JAKARTA An upgrade to a road that cuts through one of Southeast Asias last great swaths of intact rainforest is driving deeper encroachment by humans into blocks of forest that may spread into a national park.

The road runs 36 kilometers (22 miles) between the districts of Karo and Langkat in Indonesias North Sumatra province, and for a long time was no more than a dirt track, a 4.1-km (2.5-mi) stretch of which runs through Gunung Leuser National Park.

Authorities recently upgraded the road, paving it over with asphalt, despite calls from UNESCO not to do so. The national park is part of a wider UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Its also part of the Leuser Ecosystem, the last place on Earth where critically endangered rhinos, tigers, elephants and orangutans still coexist in the wild but which has also been eaten away at in recent years by human encroachment for oil palm cultivation and illegal logging.

More than 450,000 hectares (1.1 million acres) of the Leuser Ecosystem have been deforested, leaving 1.8 million hectares (4.4 million acres) of intact rainforest as of 2019, according to data from the NGO Forest, Nature and Environment of Aceh (HAkA).

Activists say they fear more forests and habitat of key species will be lost in near future the newly paved road provides easier access into previously untouched forest areas, eventually carving into the national park itself. The Bukit Barisan public forest park, a neighboring block of forest that isnt subject to the same degree of protection as Gunung Leuser National Park, has already been impacted by the upgrades to the road, groups say.

The forest park has lost 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) of its tree cover for houses and coffee plantations, according to monitoring by the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), the countrys largest green group. Officials say the people clearing the forest are evacuees forced out of their homes by ongoing eruptions of the nearby Mount Sinabung volcano. They say these people have set up houses and plantations inside the 51,000-hectare (126,000-acre) public forest park by taking advantage of the new access opened by the upgraded road.

The number of households dotted around the road when it was still a dirt track was 31, according to official data, but mushroomed to 296 in 2019, following the paving.

Sean Sloan, a scientist at James Cook University in Australia who carried out a study in 2018 on the impact of infrastructure development in the wider Leuser Ecosystem, said its only natural for settlements to start appearing after a road has been upgraded.

The history of the Leuser Ecosystem evidences that settlement occurs widely and seemingly illegally along roads once theyre asphalted and made well, he told Mongabay. And so to make another road along the ecosystem further improves the point.

Dana Tarigan, director of Walhis North Sumatra chapter, said he suspected many of the settlers who have encroached into the public forest park arent Sinabung evacuees, but rather part of an organized land grab using the volcanic eruptions as cover to clear the forests and occupy the land.

In the beginning, there might have been evacuees [among the people who moved into the area], but it has turned into an organized crime and the evacuees are being used as a shield, Dana told Mongabay.

He added that the rate of forest clearing 1,200 hectares in just two years was far too intensive to have been carried out by a group of a few hundred impoverished evacuees.

What tools do they use to cut down such a large area? he said. What kind of evacuees, who supposedly have nothing, could encroach into 1,200 hectares of forest?

Some of the settlers have begun selling the land they cleared, making from 30 million rupiah ($2,100) per hectare for an empty lot, to 150 million rupiah ($10,600) per hectare for land planted with crops like coffee.

There have been underhanded dealings going on, with illegal settlement by people from outside Karo, Dana said.

To date, the forest incursion has been confined to the Bukit Barisan public forest park. But as the amount of cleared area expands, the settlements are now less than a kilometer (0.6 miles) from Gunung Leuser National Park. A local activist keeping track of the encroachment says in some areas the land clearing is within a few dozen meters of the national park.

That means its only a matter of time before people started cutting into Gunung Leuser National Park, Dana said.

The incursion is already affecting the regions rare and threatened wildlife, including orangutans. In 2020, there were at least two reports of orangutans seen fleeing from forest areas being cleared.

Muhammad Yusrizal Adi Syaputra, a law lecturer at the Medan Area University in Medan, the North Sumatra capital, carried out an analysis of the road project and its impacts. He said there was a potential for a decline of 28-36% in bird and mammal populations within a 2.6-km (1.6-mi) radius of the road, and a 25-38% decline within a 17-km (10.5-mi) radius.

Sloan said that while the recently upgraded road itself might not cut through the core of the Leuser Ecosystem, its still a major concern.

As far as random roads go, its probably not the most detrimental, but it fits into a larger pattern of laxed regulation, indifference, and piecemeal destruction, he said.

The worst-case scenario is if the road cuts off an area of forest, isolating it entirely, according to Sloan. He adds theres a specific area of forest in the national park that could be easily isolated this way from the rest of the park.

It might house a few dozen orangutans, but that population would die out if the forest becomes isolated, Sloan said.

In its 2020 World Heritage Outlook report, the IUCN also noted the presence of Sumatran orangutans close to the Karo-Langkat road.

Sumatran orangutan, which are critically endangered are known to inhabit the area of the road and therefore the road will likely fragment its habitat, the IUCN said in the report.

Sloan said he was surprised that the proposal to upgrade the road had been approved under UNESCOs watch, given that the U.N. body had recommended the Indonesian government to cease all infrastructure projects that might threaten Gunung Leuser National Park. The park is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site called the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra (TRHS) that has been listed as a World Heritage in Danger since 2011 due to serious and specific infrastructure threats.

