Posts in category: Don Lichterman

New Delhi [India], March 15 (ANI): Congress leader Pramod Tiwari on Wednesday gave a suspension of business notice under rule 267 in Rajya Sabha, demanding discussion on the Adani Group issue.

The notice submitted by Pramod Tiwari, read, “I hereby give notice under Rule 267 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) of my intention to move the following motion for the suspension of business listed for 15 March 2023”.

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In a notice addressed to Rajya Sabha Chairman, Tiwari further said, “That this House do suspend Zero Hour and relevant rules relating to Question Hour and other businesses of the day to discuss the Government’s questionable role in promoting business interests of the Adani Group, including through inaction on serious charges of corporate fraud, political corruption, stock-market manipulation and financial mismanagement, illegal coal mine allocations, negotiations with foreign countries for big-ticket projects, etc.”

Earlier on Tuesday, for the second consecutive day, the Rajya Sabha faced adjournment amid pandemonium as treasury benches sought an apology from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remarks in London on democracy in India and the Opposition objecting to the matter and demanding a Joint Parliamentary probe into the Adani Group.

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In a veiled attack on Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Rajya Sabha Piyush Goyal raised the matter, pointing “this is the first time” that a Member of Parliament used words against the democracy of India while his visit outside the country, and sought his apology.

“He (Rahul Gandhi) should apologise…,” said Goyal.

However, the Opposition members sought a probe into the Adani Group by a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) and accused the Centre of being silent on a report by a US firm that alleged stock manipulation and accounting fraud by the group.

The members on both sides– the Opposition and the treasury benches– were sloganeering leading to chaos in the Upper House. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)

For decades, the environmental and human cost of mining minerals like lithium and cobalt has largely been hidden from Europe’s view. That’s about to change.

As the EU looks to diversify its supply of critical raw materials away from China, it wants to make it easier to tap into domestic reserves of the minerals it needs to build green technology like wind turbines and solar panels.

But locals and green campaigners warn that slashing red tape for extraction projects risks taking a wrecking ball to decades of work to preserve nature and biodiversity, pointing out that mining can cause serious water and soil pollution and lead to deforestation and biodiversity loss.

In Tréguennec, a coastal area in Brittany in northwestern France, locals are living above what they say feels like a time bomb. Some 130 meters below their homes lies the country’s second-largest deposit of lithium, a key component of the batteries used to power electric cars.

Mining that so-called “white gold” would involve digging up a protected nature reserve located on a migratory route for birds and destroying “something that took millions of years to create,” said Philippe Spetz, a 69-year-old pensioner who lives in Tréguennec. “We will never get nature back,” he warned.

No company has applied to extract the resource yet. At the time, Bérangère Abba, who was then France’s junior minister for biodiversity, promised to “strike a balance” between protecting nature and mineral extraction. But locals and green groups worry the scales won’t tip in their favor.

This clash between Europe’s appetite for critical raw materials and its nature protection ambitions — already playing out across the Continent, with local protests against new mining projects in Portugal, Germany, Sweden and Spain — is only set to intensify after Brussels next week sets out new legislation to accelerate mining activities.

An undated draft of the rules, obtained by POLITICO, suggests the European Commission may allow strategic mining plans to be designated as so-called projects of overriding public interest, which would give them priority in the event of conflicts with other EU legislation, for example with species conservation law.

That echoes calls from industry groups, backed by liberal and conservative lawmakers, who argue that Europe can’t boost its supplies of key minerals without softening stringent environmental requirements that make opening new mines a major bureaucratic headache.

“I think that the way that we mine in Europe is probably … one of the best ones in the world. But we don’t get permitted to do mining,” said Mikael Staffas, CEO and president of Swedish mining firm Boliden. He added that Europe “happily [imports] metals from other parts of the world” that mine with far lower environmental standards.

But environmentalists and indigenous groups argue that the EU’s nature protection rules are a necessary safeguard, and that destroying local biodiversity in a quest to secure materials to become climate neutral would be counterproductive.

“We’re talking about this green transition. For me, it’s not green, it is black, because it’s going to destroy the rest of the nature that we have left,” said Matti Blind Berg, who heads the National Confederation of the Swedish Sami. His community in the northern town of Kiruna has been fighting the expansion of the world’s largest iron-ore mine, which he argues has displaced locals and threatens their ability to herd reindeer.

Faster drilling 

Getting the green light for a new mining project in Europe can take up to 15 years — something the EU wants to fix in its Critical Raw Materials Act.

