands of dollars’ worth of goods and services provided to her.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., with designer Aurora James, attends the 2021 Met Gala in September 2021 in New York City.

Ocasio-Cortez told investigators she was not privy to the details about the payments, relying instead on a campaign staffer to handle the matter. She also told the office “there was a ball that was dropped," calling the situation “deeply regrettable.”

The congresswoman’s office said in a statement Thursday that none of the findings rise to the level of an ethics violation because she has always "understood that she had to pay for these expenses from her own personal funds."

The issue has been that those costs have yet to be reimbursed, delays Ocasio-Cortez finds "unacceptable," the statement said. "And she has taken several steps to ensure nothing of this nature will happen again."

AOC's 'tax the rich' dress: Who qualifies as wealthy? And how much are they getting taxed?

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has told ethics office investigators “there was a ball that was dropped" on her handling of items and services provided to her for her high-profile appearance at the Met Gala in New York in 2021.

Ocasio-Cortez made headlines at the star-studded fundraiser that year with the Brother Vellies dress. The ethics office's report noted that she did not pay any rental fee for the dress, and it added that Brother Vellies, designer Aurora James and Janna Pea of the public relations firm BerlinRosen declined to provide requested information to investigators and therefore did not cooperate with the review. The report recommended that the House Committee on Ethics subpoena them.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Met Gala dress: AOC might have violated House rules, watchdog says

DC conflict reflects wider efforts undermining local control


Fri, March 3, 2023 



WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress' expected vote next week to overturn District of Columbia laws dealing with criminal justice and voting has created a political tempest in the nation’s capital — and reflects a contentious political dynamic that is playing out more broadly across the country:

Predominantly white legislative bodies are seeking to curb or usurp the authority of local governments in cities with large Black populations, particularly on issues related to public safety and elections.

Local activists decry it as the latest effort to undermine cities' ability to determine their own future.

U.S. senators — lawmakers from all 50 states — are expected to vote on a measure to reject a sweeping rewrite easing some penalties in the city's criminal code, approved unanimously last year by the District's 13-member council. The measure killing the local changes seems likely to pass despite the slim Democratic majority in the Senate, and President Joe Biden has indicated he will sign it.

It's a fresh chapter in a tortured relationship between Congress and Washington’s local elected leaders, who have long complained about congressional interference in their affairs. Similar inroads on local authority are happening elsewhere around the country, often intertwined with issues of race.

In Missouri, the state House of Representatives has approved a bill that would effectively give Republican Governor Mike Parson control of the St. Louis police department. Last month, the same body voted to strip power from St. Louis' elected prosecutor.

In Mississippi, the state House has approved a measure to create a new court district in part of the capital city of Jackson with judges who would be appointed rather than elected. It also would expand areas of the city patrolled by a state-run Capitol police force.

The Mississippi Senate has voted to create a regional board to take control of Jackson's water system. Democratic state Sen. John Horhn calls that "a symbolic decapitation of Black elected leadership.”

Amir Badat, with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, draws a connection between the “seemingly discrete and unconnected events" in Missouri, Mississippi and Washington, D.C.

“I do think that there’s an overall, overarching connection between what we’re seeing, and that is predominantly white governments trying to exert control and authority over Black communities and large Black jurisdictions in the states.” He also pointed to the recent push by Georgia's State Election Board to review elections in Fulton County, which includes Atlanta.

“Here are all sorts of measures that we’ve seen in the elections context that really go to this, and now we’re seeing that pop up in other contexts, as well, like public safety," he said.

In Washington, the issue is strongly flavored by the District's deeply emotional quest for independence and statehood. Under terms of Washington's Home Rule authority, all District of Columbia laws are automatically reviewed by Congress.

Although it has been decades since Congress completely overturned a District law, members of Congress regularly use budget riders to limit or influence those laws. Such riders have been used to block the District from using the city budget to help women seeking abortions or to create a regulatory framework for cannabis sales despite a referendum approving legalization.

In a separate item, the Senate next week also is expected to vote on whether to overturn a District law that would grant non-citizens the right to vote in local elections, as they are allowed to do in about 15 municipalities around the country. The prospects for that measure are unclear.

District officials seem resigned to the crime bill's rejection.

One Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, already has said he will vote to overturn the law. Another, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, is in the hospital. Hopes for presidential intervention were squashed this week when Biden stated that he would not use his veto if the measure reaches his desk.