In 2013 and 2018, the IUCN conducted monitoring missions to assess the state of the TRHS, including threats and the required corrective measures. The two missions highlighted the Karo-Langkat road as infrastructure that required immediate attention as it bisected Gunung Leuser National Park, including areas frequently used by tigers, elephants and orangutans.

Based on the result of the missions, UNESCOs World Heritage Committee requested the Indonesian government stay committed to not building any new roads within the TRHS and to ensure any road upgrades are only permitted if they could be shown to not cause any negative impact on the areas Outstanding Universal Value.

But in 2018, the IUCN mission learned that two road upgrades inside the TRHS had been recently approved without environmental impact assessments, including the proposal to upgrade the Karo-Langkat road through the national park.

The proposal was made by local officials and lawmakers, who said the road had to be upgraded to develop the local economy and provide an evacuation route in case of natural disasters. In 2016, the Ministry of Environment and Forestry rejected the proposal on the grounds that Gunung Leuser National Park is a World Heritage Site.

After years of trying to get the project approved by the central government, the local government finally managed to obtain a letter from the environment ministry in 2018 that greenlit the project as long as an academic study was conducted first.

Based on that letter, the provincial government allocated 14 billion rupiah ($981,000) for the project in 2018, and construction began shortly after that. But Gunung Leuser National Park authorities reportedly blocked the project, triggering protests from local communities and officials.

Baskami Ginting, the speaker of the North Sumatra provincial legislature, said the letter from the ministry should have been enough for the project to proceed. After the initial objection from the national park authorities, the project resumed and now had been completed.

The IUCN expressed concern over the completion of the project in its report, saying the government had ignored the committees call to not proceed with these upgrades until environmental impact assessments had been undertaken.

Medan Area Universitys Yusrizal said the road wasnt lacking only a proper environmental impact assessment, but also a legal basis.

Its better if the environment ministry gives a permit, but it has to be clear, such as a permit to construct a road, Yusrizal told Mongabay. But until now, I havent found the legal basis [for the road construction]. Ive just found a cooperation agreement to construct the road.

The national park authority says it is working with the Ministry of Public Works and Housing to ensure that the UNESCO-requested strategic environmental assessment and mitigation plan is prioritized in its 20202021 work plan and budget.

Banner image: A Sumatran orangutan with a leaf in its mouth. The Leuser Ecosystem is home to roughly 85 percent of the species remaining population. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.

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Deforestation spurred by road project creeps closer to Sumatra wildlife haven - Mongabay.com

Siya Ram Raya Yadav, son of 72-year-old farmer Narayan who died from heart attack in Kathmandu a day after agitating sugarcane farmers ended their protest on December 28, is facing financial ruin.

The Yadav family had been selling the sugarcane they grew on their five bighas (1.2 hectares) of land to Annapurna Sugar Mills on credit for years but since the sugar mill did not pay them on time, Narayan was forced to borrow money for the familys expenses and eventually had accrued more loans than the mill owned him.

The principal and interest on the loan the family owes to its creditors stands at Rs2.5 million. The mill has since paid Siya Ram Rs2.1 million out of a total Rs2.4 million dues.

But I have nothing left now, said Siya Ram from Chotaul of Dhankaul Municipality in Sarlahi. We are planning to sell a piece of land to clear the banks loan.

Sugarcane farmers had come to the Capital from December 13 to protest for the second time demanding that their outstanding dues be cleared. They called off their two-week-long protest on December 28 following assurance from the government that mills would pay them within 21 days. The deadline ends on Monday.

It was after the agreement was signed that Siya Ram got some of the payment as other farmers too have, according to the government.

Of the Rs 2.1 million Siya Ram received, he said he spent Rs1.2 million to organise his fathers funeral and Rs700,000 of the outstanding bank loan was paid.

Narayan Regmi, joint-secretary and spokesperson for the Industry Ministry, said based on their record, sugar mills have paid 85 percent of the outstanding dues to the farmers.

Still 15 percent is remaining, he told the Post. The sugar mills have been gradually paying and I hope they will clear it all.

But sugarcane farmers refute this claim.

Rakesh Mishra, patron of the Sugarcane Farmers Struggle Committee, which still exists despite the end of protests, said farmers have not received their payment fully yet.

The Industry Ministry has shared verbally that the sugar mill has paid Rs440.5 million of the Rs650 million, said Mishra. But we do not know how many farmers have been paid and what amount they have been paid.

According to him, the Industry Ministry has only said that sugar mills have deposited the dues to farmers bank accounts but have not provided any proof of that.

How much a particular farmer should receive for what amount of sugarcane and how much has been provided needs to be mentioned clearly and this has not been done so far, he said.

The sugar mills have not even clearly said how much they actually owe, Mishra said.

While farmers say that different sugar mills owe them Rs900 million in total, the government and the mills say they owe Rs650 million.

As part of the agreement signed on December 28, a technical team of a representative each from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Ministry of Finance, and three from among sugarcane farmersone each from the eastern, central and western parts of the countrywas formed to look into this and other issues but the committee has met only once.

We have proof that farmers have dues of more than Rs900 million no matter what the government concludes in its report, Mishra said.

The farmers are confident that the government report will also conclude that this is the amount that is outstanding, according to him.

Last January too, an agreement had been reached between the government and the mills to clear the dues but that remained on paper only.

The Supreme Court has issued an interim order for the sugar mills to make the outstanding payments to sugarcane farmers within one month.

