DECRIMINALIZE DRUGS
Coca price crash contributing to Colombia food insecurity-UN

Ariel view of coca fields in Tumaco, Colombia, 26 de febrero, 2020.

 REUTERS/Luisa González© Thomson Reuters

By Oliver Griffin

BOGOTA (Reuters) - A crash in the price of coca, the chief ingredient in cocaine, is contributing to food insecurity in Colombia and causing displacement, as people leave areas that depend on the illicit crop, according to an internal United Nations presentation seen by Reuters.

Historically coca crops have provided better incomes than legal alternatives for thousands of rural Colombian families, with drug-trafficking groups often footing the costs of transport, fertilizers and other supplies.

Now coca-growing farmers have no buyers for the leaves or coca base leading to economic hardship amid high inflation, according to an internal presentation from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

"There is no cash to buy food and the inflation of (food prices) is rising," the presentation, dated June, said.

The WFP confirmed the document's provenance.

Oversupply of coca - including more productive plants and record crops - is contributing to the crash, along with slow growth of trafficking routes and new coca cultivation in Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico, the presentation said.

Other reasons for falling coca prices include territorial disputes between trafficking groups and imports of synthetic opioid fentanyl to the United States, a major cocaine consumer, it added.

Some 400,000 families nationwide rely on income connected to coca cultivation, the presentation said, adding coca markets have been paralyzed in Colombian provinces, including Narino, Putumayo and Norte de Santander for between three months to a year.

The government will send 2 million pesos (around $487) each to just over 77,000 families as part of an existing program to replace illicit crops, said Valerin Saurith, an adviser for the presidency's Zero Hunger initiative, adding the government will work to build viable economic options for affected communities in the medium-term.

"It's not just substituting crops, but the economy," Saurith said.

Coca prices are currently at around 30% of their former levels, said Elizabeth Dickinson, a senior analyst for International Crisis Group in Colombia, adding rural areas are suffering "complete economic collapse" as a result.

A kilo of coca base could previously fetch up to approximately $975 in Narino, but would now go for around $240 if buyers could be found at all, Dickinson said, adding that local economies in coca-growing areas - including shops and other commerce - rely on income from the crops.

"This has created not only an economic crisis but frankly a humanitarian crisis," Dickinson said.

(Reporting by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

FORCE IS FORCE REGARDLESS OF LEGITIAMCY

Peru vows to use only legitimate force during upcoming protests


FILE PHOTO: Peru's President Dina Boluarte in Lima© Thomson Reuters

LIMA (Reuters) - Peru's government vowed on Friday to use only appropriate force in protests planned for next week and guarantee demonstrators' safety, following alleged abuses during the previous series of clashes.

President Dina Boluarte met with top officials on Friday to discuss the need to guarantee protesters' human rights.

"We call upon the authorities to apply the legitimate use of force in accordance with the law and to guarantee the safety and integrity of those who will participate," Prime Minister Alberto Otarola said in a statement.

The government's pledge follows months of violent protests between December and March, during which human rights groups documented abuses and multiple "extrajudicial killings" committed by security forces against protesters.

The country has been gripped by unrest since former President Pedro Castillo was ousted and arrested in December after he illegally tried to dissolve Congress.

Various left-wing groups and unions in Peru have announced new protests starting on July 19 to demand Boluarte's resignation, the closure of Congress, early elections and a new constitution.

The organizers of the new protests say they expect thousands of people will be mobilized in the capital and around the southern area, where the country's largest mines are located.

The police have said they will deploy 8,000 officers to prevent possible disturbances and that they are already controlling the entry into capital Lima from outside.

The government also this week extended the state of emergency in key regions for 30 days.

"We call on citizens who want to exercise the right of assembly, the right to demonstrate and protest, to do so peacefully," Otarola added.

(Reporting by Marco Aquino, Writing by Isabel Woodford, Editing by Sandra Maler)

CANADA
'Money talks': Federal environment minister calls on businesses, banks to fight climate change

Story by David Thurton • Yesterday

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says businesses and financial institutions around the world need to do more to fight climate change — and climate finance needs to be on the agenda for the next United Nations climate summit.

Guilbeault spoke about the need to mobilize private international climate capital on Wednesday in Brussels, where he announced that Ottawa is allocating $450 million to the world's largest climate fund — the Green Climate Fund — increasing its previous pledge in 2019 by 50 per cent.

Ottawa's most recent contribution consists of $180 million in loans and $270 million in grants.

"We need more money, and we need more money from all sources," said Guilbeault.

It's widely acknowledged that richer countries and international businesses based there have been responsible for the bulk of global carbon emissions.


Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault responds to a question during a news conference in Ottawa on June 14, 2023. 

(Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)© Provided by cbc.ca

The $450 million for the Green Climate Fund comes from the $5.3 billion the federal government has earmarked for international climate finance over five years.

The Green Climate Fund supports developing countries' efforts to transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient economies and protect nature.

"Money talks, so we encourage other contributors, traditional and new, to use this second replenishment of the Green Climate Fund to raise their ambition," Guilbeault said.

He specifically called on the private sector to step up.

"We clearly know that there's not enough public money to meet the challenge of fighting climate change or adapting to climate change, which is where the private sector capital mobilization comes into play," Guilbeault said.

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The private sector must be "held accountable" for dragging its heels on climate action in Canada and globally, said Julie Segal, senior manager of climate finance at Environmental Defence, a Canadian-based environmental organization.


Protesters from Greenpeace interrupt a luncheon speech by Gregoire Baillargeon (not shown), president of BMO Financial Group Quebec, at the Montreal Chamber of Commerce in Montreal on May 10, 2023

. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)© Provided by cbc.ca

Segal said Canadian banks are still investing billions of dollars annually in "climate-damaging activities" like fossil fuel production.

"So they are under-investing, particularly Canadian financial institutions, in climate solutions and over-investing in climate pollution," she said.

If the Canadian government got serious about encouraging private investments in efforts to fight climate change, Segal said, it would introduce rules and regulations for Canada's financial institutions to help shift Canadian money away from high-emitting sectors.

World Bank needs to do more: Guilbeault

Guilbeault meets Thursday with his ministerial counterparts from China and the European Union in Brussels for the Ministerial Meeting on Climate Action (MoCA).

These talks are focused on implementing the Paris Agreement. They're also meant to help wealthier countries iron out their concerns ahead of the UN's upcoming COP 28 climate conference in Dubai.

Guilbeault said one of the outcomes of November's COP28 should be a "firm commitment" to getting financial institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to address the existential threat of climate change while preventing millions from slipping into poverty.



World Bank President Ajay Banga arrives for the closing session of the New Global Financial Pact Summit on June 23, 2023 in Paris. 

((AP Photo/Lewis Joly, Pool))© Provided by cbc.ca

In a recent joint op-ed with Australia's climate change and energy minister, Guilbeault wrote that the efforts of multilateral institutions to finance climate-related measures at affordable rates have been "patchy and at times inaccessible to the nations that need it most."

Patricia Fuller, who served as Canada's ambassador for climate change from 2018 to 2021, said discussions have been happening for years about boosting access to climate finance for developed countries.

"I think the new aspect here is just the levels of debt distress in developing countries, which unfortunately coincide to a great degree with the impacts of climate change," Fuller said.

The United Nations recently estimated that 52 developing countries — home to half of the world's population living in extreme poverty — suffer from severe debt problems. Almost half of these countries spend 20 per cent or more of their public revenue on servicing external public debt.

Fuller said the issue isn't whether multilateral institutions must step up their climate finance, but rather how they do it. The question that needs to be answered, she said, is whether these institutions reallocate existing funds — or countries like Canada contribute more money to expand their balance sheets.

After Earth's hottest week on record, extreme weather surprises everyone — even climate scientists

Story by Benjamin Shingler • 15h ago

The heat has been unprecedented, as extreme weather from wildfires to floods ravage various corners of the world.

Data suggests last week was the hottest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Temperatures have soared across much of southern Europe and the southern United States, while powerful rain storms led to flooding in Vermont, India, Japan — and Montreal on Thursday.

At the same time, Canada has already surpassed the record for the total area burned in a wildfire season.

This follows the hottest June on record, with unprecedented sea surface temperatures and record low Antarctic sea ice coverage.

"There's a lot of concern from the scientific community and a lot of catch up in the scientific community trying to understand these incredible changes we're seeing at the moment," said Michael Sparrow, head of the WMO's world climate research program.


A homeless man sleeps under the sun in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles on Wednesday, another city feeling the heat.

 (Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press)

'We can expect more records to fall'

All this comes at the onset of El Niño, which is expected to further fuel the heat both on land and in the oceans, according to Prof. Christopher Hewitt, WMO's director of climate services.

"We are in uncharted territory and we can expect more records to fall as El Niño develops further," he said. "These impacts will extend into 2024."

Global sea surface temperatures hit new records for the time of the year both in May and June, according to the WMO.

In Florida, for instance, the water temperature near Johnson Key was 36 Celsius, about 5 degrees warmer than normal this time of year, meteorologists said.