“It's done,” said District Councilmember Charles Allen in a Friday radio interview. “This is just the beginning of what we’re going to see Republicans being able to do.”

Allen, the former head of the council’s Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety, told WAMU's “The Politics Hour ” that Republican objections to the new criminal code are “not about substance” and mask a long-term plan to neuter the District of Columbia's political independence on a host of issues.

“The revised criminal code is tougher on crime than most of the state laws of the Republicans who are voting against it,” he said. “This is about nationalizing the politics of public safety.”

But the debate is complicated by the fact that Washington's own Democratic mayor, Muriel Bowser, opposes the new criminal code. Bowser vetoed the measure in January but was overridden by the council.

In vetoing the measure, Bowser said she opposed provisions such as a reduction in the maximum penalties for burglary, carjacking, robbery and other offenses.

“Anytime there’s a policy that reduces penalties, I think it sends the wrong message,” she said in January.

Bowser has said she prefers that Congress stay out of the District's affairs, but her veto is frequently cited by critics in Congress as proof that the criminal code revision was out of step with mainstream Democratic thought.

On Friday, appearing on the same radio program, Bowser said the council ignored her input and had essentially fumbled the political dynamics — presenting a controversial measure before a newly Republican-held House of Representatives that may have been looking for an opportunity to step in.

Bowser said it had been anticipated for months that Republicans would win control of the House in last November's midterm elections and that the council could have presented the revised criminal code last year, when Democrats were in control.

“Until we are the 51st state, we live with that indignity. And as infuriating as it is, it’s incumbent on all of us to make sure that we’re smart and strategic about getting our laws enacted,” she said. “This is not a new issue. The District having to navigate muddy waters with the Congress and the White House isn’t new.”

For residents such as Josh Burch, founder of Neighbors for D.C. Statehood, opposition is not surprising. The city, he said, is seen as “too liberal, too urban, too Democratic and too Black. All those things play a role in the paternalistic attitude that Congress, especially Republicans, have."

But he holds Democrats accountable, too.

“Joe Biden did not have to do this. He could have vetoed it," Burch said.

He said overriding the revised criminal code won't make the city safer. Instead, he said Biden's decision was a matter of optics, so Democrats would not be painted as soft on crime ahead of next year's elections.

“I just know that as a lifelong District resident, when it comes to national politics I know we can trust no one," he said.

___

Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Mississippi, and Summer Ballentine in Jefferson City, Missouri, contributed to this report.

Ashraf Khalil And Gary Fields, The Associated Press

Arizona governor won't proceed with execution set by court

Fri, March 3, 2023 



PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vowed Friday that her administration won't carry out an execution even though the state Supreme Court scheduled it over the objections of the state’s new attorney general.

The Democratic governor’s promise not to execute Aaron Gunches on April 6 for his murder conviction in a 2002 killing came a day after the state Supreme Court said it must grant an execution warrant if certain appellate proceedings have concluded — and that those requirements were met in Gunches’ case.

Last week, Hobbs appointed retired U.S. Magistrate Judge David Duncan to examine the state’s procurement of lethal injection drugs and other death penalty protocols due to the state’s history of mismanaging executions.

“Under my administration, an execution will not occur until the people of Arizona can have confidence that the state is not violating the law in carrying out the gravest of penalties,” Hobbs said in a statement Friday.

Attorney General Kris Mayes’ office has said it won’t seek court orders to carry out executions while Hobbs’ review is underway.

Mayes, a Democrat who took office in January, tried to withdraw a request by her Republican predecessor, Mark Brnovich, for a warrant to Gunches. The court declined to withdraw the request on Thursday.

The court said Hobbs' review “does not constitute good cause for refraining from issuing the warrant.”

Mayes’ office declined to comment on Hobbs’ promise not to carry out the execution next month.

Hobbs maintains that while the court authorized Gunches’ execution, its order doesn’t require the state to carry it out.

Dale Baich, a former federal public defender who teaches death penalty law at Arizona State University, said Hobbs can use her authority as the state’s chief executive when the state believes it cannot carry out an execution in a constitutionally acceptable manner.

“What the governor did is not unique,” said Baich, who applauded Hobbs’ move. “Governors in Alabama, Ohio and Tennessee recently used their authority to pause executions because they had serious questions about the protocols in their states.”

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office, which prosecuted Gunches, issued a statement saying it believes Hobbs “has a constitutional and statutory responsibility to carry out all sentences, including the execution of Aaron Gunches.”