Justice Kumar Regmi issued the ruling on December 31 stating that payment to sugarcane farmers was directly related to their basic rights.

Siya Ram, meanwhile, is not very hopeful that the mill will clear the remaining Rs300,000 it owes.

Not getting the dues is only part of the problem sugarcane farmers face. They dont get chemical fertilisers, such as urea, on time. Harvesting the crop and transporting it to the mills where it is crushed to make sugar adds to the cost. And if rains are not timely, sugarcane farmers suffer more.

When farmers finally get the sugarcane to the mills all they get is a slip of paper: that's what many farmers call a credit card.

Mishra said the government has promised them that once the deadline to clear the dues crosses, bank accounts of the defaulting mills will be frozen and an arrest warrant issued accordingly.

Again, it looks like we may be forced to launch another round of decisive movement, he told the Post. We will hold a discussion on Tuesday to chart our plan.

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Sugar mills are gradually clearing years-long dues, says government but farmers are not satisfied - The Kathmandu Post

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Two environmental groups are threatening to file suit against Zenith Energy over construction work at its oil terminal in Portland.

On Monday, Willamette Riverkeeper and Columbia Riverkeeper filed a notice of intent to sue the company if it doesnt get a stormwater permit within 60 days, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.

The Zenith Energy oil terminal in Northwest Portland receives crude oil from trains, stores it in tanks and sends it via pipes to outgoing ships. The company recently proposed upgrading its facility to handle biofuel, but it hasnt gotten all the required permits to start the work.

Travis Williams, executive director of Willamette Riverkeeper, said the two Riverkeeper groups have documented land-clearing and grading at the proposed construction site that is not allowed under the Clean Water Act without a construction stormwater permit.

The company applied for a construction stormwater permit from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality in June. The permit requires an additional approval from the City of Portland in the form of a land use compatibility statement, and the city hasnt yet granted that approval.

The groups are concerned that the company is planning to expand its fossil fuel operations, though the Zenith maintains its upgrades are all focused on transporting biofuel.

Zenith declined to comment.

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Environmental groups threaten to sue over oil terminal construction work Daily Journal of Commerce - Daily Journal of Commerce

PLEASANT HILL The Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) project, which was to bring natural gas to underserved areas, was canceled in July 2020. Now the developers are looking to clean up what was left behind.

The project spanned three states, starting in West Virginia before making its way south through Virginia and then North Carolina. A portion of the 600-mile pipeline was to run through Northampton County, which would also be the site of a compressor station and a regional office near the Virginia border.

We have cleared and graded most of the roughly 10 miles of right of way in Northampton, and we plan to fully restore those areas, said Aaron Ruby, Media Relations Manager for Dominion Energy.

A little over seven miles of pipe had already been laid in the county, and Ruby confirmed the company had reached agreements with the landowners to leave them in place.

A groundbreaking for the regional office and compressor station site, located just outside of Pleasant Hill, was held in April 2018. By Oct. 2019, Dominion Energy had the office completed and hosted a tour for local officials. At that time, no hires had been made yet to staff the office, but representatives from the company said they were committed to hiring locally to fill the 20 jobs that would be provided by the office and the compressor station.

The office, which was constructed by Roanoke-Rapids based Heaton Construction, was designed to be both energy efficient and environmentally friendly. They intended to apply for LEED silver certification which would acknowledge those features.

Now, Ruby said the company has plans to sell the Northampton office building.

A significant amount of work had also been completed at the compressor station site, including the installation of equipment such as a turbine compressor package, odorant injection system, vent gas recovery skid, hydrocarbon tank, and more.

As a part of the reclamation process, the company will backfill open excavations, install temporary flat roofs on partially completed buildings and building foundations, relocate/remove loose materials, and perform general site cleanup, stabilization, and seeding where needed.

The ACP was a collaborative effort between Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, and Southern Gas Company. Dominion Energy was the lead company in the project which was first announced in 2014 and was originally expected to begin service in 2019. But a series of lawsuits from environmental groups caused numerous delays and increased costs.

Opponents to the pipeline argued that the project was unnecessary and would cause harm to the environment and local wildlife, particularly where it would run through parts of the Appalachian Mountains. But pipeline supporters said it would help the companies transition towards alternative energy sources and would boost economic development along its route by offering better natural gas access for companies looking to move to the area.

Northampton County was projected at one point to receive as much as $1.6 million annually in property tax revenue from the project before it was canceled.

According to reporting from the Associated Press, work is now underway in all three states to clean up the incomplete project. Approximately 2,000 parcels of land across the 600-mile route had not been touched yet, while 1,100 parcels had tree-clearing and tree-felling already underway.

ACP installed approximately 31.4 miles of pipe in total before the cancellation. Like the agreements in place in Northampton County, the pipes already in the ground will remain there.

Additionally, the company is working to sell the unused pipe and other materials for the now-defunct project. But they reportedly have no plans to sell the easement agreements at this time.

The restoration work is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2022.