According to the draft, the Commission will allow mining projects designated as strategic to benefit from permitting deadlines of two years, with the aim of putting the bloc on track to lessen its dependency on imports more quickly.

While the EU can’t supply all of the raw materials it needs, its most important lithium projects, for example, could satisfy 25 percent to 35 percent of Europe’s demand by the end of the decade, according to Michael Schmidt, a research associate at the German Mineral Resources Agency. Currently, some 78 percent of the bloc’s lithium comes from Chile.

Mining companies have long argued that permitting can only be sped up if the EU also agrees to relax some environmental rules.

The EU’s water laws, for example, require companies to pass “very high thresholds,” such as “zero emissions to water,” which is “quite difficult to do,” said Kerstin Brinnen, legal counsel at LKAB, a government-owned Swedish mining company.

Mining projects in protected areas, while allowed, also need to undergo an additional impact assessment to show they won’t harm the integrity of the site. 

The industry has taken steps to minimize its environmental impact and compensate for damage to biodiversity, said Brinnen. But despite those efforts, “some kind of impact on the surrounding” area is “unavoidable.”

Treating mining activities as projects of overriding public interest would solve a number of those issues, she said. Industry bodies Eurometaux and Euromines have called for similar measures.

Because a majority of the bloc’s known reserves of critical raw materials are located in or near protected areas, the EU will have to make concessions to nature protection if it wants to exploit them, industry leaders say.

“Mining cannot be moved,” said Boliden CEO Staffas. “So unless you’re willing to kind of accept that, then the whole Critical Raw Materials Act will not really make any difference” because it won’t in fact make it any easier to start new mining projects.

That argument is getting traction among some liberal and conservative lawmakers in the European Parliament.

“We keep expanding protected areas, and we can’t afford that anymore right now,” said Hildegard Bentele, an MEP with the conservative European People’s Party.

Speaking during a plenary debate last month, MEP Emma Wiesner of the Renew Europe group said: “We can’t on the one hand say we want more raw materials and minerals. And then on the other hand, go regulate so it’s impossible to open a new mine in Europe.”

Protecting biodiversity

Conservationists insist the EU’s nature laws are there for a reason.

“Especially in light of the climate crisis and the high rate of biodiversity loss, the priority cannot simply be: more mining, more mining,” said Michael Reckordt, section head for raw materials at the NGO PowerShift. 

Green groups have long fought against the expansion of mining in Europe, favoring efforts to reduce consumption and source raw materials through other means, including by recycling and developing alternative materials.

In light of Brussels’ new plan, they’re now calling for EU nature laws to be upheld.

“If mining was really green, then [following existing environmental] legislation shouldn’t be an issue” for the industry, said Diego Marin, policy officer for raw materials and resource justice at the European Environmental Bureau, an NGO. 

But campaigners are pessimistic about their concerns being heard. Their call for an explicit ban on mining activities in the bloc’s Natura 2000 network of protected areas so far only has the backing of one group — the Greens.

NGOs lament that the Commission has tasked its internal market department, rather than the environment department, with leading work on its Critical Raw Materials Act.

“I would like to see much more engagement from DG Environment in this file,” said Marin. “For the time being they have let DG GROW pretty much just take it on.” 

The fear is that the focus of the legislation will be on ramping up raw material supply at all costs, rather than limiting the impact of mining on the environment.

Asked about his department’s input, Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius told POLITICO in a written statement he is “actively engaged in drafting the proposal” and primarily focused on ensuring that raw materials are recycled as much as possible — both to “secure the supply” and “save energy.” The internal market department declined to comment.

NGOs and experts warn that the Commission is shooting itself in the foot if it ignores the environmental concerns being raised in places like Tréguennec, where residents have vowed to protest any new mining projects, potentially derailing the EU’s goals.

“I think we have to be looking much more squarely at the longer term impacts” of mining projects on communities, warned Julie Klinger, an assistant geography professor at the University of Delaware.

“If we don’t actually take proper care at the outset, then this idea of Europe becoming a climate-neutral continent through provisioning its own critical raw materials is … sort of doomed from the outset.”

CORRECTION: This article has been updated to correct that Bérangère Abba is France’s former junior minister for biodiversity.

There are few rural music festivals that could hope to attract musicians and audiences from at least three states, let alone find not one but two state arts ministers in enthusiastic attendance! But the Orange Chamber Music Festival managed to pull this off, despite being only three years old.