Arizona, which has 110 prisoners on death row, carried out three executions last year after a nearly eight-year hiatus following criticism that a 2014 execution was botched and because of difficulties obtaining execution drugs.

Since resuming executions, the state has been criticized for taking too long to insert an IV for lethal injection into a prisoner’s body in early May and for denying the Arizona Republic newspaper’s request to witness the last three executions.

Gunches is scheduled to be executed on April 6 for the 2002 killing of Ted Price, his girlfriend’s ex-husband, in Maricopa County.

Gunches, who isn’t a lawyer, represented himself in November when he asked the Supreme Court to issue his execution warrant so justice could be served and the victims could get closure. In Brnovich’s last month in office, his office asked the court for a warrant to execute Gunches.

But Gunches withdrew his request in early January, and Mayes asked for the execution warrant submitted during Brnovich’s tenure to be withdrawn.

In her statement, Hobbs also said Arizona's prison system has deep problems that require attention, citing a scathing court ruling that concluded the state had violated the rights of inmates in state-run prisons by providing them with inadequate medical and mental health care.

In her first month in office, Hobbs announced the creation of a commission to study a range of problems in Arizona’s prisons, including staffing levels, conditions inside prisons and the health care offered to those behind bars.

Jacques Billeaud, The Associated Press

John Mellencamp donates archives to Indiana University


Fri, March 3, 2023 

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Hoosier rocker John Mellencamp is donating an archived collection of his life and work to Indiana University, IU President Pamela Whitten announced Friday.

The collection will include original creative works, photographs, instruments and other significant memorabilia related to his music, artwork, social activism and philanthropy, Whitten said.

“His collection will be an incredible resource for arts scholars and a clear source of inspiration to our students," Whitten said.

A sculpture honoring Mellencamp’s artistic legacy will be commissioned for the Bloomington campus, Whitten said. The sculpture will sit near the Fine Arts Plaza on the campus and symbolize the strong connection Mellencamp has to his southern Indiana roots.

The Associated Press

Why Justin Trudeau is facing calls for a public inquiry

Nadine Yousif - BBC News, Toronto
Fri, March 3, 2023 



In recent weeks, Canadian media have released a steady drip of reports, based on leaked intelligence, of detailed claims of Chinese meddling in the country's last two federal elections in 2019 and 2021 - the latest Western nation to sound the alarm over concerns of foreign election interference.

Chinese officials have denied any interference, calling the allegations "purely baseless and defamatory" in a statement to the BBC.

The efforts are not believed to have altered the outcomes of either general election, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is under pressure to launch a national public inquiry looking into the allegations, which have strained already challenging diplomatic relations between the two countries.

On Thursday, the federal elections watchdog launched an investigation into the claims.
What are the claims?

The allegations stem from leaked intelligence reports, which allege that Beijing diplomats and proxies in Canada tried to sway election outcomes in favour of the Liberals.

According to a series of reports in the Globe and Mail newspaper and by Global News, intelligence sources are concerned that China's Communist Party interfered by putting pressure on its consulates in Canada to support certain candidates.

The key claims in the reports include:

That China provided secret funding through its Toronto consulate to 11 candidates that ran in the 2019 federal election.

That, in 2019, the Liberals were warned one of their candidates - now a member of Parliament - might have been compromised by China - something both Mr Trudeau and the MP have denied.

That, in 2021, Chinese diplomats and proxies made undeclared cash donations to political campaigns and hired international Chinese students to volunteer for certain candidates full-time.

Conservative politicians have said publicly they were aware of interference in 2021 race, which were flagged concerns to officials, and believe it had cost them several seats - though not enough to change the election result, which Mr Trudeau's Liberals won with a 41-seat lead.

China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported this week that, on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi, Qin Gang dismissed the media reports as "rumours" and "hype" while speaking with his Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly.

Ms Joly said in a statement that she said Canada would not tolerate any form of interference in the country's internal affairs.

What has been the response?

The steady drip of stories with specific accounts of apparent interference has roiled Canadian politics, raising questions about what Mr Trudeau and his party knew of China's meddling - and when.

Mr Trudeau said he believes there are "many inaccuracies" in what has been reported, but said there are "ongoing efforts" by China and other countries to interfere with Canada's democracy.