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ACP clean-up and restoration underway - The Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald - Roanoke Chowan News Herald

The Week

President Trump has spent the last few days asking his friends, aides, and associates if they would like pardons even those who are not facing any charges, a senior administration official told The Washington Post.In one case, the official said, Trump offered a pardon to a person who declined the chance at clemency, saying they weren't in any legal trouble and hadn't committed any crimes. "Trump's response was, 'Yeah, well, but you never know. They're going to come after us all. Maybe it's not a bad idea. Just let me know,'" the official recounted.Trump has taken a great interest in pardoning people, the Post reports, even calling families to personally let them know he granted a pardon. A person familiar with the matter told the Post that Trump was talked out of pardoning himself, family members, and controversial figures like Rudy Giuliani. An aide said there was also a brief discussion about possibly issuing pardons related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, but that idea went nowhere.While Trump has held a few ceremonial events in recent weeks, journalists have been kept away from the White House, largely because the president is "just not in a place where they would go well," one official told the Post. Trump is constantly flip-flopping, another administration official said, talking about his future but uncertain of where he will be. "He goes between, 'Well, I'm going to go to Florida and play golf, and life is honestly better,' and then in the next moment, it's like, 'But don't you think there's a chance to stay?'" the official said. Read more at The Washington Post.More stories from theweek.com 5 more scathing cartoons about Trump's 2nd impeachment Lindsey Graham seemed very pleased with Biden's secretary of state nominee Chief Justice John Roberts reportedly wants no part of Trump's impeachment trial

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Chicago Weather: Clearing And Chilly - Yahoo News

Jan 14 (Reuters) - Members of Arizonas San Carlos Apache tribe filed a property lien on Thursday in an attempt to regain control over land that the U.S. government is poised to give to Rio Tinto Ltd for the Resolution Copper mine.

The latest maneuver by tribal members opposed to the project asks a court to find that the U.S. government has illegally occupied the land for more than 160 years and has no right to give it to anyone.

The United States of America does not own that land, Apache Stronghold, a non-profit organization comprised of mine opponents, said in a court filing.

The mine could supply a quarter of U.S. copper demand if developed, but eventually destroy the land, known as Oak Flat, or Chichil Bildagotee, considered by Native Americans to be the home of religious deities.

Rio Tinto had no immediate comment

Rio and development partner BHP Group Ltd have sought for years to access the underground copper deposit, about 70 miles (113 km) east of Phoenix in the Tonto National Forest.

The deposit sits below land that belonged to the tribe before the United States existed. An 1852 treaty between U.S. officials and the tribe that is still in force set aside the land for the Apaches use.

In 2014, the U.S. Congress and then-President Barack Obama approved a plan to let Rio exchange land it already owns for land above the copper, with the caveat that the swap could not occur until an environmental study was published. The outgoing Trump administration plans to publish that study on Friday, clearing the way for the exchange within 60 days.

Tribal members have also filed a lawsuit seeking to block the studys publication.

The lien is essentially a next line of defense if that lawsuit fails. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld 19th century land treaties between Washington and Oklahoma tribes, a precedent that could bolster the Apaches lien request.

Rio has promised to seek the tribes consent for the mine. Even if Rio were to gain control of the land, the company still needs federal permits, a process that both sides acknowledge could take years.

Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Peter Cooney

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Native Americans say U.S. does not own land it is about to give to Rio Tinto - Reuters

(MENAFN - Comserve) Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan, Japan, Jan 19, 2021, 08:05 /Comserve / -- The key players profiled in the report include as E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (US), 3M Company (US), Kimberly Clark Corp (US), Ansell Limited (US), Sioen Industries (Belgium), Teijin Limited (Japan), and Lakeland Industries, Inc. (US).

The protective clothing market is estimated to grow from USD 8.8 billion in 2019 to USD 11.9 billion by 2024, at a CAGR of 6.3%. The protective clothing market is largely driven by the stringent regulations pertaining to the safety of personnel in developed economies. The rising number of workplace-related injuries is leading to the increased concern of the employers about ensuring the safety of their workers. The rising concern of both the employers and employees regarding the safety at the workplace is expected to drive the protective clothing market.

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"The Final Report will cover the impact analysis of COVID-19 on this industry (Global And Regional Market)."

With COVID-19 resulting in the economic fallout, numerous economies are working on game-changing improvements to protect their employees and clients. While focusing on the ongoing challenges, the leaders are embracing new plans in order to manage and stay afloat in this competitive environment.

The key players profiled in the report include as

E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (US),3M Company (US),Kimberly Clark Corp (US),Ansell Limited (US),Sioen Industries (Belgium),Teijin Limited (Japan), andLakeland Industries, Inc. (US).

**This detailed analysis includes market size and forecasts, covering regional analysis, trends, opportunities and COVID-19 analysis. The analysis also includes key players with business strategies and key indicators that influence market growth.

'PBI is expected to be the fastest-growing segment by material type of the protective clothing market, in terms of value, between 2019 and 2024.The PBI segment is expected to witness the highest growth in terms of value, during the forecast period. PBI's ability to blend easily with other materials will play an important role in driving the market growth. Moreover, it does not melt or burn at normal temperature. These characteristics of PBI over other material types are estimated to boost its demand in the protective clothing market.

'The thermal application segment is estimated to account for the largest share of the overall protective clothing market, in terms of value, between 2019 and 2024.The thermal application segment is the largest application of protective clothing due to its wide application across different industries such as oil & gas, manufacturing, construction, and others. The growing manufacturing projects, especially the high-rise buildings, offer a huge potential for the thermal protective clothing market. The oil & gas industry is expected to drive the demand for protective clothing in the thermal application due to the growth in exploration & production in the oil & gas field.