"As we go forward, we will see more extreme weather," said Altaf Arain, a professor in the school of earth, environment and society at McMaster University and director of McMaster's Centre for Climate Change.

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While Arain isn't entirely surprised by the surging temperatures, he said the idea of a "new normal" should be thrown out the window.

"It may not be fair to use that term because when you talk about the new normal, then you have to look at the time scale," he said.

"We will have a new normal for the next decade. What about the following decade and the following decade? So would we keep on changing these normals? So I think this discussion should not be there."

Experiencing the wildfire smoke in Ontario earlier this summer was a reminder that the effects of climate change are far reaching, he said.

"The message you get is we are all in it together," he said. "We all will be impacted, one way or the other."

'Statistically impossible' becomes possible

Despite the heat and extreme weather of recent weeks, the planet hasn't necessarily reached a "tipping point" moment, said Nicholas Leach, a postdoctoral researcher in climate science at the University of Oxford.

"To the best of our knowledge these extreme weather events essentially will continue," said Leach, who was a part of a team of scientists that examined the "statistically impossible" 2021 heatwave in B.C.

Canada's all-time record was smashed that summer by nearly 5 Celsius, with a recorded high of 49.6 C in Lytton, B.C.

In looking over historical data from 1959 to to 2021, Leach's study found that 31 per cent of Earth's land surface has already experienced such statistically implausible heat.

These regions are spread all across the globe with no clear pattern, he said.

The conclusion? Other statistically improbable events are likely.

"Countries that traditionally haven't seen really big jumps in their record, or particularly extreme events, shouldn't be complacent about that and should start kind of implementing these action plans and things that we know are effective at reducing mortality risk from heat waves," he said.

A learning curve for scientists

Scientists are learning as events evolve, allowing for better forecasting and preparedness, said Vermont State Climatologist Lesley-Ann Dupigny-Giroux.

Her state experienced up to two months worth of rainfall within two days this week. The mass flooding resulted in damage to homes and properties and hundreds of people needing rescue.

Despite the storm being "very well-forecasted," Dupigny-Giroux said, it was still surprising to see such an impact in river levels.

"Looking at some of the river record levels and seeing values that are like 10 feet above flood stage, that is just mind boggling," she said.

"Even if you had a model that predicted that, it's still mind boggling to actually see that in real life."

Badly Damaged Nuclear Submarine USS Connecticut Seen In New Images

Story by Tyler Rogoway • Yesterday 

Badly Damaged Nuclear Submarine USS Connecticut Seen In New Images© USN

The Navy has posted new pictures of its Seawolf class nuclear fast attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN-22), which was badly damaged when it struck a seamount while on patrol in the South China Sea on October 2nd, 2021.

IT WAS PROBABLY LAYING MINES!

The Connecticut is currently in Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, undergoing a long series of repairs that will last until 2026, at the soonest.

In December 2021, the prized submarine limped back to its home port in Washington State, completing an arduous voyage across the Pacific while surfaced after a long emergency stop in Guam and another stop in San Diego.


USS Connecticut (SSN 22) is docked for its Extended Docking Selected Restricted Availability July 12 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility.© Provided by The Drive

USS Connecticut (SSN 22) is docked for its Extended Docking Selected Restricted Availability July 12 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility. USN


Badly Damaged Nuclear Submarine USS Connecticut Seen In New Images© Provided by The Drive

Complicating the submarine's repair is an ongoing saga of badly needed seismic upgrades to the drydock facilities at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF) and at the nearby Trident Refit Facility in Bangor, Washington.

USN

The Navy release that accompanied the photos of Connecticut states:

"Construction efforts include drilling holes for the installation of anchors inside the dry dock walls to enhance structural integrity and ensure the safety of the workforce, community, environment, and submarines. The mitigation efforts updated existing emergency response plans to better address the chance of a catastrophic earthquake, along with improved early-warning employee notification systems in the dry docks.

Related video: US Navy's submarine fleet flooded with repairs (Straight Arrow News)

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Experts from private industry, Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command and PSNS & IMF will continue to plan and implement the structural upgrades, with an eye on the Navy’s future needs and in support of the PSNS & IMF mission to deliver modern, fully-mission capable warships on-time, every time, preserving our national security."

You can read all about the relatively sudden move to seismically reinforce the drydock facilities — which are absolutely critical national assets with a major backlog of work — in this piece by our friends over at USNI News.

USN

As for the USS Connecticut, as the images show, her state remains relatively the same, at least in terms of what is visible, compared to when she arrived over a year and a half ago. Her sonar dome is still missing and, clearly, the boat has been idle for some time, with huge sections of its anechoic coating missing from its sail.

