AFP

Houston under boil water order after treatment plant failure

28 Nov 2022

Authorities in the US city of Houston ordered residents to boil their water before drinking it after a power outage at a treatment plant, leaving classes and other activities canceled Monday.

Houston, the biggest city in Texas and the fourth-largest in the United States, is home to 2.2 million people and is an important base for the energy, aeronautics and health care industries.

“A boil water notice has been issued for the City of Houston,” the municipality posted on Twitter Sunday night.

“Everyone should boil the water before drinking, cooking, bathing, and brushing their teeth,” the city’s account said.

A power outage at three purification plants Sunday led to a drop in water pressure below the threshold allowed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), Governor Greg Abbott’s office said, triggering the boil water notice and requiring safety testing of the city’s water supply. 

The cause and duration of the power outage are still under investigation, local officials said.

Following the order, Houston Independent School District said “schools, offices and facilities” were closed Monday, though several nearby suburban districts said most or all of their schools were unaffected and remained open. 

The office of Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a tweet they “believe the water is safe but based on regulatory requirements when pressure drops below 20 psi we are obligated to issue a boil water notice.”

The TCEQ planned to sample and test water throughout the day Monday to determine whether the boil order could be lifted by Monday night or Tuesday morning, Turner’s office said.

“The State of Texas is immediately responding and deploying support to Houston as they work to get a safe supply of water back online,” Abbott said Sunday night. 

The boil order comes after a winter storm and subsequent cold spell in February 2021 saw pipes burst throughout Texas and left much of the state of nearly 30 million people without potable water for several days. 

The fellow southern US city of Jackson, Mississippi was without safe drinking water for several weeks earlier this year when floods disrupted operations at a critical treatment plant.

Irish regulator fines Meta 265 mn euros over data breach

29 Nov 2022

Ireland’s data regulator on Monday slapped Facebook owner Meta with a 265-million-euro ($275-million) fine after details of more than half a billion users were leaked on a hacking website.

The Data Protection Commission (DPC) said it had reached the decision following a “comprehensive inquiry process, including cooperation with all of the other data protection supervisory authorities within the EU”.

Meta’s European operations are based in Dublin, along with a number of other major global tech companies including Google, Apple and Twitter.

As a result, Ireland’s data protection agency is the lead regulator responsible for holding them to account. 

The watchdog found the social media behemoth led by Mark Zuckerberg had breached two articles of the EU’s data protection laws.

In addition to the fine, the DPC said it had “imposed a reprimand and an order” requiring the Facebook owner to “bring its processing into compliance by taking a range of specified remedial actions within a particular timeframe”.

In response to the fine, a Meta spokesperson said the firm had “cooperated fully” with the DPC on the issue.

The tech firm had previously said the data was “scraped” from the site by hackers in 2019, who took advantage of a feature designed to help people easily find friends using contact lists.

“We made changes to our systems during the time in question, including removing the ability to scrape our features in this way using phone numbers,” the spokesperson said.

“Unauthorised data scraping is unacceptable and against our rules and we will continue working with our peers on this industry challenge. We are reviewing this decision carefully,” they added.

– EU fears –

The Irish watchdog launched its probe in April 2021 to determine whether the EU-wide General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) charter on data rights and the corresponding Irish legislation had been infringed.

Under the GDPR, which came into effect in 2018, social media users have a wider range of rights relating to their data.

The fine follows a landmark decision by the Irish watchdog to fine Meta a record 405 million euros in September after its Instagram platform was found to have breached regulations on the handling of children’s data.

In July 2019, Facebook was fined a record $5 billion by the US federal authorities over its privacy controls in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

In September 2021, the DPC also fined WhatsApp — Meta’s instant messaging application — 225 million euros for failing to comply with its transparency rules for data transfers.

And in France, the CNIL national data watchdog fined Facebook 60 million euros in January 2022 for its use of online “cookies”, the digital trackers used to target advertising.

In recent weeks, the European Union has voiced its fears over a fall in standards in data privacy and content moderation amid widespread job losses in the tech sector.

Meta said earlier this month it planned to lay off more than 11,000 staff amid an advertising slump.

The micro-blogging platform Twitter has attracted similar criticisms following its acquisition by Elon Musk in October.

Tech entrepreneur Musk cut around half of Twitter’s 7,500-strong workforce, including many employees tasked with fighting disinformation, when he bought the firm.