'Rising demand from the construction, manufacturing, and oil & gas industries to drive the demand for protective clothing in North America.The North America protective clothing market is estimated to witness considerable growth during the forecast period. The regulations that mandate the use of protective clothing at manufacturing facilities are driving the market in the region. The mandate by the government, coupled with the awareness among the workers, is leading to the growth of the protective clothing market in the region. The increasing number of accidents in these industries has led to the rising demand for protective clothing. The workers involved in ground activities are exposed to erection, repair, demolition, maintenance, painting, land clearing, earth moving, grading, drilling, blasting, and concreting. Thermal, chemical, mechanical, visibility, and biological/radiation applications of protective clothing help the individual to work efficiently in risky operations by providing the necessary protection.

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"The Final Report will cover the impact analysis of COVID-19 on this industry (Global And Regional Market)."

In the process of determining and verifying the market size for several segments and subsegments gathered through secondary research, extensive primary interviews were conducted.

By Company Type: Tier 1 - 46%, Tier 2 - 31%, and Tier 3 - 23%By Designation: C-Level - 46%, Director Level - 27%, and Others - 27%By Region: North America - 33%, Europe - 27%, APAC - 27%, South America - 7%, Middle East & Africa - 6%,

The key players profiled in the report include as E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (US), 3M Company (US), Kimberly Clark Corp (US), Ansell Limited (US), Sioen Industries (Belgium), Teijin Limited (Japan), and Lakeland Industries, Inc. (US).

Research CoverageThis report segments the market for protective clothing on the basis of material type, application, end-use industry, end user type, and region, and provides estimations for the overall market size across various regions. A detailed analysis of key industry players has been conducted to provide insights into their business overviews, products & services, key strategies, new product launches, expansions, agreements, and acquisitions associated with the market for protective clothing.

Reasons to Buy this ReportThis research report is focused on various levels of analysis industry analysis (industry trends), market ranking analysis of top players, and company profiles, which together provide an overall view on the competitive landscape; emerging and high-growth segments of the protective clothing market; high-growth regions; and market drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges.

The report provides insights on the following pointers:

Market Penetration: Comprehensive information on protective clothing offered by top players in the global market

Product Development/Innovation: Detailed insights on upcoming technologies, R & D activities, and new product launches in the protective clothing market

Market Development: Comprehensive information about lucrative emerging markets the report analyzes the markets for protective clothing across regions

Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about new products, untapped regions, and recent developments in the global protective clothing market

Competitive Assessment: In-depth assessment of market shares, strategies, products, and manufacturing capabilities of leading players in the protective clothing market

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION 191.1 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY 191.2 MARKET DEFINITION 191.3 MARKET SEGMENTATION 201.3.1 YEARS CONSIDERED FOR THE STUDY 211.4 CURRENCY 211.5 LIMITATIONS 211.6 STAKEHOLDERS 212 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 222.1 RESEARCH DATA 222.1.1 SECONDARY DATA 232.1.1.1 Key data from secondary sources 232.1.2 PRIMARY DATA 242.1.2.1 Key data from primary sources 242.1.2.2 Breakdown of primary interviews 252.2 MARKET SIZE ESTIMATION 252.2.1 BOTTOM-UP APPROACH 262.2.2 TOP-DOWN APPROACH 262.3 MARKET BREAKDOWN AND DATA TRIANGULATION 272.4 ASSUMPTIONS 283 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 294 PREMIUM INSIGHTS 334.1 ATTRACTIVE OPPORTUNITIES IN THE PROTECTIVE CLOTHING MARKET 334.2 PROTECTIVE CLOTHING MARKET IN NORTH AMERICA, BY END-USE INDUSTRY AND COUNTRY 334.3 PROTECTIVE CLOTHING MARKET, BY REGION 344.4 PROTECTIVE CLOTHING MARKET, BY MATERIAL TYPE 344.5 PROTECTIVE CLOTHING MARKET: MAJOR COUNTRIES 355 MARKET OVERVIEW 36

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The dynamic nature of business environment in the current global economy is raising the need amongst business professionals to update themselves with current situations in the market. To cater such needs, Shibuya Data Count provides market research reports to various business professionals across different industry verticals, such as healthcare & pharmaceutical, IT & telecom, chemicals and advanced materials, consumer goods & food, energy & power, manufacturing & construction, industrial automation & equipment and agriculture & allied activities amongst others.

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Protective Clothing Market Global Forecast to 2024 by Material Type, Applications (Thermal, Chemical, and Visibility), End-Use Industry (Construction,...

Signing of the Al-Ula Declaration ending trade and other restrictions against Qatar

As reported in our previous client update, on 5 January 2021, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, along with Egypt, signed the Al-Ula Declaration at the 41st GCC Summit held in the city of Al-Ula. This marks the end of a three and a half year boycott against the State of Qatar, which was put in place in June 2017. Although the formal text of the Al-Ula Declaration has not been made public, it is clear from public statements made by senior Saudi, UAE, Egyptian, Bahraini and Kuwaiti officials that the instrument paves the way for the re-establishment of political and economic ties between Qatar and each of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt (the Quartet).

Re-opening of borders and resumption of air and sea travel

In the past ten days, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have taken steps to re-open all land, sea and air corridors for inbound and outbound movement to and from Qatar, and the relevant authorities in both countries have issued directives and circulars to this effect.