He said he would leave it up to a House of Commons committee to look into the issue, saying he is satisfied with an ongoing parliamentary probe that began in November.

Federal opposition parties - the New Democrats and the Conservatives - are pushing for an "independent and public" inquiry into the accounts.

Their calls have been echoed by Canada's former chief electoral officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley and Richard Fadden, the former director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, or CSIS.

Mr Fadden told the BBC that he believes an inquiry is needed to determine what Canada can do in the future to prevent similar interference attempts.

"It would shed some light of day on how extensive the problem is at the constituency level, because we've not had a great deal of information about that," he added.

Others have called it a "bad idea" because much of the information will be kept behind the veil, by law, of highly classified intelligence documents.

"The public would be none the wiser about the details," said intelligence and security expert Wesley Wark.

And while the public deserves to know about national security threats, he worried "broad-brush suggestions" that members of any diaspora community are disloyal to Canada or vulnerable to foreign campaigns could be harmful.

What do we know about foreign interference in Canada?

Concerns of foreign actors meddling in Canadian affairs are not new.

In 2021, CSIS said it continues "to observe steady, and in some cases increasing" foreign interference, and warned that this type of meddling "can erode trust and threaten the integrity of our democratic institutions".

Their public report cited cyber attacks, disinformation and corrupt financing as some of the ways this type of interference occurs.

In testimony before the parliamentary committee probing China's interference this week, Mr Trudeau's national security advisor, Jody Thomas, said there were "attempts" by Beijing to meddle in both elections and that the prime minister had been briefed on the intelligence.

She added that the government is taking "concrete" steps to address the issue, and that Canadians should be confident that the last two federal elections were "fair and legitimate".

On Wednesday, a federal public report arrived at a similar conclusion - that efforts to meddle in the 2021 federal election did not affect the results.

Lawsuit: Muslims praying at Missouri prison pepper-sprayed

Fri, March 3, 2023 

Muslim men who were praying together in their housing unit at a Missouri prison were doused with pepper spray, physically assaulted by corrections officers and then retaliated against when they complained, according to a lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday by the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Missouri and the CAIR Legal Fund against Missouri Department of Corrections officials and several employees of the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne, Terre, Missouri.

“This lawsuit is about holding state officials to account and upholding the rights of all citizens,” Kimberly Noe-Lehenbauer, a CAIR civil rights attorney, said in a news release. “Once a person enters a correctional facility, they do not lose their most basic rights and become an open target for violence and abuse.”

The corrections department did not immediately return a request seeking comment on Friday.

The lawsuit alleges that Muslim men had been allowed to pray together many times in their housing unit at the prison after their chapel was locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Feb. 28, 2021, as nine Muslim men were praying, a corrections officer abruptly told them to stop, although the men had prayed together three times previously that day, according to the lawsuit. Up to 20 officers responded to the scene.

Two of the men stopped praying and stepped away. Two others also stopped praying but were put in handcuffs. Five of the men were doused with pepper spray, some while they were handcuffed, and one prisoner was beaten, according to the lawsuit.

Seven of the men were taken to segregation, where they were not provided with different clothes, heat or beds. They were not provided with medical evaluations, eye wash, showers, cleaning supplies or medical advice, the lawsuit says.

The men were initially charged with a major conduct violation for “acts of organized disobedience” by three or more offenders. That was later reduced to a minor conduct violation. They were found guilty and released from segregation on March 10, 2021.

The lawsuit alleges that some of the men were transferred to other prisons without cause, while others were continually subjected to physical abuse and humiliations or were retaliated against after they filed complaints.

The defendants are accused of violating the inmates' constitutional rights, including the right to freely practice their religion, to be protected from cruel and unusual punishment and to be protected from discrimination based on their race.

The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial and that the court award appropriate damages.

Margaret Stafford, The Associated Press

Horizon: Scientists warn Sunak on EU research programme


Pallab Ghosh - Science correspondent
Fri, March 3, 2023 

The EU's research and innovation programme is worth €95bn

PM Rishi Sunak should not go back on his pledge to re-join the EU's science research programme, the President of The Royal Society has warned.

Prof Sir Adrian Smith told BBC News that reneging on government promises would be damaging to UK science.

His comments follow reports that Rishi Sunak was holding back on re-joining the €95bn programme, known as Horizon.

BBC News understands that he is considering renegotiating a cut-down version of the Horizon programme.