Ukraine war increases chemical weapons threat: watchdog

28 Nov 2022

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has increased the threat from weapons of mass destruction including chemical munitions, the head of the world’s toxic arms watchdog said on Monday.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine, its chief Fernando Arias told the regulator’s annual meeting.

“The situation in Ukraine has again increased the real threat posed by weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons,” Arias told the meeting in The Hague.

“It has exacerbated existing tensions to a point where unity of the international community on common global challenges related to international security and peace cannot be presumed.”

International disarmament bodies like the Nobel Peace Prize-winning OPCW “now have become places for confrontation and disagreement”, Arias lamented.

Threats and allegations about the possible use of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons have been traded since the war in Ukraine began in February, but with no evidence they have been deployed.

Arias reminded Russia and Ukraine that they were among 193 countries that have “solemnly and voluntarily committed never under any circumstances to… use chemical weapons”.

He said the OPCW “continues to closely monitor this serious situation and remains in contact with the permanent representations of the Russian Federation and Ukraine”.

The OPCW has provided Ukraine, at its request, with training for first responders for chemical attacks and for the detection of chemical leaks, Arias said.

– ‘Preposterous’ –

Russia’s ally Syria meanwhile remained in “serious failure to comply” with the watchdog on its chemical weapons, the director-general said.

Damascus had refused to give a visa to an OPCW inspector and had failed to complete any of the measures demanded by the regulator, said Arias.

Syria denies the use of chemical weapons and insists it has handed over its stockpiles under a 2013 deal, prompted by a suspected sarin gas attack that killed 1,400 in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta.

But Syria was stripped of its OPCW voting rights in 2021 after a probe blamed it for further poison gas attacks.

Western countries criticised both Russia and Syria at the meeting.

US under secretary of state for arms control and international security Bonnie Jenkins slammed Russia’s “preposterous, unfounded, and alarming” allegations about Ukrainian use or plans to use chemical arms.

Jenkins also accused Russia of chemical weapons use in the Novichok nerve agent attacks on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in the English city of Salisbury in 2018 and Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny in Russia in 2020.

Russia denies any involvement in either incident.

Syria meanwhile “has shown only contempt” for the OPCW, the US official said.

British junior defence minister Annabel Goldie said that “Russia’s war (in Ukraine) is not something we can ignore here in the OPCW”.

“We have seen this pattern of deceitful behaviour in Syria and now we are seeing it in Ukraine,” Goldie said.

Equities, oil prices slide on China unrest

28 Nov 2022

Stocks and oil prices fell Monday on concerns about protests across China calling for political freedoms and an end to the government’s hardline zero-Covid policy, fuelling uncertainty in the world’s number-two economy.

Hundreds of people took to the streets in China at the weekend in the country’s biggest demonstrations since pro-democracy rallies in 1989 were crushed.

“Unrest in major cities in China has destabilised risk-on markets including oil which is under pressure, pushing BP and Shell towards the bottom of the UK index,” noted Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor.

China-linked stocks took the brunt of selling in Asia, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closing down more than one percent and Shanghai off 0.8 percent. The yuan slipped by around one percent.

The unrest also left Wall Street and European markets in a sea of red.

“Sentiment has turned sour as unrest across China grows,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes. 

“Risk of the situation escalating from here and short-term volatility remains high.”

A deadly fire in the Xinjiang region Thursday served as the catalyst for the public anger in China, with many blaming virus lockdowns for hampering rescue efforts.

People have taken to the streets in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu calling for an end to lockdowns, after an easing of some measures had fuelled hopes of a lighter pandemic approach.

Some demonstrators were even demanding the resignation of China’s President Xi Jinping, who was recently re-appointed to a precedent-breaking third term as the country’s leader.

The latest targeted containment measures have been introduced as the country sees record-high Covid infections.

China’s “zero covid policy means the threat of more growth-choking lockdowns are there. This is going to hold back the yuan and Chinese stocks, and potentially risk assets outside of China – not least crude oil, as we have seen”, City Index analyst Fawad Razaqzada said in a note.

The prospect of a hit to demand in the world’s biggest crude importer hammered oil prices, with both main contracts down more than two percent.

– Eyes on Fed boss –

The weakness “isn’t just about China. The reports out of China have also become a good excuse to take some money off the table following a big run by the market”, Briefing.com analyst Patrick J O’Hare said in a note.

The selling has taken a bit out of recent gains across markets sparked by hopes of a slowdown in the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes, with inflation finally showing signs of softening.