The UAEs General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) announced the re-opening of airspace and the resumption of air traffic between the UAE and Qatar which took effect from 9 January. The announcement stated that the GCAA will resume scheduled and unscheduled flights between the two countries, in coordination with the civil aviation authorities and national carriers in the UAE, which has been facilitated through the issuance of NOTAMs (Notices to Airmen). In addition, on 8 January (and implemented on 9 January), the Chief Harbor Master (CHM) at Abu Dhabi Ports issued a Direction (CHM Direction No. 01/2021) which formally lifted the restriction on access to Abu Dhabi ports for Qatar vessels and vessels departing the UAE for Qatar as the next port of destination. This was further to a circular issued by the UAE Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure (MOEI) on 8 January, confirming that the UAE has ended all measures restricting trade with Qatar and that it has re-opened land, sea and airspace borders with Qatar. Given the MOEIs circular and the Abu Dhabi CHM Direction, we expect that the other port authorities across the UAE (e.g. Dubai Maritime City Authority, Government of Sharjah Department of Seaports and Customs, RAK Ports and Saqr Port Authority, the Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority, and the Port of Fujairah) will have also issued their own CHMs or Notice to Mariners lifting the Qatar restrictions.

Similarly, Saudi Arabia had previously announced similar measures that took effect from the evening of 4 January. Based on the proposal by Sheikh Nawaf Al-Sabah, the Emir of Kuwait who led the recent mediation efforts, the agreement was reached to open airspace and land and sea borders between Saudi Arabia and Qatar. We understand from our discussions with Saudi Airlines that for the time being, only commercial flights have resumed between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

The Civil Aviation Affairs (CAA) at the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications of Bahrain also announced the opening of Bahraini airspace for Qatar-registered aircraft, commencing 11 January. Similarly, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation, Egypt had reopened its airspace on 12 January, allowing Egypt Air and Qatar Airways as well as other Qatari airlines, to resume air traffic. Egypt and Bahrain can be expected to issue official instruments in relation to maritime and port access in due course.

Customs clearing procedures

In response to our inquiries, Dubai Customs has confirmed that the import and export of products to and from Qatar have resumed with effect from 9 January. We have made similar inquiries with the Saudi Customs Authority, and received verbal confirmation that all formal restrictions in relation to imports and exports between Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been lifted.

In relation to land transportation of goods, based on our discussions with customs brokers operating in the Salwa region (the Saudi-Qatar border), the import and export of products between Saudi Arabia and Qatar have still not resumed, due to technical, administrative and operational measures that still need to be put in place to clear products. Since the border has been closed for more than three years, it may take some time for the customs clearance equipment and resources at the Salwa border to be installed and to be operational. Customs brokers expect commercial activities between both countries to resume this week.

In relation to air cargo transportation, we understand that Saudi Cargo has still not resumed cargo flights between Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Bahraini and Egyptian customs authorities have yet to release any official statements in this respect.

As of the date of this alert, Qatari authorities have not issued any circulars or similar instruments in relation to resuming trade or travel between Qatar and the Quartet, despite reports of the re-opening of the Abu Samra border as of 9 January announced by the General Customs Authority (GAC). However, we understand that the position of the GAC is that, until the issuance of an official circular, all shipments from the Quartet will be rejected and will not be cleared for import.

Financial flows and designations under Counter-Terrorism Laws

The restrictions originally imposed on Qatar in June 2017 included measures introduced by a UAE Central Bank (UAECB) circular that placed six Qatari banks on a watch-list, which mandated UAE banks to undertake enhanced due diligence and screening of any remittances from those banks.

Pursuant to UAE Federal Law No. 7 of 2014 on Combatting Terrorism Offences (the UAE CTF Law) and UAE Cabinet Resolution No. 35 of 2014 concerning the UAEs Terrorist Watch List System (the latter of which has since been repealed and currently replaced by Cabinet Resolution No. 74 of 2020), the UAE issued Cabinet Resolution No. 18 of 2017 Endorsing the List of Designated Terrorist Organizations and Individuals (Cabinet Resolution 18) on 9 June 2017.

Cabinet Resolution 18 designated 59 individuals and 12 entities that were either Qatari, Qatari-based or Qatari-linked, as Designated Terrorist Organizations and Individuals. Those providing support, including financial support, to such individuals or entities faced criminal penalties under the UAE CTF Law. As the UAE CTF Law is fully applicable in both of the UAEs financial free zones (the Dubai International Financial Centre (the DIFC) and the Abu Dhabi Global Market (the ADGM)), the restrictions on dealing with such individuals and entities fully extended to financial institutions based in those jurisdictions.

On the same day, the UAE Central Bank (UAECB) issued two Notices Notice 156 and Notice 157. Notice 156 required those regulated by the UAECB to immediately check existing clients accounts and instruments against the designations made under Cabinet Resolution 18, and to inform the UAE Central Bank accordingly. Notice 157 required all UAECB regulated entities to implement Enhanced Due Diligence measures (as defined under the UAEs AML Law and AML Implementing Regulations) for any accounts or transactions involving the following six Qatari Banks: (i) Qatar Islamic Bank, (ii) Qatar International Islamic Bank, (iii) Barwa Bank, (iv) Masraf al Rayan, (v) Qatar National Bank, and (vi) Doha Bank. Notice 157 also required weekly update reports on its implementation to be sent to the UAECB.