The Royal Society represents Britain's leading scientists. Prof Smith told BBC News that ministers had consistently said that they were fully supportive of full association with the Horizon programme once the EU gave the green light.

"There is a great deal of concern and anxiety at the rumours that there is now a desire to renegotiate our association of the Horizon programme.

"It will mean that the continuing uncertainty will drift on and we will have more of the problems we are already seeing, such as a brain drain and the exclusion of leadership from major programmes," he said.

European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said talks on Horizon would begin immediately once the Windsor agreement was implemented

The assumption was that if differences over the Northern Ireland Protocol could be resolved, the UK would fully re-join the Horizon programme under terms similar to those it had before Brexit.

But BBC News understands that Mr Sunak is keen on an alternative research programme put together by ministers, known as "Plan B". This would be a UK-led programme involving collaboration with non-EU as well as European nations. It was developed in case a research agreement could not be reached with the EU.

Sources say that while some aspects of the Horizon programme are appealing to the Prime Minister, such as grants to individual scientists, he believes that larger institutional grants favour France and Germany and may not represent good value for money.

While no decision has yet been taken, one option under consideration is for a complete renegotiation of the terms of the Horizon agreement currently in place with the EU. This would allow the UK government to sign up to those parts of the programme that appealed, then use the remainder of the money that would otherwise have been spent on Horizon on its Plan B.

Prof Smith told BBC News that he didn't believe that such a plan would work.

"There is an assumption that we are in charge of the renegotiation and that we can have the good bits and get out of the not so good bits. All history shows that this kind of cherry-picking and negotiation Is not up for grabs.

''The whole thing is a package and the point is that the entire programme has in the past been good for the UK," he said.

Prof Sarah Main of the Campaign for Science and Engineering said that the UK's previous fruitful membership of the EU programme had attracted investment from the hi-tech companies her organisation represents and that her members want nothing short of the full association that is currently on the table.

"We want to see this with all speed. If the Prime Minister has not been close to the discussion, we need to make clear that that is the message from the research community and in the UK's economic interest to secure this deal as quickly as possible," she said.

Prof James Wilsdon, a specialist in research policy at University College London, said the failure to commit to the current arrangement on offer from the EU showed that the government was not listening to the science community.

"To keep the whole UK research system hanging on in limbo for two years while we ostensibly seek association; then to walk away when we finally have it in our grasp would, I think, be for many UK scientists, the final straw," he said.

Horizon Europe is a collaborative research programme involving Europe's leading research institutes and hi-tech companies. EU member nations each contribute funds which are then allocated to individuals or organisations by expert scientists based on the merit of research proposals.

The government negotiated associate membership of the programme in the withdrawal agreement following Brexit, because it felt it was important for the UK to be involved. But the EU went back on its part of the deal after disputes emerged over the Northern Ireland Protocol and British involvement in the prestigious programme has been left in limbo ever since.

The agreement of the Windsor Framework last week paved the way for the UK to re-join.

When the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Mr Sunak were asked about re-entry to the Horizon programme at a joint press conference, Ms von der Leyen enthusiastically remarked that it was "good news for scientists and researchers, in the European Union and in the UK," but Mr Sunak did not comment.

He also failed to make a commitment to the programme when asked at Prime Minister's Questions this week and the FT has reported that he was holding back on committing to the programme.

Downing Street has been approached for comment but has not responded.

As space junk threat grows, government and investors seek solutions



SpaceX Starlink 5 satellites are pictured in the sky seen from Svendborg

By Joey Roulette
Fri, March 3, 2023 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A growing swarm of debris in space has led the U.S. government to attempt to set new space hygiene norms, while private companies are also investing in ways to tackle the messy orbital environment.

Thousands of commercial satellites are being launched into Earth's orbit at a record pace, driving up the risk of collisions that could spawn swarms of hazardous debris. And with no set norms for military space behavior, some fear a potential space weapon attack that could generate far more debris.

At stake are billions of dollars in assets - the orbital devices crucial to navigation and smartphone maps, text messaging, calls and internet connections that are used by industries and people globally.

U.S. Space Command on Friday released a formal list of what it views as responsible space behaviors, in a bid to steer military norms in orbit.

"The idea is we hope our adversaries do the same," Brigadier General Richard Zellmann, deputy director of the command's operations unit, told Reuters.

The wide-ranging report includes a section on space debris that urges space players to dispose safely of their defunct satellites and notify other operators if any problems with their spacecraft might pose a debris hazard.

