International
Rights groups dismayed at lack of criticism for Peru abuses
By Daniel Politi in Lima
LIMA, Peru (AP) — More than 50 people have died in street protests in the weeks since Peru’s elected leader was jailed, mostly demonstrators at the hands of police officers, but only a few international voices of concern have emerged.
The relative silence of much of the regional and global community has dismayed human rights advocates, who are calling for condemnation of the state violence unleashed since Pedro Castillo was impeached and imprisoned for trying to dissolve Congress.
“The feeling is we’re alone,” said Jennie Dador, executive secretary of Peru’s National Human Rights Coordinator. “None of the states in the region have done anything concrete.”
Peru’s new President Dina Boluarte was notably absent from a meeting of regional leaders Tuesday in Argentina’s capital, where most avoided mention of the civilian deaths in Peru.
In a defiant news conference on Tuesday, Boluarte called for a “national truce.” She blamed protesters for the political violence that has engulfed the country, claiming illegal miners, drug traffickers and smugglers formed a “paramilitary force” to seek chaos for political gain. She said numerous road blockades across the country and damage to infrastructure have cost the country more than $1 billion in lost production.
She suggested that the protesters who died with bullet wounds were shot by other demonstrators, claiming investigations will show their injuries are incompatible with the weapons officers carry. And meanwhile, some 90 police officers are hospitalized with bruises, she said: “What about their human rights?” the president asked.
The government has not presented evidence that any of the injured officers were struck by gunfire.
Human rights activists have acknowledged acts of violence by some protesters — including efforts to take over airports and burn police stations — but say the demonstrations have largely been peaceful.
Some of the leaders at the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States did blame Peru’s government for the violence.
Chile’s President Gabriel Boric said there’s “an urgent need for a change in Peru because the result of the path of violence and repression is unacceptable.” Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, a staunch supporter of Castillo, demanded an “end to the repression.”
Activists say this attention is far less than what they would expect considering 56 people have died since Castillo’s vice-president was sworn in to replace him on Dec. 7. Forty-five died in direct clashes with security forces, according to Peru’s ombudsman.
“The international community has expressed concern, but really I think it could be more forceful,” said César Muñoz, associate director of the Americas division at Human Rights Watch. Regional leaders could emphasize “that the rule of law means there must be independent investigations of all the deaths.”
In downtown Lima, protesters were starting to gather for the latest in a series of street demonstrations that began last week when thousands, many from remote Andean regions, descended on the capital to demand Boluarte’s resignation, immediate elections and the dissolution of Congress. Most of the large anti-government protests that took place before then were in remote regions of Peru, exposing deep divisions between residents of the capital and the long-neglected countryside.
In Lima, protesters have been met with volleys of tear gas but no live rounds.
“Peru has managed to fly under the radar,” said Marina Navarro, executive director of Amnesty International Peru. “Given the gravity of the situation, with this number of people who have died, we don’t see as much said about it as there could be.”
Closed-door discussions on the issue continued in Buenos Aires, according to an official in Argentina’s Foreign Ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity for lack of authority to discuss policy. “Peru is a prickly issue,” but pressure from some leaders has led to last-minute negotiations, they said.
The crisis that has sparked Peru’s worst political violence in more than two decades began when Castillo, Peru’s first leader from a rural Andean background, tried to short-circuit the third impeachment proceeding of his young administration by ordering Congress dissolved. Lawmakers impeached him instead, and the national police arrested him before he could find sanctuary.
Boluarte said Tuesday that Castillo had only himself to blame for trying to avoid the numerous corruption investigations he was facing, and suggested that he was trying “to make himself into a victim of a coup when he was the perpetrator of his own coup.”
Questions about Boluarte’s sudden rise to power should not impede criticism over police abuses, human rights organizations say.
“There must be international pressure for this government to cease all types of repressive attitudes and that has nothing to do with emitting an opinion about the government’s legitimacy,” said Manuel Tufró, who leads the justice and security division at the Center for Legal and Social Studies, an Argentine human rights organization.
Boluarte’s government has made clear it won’t take any criticism lightly. After law enforcement raided a university in Lima where some of the protesters were taking shelter on Saturday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro tweeted that the Organization of American States must “examine Peru’s case.”
Prime Minister Alberto Otarola fired back, telling Petro to “worry about your own affairs.” Peru’s Foreign Ministry issued formal notes of protest against Petro and Bolivian President Luis Arce, who expressed support for the protests.
The European Union made one of the strongest statements, saying Monday that it “deplores the very large number of casualties since the start of the protests” and reiterates “its condemnation of the widespread acts of violence as well as the disproportionate use of force by security forces.”
The U.S. ambassador in Lima, Lisa Kenna, also surprised many observers earlier this month when she said it is “fundamental for law enforcement to respect human rights, the right to protest and protect the citizenry.”
Some analysts said the tepid regional response points to how Peru has lost prominence due to its political crises, with six presidents over the past six years.
“Peru as a country has lost presence,” said Oscar Vidarte, an international relations professor at the Catholic University of Peru. “It’s a chaotic country, a country that has become ungovernable, questioned in terms of democracy and respect for human life.”