Major repairs to the submarine's bow, sonar, and other underside structure components will be challenging as the Seawolf class is long out of production. On top of that, just three boats were ever built, with one being a heavily modified sub-type in its own right, the highly secretive USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23). In the past, similar damage has been fixed by leveraging spare parts and entire sections of decommissioned submarines of the same class. That simply is not an option in this case.



USS Connecticut (SSN 22) is docked for its Extended Docking Selected Restricted Availability July 12 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility.© Provided by The Drive

USN

Even though the SSN-22 has been operational for 25 years, it is such a prized asset that the Navy is going to move forward with the fixes that will take up precious drydock space and personnel for years. At least as of November 2022, nearly 40% of the Navy's submarine fleet was sidelined in maintenance or waiting for maintenance. This is just one facet of the slow-moving crisis of lack of drydock space and personnel to effect repairs across the Navy's maintenance enterprise. This is only made worse by the service's aging fleet.



USS Connecticut (SSN 22) is docked for its Extended Docking Selected Restricted Availability July 12 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility.© Provided by The Drive

So, the Navy clearly believes that repairing the Connecticut is the best option as it also comes to terms with a rapidly widening naval fleet size gap with its primary potential opponent, China. You can read about all these issues and how they are intertwined in this recent feature of ours.

Now that the Dry Dock 5 has been recertified, SSN-22 could get the TLC she desperately needs. It will be fascinating to see her reemerge from this ordeal and in exactly what configuration. With such deep work already planned to be done on the boat, other upgrades could come as well.

Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com

Stars hit Hollywood sidewalks as anger at studios simmers

Story by AFP • 1h ago

Stars including Ben Schwarz joined rank-and-file actors on the picket lines in Los Angeles© Michael Tran

Honking horns, simmering heat, a smattering of stars, and a lot of anger at Disney boss Bob Iger.

The Hollywood actors' strike kicked off on a sweltering Friday morning in Los Angeles, just over 24 hours after contract talks collapsed with studios.

Several hundred actors swelled the ranks of picketing television and movie writers, who have been pounding the palm tree-lined sidewalks outside Netflix, Warner, Paramount and more for well over two months already.


Recent comments by Disney CEO Bob Iger drew the ire of many striking Hollywood actors© KEVIN WINTER

"No contracts? No actors! No wages? No pages!" went the chants, as organizers from both unions begged strikers to keep hydrated and stay off the roads, where passing cars and trucks blared their horns in support.


Actors swelled have the ranks of television and movie writers, who have been pounding the palm tree-lined sidewalks outside Paramount and other studios for over two months© DAVID MCNEW

"It's a wonderful celebration of workers. This is more than an entertainment industry labor strike -- it's all of labor, all over the country and the world," said "Titanic" star Frances Fisher, 71.

"Everybody's standing up," she told AFP, yards award from the historic arched entryway to Paramount Picture studio.



Actress Mandy Moored joins SAG-AFTRA and WGA members on the picket line at The Walt Disney studios© KEVIN WINTER

Chanting writers welcomed the new influx of noticeably louder voices from the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), and expressed hope that the arrival of globally recognizable faces should bring renewed attention to the movements.



SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher was swarmed by fellow actors outside Netflix as the Hollywood actors' strike began© VALERIE MACON

Stars including Allison Janney ("The West Wing"), Mandy Moore ("This is Us"), and Ben Schwartz ("Sonic the Hedgehog") joined rank-and-file actors on the picket lines, while Jason Sudeikis and Susan Sarandon showed up across the country at protests in New York.

"It feels historic," said Zev Frank, 36, a writer on Amazon Prime series "Patriot."

"To see them show up like this, in huge numbers, it feels different today. It feels electric."

"We're part of an industry that has so many people that are front-facing, so that extra PR is gonna be helpful, said Tien Tran, 36, star of sitcom "How I Met Your Father."

- 'Disgusting' -

Among other demands, SAG-AFTRA is asking studios for pay rises to keep pace with inflation, a greater share in the profit of hit shows or films.

Those proposals were dismissed by Disney CEO Bob Iger this week as "unrealistic" -- comments that invoked fury among several strikers interviewed by AFP.

"He's refurnishing his house right now for $5 million, and these people don't even have health insurance... it's disrespectful and disgusting," said Shawn Richardz, an actress who has appeared in "Treme" and "Nip/Tuck."

"This guy is saying we're asking for unrealistic things? Are you kidding me?"

"That was a really prime example of the mindset of the people on top," agreed actor E.J. Arriola 42.