The DIFCs financial regulator the Dubai Financial Services Authority (the DFSA) and the ADGMs financial regulator the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (the FSRA) issued letters on 12 June 2017, requiring their regulated entities (both financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses and professions DNFBPs) to implement the same requirements under UAECB Notices 156 and 157.

Following the signing of the Al-Ula Declaration, we have yet to see any announcement being made by the UAECB, the DFSA or the FSRA. As such, the position outlined above remains applicable until further notice.

Next steps

Based on official announcements and various measures introduced by public authorities in the Quartet, all restrictions on trade with Qatar that were put in place in June 2017 have now been lifted and Saudi and UAE companies are no longer prohibited from engaging in direct commercial dealings with Qatari counterparties. This includes resuming prior distribution and shipping arrangements between Saudi or the UAE and Qatar.

However, despite the formal lifting of the prohibitions against Qatar, it will likely take some time before the administrative decisions are implemented to fully restart the shipment of goods between the Quartet and Qatar, and before customs clearance procedures are normalized. This is particularly noteworthy in light of the absence of any official statements or circulars issued by the State of Qatar in relation to resuming trade or travel between Qatar and the Quartet or lifting of any countermeasures imposed by Qatar in response to the boycott put in place in 2017.

Accordingly, it is still too early to tell how the lifting of the trade restrictions in relation to Qatar will be implemented in practice. We are watching this space carefully, and we continue to engage with various government agencies and authorities in Qatar and the Quartet for clarification and updates. We will issue follow up updates as new developments emerge.

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Lifting of restrictions with Qatar - what you need to know Blog Middle East Insights - Lexology

National Review

Rand Paul would like you to know that while he didnt agree with the [Capitol] fight that happened January 6, he doesnt believe that President Trump whose batty two-month crusade to convince his supporters the election was stolen served as the proximate cause of the fight should be disqualified from holding office again in the future. Language tends to be intemperate these days, but I didnt agree with the fight errs in the opposite direction: Its far too tame a response to the sickening display of January 6. This was no ordinary fight. It was an attempt to violently disrupt the counting of electoral votes, and hence the peaceful transfer of power to the next duly elected administration. It stunned America and shamed us before the world. It made us look like a banana republic. It resulted in several deaths and might have led to a physical attack on, or even the murder of, the vice president as he was conducting the most important business of his term. Trumps actions may not have met the legal definition of incitement, but he tossed a match on kindling he had carefully placed and thoroughly soaked with kerosene. As Dan McLaughlin has written, Trump must face consequences sufficiently spectacular to deter any repetition so long as our national memory endures. But if Senator Paul has his way, apparently, Trump will suffer no consequences whatsoever and reenter private life as the heavy favorite to be the next Republican presidential nominee. This is madness. Abraham Lincolns party was fine without Trump for 150 years and it will long survive him. The parties being largely ruled from the ground up, its not feasible to eject Trump from a GOP he seized control of in 2015 and has since disgraced, but it is possible for 17 Republican senators to convict and disqualify him from holding any future high office in the United States. This is the right thing to do and its also the prudent thing to do, for the sake of the party as well as the country. The GOP cannot afford to spend the next four years trying to explain away Trumps indefensible actions. It has to move on, and there is only one way to do that. Paul foresees a colossal schism in the party should Trump be convicted and barred from future office-holding, warning that one-third of the party will walk away from the GOP in that scenario. Hes wrong: One of the curses (but also, sometimes, one of the blessings) of our culture is our notoriously short collective memory. Should Trump be disqualified this winter, the discussion will quickly move on to other topics. Who should be the new partys standard-bearer? Don Jr.? I very much doubt it. Its unclear that even Trump Sr. would be enthusiastic about that, having repeatedly ridiculed his younger namesake as, among many other things, not the sharpest knife in the drawer. For five years weve seen various other Republican politicians attempt to ape Trumps combination of posturing and populism, and it never works. Senator Josh Hawley has spent two years reverse-mortgaging his reputation in an attempt to extract equity out of the Trump bank, and it has gotten him nowhere. A Politico/Morning Consult poll taken in November put him at 1 percent in the polls, and that was before his shameful performance on January 6. Though some of Trumps ideas about trade and immigration may continue to have sway in some parts of the party, Trumpism as a whole is too closely tied up with one man to be handed off to a new leader. It would die with Trumps political career, and the party would move on. A disqualified Trump would, of course, rain hellfire on the senators who disqualified him, as well as any other perceived backstabbers. But four years from now, when ten Republican senators face reelection, Trumps rage will be background noise at worst. Six years from now, when Ben Sasse, Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins, and 17 of their Republican colleagues face the voters, it wont be any noise at all. Trump himself has a short attention span and a fear of being boring; even he wont be able to keep up the insults for four years, much less six, on whatever cable-news perch from which he chooses to harangue the nation. It is true that Trump is the only thing that consistently fascinates Trump. But America does not love a sore loser, and his victim act will begin to go stale by the next time voters go to the polls. Gradually, even many of his most ardent supporters will begin to realize the man is embarrassing. Among those who persist in believing the fantasy that Trump was robbed and that any lawmakers who voted against him are sworn enemies, how will this play out at the ballot box? It wont, because voting will remain a binary choice. Trump, being disqualified, wont be able to run as a third-party candidate and divide the party. The primary motivating force for voters will continue to be, as it has been for years, visceral dislike for one partys style and policies. Joe Biden has signaled in many ways that, far from being a unifying president, he will consider it a core duty to focus on punishing and antagonizing Trump supporters via appointments and policies specifically designed to irritate them. Biden has watched Trump play the role of Troll-in-Chief for the last four years and decided he wants in on the action. Kamala Harris, should she become president, would be even more despised by both conventional Republicans and Trumpists. So never fear, Senator Paul: Post-Trump, Republicans will close ranks quickly. The main thing the American Right stands for is hating what Democrats do, and Democrats are preparing to embark on a presidency full of policies that are easy to hate.