However, some observers said the protests could provide long-term benefits as they could force President Xi to shift away from his strict, economically damaging measures sooner.

Investors were also looking ahead to the release of US jobs data at the end of the week, which could provide clues about the Fed’s next moves, while speeches by central bank boss Jerome Powell and other key policymakers will also be pored over.

– Key figures around 1430 GMT –

London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,467.53 points

Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.8 percent at 14,424.03

Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.7 percent at 6,666.43

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,938.64

New York – Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 34,272.70

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 28,162.83 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.6 percent at 17,297.94 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,078.55 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0443 from $1.0403 on Friday

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 138.59 yen from 139.03 yen

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2046 from $1.2087

Euro/pound: UP at 86.66 pence from 86.03 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.3 percent at $74.50 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 2.7 percent at $81.35 per barrel

Equities, oil prices slide on China unrest

28 Nov 2022

Stocks and oil prices fell Monday on concerns about protests across China calling for political freedoms and an end to the government’s hardline zero-Covid policy, fuelling uncertainty in the world’s number-two economy.

Hundreds of people took to the streets in China at the weekend in the country’s biggest demonstrations since pro-democracy rallies in 1989 were crushed.

“Unrest in major cities in China has destabilised risk-on markets including oil which is under pressure, pushing BP and Shell towards the bottom of the UK index,” noted Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor.

China-linked stocks took the brunt of selling in Asia, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closing down more than one percent and Shanghai off 0.8 percent. The yuan slipped by around one percent.

The unrest also left Wall Street and European markets in a sea of red.

“Sentiment has turned sour as unrest across China grows,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes. 

“Risk of the situation escalating from here and short-term volatility remains high.”

A deadly fire in the Xinjiang region Thursday served as the catalyst for the public anger in China, with many blaming virus lockdowns for hampering rescue efforts.

People have taken to the streets in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu calling for an end to lockdowns, after an easing of some measures had fuelled hopes of a lighter pandemic approach.

Some demonstrators were even demanding the resignation of China’s President Xi Jinping, who was recently re-appointed to a precedent-breaking third term as the country’s leader.

The latest targeted containment measures have been introduced as the country sees record-high Covid infections.

China’s “zero covid policy means the threat of more growth-choking lockdowns are there. This is going to hold back the yuan and Chinese stocks, and potentially risk assets outside of China – not least crude oil, as we have seen”, City Index analyst Fawad Razaqzada said in a note.

The prospect of a hit to demand in the world’s biggest crude importer hammered oil prices, with both main contracts down more than two percent.

– Eyes on Fed boss –

The weakness “isn’t just about China. The reports out of China have also become a good excuse to take some money off the table following a big run by the market”, Briefing.com analyst Patrick J O’Hare said in a note.

The selling has taken a bit out of recent gains across markets sparked by hopes of a slowdown in the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes, with inflation finally showing signs of softening.

However, some observers said the protests could provide long-term benefits as they could force President Xi to shift away from his strict, economically damaging measures sooner.

Investors were also looking ahead to the release of US jobs data at the end of the week, which could provide clues about the Fed’s next moves, while speeches by central bank boss Jerome Powell and other key policymakers will also be pored over.

– Key figures around 1430 GMT –

London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,467.53 points

Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.8 percent at 14,424.03

Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.7 percent at 6,666.43

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,938.64

New York – Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 34,272.70

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 28,162.83 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.6 percent at 17,297.94 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,078.55 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0443 from $1.0403 on Friday

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 138.59 yen from 139.03 yen

Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2046 from $1.2087

Euro/pound: UP at 86.66 pence from 86.03 pence

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.3 percent at $74.50 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 2.7 percent at $81.35 per barrel

Hawaii volcano, world's largest, erupts for first time in decades

28 Nov 2022

Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano in the world, has erupted for the first time in nearly 40 years, US authorities said, as emergency crews went on alert early Monday.

Flows of lava remained “contained” within the summit caldera of Mauna Loa, but the eruption could pose a threat to nearby residents should conditions change, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported at 11:45 pm local time Sunday (9:45 GMT Monday) some 15 minutes after the eruption inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

“At this time, lava flows are contained within the summit area and are not threatening downslope communities,” the USGS said on its website, noting that residents of the area should review preparedness procedures.

While the eruption on the main island of the remote US state in the Pacific remains confined within the basin at the top of the volcano, called the caldera, “if the eruptive vents migrate outside its walls, lava flows may move rapidly downslope,” according to the USGS.

