Armoured vehicles to Haiti, Nexus closure concerns : In The News for Oct. 17

The co-ordinated shipment is a joint operation between Canada and the U.S.

A standoff between a gang federation and Haiti’s government is testing how much power both sides wield and threatens to further derail a paralyzed country where millions of people are struggling to find fuel and water.

Trudeau said in a statement posted online the equipment will be used to fight against violent criminal gangs and help improve security.

Canada said in a statement with the U.S. it remains committed to supporting the Haitian National Police and its effort to train more officers.

The equipment arrived more than a month after one of Haiti’s most powerful gangs surrounded a fuel terminal and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

Demonstrators also have blocked roads in major cities to protest a sharp rise in fuel prices after Henry announced in early September that his administration could no longer afford to subsidize fuel.

—

Also this …

The Business Council of Canada says it is concerned over the continued closure of the Nexus trusted-traveller program, which allows pre-screened travellers expedited processing when entering the United States and Canada.

CEO Goldy Hyder says it is “deeply troubling” that the U.S. government has not reopened 13 Nexus enrolment centres, in a letter to David Cohen, the American ambassador to Canada, obtained by The Canadian Press.

The two countries are in dispute over a long-standing request by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency that its agents be afforded the same legal protections inside Nexus facilities in Canada that they currently have at ports of entry like airports and the Canada-U.S. border.

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino has cited the principles of Canadian sovereignty in explaining why U.S. customs officers can’t have the same legal protections at Nexus centres that they do at airports and the border.

Hyder says in his letter to Cohen that he fears the dispute will hurt businesses whose employees do not already have a Nexus card and he strongly urges the ambassador to recommend reopening the enrolment centres.

His comments come on the heels of Canada’s envoy to the U.S. saying the program is being “held hostage” by unilateral American efforts to renegotiate the preclearance agreement between the United States and its northern neighbour.

—

What we are watching in the U.S. …

On Monday, disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes will play one of her last cards to avoid a prison sentence when a federal judge questions a key prosecution witness who expressed post-trial regrets about testimony that helped convince a jury to convict her for investor fraud.

That witness, former Theranos lab director Adam Rosendorff, made an uninvited visit to Holmes’ Silicon Valley home in August. While he didn’t speak to Holmes directly, Rosendorff told her partner William Evans that “he tried to answer the questions honestly but that the prosecutors tried to make everyone look bad” and felt “he had done something wrong,” according to court documents.

Prosecutors have scoffed at the notion that Rosendorff’s attempt to see Holmes casts any doubts on his testimony.

U.S. District Judge Edward said during a Zoom hearing Friday that he intends to ask Rosendorff a few questions about why he visited Holmes’ home and whether the visit was driven by any doubts about the testimony he gave under oath during six days of the trial last year.

Holmes, 38, is facing up to 20 years in prison for misleading investors about the progress her once-heralded startup Theranos was making with new blood-testing methods. She was supposed to be sentenced Monday, but the judge postponed that hearing once the Rosendorff questions arose. The judge set a new sentencing date for Holmes on Nov. 18.<

—

What we are watching in the rest of the world …

Explosive-laden suicide drones have struck Ukraine’s capital as families were preparing to start their week, the blasts echoing across Kyiv and sending people scurrying to shelters. Kyiv city Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the capital’s central Shevchenko district was hit, damaging several apartment blocks and setting fire to a non-residential building. There was no immediate word on casualties. The drones’ intended targets weren’t immediately clear but Russian strikes over the past week have hit infrastructure, including power facilities. Witnesses posted videos of drones buzzing across bright morning skies over Kyiv and of what sounded like gunshots of people trying to shoot them down.

—

On this day in 1995 …

The Toronto Raptors made their debut, at the SkyDome (now Rogers Centre) in Toronto, in an exhibition game against the Atlanta Hawks.

—

In entertainment …

Is Shakespeare still relevant to today’s students? New Zealand’s arts council appears to have its doubts after ending funding for a popular school Shakespeare program. The independent but tax-funded council said the Shakespeare program relied too heavily on busy schools, failed to show relevance to “the contemporary art context” and relied on a genre “located within a canon of imperialism.” But many have taken issue with the decision by Creative New Zealand, including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who was once a student thespian.

—

Did you see this?

It’s getting harder to make ice in Winnipeg, a city known for its frigid winters.

Warmer summers and sudden shifts in temperature in the spring and fall have made it difficult for the older refrigeration systems in Winnipeg’s municipal arenas to get the cement slab sufficiently cold.

In the case of ice rinks, refrigeration has historically meant moving the “waste heat” outdoors through a coolant system. That’s an increasingly big challenge as Canadian arena operators have to run their ice plants longer and at higher power to counteract warmer outdoor temperatures while also trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and not add to the warmer environment.

Ammonia-based coolants are the most common in North American arenas. Although ammonia is highly toxic in confined spaces it has zero carbon emissions. Freon-based systems are being phased out as that chemical has a 100-year global warming potential of 1,810 or nearly 2,000 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide refrigeration systems are also in use in some arenas, but they are not as widespread as either ammonia- or Freon-based systems.

Winnipeg operates 12 rinks, with 10 using ammonia-based cooling systems. The other two use Freon, which is being grandfathered out of arenas and other larger refrigeration systems across North America because of its global warming potential.

—

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2022.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Armoured vehicles to Haiti, Nexus closure concerns : In The News for Oct. 17

Pro Tips