"You have to find a way to allow the economy to grow in the space domain, and in order to do that you need to make sure that it remains sustainable," said Zellmann, who oversees much of the Pentagon's space tracking efforts.

"Key to that is going to be ensuring that we can either solve that debris problem, or at least mitigate it to the point that it's acceptable."

While governments try to tackle international rules, the immediate response to the littering of orbit is coming in large part from the private sector.

Tokyo-based Astroscale, with subsidiaries in the U.S. and Britain, is testing a debris removal device called ELSA designed to latch onto defunct satellites and drag them toward Earth's atmosphere for a fiery disposal.

Jack Deasy, vice president of business development at Astroscale's U.S. subsidiary, said industry-specific policies for space behavior similar to the norms proposed by U.S. Space Command are urgently needed before a catastrophic collision occurs that could lead to burdensome regulations.

"That kind of rushed, crisis-driven thing is not always the best way of setting up long-term policies that sustain the ecosystem," he said.

Elon Musk's SpaceX has launched thousands of Starlink internet satellites in low-Earth orbit in recent years. A handful of other companies, including Jeff Bezos' Amazon, plan to do the same.

"Particularly in the (low-Earth orbit), which is increasingly crowded, the people who are investing billions of dollars to run those constellations have a lot of incentive to keep that clean themselves," said Deasy.

Astroscale this week closed a series G funding round that brought in $76 million, a substantial sum in an industry otherwise facing a drought in investment as investors seek safer bets amid rising inflation.

Putting the firm's total funding at $376 million, investors included Mitsubishi Electric and Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, a prospective passenger on SpaceX's next-generation Starship rocket system.

"Garbage scattered in outer space can become a big problem in the future," Maezawa tweeted on Monday as he announced a $23 million investment in Astroscale.

Another part of the space debris mitigation equation is in-space satellite servicing, concepts in development by dozens of firms including Astroscale, Northrop Grumman, Maxar and Airbus. The idea: deploy service satellites to approach and latch onto broken or fuel-spent spacecraft to extend their lifespan.

Those mission extension concepts, which Astroscale and Northrop Grumman have begun testing in space, have sprouted a patchwork of other companies looking to build on the momentum.

Australia-based Neumann Space, for instance, is developing a technology that could help recycle old, defunct satellites into fuel - using the scrap metal to generate plasma thrust for new satellites. That could be used in partnership with satellite-serving companies, it hopes.

"It's great because you can do mission extension by refueling with what's already in space," Neumann Chief Executive Herve Astier said. His company plans to launch a test satellite in June.

"Using the metal that's already there, that's a way to move forward in terms of sustainability."

(Reporting by Joey Roulette, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)

Elon Musk's Starlink satellites are ruining images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, threatening future science

What Elon Musk's 42,000 Starlink satellites could do for — and to — planet Earth


Morgan McFall-Johnsen
Fri, March 3, 2023

A Hubble Space Telescope image with a satellite trail streaking in front of galaxies.NASA/ESA/Kruk et al.

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is getting more satellites ruining its images, a new study found.


Elon Musk's Starlink constellation is a major driver of satellite crowding in Earth's orbit.


One-third of Hubble's images could be "trashed" by the 2030s, and telescopes may have to leave low-Earth orbit.

Starlink satellites may pose a threat to future science from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and other Earth-orbiting observatories.

The Starlink constellation now includes more than 3,000 satellites launched by SpaceX, as part of CEO Elon Musk's vision to blanket Earth in high-speed broadband internet.

These satellites have already been photobombing telescope observations on the ground. But now even telescopes in space aren't safe anymore, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Nature Astronomy.

Hubble images streaked with white lines show the impact of just one satellite flying through the telescope's field of view.\

A satellite carves a thick white line across a Hubble observation.NASA/ESA/Kruk et al.

The proportion of Hubble images that look like this is increasing as more satellites fill Earth's orbit, the study found.

Images like this can hamper astronomers' work, because the streaks block the distant galaxies and stars they're trying to study. For now, that's not a huge problem, according to NASA.

"Most of these streaks are readily removed using standard data reduction techniques, and the majority of affected images are still useable. Satellite streaks do not currently pose a significant threat to Hubble's science efficiency and data analysis," NASA spokesperson Claire Andreoli told Insider in an email.

Sometimes multiple satellites appear in one image. In this case, there are three.NASA/ESA/Kruk et al.