Hours later on Monday morning the USGS volcano monitoring office tweeted: “Lava does seem to have flowed outside the caldera, but for now the eruptive vents remain confined to the caldera.”

The agency said the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory was in consultation with emergency management personnel and its staff would conduct an aerial reconnaissance over the 13,674-foot (4,168-meter) volcano as soon as possible.

Hawaii authorities said no evacuation orders have been given, although the summit area and several roads in the region were closed.

A USGS webcam on Mauna Loa summit’s north rim showed long bright eruptive fissures within the volcanic crater, contrasted against the dark of night.

The Hawaiian islands are home to six active volcanoes. Mauna Loa, the largest on Earth, has erupted 33 times since 1843, according to USGS. 

The most recent eruption, in 1984, lasted 22 days and produced lava flows which reached to within about seven kilometers (four miles) of Hilo, a city which is home to about 44,000 people today.

Hawaii volcano, world's largest, erupts for first time in decades

28 Nov 2022

Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano in the world, has erupted for the first time in nearly 40 years, US authorities said, as emergency crews went on alert early Monday.

Flows of lava remained “contained” within the summit caldera of Mauna Loa, but the eruption could pose a threat to nearby residents should conditions change, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported at 11:45 pm local time Sunday (9:45 GMT Monday) some 15 minutes after the eruption inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

“At this time, lava flows are contained within the summit area and are not threatening downslope communities,” the USGS said on its website, noting that residents of the area should review preparedness procedures.

While the eruption on the main island of the remote US state in the Pacific remains confined within the basin at the top of the volcano, called the caldera, “if the eruptive vents migrate outside its walls, lava flows may move rapidly downslope,” according to the USGS.

Hours later on Monday morning the USGS volcano monitoring office tweeted: “Lava does seem to have flowed outside the caldera, but for now the eruptive vents remain confined to the caldera.”

The agency said the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory was in consultation with emergency management personnel and its staff would conduct an aerial reconnaissance over the 13,674-foot (4,168-meter) volcano as soon as possible.

Hawaii authorities said no evacuation orders have been given, although the summit area and several roads in the region were closed.

A USGS webcam on Mauna Loa summit’s north rim showed long bright eruptive fissures within the volcanic crater, contrasted against the dark of night.

The Hawaiian islands are home to six active volcanoes. Mauna Loa, the largest on Earth, has erupted 33 times since 1843, according to USGS. 

The most recent eruption, in 1984, lasted 22 days and produced lava flows which reached to within about seven kilometers (four miles) of Hilo, a city which is home to about 44,000 people today.

Saudi unveils plan for massive new airport in capital

28 Nov 2022

Saudi Arabia on Monday announced plans for a new airport in Riyadh intended to spur rapid growth in the capital while advancing the kingdom’s ambitious aviation goals. 

The airport, set to accommodate 120 million travellers by 2030 and 185 million travellers by 2050, will be named after 86-year-old King Salman and was announced by his son, 37-year-old de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. 

“The airport project is in line with Saudi Arabia’s vision to transform Riyadh to be among the top ten city economies in the world and to support the growth of Riyadh’s population to 15–20 million people by 2030,” SPA said. 

The city’s current population is fewer than eight million. 

Saudi Arabia’s aviation goals, part of Prince Mohammed’s wide-ranging “Vision 2030” reforms, include more than tripling annual traffic to 330 million passengers by the end of the decade. 

It also wants to draw $100 billion in investments to the sector by 2030, establish a new national flag carrier and move up to five million tonnes of cargo each year. 

The new airport is expected to be able to process 3.5 million tons of cargo by 2050, SPA said. 

It “will boost Riyadh’s position as a global logistics hub, stimulate transport, trade and tourism, and act as a bridge linking the East with the West,” SPA said. 

The announcement did not provide information about the cost of the project, which has been designed to cover 57 square kilometres. 

“With sustainability at its core, the new airport will achieve LEED Platinum certification by incorporating cutting edge green initiatives into its design and will be powered by renewable energy,” SPA said, referring to the green building certification programme. 

The kingdom’s busiest international airport is currently in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah, the self-avowed “Gateway to Mecca” for millions of Muslims performing the hajj and umrah pilgrimages. 

But officials have in recent years tried to position Riyadh, in central Saudi Arabia, as a rival to business hub Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Australia falls short in Great Barrier Reef efforts: experts

28 Nov 2022

Despite warnings, Australia’s efforts to save the Great Barrier Reef still fall short of protecting the world’s largest coral reef system from pollution and climate change, experts said Monday.