"As artists, we've been around for so long, and there doesn't seem to be any sort of respect."

Many heaped praised on SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher, whose similar language in a press conference announcing the strike Thursday went viral.

She was swarmed by fellow actors outside Netflix on Friday, as the crowd cheered her comments and took them up as chants.

Elsewhere, among the hundreds of SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America signs, placards from other Hollywood unions representing behind-the scenes crew and transport workers were visible among the marchers.

"I have no sets to build without actors," read one slogan.

Both of those guilds re-negotiate their own contracts with studios next year.

"If they need to walk off the job, then we're going to be there to support them too," said Frank, the writer.

amz/caw

Hollywood studios allegedly want screenwriters to lose homes before negotiating, sources say

Story by National Post Staff • 4h ago

Striking WGA workers march in solidarity on the picket line outside the Ritz-Carlton hotel on July 3, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.© Provided by National Post

Hollywood executives are allegedly delaying talks with the Writers Guild of America until screenwriters are cash-strapped in order to hold sway over negotiations, insiders told Deadline.

“The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” a studio executive told the publication , with another source calling it a “cruel but necessary evil.”

WGA went on strike on May 2 and has not met with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Studios have no plans to meet with the WGA until the fall, another source, a top producer, told Deadline: “Not Halloween precisely, but late October, for sure, is the intention.”

AMPTP has since denied the allegations, telling Deadline “these anonymous people are not speaking on behalf of the AMPTP or member companies, who are committed to reaching a deal and getting our industry back to work.”

Sean Penn, backing WGA strike, says AI dispute is 'a human obscenity' at Cannes Film Festival

Some writers seem to believe the report is a negotiating tactic intended to create a rift within the WGA.

“They were planning for a three month strike — not Halloween,” writer Joe Russo wrote on Twitter. “They need projects up again or they’ll get killed after their quarterly earnings calls (at the) end of July.”

“After 70+ days with no writers to create their product for them, the pipeline is running dry. Their stock price isn’t tanking yet,” wrote writer David Slack. “If they don’t make a deal with us, it will.”

“What an inept attempt to scare WGA members into turning on each other,” wrote journalist Mark Harris.

On July 13, the Screen Actors Guild, Hollywood’s actors union, voted to join screenwriters on the picket line. The two guilds have similar issues with studios and streaming services.

They are concerned about contracts keeping up with inflation and about residual payments, which compensate creators and actors for use of their material beyond the original airing, such as in reruns or on streaming services.

The unions also want to put up guardrails against the use of artificial intelligence mimicking their work on film and television.

According to Deadline, studios hope to bring actors to the negotiating table within a few weeks.

Additional reporting from Associated Press

How the Hollywood actors' strike could impact Canada's film industry

Story by Brock Wilson • Yesterday 

It's official: the union representing film and television actors has voted to go on strike starting Thursday at midnight — and Canada's film industry will feel the effects.

Still reeling from an ongoing Hollywood writers' strike, industry insiders in Canada say this second strike will only make things worse for Canada's creative economy.

So, who is involved in the strike, and what does it mean for Canadian-made movies and TV?
The key players

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) confirmed strike action during a press conference Thursday, after contract talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), a group representing studio executives, ended without a new deal.

"All of us will be on picket lines tomorrow morning," said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director of SAG-AFTRA.


A sign reads 'Unions Stand Together' as Hollywood actors walk the picket line in solidarity with striking writers in Los Angeles on July 11. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)© Provided by cbc.ca

It marks the first time that actors and writers are picketing film and television productions simultaneously since 1960, when Ronald Reagan was the actors' guild president.

"We are the victims here," said Fran Drescher, the actors' guild president.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said earlier it was disappointed by the failure to reach a deal.

"This is the Union's choice, not ours. In doing so, it has dismissed our offer of historic pay and residual increases, substantially higher caps on pension and health contributions, audition protections, shortened series option periods, a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors' digital likenesses, and more," the AMPTP said in a statement.

Issues in negotiations include: the unregulated use of artificial intelligence, and the effects on residual pay brought on by the streaming ecosystem that has emerged in recent years.

What it means for Canada

Members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have been on strike since early May, already slowing the production of films and television shows.

The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) has 28,000 members working in Canadian productions. In a statement, ACTRA said "members from across Canada stand in steadfast solidarity with SAG-AFTRA and its members in their effort to achieve a fair and equitable contract."


Some Canadians are already being impacted by the labour unrest.

How will the Hollywood actors' strike impact your favourite shows? | Watch (msn.com)

Amanda Row is a Canadian director and producer who has worked on dozens of TV shows that have been shot in Canada. "People don't recognize how much of the content they watch is actually created here," Row told CBC News.