Sometimes removal methods help, and sometimes they don't, according to Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who was not involved in the new study.

"It's certainly an overstatement to say that everything with a streak is ruined, but I think it's an understatement to say that it doesn't matter," he told Insider. "Some of them are not useable for the science purpose that they were meant for."

The proportion of satellite-damaged images could skyrocket in the next five years, forever changing our ability to study the cosmos from Earth's orbit.
Hubble peers through a growing 'wall' between us and the universe

The Hubble Space Telescope in Earth's orbit.NASA

Over its three-decade reign, Hubble has fundamentally changed our understanding of the universe.

It allowed astronomers to calculate the age and expansion of the universe, track two interstellar objects zipping through our solar system, and peer at galaxies formed shortly after the Big Bang.

Even today, with the James Webb Space Telescope taking the spotlight, Hubble is still discovering new events and objects in the cosmos. It may have even more groundbreaking observations yet to come, as long as it can see the universe clearly.

The supermassive star Eta CarinaeNASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of Arizona), and J. Morse (BoldlyGo Institute)

Over time, Hubble has naturally sunk to lower altitudes. Earth's gravity has drawn the observatory deeper within the field of Starlink and other satellites.

The new study calculated that the chance of seeing a satellite in a Hubble image was 3.7% from 2009 to 2020, but climbed to 5.9% in 2021. That increase directly correlates to the rise of Starlink satellites, according to the study authors.

So far SpaceX has launched more than 3,000 Starlink satellites and plans to eventually maintain up to 42,000 satellites in orbit. That's an outrageously large number. For reference, there were about 1,000 operational satellites in orbit in the year 2010.

Even thin satellite streaks can block countless stars.NASA/ESA/Kruk et al.

"Starlink is going to start dominating in the next couple years," McDowell said.

"It's just another brick in the wall between us and the universe," he added.

In the not-so-distant future, Earth's orbit could become so crowded that it no longer makes sense to put observatories like Hubble there anymore. NASA and other agencies may have to splurge to send their telescopes far away from interfering satellites — as far as Webb, which is about 1 million miles from Earth, roughly 3,000 times further than Hubble.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Starlink could grow to mar one-third of Hubble's observations

About one-third of Hubble's images could look like this by the 2030s.NASA/ESA/Kruk et al.

NASA has said it plans to continue operating Hubble until the mid-2030s. By then, the authors of the new study estimate, there could be 100,000 satellites in Earth's orbit, with a 33% chance that one will appear in an image from Hubble's wide-field instrument, and a 41% chance for the observatory's other key instrument, its survey camera.

That's about one-third of Hubble's observations "trashed," McDowell said. That would limit the amount of science Hubble can accomplish in the years it has left.

Two satellites streak across a Hubble image.NASA/ESA/Kruk et al.

"For every three observations you want, you actually have to make four observations because one of them is going to be hit," McDowell said. "And it could get worse than that. It could be like, 70% of the observations are ruined eventually, if you have enough satellites."

If SpaceX gets its Starship mega-rocket up and running, the company will be able to launch more satellites, faster.

Starship at the launchpad at SpaceX's facilities in Boca Chica, Texas.SpaceX

NASA and SpaceX announced last year that they were discussing the possibility of a SpaceX mission to boost Hubble into a higher orbit, but neither entity has shared updates since then.

"The study regarding the possibilities of reboosting Hubble is ongoing," Andreoli said.
China's upcoming space telescope has a serious satellite problem

SpaceX launches Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket.Paul Hennessy/Getty Images

For now, Hubble's Starlink problem is manageable, partly because the telescope uses a narrow field of vision. That allows it to pinpoint particular objects deep in the cosmos. So the odds are relatively low that a satellite will zip through such a small patch of sky while Hubble is looking.

But China is planning to launch its Xuntian telescope with a wide field of view into low-Earth orbit, among the satellites, at the end of 

Elon Musk takes part in a news conference at SpaceX facilities in Brownsville, Texas.Adrees Latif/Reuters

Generally there are three possible futures for the growing crowd of satellites in Earth's orbit.

"There's a regime where it's annoying. There's a regime where it's expensive to work around. And then if you do enough of them, there's a regime in which you just basically can't operate anymore," McDowell said. "That's going to be self-limiting, because the satellites are going to start hitting each other, the companies are going to start losing money, and then they're going to decide to do something about it, finally."