I should explain that Don Harwin, now retired from Parliament, was there in a personal capacity, having begun funding the Orange Chamber Music Festival when in office. But Ben Franklin, current Minister, must have torn himself away from electioneering in the imminent NSW Election, staying overnight to make sure that his 2023 grant from Create NSW was being well spent – also perhaps hoping to pick up a few Liberal votes in independent Orange.

The Festival itself has a magical foundation story. Two musos were visiting one of Orange’s renowned wineries and put it to the vigneron that the town was ripe for music. Tom Ward agreed, and set to to accommodate this whim. Four years later, he’s Chair of the Board, Carmen Nieves is the Festival Director, and her husband Jay Byrnes is both on the artistic committee and performing several times with saxophone in hand.

At the Festival Gala, for instance, Byrnes’ baritone instrument was wielded in front of Queensland’s visiting Camerata chamber orchestra for the world premier of Nicholas Russoniello’s Saxophone Concerto. Actually, it was for Baritone, Strings and You – and an enthusiastic audience in the vast Kinross Wolaroi School Hall was engaged throughout in adding its choreographed actions to the very accessible music.

Byrnes played with panache and the string band more than justified the cost of bringing them all down from Brisbane. For the festival has a policy, where possible, of programming musicians who aren’t normally heard in Sydney and Canberra. For that’s where the organisers want audiences to trek west from. Maybe even Melbourne?

Indeed, there was a merry group organised by Renaissance Tours getting VIP seating in a variety of halls. For that’s another policy – engage many different venues around town, such as a musical lunch in a remote convent building, or a Sunday morning concert in the CWA hall, so that a broad cross-section of the community becomes invested in the Festival.

And is it possible that the Festival’s prominence has lifted Orange’s musicality to the point that the 30-year-old local conservatorium – home of several concerts – now needs to come up with a new building? One could see why, when the Digital Debussy concert featuring the somewhat unconvincing combination invented by the composer – flute, viola and harp – attracted at least three young budding harpists to get close up to Emily Granger’s performance.

This was, however, the least successful event for me, despite another world premiere from Sally Whitwell. Her Pas d’action worked quite as well as Debussy’s sonata, but it seemed that any two of the trio could make beautiful music together, while the third invariably missed out. Still, it was a good excuse to tour the Regional Gallery, with a strong permanent collection revealed and a superb exhibition of English sculptor Laurence Edwards’ monumental bronzes.

Top of the pops for me was David Greco’s Winterreise song cycle at the unhelpful time of 11 in the morning. Despite this, Greco’s resonant baritone was rich, especially in the lower register. And his harmony with pianist Vatche Jambazian was such that their combined theatricality communicated much of the emotion of this angst-ridden journey without a need for surtitles. Greco added to the drama by wondering in his intro whether Schubert was subtly making a political point about diminished freedom in Vienna at that time.

In residence with Camerata is the Orava Quartet. They gave a separate concert in which Erwin Schulhoff’s Five Pieces was the highlight. And during the earlier Festival Gala, the Orava boys added great vigour to Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings, but slightly deformed the glorious sweep of the strings in Elgar’s Introduction and Allegro with their solo participation. It’s a sweep that I can never separate from Ken Russell’s Elgar film, accompanying the young composer riding a white pony across the Malvern Hills via the Royal Philharmonic’s broadest of brushes.

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Sunday morning saw the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra in quintet form transport us to Vienna as we perched on delicate golden chairs in the CWA hall. Perhaps not quite as historically informed as claimed, their Mozart Clarinet Quintet certainly showed off the mastery of the basset horn developed by Nicole van Bruggen during her years in Europe. ARCO’s tour of this program continues to Canberra and Sydney.

The Festival’s confidence continues with a barcode on the back cover of the program offering the chance to buy tickets for next year’s event, 7-10 March 2024.

The Orange Chamber Music Festival ran from 9-12 March 2023 in Orange, NSW.

MARCH 13, 2023 – Newark, NJ – Governor Phil Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy took the stage at NJPAC’s Prudential Hall this morning alongside NJPAC President and CEO John Schreiber, Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka, Asbury Park Mayor John Moor, and Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small to announce the North to Shore Festival, an extraordinary three-city celebration of arts and technology kicking off on June 7.

Photos are available here. Videos are available here and here. Press conference clips available here.

This inaugural, month-long festival will showcase the talent, diversity and creativity this great state has to offer. Hosted by three incredible and unique cities, Atlantic City (June 7–11), Asbury Park (June 14–18) and Newark (June 21–25), the North to Shore Festival will bring together 50+ venues for an unprecedented celebration of Jersey-wide excellence, aligned with Governor Phil Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy’s vision for a festival worthy of the Garden State’s legacy in the arts and innovation.