Row said the writers' strike has already impacted her ability to work — and the actors' strike will likely make things worse.

"I've definitely been working way less than I usually would. I know directors who have not worked at all."


SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher speaks during a press conference announcing a strike by The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists on Thursday. This marks the first time since 1960 that actors and writers will picket film and television productions at the same time. (Chris Pizzello/The Associated Press)© Provided by cbc.ca

Damian Petti, president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 212 in Calgary, has similar concerns. Petti said the majority of IATSE's 1,500 members work in the film industry and will be impacted by the strike.

"This is a very large storm that has happened and it heavily impacts the employment of our members."

Petti said Calgary's film industry had been booming in recent years following updates to the city's filming incentives. But he is now seeing a lack of opportunities because of the writers' strike. He said the new actors' strike will worsen the situation.

Martin Katz is president and founder of Prospero Pictures in Toronto. He has produced a number of Hollywood movies, including five alongside director David Cronenberg.

He said the strike's impact will be felt on productions across the country.

"If they're shooting in Malta or they're shooting in Toronto or Vancouver or Newfoundland, SAG will take jurisdiction over that show and that show will be shut down now that those actors are on strike," he told CBC News.

This comes at a time when some productions in Canada were already facing delays due to the writers' strike.

Canadian co-productions like Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, which is shot in Toronto, and HBO's The Last of Us, which will film its second season in Vancouver, have both been delayed due to the WGA strike.

In an email, a spokesperson for the City of Toronto told CBC News "it's premature to speculate on any potential future impacts," the actors' strike could have on the city's film industry.

But if we take a look back at how things have gone this year amid the WGA strike, we can start to get a sense of how the SAG-AFTRA strike could further impact productions in Canada.

Looking ahead

As of last month, only 15 projects had set up shop in Toronto this year amid talk of the now-ongoing U.S. writers' strike, compared to 25 last year, Marguerite Pigott, the city's film commissioner, told CBC News in an interview last month.

Similar dynamics are playing out in western Canada.

British Columbia hit a low of 28 active productions just before the beginning of the WGA strike — around half of what it would typically see that time of the year, Gemma Martini, the CEO of Martini Film Studios in Langley, said in an earlier interview.



Shooting for HBO's The Last of Us, which will film its second season in Vancouver, has been delayed due to the writers' strike. (HBO)© Provided by cbc.ca

While the numbers may paint a bleak picture, Petti said the SAG-AFTRA strike could provide an opportunity for independent Canadian filmmakers and workers.

"For those who had projects ready to go, there's definitely opportunities here that are arising from this. So for Canadian independent productions, they are seeing a more highly skilled crew available to them currently," he told CBC News.

How long could this last?

While no one can say for sure, many industry insiders told CBC News they don't expect the strike to end anytime soon.

That could spell trouble for one of Canada's major cultural extravaganzas: The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Held in late September, TIFF is typically a star-studded event.

"If SAG is on strike and they won't allow their members to come and do promotion at TIFF, it might take a lot of the wind out of the sails at TIFF, which would be disastrous as well," said Katz from Prospero Pictures.

"It could be extremely devastating on the people who work in our industry at almost every level."

Canada's Tornado Alley may be moving from Prairies to Ontario-Quebec, warn researchers

Story by Thomas Daigle • 4h ago

The tornadoes that ripped across suburban Ottawa and near Montreal on Thursday highlight a growing concern for researchers.

Preliminary data trends suggest Canada's most densely populated zone — in Ontario and Quebec — may become the country's epicentre for twisters, with increasingly devastating consequences.

"What we're seeing is lining up with climate change projections," David Sills, executive director of the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP), told CBC News. He pointed to information collected in recent years by the team based at Western University in London, Ont.

Canada's Tornado Alley, long considered to be largely in the Prairies, appears to be moving east, home to millions more people.

"We have a lot more work to do to collect data to make sure those trends are robust," Sills, a former Environment Canada tornado investigator, said in an interview. "But it certainly seems that that's the case. And that's not great news, [with] a lot of population in this area from Windsor [Ont.] to Quebec City."



Researchers from Western University's Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) survey damage in Tweed, Ont., on June 28. Preliminary data trends suggest Canada's most densely populated zone — in Ontario and Quebec — may become the country's epicentre for twisters. 

(Megan McCleister/CBC)© Provided by cbc.ca

Canada reports more tornadoes than any other country, except the U.S.

Sills's NTP team seeks to gain a clearer picture of exactly how many twisters are hitting Canada, by compiling the most comprehensive database the country's ever had.