“Countries in the region have clearly turned their backs,” Vidarte said.
___
Associated Press writer Almudena Calatrava in Buenos Aires, Argentina, contributed to this report.
Canadian Energy Centre
Mexico leapfrogging Canada on LNG and six other global oil and gas megaprojects
By Deborah Jaremko of the Canadian Energy Centre Ltd.
Major investments in countries like the United States, Norway, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are being made to meet world demand
New major oil and gas megaprojects around the world are proceeding amid concern about underinvestment in conventional energy leading to painful supply shortages.
“The energy future must be secure and affordable, as well as sustainable,” said Daniel Yergin, vice-chairman of S&P Global, earlier this year.
“Adequate investment that avoids shortages and price spikes, and the economic hardship and social turbulence that they bring, is essential to that future.”
Even if oil and gas demand growth slows, a cumulative $4.9 trillion will be needed between 2023 and 2030 to prevent a supply shortfall, according to a report by the International Energy Forum and S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Major investments in countries like the United States, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Mexico are being made to meet world demand.
Meanwhile, due to regulatory uncertainty and concerns over proposed policies like an emissions cap for oil and gas production, Canada’s vast resources – produced with among the world’s highest standards for environmental protection and social progress – are being left behind.
Here’s a look at just a handful of global oil and gas megaprojects, listed in rising order of development cost.
Mexico: Altamira LNG
US$1 billion
New Fortress Energy
Mexico is leapfrogging over Canada to become an LNG exporter.
While Canada’s first LNG export project is expected to start operating in 2025, Mexico’s could come online this August – less than 10 months after Mexico’s government finalized a deal with U.S.-based New Fortress Energy to make it happen.
While relatively small at 1.4 million tonnes of LNG per year (LNG Canada’s first phase will have capacity of 14 million tonnes per year), under Mexico’s agreement the Altamira site is to become an LNG hub.
New Fortress Energy is to deploy multiple same-sized floating LNG units to produce LNG from natural gas transported through TC Energy’s Sur de Texas-Tuxpan pipeline.
An existing LNG import terminal at Altamira is also expected to be converted into a 2.8-million-tonne-per-year export facility.
United States: Willow Oil Project
US$8 billion
ConocoPhillips
The U.S. government granted approval this March for the giant Willow oil project on Alaska’s North Slope to proceed.
The project, owned by ConocoPhillips, is designed to produce 180,000 barrels per day at peak and operate for 30 years. It includes a processing facility, operations centre, and three drilling sites.
The Willow leases are inside the National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska, which was established in 1923 as an emergency oil supply for the U.S. Navy. It is now administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
Willow would occupy about 385 acres (around half the area of Central Park in New York City) in the northeast portion of the 23-million-acre reserve. It is expected to deliver nearly US$9 billion in government revenue, creating about 2,500 jobs during construction and 300 long-term positions.
ConocoPhillips has yet to make a final investment decision, but is anticipating starting production in 2029, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
United States: Golden Pass LNG
US$10 billion
QatarEnergy, Exxon Mobil
Golden Pass LNG is one of four natural gas export terminals under construction on the U.S. Gulf Coast as the United States continues to build its platform as an LNG powerhouse.
With about 90 million tonnes per year of LNG export capacity today, analysts with Wood Mackenzie expect that if current momentum continues, another 190 million tonnes per year could come online by the end of this decade.
The US$10-billion Golden Pass project owned by QatarEnergy and Exxon Mobil will have three production trains with total export capacity of about 18 million tonnes of LNG per year.
The U.S. began exporting LNG in 2016 and has since built more LNG capacity than anywhere else in the world, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
First LNG exports from Golden Pass are planned for 2024.
Norway: Njord Field Restart
US$29 billion
Wintershall Dea, Equinor, Neptune Energy
Norway has officially reopened a major offshore oil and gas field, with the goal to extend its life beyond 2040 and double its total production.
Nearly US$30 billion in upgrades to the Njord project’s production platform and offloading vessel started in 2016, after nearly 20 years of operations. It was originally only expected to run until 2013, but improvements in recovery technology have opened the door to accessing substantially more resources.
Production restarted in December 2022, just in time to help address Europe’s energy crisis.
“With the war in Ukraine, the export of Norwegian oil and gas to Europe has never been more important than now. Reopening Njord contributes to Norway remaining a stable supplier of gas to Europe for many years to come,” Norway’s oil and energy minister Terje Aasland said in a statement.
The project will drill 10 new wells and tie in two new subsea oil and gas fields, with the work expected to add approximately 250 million barrels of oil equivalent to the European market. Partial electrification of equipment is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Qatar: North Field East LNG expansion
Qatar Energy, Shell, TotalEnergies, Eni, Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, Sinopec
US$29 billion
The largest LNG project ever built is underway in Qatar.
State-owned QatarEnergy’s US$29 billion North Field East Expansion will increase the country’s LNG export capacity to 110 million tonnes per year, from 77 million tonnes per year today. Startup is planned in 2025.
A planned second phase of the project will further increase capacity to 126 million tonnes per year.