“Today, we are thrilled to announce North to Shore — New Jersey’s first multi-city festival celebrating the very best of music, comedy, film, and technology,” said Governor Phil Murphy. “This superstar event, held over three weekends in June, will attract folks from all over, creating another great reason for tourists to visit the Garden State as well as opportunities for local businesses in three of our iconic cities to shine. These festivals will generate economic activity and have a significant impact on our region and we look forward to shining a light on the diversity, creativity, and energy that makes New Jersey unique this summer.”

“Beyond our global superstar headliners, North to Shore will also showcase the headliners of tomorrow. From producers to artists, filmmakers to comedians, this month-long celebration will also serve as an opportunity to elevate dozens of local performers and talent,” said First Lady Tammy Murphy. “We look forward to sharing New Jersey’s exceptional culture with the rest of the country and enjoying a festival that will undoubtedly be like no other.”

From concerts, to comedy, to movies, to presentations from leaders in tech and business, North to Shore’s offers it all. Best of all, the festival will also feature New Jersey’s homegrown talents who deliver their own brand of artistic excellence in the Garden State all year round.

These local favorites will be joined by global headliners including Halsey, Santana, the B52s, Remember Jones, Bill Burr, Jay Wheeler, Stephen Colbert with Jim Gaffigan, Alanis Morissette with Aimee Mann, Marisa Monte, Daymond John, Gavin DeGraw, Colbie Caillat, Natalie Merchant, The Smithereens, Brian Fallon, Southside Johnny and dozens more. This lineup highlights both New Jersey’s own and those who know that our state is the place to be seen. More artists are being added to the Festival schedule daily. In addition to musical performances, the festival will include stand-up comedy shows, thought-provoking conversations with leaders in business, technology  and clean energy, and film screenings.

NJPAC will produce this three-weekend extravaganza in collaboration with partners including Montclair Film, Newark International Film Festival, Tech United/Propelify and MediaSense.

Music and comedy programming will be produced in collaboration with a cohort of other presenters, including SJ Presents, Madison Marquette, Live Nation, Platinum Productions and Absolutely Live!

For cinephiles, a North to Shore Film Pass offers access to multiple screenings. Technology enthusiasts can use a Tech Pass to take in every one of the demonstrations of New Jersey’s newest inventions from its next generation of Edisons, with a focus on those developing sustainable, Earth-friendly new innovations.

“Newark has a long history of launching brilliance into the world. It’s the birthplace of passionate artists of every stripe, stellar innovators in industry and science, celebrated intellects in education and philosophy, and valiant hearts spearheading social progress,” said Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka. “With so much celebrity and inventiveness, Newark’s vitality makes it the premier location for hosting North To Shore June 21-25. We’re thrilled to welcome so many uniquely creative talents to perform in our world-class venues and storied stages, and we open our arms to visitors from around the world to enjoy North To Shore’s exciting display of expression and ideas, and experience firsthand the vibrant energy that makes the City of Newark wonderfully unique.”

“We are big fans of the work the New Jersey Performing Arts Center does connecting communities to culture and we are grateful to be one of three cities partnering with them for the North to Shore Festival highlighting the arts, innovation and creativity,” said City of Asbury Park Mayor John Moor. “Asbury Park has a prolific arts scene — and while we are best known for our musical history, we are also home to a wealth of creators in all art forms including film, dance, theater and the visual arts. Asbury Park’s creative spirit and diverse talent makes us the perfect place to show off both local artists and artists from around the great State of New Jersey.”

“As I like to say, ‘We Live, We Lit, We Outside!’ in Atlantic City and this festival proves it,” said City of Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small, Sr. “We have such a rich history when it comes to arts and entertainment in the great City of Atlantic City. Not only is our city a prime location for filming award-winning productions, but our legacy is built upon groundbreaking artistry. We are honored to be chosen by Governor Murphy as one of the hosts of the North to Shore Festival and cannot wait to welcome even more diverse talents to our beautiful city this summer.”

The North to Shore Festival is expected to both shine a spotlight on the state’s artistic and technological prowess, and boost its economy at the start of the summer season.

“The New Jersey Economic Development Authority is proud to support the North to Shore Festival, which will celebrate New Jersey’s cultural diversity and legacy of innovation,” said NJEDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan. “This festival aligns with Governor Murphy’s mission to make New Jersey the best state in the nation to live, work, and play all while providing an economic boost to Newark, Asbury Park, and Atlantic City, by attracting visitors, generating spending, and showcasing the strength of New Jersey’s arts, culture, and innovation scenes.”