When they started tracking the data, they pinpointed 70 tornadoes in 2017. As their work expanded and the team received more reports from the public, the numbers grew to 118 confirmed tornadoes in 2021 and another 117 last year.

"We've noticed just in the work we've done since 2017… there's a heck of a lot of tornadoes that seem to be happening in eastern Ontario [and] southwestern Quebec, and not quite as much happening on the Prairies," Sills said.

Related video: Enormous damage in Montréal area after a tornado and flooding swept through the city (The Weather Network) Duration 1:05 View on Watch

The Weather NetworkTornado touches down in south Ottawa damaging homes

0:42

ReutersNo one killed but it's lights out as tornado hits suburban Ottawa

0:38

The Weather NetworkDangerous setup for severe storms in Ontario and Quebec

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A CBC News crew recently followed a team from the NTP as they investigated a suspected twister in rural Tweed, Ont., northwest of Kingston. Analyzing weather data, then using a drone to map damage from above and inspecting downed trees and other debris on the ground, the researchers concluded the area had been hit by two tornadoes — both classified on the enhanced Fujita (EF) scale as an EF-0.

By comparison, the tornado that destroyed several homes in central Alberta on Canada Day was considered an EF-4, one of the most powerful twisters in the country's history.



David Sills, seen at his office in London, Ont., is executive director of the NTP. The team is working to get a clearer picture of how many twisters are hitting Canada.

 (Megan McCleister/CBC)© Provided by cbc.ca

An EF-4 signals wind speeds between 332 and 418 km/h. The EF scale tops out at 5, with even high wind speeds and "massive devastation," according to Public Safety Canada.

Canada's deadliest tornado tore through Regina in 1912. The EF-4 killed 28 people and left 2,500 homeless. If such extreme weather proves increasingly common in Central Canada, it poses an even greater risk, say experts, with some 18 million people living between Windsor and Quebec City.

Aaron Jaffe, an NTP researcher who led the team on the ground in Tweed, warned against minimizing twisters classified only as EF-0 or EF-1.

"All it takes is a tree to fall into the house or cottage, and then you have significant damage," he said.

Building resiliency

Part of the work by the NTP seeks to build Canada's resiliency to tornadoes.

"If we know where they're happening with greater precision, we can come up with adaptation strategies that make a lot more sense," said Greg Kopp, an engineering professor at Western University.


An image of the EF-4-rated tornado damage at the farm on the west side of Highway 2A between Didsbury and Carstairs, Alta., on July 1. A woman took shelter in the home's basement and survived. (Northern Tornadoes Project)© Northern Tornadoes Project

Kopp said Canadian building codes need to be updated to reflect the growing risk posed by tornadoes, and homebuilders should consider small investments to lessen the potential impact of a twister.

"Twenty years ago when we started talking about this, the only reaction we ever got was, 'You're crazy,'" said Kopp, who acts as NTP's lead researcher.

He said simple additions to new builds, such as hurricane straps or roof clips, could help prevent major damage and only cost a few hundred dollars. The small connectors can keep roofs attached, even in the event of an EF-2 tornado, Kopp added.

'A forgotten genocide, the broken voice of the Kurdish people'

Béatrice Dillies

The war in Iraq and Syria has shown the world the tremendous capacity of Kurdish fighters to resist Daesh. They stood up to barbarism while the great nations hesitated to engage. No doubt, this people has a long history of fighting and resistance, having suffered one of the greatest genocides of the 20th century under the orders of Saddam Hussein: Operation Anfal. The West was moved in March 1988 by the Halabja massacre: the tip of an iceberg of suffering, which caused in total the deaths of 182,000 Kurds, victims of a genocidal policy initiated in 1968 by the Baathist regime of Saddam.

This book plunges us into the heart of the tragedy of a people whose existence was denied in 1923 by the signatories of the Treaty of Lausanne. A story that the world must face, as does Snur – a common thread of this investigation – who discovers why her voice broke when she was a baby one day in Aug. 1988, when Chemical Ali had sent his Sarin bombs.

Snur never went to school because of her injuries, although she did began to speak gradually at the age of 12. She has not completely overcome her disability, even though today she is doing well. So, with Kavout Mahy, my main translator, we told her about our encounters with genocide survivors in all regions of Kurdistan just like a history lesson at home. She has become the red thread of this book and has allowed the ellipses to fill in the little holes over 50 years of history.

Snur plays the role of Candide (the title of an 18th-Century book by the French philosopher Voltaire). Through her reactions, her questions, and the answers we give her, Snur allows us to project Kurdish history over several years, from 1968 to 2018.