Australia had taken unprecedented steps towards the protection of the Great Barrier Reef, which the United Nations has designated a world heritage site, but more was needed to avoid the site being declared “in danger” by UNESCO, the UN agency which compiles and manages a list of heritage sites.

Such a designation puts a government on notice that a site could be removed from the World Heritage list altogether, a very rare event.

“Despite the unparalleled science and management efforts” made by Australia over recent years, the Great Barrier Reef is  “significantly impacted by climate change factors”, Eleanor Carter at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and UNESCO representative Hans Thulstrup said in a report based on a mission to the Reef.

“The resilience of the property to recover from climate change impacts is substantially compromised,” they said.

Carter and Thulstrup recommended that the reef should be added to the “World Heritage in Danger” list.

The Australian government in January announced a billion-dollar package to protect the reef, seven years after its “Reef 2050” plan, already a response to a UN downgrade threat.

The Climate Council pressure group said this latest package of funding was like putting “a Band-Aid on a broken leg”.

Monday’s report echoed that assessment, saying the reef’s ability to recover from climate change impacts was “substantially compromised”.

In particular, Australian strategies were “lacking clear climate change targets”, while some measures were not fully implemented, especially concerning “water quality and fisheries activities”, it said.

Australia reported in May that 91 percent of the reef’s coral had been damaged by bleaching after a prolonged summer heatwave, a process that increases the mortality rates of the affected corals.

After intense lobbying, Australia narrowly avoided the Reef being placed on UNESCO’s “in danger” list in the summer of 2021.

The then-government of conservative prime minister Scott Morrison was voted out this year in favour of a centre-left government under Anthony Albanese who has promised greener policies.

A UNESCO spokesperson told AFP that “a constructive dialogue is ongoing with the current government”.

A source close to the matter called Monday’s report “a roadmap submitted to the Australian government which should say what it intends to do with it and produce results”.

The source added: “The path to saving the Great Barrier Reef is narrow, but it exists. Strong and rapid action can produce results.”.

To be included on UNESCO’s world heritage list, a site must have “outstanding universal value”.

An spot on the list usually means boosted tourism, and improved access to funds and to scientific expertise. 

Those benefits are threatened when a site is declared “in danger” — which is currently the case of about 50 sites worldwide.

Only three sites have ever been dropped from the heritage list completely.

Activists file legal challenge over Finnish climate inaction

29 Nov 2022

Environmental organisations in Finland on Monday filed a legal challenge accusing the government of breaking its own commitments to protect the climate, the first challenge of its kind in the country.

In July, Finland passed the Climate Change Act, which aims to make the country carbon-neutral by 2035. 

But the environmental groups say the government had ignored its own laws by failing to protect the Nordic nation’s carbon sinks.

Carbon sinks are natural systems, such as forests, that absorb carbon from the atmosphere and store it in, for example, vegetation and soil.

“The government has violated its own Climate Change Act by not taking a decision on additional measures to meet Finland’s climate targets,” Hanna Aho, Policy Officer for the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (FANC), told AFP.

“As a result, it seems very unlikely that climate targets will be met,” Aho said.

The FANC and Greenpeace, which jointly mounted the legal challenge, say carbon sinks in Finland have “collapsed” due to an increase in logging and to slower tree growth. 

The most recent chance for the government to address the issue was its Annual Climate Report in October but that still lacked the necessary “assessment on measures to protect the sinks”, Aho said.

“Logging has not been restricted, even though it is known to be the most important factor affecting the size of carbon sinks,” she added.

The organisations petitioned the country’s Supreme Administrative Court to overrule the government’s decision to submit the report without “additional measures to enhance carbon sinks”.

The groups said the report should be sent back to the drawing board because it was not in line with the Climate Change Act.

“Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s government’s inaction is in stark contrast to the obligations of the Climate Change Act,” Aho said.

It will be up to the court to decide whether or not to hear the case.

In recent years, Finland has struggled to balance its climate ambitions with its forestry industry, which is an important part of its economy.

In 2020, Finnish foresty product exports were worth 10.4 billion euros, amounting to 18 percent of the country’s total exports. 

A growing number of organisations and individuals around the world have turned to the courts to challenge what they see as government inaction on the climate.

More than 600 activists in neighbouring Sweden, including Greta Thunberg, filed a lawsuit on Friday accusing the state of climate inaction, also a first in the country.

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