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Crews Prepare To Clear Roadways As Chances Of Snow, Ice Increase - Yahoo News

Following the war between Armenians and Azerbaijanis in the 1990s, deminers spent decades and tens of millions of dollars clearing the former battleground of land mines and unexploded ordnance.

Now, after 44 days of renewed fighting, they have to start again.

According to a survey of local media reports, at least 11 people have been killed by leftover explosives following the cessation of hostilities on November 10.

In the deadliest single incident, four members of an Azerbaijani family who were visiting their former home in the region of Fuzuli were killed when their car hit a land mine on November 28, the Azerbaijani general prosecutors office reported.

The only member of the Russian peacekeeping mission who has thus far been killed in action was a sapper who died as a result of an explosion on December 17.

Among the other victims: an Azerbaijani sapper, another Azerbaijani civilian visiting his former home in Fuzuli, an Azerbaijani colonel working with Russian and Armenian colleagues to recover bodies from the battlefield, two Armenian sappers, and an Azerbaijani soldier.

Until the war started this September, the last fatality as a result of unexploded ordnance on what used to be the Armenian side of the line of control was registered in 2018. The last time someone other than a deminer died was in 2015. On the Azerbaijani side, the last fatal accident was recorded in January.

But following the war, in which Azerbaijan managed to retake a large part of the lands it had lost to Armenians in the first war, a large swath of territory has again been rendered deadly. Much of that is due to the use by both sides of cluster munitions, which contain small bomblets intended to explode on impact but which have a high failure rate, leaving duds that act like anti-personnel landmines for years and even decades, Human Rights Watch said in a December 11 report on their use in the recent conflict.

There also has been some apparent laying of new anti-tank and anti-personnel land mines. The Azerbaijani prosecutors office said that the explosion that killed the family of four was the result of an anti-tank land mine laid by retreating Armenian forces. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the explosion that killed the Azerbaijani colonel (which also wounded a Russian peacekeeper) was caused by a mine. Halo Trust, the UK-based organization that carries out demining in Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding territories, said in a post-war report that [n]ew use of anti-vehicle mines has also been reported and that [t]he extent of landmine contamination from the current conflict is unknown.

Neither side has acknowledged using land mines in the recent conflict.

A spokesperson for the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) blamed Armenia for laying the mines that have been found on territory now controlled by Baku. The Armenian army, while being pushed away, were putting mines almost everywhere in order to delay the Azerbaijani army, the spokesperson, Sabina Sakarova, said in response to written questions from Eurasianet.

There are several countries and agencies already involved in the UXO-clearing process. On the Armenian-controlled side of the line of contact, Russian peacekeepers have been clearing up material, while Halo is carrying out assessments of the work that lies ahead.

On the Azerbaijani-controlled side, ANAMAs work is being supplemented by Turkish military mine-clearance experts. Azerbaijans Defense Ministry reported that 136 Turkish soldiers arrived in early December and have begun training their Azerbaijani counterparts. The Turkish soldiers themselves also will be involved in clearing Azerbaijans newly retaken territories.

The amount of ordnance reported to have already been cleared since the war ended is substantial.

Russian military engineers had neutralized more than 6,000 explosive objects as of December 17, a peacekeeping officer in Karabakh said. ANAMA says that the explosives it has found as of December 20 include 1,376 pieces of unexploded ordnance, 4,507 pieces of anti-personnel mines and 1,344 pieces of anti-tank mines.

But deminers on both sides are only beginning to assess the work ahead of them.

To clean up its newly retaken territories, ANAMA is planning a substantial expansion, to increase its staff from under 500 to on the order of 12,000-15,000, Sakarova said. Halo says it is planning to roughly double its staff, from 130 before the war up to 250.

Azerbaijani officials have given varying timelines as to how long clearing their side will take, but ANAMAs head of operations, Idris Ismayilov, has said that "it will take up to 10 years to completely demine the territory but people would be able to return to their ancestral lands in between three and five years.

Halo has not given an estimate of how long it will take to render the Armenian-controlled land safe, and organization officials did not respond to requests by Eurasianet for comment. But in an interview with local news website EVN Report, the organizations director for Europe, Nick Smart, said that to clean up a single site an ammunition dump just outside the regional capital of Stepanakert that was destroyed during the war would take two years and $2.6 million.

The organization was still working on assessments of the cities of Stepanakert, Martakert, and Martuni. It hadnt even started yet on surveying rural areas, but I would imagine there will be a big problem there, Smart said. Planting season will be on us in no time. Farmers are going to want to get on and plow their fields and to do so right now would be very dangerous.

See the article here:
Following war, Armenia and Azerbaijan reckon with unexploded ordnance - Eurasianet