With the help of Kavout, but also of his father Zoubeyr, his uncle Ismaël, their friend Osmane and two other French-speaking Kurds, I interviewed more than 100 survivors of all the great massacres suffered by the Kurds these last 50 years. Headlining the group of interviewees were three of the judges who condemned Saddam Hussein and his accomplices. I had access to some pretty terrible video archives, I have to say. However, I had received parts of the investigation file against Saddam Hussein and Ali Hassan al-Majid. This allowed me to gather a lot of information.

The result is this book, written like a historical novel, with very colorful, almost cinematographic writing, and it immerses Snur and readers in the heart of the important periods of Kurdish history. Maps help French readers understand the book's narrative.

Pierre Perret, a famous French singer who wrote "La Petite Kurde" in 1992, wrote the book's afterword. And Joost Hiltermann, former head of the Human Rights Watch in Iraq, wrote the preface. The preface was followed with an introduction to the Kurdish question, from the end of the 19th century to the Treaty of Lausanne, which helps explain the context of the book's setting—the past 50 years.

I have also chosen to write 21 chapters for this book. 21, a symbolic number, since the sun in the center of the Kurdistan flag has 21 rays, and it is also the day of Newroz, March 21.

I consider the official recognition of the Kurdish genocide by France first, and then the entire international community participating in the rebirth of the Kurds, a people who have already shown resilience, as the name that I chose for my blog: The Kurdish Phoenix (Le Phénix Kurde, in French). But Kurds need recognition. Helping the victims heal their physical and moral wounds to allow them to rebuild themselves is a critical condition for helping Kurdistan move forward.

Disclaimer: the views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not explicitly and/or necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Kurdistan 24.

HYDROCARBON RICH KURDISTAN

ZeroWaste hopes to create a sustainable future for Kurdistan

“Through raising awareness, you can change the mentality of the people.”

 Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2023/07/07 

Evin Ghazi Harris, one of the founders of the Zero Waste (Photo: Evin Ghazi/ZeroWaste)
Kurdistan Environment CleanWaste Kurdistan


ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Evin Ghazi Harris, a co-founder of the ZeroWaste Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), founded in 2021, is dedicated to raising awareness about the perils of climate change and environmental pollution among the residents of the Kurdistan Region.

“We have decided to take this initiative to create a sustainable future for Kurdistan, as you can see, not only in Kurdistan, but in all of the world. Climate change is a dangerous issue and we have to take immediate action today in order to save the future,” she told Kurdistan 24.

“So we have done several activities such as planting campaigns, cleanup activities, and education campaigns. My main focus is on that because through raising awareness, you can change the mentality of the people.”

Read More: PM Masrour Barzani thanks activists and diplomats for clean-up campaign near Shaqlawa

Up until now, a significant number of citizens in the Kurdistan Region continue to litter when disposing of trash, exacerbating the issue. Much of the littering is done by picnickers that frequently leave behind substantial amounts of trash in the natural surroundings of the Kurdistan Region.

“They don’t clean the place after an outdoor visit. So we have to change this mentality in order to make a positive change in our community.”

“We have to change the policy from the first step to raise awareness of the dangers behind what will happen in 10 years in Kurdistan and how to create a caring community. So I have started by raising awareness in elementary school in universities for the young people and sharing my skills and experience to add value to their skill as well.”

Read More: US Consul General joins cleanup activity in Erbil

Last year, the then-US Consul General Robert Palladino participated in a cleanup effort together with ZeroWaste and other volunteers, which was supported by the American Corners and the US consulate.

Ghazi Harris hoped this “motivated and inspired others to do similar activities as well. So my main goal here is to inspire others and to be a role model for young people in my community.”

She added that in other countries there are many volunteering activities to cleanup and advertisements to protect the environment. “But here in Kurdistan we don't have that many environmental activities.”

Moreover, ZeroWaste has developed an action plan to reach out to other organizations, not just in Erbil, but also other cities in Kurdistan to work together and protect the environment.

ZeroWaste has also worked with a recycling company. “We have placed some space in public places just for plastics. So they have collected all the plastics and they will recycle it again to be used for the construction.”

Furthermore, the organization plans to do more cleanup activities in the future.


In April, ZeroWaste also published a Kurdish story book for new and future generations of children that will add value to their knowledge about the environment.

“This book contains stories of children who are making a difference in Kurdistan. It explores the story of two friends and how they are striving to enact change in their community or champion a cause they are passionate about. This is the perfect book for any young person looking for ideas and inspiration to make a change in the environmental sector.”