“The diversity, the excellence, the breadth of artistic disciplines, the fun – North to Shore is a festival experience entirely unique to the combination of creativity, imagination and talent only present in New Jersey,” said John Schreiber, President and CEO of NJPAC.

Leadership support for North to Shore has been generously provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, New Jersey Travel and Tourism, NJM Insurance, PSEG and RWJBarnabas Health.

Local producers and art organizations in all three cities are invited to apply for funding to present events showcasing their city’s unique cultural community; applications will be accepted through March 24 at njpac.submittable.com. 

Tickets for the North to Shore Festival will go on sale on Friday, March 17, 2023, at NorthtoShore.com. For the latest updates on festival concerts, screenings and more, follow the Festival on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok.

Presenting partners for music and comedy include Madison Marquette, SJ Presents, LiveNation, Platinum Productions and Absolutely Live!

PRESENTING PARTNERS FOR TECH AND FILM:

MediaSense

MediaSense is a strategic marketing and communication firm founded by its CEO, Kay Lucas, in 2001. MediaSense works with large, medium, and small companies, including non-profits, to devise strategically informed growth plans brought to life and today’s digital and experiential world. Our work is grounded in insights, analysis, and results measurement.

Montclair Film

Montclair Film, a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization connects filmmakers from around the region and world with audiences by presenting films and year-round programs that engage, educate, and entertain through the power of visual storytelling. The twelfth annual Montclair Film Festival will take place from October 20-29, 2023.For more information about Montclair Film, visit www.MontclairFilm.org.

The Newark International Film Festival

The Newark International Film Festival is a five-day event that showcases the innovation and breadth of the film industry. Newarkiff maximizes exposure for independent films, screenplays, series, and more by drawing in entertainment leaders of the industry. The event includes screenings, workshops, exhibitions, open call auditions, panels, pitch opportunities, competitions, after-parties, concerts, and more. Newarkiff is the first international film festival hosted in Newark, New Jersey.

TechUnited

TechUnited:NJ is a membership-driven non-profit built to empower the region’s entrepreneurs, innovators and instigators to build a better future for all, supporting the community through events, mentorship, content creation, networking and more. TechUnited:NJ is most widely known for the annual Propelify Innovation Festival, what Forbes calls “the SxSW of the Northeast,” that unites innovators who propel ideas into action, over the years welcoming over 40,000 attendees for talks, tech, drones, investors, VR, AI, startups, exhibitors, and worldrenowned thought leaders like Arianna Huffington, Gary Vaynerchuk, Al Roker, Beth Comstock,
Bobbi Brown, NJ Gov. Phil Murphy, Tim Draper and more.

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About NJPAC
New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), located in downtown Newark, New Jersey, is among the largest performing arts centers in the United States. It is the artistic, cultural, educational and civic center of New Jersey — where great performances and events enhance and transform lives every day. As New Jersey’s Town Square, NJPAC brings diverse communities together, providing access to all and showcasing the State’s and the world’s best artists, while acting as a leading catalyst in the revitalization of its home city. Through its extensive Arts Education programs, NJPAC is shaping the next generation of artists and arts enthusiasts. NJPAC has attracted over seven million visitors (including more than one million children) since opening its doors in 1997, and nurtures meaningful and lasting relationships with each of its constituents. Visit www.njpac.org or call 1-888-GO-NJPAC for more information.

China is eyeing a “progressive, flexible and differentiated path to raising the retirement age”, a senior expert from China’s Ministry of Human Resources has said.

“The most important feature of the reform is allowing people to choose when to retire according to their circumstances and conditions,” Global Times reported, quoting Mr Jin Weigang, president of the Chinese Academy of Labour and Social Security Sciences.

“People nearing retirement age will only have to delay retirement for several months,” Mr Jin told Global Times. Young people may have to work a few years longer but will have a long adaptation and transition period, he added.

The Chinese government has said for years that it would gradually raise the statutory retirement age. For example, in February 2016, Mr Yin Weimin, then the minister of human resources and social security, told a news conference, “China should raise the retirement age but only step by step until it reaches a reasonable level.”

The gradual implementation of a higher retirement age would mean, for example, that a worker who is five years away from retirement when the new policy takes effect would have to work an additional three months, while a worker six years out would work six months extra, he said.

Currently, China’s retirement age is 60 for men, 55 for female white-collar workers and 50 for female blue-collar employees.

The government’s attempts to raise the retirement age have met with public protests. In 2012, public outcry derailed a proposal to increase the retirement age.