World LNG demand reached a record 409 million tonnes in 2022, according to data provider Revintiv. It’s expected to rise to over 700 million tonnes by 2040, according to Shell’s most recent industry outlook.
Saudi Arabia: Jafurah Gas Project
US$110 billion
Saudi Aramco
State-owned Saudi Aramco is moving ahead with development of the massive Jafurah gas project, which it says will help meet growing energy demand and provide feedstock for hydrogen production.
First gas from the $110-billion project is expected in 2025, rising to reach two billion cubic feet per day by 2030. That’s about one-third the volume of all the natural gas produced in British Columbia. Saudi Aramco produced 10.6 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day in 2022, or more than half the gas produced in Canada.
Last year the company started construction work on the gas processing facility that is the anchor of the Jafurah project. Aramco is reportedly in talkswith potential partners to back the US$110 billion development.
Russia: Vostok Oil
US$170 billion
Rosneft
Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft continues to barrel ahead with the massive Vostok oil project in the country’s arctic, which Rosneft calls the largest investment in the world.
The US$170 billion project will use the Northern Sea Route to export about 600,000 barrels per day by 2024. Production is expected to increase to two million barrels per day after the second phase. For comparison, Canada’s entire oil sands industry produces about three million barrels per day.
The main problem the energy industry faces is global underinvestment in conventional sources, Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said earlier this year. He stressed the importance of Vostok’s oil supply for growing Asian economies.
“Vostok Oil project will provide long-term, reliable, and guaranteed energy supplies,” Sechin said.
Two new icebreaker vessels recently helped deliver 4,600 tonnes of cargo including oil pipes for the project to the arctic development sites, the Barents Observer reported.
From the youtube channel of 
Dr. John Campbell
With notes from the World Health Organization website, Dr. John Campbell explains the WHO’s Global Digital Health Certification Network.
Dr. John Campbell’s Presentation notes:
WHO’s Global Digital Health Certification Network https://www.who.int/initiatives/globa…
WHO has established the Global Digital Health Certification Network (GDHCN). Open-source platform, built on robust & transparent standards, that establishes the first building block of digital public health infrastructure, for developing a wide range of digital products, for strengthening pandemic preparedness
Background Member States used digital COVID-19 test and vaccine certificates As the directing and coordinating authority on international health work, at the onset of the pandemic, WHO engaged with all WHO Regions to define overall guidance for such certificates and published the Digital Documentation of COVID-19 Certificates
https://www.who.int/publications/i/it… https://www.who.int/publications/i/it… there is a recognition of an existing gap, and continued need for a global mechanism, that can support bilateral verification of the provenance of health documents
The GDHCN may include Digitisation of the International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis, verification of prescriptions across borders
International Patient Summary Verification of vaccination certificates within and across borders Certification of public health professionals (through WHO Academy) Expanding such digital solutions will be essential to deliver better health for people across the globe.
The GDHCN has been designed to be interoperable with other existing regional networks EU-WHO digital partnership https://www.who.int/news/item/05-06-2… 
• LIVE: WHO and @EU… https://commission.europa.eu/strategy… WHO and the European Commission have agreed to partner in digital health.
This partnership will work to technically develop the WHO system with a staged approach to cover additional use cases, In June 2023, WHO will take up the European Union (EU) system of digital COVID-19 certification to establish a global system, that will help facilitate global mobility
This is the first building block of the WHO Global Digital Health Certification Network (GDHCN)
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus WHO aims to offer all WHO Member States access, On the principles of equity, innovation, transparency and data protection and privacy Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety
This partnership is an important step for the digital action plan of the EU Global Health Strategy, we contribute to digital health standards and interoperability globally
Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market The EU certificate … has also facilitated international travel and tourism I am pleased that the WHO will build on …. cutting-edge technology … to create a global tool against future pandemics
One of the key elements in the European Union’s work against the COVID-19 pandemic has been digital COVID-19 certificates. WHO will facilitate this process globally under its own structure … allow the world to benefit from convergence of digital certificates. Expanding such digital solutions will be essential to deliver better health for citizens across the globe.
The WHO and the European Commission will work together to encourage maximum global uptake and participation.
Indigenous leaders meet G7 diplomats to make case for Canadian LNG
Collapse of major dam in southern Ukraine triggers emergency as Moscow and Kyiv blame each other
Three men, including police officer, face charges after overdose death in cell
Watchdog’s relations with spy community ‘particularly strained’ over last year
-
Canadian Energy Centre1 day ago
Indigenous leaders meet G7 diplomats to make case for Canadian LNG
-
Alberta2 days ago
Three men, including police officer, face charges after overdose death in cell
-
Crime2 days agoFord calls for ouster, Poilievre decries Liberal response to Bernardo prison transfer
-
Alberta2 days agoMichael White, convicted of killing pregnant wife, gets full parole
-
Business22 hours agoTrudeau shows no interest in compromising with Meta, Google over online news bill
-
Top Story CP1 day agoIrving Oil reviewing strategic options including possible sale
-
National4 hours agoTrans, non-binary students under 16 in N.B. need parental consent for pronoun changes
-
National1 day agoElection interference: eye on the ball, please